Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

The battle between good and evil rages on

LIttle boy walking

The author's son in Moscow, on the family's third visit to complete the adoption process. Vladimir Putin later cutoff off U.S. adoptions of Russian children.

Amy Lockard

Lockard is an Iowa resident who regularly contributes to regional newspapers and periodicals. She is working on the second of a four-book fictional series based on Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice."

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “ the first lesson of history is the good of evil.” A contrary statement, but one that describes the impetus that must often take place to move people and nations to action. Such a time is now.

As children, we read stories of heroes and villains pitted in the struggle between good and evil. Cinderella and her evil stepmother; the heroes in the “Narnia” series and the White Witch; Mowgli and Shere Khan in “The Jungle Book,” Peter Pan and Captain Hook. On and on. Disney movies also brought fairy tales to a whole generation on the big and small screens. But rarely, even in those cartoon depictions, was evil defeated without sacrifice.

Perhaps we were more attuned to the struggle between such opposing forces as children, our perceptions stored away with other childish things. Yet, forces for good and for evil play out every day in our lives. For evidence, we need look no further than the daily news.


In our politically correct world, it is tempting to deny this. That is, until evil becomes an imminent threat, too close, too powerful. Yet, how much better to confront it before it runs rampant – as in Hitler’s Nazi Germany, as now in Ukraine.

We have a son, adopted from St. Petersburg, Russia. He was brought home just weeks before Vladimir Putin abruptly closed adoptions to the United States, an act of political retaliation for freezing Russian assets. (Read “ Red Notice ” by Bill Browder for a stunning story of the struggle between good and evil in Putin’s corrupt Russia.)

When adopting from Russia, three visits are required as well as suitcases of presents and money – presents over the table, money under it. When Putin closed adoptions in 2011, hundreds of orphans lost their chance at a home and a life. Older children especially were painfully aware of their loss; their prospective parents had met them, likely twice, and they were waiting only to go to their new homes.

Orphans punished, parents broken-hearted, millions of dollars lost. There is not much more one needs to know about Vladimir Putin.

As the years have gone by, Putin has only grown more openly ruthless. His illegal invasions of Ukraine (first Crimea in 2014, and then the rest of the country two years ago) is evidence enough.

It is well past time to recognize him for the villain he is.

We also have a son adopted from Ukraine. In April 2022, Kharkov, in the northeastern part of the country, was bombed. We watched on the national news as the children from Orphanage #4, where our son was, were evacuated.

Again, orphans. Always the innocent. Always those without resources to fight. That is how bullies operate. That is how evil flourishes.

In the United States, we will not tolerate bullying in schools. It is time we take that intolerance to the world’s “playground.”

Alexei Navalny, who crusaded against Russian corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin demonstrations, died Feb, 16h in Russia’s Arctic penal colony. He was 47. He had returned to Moscow of his own volition from Germany, where he had been recovering from nerve agent poisoning, blamed on the Kremlin.

Navalny returned to Russia because he was courageous, because he cared about his people and because he valued freedom over even his own life.

“Virtue is bold and goodness never fearful,” wrote Shakespeare.

President Joe Biden, along with many members of Congress from both the left and the right, have joined world leaders in blaming Putin, and the rotten political system he commands, for Navalny’s untimely death. Yet many shamefully have not.

It is past time to stop the disgraceful antics of some in Congress and the political finagling. It is past time we move beyond partisanship, fund Ukraine and continue to aid in their struggle.

In all the stories of all the great battles ever told, from the earliest literature to the Bible to “Star Wars,” the storyline is the same. The fight is ultimately between evil and good, between darkness and light.

We must channel our early understanding of the world. We know evil when we see it. We knew it as children; we know it now.

Let us be on the side of the light.

Read More

The Responsibility of the First Vote

Primary voting, Michigan

Elaine Cromie/Getty Images

The Responsibility of the First Vote

The Fulcrum is committed to nurturing the next generation of journalists. To learn about the many NextGen initiatives we are leading, click HERE.

We asked Nathaly Suquinagua, a bilingual multimedia journalist with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in Dance from Temple University, and a cohort member with the Fulcrum Fellowship, to share her thoughts on what democracy means to her and her perspective on its current health.

Keep ReadingShow less
From Red vs. Blue to Common Sense: Solving Money in Politics Together

United States flag, Red representing the Republican party, and the Blue representing the Democratic party.

Getty Images//Stock Photo

From Red vs. Blue to Common Sense: Solving Money in Politics Together

Despite the division in our politics, Americans across the aisle agree on two essential issues: there’s a problem with the role of money in politics (the public’s #1 concern), and there is too little cooperation between our leaders in solving the nation’s problems (the #5 concern). These two issues erode trust in our institutions and the integrity of our elections, and leave communities and voters across the country feeling sidelined.

That’s why we, two state legislators from opposite sides of the aisle, have come together. Unchecked political spending and partisan gridlock hurt government where it is intended to be most accessible: in our local communities.

Keep ReadingShow less
Faith, Democracy, and the Catholic Duty To Stay Involved

Christian cross necklace on American flag.

Getty Images/Stock Photo

Faith, Democracy, and the Catholic Duty To Stay Involved

The Fulcrum is committed to nurturing the next generation of journalists. To learn about the many NextGen initiatives we are leading, click HERE.

We asked Angeles Ponpa, a graduate student at Northwestern Medill in the Politics, Policy, and Foreign Affairs specialization, and a Fulcrum summer intern, to share her thoughts on what democracy means to her and her perspective on its current health.

Keep ReadingShow less
Two people shaking hands.

If President Trump and other conservatives are serious about national unity, they should commit to a targeted national initiative focused on revitalizing America’s shared civic spaces.

Getty Images, PeopleImages

Where Is MAGA’s Plan To Unify Our Country?

In his 2025 inaugural address, President Donald Trump declared that his ‘proudest legacy will be that of peacemaker and unifier.’ These are admirable goals, especially in our extremely polarized environment. Indeed, the rhetoric of 'Make America Great Again' draws on idyllic imagery from a past era perceived as one of national cohesion and collaboration.

Some critics doubt that Trump really cares about social cohesion. But we should never stop holding our leaders responsible for what they say. So, we should ask: where is the plan to bring our country together? Where is the MAWA movement: Make America Whole Again?

Keep ReadingShow less