The World and Everything in It: May 27, 2025

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MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

Controversial “death with dignity” bills are spreading across the U-S and around the world.

MACARTHUR: The … ban on assisted dying is resulting in too many bad deaths, traumatizing patients as well as family and friends left behind.

NICK EICHER, HOST: But so-called euthanasia is resulting in bad deaths.

Also, ideology turns violent in D.C.

Later, small town musicians take the stage to help children.

CALLOWAY: We started it in 2012. It was going to be just a one time event, just to raise some money. And the community loved it.

REICHARD: It’s Tuesday, May 27th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

REICHARD: Time for news now with Kent Covington.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Arlington National Cemetery ceremony » Memorial Day ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday.

President Trump honored the somber presidential tradition of laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before delivering remarks, honoring fallen troops and their families.

TRUMP:  Every child that lives in peace, every home that is filled with joy and love every day, the republic stands is only possible because of those who did what had to be done when duty called.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a combat veteran, also paid tribute in Arlington.

HEGSETH:  You see the American soldier fights not because he hates what's in front of him, but because he loves what's behind him. 

Vice President JD Vance, also a military veteran, delivered remarks as well.

Ukraine latest » Russia launched another massive drone attack against Ukraine on Monday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that aerial assault was the largest of its kind since the war started with more than 350 drones and nine cruise missiles.

ZELENSKYY: [Speaking Ukrainian]

Zelenskyy says the data show that Russia’s Vladimir Putin has no intention of ending the war.

President Trump lashed out at Putin on social media. He said Putin has gone crazy and is responsible for the death of civilians.

He also criticized Zelenskyy for, in his view, hindering peace talks, saying everything that comes out of Zelenskyy’s mouth causes problems.

European trade commissioner on US trade talks » The European Union’s chief trade negotiator says he had “good calls” with Trump administration officials and is “fully committed” to reaching a trade deal by the new July deadline. That's after Trump agreed to delay his threatened 50% tariff on European goods during a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

TRUMP:  We had a very nice call and I agreed to move it. I believe June 9th would be July 9th would be the date. That was the date she requested.

European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic’s spoke by phone Monday with the U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnickand and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Nearly $2 trillion in goods and services cross the Atlantic in both directions each year.

U.K. possible car attack»  In the U.K., police in Liverpool have arrested the driver of a minivan after he plowed into a crowd of soccer fans on Monday. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher reports.

BENJAMIN EICHER: Authorities say they’ve arrested a 53-year-old British man suspected of intentionally driving into the crowd as tens of thousands of fans gathered to celebrate the city team’s Premier League championship.

A man who had traveled from Isle of Man for the parade, said he heard the car smash into the crowd and then saw at least a half dozen people down in the road.

Officials are still investigating the incident. They have increased patrols in the area and are urging witnesses to come forward with any information or video footage.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

Charles Rangel dies » Former Congressman Charlie Rangel has died at age 94.

The Harlem Democrat spent nearly 50 years on Capitol Hill representing New York and was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

RANGEL: My wife and I have the same anticipation about this race as all of you do.

A veteran of the Korean War, he first won election to the U.S. House in 1970.

In 2010, the House censured him following an ethics scandal. But he stayed in Congress for another seven years.

Phil Robertson obituary » Phil Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” fame has died. He was 79 after battling Alzehimer’s disease.

He’s heard here back in 2019 at a campaign rally for President Trump’s reelection campaign.

ROBERTSON:  If you're pro God and pro America, and pro gun and pro duck hunting, that's all I want!

The popular "Duck Dynasty” reality show followed Robertson, his brother and his sons.

Robertson turned his small duck calling interest in northern Louisiana into a big business and conservative cultural phenomenon.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: doctor assisted suicide is proving to be the slippery slope many warned. Plus, how music brings one small town together.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Tuesday, the 27th of May.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

First up: euthanasia laws.

New York State may soon legalize assisted suicide under the Medical Aid in Dying Act. The state assembly passed it last week; the state Senate could vote by next month.

At least 10 countries already permit some form of euthanasia. Others, like Scotland, are moving that way as well.

