Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson G.K. Chesterton once observed that, “When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing; they believe in anything.” Dennis Prager starts off with that quote to illustrate that nature has become a substitute god for many today. That’s not surprising. Many pagan religions had some form of nature worship. They worshipped the sun god, the moon god, or the goddess of fertility. Today there is a religious foundation to the environmental movement. We need to protect…

Penna Dexter In one of those ZOOM get-togethers that have become a social lifeline lately, participants were asked to reveal their worst and best experiences during life in the coronavirus lockdown. My worst is an underlying angst and sleeplessness I can’t shake as I watch businesses and workers idled and try to swallow the passage of trillions of dollars in relief and stimulus.  I could go on about this. And I did, starting our time together on a real downer. …

Kerby Anderson Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives want to investigate the US response to the coronavirus pandemic. In Watergate investigative style, they want to know what the president knew and when he knew it. It looks like merely another attempt to criticize the president. But if they are really interested in knowing what we knew back in January, the person they should question is Senator Tom Cotton. While most of Congress was preoccupied with other matters (like impeachment),…

Kerby Anderson We are told by medical experts and politicians that we have to set aside many of our constitutional rights during this lockdown in order to keep people safe. And we are assured that this sacrifice of our freedoms is only temporary. But are we setting a precedent? Who would have predicted that a virus would become the justification for some governors and mayors to lay siege to our civil liberties? Six months ago, if I told you that…

Kerby Anderson Yesterday I talked about the need for economists and political leaders to create an endgame to the current lockdown on our society. The obvious objection to this can be found in the numerous clichés that portray any discussion as an attempt to trade dollars for death. The governor of New York, for example, scolds, “No one should be talking about social Darwinism for the sake of the stock market.” He argues that, “We will not put a dollar…

Kerby Anderson The country has effectively been in lockdown for weeks, but many are asking when all of this will change. President Trump optimistically hoped Americans could be in church on Easter. Yesterday was a reminder that we aren’t even close to bringing normalcy to our society. We need to start talking about an endgame, or to use a military term, we need an exit strategy. Epidemiologists and infectious disease specialists rightly focus on the medical health of humans. But…

Penna Dexter What has COVID-19 done to the Europe that coalesced into a formal union in 1993 meant to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital? What’s become of its borderless economy? As the coronavirus was spreading across Europe, the German government announced a ban on the export of surgical face masks. Shipments on the way to neighboring countries, members — mind you — of the European Union, were turned back at the border. The Wall Street…

Kerby Anderson Although America is certainly a divided nation, the divisions between the various tribes are not as great as you might be led to believe. Yes, the social and political debates are loud and intense, but the fringe, rather than the mainstream, gets most of the attention. A study done by the group “More in Common” discovered “The Hidden Tribes of America.” The researchers discovered that a small group (8%) in the liberal wing and a smaller group (6%)…

Kerby Anderson The term “anti-Semitism” has been loosely thrown around for years, and used recently to label the president, even though he has Jewish people in his extended family. It is about time to give specificity to a real problem that has often been redefined and demeaned by misuse. At the core of anti-Semitic thought is that Jews are the source of many social problems and thus the Jews are guilty of everything. This is what is so crazy about…

Kerby Anderson The US Constitution reminds us that the responsibility for our government rests with “we the people.” In order for us to be effective, we need to know something about our government and our history. Citizens in countries ruled by dictators don’t need to know much since the major decisions are made for them. But we Americans should be educated and informed. Unfortunately, we are not well educated and informed. A study done by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship…

Kerby Anderson A recent research paper concluded that first responders are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty. The Ruderman White Paper on Mental Health and Suicide of First Responders is a chilling look at the sobering statistics of the lives of men and women who protect us each day. The paper explains that, “Police and firefighters, when compared to the general civilian population, are at heightened risk for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicide.”…