“Our society increasingly has a problem confronting evil (which, like good, is essentially a religious concept). It’s frightening to think that a sane person could ruthlessly slaughter five children, kill and cannibalize fifteen young men or murder six million strangers. It’s actually comforting to attribute such horrors to insanity. Mental illness can be treated with […]
Archives for February 2002
Thoughts On The State Of The Union
If, as I believe, one of a President’s key responsibilities is to be “teacher-in-chief”, George Bush was in top form for his State of the Union message. Plainer words are rarely as well spoken by a political leader and critical passages of the speech about war and the evil we face could not have been […]
Humanity In The Balance
Consistent with the soul-searching experience and dialogue that I discussed in the January issue as a “useful by-product” of the war on terrorism will be the debate orchestrated by the President’s Council on Bioethics over the next couple of years. Leon Kass seems the ideal choice to lead this panel and, if reports of the […]
From MLK To Cornel West: Progress?
Recently I re-read Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1963 classic “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, as powerful a testament of the American ideal as has been written this side of The Declaration of Independence. There is no better exposition on natural law as it applies to contemporary public policy issues. In reading these words, I couldn’t help […]
Everybody Should Get Something
The title of this essay is a direct quote from Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, referring to the families of the victims of the 9-11 attack, including those who are illegal aliens. This is the ultimate entitlement sentiment and demonstrates just how far the entitlement mentality has reached. This Federal program is unprecedented, but now sets […]
Bob Dole And The Media Circus
About a week ago, I happened to read a “letter to the editor” from former Senator Bob Dole that really resonated. In it, he laments the confusion of the media in its failure to reflect the concerns of most Americans in reporting current events. In part, Dole says, “Perhaps I’ve lost touch with the soul […]