RIVERA SUN – While the stories of nonviolence news are often plentiful (see the Nonviolence News Research Archive for 73 articles), several of them are also an invitation to reflect in greater depth than nonviolence news usually does. This week Rivera Sun takes some time to reflect thoughtfully with readers and followers about a few themes of accountability and integrity.
America has one birthday, the USA was born on another
KARY LOVE – A schizoid values division continues to this day. Human rights America was born July 4, 1776. Money and power USA was born September 17, 1787. A balance was sought in the Bill of Rights adopted December 15, 1791. But the division remains to be manipulated and used by factions favoring one value side or the other, dividing the people into camps to be exploited for political power gain and loss.
Pete Hegseth’s Crusade Against the First Amendment
MEL GURTOV – Invoking God and country in American interventions abroad is nothing new. But Pete Hegseth has taken that message a step farther by intertwining his religion with the nation’s military establishment. He should be next in line to be dismissed from the cabinet.
The Minneapolis protests recall a long lineage of women’s peace movements
JODI VANDENBERG-DAVES – The Minneapolis protests recall a long lineage of women’s peace movements: Women bringing innovation, moral clarity, caregiving and an insistence on justice.
It’s time to tax the rich
LAWRENCE WITTNER – Most Americans support proposals to raise taxes on the rich. According to a March 2025 Pew Research Center poll, large majorities of Americans surveyed favored increasing taxes on the wealthy and corporations. In January 2026, an Economist/YouGov poll reported that 80 percent of American respondents viewed wealth inequality as a problem, 80 percent said the rich had too much political power, and 78 percent said taxes on billionaires were too low.
Climate Change Goes to Washington – How It Happened
CHELSEA HENDERSON – Decades of political battles, shifting public opinion, and evolving advocacy strategies shaped the path of U.S. climate policy from early scientific warnings to major federal investment.