Joining us now to talk about it is Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.

REICHARD: Alex, good morning.

ALEX SCHADENBERG: Good morning, Mary. These are difficult issues to talk about, they're important to discuss.

REICHARD: Well, indeed. Let's start with New York. It's joined a growing list of states promoting so-called death with dignity laws. Proponents say that there are protections to prevent abuse. So what troubles you about the bill?

SCHADENBERG: Well, first of all, what troubles me about the bill is the basic issue of what assisted suicide is. So what the law does is it gives doctors the right in law to be involved with causing a patient's death. And they may say this is about requests and that sort of thing, but it's not the same thing as, you know, a self killing, a suicide. When somebody else is directly involved with saying that, yes, I agree, your life is not worth living. And then prescribing a hideous poison to cause your death. It's really a bad idea, especially for people who are going through a very difficult time in their life.

REICHARD: How likely do you think this New York bill is to pass into law?

SCHADENBERG: Well, I don't really know. That's a hard thing to say. There's a strong group actually of Democrats in New York who are opposed to assisted suicide, which is very good. Nonetheless, I think that what what has to happen is people have to contact the members of the Senate, et cetera, and tell them, and they shouldn't just sugarcoat this, because everyone wants to think this is about medical treatment issues, but it's not about medical treatment issues when someone is killing you. It's about, is it ever a good idea to allow a doctor to kill you?

REICHARD: What do you say to the arguments, I know you've heard this, people dying of cancer with intractable, unrelenting pain, howling with pain, for example. Proponents of assisted suicide say that it is an act of compassion to let someone die if they want to. How do you answer that?

SCHADENBERG: Well, first of all, it's not about letting them die, it's about causing their death. Secondly, these are the talking points of the other side, obviously, because none of us as human beings want to be in intractable pain and suffering.. But for the vast majority of these cases, it's got nothing to do with that. It has to do with people who are approaching a difficult health condition who have decided that for many reasons, usually these are socially related reasons, like they don't want to be a burden on others or they're saying, I really have no one in my life, know, their spouse has passed away or they're in a situation where they really are feeling their life has lost meaning or purpose or value and they have a doctor saying, this is an option to you and you're thinking it's a way out. I look at these as deaths of despair because we're abandoning people to the proper care they need in order to live instead of die. We can take care of the pain and symptoms. We don't have to kill you. But the point of it is, is once killing you becomes an option that often then becomes the solution people seek.

REICHARD: Let's talk about Canada and you're from Canada, correct?

SCHADENBERG: Yes.

REICHARD: Well, your organization recently called for a comprehensive review of the medical aid in dying law in Canada. Why is that?

SCHADENBERG: Well, what's happened to Canada is we legalize something based on it being for terminally ill people, et cetera, similar to what the New York law would say. And then what happened is, is that we've massively expanded our law. So now we have a situation where you have people who are living in poverty, people with disabilities having a hard time getting medical treatment, people who are experiencing homelessness or having homelessness issues, poverty questions that way too, know, medical treatment issues are all leading to euthanasia. So it started out as being sold as a situation for people who were terminally ill, dying and suffering exactly as this question you posed me dealing with how it's being sold in New York. And now it's become wide open. really we are how would you say the canary in the coal mine, Canada on why you should never do this.

REICHARD: Let's talk about Scotland now. Have you kept up with what the latest is there?

SCHADENBERG: Yeah, I've been in Scotland a few times speaking in the last year and so I understand the Scottish bill quite well. Yes. And it would be more similar, the Scottish bill is more similar to what they're proposing in New York. Once again, what happens with the euthanasia lobby, you need to know ahead of time, they really do try and pass a bill that looks sort of controlled, it looks sort of tight. That's the goal of them because their goal is to legalize. Once they legalize, then they amend the legislation. If you look at Oregon, if you look at Washington state, if you look at Canada, all these laws started out looking tight in order to say, it's not going to be like the Netherlands or Belgium or other places where there's been a lot of abuse of the law. We're not going to do that. And then after they legalize it, they expand the law and they say, well, it's, it's based on equality is what they said in Canada. You can't deny it to people with disabilities. You can't deny it to people who aren't terminally ill. We have it in Canada for people who aren't terminally ill. We've now legalized it for people with mental illness alone, and that's going to come into place in March of 2027. And they say, it was discriminatory to deny to people who were going through mental illness issues because they weren't going through a physical issue. This is the kind of thing you get. Now they're debating euthanasia for children. So if you look at the Scottish law and the Scottish bill, it has certain “safeguards” built into it. But of course they're trying to sell the legislation to the legislators in order to pass it and make it law.

