Come So Far, So Far to Go

On August 28, 1963, one of the most important American leaders of the 20th century -- Martin Luther King, Jr. -- put his unforgettable signature on the Civil Rights Movement in America.  His rousing "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered in front of the Lincoln Memorial that day, was the poetic exclamation point to a peaceful, non-violent march on the nation's capital.

Welcome Home, American Heroes

The great thing about democracy is that all citizens have the opportunity to make their voices heard on issues of public policy.  The messy thing about democracy is that this political liberty inevitably leads to social conflict, as different voices express different views and we wrestle with a search for some resolution.  Ah, but the triumph of democracy is when a multitude of disparate voices all set aside their individual opinions on a difficult issue and find the right notes to become one choir.

The Mosque: Beyond the First Amendment

A sure-fire way to tell when a public issue in the U.S. has become overrun by emotion, at the expense of reason, is when the proclamation of a basic constitutional principle spurs dramatic reactions of support and opposition from folks on either side of the issue.

Keynes vs. Smith?

Last week, President Obama made a visit to Michigan in order to celebrate the fact that the Big Three American automakers — GM, Chrysler and Ford — were all operating at a profit again. He even went so far as to make a bold declaration that American car companies had not only rebounded from their deep structural problems that had driven the industry into decline for years, but that they were on the road to resuming their place as global leaders once again.