Thinking It Through News Today

“Essential Liberty” comprehends the right of citizens to make their best judgments about their own health, writes Richard Reeb.

Thinking It Through: What is government of, by and for the people? Richard Reeb For the Victorville Daily Press Abraham Lincoln concluded his Gettysburg Address on Nov. 17, 1863, with a ringing affirmation of Americans right to govern themselves. The battlefield that raged four months earlier was commemorated with ceremonies featuring the great orator, Edward Everett, who spoke for two hours, and Lincoln, who spoke for just over two minutes. Brevity conveys high purpose more effectively than e...

“Fact-checking” is only as accurate or defensible as the person claiming to know the facts, writes Richard Reeb.

Liberty’s survival depends on more than mere passion, writes Richard Reeb.

Thinking It Through: Four poor excuses for political apathy By Richard Reeb For the Victorville Daily Press For all its problems, the United States of America is the best country for human happiness in the world today. But whether it’s because of its problems, or the belief that it has none, many citizens refrain from or disdain political participation, leaving that challenging and frustrating task to others. Typically, these folks mean no harm, not becoming open enemies or finding refuge in ...

Thinking It Through: Commerce should not be taken for granted or abused By Richard Reeb For the Victorville Daily Press The pandemic shutdown we continue to experience far beyond its utility effectively caused an economic recession as unemployment and bankruptcy soared, further exacerbated by the protests that were indistinguishable from riots, now resumed and apparently taking up permanent residence in our national life. This is nothing new as massive government intervention in and interferenc...

Thinking It Through: Politics or tribalism, Americas choice By Richard Reeb For the Victorville Daily Press Politics has long had a bad name but it is far preferable to the available alternatives. Ever since the Greek city, or polis, superseded clans as the effective and superior governing unit, true citizenship emerged, and politicians discussed and deliberated prior to taking action. But in the rest of the world, individuals were submerged in tribal identities borne of kinship, race or skin c...

Thinking It Through: Why we must always defend the nation of free speech By Richard Reeb For the Victorville Daily Press It may strike some as odd, if not perverse, to make the case for the nation of free speech rather than simply for free speech itself. But as I will argue, we enjoy free speech’s benefits because of our Constitution rather than the other way around. No right can be secure in the absence of protection, which reminds us what freedom of speech is for. It is not an end in itself...

Thinking It Through: Under the current repression lies a moral, intellectual abyss By Richard Reeb For the Victorville Daily Press Today the nation’s capital is occupied by 27,000 National Guard troops and the Capitol building is surrounded by a menacing wire fence. The ostensible object of this simultaneous display of military power and abject fear is to protect the people’s legislature from dangerous insurrectionists, like the rag-tag bunch that burst into the chambers of the Senate and H...

Thinking It Through: Where is America’s ‘systemic’ racism? By Richard Reeb For the Victorville Daily Press The American people have long been subjected to moral condemnation for the sin of racism, commencing in the civil rights era and reaching a noisy crescendo in the present time. Nothing symbolizes this massive defamation more than the “1619 Project” of the New York Times, which alleges that the true founding of America came in the year that slavery was introduced into the English ...