RIVERA SUN – While the stories of nonviolence news are often plentiful (see the Nonviolence News Research Archive for 73 articles), several of them are also an invitation to reflect in greater depth than nonviolence news usually does. This week Rivera Sun takes some time to reflect thoughtfully with readers and followers about a few themes of accountability and integrity.
Category: Archive
America has one birthday, the USA was born on another
KARY LOVE – A schizoid values division continues to this day. Human rights America was born July 4, 1776. Money and power USA was born September 17, 1787. A balance was sought in the Bill of Rights adopted December 15, 1791. But the division remains to be manipulated and used by factions favoring one value side or the other, dividing the people into camps to be exploited for political power gain and loss.
Pete Hegseth’s Crusade Against the First Amendment
MEL GURTOV – Invoking God and country in American interventions abroad is nothing new. But Pete Hegseth has taken that message a step farther by intertwining his religion with the nation’s military establishment. He should be next in line to be dismissed from the cabinet.
The Minneapolis protests recall a long lineage of women’s peace movements
JODI VANDENBERG-DAVES – The Minneapolis protests recall a long lineage of women’s peace movements: Women bringing innovation, moral clarity, caregiving and an insistence on justice.
It’s time to tax the rich
LAWRENCE WITTNER – Most Americans support proposals to raise taxes on the rich. According to a March 2025 Pew Research Center poll, large majorities of Americans surveyed favored increasing taxes on the wealthy and corporations. In January 2026, an Economist/YouGov poll reported that 80 percent of American respondents viewed wealth inequality as a problem, 80 percent said the rich had too much political power, and 78 percent said taxes on billionaires were too low.
Climate Change Goes to Washington – How It Happened
CHELSEA HENDERSON – Decades of political battles, shifting public opinion, and evolving advocacy strategies shaped the path of U.S. climate policy from early scientific warnings to major federal investment.
Why People Demonstrate
ANDREW MOSS – Sustained civic engagement offers, as Anna Sach perceives it, “not only a tool for political change, it is a deeply human experience that fulfills emotional and social needs. It creates community, restores a sense of agency, and offers hope in the face of uncertainty.”
How Democrats could hand the California Governor’s race to the Republicans–lessons from Washington State
PAUL ROGAT LOEB – In California, there’s a serious risk that the Democratic candidates will split the vote sufficiently to leave only the two Republicans on the November ballot. Something similar happened in Washington State a few years ago.
Essay about nuclear energy versus renewables omits crucial fundamentals
AMORY B. LOVINS – In her March 13 Bulletin article (“The war on Iran will speed the transition away from fossil fuels and toward nuclear energy, creating strategic challenges for the United States”), the distinguished Rachel Bronson’s equivocal but emphatic ode to nuclear power disappoints by omitting fundamentals.
Safety meltdown: Trump’s weakening of nuclear reactor regulations sparks opposition
CHAUNCEY K. ROBINSON – Nuclear safety experts warn that sweeping cuts to oversight rules could undermine environmental safeguards as the White House races to bring new reactors online in 2026.
What a recent court win reveals about the Trump administration’s unlawful attacks on climate science
RACHEL CLEETUS – Try as it might, this administration cannot bury the evidence of climate harms so readily apparent to communities across the nation. The American people deserve genuine solutions to the climate crisis, not more self-serving lies.
No, Mr. Secretary, America doesn’t need an actual patriotic press
JARED O. BELL – Without a truly independent press, the United States risks drifting toward the very model of information control practiced by the despotic regimes it criticizes, a bleak reality no American should wish to contemplate. Now more than ever, defending press freedom requires vigilance, solidarity, and an unwavering commitment to truth.
Where’s the resistance to the Iran war?
MEHRAN KHALILI – A majority of Americans already oppose the war in Iran, but the bombs won’t stop until public opinion is converted into real pressure.
15 years after Fukushima meltdown, an innkeeper makes radiation surveys to revitalize her hometown
MARI YAMAGUCHI – The government pushes Fukushima’s safety and recovery, Yukio Shirahige says, but “we are under growing pressure to be silent.” This despite radiation surveys aimed at revitalizing Odaka.
It’s time to oust Stephen Miller
DANIEL HUNTER – Miller thrives in the shadows of bureaucratic power. He is combative, ideological and relentlessly focused on pushing a vision of the country rooted in exclusion. But that can also lead to his downfall. The more the country sees him, the clearer the stakes of the election and the future of our democracy. So as we move toward bigger demands, one clear next step presents itself: Let’s oust Stephen Miller.
Missiles, memes, and masculinity: When the White House turns war into entertainment
ROB OKUN – If we want a safer, more humane world, boys must learn that real courage isn’t measured by explosions or victory screens. It’s measured by the ability to protect life, show compassion, and reject violence—even in a culture that socializes you to believe violence is what makes you a man.
International law needs international enforcement
LAWRENCE WITTNER – Donald Trump’s war of choice in the Middle East is but the latest indication that the system of international law―which provides guidelines for the behavior of nations in world affairs―is crumbling.
