Feb.19th, 2026 by: Richard A. Graves Writer and independent scholar examining governance, institutional legitimacy, and social outcomes. History, theology, public policy. “The system was real, and so were the consequences. Abolition ended the law, not the legacy. History does not disappear when the metal is removed.” In recent years a familiar argument has resurfaced in public debate: Western nations, particularly Britain and those that followed its lead, abolished the Atlant

By Richard A. Graves “Let me be perfectly clear. The imagery is racist, whether or not Trump intended it to be. But no, I am not going to fixate on the video," One of my “blue no matter who” acquaintances recently asked me how I felt about President Trump’s video depicting the Obamas as apes. His question was framed pointedly. Was it racist enough for me to concede that racism exists on the American political right and within the Republican Party? My response was simple and h

Feb. 1st, 2026 by: Richard A. Graves Writer and independent scholar examining governance, institutional legitimacy, and social outcomes. History, theology, public policy. "Some deaths are elevated into moral emergencies. Others are quietly normalized. This is the hierarchy of outrage..." The hierarchy of outrage operates on both the American political left and the American political right. In each camp, violence is not evaluated primarily by harm, innocence, or loss of life,