How do we find common ground and build up our country together when we disagree on grave moral issues? — I am preparing for a national Braver Angels debate on “Resolved: The rights of an adult woman take precedence over the rights of a fetus” As I prepare for this national debate, my research shows me that I am as frustrated as everyone else. Why can’t we find a national…

Upon my return from a six-year stint at San Quentin State Prison, I look at the world with new eyes. Prison life has brought into focus many of the mysteries I see in modern society as it enters this post-Rationalist/Humanist Age with all the anxiety that accompanies such momentous upheaval. …

Everyone’s half right and everyone’s simultaneously half wrong, and nobody is having a real conversation about what’s actually going on. — I have lived the American Dream, from a trailer park to an Ivy League law degree. It was my hard work (and government loans) that made my adult upper-middle-class life possible and the one I have given to my children. I BELIEVE in our American meritocracy. Meritocracy and its importance…

THEY BREAK THE RULES OF WHAT IS POSSIBLE — THE CONSISTENT MANIFESTATION OF GENIUS ACROSS TIME — Genius requires a high IQ, but that is not enough. The term “genius” is a placeholder, not a definition. A genius recognizes new mental constructs that are both difficult to create and understand. That is why we call certain people geniuses: they see what others cannot. What is a genius…

As a red co-chair of the San Francisco Braver Angels alliance, I am preparing for a debate on election security. As I prepare for this debate, I’ve done research on this frustrating issue. …

We face many paradoxes in our post-rational era. At the core is our empirical science-based reason’s inability to convey valence required by our humanist worldview that creates these paradoxes. — Given the advent of our digital realm, we now have frictionless, unlimited, and free access to data. We now interpret this data-stack through our Humanist Truth lens instead of relying upon scientific reasoning of empirically-validated facts.

Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) told lawmakers that between March 2021 to May 2021 nearly 31,000 prisoners requested compassionate release. The BOP approved just 36. — According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, there were 4,515 deaths in state and federal prisons in 2018. This number has been steadily increasing in recent years, with an average of 4,000 deaths per year since 2010. The leading cause of death in prisons is illness, followed by suicide and…

By Wayne Boatwright * Most people consider happiness to be a feeling, without weight or substance. I know different. I witnessed the creation of 500 pounds of happiness before my very eyes at San Quentin State Prison. Happiness is rare. It’s not easy to make, nor can you buy it…

Rights and Obligations of Transgender Athletes — In a concise opinion piece, a Choate high school junior argued that it was to society’s benefit to allow transgender athletes to compete in competitive sports regardless if that athlete retains some biological advantage. Fairness Vs. Inclusivity: Transgender Athletes | The Choate News Just a few weeks ago in Atlanta, Georgia, the top college-aged swimmers were pitted against each other at the National…thechoatenews.choate.edu