Americans are used to viewing their history through a triumphalist lens, where we overcome hardships, defeat our British oppressors and create a country where all are free with equal access to opportunities. Obviously, not all of that is true.
The Conversation
Debating Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, 1st Transgender Woman in Individual Sports at Olympics
When Laurel Hubbard was announced as the first out transgender woman athlete to compete in an individual sport at an Olympic Games, controversy wasn’t far behind. One prominent commentator even called it a “disaster for women’s sport.” The arguments are emotive and polarizing, and often ignore key facts.
With Support for Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashad Becomes One of Several Deans to Tweet Themselves Into Trouble
Rashad sent out a controversial Tweet in support of her onetime “TV husband,” Bill Cosby, after a court overturned his sexual assault conviction. “FINALLY!!!!” Rashad wrote in the Tweet. “A terrible wrong is being righted — a miscarriage of justice is corrected!” This prompted critics and Howard students to call for her resignation.
Awakening from the Trump Nightmare
Forget impeachment. It ain’t going to happen, not when 19 Senate Republicans would have to join Democrats to pull it off. But public opinion is a different matter, argues Bernard-Henri Lévy.
Trump’s Dangerous America First Campaign
Trump holds his own supporters in the greatest contempt as he stokes and manipulates their rage, rooted in frustration with stagnant wages and fear of the unknown. Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric has helped to take fears to the next level.
Islam’s Contempt for Self-Criticism: From Salman Rushdie to Kamel Daoud
When the Algerian journalist Kamel Daoud linked rapes in Germany on New Year’s Eve to Muslims’ extreme sexual deprivation and “unhealthy relationship with women, their body, and desire,” he was vilified, and silenced.
Benghazi Syndrome: Obama Learns the Wrong Lesson
There was clear support from Security Council members for the initial military action, which unquestionably spared thousands of innocent lives in Benghazi, argues Gareth Evans.
America on Xanax: The Disunited State of the Union
An election season defined by popular fury aimed at Wall Street, Muslims, trade deals, Washington, police shootings, President Barack Obama, Republicans, immigrants, and other targets.
Obama in Cuba:
The Limits of “Engagement”
Indeed, if engagement is supposed to result in political change, US engagement with Cuba is most likely doomed to fail, writes Jorge G. Castañeda. After all, trade and investment have done nothing to bring about a democratic opening in Vietnam over the last 20 years.
The Closing of the Academic Mind
Any denial of academic freedom is a blow struck against the meaning of a university. The irony today is that some of the most worrying attacks on academic freedom have been coming from inside university.
The Agony of Hillary Clinton
This impressive, remarkably intelligent woman just doesn’t have the feel for politics that is demanded at the highest levels. For one thing, she’s simply not a very good politician.
Why Is International Law Failing to Protect Sharks?
A key meeting this month on migratory sharks represent an important opportunity for advancing regulations to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of endangered shark species.
Terrorism Isn’t the Biggest Threat Facing America. It’s Barely a Threat at All.
Ignorance, misplaced fear, irresponsible media and blustering presidential candidates have made more of terrorism than it deserves while sidelining the one weapon at America’s disposal in the fight: smarts.
Low Gas Prices Are Great For You and Me. For World Security? Not So Much.
Banditry, corruption and tyranny from Saudi Arabia to Iraq to Russia depends on high oil prices. As prices fall, the bandits in charge will quarrel more among themselves – and with their neighbors.
Did Goebbels Win? Nazis Are Gone (Mostly), But Deadly Propaganda Is Thriving
It’s not just ISIS: the increasingly sophisticated use of hate speech directed against minorities and migrants has been a worrisome trend in Europe and the United States. Bombs and bullets alone cannot defeat political poison.
Taking the Pulse of Crazy: The Election Season on Eve of Iowa and New Hampshire
The electorate is angrier and more fearful than in recent presidential contests, and both Trump and Cruz are capitalizing on it, but as the field narrows, Trump’s appeal may not be as lasting.
