where science and ethics intersect with politics
Abolition Day marks the ratification of the 13th Amendment—an end to legal slavery, but not an end to the forces that shaped it. For the Humane Party, this day is both remembrance and responsibility, a reminder that abolition was a beginning and that the deeper work of justice remains unfinished.
In the wake of escalating global conflicts, the rules of war remain clear — yet increasingly ignored. This article examines what international humanitarian law actually requires, why war crimes are legally defined and not subjective, and how powerful nations have begun eroding the very principles designed to protect civilians. As civilian casualties rise and accountability fades, the world is left with an unsettling question: if these are the rules of war, who is still following them?
December opens with World AIDS Day — a global moment of remembrance and resolve — but it also reveals a deeper reality unfolding across the United States: a federal government growing increasingly silent in the face of suffering. From HIV prevention and civil rights protections to hunger, housing, and public health, compassion is receding from national leadership at a time when communities need it most. This month’s This Month in Compassion examines where empathy is thriving at the grassroots level, where it is disappearing at the federal level, and why ethical governance demands that compassion remain at the heart of every policy decision.
The Humane Herald 