The word toleration is often misunderstood. Often the word is applied to people who “enjoy hanging out with different types of people.” In truth, this is wrong; the idea of toleration and enjoyment rarely go together. It was John Locke, the great English political theorist, who wrote the famous treatise called “A Letter Concerning Toleration.”…
Read more Tolerance & Politics: An Ethical Reflection from Ian Markham
Sept. 11, 2001 is a day that none of us who lived through it will ever forget. In Washington D.C., that Tuesday morning started as a beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky. No humidity. Beautiful sunshine. Perfect weather. As I walked to my car to drive to the U.S. Senate for work, I…
Read more “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”
Let me tell you the story of V Street versus 13th Street. It is my family’s story wrapped up in the story of my family’s hometown. My beloved hometown is just a stone’s throw across the Potomac. I am fond of telling people on my tours at the Library of Congress, that D.C. is not a…
Read more “With Malice Toward None”
“Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is short and must be lived by you alone; and that there is only one glory which is eternal. If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing.”…
Read more This is the Moment for the Church to Be the Church: A Message from Bishop Porter Taylor