We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.1 The people are what matter to government, and a government should aim to give all the people under its jurisdiction the best possible life.2 In the final analysis, a democratic government represents the sum total of the courage and the integrity of its individuals. It cannot be better…

I felt safe. My dad and I were often the last people awake in our house at the end of the day. Dad wanted to catch Johnny Carson’s monologue, and I just loved to cuddle up next to Daddy. Feeling his warm arm across my shoulder and hearing his heartbeat in my ear felt like pure love, and contentment, and security. Those moments spoke a perfect “good night” to me even through high school and college. And yet, every once in a while, Dad would get annoyed at the news broadcast, which ran just before the Tonight Show. Whenever there…

What a world we live in! You don’t need to read long articles or emails; AI will summarize them for you. You don’t have to sift through numerous sources; AI will tell you what is known about a subject. You don’t have to cultivate your client relationships; AI will write letters to your customers for you. In fact, AI will write… your online content, your school papers, your performance reviews, your annual report, your video scripts, your next novel… for you. You don’t have to hire or develop media skills; AI will create a custom graphic or photograph or video…

The 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding (coming up in 2026) is an appropriate time to reflect on our history, celebrate our accomplishments, and count our blessings. But all of that feels far more fraught than it should be. We’re not in a good place as a country, and we can’t even agree on what the issues are. In these contentious times, it’s important to remember the original rationale for our separation from England way back then. The leaders of the colonists laid out their grievances in no uncertain terms. King George III was called out for – among other…

When I drink in the sunlight with all my senses, I can’t help but be enamored. Sparkling on the water in a vibrant dance, dappling through the trees as branches rustle in the breeze, lighting the emerald green on the underside of a breaking wave, warming the sand beneath my feet, lifting the ocean’s salt so I can scent it and taste it in the air, brightening an energizing walking path, spotlighting the tops of cotton-tuft clouds, refracting through departing storm mist to create a rainbow, deepening the saturated colors of a tulip bed in spring, and showcasing the gold…

What is government for? It’s right there in the preamble to the U.S. Constitution: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. From the time of this nation’s founding, we have recognized the sacred obligation to support one another in our pursuit of happiness. Neighbors helped one another to build homes and barns, to give food…