Government, Political Science

Changing Racist Hearts: Abolishing the slave trade.  Few examples of systemic racism are more glaring than the African slave trade.  British parliamentarian William Wilberforce led a grueling twenty-year struggle to outlaw it.  Inspired by a former slave trader, he became a model that current anti-racism activists could do well to emulate.  (Short op-ed)

Who Said That?  “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.”  “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  “Money is the root of all evil.”  “God helps those who help themselves.”  Who made these statements?  Learning who actually said them – and, in some cases, what they really said and meant – might surprise you.  (Short op-ed)

Jordan’s Moderate Arab Spring.  As we sat in a Parliamentary conference room talking with Jordan’s Senate president and his colleagues, we could see why Jordan’s Arab Spring has been more subdued than most.  (Short op-ed by Rusty Wright and Meg Korpi)

Evangelicals’ Image Problem.  God should have sued Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson for defamation, says New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof.  “Few words conjure as much distaste in liberal circles as ‘evangelical Christian,’” he writes.  So why does he sing evangelicals’ praises?  (Short op-ed)

Gay Mayor, Christians in Surprising Alliance.  Portland, Oregon, mayor Sam Adams gets “calls from mayors of liberal cities all across the United States asking me if I’ve been abducted by aliens.”  He tells them the churches and the city really do cooperate in social services and that “we’re better for it.”  (Short op-ed)

Needed: Ethical Bailout.  Interwoven among news of economic turmoil and government rescues in the banking, investment, insurance and automobile industries are some wild tales of greed, deception, and bad choices.  Companies look to government for financial bailouts.  Where do we look for an ethical bailout?  (Short op-ed)

Honest Abe and Illinois’ Governor.  U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald claimed that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s “political corruption crime spree” would make Abraham Lincoln “roll over in his grave.”  What might Lincoln advise regarding the scandal?  (Short op-ed)

Veep Logic?  When you’re the Vice President of the United States and your office uses farfetched arguments to defend your policies, maybe it’s time to review your logic.  (Short op-ed)

“Mistakes Were Made.”  If you’re the nation’s top cop, you know it’s a bad day when pundits compare you to Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake.  Was US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales using the “past exonerative” verb tense?  What constitutes “true confession?”  (Short op-ed)

Amazing Grace Movie: Lessons for Today’s Politicians. Can God and politics mix?  Leaders contemplating faith-in-action would do well to look back two centuries to William Wilberforce, the famous British parliamentarian who led a grueling but inspiring twenty-year struggle to outlaw the slave trade.  (Short op-ed)

CNN’s Redemption Project: Could you forgive your loved-one’s killer?  When someone offends you, do you get even?  Ignore?  Seek to reconcile?  Suppose their offense were killing your loved one or maiming them – or you – for life.  Would you meet with the perpetrator and talk it out?  Van Jones presents compelling, moving, true stories of offenders encountering the offended.  (Short op-ed)