How to Defeat Islamist Extremists in 2016
We should think of the Middle East and Islam as being in a process of transition, with the West helping it along: the Middle East toward rule-based and religiously tolerant societies, and Islam toward its rightful place as a faith of progress and humanity, argues Tony Blair.
The Real Enemy: Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabism, Mother to al-Qaeda, ISIS and the Taliban
If you want to know who inspired the Taliban, al-Qaeda and ISIS, look further than America’s “friend” and ally, Saudi Arabia, which has been financing the spread of Wahhabism’s lethal adulteration of Islam for years.
“We Might Be One Terrorist Act Away From a Trump Presidency”
A spectacular murder spree by Islamists could spook Americans enough to vote for the greatest fear-monger. Anything is possible, but Ian Buruma doesn’t believe American voters would be that stupid.
America’s Responsibility for Enabling ISIS, And How to End Blowback Terrorism
More wars – especially CIA-backed, Western-led wars – will solve nothing. By contrast, a surge of investment in education and sustainable development is the real key to building a more stable future for the Middle East and the world, argues Jeffrey Sachs.
We Are At War
No one wants to repeat the errors of the US under President George W. Bush; but to use those errors as an alibi to avoid confronting the world as it is would merely be an error of a different sort.
The United States Has Been Dithering on Climate Change Since LBJ. Enough.
despite 50 years of growing scientific consensus, the warming of the earth continues unabated. Well-funded lobby groups have sowed doubt among the public and successfully downplayed the urgency of the threat.
Inequality in the Age of Uber
For fairness as well as for efficiency reasons, rights and benefits should be attached to individuals, not to companies or employment status, and should be fully portable across sectors and jobs.
Vaccine Skepticism and Militant Islamism
Politics and irrational fears rooted in anti-government sentiment dictate the response to polio vaccination programs in several countries dominated by Islamic insurgencies.
A Third Palestinian Intifada Is Inevitable. Intransigence and Extremism Make It So.
Israel’s occupation policy has undermined the state’s political and ethical foundations, while turning Prime Minister Netanyahu into a hostage of forces even more extreme than he is.
Pope Francis’s Challenge to America
Pope Francis is challenging conservative Americans–and presidential candidates–to rethink their belligerence to Cuba, Palestinians and action on global warming, writes Chris Patten.
World Warms to Climate Change Treaty, But Europe, Not U.S. Is Setting the Standard
December’s UN conference on climate change in Paris may lead to a treaty as a consensus has emerged that it’s also about economic challenges like poverty, sustainable development, and the wellbeing of future generations.
Boots on the Ground to Fight ISIS? Sure, But Arab and Turkish Boots, Not American
Republican candidates for president are right about calling for military force against ISIS, wrong about the kind of force that should fight: only Sunni fighters from Arab lands and Turkey can effectively defeat ISIS, argues Joseph Nye.
Bill Gates: The Rich World’s Responsibility to Those Who’ll Suffer Most From Global Warming
Climate change can’t be stopped tomorrow, but its devastating effects on millions of the poorest farmers can be reduced if richer countries invest in cleaner technologies now, and help farmers better adapt, Bill Gates writes.
Why You’re Getting Poorer: iPhones Aren’t The Economic Engine Cars and Electricity Were
Robert Gordon argues rising standards of living brought by cars, indoor plumbing and electricity can;t be replaced by iPhones and the internet. Martin Feldstein disagrees.
Capitalism Doesn’t Cause Poverty. Its Absence Does.
The world’s poorest countries are not characterized by naive trust in capitalism, but by utter distrust, which leads to heavy government intervention and regulation of business. Under such conditions, capitalism does not thrive and economies remain poor.
The Population Bomb Reloads: How Humans Cause Mass Extinctions
The world’s expanding human population is in competition with the populations of most other animals. Our population bomb has already claimed its first casualties. They will not be the last, argue Paul and Anne Ehrlich.
Raise the Gas Tax Already
The federal gas tax has been stuck at 18.4 cents a gallon since 1993, lowest among advanced countries. Yet Congress just adopted a three-month stopgap measure, kicking the gas can down the road for the 35th time since 2009.
