The American democratic experiment is in trouble. Founded on the principles of equality and liberty of all citizens before the law, the Constitution protects the “free exercise” of religious beliefs in the First Amendment. Throughout the history of this Republic, the national government has fought to protect the free exercise of religious beliefs.

The United States had been negotiating with Turkey for months to establish a safe zone in the Middle East that would protect both Kurdish and Turkish interests, all the while maintaining the remarkable gains made against the Islamic State (ISIS). But, to the astonishment of everyone, after a phone call with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Trump ordered US troops to retreat from northern Syria.

Recently, the American Psychological Association (APA) declared that “polyamory,” “swinging,” and “relationship anarchy” are “healthy and ethical.” The APA is a powerful organization that has a significant influence over how public school educators plan and write curriculum. Will public educators who are educating and training the next generation of leaders in America, buy into this declaration?

As we approach the third decade of the 21st century, a new world order is emerging. To some extent, the role of the US is diminished somewhat, but America remains the undisputed leader militarily. The clout of the US economically and financially has been impacted by the trade and financial polices of President Trump. The longer term impact of these policies remains to be seen.

Economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton recently developed the phrase “deaths of despair” to describe the sudden rise in deaths from suicide, alcohol and drug abuse. Ross Douthat summarizes the details of a recent Senate Joint Economic Committee that charts the scale of this tragedy: “A doubling from 22.7 deaths of despair per 100,000 Americans in 2000 to 45.8 per 100,000 in 2017.” Such self-destroying trends in America are brutal facts we must all face.

Ten years ago a protest movement began in America called the Tea Party. The various tea parties that dotted the nation insisted on a set of demands: Stop President Obama’s health care law; tame the national debt; and restore responsible government. Several Republicans were elected under the Tea Party banner. But, the Tea Party movement is dead, no longer a factor in the Republican Party’s ideology.

Despite everything that has occurred over the last five years, the United States remains the only major world power. The events leading up to World War I and World War II proved that isolationism is not a viable foreign policy. After World War II, the US put together a series of alliances and economic entities to move the world towards relative peace and economic prosperity. Through the decades of the Cold War, those systems have worked. But today, the US position is being challenged by China and, to a lesser extent, Russia. China’s growing military and economic power pose a genuine threat to the national security of the US. Time will tell whether the trade strategies President Trump is pursuing will work. But there are two areas where the US can learn from both history and common sense—Russia under Vladimir Putin and Afghanistan.

In last week’s Issues in Perspective, I explored the topic of thinking biblically about space exploration. Human beings are the only creatures created in God’s image. Among other things, that means humans represent God. We are God’s dominion stewards over His world (see Genesis 1:26ff). We have been given the authority to rule over it, to explore it, and use it as good stewards. But, given this dominion authority, human sin remains the essential challenge.

That anti-Semitism is in resurgence is a well-documented fact. The cause of this resurgence is not as clear. In this Perspective I seek to document the rather frightening evidence of growing anti-Semitism and then speculate on its causes and why this is an important issue for us as Christians.

The current American immigration crisis is exacerbated by the two extremes that dominate the debate. The Democratic side often stresses repudiating the entire immigration structure, including detention camps, the deportation of non-criminal aliens, and “decriminalizing illegal entry and extending benefits to undocumented immigrants.” On the other extreme are those Republicans who deny that there is a crisis. The US has no responsibility to maintain humane conditions in the detention camps, especially for children. The migrant camp conditions are not inhumane and there is no moral responsibility to keep “vulnerable people, children above all, in the most humane conditions possible when their detention is required”