by John Whitehead — Mohandas K. Gandhi made a striking statement in his essay “The Doctrine of the Sword” (1920): “I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence.” Referring to India’s struggle for independence from Britain, he wrote, “I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honour than that she should in a cowardly manner become or remain a helpless witness to her own dishonour.” While stating t

by Christy Yao Pelliccioni — “But will I still get my books??” my four-year-old asked with big hazel eyes. “Yes, sweetheart. I’m sure you’ll still get your books. Dolly Parton would want you to keep reading.” And thankfully an article from The Hill confirmed we, along with one in six American children under the age of five, will still get the books. A spokesperson from the Dollywood Company confirmed that the Imagination Library will continue, despite Dolly Parton’s passing

by Christy Yao Pelliccioni — The Economist recently ran an article titled “In Praise of Designer-ish Babies.” The article describes how certain businesses are now offering couples using in vitro fertilization (IVF) the opportunity to “screen” the embryos they create. Embryos can supposedly be screened for genetic risks for illnesses and even for particular heights or IQ levels. The article endorses such screening of embryos. Its main argument is that parents just want to giv

by Christy Yao Pelliccioni — As I write this, it’s World Breastfeeding Week, and the Facebook algorithm is really winning at capturing my attention. While scrolling (if I remember right, while breastfeeding), I came across a post claiming that formula companies had lobbied against paid parental leave. I thought that couldn’t be true, so of course subjected this incredible claim to a Google search. To my surprise, a 2023 The Lancet series on breastfeeding confirms this. In Fe

by Timothy Kirchoff — In an interview with retired pastor Pat Kahnke, former pro-life leader Rob Schenck explained one of the experiences that ultimately reshaped his perspective on abortion. A number of years ago, after being arrested during a political protest, Schenck was briefly detained in Alabama, in the Montgomery County Jail (jails are usually temporary pre-trial holding facilities, while prisons are for holding people post-sentencing). Schenck found himself in the s

by Sarah Terzo — This post is a continuation of a series. Read Part I, Part II, and Part III. On August 6, 1945, the United States became the first and only nation to use nuclear weapons against another nation with the bombing of Hiroshima. Estimates on the exact number of people killed by the bombing of Hiroshima vary. One estimate was that 140,000 people died as a result of the bombing by the end of 1945. Many children were made orphans by the atomic bomb. This is the story

by Sarah Terzo — This post is a continuation of a series. Read Part I and Part II. The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, died in the initial blast, and many more succumbed to radiation poisoning in the weeks and months after the bombing. Many children were killed, and others were orphaned. The account in this article comes from a 1951 book by Arata Osada, PhD, called Children of Hiroshim

by John Whitehead — The anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9) are times to reflect on the past. They are times to mourn the estimated 100,000 people killed in the bombings, as well as all those injured and bereaved. They are times to reject the injustice of using these indiscriminate, massively destructive weapons against cities. However, the atomic bombing anniversaries are also a time to reflect on the future. The invention of

by Sarah Terzo — This is part II of a series. You can read part I here. On August 6, 1945, the United States became the first and, so far, only country to use nuclear weapons in wartime when our leaders dropped the atomic bomb on a civilian target, the city of Hiroshima. US assessments shortly after the bombing estimated that over 60,000 people were killed in Hiroshima. A later assessment estimated roughly 140,000 people died by the end of 1945 because of the bombing. While

by Sarah Terzo — The Bombing of Hiroshima This month is the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, which took place on August 6, 1945. Some children from Hiroshima became orphans. This article tells the stories of three of them. The accounts are from Arata Osada, PhD, Children of Hiroshima, originally published in 1951. Osada interviewed children who survived the bombing. The book was translated into English by Yoichi Fukushima. All quotes are from the 1980 edition. The thr