Recent Respect Commentaries

Featured image for “A Call to Trust, Unity, and Common Humanity”
A Call to Trust, Unity, and Common Humanity
We live in a time of profound political divisions, more so than ever before. Fear, frustration, and anger dominate the national conversation from Trump rallies to pundit panels. Many of his supporters’ emotions come from real concerns about jobs, security, and social changes. These are significant issues deserving significant attention. In this moment of crisis, however, what concerns me most...
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October 24, 2024
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What America Stands For
We know the darkness—we’re living it—but what about the light? America’s moral conscience reflects our evolving values, shaped by both successes and failures. We’ve seen progress in Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, LGPTQ+ rights, but we’ve also faced dark chapters—slavery, the mistreatment of Native Americans, Japanese internment, McCarthyism, and Watergate. Each of these pivotal moments, both the triumphs and the trials,...
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October 23, 2024
Featured image for “Fear Is the Enemy Within, Not Each Other”
Fear Is the Enemy Within, Not Each Other
Fed by misinformation and half-truths, fear pushes us to distrust others, retreat into ourselves, see threats where there are none. Fear convinces us the world is more hostile than it truly is, seeing things through the lens of “Us vs. Them,” cutting us off from the compassion, understanding, and cooperation that can bring us together. Fear has always been present,...
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October 16, 2024
Featured image for “Facts or Fear”
Facts or Fear
The Rockwellesque city of Springfield, Ohio, has recently been thrust into the national spotlight, not for its charm but because of false claims spread on social media that Haitian immigrants have been stealing and eating the pets of their neighbors. Despite a lack of evidence, former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, have used the claims...
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September 23, 2024
Featured image for “Fueled by Fear, Guided by Solutions”
Fueled by Fear, Guided by Solutions
In America’s deeply polarized political landscape, we’ve become engulfed by lies, hateful rhetoric, and now, escalating violence. The most recent example is an assassination attempt on the former president. Stoked by fear, this toxic combination has infiltrated every aspect of our society—from public discourse to personal relationships—fostering a climate where truth feels optional and outrage thrives. When hateful rhetoric drives...
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September 20, 2024
Featured image for “A New Pearl of Great Price: Blind Faith in Trump”
A New Pearl of Great Price: Blind Faith in Trump
Legend has it that a man once approached the Jewish sage Hillel the Elder with a challenge: if he could sum up the principles of Judaism in a single sentence, the man would convert. Hillel responded, “What is hateful to thee, do not unto thy fellow man: this is the whole of the law; the rest is commentary.” Hillel’s words...
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September 6, 2024
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Our Better Angels Better Show Up
A good friend and I have what we call our “Best Friends Thursday” lunches, where we catch up on the events of the day, primarily local matters. He recently said, “I enjoy your commentaries, but I wish you’d write about something other than Trump.” It’s a fair point, and I try to cover various issues. But this election is so...
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September 3, 2024
Featured image for “Freedom’s Speech Clear and Bright, Honoring in Our Hearts What is Right”
Freedom’s Speech Clear and Bright, Honoring in Our Hearts What is Right
Honoring Independence Day In a bustling hall where voices rise, A man stands firm, his gaze up high. With rugged hands and weathered face, He speaks with honor, quiet grace. Norman’s brush, with strokes so fine, Captures more than a moment in time. It paints respect, a truth we share, In every glance, a silent prayer. Freedom to speak, to...
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July 4, 2024
Featured image for “Justice, Kindness, and Faith Renewed”
Justice, Kindness, and Faith Renewed
With all the recent attacks on judges, this profile of a former municipal judge in Providence, Rhode Island is just too compelling and important to ignore. And it has overwhelmed social media with hundreds of millions of views. CBS reporter David Begnaud begins the story. “‘I’m just a small-town municipal court judge, just trying to do good.’ That’s what 80-year-old...
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June 25, 2024
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What Would Jesus Say?
“The Democrats and the fake news media want to constantly talk about ‘President Trump is a convicted felon.’ Well, you want to know something? The man that I worship is also a convicted felon. And he was murdered on a Roman cross.”—Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene Christians fanatical zeal for Donald Trump remains stunning to many millions, including myself, who just...
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June 11, 2024