Jim Smith

What is a refugee? There are various legal, sociological, and demographic definitions of “refugee” which all have validity. Simply put, refugees are people who have been displaced from their normal living situation without any durable solution to their plight. As Hannah Arendt, the renowned expert on human rights stated so perceptively, a refugee is someone…

Politicians from both parties are forever issuing warnings about the “rising national debt” and “risky federal deficits” which are purportedly going to plunge the United States into a downward spiral of economic and financial collapse. Major pieces of legislation are stalled in congress over these same “alarming developments” and politician’s rally their base by stoking…

Now that the recent elections are essentially completed, can we return to civil discourse in facing the challenges of our nation? And why is this important? Democracy depends on civil discourse between different groups of people and different points of view. It also depends on the discussion being based on “good faith” where the participants…