REICHARD: So you're describing the camel's nose in the tent phenomena that has been happening. What are some other unintended or ignored consequences when governments accept euthanasia as an option?

SCHADENBERG: Yes. Well, it does actually change healthcare. So I'll give you an example. I'm here in British Columbia and a couple of years ago, the Delta Hospice Society, which was an organization that had a 10 bed hospice, they refused to be involved with euthanasia. They said, no, we're not going to do that. So the British Columbia government said, but you're receiving money from the government. Therefore you must be involved with euthanasia and they refused. So the government defunded them and expropriated their hospice from them. So they were just shut down.

No one ever predicted we would be at where we're at today in Canada. And yet that's exactly where we're at. And I could tell you many more stories, but we only have so much time.

REICHARD: That's right, and I can appreciate that. Let's talk more about the root of the problem. You touched on it before as to why people are choosing euthanasia in the first place. We know there's some cultural issues at play, people being isolated. How did we get to this point?

SCHADENBERG: There's a lot of people who are going through difficult health conditions and they're going through these situations without family or friends who are helping them through this, you see. And as a human being, that's very difficult. So we understand that this is the bottom line, that there are a lot of people who are asking to be killed, not because they actually want to die, not actually because they want to be killed, it's because they're in emotional turmoil, they're going through a difficult time and they're doing so in a lonely, alone way. There's also a normal human reality, because we're all humans and it's normal that when you're going through a difficult health condition, you might start questioning, why am I alive? That's normal. This has never been different in our human experience. The difference is once you offer euthanasia, then it becomes a reality.

People aren't aware of where things have gone and they should be concerned. And the only way you can create a concern situation is by spreading the stories of what's happening to all these other people and making them aware.

REICHARD: Alex Schadenberg is executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition. Alex, thanks so much for joining us this morning.

SCHADENBERG: Thank you so much, Mary.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It, ideology turns deadly in Washington.

AUDIO: [Singing at the Western Wall]

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Sunday. She was there to pay tribute to two young Israeli embassy staffers killed in cold blood last week in the U-S.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Yoran Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when a gunman shot them at point blank range, shouting afterward, “Free, free Palestine.”

The feds booked suspected killer Elias Rodriguez, a Chicago-native with links to pro-Palestinian and Marxist student groups.

MARIAM WAHBA: If you subscribe to a violent-based ideology, violence will come.

Foreign policy expert Mariam Wahba spoke with our Washington producer Harrison Watters and told him she saw early reports of an incident at an event for young diplomats.

WAHBA: And my first thought was, I'll text Yaron about this in the morning. He must know what happened…So it was a real shock to wake up the next morning and to see that it was a friend that had unfortunately been murdered.

Wahba met Lischinsky two years ago after moving to Washington. She assumed that because he worked for the Israeli embassy, he was Jewish.

WAHBA: And he corrected me when I was talking about the first Council of Nicea, because I said it was in 425 and he correctly corrected me to say it was actually in 325 and I was like, huh, this guy is either, like a nerd, early Christian theology nerd, like I am, or there's something a little bit more here.

EICHER: Lischinsky was raised by a Jewish father and Christian mother in Israel. The family emigrated to Germany while he was in high school. There he attended a messianic congregation, for Jews who believe in Jesus. Wahba says Lischinsky’s faith drove his work in foreign policy to be a peacemaker. The event where he was killed was to discuss ways to deliver humanitarian aid to places like Gaza.

WAHBA: He wanted to explain the Jewish state to people. He wanted to explain this tiny nation in the middle of the in the middle of the Middle East, to the rest of the world, and explain what it was and what it stood for.

