US in danger of becoming latest empire to implode, fall

John Freivalds

Published January 18^th, 2022

Duluth News Tribune

The implosion of the U.S. has begun.

What a comment to start 2022. However, throughout history, great empires always — always — come and go, fall and fail: the Roman, the Ottoman, the Russian, the British, and now the U.S. in its present form among them. And no, sorry, we can’t be made great again by wearing red hats.

As that nameless, learned medieval English poet wrote: “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again.”

The USA is a Model for the World (of intolerance that is)

As a Latvian who was forced out of his country by the of the Nazis I am alarmed at the recurrence of intolerance here. But intolerance is part of America’s culture but few recognize its dangers.

By John Freivalds

Minneapolis Star Tribune

As much as we like to regard our country as a shining welcoming light on the hill beaming out “love between our brothers and our sisters” as Peter, Paul and Mary sang in If I Had a Hammer, truth is that the USA always has had a dark underside from its very beginning. And every so often that dark underside appears, dredged up by the recurring demagogue of the times, and overwhelms our better angels.

Local View: Let's please rename Columbus Day for Amerigo Vespucci

By John Freivalds

Duluth News Tribune

Published 10/1/2021

As Columbus Day approaches two Mondays from now, I wonder how many people know who Christopher Columbus really was. Growing up in Washington, D.C., and then being a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia, I made no connection to Columbus the person. It was just a name. Yes, there is a Columbus, Minnesota, and Duluth has a Columbus Street, and throughout the United States there are Columbuses all over.