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Historical Ignorance, Moral Arrogance

My generation tends to think of itself as the first generation to be moral, tolerant, decent, and good. We abhor racism, sexism, nationalism, and homophobia, crimes we set at the center of past societies—all of them. We have avoided the bloody vices of slavery, torture, pillaging, religious . . . . Continue Reading »

Against Capital Punishment

The Death Penalty, Volume Iby jacques derridatranslated by peggy kamufuniversity of chicago, 312 pages, $38 The Death Penalty, Volume IIby jacques derridatranslated by elizabeth rottenberguniversity of chicago, 304 pages, $45 Courting Death: The Supreme Court and Capital Punishmentby carol s. . . . . Continue Reading »

We're No. 144

New York's crime rate placed it 144th among the nation's 189 largest cities. You're safer here, the New York Times recently reported, than in Beaumont, Texas, Independence, Missouri, or Anchorage, . . . . Continue Reading »

Abortion Facts and Feelings

The story is told of a young student from an exotic place, a colonial dependency of Britain, who was suddenly delivered to Oxford University. The word soon got about that the tradition of cannibalism had not been perfectly extinguished in this young man's tribe, and a certain concern was registered, . . . . Continue Reading »

A Culture of Poverty?

I hadn’t thought of Jerry Carter for at least five years. I probably wouldn’t have thought of him for at least another five if it hadn’t been for the report of the National Research Council’s Committee on the Status of Black Americans. I met Jerry in 1982. I was a reporter for the Chicago . . . . Continue Reading »

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