We live in a partisan age, and our news habits can reinforce our own perspectives. Consider this an effort to broaden our collective outlook with essays beyond the range of our typical selections.

FROM THE LEFT

From “The Palestinian Resistance Isn’t a Monolith,” by Bashir Abu-Manneh in Jacobin at tinyurl.com/54jjcmrr.

The context, from the author: It does Palestinians a disservice to flatten their political diversity and complex ongoing debates.

The excerpt: Supporting Palestine is about ending an illegal occupation and holding Israel accountable for violating international law. It is not about supporting the killing of Israeli civilians or the destruction of Israeli cities. Upholding international law means upholding it for everyone. This sort of (violent pro-Hamas) rhetoric collapses a whole range of political positions in Palestine into what one militant group says and does. It also assumes that Hamas speaks and acts on behalf of all the Palestinian people all the time — simply because it won an election (with 45% of the vote) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in 2006 (mainly as a protest vote against the Palestinian Authority’s corruption and its surrender at Oslo). Hamas’ one election win is, therefore, not a blank check for eternity. This is especially true because in governing Gaza, Hamas has forgotten about democracy, employed authoritarianism and corruption, and repressed political organization and dissent.

From “To Imagine a Better Future, Look to John Rawls,” by Daniel Chandler in The Nation at tinyurl.com/2vduchh2.

The context, from the author: While we cannot change the world with dreams alone, moral ideas can inspire people to come together and change their societies for the better.

The excerpt: (Philosopher John) Rawls’ magnum opus, A Theory of Justice, published in 1971, revolutionized political philosophy and earned him a place in the canon of great Western thinkers. According to the prominent socialist philosopher G.A. Cohen, there are “at most two books in the history of Western political philosophy (that) have a claim to be regarded as greater than A Theory of Justice: Plato’s Republic and Hobbes’s Leviathan.” Rawls’ great achievement was to fuse the classical liberal commitment to freedom with a concern for equality more often associated with socialism, creating a synthesis that has come to be known as “liberal egalitarianism.” What makes his ideas so vital right now is that they are fundamentally hopeful and constructive, providing us with what he called a “realistic utopia” — an achievable vision of the best that a democratic society can be. They are an essential antidote to widespread cynicism and an unparalleled resource for developing a unifying and transformative progressive politics. Rawls’s philosophy is also surprisingly easy to grasp. At its heart is a strikingly simple idea: that society should be fair.

From “Donald Trump’s Sleepy, Sleazy Criminal Trial,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells in The New Yorker at tinyurl.com/5ah9vz4n.

The context, from the author: The most striking aspect of the former president’s hush-money trial so far has been that, for the first time in a decade, former President Donald Trump is struggling to command attention.

The excerpt: With polls showing the presidential race essentially tied, (President Joe) Biden might prefer to run against the omnipresent Trump of the 2020 election cycle, whose lies and threats were easier to get people to notice. The dynamic of the trial could carry over to the election: Trump is diminishing, but the public is tuned out, because everyone already knows exactly who he is.

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FROM THE RIGHT

From “Torch the Higher-Ed Sector,” by Sumantra Maitra in The American Conservative at tinyurl.com/5546asp4.

The context, from the author: The recent campus protests constitute a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for conservatives to demonstrate that the entire higher-education sector is bloated and toxic at best, and outrightly hostile to civilization at worst.

The excerpt: The mass of tribal students — guttural in their hatred, proud of their ignorance, confused about their identity, purpose, and theology ... — demonstrates the need for discipline. This is a generation whose members were never punished and always got what they wanted; they grew up in a world of nominal egalitarianism and participation trophies, and therefore, seek, almost subliminally, a strong hand to restore order. Any future conservative leader who fails to understand that, or lacks a plan to transform this heterogenous mass into a movement by repurposing them towards a life with some meaning, should go back to studying history. The metaphorical crown is lying in the gutter.

From “Let the Ivy Leagues Reap What They’ve Sown,” by Jarrett Stepman in The Daily Signal at tinyurl.com/bdue96yk.

The context, from the author: These elite universities are effectively letting activists have a “heckler’s veto” over their institutions.

The excerpt: When the activists abuse other students and faculty — whose “crimes” are being Jewish or “Zionist” — Ivy League administrators offer hybrid online learning as the solution. Think about that for a moment. The best that these temples of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” can offer to people who’ve literally been the victims of bigotry and intolerance is COVID-era Zoom learning and canceled graduation ceremonies. In the institutions that pride themselves on being the most academically elite in the world and pillars of diversity and tolerance, we see weakness, idiocy and hate in the boldest of colors. That’s what is being exposed.

From “In Defense of Dog-Killer Kristi Noem,” by Larry Taunton in The Federalist at tinyurl.com/ycxxhhhm.

The context, from the author: By now, everyone on God’s green Earth has heard the story of how South Dakota rancher and Gov. Kristi Noem shot her 14-month-old dog “Cricket” after it attacked and killed a neighbor’s chickens.

The excerpt: This tempest in a teapot reveals not the typical red-state-blue-state divide, but an urban-rural divide. ... Having spent a lot of time on farms and ranches, I came to recognize that those who operate them are faced with a plethora of problems in which I, in my ignorance, might find their solutions drastic or insensitive when they’re actually the most sensible thing to do. I also know that my soft spot for animals is deemed more liability than asset in that world — and for good reason. Calls for Noem to relocate the dog or attempt to rehabilitate it are the sort of objections made by people who haven’t a clue what they are talking about.