THIS HAS BEEN A VERY DIVISIVE ISSUE OF LATE. SOME PARENTS want very much for their children to be fully educated, and they see learning about human sexuality as crucial to the well developed person. Others are equally vociferous—but on the other side. In their view, such matters should be left to the home or to the church, or not be discussed at all.

DURING THE AMERICAN MILITARY ACTIVITY IN CENTRAL AMERICA, U.S. Army Captain Linda Bray commanded a 30-man platoon in an attack on a Panamanian Defense Forces guard dog kennel.

West Point, that bastion of the U.S. army, recently chose a female student as first captain of its Corps of Cadets.

Female soldiers have been placed in potential combat positions in the armies of Canada, Israel, and other countries.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM HAS ACCEPTED HER INVITATION TO PLAY in the men’s Professional Golf Association tournament in Fort Worth, Texas, and everyone and his uncle (excuse me, his aunt) has practically dropped their teeth over this wondrous occurrence.

Headlines range from “Let’s hear it for Sorenstam,” to “She’s an inspiration,” to “Why this Swede is ‘da woman’ of golf.” If there has been a critical reaction to this phenomenon in the mainstream press, I have not heard about it.

THIS IS THE FOURTH IN A SERIES OF COLUMNS DEALING WITH SILVER linings: the phenomenon that unwarranted and unjustified acts can sometimes have positive elements. This of course does not justify them, but we do ourselves a disservice if we ignore these benefits.

THERE HAS BEEN A SPATE OF ROBBERIES AND SEXUAL ASSAULTS aimed at university coeds in uptown New Orleans. A single, typically black man approaches girls walking in the street in pairs at night and then proceeds to rob, confine, and sexually assault them.

GOVERNOR BLANCO IS NOW HOLDING HEARINGS ON THE PROBLEM of poverty. Since she is a mainstream politician, she will likely arrive at the wrong answers for its cause and adopt fascistic solutions for its cure. Worse, this initiative will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, and thus exacerbate the very poverty she is supposedly fighting.

WHEN AN INDIVIDUAL OR A GROUP OF PERSONS IN THE PRIVATE sector discriminates against a racial or ethnic minority, the results can be debilitating. Psychological harm, feelings of isolation, and a sense of hostility are likely to result.

ALBERTA’S TREATMENT OF ITS HUTTERITE COMMUNITIES GIVES the lie to any residual claim it may have as a bastion of free enterprise and fair play.

IN THE FIRST PART OF THIS BOOK, WE SAW THAT DISCRIMINATION occurs in many ways, shapes, and forms. Often, these forms of discrimination are ironic or even hypocritical.

GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN SUCH ISSUES AS HUMAN RIGHTS, discrimination, affirmative action, and equal pay for equal work is commonly seen as productive, efficient, and just—in a word, as on the side of the angels. On the other hand, businessmen, employers, the marketplace, and the profit system are often viewed as the “devil” in the scenario as far as racial, sexual, and other prejudices are concerned.