‘Commentary’ Archives
Right to Life
Raise Your Voice By Peter Molenaar In the space of this paper, many years ago, a “marine sergeant” opposed me with the declaration: “I will fight to the death in defense of the U.S. constitution.” My goodness… Given all the varied and contentious interpretations, should we commend the man for his commitment? Would he consider the words of John Locke, the philosopher precursor to the founding fathers? Locke spoke of the right to make revolution, i.e., the right of a revolutionary people to write their own constitution as needed. A side note: “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of property” became “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" as per Thomas Jefferson. But hey, Locke said “pursuit of property” as long as it is earned, whereas, most property in the modern U.S.A. is unearned! Now, regarding Roe v Wade, we must consider the establishment clause of the First Amendment… It was Jefferson who [...]
Letter to the Editor
I am writing in response to Peter Molenaar's May op-ed, "Peace Be With You." In this piece, Mr. Molenaar repeats a number of Russian talking points about Ukraine, all of which are refutable by listening to Ukrainian both here at home in Minneapolis or on the ground in Ukraine. But more importantly, as someone with a long academic background studying fascism and the far right, I want to speak to his accusations of Ukrainian "fascistic gangs." Put simply: to believe that, prior to February 24th, there were roving bands of fascists roaming the streets of Kharkiv or Mariupol is false. Fascist groups in Ukraine were and are tiny. They had no meaningful representation in the parliament, nor did the Azov Battalion--about which so much has been said--ever grow beyond about 1000 members. Putin's brutal leveling of their home city of Mariupol has likely killed most of them. Good riddance, but let us also keep their size in perspective. Russian (and Soviet) uses of the word 'fascist' [...]