A successful general strike requires trauma-informed mutual aid
SAHAJA SERPENT – To strike at scale and over the long-term, we need to build real trust so that we can lean on each other when the paychecks stop.
Subway Graffiti vs AI, Snow Plow Named Abolish ICE, Censorship Backfires & Brazil Reverses Dredging
RIVERA SUN – Beyond these stories, check out the rest of this week’s collection in the Nonviolence News Research Archive. There are some great pieces, including a modern resistance song playlist, two fascinating articles on solidarity infrastructure and community care systems, and three essays about fiction and social change.
AI: Where is it taking us?
BOB TOPPER – In the last century people marveled at the Wright brothers’ success. Just 66 years later, an awestruck world watched American astronauts walk on the moon. Technical advances became prosaic. But we should be paying more attention to Artificial Intelligence. For this revolution we will not be casual observers. It will change our lives in fundamental ways. We are not prepared and our government is sleeping.
Daniel Ellsberg Speaks to Us as the War on Iran Continues
NORMAN SOLOMON – The war on Iran is enabled by remaining silent and just following orders. Ellsbarg wrote in his journal at the time of the Gulf War, “There is a time when silence is a lie, when silence is complicity, and when silence betrays our troops, our country, and ourselves. We owe it to our troops, as well as to other potential victims of this war, to speak the truth about ourselves: what we believe, what we reject, and what we want.”
No rationale for presidential war on Iran
By John LaForge The president says Iran must not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons. In his February 24 speech to Congress, he said of Iran’s leaders, “They want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words: ‘We will…
Will Mamdani Abolish Police, or Simply Make Them Obsolete?
SONALI KOLHATKAR – What sets Mamdani apart from other progressive mayors who promised to be tough on police is a democratic socialist vision of a society that meets people’s needs.
Nonviolence vs. the Hydra of authoritarian violence
ANDREW MOSS – The myth of the Hydra offers a vivid image of how different forms of violence can be traced to a single, lethal source. But its utility ends there. No Heracles will come to slay this beast. A single “heroic” figure, or figures, isn’t even desirable. A complex history must first be accounted for: how the current authoritarian regime emerged from decades of festering inequalities of wealth and power, from long-standing precedents of scapegoating, racism, and xenophobia..
America’s “Pretti-Good” 250th Birthday
KARY LOVE – For America to deserve a 250th Birthday Pretti and Good must not have died in vain. The original American Patriots taught how to use “good trouble” to depose a rotten king. The people of Minnesota and others under attack are rallying, building community, supporting each other in peace and decency. Now, it is up to you. Save the elections, save the vote. Volunteer to be a poll worker, a poll watcher, a right to vote defender. Ask what you can do for your neighbor, your country despite its government. Volunteer to help America live up to its genius and its promise.
On the road to nuclear war
LAWRENCE WITTNER – Lunatics, of course, exist, and some of them, unfortunately, govern modern nations and ignore international law. Even so, although we are on the road to nuclear war, there is still time to take a deep breath, think about where we are going, and turn around.
I Am Somebody Because He Was Somebody
JAMIE HARRISON – Today we mark the passing of Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. — a towering figure in American life, a giant in the Civil Rights Movement, and one of the most consequential architects of modern Democratic Party politics.
The Actual Gavin Newsom Is Much Worse Than You Think
NORMAN SOLOMON – For anyone who wants a truly progressive Democratic Party, Gavin Newsom is bad news.
Gen Z Divorces Maga
ETHAN LIEBERMAN – Gen Z males elected Trump. He swept the group by 14 percentage points. This was just four years after Biden won that demographic by 25 points, an unheard-of swing. And now, says Lieberman, they are swinging away from Trump in huge numbers. But that’s not, explains our mole in Gen Z world, a swing to Democrats.
Where Is Your Line? Which Side Are You On? (Hint: Silence Is a Decision)
ROB OKUN – What has to happen before you actively push back at a government transforming into authoritarian state before our eyes? Will you show up? Will you raise your voice? Will you find a place in the growing resistance movement?
The Last Bilateral Nuclear Weapons Agreement Has Expired. What Now?
By Winslow Myers In his dense and challenging lectures gathered into a book called “The Courage To Be,” the late theologian Paul Tillich sorted our modern anxieties into three existential buckets: first, the anxiety of fate and death, experienced as dread; second,…
Arresting the witness – Don Lemon, the DOJ, and the chilling of press freedom
GEORGE CASSIDY PAYNE – If journalists can be arrested for documenting protest inside a church, the precedent will not remain confined to sacred spaces. It will travel—to campuses, courtrooms, town halls, and streets—wherever institutions demand insulation from scrutiny. A democracy that punishes witnessing does not preserve order. It preserves power, by erasing those who dare to look.
National Shutdown, Minneapolis Nominated for Nobel Prize and Serbia’s Students Blow Whistles
RIVERA SUN – Much is going on in nonviolence demonstrations and presence. Consider and be inspired.
