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Parents have the primary responsibility for protecting kids from threats — online and offline — to their physical safety, mental health and moral development. Discharging that duty requires that they be able to say no to their children — even when all their friends’ parents have said yes and even when they beg. Parents have the power today, all on their own, to tell their kids to stay off social media, delay buying them phones or buy ones that can’t download apps. (Ramesh Ponnuru, 3/12)

As of 2023, only 4% of Americans believed the political system was working well. Americans’ trust that the government will “do what’s right” at least “most of the time” dropped by half between 2000 and 2008, continuing to decline to an all-time low of 17% in 2025. As a scientist, I’m deeply concerned. Scientists are often encouraged to avoid politics. But this advice is outdated, if it was ever correct in the first place. Science relies on public support. (Jenna Norton, 3/12)

America will celebrate not just one, but two momentous anniversaries this year. Two hundred and fifty years ago, the Founding Fathers declared independence from Great Britain to protect Americans’ right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And 50 years ago, a handful of American scientists and entrepreneurs founded the world’s first biotech company, Genentech. (John F. Crowley, 3/12)

Imagine a Jenga tower, teetering on the edge of collapse as the final, consequential block is pulled. Or a single book standing on an old shelf, finally toppling over after a slight jostle. Or perhaps, as Malcolm Gladwell described in his best-selling book, “The Tipping Point,” a virus, laying low for years until the right set of circumstances convenes, enabling infections to suddenly explode and an epidemic to begin. (Bela Starinchak, 3/12)

While schools are, like hospitals (until recent violations), accepted to be protected places, in practice they are treated more as part of civilian infrastructure. This has undermined what should be a simple principle: that schools exist for learning, and must never become theatres of war or staging grounds for military operations. No child should die for trying to learn, and those who attack innocent girls and boys should be subject to the same degree of judicial accountability as those who commit other crimes against humanity. (Gordon Brown, 3/12)