Clowns on the Campaign Trail and the
Revolt Against Professional Politicians
Donald Trump is part of a wider phenomenon of disaffected voters turning away from mainstream political parties and following populists and political entertainers, or clowns if you like, argues Ian Buruma.
Genesis Was Wrong: Man’s Dominion Over Animals Is Stewardship, Not Ownership
Pope Francis has now rejected mainstream Christian view, insisting that being created in God’s image doesn’t mean dominion over the earth or absolute domination over other creatures.
Barack Obama Stands Up to the Warmongers
The US is not a partisan in the Shia-Sunni struggle. If anything, the US confronts mainly Sunni terrorism, funded from Saudi Arabia, not Shia terrorism backed by Iran.
The Iranian Nukes Deal and the
Horseman of the Jewish Apocalypse
Netanyahu is an ideologue of Jewish catastrophe. By this logic, risks and challenges cannot be approached with a view toward resolution, yielding instead to paranoia and antagonism, writes Shlomo Ben-Ami.
Reclaiming Islam’s Enlightenment From Its Fundamentalist Hijackers
Granting that more than a few Muslims back the hijackers’ extremism, what is needed is cultural exchanges instead of armed, panicky overreactions,
Good and Bad of the Iran Nuclear Deal: Caution and Selective Cooperation Ahead
The prospect that the agreement could keep Iran without nuclear weapons for 15 years is its main attraction. Sanctions alone could not have accomplished this, and using military force would have entailed considerable risk with uncertain results.
Jews Then, Muslims Now: How Imprudent Judgments Desecrate Western Values
To assume that all Muslims think alike because of their religious background, that they have “a mind” rather than individual thoughts, is as big a mistake as to assume to know the minds of Jews, Christians, or anyone else.
Backdoor Snooping: Why the U.S. Is Wrong to Oppose Full Encryption of Your iPhone
The U.S. argues that the country will be less safe if the proper authorities have no “backdoor” – a piece of code that lets them in. Software engineers call backdoors “vulnerabilities,” deliberate efforts to weaken security.
The Climate Pope’s Message: Reversing Global Warming is Humanity’s Responsibility
If we do not change our behavior quickly, we may well lose the environmental stability upon which our planet – and our lives – depends. This is the main message of the pope’s encyclical.
Quit Turning Your Backs on Desperate Migrants. Help Them Instead.
Like Americans’ ancestors, migrants are fleeing poverty, war, or oppression, or are searching for a better life in a new land. Blocking that flow, argues Kofi Anann, is bound to fail, with disastrous consequences for human lives.
To Fight Obesity, Get Government Involved: Taxes, Regulations, Education
Successful efforts to improve public health — smoking bans, seat-belt laws, and speed limits–have always involved legislation and regulation supplementing education, argues Harvard’s Kenneth Rogoff.
The Soccer Mafia
FIFA’s secrecy, its intimidation of the rivals to those who run it, and its reliance on favors, bribes, and called debts do show disturbing parallels to the world of organized crime, writes Ian Buruma.
Forget Its Cause. Fighting Global Warming Is Good For Your Health. Period.
Governments often see climate change as too costly to address. In fact, it is too costly to ignore, with the prevention of disastrous climate change tied to immediate health benefits and health cost savings from the reduction of air pollution.
From “Sustainable Tourism” to Full Employment: Right and Wrong of Smart Development
The UN’s 169 priorities for sustainable development are too many and are like having none at all, argues Bjorn Lomborg. So he asked leading economists to evaluate which targets would do the most good for every dollar.
When Liberal Democracy Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be
The puzzle is not why democracy so often turns out to be illiberal. It is that liberal democracy can ever emerge.
Don’t Tell Rick Scott: Pope Francis Wants Action on Global Warming, Steaming Conservatives
Pope Francis’s call for action against global warming has many conservatives in the US up in arms, but his message is a matter of morality, argues Jeffrey Sachs.
It’s the Living Standards, Stupid: Britain’s Silent Election and Its Lesson For Democracies
As in the US, too many voters do not feel better off despite high growth and lower unemployment because average incomes have barely begun to rise, following seven painful years.