Recent violence Commentaries

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Something Like a War
I’ve been revisiting Ken Burns’ series on the history of baseball, and it sparked some interesting comparisons to a subject that headlines the news daily. Baseball values sportsmanship, fairness, and integrity. Politics far too often involves the polar opposite. While character has once been evident in the halls of Congress (I haven’t figured out which halls, yet), it now seems...
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January 27, 2025
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Foreshadowing What’s to Come
After learning that one of Donald Trump’s first actions as president pardoned nearly all of the 1,600 January 6, defendants, police officer, Michael Fanone–who was almost beaten to death by Trump supporters said this: “I have been betrayed by my country and I have been betrayed by those who supported Donald Trump. Whether you voted for him because he promised...
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January 20, 2025
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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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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What’s Missing in Us Today?
There’s no question that 2022 has been a gloomy and cruel year: political wars; culture wars; truth wars. For the first time in more than 100 years, America is at war with itself. Many have succumbed to lies and disinformation. Many have surrendered to hate and violence to justify those false beliefs. For many, Christmas seems an afterthought. Like the...
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December 20, 2022