Will we side with truth, reason, democracy, and the rule of law or authoritarianism and the exercise of raw power?

There’s a reason the Jewish people tell us never to forget the Holocaust.

They know how swiftly poison can spread. Only twelve years passed between the passage of Germany’s first anti-Semitic law to the murder of the six-millionth Jew.

They know people often can’t see authoritarian regimes developing, and they know such regimes can be hard to topple once they’re established.

Most important, they know authoritarians have an easy path to power if most citizens simply ignore them and look…

We may scoff at the ability of the federal government to forge meaningful immigration policies. But if not the government, then who?

Recently, I wrote a piece maintaining the federal government is not the problem Republicans claim it is. Not long after, I was challenged to talk about whether modern government can solve the immigration problem so apparent in the United States.

I admit my frustration and skepticism around this topic. I’ve lived in Arizona for eighteen years. In my home state, Missouri, immigration issues seemed more abstract and removed. …

Republicans want you to believe government is a cauldron of incompetence. It’s never been true, and it’s not true now.

Since President Biden took office, Republicans have been quick to resurrect that old saw, “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Biden seems determined to prove them wrong, engineering a comprehensive legislative package to help the nation bounce back from the pandemic, leading a massive drive to get the country vaccinated quickly, and spearheading a substantial effort to repair and improve the country’s infrastructure.

In previous eras, the government also provided solutions. Franklin Roosevelt created…

Make them fear us in the primaries

As the second impeachment trial of ex-president Donald Trump unfolds, it seems inevitable that the threshold to convict, 67 votes in the U.S. Senate, will not be reached. Despite a meticulously crafted, airtight case presented by the House prosecution team, a number of Republican senators will ignore the evidence, seemingly out of loyalty to the ex-president.

Really, though, they will vote to acquit for a more basic reason: they fear a backlash from Trump-loyal voters if they choose to convict the former president. …

I’m an advocate of lifelong learning. I think it’s important to stay engaged in society, to keep your mind active, and to make sure you’re growing as a human being, no matter how old you are.

About a year and a half ago, I decided to go back to school at the age of sixty-nine. Even though I already hold three master’s degrees, I enrolled at Glendale Community College in the greater Phoenix area.

I spent my whole career in journalism and public relations, but as a nonfiction writer, I thought I could benefit from taking a fiction-writing course. I…

Throughout my career, I occasionally ran up against people who were more than willing to volunteer as interpreters for Black people, as in

“What Vera is trying to say is . . . .”

This always struck me as a rude putdown. Just let Vera speak for herself, I thought. As often as not, the “interpreters” were only pushing her aside to make whatever point they wanted to make.

For most of history, that’s what has happened to Black Americans, especially in books, movies, and television programs. With a scarcity of Black voices like James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, and Spike…

The United States is slowly rethinking how to talk about and present our 400-year history of racism. As we do so, it’s useful to see how Germany is addressing the ugliest part of its heritage — Nazism and the Holocaust.

I’ve been to Germany twice within the past decade. I can attest that, like much of Europe, the country loves statues. I’ve seen my fair share of three-dimensional likenesses of Martin Luther, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, and Otto von Bismarck. Each of these heroes of Germany’s religious and cultural heritage was flawed — aren’t we all? — but…

Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell recently asked whether any of his Republican colleagues would declare, unequivocally, that Black lives matter. His Republican colleague, Matt Gaetz, countered by asking whether Swalwell believes all lives matter.

Gaetz might think he’s striking a blow for equality when he voices the “all lives” mantra, but he’s not. His inclusive-sounding sentiment is, often, not-so-subtle racism. If you doubt it, take a minute to watch this clip from NBC News.

Certainly, all lives matter. But championing the point, in our present climate, has the effect of papering over a greater, shameful reality: in America, throughout our history…