Opinion Today: The ghosts of Oct. 7

October 6, 2026

An illustration of a woman in a bright blue sweater sitting at a desk. A dog naps at her feet. She is taking money being handed through her computer screen and passing it onto a giant man to her left dressed in a suit jacket and green pants. In his other hand he holds a briefcase overflowing with money.

Hannah Jacobs

Notable

Big tech is crushing small businesses. “There is nothing to stop Amazon and the like from copying my viral product, lowering prices and quashing my business.”

— Corissa Steiner, the founder of a bedding company

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Trump’s problems with voting. “The rulings have handed him an unambiguous gift: a road map for shaping the universe of eligible voters to his liking in the presidential election year of 2028.”

— Jeffrey Toobin, a contributing Opinion writer

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How A.I. can boost democracy. “We’re so busy debating whether A.I. will destroy humanity that we don’t ask how we might use it to deliver services, run elections, make laws and better listen to constituents.”

— Beth Simone Noveck, a professor at Northeastern University

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Spotlight

Yellow ribbon symbols affixed to a tree in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.

Ofir Berman for The New York Times

What It Will Take for Israel to Overcome the Ghosts of Oct. 7

Bret Stephens argues that service must trump entitlement.

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ICYMI

Brazil’s problem is bigger than Bolsonaro. “The long-run patterns of how ordinary Brazilians participate in public life should worry small-d democrats even more.”

— Elizabeth McKenna, an assistant professor at the Harvard Kennedy School

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More in Opinion

Guest Essay

The Science That Has Oil Companies Running Scared

However the U.S. Supreme Court rules, the work of holding oil companies accountable for climate change has a bright future.

By Jeff Goodell

An illustration featuring a restaurant check book, the center of which has been cut out in the shaped of the globe.

Guest Essay

The Gender Gap Has Taken a Strange Twist

Republican and Democratic voters are seeing masculinity and femininity very differently.

By Thomas B. Edsall

Men listening to President Trump speaking in an arena.

Guest Essay

With Trump Flailing, Some Conservatives Are Having Second Thoughts About Trumpism

What is the future of the conservative movement?

By Stephanie Slade and John Guida

A photo illustration featuring President Trump in the background and Ronald Reagan in the foreground.

In Your Words

Re: “Jeff Tweedy: Woody Guthrie Was Right About Us”

Jack Edgy

Washington

I loved Jeff’s recognition that Woody was emphasizing the critical importance of community, and the role of music. Connecting people with music is as important today as it was in 1943. And all kinds of music can still do that, if you just listen to each other.

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Re: “Assisted Death Is Not a Choice of Last Resort in Canada”

Denis Lahaie

Ottawa, Ontario

My 95 year old mom got a phone call from a friend months ago. He was informing her that in 24 hours he will undergo assisted death. He was terminally ill with painful cancer treatment. He made his decision.

I believe in miracles but I also believe in dying with dignity.

Therapeutic relentlessness, also known as medical futility or unreasonable obstinacy, means continuing aggressive and invasive medical treatments for a dying patient when those interventions offer no real benefit or hope of recovery.

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Read more Opinion comments here, and check out our Letters to the Editor.

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