By Keith Devlin @KeithDevlin@fediscience.org, @profkeithdevlin.bsky.social

In memory of the 37-year-old Minneapolis residents Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, ordinary American citizens who agents of our federal government publicly executed recently. (There are least six others who ICE agent have murdered this year so far.)

Since September 1991, the MAA has afforded me the enormous privilege to express my personal opinion in its monthly members communication; the print magazine FOCUS from September 1991 to December 1997, and the online e-zine (currently the MATH VALUES section of the MAA website, originally MAA Online) from January 1996 until today. (My goal/hope is to continue to March 2027, when I turn 80; you’ll soon be free of me, dear MAA colleagues.)

In the early decades, my focus was almost exclusively issues of mathematics, mathematics education, and MAA activities. More recently I have included posts of clear relevance to those three areas, but touching—or sometimes focusing—on other areas. Yet, always topics that align with the MAA’s mission.

I always stayed clear of expressing political issues. Stepping into that area is for the MAA leadership to decide, usually informed by the membership. (They have done so only rarely.)

I am not about to change my position on this now. But the word “America” is in our society name, and recent actions by the government we collectively elected, have so disturbed and upset me, I find myself unable to go on with business as usual this month. For the first time ever, all I can summon myself to do is apologize for not delivering, for this one month, what I committed to the MAA to do (inform, challenge, explain, and yes, opine on, issues of relevance to members of our great organization). These are dark days for our nation.

I intend to be back next month.

-Keith