The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge strives for a more inclusive democracy—one in which all voices are heard. We envision a country in which the electorate mirrors our country's makeup and college students are democratically engaged on an ongoing basis, during and between elections and not just at the polls.
Site Navigation
Search
Latest Stories
Start your day right!
Get latest updates and insights delivered to your inbox.
Top Stories
Latest news
Read More
A street vendor selling public domain Donald Trump paraphernalia and souvenirs. The souvenirs are located right across the street from the White House and taken on the afternoon of July 21, 2019 near Pennslyvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.
Getty Images, P_Wei
The American Schism in 2025: The New Cultural Revolution
Jun 02, 2025
A common point of bewilderment today among many of Trump’s “establishment” critics is the all too tepid response to Trump’s increasingly brazen shattering of democratic norms. True, he started this during his first term, but in his second, Trump seems to relish the weaponization of his presidency to go after his enemies and to brandish his corrupt dealings, all under the Trump banner (e.g. cyber currency, Mideast business dealings, the Boeing 747 gift from Qatar). Not only does Trump conduct himself with impunity but Fox News and other mainstream media outlets barely cover them at all. (And when left-leaning media do, the interest seems to wane quickly.)
Here may be the source of the puzzlement: the left intelligentsia continues to view and characterize MAGA as a political movement, without grasping its transcendence into a new dominant cultural order. MAGA rose as a counter-establishment partisan drive during Trump’s 2016 campaign and subsequent first administration; however, by the 2024 election, it became evident that MAGA was but the eye of a full-fledged cultural shift, in some ways akin to Mao’s Cultural Revolution.
For those who might be offended by this analogy, allow me to explain. For sure, during the social chaos of the decade-long Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in China, turmoil, bloodshed, and hunger ruined millions of lives. What enabled Mao to solidify state power was his mobilization of the younger generation of Chinese to ostracize hundreds of millions of Chinese elders, many of whom were humiliated and murdered, others driven to suicide. Student gangs and Red Guards regularly denounced and physically attacked common citizens showing any sign of “bourgeois” propensities. During one of the great tragic episodes of the 20th century, Chinese society was viciously torn asunder and restructured under a totalitarian state.
Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter
Thank heavens, nothing anywhere near that horrific has happened on American soil. Nonetheless, the stunning manner in which the 80-year-old post-WWII order has been turned on its head merits the comparison. The concept of “culture” usually composes five main elements: values and beliefs, symbols, language, and rituals, and each of these has shifted markedly in the last 10 years. The rejection of “woke” progressivism has not only seeped deeply into much of the electorate but the demonization of the traditional bastions of knowledge has led to a devastating hollowing out of both public and private American Institutions. The U.S. is losing its grip as the most desirable place in the world that intelligentsia chooses to study in, work in, and make vital contributions to.
Of the many aspects of the new emergent culture, one frightening leitmotif is the assault and attempted redefinition of the present-day concept of masculinity. As exposed in the recent mini-series, Adolescence, millions of young men are regularly following influencers ranting about their perceived loss of status in contemporary society. Many of these voices in the “manosphere” advocate an almost cult-like call to action for a retrograde return to the masculinity of a bygone era. Facing bleak prospects, working-class men without a college degree have been especially drawn to these movements where they can give expression to their grievances. In a chilling development, their pent-up acrimony has given expression to a misogynistic scorn directed at high-functioning women, or other elites, from whom they feel left behind.
Moreover, there is a new generation of young men who were children when Trump first ran for office, and whose political imaginations were ignited by his rise to power. As expressed in a recent article in the Free Press, “They have no memories of belonging to—or being accepted by any party or cultural milieu except Trump’s. And for them, Trump is not just a disrupter, an excuse, a historical symptom, or an accident.” He represents a role model for a new cultural order in which EVs and wind and solar energy are “effete” solutions adopted by “girly” men, while “real men” rely on “big beautiful clean” coal and gas-guzzling combustion cars. The level of humiliating scorn directed at former President Biden in social media provides a shocking demonstration of this alarming trend.
Other characteristics of this new ascendant American culture include: first, a nationalism that fears immigration and makes a clear distinction between true “heritage” Americans and other citizens; second, a traditionalism that distrusts and ultimately rejects modern expertise and a globalized economy; and finally, a flat-out rejection of the contemporary progressive framework that aims to temper human biases and tribal urges by defining new respectful behavioral norms more attuned to a pluralistic society.
