David Bromwich

Professor of Literature, Yale University

There may now be a hope, through Congress, of putting a definitive stop to a thoughtless policy in Syria. It can be done by a vote of no confidence in "humanitarian war" which only augments the violence of the warring sects of the Middle East.

John Pavley

CTO @ The Huffington Post, Blogger

For the HuffPost community to grow and develop we must emphasize fairness in access, promote civil discourse,  reduce vitriol on our pages and provide a defense against trolling. A key strategy in doing all of this is our plan to require all new members to identify themselves when they create an account.

Marian Wright Edelman

President, Children's Defense Fund

Janol's good grades allowed him to attend an excellent magnet high school but he realized he didn't see his own experience reflected in the curriculum. He wants to see a new kind of teacher training become a priority throughout the educational system.

Arianna Huffington

Solvitur ambulando -- "it is solved by walking." This phrase refers to the 4th century Greek philosopher Diogenes's response to the question of whether motion is real -- he got up and walked. "It is solved by walking." As it turns out, there are many other problems to which walking is the solution.

Kirk Douglas

Actor

I haven't smoked in over 40 years (I am 96 years old). Of all the drugs, smoking has the highest death rate -- more than 400,000 people per year (which is more than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined). Stop smoking and live longer!

Jamie Lee Curtis

Actress and children's book author

As we pause, and broil or grill or just sit and watch a ball game with our friends and family, let us remember those who have worked and struggled and died for us, for us to be better people individually as well as better people as a nation.

Mohamed A. El-Erian

CEO and co-CIO, PIMCO

Where do markets collectively stand on Syria? Here are four things to note as we enter a weekend full of political maneuverings and difficult decisions.

Randi Weingarten

President, American Federation of Teachers

The March on Washington, and King's soaring oration, helped create a better world, but we are a long way from the world King dreamed of. So let us all take at least one lesson from King's example. Let's unite people of many faiths in a national day of prayer to end child poverty.

Michael Steele

Political analyst; Fmr. Chairman, Republican National Committee; Fmr. Lt. Governor, Maryland

Dr. King's speech challenged the status quo of his time and now so must we. But we must first answer for our generation the question often asked of him: 'When will you be satisfied?'

Christy Turlington Burns

Founder, Every Mother Counts, Director/Producer, NO WOMAN, NO CRY, global maternal health advocate, mom, model

Even though Haitian women are considered the "poto mitan"-- the "central pillars" of the family and their communities -- they are often the most underserved members of already poor communities.

Alec Baldwin

Actor

Julie Harris' voice was like rainfall. Her eyes connected directly to and channeling the depths of her powerful and tender heart. Her talent, a gift from God.

Ralph Nader

Consumer advocate, lawyer and author

The meaning Labor Day has been dulled by both rampant commercialism and public apathy.
Shouldn't Labor Day be a time to gather, contemplate and celebrate more just treatment of all those who toil without proper recognition or compensation?

Suzanne Perryman

Blogger at SpecialNeedsMom.com

In your hurry to keep things neat and orderly, you didn't see the whole picture. You didn't see the wheelchair lift permanently installed into the back of my SUV, and you didn't see me unload my little girl's pink manual wheelchair that we use for "quick" trips.

Jim Wallis

Christian leader for social change; Author, 'On God’s Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn’t Learned About Serving the Common Good'

The dream was more than the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, which both followed in the years after the history-changing 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It finally was about King's vision for "the beloved community."

Dr. Peggy Drexler

Author, research psychologist and gender scholar

What's different about Cyrus's performance, which seems to have generated an unprecedented level of outrage, is not its by-now old-hat hypersexuality but its particular seaminess. Cyrus was sexual, de rigueur in pop performances, but also more than a little repelling.

Joshua Prager

Author, Journalist

It was not until last month -- 23 years later -- that I considered that my visions in the intensive care unit were related to the visions that had come upon me, off and on, in the years since.

Thomas E. Perez

U.S. Secretary of Labor

Let's use Labor Day 2013 as an opportunity to reflect on the men and women whose heads, hearts and hands have made ours the strongest economy the world has ever known.

Marlo Thomas

Award-winning actress, author and activist

He had come to Washington that day, he said, to cash a check. "When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence," he announced to the crowd of 250,000 on the National Mall, "they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir."

Rev. Al Sharpton

President, National Action Network

Half a century after Dr. King's momentous march, we must continue to push for justice and equality; anything less will be a disservice to the memory of this great leader and all those that paved the way 50 years ago.

Sec. Kathleen Sebelius and Sec. Arne Duncan

No matter where any of us happens to live; no matter how young or old we happen to be, or whether we'd rather be shooting hoops or playing video games, we never know when we'll need insurance. An injury, illness, or accident can strike anyone, at any time.

Bernard-Henri Lévy

French philosopher and writer

Is Putin is a paper tiger? A jacked and ripped Popeye? A bluffer who will not run the risk of imperiling the Olympic Games in Sochi? History, obviously, is no guide. In such moments of suspense, there is no ready-made or risk-free solution.

Bill Moyers

Managing Editor, Moyers & Company

We are so close to losing our democracy to the mercenary class, it's as if we are leaning way over the rim of the Grand Canyon and all that's needed is a swift kick in the pants. Look out below.

Valerie Jarrett

Senior Advisor and Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls

As we reflect on the tremendous progress made over the past half-century, we honor those brave leaders who paved the way, and upon whose shoulders we all stand, by recognizing our responsibility to undertake the immense job still at hand.

Nathan Gardels

Editor, NPQ, Global Services of Los Angeles Times Syndicate/Tribune Media

The indications are certainly in the direction of the use of chemical weapons. However, we all should wait to see the report of the United Nations inspectors before action is taken. The political dynamics are running ahead of due process.

Leo W. Gerard

International President, United Steelworkers

America cannot afford to return to the days when only the scions of the wealthiest could attend college. The nation is most prosperous when prosperity is most shared.

Steve Wiens

Pastor, writer, runner

By far the best moment every day was when the kids were finally in bed, and the adults all gathered upstairs to laugh, moan about our sore, aging bodies, and relive every precious part of that day.

Mary Schmidt

Writer, Bay Area

1. Most of the time, you don't know anything about anything. That was true when you were 15 and that will be true when you are 65. You do, however, know how to be a good person and you know how to follow your heart. Keep doing that and you'll be just fine.

Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D.

Author, 'Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined'; co-founder, The Creativity Post

While introversion, sensitivity, and narcissism are all partially separate traits, hypersensitive covert narcissists are more likely to report that they are introverted and sensitive.

Ella Frances Sanders

Intern, Maptia

As Friedrich Nietzsche said, "Words are but symbols for the relations of things to one another and to us; nowhere do they touch upon the absolute truth." Here, illustrated, are 11 words whose concepts cannot be properly explained across cultures.