What if they clash? Which do you care about more? Sometimes our assumptions are so ingrained that we hardly notice they’re assumptions. So it is with the widespread conviction that freedom and democracy are natural parts of the same whole, or that repression and democracy are at odds. But that is not exactly so. 9/11, for example, was an assault…

America claims to celebrate diversity. France was to be French. Who’s right? As the immigration reform debate heats up in the United States ahead of the 2024 election, a binary caricature can be expected: One side wants to build a wall; the other loves diversity, without limit or question. So we must turn to France for brave discourse on the real issue…

Prepare to be amazed at the wisdom of the crowd Many just discard their New Year’s resolutions, but I’m a breed apart. Since the beginning of the year I have dutifully attached reader polls to the articles on my Substack blog (yes, we are cross-platform-promoting). …

Few of these wobbly governments are capable of the kind of damage a US presidency can wreak. Given the kinds of people getting elected, that may be a good thing. Americans — or at least those among them who care about the world beyond their borders — tend to scoff at the parliamentary systems that predominate elsewhere. Such democracies encourage a plurality of parties so that unlike in America’s presidential system, generally no one wins outright. …

The uninvolved may not fully understand how heated the Jewish cultural war is becoming. My religious friend and I would like to help fix it. Today devout Jews observe Tisha B’Av, the annual fast day that marks both the destruction of Solomon’s Temple by Babylonians and of the Second Temple by the Romans (among some other calamities). In a broader sense, it is a time to reflect on how divisions among Jews begat disastrous vulnerability…

A look at the tough scenarios facing Israel, where like in Poland, Hungary and Turkey there is a major assault happening on liberal democracy In a reflection of the still-special relationship between the United States and Israel, a Joint Session of Congress will convene today to hear a speech by…

Goodbye, Milan Kundera. You showed us that whereas a mere novel is a collection of inventions, literature is a rendering of the truth. What makes classic literature? Where does a mere story end and literature begin? The exploration is a worthy way, I think, to celebrate Milan Kundera. Kundera, who died last week, was a Czech novelist who spent more of his life in comfortable “exile” in France. He moved there in the…

I went to Denmark and found little of the angst and anger that plagues America today. Kinda makes you think. I started roaming the world just over 30 years ago in a state of arrogant provincialism: Strong was my conviction that the US had figured things out while other places…

Could the brief Russia mutiny foreshadow a Ukraine endgame? The Kremlin may be testing a new narrative that might enable an end to the war. Moscow is not just the national capital of Russia — it is the world capital of smoke and mirrors. Which is why the odd events of recent days may amount to more than meets the eye. On the face of it, the weekend began with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader…