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Can Space Exploration Restore American Faith in Science?

by John Baick

The 60th anniversary of the first manned space flight is time to reflect on the devolution of space exploration from an expression of science as a public and collective enterprise to a vanity project of fame-seeking billionaires.

What Will be the Terms of Racial Forgiveness in America?

by J. Chester Johnson

Much of today's antiracist discourse among white Americans resembles what anti-Nazi theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer called "cheap grace" – self-forgivness without cost or atonement for crimes that, while past, nevertheless are deeply present today.

A Reason Republicans May Not Wish to Proclaim Themselves the Party of Lincoln

by Tim Lynch

The fledgling Republican Party needed to expand its appeal beyond its antislavery position, which remained its greatest asset and liability through the end of the Civil War. The party risks national ruin if it becomes the party of Trump and his Big Lie about the 2020 election results.

Political Precedent for the Trump Cult of Personality

by Donne Levy

Their differences in character and personality should not obscure similarities between Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump. Both men's ability to flout the truth and survive serious scandals, plus their dalliances with white racism, make their political careers resemble cults of personality.

Paying the Price: Our Veterans and the Burden of Parkinson's Disease

by Ray Dorsey

Parkinson's Disease is the fastest-growing brain disease. It affects people worldwide, but American veterans are particularly affected. The nation must recognize the harm caused by chemical exposure and head injury, and commit the resources necessary to help veterans and all those affected. 

A Personal and Family History of Encountering Prejudice and Intolerance

by Ron Steinman

The author experienced antisemitic prejudice as a college student, but learned more about the pervasiveness of prejudice living in Asia as the husband of a Vietnamese woman during a time of anti-American sentiment, and then when living in suburban America as part of a mixed-race family. While it's necessary to understand the historical roots of racial bigotry, it's also always personal. 

Teachers, Keep Hope about the Minds You Influence

by Leslie Kitchen

For teachers of history, success can be uncertain and hard to measure. One writer calls for hope and faith in the impact teachers make on their students. 

Economic Justice and Political Stability Require More Progressive Taxation

by Joseph Preston Baratta

As populist anger at economic unfairness surges on both the left and right, the time has come to return the United States to the progressive taxation of the mid-20th century to ensure both economic balance and political stability. 

What Comes Next?

by Stephanie Hinnershitz

In 1979, Asian American leaders testified to Congress about problems of discrimination, opportunity and hostility facing their communities. The official response largely enshrined a "model minority" myth that obscured ongoing problems behind a celebratory narrative of inclusion. Waves of anti-Asian violence in the 1980s belied that story, and warn us not to minimize the climate of hostility Asian Americans face today.

Is History Ready to Judge the Trump Presidency?

by Samuel (Shenger) Zhou

Understandings of presidential success and failure might have to be revised for Donald Trump; while Trump failed to win reelection, his media tactics will allow him, unlike the previous Republican president George W. Bush, to retain control of his party and remain a national force even out of office. Is this the future of the presidency?

Ammon Bundy's Ongoing Religious War

by Betsy Gaines Quammen

Ammon Bundy has been looking for another battle since the takeover of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge. With a new administration promising increased regulation of public lands use, he may choose one soon. 

Can Biden Fulfill JFK's Incomplete Promise of a Peace Presidency?

by Martin Halpern

Today's global problems require leadership from a "peace presidency" that prioritizes global public health, international cooperation, and human rights over militarism and arms. 

Will the Supreme Court Uphold the NCAA's Version of Amateurism?

by Ronald A. Smith

A pending Supreme Court case will test whether the NCAA can bar student athletes from making money from products that make use of their images, a form of property right of "Name, Image, or Likeness." A historian who wrote an amicus brief says the NCAA's claim to protect the amateurism of the athletes is selective and hypocritical.

The Same Mistakes Twice? Teaching Dr. Seuss

by Walter Kamphoefner

Step back from the current media controversy and consider how Theodor Geisel's cartooning illustrate the contradictory nature of America's posture toward foreign and domestic racism in the World War II era, a pivotal moment for the nation that must be understood in all its complication. 

Why Deb Haaland Matters

by Michael Leroy Oberg and Joel Helfrich

New Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's nomination signals a hopeful turn for "those who value the environment and appreciate the 172-year long historic relationship between Interior and America's Native Nations."

Policing, Protest, and the Role of the University

by David S. Busch

Student activists at Northwestern, in other words, are asking a similar question that emerged out of the 1960s and famous protest moments at Jackson State and Kent State in 1970: What should be the university’s public purpose?

Has the One World Idea's Time Come Again?

by Samuel Zipp

Can remembering the “one world” vision for America’s global role—largely forgotten today ­–­ help us get beyond both America First and the “liberal world order”?

Incognegro, Part II: How New York Law Enforcement Worked to Destroy Core

by L.E.J. Rachell

Ray Wood's memoir alleges that as a rookie NYPD detective he was coerced to act as an agent provocateur to convince members of New York's Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) chapters to commit crimes or other acts that would discredit and destroy the movement. The NYPD and FBI could clear the air by releasing their files on infiltration of Black-led organizations. 

White Terrorism: From Post-Civil-War Lynchings to the Present

by Walter G. Moss

The Capitol riots of January 6 echoed elements of mob lynchings in the participants' binary us/them view of society, a conservative white Protestant religious culture, and a willingness to accept rumor and conspiracy as justifications for their actions.

Filibusters Create Legislative Paralysis. Make Them Rare or Eliminate Them

by Robert Brent Toplin

The only conceivable rationale for the filibuster – that it promotes compromise and bipartisan action – clearly no longer holds. It's time to allow a Senate majority to govern.