Category: Politics & Society
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The Bill of Rights, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Federal Discretion
Americans love the Bill of Rights in the same way toddlers love the concept of “mine.” They clutch it, wave it around, and shout about it—without any measurable understanding of how it works, where it comes from, or who gets to decide what it means when the rubber meets the boot. Take the Second Amendment.…
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Selective Indignation: The Rot at the Core of Our Politics
By The Author When Paul Pelosi was bludgeoned with a hammer in his own home, the nation should have recoiled in horror. Instead, many on the right snickered, spread conspiracy theories, and treated the assault as fodder for memes. This wasn’t just cruelty; it was a symptom of a deeper disease in our politics: selective…
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The Psychology of MAGA: Why the Movement Still Holds Millions in Its Grip
When history looks back on early-21st-century America, the MAGA movement will not be remembered simply as a political brand or a partisan slogan. It will be remembered as a profound emotional event—an identity quake that reshaped the national psyche. What began as a campaign tagline evolved into a cultural force, a quasi-religious movement that made…
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Digging for Distraction: Why Dangerous Jobs Keep America Together
Every few years, the national conversation circles back to the question of whether America should “bring back” certain jobs—coal mining, steel forging, offshore drilling, logging, and the like. Economists warn these industries are outdated. Safety experts note they’re among the most dangerous professions in the world. Environmentalists recoil at the ecological costs. But here’s a…
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The Inversion, Reconsidered: When a Wharton Graduate Says Medicine Should Pay the Patient
When Donald Trump said prescription drug prices could be cut “by 200, 300, even 500 percent,” most commentators treated the remark as another example of innumeracy. That reaction assumes ignorance. A more interesting—and more unsettling—interpretation assumes the opposite: intentional inversion by someone who understands how pricing, rents, and leverage actually work. Trump is not a…
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The Shiny New Chains of “Restorative Service”
America has always had a paradoxical relationship with freedom. We brand ourselves as the land of liberty while tolerating—often celebrating—systems that deny it. Now, in an era when authoritarian nostalgia is finding new purchase, a disturbing idea is taking root: the re-packaging of antebellum values for a 21st-century audience. Call it Restorative Service. Don’t say…
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When the Car Becomes a Coffin: Police Violence and the Illusion of Threat
There is a terrible irony in the way cars figure into America’s recurring story of police violence. The car is the quintessential symbol of American freedom—mobility, independence, a life lived on open highways. Yet again and again, a vehicle becomes a coffin when police officers, armed with a hair-trigger sense of danger, fire into them.…
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The Red Lines of Civilization: Why Some Political Actions Must Never Be Justified
Civilization does not survive by accident. It endures because societies draw boundaries—ethical and institutional guardrails—that channel ambition and conflict into constructive rather than destructive outlets. Yet throughout history, political actors have been tempted to reach for blunt, destructive tools that promise immediate control. These actions may appear effective, even seductive, but they corrode the very…
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Reinvesting in Ourselves: How Nation-Building Lifts the Middle
In recent decades, the dominant script for economic policy in many countries has revolved around tax cuts, deregulation, and prioritizing returns to capital. But this model has reached its limits—particularly when judged by how median households fare. If we want sustainable, inclusive growth, the better script is the one in which the state invests in…
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“Made in America” Is a Myth — And That’s Okay
By almost any economic, logistical, or industrial measure, the dream of an entirely “Made in America” product — from raw materials to final packaging — is just that: a dream. More than a policy slogan or branding campaign, it’s a comforting fantasy, one that suggests American strength lies in making everything ourselves. But in today’s…
