The headlines seem to herald an imminent return to violence and mayhem. Leaders who have made compromises are denounced as traitors. Diehards insist on living up to their labels. The public fears a return to the terrible days of war. Outside observers warn of a threat to democracy.The Middle East? N

Books line one whole wall of my office at America. Over 1,000 of them, on eight rows of gray metal shelves that stretch from one end of the room to the other. No, these are not my own books, which are few, but the collection of the Catholic Book Club, a longtime adjunct operation of the magazine. Th

With each passing year, I think more fondly of a not-so-distant time in my life: my last child was a toddler, and my three older children attended the elementary school where my husband taught sixth grade. We had just built a house in the mountains, and our nation of six was secure and thriving. I w

There is fear that paralyzes and fear that compels. The distinction can melt into nothing in a split second, but the difference means everything in life.

In language that would seem better suited to a ballpark than the White House, President Bush’s administration officials are making it clear that they will tolerate no questions about the president’s use of faulty intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq. The president’s outgoin

The Bush administration’s response to North Korea’s nuclear weapon challenge has been hypocritical. While the North Korean decision to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty last January was lamentable, it is also understandable. The Bush administration itself has done much to