How to turn extreme weather tragedies into climate victories
CATHY ROGERS and MACIEJ MUSKAT – After an extreme weather event, climate organizers can seize the opportunity to push for tangible policy change.
Faith activists are praying with their feet in Minneapolis
ARIEL GOLD – After joining faith leaders in the streets of Minneapolis, Ariel has no doubt that the disciplined, caring and prayerful response of the people to ICE will win.
How Trump’s Spite Derailed a Manufacturing Boom
DAVID MCCALL – Donald Trump promised over and over again to drive wage growth, strengthen manufacturing, and build more prosperous communities. A year into his term, however, there’s no sign of progress.
The Second American Declaration
MEL GURTOV – For the support of a “Second American Declaration,” with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Ending Republican Control Will Require Overcoming the Democratic Leadership
NORMAN SOLOMON – The Democratic establishment shuns the progressive populism that’s vital to effectively counter bogus right-wing populism. And so, the fight to defeat the fascistic GOP and the fight to overcome the power of corporate Democrats are largely the same fight.
What’s it going to take to get to mass strikes?
DANIEL HUNTER – General strikes can have a tremendous impact, but to succeed they require an organized majority, networks of solidarity and resources to weather repression.
King’s Dream Was Never Finished. It Continues to Demand Our Attention
GEORGE CASSIDY PAYNE – King’s dream was never meant to become a relic. It was a summons—urgent then, unfinished now. While he confronted segregation and economic exploitation, his vision was never confined to one era, one struggle, or one identity. It was a call for freedom wherever human beings are denied the full measure of their humanity.
Resistance Builds: ICE Out For Good, Iran Demonstrations and Italy’s National Strike
RIVERA SUN – Mass protests are powerful, often leading to the resignation of political leaders, but following up on a moment of breakthrough remains a challenge for many across the globe.
It Could Be a Wonderful World
LAWRENCE WITTNER – Although it’s tragic that powerful forces seem intent on building an unjust, lawless, and violent planet, let’s not forget that another world remains possible. Indeed, with an organized international effort, evidence shows that it could be a wonderful world.
From Minarets to City Hall: Zohran Mamdani, Islam, and the American Conscience Against War
GEORGE CASSIDY PAYNE – America likes to tell its story as a procession of wars won and enemies defeated. But its deeper moral history, the one that actually bends toward justice, has been written by those who resisted domination: slavery, empire, and the dangerous fiction that violence is the engine of progress. On a cold January afternoon outside City Hall, Zohran Mamdani stepped into that unfinished struggle. As he raised his right hand and took the oath of office as mayor of New York City—the first Muslim ever to do so—he embodied a quieter American tradition: the insistence that conscience belongs in public life.
The Next Frontier of Climate Accountability: Making Big Food Pay Its Ecological Bill
ALEX CRISP – The “polluter pays” principle transformed the energy industry half a century ago. Now, as industrial agriculture drives climate breakdown, deforestation, and water scarcity, experts say it’s time to apply the same rule to our food systems—and make corporations, not consumers, bear the cost of the damage.
AI misinformation is threatening emergency communications. Here’s how to fix that
ETHAN BEATY – Guarding against AI misinformation isn’t about limiting speech. It’s about making reliable, life-saving information rise above the noise quickly, while preserving free public discourse the rest of the time.
Veteran organizer Marshall Ganz sees a path to power under Trump
NADA ZOHDY – Democracy isn’t something you have, it’s something you do. It’s a practice. Practices involve concepts, skills and values, but they are dynamic. There’s always new learning to be had. Everyone builds relationships. Tells stories. Strategizes. We all create structures, which are commitments about how we work together. And we can track the results of our actions — we can count if people did or didn’t come to our meeting.
Whatever Happened to Trump’s ‘Golden Age’ for American Workers?
LAWRENCE S. WITTNER – Although Trump’s second term in office might have provided a “Golden Age” for the President and his fellow billionaires, it has produced harsh and challenging times for American workers.
Another Trump Bribe: 1776 Tax Dollars to Each Soldier
KARY LOVE – An optimist would look to see a rising tsunami of true American patriots refusing the bribe and donating the money to pay off the national debt or to charity, saying, “No Kings, No Caesars,” I am an American. I stand with the Founders, I support the Republic.
When dehumanization becomes policy: Ableist language and the quiet violence of power
GEORGE CASSIDY PAYNE – A president’s words teach a nation who it is permitted to abandon. When we accept language that renders some lives expendable, we set in motion a politics that eventually consumes its own moral center.
How “Woke” Has Been Weaponized
BOB TOPPER – Using language to attack, control, and manipulate others conceals the underlying fear, ignorance, and insecurity of Christian extremists. This tactic serves not only as a mask for their own anxieties, but also as a tool to demean, intimidate, and incite hatred toward those with differing views. . . . Their reliance on language as a weapon derives from a refusal to reconcile faith with actual inquiry and perpetuates discord within American society. . . . No wonder we are so divided.