Preserving American Values

Our nation stands under attack … not from without but from within. American values, our politics, and our culture have been corrupted.

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about

Websites: www.westillholdthesetruths.weebly.com; www.preservingamericanvalues.com; www.thepracticalbuddhist.com. A graduate of Brown U. and U. of Chicago Law School, I’ve had a varied career as a legal aid lawyer, survey researcher, nonprofit executive, management consultant, composer, teacher, and author. I have authored 7 books on topics as varied as Buddhism, child rearing, and politics, the latter of which received a pre-publication endorsement from James Fallows, National Correspondent, The Atlantic. My Buddhist blog was selected as one of the top 50 Buddhist blogs on the web.

Category: American Culture

  • Remove Prescription Drug Advertising

    At last the Trump administration is taking action that I approve of.  He has issued a memorandum that will in effect remove advertising of prescription drugs on TV, returning to a policy that was in effect until the 1990s. What is the purpose of these ads?  The pharmaceuticals industry would say that it’s important that…

  • Tyler Robinson Sounds Like a Good Christian Boy

    In the texts cited by the prosecutors in charging Tyler Robinson for the murder of Charlie Kirk, while he clearly did the deed, which in itself is a radical act, there was nothing in the texts that showed he was motivated by radical, progressive, or leftist thinking. Instead, I would call his thinking very Christian,…

  • Who Has Free Speech Rights? Kimmel?

    While what Kimmel said regarding the far-right’s reaction to Charlie Kirk’s death may have been partially inaccurate and unnecessarily combative, it certainly did not warrant the FDC Chair’s reaction or ABC’s decision to indefinitely suspend him. What did Kimmel say?  “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to…

  • The Far-Right’s Biggest Lie

    The tactic of “the big lie” was developed by Nazi propaganda chief, Joseph Goebbels.  Tell a lie large enough, often enough, forcefully enough, and people will come to believe you and think that it is the truth.   Donald Trump and his MAGA followers have practiced the big lie often—think of “fake news” or “we…

  • Young Adults Worldwide Are Not Flourishing

    The New York Times recently reported on a study conducted in 20 countries around the world of 200,000 people that found that young adults, ages 18-29, were struggling with their physical and mental health, their perceptions of their own character, finding meaning in life, the quality of their relationships and their financial security.   This…

  • A Democrat’s Answer to the Immigration Problem

    The issue of immigration—actually it’s just illegal immigration—has become a major concern to a majority of Americans.  I’m sure that is largely because of Trump’s vilification of illegal immigrants. But immigration has in fact been a major problem for many years, even though most Americans were not concerned about it.  It has been a problem…

  • This July 4th, There’s Nothing to Celebrate – America Is Losing It’s Light

    America has been, for most of its 250 year history, a beacon to the rest of the world.  It has been a light of freedom and humanity-regardless its own failings—in a world in which there has been little freedom and humanity.  In a world where the 20th century saw the rise of dictators for whom…

  • Are the Anti-Gaza War Protests an Example of Anti-Semitism?

    There is much talk everywhere about anti-semitism.  As a Jew, I experienced anti-semitism in my youth in the statements and actions of everyday people.  It was hurtful, and so I welcome any discussion that educates the public about anti-semitism and the baseless nature of its “causes.” But the cause of all the tumult today has…

  • Trump/MAGA in Denial of the Historic Fact of Racism and Discrimination

    Trump has taken an aggressive stand against any acknowledgment of racism or other society–sanctioned discrimination in our history as well as any efforts to address these issues.  In so doing, he has, not surprisingly, done something that damages the future of our country. First of all, for him to deny, by not acknowledging or letting federal government…

  • The Radical Right/MAGA Perspective Is Not True to the Intent of Our Founding Fathers

    The Radical Right of the Republican Party—whether it’s the MAGA movement or radical jurists and historians who may not be MAGA—all hold to the same basic tenet:  that the Constitution and Declaration of Independence are to be interpreted as the words were intended at the time it was adopted.  The theory is called “strict construction”…