With North Korea, the issue in not whether it gives up its nuclear weapons. The issue is that conditions on the ground make nuclear weapons necessary. If North Korea destroys all of its nuclear capacity, the world has achieved nothing but a pause in the relentless march to the demise of civilization. North Korea knows […]
Hubert Kauffman
Posted inLetters, sj-web
The dream crushers
The arrogance of a president and his party has crushed the dreams of millions of Americans who long for a more inclusive government. Crushed are the dreams of those who believe that the purpose of government is to promote the well-being of all its citizens. Devastated are those people who continue to believe that well-being […]
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Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Imagine a society without poverty
In the United States, the annual expenditure on poverty is more than $550 billion and likely in excess of $900 billion. The true cost of poverty is not known because so much of it is hidden in the fabric of an unequal economic system. Who can calculate poverty’s contribution to expenditures on crime, prisons, courts […]
Posted inLetters
Residual prejudices
The very best comedians are unscripted. They are members of a small group of people who have the exquisite ability to move freely from conscious (socialized) thought to spontaneous, unsocialized and unscreened thought. So it is with Bill Maher. Is he a bigot? Not a bit more than anyone over the age of 50, born […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Work together to end culture of poverty
Weltanschauung is a German word that can’t be accurately translated into English. Roughly it means, “view of the world.” It is a person’s mainly unconscious expectations of how the world is. My mother’s view was, “In good times or bad, disaster is about to strike. May God protect me.” A friend’s view is, “I’m generally […]
Posted inLetters
Ease fascination with war, weapons
The United States prides itself on having the most powerful military the world has ever seen. In negotiations with unfriendly countries, the military option is always “on the table.” If a country seems to be aggressive, the U.S. demonstrates its military power by having “exercises” nearby or builds military bases nearby. The enormous power of […]
Posted inOp-Eds
We have the freedom to remake this country
I first discovered the ecstasy of dominance during basic training in World War II. It was with lingering horror that I anticipated my turn to plunge my bayonet into a cloth dummy dressed in a German uniform. I was made to do it again and again with instructions to let myself experience rage. What happened […]
Posted inLetters
H. Kauffman: Oath of public office
If the following oath of office became accepted by large numbers of people, its use would become a moral imperative for public service. In order to fulfill my responsibilities as a candidate for office or as an office holder, I voluntarily pledge, on my honor, to refuse to accept anything of value from any source […]
Posted inLetters
H. Kauffman: Curbing the urge for war
ISIS is evil. The Nazis were evil. There are frightening similarities between them. Both stemmed from perceived injustice; both had the most modern weapons; both had masterful propaganda; both aimed at absolute supremacy; both had limitless zeal; and both were aided by secret sources of money. The Nazis could have been stopped at an early […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Hubert Kauffman: The paralysis of individualism
We weren’t born yesterday. Like every living thing on Earth, we have a long developmental history. All of us, no matter our differences, have emerged from that history. We are all more human than otherwise. We are all more alike than otherwise. We emerged in a context, we developed our similarities and differences in a […]