Note that many of these cultural elements conveniently function as the supportive pillars of a totalitarian state, such as the focus on societal order and the control of a new common narrative. And, in a corresponding parallel, these same themes have been gaining momentum in the populism movements in Europe.
In their now critically acclaimed book, The Fourth Turning, authors William Strauss and Neil Howe described how cultural change often moves in 100-year cycles, swinging like a pendulum between different values, priorities, and ideologies, especially during periods of crisis following an unraveling.
It would be foolish to try to predict the full impact of the MAGA cultural movement on our nation's ability to address urgent challenges at home and abroad. Therefore, I am not eager to offer a normative assessment of this cultural shift. However, I believe we should be circumspect and ask the following questions: will this new cultural ethos provide a conducive environment over the next 50 years for addressing our gravest threats: A) managing climate change; B) crafting a stable and more peaceful international order; and, C) developing an AI infrastructure that is trustworthy and safe? Moreover, with the menace facing our democracy in addition, will our nation’s deep-seated capacity for self-improvement prevail?
Seth Radwell is the author of “American Schism: How the Two Enlightenments Hold the Secret to Healing our Nation ” winner of last year’s International Book Award for Best General Nonfiction. He is a frequent contributor as a political analyst, and speaker within both the business community and on college campuses both in the U.S. and abroad.
Keep ReadingShow less
The U.S. Is Rushing To Make AI Deals With Gulf Countries, But Who Will Help Keep Children Safe?
Jun 02, 2025
As the United States deepens its investments in artificial intelligence (AI) partnerships abroad, it is moving fast — signing deals, building labs, and exporting tools. Recently, President Donald Trump announced sweeping AI collaborations with Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. These agreements, worth billions, are being hailed as historic moments for digital diplomacy and technological leadership.
But amid the headlines and handshakes, I keep asking the same question: where is child protection in all of this?
As someone who has worked across the Middle East and North Africa on children’s rights and protection, I have seen how fast-moving technologies can amplify harm when ethical safeguards are missing. In countries where digital regulation is still evolving and where vulnerable communities already fall through the cracks, introducing powerful AI tools without clear protections is not innovation, it's a risk.
And yet, these deals are being signed without a single line publicly dedicated to the safety of children, the protection of personal data, or the prevention of exploitation.
The MENA region is home to more than 100 million children, many of whom live in contexts shaped by displacement, economic hardship, or legal invisibility. The digital world, once imagined as a safe space for learning and connection, has also become a space where grooming, abuse, and trafficking happen at alarming speed.
Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter
The INTERPOL report from 2020 warned that during COVID-19, online child sexual exploitation surged. Isolation, lack of oversight, and increased internet use created the perfect conditions for harm, and we still have not caught up.
Now, imagine adding AI to this landscape of facial recognition, predictive policing, and machine learning systems in countries that are still building their legal frameworks. Who decides how these systems are used? Who is responsible if they misidentify, exclude, or endanger a child?
This isn’t a critique of progress. The Gulf region is making major investments in tech, education, and infrastructure and that can bring real opportunities. But when the U.S. exports technology without including rights-based standards, it is exporting risk.
In all the official announcements, I’ve yet to see mention of child rights impact assessments, ethical use policies, safeguarding conditions, or civil society consultations. These are not extras. These are not nice-to-haves. They are essentials.
The U.S. cannot claim global leadership in AI while staying silent on the ethical standards that must accompany it. If it can include economic terms in these deals, it can also include human rights terms. If it can prioritize national security, it can also prioritize child safety.
Before the next deal is signed, child protection needs to be on the table, not as an afterthought, but as a requirement. We need binding commitments to data privacy and safety, independent oversight mechanisms, and a voice for child rights organizations in the negotiation process — because children will live with the consequences of these technologies even though they were never consulted.
We cannot allow powerful tools to be exchanged between governments without also exchanging responsibility. AI may be the future but if it doesn’t protect children, it’s a future built on omission.
And we’ve already seen what that costs.
Hassan Tabikh is a human rights practitioner from Baalbek, Lebanon, with over a decade of experience in human rights, social justice, and child protection across the MENA region. He is the MENA Regional Coordinator at ECPAT International and a Public Voices Fellow on Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse with The OpEd Project.