Sarah Milgrim of Overland Park, Kansas also worked at the Israeli embassy. She was planning to go with Lischinsky to meet his family in Jerusalem over Memorial Day weekend.

Kansas City Jewish Federation President Jay Lewis joined Milgrim’s parents at a vigil last Thursday.

JAY LEWIS: Today Bob and Nancy found out only hours before the rest of us in the media that Yaron had purchased an engagement ring and planned to propose to Sarah in the coming weeks when they went together to Israel.

REICHARD: While the murder was brazen and shocking, Wahba says she had a growing expectation something like this was imminent. She’s been concerned by the violent protest rhetoric against Israel since the terror attacks by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

WAHBA: We've had encampments in the middle of New York City yelling, kill Jews, kill all the Zionists, chanting about wanting to bring the Intifada to American cities. This is what it means to bring the Intifada to American cities.

EICHER: Back in March, President Trump moved to address campus unrest by threatening to withhold federal dollars from schools like Harvard and Columbia. He also set up a Justice Department task force to investigate antisemitism on campus and look into who is funding the events and student groups spreading hate.

WAHBA: The problem is it is a government task force, so it's moving at a government pace. It's moving at a bureaucratic pace. And if we can do anything, or if we can begin to do anything to honor Yaron’s memory, is to really put more resources, more manpower behind this task force.

REICHARD: The day after the murder, the US Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia filed charges of murder of a foreign official. Here’s former FOX News host and interim U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.

JEANINE PIRRO: The defendant Rodriguez is also charged with two counts of murder in the first degree, for both Yaron Lischinsky along with 26-year-old Sarah Lynn Milgrim of Kansas.

Law enforcement gathered evidence at the 31-year-old suspect’s home in Chicago. Alderman Debra Silverstein spoke to the press.

DEBRA SILVERSTEIN: We have learned that the attacker lives in Chicago and was likely radicalized right here in our city. This is not just a national tragedy, it is a local wake-up call.

EICHER: The night of the attack … the suspect slipped into the Capital Jewish museum after allegedly shooting the couple. When police arrived to take him away—

RODRIGUEZ: Free, free Palestine!

… that’s when he started shouting.

Middle East researcher Wahba says chants like that are not idle words.

WAHBA: People are just not indoctrinated and radicalized overnight. This is 600 days of being fed this rhetoric and vitriol that results in somebody thinking that they can get a gun and shoot innocent civilians on the street.

REICHARD: According to the Anti Defamation League, since July of last year this is the 8th terrorist plot or attack on Jewish people or institutions.

WAHBA: We live in a world where Jews and supporters of Jews, supporters of the Jewish state can't go to a diplomatic event aimed at promoting peace, promoting ways to get humanitarian aid to innocent civilians without the fear of being shot on the streets, we have some real problems that we need to fix, if that is the question we're asking ourselves.

EICHER: Wahba’s family moved to the U-S from Egypt for religious freedom. They are Coptic Christians. Watching the aftermath of Wednesday’s attack, Wahba is concerned America is not the safe haven it once was.

WAHBA: We have to think about how this is getting through, why this is getting through, and what urgent actions we can take to stop this from happening.

Yaron Lischinsky was buried in Israel on Sunday, in a village west of Jerusalem. Sarah Milgrim’s family will honor her life in a funeral today in her hometown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Imagine waking up in your quiet little slice of Norwegian paradise, only to find a 443-foot-long container ship parked outside your window.

HELBERG: [Speaking Norwegian]

Johan Helberg got a call from his neighbor who saw the ship barreling toward his house. Helberg looked out the window and —surprise!—a floating skyscraper.

“Five meters closer,” he said, “and it would’ve been in my bedroom.”

Nobody was hurt, just 16 confused crew members and one very confused neighborhood.

HELBERGY: [Speaking Norwegian]

Helberg says it’s a very bulky new arrival but it’ll soon go away. Spoken like a true Norwegian: calm, polite, and slightly hopeful.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, May 27th.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: Piano pizzazz. A small town music club puts on a big-time piano event each year. Four pianos on a single stage. Multiple players of all ages performing at the same time.

