Opinion

GUEST COLUMN, Steven Wilson, Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research

Trump’s new prohibitions could prove as harmful as the misguided campaigns they were meant to arrest

President Trump’s sweeping dictate to end what he terms “unlawful DEI practices” is meeting fierce resistance. The National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers and the ACLU all filed suit in opposition.

And last month, three federal judges — two appointed by Trump — ruled against the administration. One noted that the “government cannot proclaim entire categories of classroom content discriminatory to side-step the bounds of its statutory authority.”

GUEST COLUMN, J. Basil Dannebohm

In most cults, having an independent opinion is discouraged and even punished. Group leaders often suppress critical thinking and skepticism, viewing them as a threat to the movement’s unity and control. Members who express doubts or disagree are often viewed as “traitors” and a threat. Finding themselves forbidden from drifting off script, they are forced to parrot talking points handed down to them by the cult lieutenants.

Bertrand Rusell once observed, “As soon as we abandon our own reason and are content to rely upon authority there is no end to our troubles.”

MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron

John Adams, who worked on the committee drafting the Declaration of Independence, told his wife, “I ... believe that this document will be celebrated by succeeding generations ....”. The fifty-six men who approved separation from Great Britain realized they would need help against a superior British power. Several phrases in the Declaration carry religious implications and reflect the philosophical and cultural context of the American colonies. Tomorrow, as we celebrate a document adopted in 1776, it will be valuable to take note of four phrases.

L&T Publisher Earl Watt

How bad is it when you wear out terms like nazi and fascist and so you have to fall back on using cult as your only means to explain why others disagree with your politics?

We print J. Basil Dannebohm’s column even though online trolls claim we only share one political view.

Mr. Dannebohm and I could not be more opposite in our views, and yet if you see this column on social media you’ll see some people with their usual tropes of how I regurgitate talking points.