William Williams

Less than two years after he was appointed head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis made news by acknowledging the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide (2015). Armenians and their supporters welcomed the statement, but it angered Turkish leaders who reject using the label “genocide” to describe the murders of nearly two million Armenians from April 1915 until the end of World War I.

Every year around this time, Jewish people around the world celebrate Purim—a holiday commemorating the time when Persian King Ahasuerus (traditionally identified as Xerxes I), extended to the scattered descendants of Judah’s captivity the right to defend themselves against their enemies. It was a momentous day, when a mighty world ruler—hardly a Jew himself—intervened against one of his own advisor’s schemes, and prevented persecution of the beleaguered Jewish minority living in his kingdom.

How would you feel if someone aimed a loaded weapon at your children? And yet, in the interests of more than 700 billion dollars worth of annual purchases, many industries are doing just that: loading the barrels of their marketing campaigns with whatever ammunition they can. Their targets: the minds and impulses of children—and if you think it’s just about money, you’re only partly right.