WORLD Senior Writer Kim Henderson was there for the 2025 performance.

KIM HENDERSON: It’s Wednesday. Two days before the town of Crystal Springs hosts one of its biggest annual events: a piano showdown they call “A Grand Night.” A group has gathered in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church.

SOUND: [WHIRRING]

They’ve been waiting for Josh Landrum to arrive: a guy who will move four baby grands pretty much by himself, with the help of an electric piano lift, straight from Italy.

JOSH LANDRUM:. We're one of the only companies in the US that has one. It's much safer for the mover and the piano.

Landrum has removed the legs of a Baldwin 151, and he’s strapped the body onto what looks like a souped-up dolly.

LANDRUM: I’m about to tilt it over, so I’m going to ask that we clear the stage.

The lift was a significant investment for his piano business, but Landrum says it was worth every penny.

LANDRUM: It's a lot cheaper than having a spinal surgery.

Landrum is delivering the rented pianos at the request of Inza Calloway.

SOUND: [DISCUSSION]

Calloway is a serious, slight-smiling church organist. She’s in charge of the musical extravaganza.

INZA CALLOWAY: We started it in 2012. It was going to be just a one time event, just to raise some money. And the community loved it.

But her group’s history goes back much farther than 2012. Crystal Springs has a MacDowell Club. MacDowell Clubs were established across the U.S. at the turn of the twentieth century. Members wanted to further the development of community music.

CALLOWAY: It's named after the composer MacDowell.

At their height, some 400 MacDowell Music Clubs met. These days, it’s about 15. In Crystal Springs, the group stays busy pretty much all year planning the Grand Night, which happens each March.

CALLOWAY: We'll meet in June and select the music and then pass it out to the players in September.

Just how many players are we talking about?

CALLOWAY: It's about 30.

Which explains their biggest challenge.

CALLOWAY: Getting everybody . . . to come to rehearsals.

The rehearsals start in January. They practice at two different churches.

CALLOWAY: The eight-people pieces really have to have a director, because it's hard to keep eight people together.

Eight players. Two to a piano bench. At four pianos, all at once. It’s quite a sight.

SOUND: [PIANO]

Quite a sound.

SOUND: [CROWD BEFORE SHOW]

When the Grand Night finally arrives, a crowd of about 400 lines up for tickets. They’re $10 dollars each.

Then, at exactly 7 p.m., a club member takes the mic and introduces the program against a backdrop of four gleaming baby grands. He proclaims the piano as the most versatile of instruments.

MEMBER: It doesn't have to be plugged in, turned on, cranked, primed or programmed.

Then the stars take the stage.

SOUND: [APPLAUSE]

Groups of four players for one song, eight for another. They’re dressed in black, some in black sequins and sparkles. Calloway says the pianists represent quite an age span.

CALLOWAY: We've got from 13 to 80 something.

The music is wide-ranging, too. From a rollicking “Power in the Blood” . . .

SOUND: [HYMN]

. . . to a jazzy “Closer Walk with Thee.”

SOUND: [HYMN]

Inza Calloway joins a group playing a John Philip Sousa march.

SOUND: [A LIVELY MARCH]

Even Patsy Cline makes the cut.

SOUND: [CLINE’S “I’M CRAZY”]

Here’s a more recent song you might recognize.

SOUND: [GREATEST SHOWMAN]

It was the favorite of one teenage patron.

GIRL: The Greatest Showman . . . I love that show. And the songs are like, really, really . . .

The combined talent on stage was impressive.

SOUND: [GLISSANDO]

That’s Dwight Kemp’s nimble fingers. He started taking piano lessons when he was five. He went on to teach music in public schools in the state capital.

DWIGHT KEMP: Hinds County and in Jackson, but a total of 40 years.

And that’s really what a Grand Night is all about. Passing on a love of music. The money raised through ticket sales goes to fund music lessons for area students.

MEMBER: If I call your name as the recipient of one of these scholarships, please stand and remain standing.

Charity Berry’s son and daughter are both 2025 scholarship recipients.