Keep ReadingShow less
Illinois Residents Grapple With Urban Flooding
Jun 02, 2025
Following months of research, canvassing, and listening to community needs, journalists, including Britton Struthers-Lugo, produced solutions-based stories about the challenges faced by the Berwyn, Illinois, community.
In Part 1, Struthers-Lugo examines the issue of urban flooding, a growing concern for residents and infrastructure in Berwyn.
Murky waters cover a basement floor; the smell of sewage fills the room. Once it’s drained, the laborious clean-up process begins. This burdensome cycle is something that some residents of Berwyn, an urban suburb just outside Chicago’s southwest neighborhoods, are familiar with.
“It was one of our historic 100-year rain events. June of 2023, about 8 or 9 inches of rain,” recalls Joshua Bowman, one of Berwyn’s newly elected Aldermen. “That’s what had FEMA come knocking on our door. You had people with feet of water in their basements. Cicero was hit really hard. Berwyn, as well. And people were just wrecked.”
The flooding event in June 2023 was one of the most severe flooding events Berwyn had seen in over a decade (previously, 2012 was the last federally declared flood disaster in the area). However, floodwater has not disappeared entirely from the streets or homes in Berwyn; as patterns of severe weather increase, climate experts predict that flood levels will continue to rise.
Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter
What is the problem?
Urban flooding, or excessive water that accumulates in developed areas, is a growing concern for residents and infrastructure in Berwyn, Illinois.
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, urban flooding is caused by rain that falls on non-porous surfaces (think concrete, asphalt, and other water-resistant materials) that inundate the local stormwater, sewage, and drainage systems. It is linked to urbanization and outdated stormwater infrastructure, and unfortunately, as extreme weather events occur more frequently across the U.S., climate scientists foresee urban flooding as an increasingly significant problem.
Berwyn Volume 2 Cook County MJ-HMP Annex
“We’re going to continue to see increasingly more severe rain events, just like the one we saw in July 2023,” said Climate Resilience Program Lead at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Kate Evasic. According to Evasic, Chicago needs to be aware of these climate concerns and prepare the city infrastructurally, “so that we’re able to withstand not just the storms that we’re experiencing today, but the storms of the future.” However, tackling Chicago-land’s century-old sewage system is no easy feat.
One of the main culprits for urban flooding throughout the greater Chicago area, as is the case in Berwyn, is the city’s combined sewer system. A combined sewer system is one where the sanitary sewage and stormwater use the same lines to flow out to the city’s water reclamation plants.
According to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, “Most of these local sewers are required to carry much more water today than they did when they were first put into service, and as a consequence, they can exceed their flow capacity, causing backups.”
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
Provided by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, this chart illustrates what a combined-sewer system looks like in the Greater Chicago area. Source: MWRD
These backups, often riddled with sanitary hazards, remain stagnant in the streets or drain into people’s homes.
“When you have flooding, especially if it's in a combined sewer, then you have the extreme health concerns related to raw sewage in your flood water. But then there's also all kinds of contaminants on our roads and on other properties,” said Evasic.
Aside from being frustrating to deal with and potentially expensive to repair, these rising waters pose a real health risk to those who experience them.
How residents are impacted
“It’s kind of a horrifying thing,” said Alex McKinley, Berwyn resident and volunteer at the Berwyn Tree Canopy Initiative, who has dealt with flooding in his home multiple times over the past few years.
“The first time it happened,” McKinley recounts, “I was in the basement and I was tipped off by a horrid smell, which was the sewer gas being forced up the drain. And then, sure enough, it started pouring out in the laundry room.”
Berwyn resident and 1st Ward Alderman-elect Micah Caldwell has also been subject to the frustrations of basement backups and urban flooding in Berwyn. Caldwell recalls one incident that occurred shortly after he and his wife moved into their new home in 2021:
“We probably had about 3 inches of water and sewage that was coming from the sewer line. You know, it wasn't seepage. It was coming from the sewer line that was just going straight into our basement.”
Caldwell said that his basement has flooded two more times since that first incident. Aside from first-hand encounters, flooding reports illustrate community members’ frustration with water invading their homes and their inability to control the flow.
A resident who lives along Wesley Avenue reported 4-6 inches of rain in their basement at the end of January:
“The only time we have this unpleasant and unhealthy problem is when the City of Berwyn main sewer line is full and outflow from our property has nowhere to flow but to back up into our basement,” the report reads.
