Dorian de Wind

Retired U.S. Air Force Officer and writer

As George W. Bush reappears in the public eye preparing for Thursday's dedication of his presidential library, the debate on his presidential performance, and legacy, has also come to the forefront once more.

Justine Frangouli-Argyris

Journalist and writer

How can we expect to outline the preciousness of human life when we have totally marginalized the concepts of peace, solidarity, humanism, reconciliation, forgiveness and friendship and abandoned the idea of a "human-centered" education?

Robert Scheer

Editor, Truthdig.com; Author, 'The Great American Stickup'

The horror of Boston should be a reminder that the choice of weaponry can be in itself an act of evil. President Obama made clear that "any time bombs are used to target innocent civilians, it is an act of terror." But are we as a society prepared to be judged by that standard?

Darden Smith

Founder, SongwritingWith:Soldiers

About four years ago I wrote a song with my friend Radney Foster called "Angel Flight." The song changed my life.

Marian Wright Edelman

President, Children's Defense Fund

The United States Senate's failure to pass common sense gun safety measures -- the Manchin-Toomey Amendment to expand background checks to keep guns away from underage or dangerous people, and amendments to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines designed only to kill as many human beings as possible -- is a moral failure of great magnitude. Once again the safety of children has been sacrificed by political leaders in service to the gun lobby. As Americans do we value guns more than the lives of children? Do we really want to continue to have political leaders who kowtow to the threats and money and half-truths of the gun lobby and who think their political jobs are more important than the right of children to live and learn and grow up in safety?

Alexander Nicholson

Legislative Director at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)

The New GI Bill is a great tool to help transform the New Greatest Generation of service members into a new generation of scholars, entrepreneurs, citizens and civilian leaders. It is only fair that we evolve this benefit and improve the impact of this investment in those who have fought.

Robert Koehler

Syndicated writer

Every life is a unique, invaluable, irreplaceable manifestation of human potential. Yet why is our awareness of this basic truth so fleeting? Why do we make grief hierarchical -- some deaths matter more than others -- and thereby diminish it immeasurably?

Khalid Hanifi

Singer, songwriter, producer

Being sad was just sad, but being sad with Diana Ross via "My World Is Empty Without You" was exhilarating and poignant.

Matthew Hoh

Senior Fellow, Center for International Policy

War and violence are fool's options. It is well past time Americans accept this truth and incorporate it not just into our policies and culture, but also into our national soul.

Leila Levinson

Author, 'Gated Grief: The Daughter of a G.I. Concentration Camp Liberator Discovers a Legacy of Trauma'

We are 12 adults preparing for a play. We are veterans and family members of veterans. The audience will be civilians. Just as children learn through play, so is our play teaching us, transforming us.

Ethan Casey

Author, 'Alive and Well in Pakistan'

Any summary a reviewer could offer would be the merest potted version of what took the author years of research to stitch together, so I prefer to urge you to read the book itself.

Norman Solomon

Author, 'War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death'

The same U.S. news media that are conveying the preciousness of children so terribly harmed in Boston are scarcely interested in children like Guljumma.

Keith Addis

President of the Board of Directors, OCEANA

I'm a civilian with little understanding of the strategic value of aircraft carrier battle groups in the modern world, but I do know this: The ship is impressive, but the people who make it work are fantastic.

Sunil Sharan

Clean energy pioneer and South Asia expert

In an op-ed in the New York Times the day after the Boston bombings, Haider Javed Warraich expressed his fears about life as a Pakistani in America. H...

Guy Cimbalo

Writer

Sword and Plough Transforms Army Surplus into High Fashion From epaulettes in the 18th century to Adam Ant's glam-admiral look in the 80's, the fashi...

Matt Zeller

Adjunct Fellow at the American Security Project; Fellow at the Truman Project for National Security; Author, 'Watches Without Time'

Watching the television coverage of the Boston Marathon attacks, I found myself thrown five years back to a battlefield in Afghanistan. I've spoken with numerous veterans today and all echoed the same fear -- the tactics of our enemies abroad may finally have followed us home.