“Pray for the dead, and fight like hell for the living.” —Mother Jones

Pope Benedict XVI will soon arrive in the United States, prompting reflections of many sorts, including a renewed discussion of his history with the German military. In the past, such discussions have centered on two issues: whether the young Ratzinger embraced Nazi ideology and whether it is fair to criticize him for mistakes of his youth.

In a systematic study of public opinion polling during the Reagan administration, Joel Rogers and Thomas Ferguson demonstrated that on each major issue, foreign and domestic, the majority of the public disagreed with the policies of the administration throughout its term.

Elections bring an enormous sense of excitement in the United States, especially in D.C. I’m going to devote three columns to the topic of democracy (and its shadow, voting) because I feel that one of the most important political lies that has been sold to people over the last hundred years or so is that voting for representatives is democracy.

Public debate about homosexuality is dominated by the question of choice. “Clinics” that aim for “cures” presuppose that it is, while the Web sites of groups like the Human Rights Campaign and Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays prominently display arguments that sexuality is not a choice.

About 10 years ago, my friends Helen and Alex found jobs in the same city after a five-year commuting relationship. They were devoted to one another, deeply in love and married, all but legally. They sacrificed career plans to live together and bought a house. A few months later, Helen was hit by a car, fell into a coma for several days and finally died.

Immigration, as a problem in the Americas, began over 500 years ago. Upon arriving at Hispaniola, Columbus wrote the following:

This being my first column for THE HOYA, it seems natural to introduce myself. Doing so is more complicated than it sounds, however, because I take introductions to be political acts. Consider, for example, the way the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be introduced to people all over the country this weekend.