Vibrant suspicion of government is the bedrock of democracy and our robust civil society. But it also means we’re unsure of what to do with our our own government.
Willing the good to everyone doesn’t mean we ought to contrive a cheap reconciliation that ignores the danger presented by Donald Trump to our society and the world.
It is not unreasonable to fear that Trump will govern as he campaigned—as an authoritarian, a threat
to the rule of law, an agent of disorder on the world stage.
Democrats may see themselves as heirs to the progressive tradition dating to FDR. But that does not describe the party that made Hillary Clinton its nominee.
As U.S. Catholic leaders elect the latest head of its national conference, there are few signs that they are willing to embrace the pastoral priorities of the pope.
It’s not true that the political coalition that elected Barack Obama died on November 8. That alliance maintained its national advantage, as the popular vote shows.
The USCCB meeting offers another opportunity to ditch a style of culture-war Catholicism that has failed to persuade even many of the faithful in the pews.
Assessing blame can be useful. But it could also be paralyzing at the very moment when Trump’s foes, and also some of his enablers, need to take responsibility.
Trump may be what sixteenth-century Catholic theologians were worried about, but Luther wouldn’t have recognized him as a Christian any more than the pope would.
From the archives: The presidential candidate of one of our two political parties is a semi-fascist with a gift for mobilizing millions. What is to be done?
