DONALD TRUMP’S ascension to the presidency makes me feel as though a group of aliens from another planet have moved in and taken over the US government. How did a person with values so completely antithetical to ours assume this powerful office? Why didn’t we see this coming?

It may be a long road back to sanity and we need all the help we can get to find the way. David Hartsough’s new book, Waging Peace: Global Adventures of a Lifelong Activist, can, I think, help us address these questions. It suggests ways to mobilize ourselves, particularly in the context of increasing violence and what Tikkun calls “the Left’s religiophobia.”

Tikkun argues that the Right has succeeded in portraying liberals, progressives, and others of the Left as elitists who exhibit contempt for ordinary Americans and their values, including their religious values. When these “ordinary” folk interact with people who...

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