Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Kick off 2025 at the ‘Faith in Democracy’ vigil

American flags fly with a beautiful bright blue sky
Lynne Gilbert/Getty Images

Every year during the holiday season, The Fulcrum publishes stories that reflect themes of the holiday season, with universal messages that are central to the holiday spirit — messages of love, kindness, hope and generosity that are universal values to peoples of all cultures and backgrounds.

This season is no different. On this Christmas day we have a special announcement: The fourth annual Faith in Democracy interfaith vigil will take place Jan. 5 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It will be led by the Franciscan Action Network, Sojourners, Faith in Peace Concerts, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and many other partners that will bring together faith leaders and believers from a variety of traditions, all speaking from sacred texts that guide us to protect the rights of all and to resolve our differences without violence.


In the United States, our way of doing that is through a properly functioning and fully representative democracy.

You can join the vigil live and or on a livestream. Hear inspirational music and interfaith messages that unify Americans by emphasizing a strong commitment to, and concerns about, our democracy and our freedoms at this critical juncture.

“We believe that people of faith can be uniters, not dividers. We are relieved that the elections of 2024 have been accepted as free and fair. But we have real concerns about democracy, justice and freedom in America at this juncture. For our country to heal and unite, we must never forget what happened here four years ago, and we must hold those responsible accountable,” said David Searby, project director of Faith in Peace Concerts.

Franciscan Action Network Executive Director Michele Dunne said: “As Franciscans, we are called to act as peacemakers and bridge-builders as well as advocates, but not at the expense of justice. The legacy of January 6 continues to divide Americans and create concern about the health of our democracy as well as our ability to resolve political differences without violence.”

The Faith In Democracy vigil will take place Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, at 3:30 p.m. ET on Seventh Street at the center of the National Mall between Jefferson Drive and Madison Drive, live and online. Organizers seek to flip the script on Jan. 6 to create a day of continual unity behind democracy, justice and peace. Let's come together to pray for democracy, peace, and unity as our newly elected officials take office.

Register to attend in person or via livestream.

Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

Read More

Just the Facts: North Korea’s Nuclear Program Any More. Have We Reached an Agreement?

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the South and North Korea on June 30, 2019 in Panmunjom, South Korea.

Getty Images, Handout

Just the Facts: North Korea’s Nuclear Program Any More. Have We Reached an Agreement?

The Fulcrum strives to approach news stories with an open mind and skepticism, striving to present our readers with a broad spectrum of viewpoints through diligent research and critical thinking. As best we can, we remove personal bias from our reporting and seek a variety of perspectives in both our news gathering and selection of opinion pieces. However, before our readers can analyze varying viewpoints, they must have the facts.

We haven't heard much about North Korea's nuclear program lately, not because there's been a breakthrough agreement, but because the situation has largely hardened into a new, more dangerous normal.

Keep ReadingShow less
Meet the Faces of Democracy: Spenser Mestel

Since his first Election Day as a poll worker in 2012, Mestel has worked two more presidential elections, two primary elections, and a municipal election.

Issue One

Meet the Faces of Democracy: Spenser Mestel

More than 10,000 officials across the country run U.S. elections. This interview is part of a series highlighting the election heroes who are the faces of democracy.

Spenser Mestel, a registered Democrat, worked as a poll worker for over a decade in Brooklyn, the largest borough in New York City. Across just 300 square miles of land, New York City is home to over 4.7 million active registered voters spanning five boroughs (and coextensive counties). Nearly a third of those voters are located in Brooklyn, which is located in Kings County and is home to the most active voters in the state of New York at about 1.5 million.

Keep ReadingShow less
America Is Losing Its Light
New legislation would convene Congress at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, the site of the Declaration of Independence’s signing on July 4, 1776, for the 250th anniversary on July 2, 2026.
Getty Images, Douglas Rissing

America Is Losing Its Light

America has been, for most of its 250-year history, a beacon to the rest of the world. It has been a light of freedom and humanity—regardless of its own failings—in a world in which there has been little freedom and humanity. In a world where the 20th century saw the rise of dictators for whom the words freedom and humanity were of no use, where the peoples of Europe, Russia, and China were subjected to unspeakable horrors and daily deprivations.

In some countries, like Germany and Italy, the citizens voted these misbegotten men into office. These men did not hide what they wanted to do. But they were forceful, charismatic men, and the despair of the people resulted in their being hailed as God-like creatures: der Führer and il Duce. All the powers in those countries—politicians, judges, the military, educators—bent their knees to these elected dictators and swore absolute subservience to their leader.

Keep ReadingShow less
censorship

One of autocracy's most powerful weapons is the strategic manipulation of language to make the dismantling of democratic institutions sound like liberation.

Baac3nes/Getty Images

Fighting Words: On The Autocratic Capture of Education

I have a BS in English Education, an MS in Curriculum & Instruction, and a PhD in Language and Literacy Education—degrees that taught me to decode complex texts, meet students where they are, and train future teachers to think critically. Apparently, those skills make me both useless and dangerous.

At least, that's what I'm hearing from politicians like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who recently announced a new accreditation system to break what he called the "activist-controlled accreditation monopoly." As someone who spent years studying how language shapes learning, I recognize his tactic. It's one of autocracy's most powerful weapons: the strategic manipulation of language to make the dismantling of democratic institutions sound like liberation.

Keep ReadingShow less