American planes dropped firebombs on Tokyo 75 years ago, on the night of March 9-10, 1945, killing an estimated 80,000-100,000 people.[1] The firebombing began a six-month-long American bombing campaign against 66 Japanese cities that culminated in the two atomic bombings and killed roughly 400,000 people in total.[2] This killing campaign was the climax of a … Continue reading “Remember Pearl Harbor—Keep ‘Em Dying”: War and Racism in the Pacific
An American Devil Figure: The Complex Legacy of Joseph McCarthy
One of the most infamous figures of 20th-century American history gave one of the most infamous speeches of 20th-century American history 70 years ago this winter. Speaking before a Republican women’s group in Wheeling, West Virginia, on February 9, 1950, Senator Joseph R. McCarthy (R-WI), declared that a certain number of US State Department employees … Continue reading An American Devil Figure: The Complex Legacy of Joseph McCarthy
War without End: The United States’ Embrace of Massive Military Power
While Americans’ attention was focused this past December on a president’s impeachment, a significant instance of bipartisan cooperation among both houses of Congress and the executive branch unfolded. In seeming defiance of the divided state of American political life, Congress passed and President Trump signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This latest version … Continue reading War without End: The United States’ Embrace of Massive Military Power
East Germany’s Peaceful Revolution: Remembering the Berlin Wall’s Fall
The Berlin Wall fell 30 years ago this year, on November 9, 1989. This massive barrier that since the 1960s had effectively imprisoned the residents of Communist-ruled East Berlin was also a symbol of the larger Cold War division between Eastern and Western Europe and the Soviet Union and the United States. When Berliners broke … Continue reading East Germany’s Peaceful Revolution: Remembering the Berlin Wall’s Fall
Climate Change and the Consistent Life Ethic: An Opportunity to Connect Issues
Climate change and how to counter it has been much in the news over the past few weeks, with these topics being raised in the United Nations and in the streets.[1] Harm to our shared environment should concern all of us and should especially concern advocates of the consistent life ethic. We should consider how climate change connects … Continue reading Climate Change and the Consistent Life Ethic: An Opportunity to Connect Issues
Pro-Life Voting Strategy: A Problem without a Solution
With a new electoral season looming before Americans, we’ll no doubt soon hear the latest round of a long-running debate: how should pro-lifers vote? Should they vote for candidates (usually Republicans) who express explicit opposition to abortion and may support efforts to restrict legal access to abortion?Or should they vote for candidates (usually Democrats) who … Continue reading Pro-Life Voting Strategy: A Problem without a Solution
A War on the People: A Review of One Child Nation
To curb population growth and supposedly promote national prosperity, China’s ruling Communist Party in 1979 launched an effort to ensure most Chinese parents would have only one child. For roughly the next 36 years the authorities would enforce this One-Child Policy through measures that included intense propaganda, forced sterilizations and abortions, punishments for disobedient households, … Continue reading A War on the People: A Review of One Child Nation
What Personal Storytelling Leaves Out: A Suggestion on Alternative Approaches to Activism
A common practice among activists or commentators on political controversies is to invoke personal stories. Someone will tell how her or his life, or the life of a friend or acquaintance, was directly affected by a larger injustice or problem. The activist or commentator will use that personal experience as an element in an argument … Continue reading What Personal Storytelling Leaves Out: A Suggestion on Alternative Approaches to Activism
Big Brother Is (Still) Watching You: The Xinjiang Crack-Down
Xinjiang is China’s westernmost province, inhabited predominantly by Muslim ethnic minorities, the largest of these the Uighurs. For several years, this province has been the target of a wave of Chinese government repression that is apparently motivated by fears of terrorism and separatism. This repression has turned Xinjiang into something approaching a giant prison. The … Continue reading Big Brother Is (Still) Watching You: The Xinjiang Crack-Down
“Somewhere Else When the Trigger Is Pulled”: Orwell and War
Political language — and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists — is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. One cannot change this all in a moment, but one can at least change one's own habits. … Continue reading “Somewhere Else When the Trigger Is Pulled”: Orwell and War
Peacemaking for Life 