Steve Hochstadt

Steve Hochstadt is a writer and an emeritus professor of history at Illinois College.

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• 
  Jul 9, 2019
  

  What Does It Mean to Be Patriotic?

  by Steve Hochstadt

  A survey one year ago showed that 72% of Republicans rated themselves “very patriotic”, while only 29% of Democrats chose this label for themselves. Since Trump’s election, the self-proclaimed patriotism of Democrats has dropped significantly.

  

• 
  Jun 25, 2019
  

  Racism, Reparations, and the Growing Political Divide

  by Steve Hochstadt

  The clean partisan split over whether to consider reparations to African Americans demonstrates how Republicans and Democrats are moving away from each other.

  

• 
  Jun 18, 2019
  

  African Art Belongs Where It Was Created. Give It Back.

  by Steve Hochstadt

  The fruits of genocide lie in glass cases in Western museums. Our institutions owe reparations for organized theft.

  

• 
  Jun 11, 2019
  

  Photographs From My First Trip to China

  by Steve Hochstadt

  Steve Hochstadt shares images from China in 1989, about a month before the Tiananment Square Massacre. 

  

• 
  May 28, 2019
  

  Good Intentions, But Still A Long Way To Go

  by Steve Hochstadt

  Only once those who have enjoyed the privilege of belonging to dominant groups ask themselves whether other people also deserve the same rights will our society get beyond good intentions to equal results.

  

• 
  May 14, 2019
  

  Citizenship and the Census

  by Steve Hochstadt

  Democrats need to tell Americans how we think about citizenship, not just the paperwork and the legalities, but the ethics and good behavior.

  

• 
  May 7, 2019
  

  Team of Rivals in the Democratic Primary

  by Steve Hochstadt

  Democratic voters are clear about what they want from a candidate: not a particular race or gender, but attention to race and gender; not someone who criticizes other Democrats, but someone who can work with Republicans, while also standing up to their pernicious policies.

  

• 
  May 1, 2019
  

  Reduce, reuse, recycle – and a lot more

  by Steve Hochstadt

  We have had plenty of warning for years that we are changing our planet in ways that are bad for it and for us. There is still time to make the necessary changes. But not much.

  

• 
  Apr 23, 2019
  

  To His Followers, Trump is a Folk Hero

  by Steve Hochstadt

  Villainy unalloyed by any goodness has also propelled many people, almost all men, into the ranks of folk heroes, like Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, and Bonnie and Clyde. These criminals captured the popular imagination, not despite being bad, but because of it.

  

• 
  Apr 16, 2019
  

  American Jews Versus Israeli Politics

  by Steve Hochstadt

  The latest Israeli elections suggest there will be no solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

  

• 
  Mar 26, 2019
  

  The Weakness of Democracy

  by Steve Hochstadt

  When we extend our gaze beyond the US, we can more easily perceive that democracy often works badly.

  

• 
  Mar 20, 2019
  

  What is Antisemitism?

  by Steve Hochstadt

  Many, perhaps most accusations of antisemitism are made in good faith for the purpose of calling attention to real religious prejudice. But such accusations are often made for less honest political purposes.

  

• 
  Mar 12, 2019
  

  The History of International Women’s Day and the Ongoing Fight for Gender Equality

  by Steve Hochstadt

  International Women’s Day serves to highlight the remaining gender inequality in our society. 

  

• 
  Mar 5, 2019
  

  Can Artists Remake Society?

  by Steve Hochstadt

  One of the most striking changes triggered by the November Revolution in Germany, and more generally the revolutions in eastern Europe provoked by the Russian Revolution, was the conquest of the art world by a radically new conception of the nature of visual expression.

  

• 
  Feb 26, 2019
  

  How Much Do We Care About Our Grandchildren?

  by Steve Hochstadt

  We have to change our lifestyles now to combat climate change. That will be uncomfortable, even scary. 

  

• 
  Feb 19, 2019
  

  How Far We Have Yet to Go

  by Steve Hochstadt

  We don’t yet know all of the changes we will need to make in our attitudes and actions in order to create full social equality. The work will be difficult, but the goal will be glorious.

  

• 
  Feb 12, 2019
  

  The Worldwide Problem of Holocaust Ignorance – and The Barriers to Solving It

  by Steve Hochstadt

  Because encouraging diversity and fighting prejudice are politically controversial, Holocaust education is a partisan political act, and always has been.

  

• 
  Feb 5, 2019
  

  Happy Belated Birthday, Jackie Robinson!

  by Steve Hochstadt

  A personal reflection on baseball, family, and one sports legend. 

  

• 
  Jan 30, 2019
  

  What History Can Teach Us About Capitalism, Socialism, and Inequality

  by Steve Hochstadt

  Growing inequality is not only an American problem, but a global problem that keeps getting worse.

  

• 
  Jan 23, 2019
  

  The Real National Emergency

  by Steve Hochstadt

  The Republican Party has transformed itself into a political force that prioritizes its own power over the sanctity of electoral democracy.