The hardest thing I've ever written: inquirer.com/opinion/commen… via @PhillyInquirer

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“When technology felt like I wasn’t participating as a creator anymore, that’s when things started to go sideways. I don’t want technology that turns me into a consumer—I want technology that helps me make things.” —Craig Mod ow.ly/bmf85102LR5

“Wonder Wandering is having those childlike, open eyes where you believe anything is possible. It’s looking for beauty, surprise, and little moments of magic in the world around you—and putting yourself in the path of finding them.” —Piera Gelardi ow.ly/n5X85102LQT

I have been holding my tongue about something that happened during the Ohio gubernatorial race. I refused to speak while the election was underway because I did not want my words mistaken for an attempt to influence anyone’s vote.

But now that the election is over, I have nearly twenty years, my ministry has taken me among the homeless, the abused, the exploited, and the forgotten. I have sat with victims of sexual violence and witnessed the lifelong wounds of childhood trauma.

What Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign did to Amy Acton was among the most morally repulsive things I have witnessed in American politics.

They took a woman whose stepfather was indicted for raping her when she was twelve years old and featured her mother, from whom she had been estranged for nearly fifty years, in a political advertisement attacking her credibility.

The advertisement challenged Acton’s account of her childhood without mentioning the sexual abuse allegations or the circumstances of that estrangement. When people expressed their horror, the campaign defended it.

Imagine examining another person’s childhood suffering and fractured family relationships, then deciding those wounds might help win an election.

Anyone who has worked with survivors of childhood sexual abuse understands the painful realities of denial, betrayal, shame, and estrangement. A child growing into a successful adult does not erase what happened. Nor does a parent’s denial make that suffering disappear.

I find it equally disturbing that an elderly mother, whom Acton herself described as unwell, was brought into this spectacle. Whatever her own struggles or responsibility for the past, exploiting that fractured relationship was grotesque.

To everyone who defended this, consider the message you sent to survivors. To the young woman whose family refuses to believe her. To the man who has carried the shame of childhood abuse for forty years. To the frightened child who has yet to tell anyone.

What did you teach them about the value of their suffering?

I am a priest. I believe in repentance, forgiveness, and redemption. But none of those things requires me to pretend that deliberate cruelty is anything less than a grave moral failure.

Your political allegiance does not absolve you of moral responsibility. You do not get to set aside your conscience during an election and retrieve it afterward.

If your loyalty requires you to defend the exploitation of a childhood sexual abuse survivor, your loyalty has become an idol. And if your conscience cannot recognize the wrong here, examine what political tribalism has done to it.

This is not about Republicans or Democrats. We have a choice as a people: continue excusing cruelty from our preferred political camp, or summon the courage to condemn it wherever it appears.

Amy Acton deserved better. Every survivor who watched this unfold deserved better.

And God help us if we have reached the point where winning an election matters more than protecting the dignity of a wounded human being.

“I think every time I felt deeply uncomfortable, I realized everybody else was probably feeling uncomfortable too, and that became the beginning of the work.” —Manoush Zomorodi ow.ly/giiC50ZWGg7

“If I really want to be human centered, why should I force one aesthetic on everyone instead of giving people choice based on what is meaningful to them?” —Mauro Porcini ow.ly/XhvW50ZWGfH

“Where social media kind of fooled us into believing everyone’s life was perfect, AI could potentially make us believe that everything we think is perfect. And that’s really dangerous.” —Craig Elimeliah ow.ly/TvPI5100PpJ

“So many people think it was all about fashion. And for me, it really wasn’t about fashion. It was really about character and getting those colors and silhouettes to look beautiful together.” —Debra McGuire ow.ly/ENIj5100PpS

“You have to be a good creative director to your AI. The better your feedback, the better it becomes.” —Pum Lefebure ow.ly/HR0n50ZWGcy

“I’ve always been aware, okay, this is a winning streak, but it’s temporary. And a losing streak is around the corner. That’s a fact. That’s what it is to be alive.” —Platon ow.ly/Kwep5102LOo

“We need to make sure technology does not capture all our attention but helps us reconnect with the world around us, from people to nature.” —Mauro Porcini ow.ly/4mpt50ZWGik

Legendary photographer @platon and genius designer @sdadich are back on Design Matters talking about their brand new venture! tinyurl.com/scottandplat2

Photographer Platon and designer Scott Dadich return for part two, sharing behind-the-scenes stories from their portraits of presidents and cultural icons. They also discuss their new book, Paros, and how their creative partnership is evolving. ow.ly/cJWf5102WqY

“How do you, as an adult, make yourself believe in your own value? A lot of kids are born into circumstances where they never have to ask that question. A lot of kids aren’t, and you spend your life finding ways to believe you’re worthy.” —Craig Mod ow.ly/aWMg50ZWGi6

“The best thing about storytelling is that it reminds people they’re seen. That their experiences, identities, and emotions actually matter.” —Bobby Hundreds ow.ly/bbMe50ZWGhS

“Curiosity is the bridge between the known and the unknown. It is a ramshackle bridge because a lot may just be unknowable, but curiosity is this idealistic, optimistic orientation that the universe can be known.” —Maria Popova ow.ly/ssIz50ZWGhJ

“Laughter is such a conduit to creativity. Someone says something ridiculous, everyone laughs, and then suddenly there’s brilliance. That moment of openness lets the subconscious connect ideas you couldn’t reach by trying harder.” —Piera Gelardi ow.ly/PL4T50ZWGhl

“As long as I live, I will always look out the window and think about ideas. I love ideas.” —Pum Lefebure ow.ly/iNbI50ZWGh8

“The best images develop in time. And in time, I mean in split seconds, so that at first you see the topic, you see what it’s an image of, and then you get it. When you get it, you laugh or you don’t, but you have completed the circle.” —Françoise Mouly ow.ly/fpMz50ZWGgK

“Barbie and I were both born in 1952. So, she and I had a lot in common. And she was a way for me to express my creativity. And I did, I took it really seriously.” —Debra McGuire ow.ly/M2i05100Pmr