I would hope that we all care about systemic inclusion, equity and justice for everyone. Human diversity should be welcomed, not feared. The environment and intertwined natural processes should be valued—if not for their intrinsic worth, then at least for the fact that they keep us alive. Don't we all want timely health care, a solid education, and freedom from poverty, hunger, oppression and displacement? These, then, are human rights.
I oppose authoritarianism, imperialism, racism, classism, patriarchy, tech oligarchy, anti-intellectualism, sectarianism, and bigotry in its many forms. Around here, christofascists, sycophant billionaires, and grifter politicians are the problems, not immigrants. (And evangelical Christian nationalists: Mark 8:36 applies to you too.)
Clear-minded observers across the political spectrum can see that Machiavellianism now fully pervades the White House. For a deeper dive, I suggest Hannah Arendt's (1971) Lying in Politics or John Plotz's more recent commentaries. Harry Frankfurt's (1986) essay On Bullshit rounds out the topic.
I stand with Greenland, Canada and Latin America in the face of the current U.S. regime's ongoing use of economic extortion, breached contracts, and threats of military force in the pursuit of U.S. expansionism in the Western hemisphere—the so-called 'Donroe Doctrine.' Prime Minister Mark Carney's words resonate: “You cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through integration, when integration becomes the source of your subordination” (CBC 2026).
Israel’s war on Gaza became disproportionate soon after the October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas and allied terrorists. Recent credible estimates of the death toll range from 73,000-100,000 civilians, most of them women and children. In Sept., 2025, the UN’s Human Rights Office confirmed that Israel was committing ongoing genocide in Gaza; the chair of the Commission stated, “It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the 1948 Genocide Convention” (OHCHR 2025). The international community and regional powers must cooperate to de-escalate, ease humanitarian crises, and begin negotiations that lead to a just and lasting peace.
Ukraine is a sovereign nation and I commend the bravery of its people. Russia's expansionist actions are illegal and profoundly immoral. Between 2023 and 2024, The International Criminal Court issued a series of arrest warrants for war crimes committed by Russia’s president and other top officials against Ukraine (BBC 2023). More recently, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC 2026) found that Russia was responsible for crimes against humanity, including intentional attacks on civilians and the kidnapping and deportation of Ukrainian children. Democracies globally should re-double their efforts to assist Ukraine and sanction and deter the aggressions of Russia and its enablers.
Climate change is a human-induced global threat initiated by the Industrial Revolution. It was accurately predicted by scientists 40 years ago. The impacts are enormous, and they are happening now. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been providing solid science and vision on climate change since 1988. That makes the recent U.S. withdrawals from the Paris Climate Agreement and the UNFCCC and IPCC all the more unconscionable: effectively a crime against life on Earth. I call on all countries, and particularly the U.S. and China, the two biggest polluters, to cooperate to immediately cut carbon emissions and mitigate ongoing impacts on vulnerable places.
Oil and gas corporations must also be held to account. According to the Corporate Governance Institute, 20 companies have contributed to 35% of all energy-related carbon dioxide and methane worldwide since 1965. “For decades these companies possessed detailed and accurate knowledge about the dangers their products pose to the global climate and understood that climate action would threaten their business models. Yet they planned, funded, and continue to engage in a campaign to profit from the planet’s destruction by deceiving the public and blocking climate action” (Union of Concerned Scientists 2025).
Biodiversity, and the natural land- and waterscapes that support them, is essential to sustained life on earth. In fact, all scales of beneficial conservation and action can play a role, from the UN's Global Biodiversity Framework (CBD 2022) to the small ecosystems and places around us.
I support the principles stated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP 2007) regarding self-determination, land, culture, and informed consent. The forms of justice may include truth-finding, colonizer apologies, reconciliation and redress. In other words, healing.
Accessible and affordable schooling should be open to all who seek it, at all levels. Teachers and faculty should be respected and academic freedoms affirmed. The arts are essential for a thriving society and should be nurtured.
I trust the scientific method as a rigorous-yet-fallible process because, done right, it is transparent, self-corrective and reliant on broad consensus. Most importantly, it is critical; it questions itself. So far, it's the best approach we have to understanding the world and grappling with big problems. The far-right's anti-science campaign weaponizes irrationality and fear, causing widespread harm and a collective powerlessness to plan and adapt.
Most urgently, I condemn extremist ideologies that undermine hard-won democratic institutions. A pluralistic society; the rule of law; the separation of church and state; commitment to human rights; judicial independence and impartiality; free, fair and accessible elections; a well-informed electorate; a free and open press; respectful public debate; broad and empathetic civic engagement; universal healthcare and economic security programs; evidence-based environmental stewardship; the wide sharing of history's cautionary stories—these work together to frustrate authoritarianism and to foster societal wellbeing and democracy.
“We, who have been given much, whose voices can be heard, have a great duty and responsibility to make our voices heard with absolute integrity for those who are powerless.”