The man buttering his toast across the table from me at the restaurant was ranting about Donald Trump. “Being a jew,” he said, “I’m thinking about obtaining a Danish passport.” I laughed, supposing he was joking, but he wasn’t.  His chin jutted in my direction like an axe

Donald Trump’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, recently sent this public message to the president: “God spared you in Butler, Pa., to be the most consequential president in a century—maybe ever.”  (“They Said What?” Freethought Today, Aug. 2025, pg. 19)  Blind faith

Christmas Eve in 2024, I was walking home after a delightful brunch with friends. The iron-grey sky promised either rain or snow flurries, so I hunched forward, cutting through the chill air like the boat’s bow, determined to avoid a downturn in the weather.  Ahead of me, a man st

If I were a social scientist studying human behavior, I’d want to understand why wealth tends to bestow status on people. Wealth has its uses, true.  But it has limitations, also. Being lost in the desert, would a lump of gold quench my thirst, heal my blistered feet, or provide a

Not long ago, a friend on Facebook posted a false comment. I responded with a Snopes link that refuted the statement. The friend shot back, “I don’t fact-check other people’s comments if I agree with them.” O-k-a-y. Good to know, I thought. That was a MAGA sentiment if ever I�

Former Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter observed that “democracy cannot survive too much ignorance.” (FFRF, June/July 2025, pg. 17.)  He’s right. Uniformed voters returned a failed former president to the Oval Office in the last election, thinking that change for the sake

A drizzle, more like a fog, dampened the pavement where I stood holding my “Stop Trump” sign.  Minutes later, the drizzle became a downpour.  Fortunately, I was prepared for a change, having buttoned my raincoat to its lapels and covered my sign with heavy plastic.  Drivers had

A young worker came to replace a light plug in my apartment the other day.  I’d complained about the switch before, but he’d never found the trouble.  This time, it sparked in his hands like a firecracker.  “See,” I laughed, amused by his startled expression. “I wasn’t

A woman in her mid-50s, whom I’d known for two decades, recently dropped me from her Facebook circle.  Once an advocate for women’s rights, she acquired a boyfriend, and not long after, I noted changes in the tenor of her remarks.  Each time she defended MAGA values, I countered

The anthropologist Margaret Mead spent her life studying humans and came up with observations that go unchallenged today. One of them is, Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.  But, like the