Recent Hope Commentaries

Featured image for “. . . Divided We Fall”
. . . Divided We Fall
Sherlock Holmes had just received a message from London informing him that Professor Moriarty’s gang had been captured. But “the Napoleon of crime,” as Holmes described, had escaped. Over weeks, the great detective had successfully tracked Moriarty to Switzerland. And there, above the roiling falls of Reichenback, the final combat took place. Locked in each other’s arms, Holmes and Moriarty...
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March 7, 2024
Stop Sleepwalking and Start Fighting!
Embed from Getty Images Alarm bells go off on every page of former Congresswoman Liz Cheney’s book, “Oath and Honor,” . . . every page. At New Hampshire’s Dartmouth College last Friday, Cheney continued to press her message to primary voters. “Tell the world who we are with your vote. Tell them that we are a good and a great...
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January 9, 2024
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A New Hope
With America and the world mired in chaos and conflict, a symbol of hope rises like a phoenix at Notre Dame Cathedral after a fire nearly destroyed the 860-year-old limestone landmark. In 860 years, Notre Dame has survived the War of the Roses, and witnessed the Russo-Turkish War, the Napoleonic and Yugoslav Wars, the Hundred Years’ War (116 years), World...
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December 24, 2023
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Hate
Hate is a sickness; a dark force that shuts out the light of humanity. It grows in darkness, feeds on suspicion, fear, and doubt. It debases others in a torrent of racialism. In times of distrust and disaffection, it grabs onto any rationalization for violence. On September 11, 2001, the country witnessed the power of hate in the murder of...
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October 24, 2023
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All That Is Strong and Good
Dysfunction is no longer an adequate descriptor of Washington leadership these days. We’re all aware of the key players in this madness. The media recites them in a 24/7 loop of chaotic images and infotainment. Nonetheless, the strong and the good eventually overcame the darker forces in our nation’s past. Before we continue our march toward the abyss of cynicism,...
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October 10, 2023
Are We Living Up to the Dream?
Embed from Getty Images It’s been 60 years since Dr. King spoke to 250,000 supporters on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on a warm August afternoon in 1963. King’s stirring words about character, however, were improvised not written. Standing close to the civil rights leader, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson whispered, “Tell ‘em about ‘the dream,’ Martin.” I have a...
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September 1, 2023
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A Candle of Hope
Yesterday’s Seattle Sun-Times perfectly captures the country’s zeitgeist. Political cartoonist David Horsey has two families standing alongside each other at a beach celebration. With fireworks bursting in air, the couple on the left—one wearing a MAGA T-shirt, the other that reads, “Don’t Tread on Me” —announce, “I love America the way it used to be! The couple on the right—sporting...
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July 4, 2023
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Lessons From Ukraine
Think about this. Because of Putin’s war against Ukraine, millions of Ukrainian men, women, and children are enduring the harshest conditions imaginable: nightly bombing; an absence of light, heat and water. Ukraine’s health system cannot keep up with the sick and injured. Schools have closed in much of the country. Despite help from European and Western allies, life in Ukraine...
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February 24, 2023
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Mr. Smith is Back!
Here’s what I like about politicians. Every once in a while, we get heroes—people who stand up for what’s right and good and best not just for the people back home, but the entire country. Margret Chase Smith, the Republican Senator from Maine, was such a hero when she stood up against the lies and tactics of her Senate colleague,...
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January 17, 2023
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Faith
With the approach of Christmas, last Tuesday’s commentary was looking for a way back from all the hate-filled turmoil of 2022. I asked, what one essential quality have Americans depended on to help heal the nation’s pain? Speaking before a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky answered it for me. “Ladies and gentlemen — ladies and...
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December 23, 2022