Nations, like people, may change somewhat, but not in their essential characteristics. The United States is defined by space and hope. It is an optimistic country of can-do strivers. They took the risk of coming to a new land. They are suspicious of government, inclined to self-reliance. Europeans ask where you came from. Americans ask […]

When the Mueller report was released, commentators reviewed it not only as a political and legal work but also as another genre: literature. In The Washington Post, Carlos Lozada described the report as “the best book by far on the workings of the Trump presidency.” Michiko Kakutani wrote in The Columbia Journalism Review that it […]

To the Editor: Re “When a Child Dies in a Hot Car, Is It an Accident, or Is It a Crime?” (front page, Aug. 1): Without a doubt too many children (and pets) die in overheated cars. But blaming the adults is cruel and wrong. After every report of another child who tragically died from […]

There is a growing divide in Canadian society on complex policy issues, resulting in increasingly polarized political debate. We face an erosion of trust in, and support for, government and its institutions, conventions and practices. This growing decline in Canadian social cohesion is putting the ability of governments to find shared and workable solutions at […]

The effects of the Hong Kong protests are spreading — to bakeries, bandits and Beijing. As messages supporting the demonstrations began appearing on the pastry skin of seasonal mooncakes, opposition to the protests suddenly took the form of muscle from the local mafia. The protesters, for their part, have recently taken to pointedly marching toward […]

Fifty years ago this summer we had Woodstock. This summer? We had ‘Love Island’. Woodstock was the culmination of the 1967 ‘Summer of Love’ mass youth movement that saw all the beautiful people, from Hyde Park to Haight-Ashbury, turning on, tuning in and dropping out. Hasn’t the Summer of Love Island seemed spookily similar? From […]

It’s 90 days and counting to our potential Brexit Halloween nightmare and, while it seems longer, it’s only day nine since Boris Johnson became UK prime minister. There is a sense that there has been more activity in the past nine days than there was in the previous three months. But activity to what effect […]

Donald Trump has pursued two main economic policies. On taxes, he has been an orthodox Republican, pushing through big tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, which his administration promised would lead to a huge surge in business investment. On trade, he has broken with his party’s free(ish) trade policies, imposing large tariffs that he […]

If only … If only Donald Trump were not president, we could have an interesting debate over whether private health insurance should be illegal. If only Trump were not president, we could have an interesting debate over who was softest on crime in the 1990s. If only Trump were not president, we could have a […]

MEXICO CITY — There is a debate underway within the Democratic Party over what kind of candidate can beat Donald Trump in 2020. A centrist candidate will attract moderate Republican voters, but perhaps demobilize young, minority, college-educated Democrats. A more exciting, perhaps more radical candidate, will mobilize Democrats but scare away moderate Republicans. From the […]