“We are continuously experiencing this problem, RAIN OR SHINE. We feel as we are the City of Berwyn's watchdog of this problem as once we report the backup in our basement, Public Works comes, drains the main and outflow from our property is resolved. This is not a permanent solution and request City of Berwyn PERMANENTLY fix the problem that exists with the main sewer line as it is evident that the only time we have such unpleasant backups in our basement is when the main sewer line is full.”
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
This is the Urban Flood Susceptibility Index created by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. According to Kate Evasic, the index identifies “areas of the region that are more susceptible to urban flooding based on a history of past flooding claims and then different characteristics of those places.” Berwyn (left of Cicero) ranks among the most susceptible communities in Northeast Illinois. 2018.
Residents’ frustration is clear; the problem is visible and persistent. However, a permanent solution would most likely require modernizing the entire sewage and stormwater drainage system in Cook County.
“What's said a lot in stormwater is that there's no silver bullet that's going to solve these flooding issues,” said Pedro Ortiz, a Senior Civil Engineer with the MWRD.
Financial restraints, in addition to the burden of time, are both reasons why a one-stop-shop solution is very unlikely in the near future.
“Everyone knows that the needs far outweigh the money that's available,” said Evasic, “So that's why I think that we're not going to be able to build our way out of this problem.”
Rather than look for permanent solutions, said Evasic, “the shifting goalposts of climate change really mean that we have to figure out what it's like to live with flooding as a continuous threat, but try to reduce the losses as much as we can.”
So, how can the City of Berwyn best prepare to weather the storm?
In Part 2, Struthers-Lugo investigates the many approaches that Berwyn’s local government can take to mitigate urban flooding for its residents, including green alleys.
Look for the conclusion to the story on Monday, June 9.
This story is made possible through the Berwyn Collaborative: Understanding Community Needs, led by News Ambassadors in collaboration with local news outlets, including Illinois Latino News, click HERE.
Britton Struthers-Lugo is a reporter with the Medill News Service at Northwestern University, a freelance journalist, and a photographer.
The Fulcrum is committed to nurturing the next generation of journalists. Learn how by clicking HERE.
Keep ReadingShow less
Opponents of a proof-of-citizenship bill before Texas lawmakers say many women in rural areas, who could get targeted by the bill, do not have a birth certificate matching their current last name.
Golib Tolibov/Adobe Stock AI
Proposed Proof-of-Citizenship Bill Could Impact All Registered Voters in Texas
Jun 02, 2025
Voting rights advocates in Texas are speaking out against a proof-of-citizenship bill before lawmakers.
Senate Bill 16 would require new registrants and some existing registered voters to prove they are U.S. citizens.
Amber Mills, issue advocacy director for the Move Texas Civic Fund, said the requirement would be in addition to what the state already does to check someone's eligibility.
"When you're completing a voter form, you do also have to submit either your driver's license number or your Social Security number," Mills pointed out. "That's really important because that is how the state verifies who you are, and that's a key indicator that they use to protect their databases on the back end."
Even if you were born in the U.S., the bill could require you to show proof of citizenship with a passport or birth certificate matching your current name. According to the Secure Democracy Foundation, more than 38% percent of rural and small-town Texans do not have a passport.
Anyone who cannot prove citizenship would be placed on a separate voter roll and could only cast ballots in the U.S. House and Senate races.
Emily French, policy director for the advocacy group Common Cause Texas, said the additional barriers could prevent many residents from casting their votes in local, state and presidential races.
"All the DPS systems, all the immigration systems which say that they are citizens, but there can still be mistakes that mark them as noncitizens and could throw them off the voter rolls until they come in with these documents that they don't have," French explained.
The bill directs the Texas Secretary of State's Office to check all registered voters' status by the end of the year and send the names of registered voters who have not proven their citizenship before September 2025 to county elections offices.
Mills noted if you are flagged, there is no online system to comply with the request and all paperwork must be submitted in person.
"We are not disputing the goal of having only eligible citizens on the voter rolls, but we know that Texas already has strong systems in place," Mills emphasized. "It's ultimately the state's responsibility, the county's responsibility to do these voter roll checks, but what SB 16 would do is not change any of that, not improve any of that. It would just add an additional burden."
Proposed Proof-of-Citizenship Bill Could Impact All Registered Voters in Texas was originally published by the Public News Service and is republished with permission.
Freda Ross is a producer at the Public News Service, with more than 40 years of experience in radio broadcasting, reporting and journalism.
Keep ReadingShow less
Load More