BERRY: She plays piano, she plays clarinet in the band, and he plays the trumpet and the piano.

Berry wants them to get the best music instruction they can. She says the scholarship money will make a difference, because the cost of lessons really adds up. But what a payoff.

But what a payoff. As the satisfied concert-goers leave, you can see it in their eyes…the countdown has begun for next year’s piano showdown.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kim Henderson in Crystal Springs, Mississippi.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Tuesday, May 27th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

Religious liberty is a foundational American right. And President Trump recently formed the White House Religious Liberty Commission to help defend it.

But WORLD opinions contributor Hunter Baker says real protection will take more than a presidential panel.

HUNTER BAKER: In the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell decision that recognized same-sex marriage as a constitutional right, I finally saw a crisis take shape that I’d anticipated for nearly two decades. In 1999 I worked as a summer law associate with Prison Fellowship. We worked hard—trying to pass a bill that would have strengthened the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act—or RFRA—a law that prevents the federal government from imposing substantial burdens on a person's religious exercise. Our bill failed.

We witnessed stout opposition from gay rights campaigners. I realized that the LGBTQ community identified religious liberty as a threat and would seek to confine free exercise of religion as much as possible.

When the Obergefell ruling came down, religious liberty and gay rights were on a collision course. The stage was set for the American left to use anti-discrimination legislation and regulations. Few Christians ever realized how serious the threat was and is.

Religious liberty has gone from being primarily a concern of religious minorities to a much broader kind of political issue. The continuing clash of religious and secular progressive sensibilities is powered by the sexual revolution. President Trump’s recent establishment of a White House Religious Liberty Commission is a sign of how much more prominent the issue has become.

The commission is specifically tasked with evaluating threats to religious liberty and seeking ways to enhance protections. Notably, an examination of the history of American religious liberty is part of the agenda. Historically speaking, it would make sense to emphasize the degree to which religious liberty is one of the most distinctive American values. Those who argue First Amendment religious liberty somehow skirts the law or operates as a “get out of jail free” card ignore the fact that free exercise is part of our most fundamental law, the U.S. Constitution.

The commission’s roster reveals some serious heavy hitters in the area of religious liberty. They all represent tremendous engagement with issues involving the free exercise of religion.

While it is true that the Supreme Court has been relatively friendly to religious liberty claims in recent years, the better course of action is to attempt to make changes in law to better support the constitutional right. As an example, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act was the primary reason Hobby Lobby survived the Obama administration’s HHS mandate. That forced employers to provide birth control and abortifacients in their insurance plans. Without the protection of RFRA, Hobby Lobby would have either been ruined by enormous fines or forced to sell.

The problem is that in the years shortly after RFRA’s passage, the coalition for religious liberty fell apart. A later attempt aimed at pressing for greater protection in the states. But that legislation ended up being greatly diluted into the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and was of no help to claimants such as the Colorado baker Jack Phillips, who continues to be targeted in his state. Further, it is the case that recent legislation from the secular left has explicitly aimed to exclude or limit the operation of RFRA.

The White House Religious Liberty Commission will produce a report, which we can hope will be influential. But what is important is that this emphasis on religious liberty not be an isolated event of the kind that pops up as a public policy fad. Rather, religious liberty deserves sustained attention by American citizens and officials. The great Catholic political theorist John Courtney Murray helped lead his church toward the embrace of religious liberty in the middle of the 20th century. He effectively argued that the religion clauses of the constitution act as “articles of peace.” Contrary to secular progressive arguments that religious freedom somehow deforms democracy, Murray noted that honoring religious liberty is deeply practical as it helps people live together in a pluralistic society. Let’s hope that President Trump’s commission can remind Americans how important it is to honor faith rather than try to steamroll it into submission.

I’m Hunter Baker.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: The president’s big, beautiful bill—the massive spending and tax package—moves from the House to the Senate, we’ll have that on Washington Wednesday. And, the power of older men mentoring the next generation … with special attention to those who lack strong role models. That and more tomorrow.

I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio. WORLD’s mission is Biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Bible says: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” —Colossians 2:6-8

Go now in grace and peace.

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