Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson The Trump administration is sending confusing messages concerning federal drug policy. Last month, President Trump signed an executive order that declared fentanyl was “a weapon of mass destruction.” Although the phraseology may be extreme and misleading, the intent is appropriate. The CDC estimates that at least 300,000 Americans have died due to fentanyl and other related synthetic opioids Three days later, President Trump signed another executive order that reclassified marijuana from a Schedule 1 drug to a Schedule…

Kerby Anderson Pundits and politicians have spent decades lamenting the erosion of the middle class. They point to rising prices in America while many jobs were being sent overseas. While some in the middle class improved their financial status and became part of the upper class, many more discovered that the goal posts moved. They now found themselves in a lower income category. Compare 1975 to 2025. Families with an annual income of $100,000 five decades ago were doing well….

Kerby Anderson Last month, the Trump administration issued a National Security Strategy. The document has traditionally been a list of national security concerns and how the administration plans to deal with them. The Trump document is different, and thus, has been controversial. The paper reminds Americans that the past few decades have been chaotic. I suspect that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had significant input since it argues that America lost its way after the Cold War. That is what…

Kerby Anderson Mitt Romney, writing in The New York Times proclaims, “it’s time for rich people like me to pay more.” Nate Jackson responds: “Feel free to write a larger check to the U.S. Treasury. Go right ahead. No one’s stopping you, or any other rich person.” The editors of The Wall Street Journal agree but also add “please spare the middle class trying to become rich.” Before he was governor and a presidential candidate, Mitt Romney made his fortune…

Penna Dexter I knew before I was a mom that, if and when I had children, I didn’t want to work outside the home. Still, my education prepared me for a career. I went to college in the 70’s when feminism was taking hold. After graduating, I spent more than 8 years working for a bank, first in systems engineering and then in commercial lending. I think my opportunities there had something to do with the growing feminist movement. By…

Kerby Anderson You could say that William Shatner is the most famous astronaut in the world. Until recently, he was not a real astronaut. Shatner is best known for playing Captain Kirk in the Star Trek TV series and movies. Four years ago he did go into space. And it had such an impact that he started crying and now has written about it in his memoir, Boldly Go. At age 90, he had a life-changing experience by going into…

Kerby Anderson Let me begin by wishing you a Happy New Year. At the start of this New Year, I wanted to pass on some advice. In previous commentaries, I have talked about the value of using this time of year to change something in your life. There is nothing magical about using January 1 as a start date, but why not use it to improve yourself? First, I would recommend you pick just one thing to change. If you…

Kerby Anderson One of the most influential figures in the development of the American government was the English philosopher John Locke. Thomas Jefferson explained that many of the ideas he drafted into the Declaration of Independence came from Locke. Joe Loconte, who has been a guest on my radio program, has written an insightful essay on “The Gospel According to Locke.” As you might gather from the title, he spends much of his essay showing the connections between Locke’s philosophy…

Kerby Anderson Constitutional lawyer John Whitehead used the recent Bill of Rights Day to illustrate the cultural and political attacks on our fundamental rights. Here are a few examples: We have a First Amendment, but you “can be persecuted for criticizing the government, prosecuted for reporting on government wrongdoing.” You can also be “fined and jailed for exercising your religious beliefs.” Although we have a Second Amendment, owning a gun can get you put on a government watch list. The…

Kerby Anderson As this year is winding down, you may be thinking of any final gifts you might want to give to your church or Christian organizations. If you are listening to this right now, I would certainly recommend you support the radio station that is carrying this commentary. If you are reading it, you might follow the links to the platform that provides it. One of the issues of Outlook produced by the Point of View radio program focused…

Penna Dexter New research on the gender divide shows that young men want marriage and family more than young women do. The Daily Signal reports that, as recently as 1993, 83 percent of 12th grade girls told researchers they were likely to get married, while only 76 percent of boys that age thought they would tie the knot. Two recent surveys reveal that the status quo has flipped. A November Pew Research study shows 74 percent of 12th grade boys…