The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
How multiracial churches are depoliticizing Black Americans
English Summary
The article argues that the depoliticization of Black Americans is not caused by racial diversity itself, but by the transfer of institutional power within multiracial churches. Black members in multiracial congregations often disengage from partisan politics because they are forced to conform to white cultural norms, a process termed 'managed diversity.' Evidence shows that while white-led institutions welcome Black members as symbols, they sideline them as agents, thereby draining the political identity built in Black-majority churches. For sustained civic engagement, denominations must prioritize transferring actual governance and budgetary control to Black clergy, ensuring that Black pastoral authority dictates the agenda, rather than merely increasing racial attendance.
中文摘要
本文論述，非裔美國人的政治去中心化（depoliticization）並非源於種族多元性本身，而是源於機構權力在多族裔教會內部轉移的過程。在多族裔會眾中，非裔教友常退出黨派政治，原因在於他們被迫符合白人文化規範，此過程被稱為「管理式多元性」（managed diversity）。證據顯示，雖然以白人主導的機構歡迎非裔教友作為象徵，但卻將其邊緣化為缺乏實權的代理人，從而耗竭了在非裔為主教會中建立的政治身份。為維持持續的公民參與，教派必須優先將實際的治理權和預算控制權轉移給非裔牧師，確保非裔牧養權威能夠主導議程，而非僅僅增加種族出席人數。
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