LAWRENCE S. WITTNER – Independence helped dismantle empires, but no nation can solve nuclear war, climate collapse, pandemics, or technological threats alone. As Americans and people of other former colonies recognize, there’s a great deal to be said for national independence. But, at times, we might also wonder: is it sufficient?
The US at 250: What Should We Be Paying Attention To?
RIVERA SUN – The United States at 250 – A Fourth of July Special.
There IS a Way to Reform the United Nations
JUSTIN HANEER – Thunderous applause echoed through the San Francisco Opera House on June 26th, 1945, as diplomats signed the United Nations Charter. It was hailed as a victory over war itself. Eighty-one years later, the UN has many accomplishments to celebrate. But the Charter’s opening pledge to save “succeeding generations from the scourge of war” remains painfully unfulfilled.
Finding real national pride on America’s 250th birthday
SARAH VAN GELDER – Our history has been one of atrocities — and extraordinary courage. An honest accounting of our nation’s founding injustices gives us the opportunity to make them right. When we do, we won’t need the swagger anymore, because we’ll have something sturdier: the real thing. We can be unified in pride for this country, and unstoppable in coming together to build what could truly be a more perfect union.
Unchecked billionaire oligarchs, not “godless communists,” are undermining American democracy
JARED O. BELL – The real threat to American democracy was never a democratic socialist winning a city primary. It is a system in which a handful of billionaires can reshape public institutions overnight, enrich themselves through the levers of government, and leave the rest of us to argue about labels while we live with the damage.
Trump’s Nuclear Weapons Policies Make the Whole World Less Safe
TOM H. HASTINGS – The sum total of Trump’s erosion of nuclear safeguards belie his rhetoric about nuclear safety; he has done more to make Americans and the world less safe from nuclear annihilation than any US leader ever.