Tag Archives: democracy

No, Spkr Johnson: “No Kings” IS “Love America”

Posted on October 13, 2025 by gdkrenz

We Americans love to label things, no doubt. And labeling things can be important in politics. Labels can give us a shorthand, and they can serve as rallying cries. At this point, we can’t for instance any longer avoid calling … Continue reading →

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Higher ed solidarity, please!

Posted on October 8, 2025 by gdkrenz

Last week, the Trump administration sent to nine universities A Compact for Excellence in Higher Education, the idea being that institutions that sign on to the compact would receive “preferential access to federal funds.” This is the latest effort by … Continue reading →

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Whispering in the Storm

Posted on October 3, 2025 by gdkrenz

The daily nightmares continue. There are reasons for hope – more on that another time. But there continue to be reasons to fear, perhaps most significant among them is that the more Trump feels cornered, the more desperate his actions … Continue reading →

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Two crises

Posted on September 25, 2025 by Daniel Little

I’ve been thinking about our discussion last night, which was a very good one. One thing that became more clear for me is that we face two existential crises in the United States, not just one. Most visibly, we witness … Continue reading →

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Free Speech Under Assault

Posted on September 19, 2025 by gdkrenz

The Trump Administration is engaged in a concerted campaign against Americans’ First Amendment free speech rights. Free speech is a core democratic value, directly related to human dignity, to human progress, and to the full exercise of citizenship. It is … Continue reading →

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“Cry ‘Havoc!’, and let slip the dogs of war”

Posted on September 12, 2025 by gdkrenz

I’ve been trying to think about what to say about Charlie Kirk’s murder. The internet is overflowing with reaction and commentary, some of it good, much of it not. As I try to digest the murder itself and its larger … Continue reading →

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Dan Little on inclusive multicultural democracy

Posted on September 8, 2025 by gdkrenz

Our friend and fellow blogger Dan Little has a wonderful academic blog, Understanding Society, that deals with issues “in philosophy of social science and the workings of the social world.” Dan is a very clear expositor of philosophical ideas, and … Continue reading →

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Higher education, quo vadis?

Posted on September 4, 2025 by gdkrenz

Two discouraging but one very hopeful story about Trump’s and Trumpists’ higher ed attacks. Let’s do the bad news first. First, Michael Schill, the president of Northwestern (my alma mater), announced today that he is resigning, following tremendous pressure from … Continue reading →

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Where is the Democratic Party?

Posted on September 3, 2025 by gdkrenz

Ali Velshi a few days ago had an excellent monologue on the failure of the leadership of the Democratic Party to rise to our current occasion (~ 9 min). This is an existential moment, not politics-as-usual, and yet – as … Continue reading →

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“for social advancement of the common people”

Posted on August 30, 2025 by gdkrenz

On September 4, 1910, Labor organizer Samuel Gompers penned a piece in the New York Times on the significance of Labor Day. Here is a link to the NYT archival record, but there is actually cleaner reading version to be … Continue reading →

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