Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in The Swamp.
'On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century' by Timothy Snyder
Throughout the reading of On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (Timothy Snyder, Vintage Publishing, 2017)the figure of Victor Klemperer resonates strongly. Klemperer was a humanist, philologist, and Professor of Romance Languages and therefore, a man shaped by language, culture, and books. His testimony of the Nazi Germany shares many features with other witnesses but his condition of linguist makes Klemperer a sharp observer of the nazi's perversion of language. Klemperer filled his diaries I shall bear witness (1933-1945) with personal impressions, objective or subjective descriptions, from a jewish and no-jewish perspective, what represent an evocative narration of daily life under Nazism picturing the entire trajectory from the first years of Nazism after the elections in 1933 to their defeat of the Germans and the end of the war in 1945. But if there is a trait relevant about Klemperer work is his analysis of how the Nazis appropriated the language and enraptured the entire nation in the process. In 1947 he published LTI – Lingua Tertii Imperii: Notizbuch eines Philologen (The language of the Third Reich), a close study of the language of Nazism and how propaganda helped to form individual and collective identities. Klemperer used the book as a resource to keep himself sane, while he was forced to abandon his classes and start to work in a factory. It is remarkable that most of the words used for the nazis were not new terms but existent words that were adjudged with new meanings like for example New Order. Also ‘Umsiedlung’ (resettle) or ‘Aussiedlung’ (evacuation) words for the killing of Jews, while the gas chambers were called the ‘Badeanstalten’ or bath houses. And of course the biggest of the euphemisms used for the systematic extermination of Jews known as the Final Solution ‘Endlosung.'
By Guillermo Fernandez8 years ago in The Swamp
Is Peter Rabbit a Communist?
Is anyone surprised Armitage Hux does not like rabbits? During a lecture break, I watched the trailer for the new Peter Rabbit. Looking beyond the ridiculous concept, strange plot, exhausting amounts of cuts (can trailers please relax?), I saw ("The Light" by Hank Williams, a great song) something interesting.
By The Decadent Roomies8 years ago in The Swamp
Trump Is Not the President We Deserve, but the One We Need Right Now!
Trump—you either love him or hate him. He's either the signal for the Golden Age, or proof that an apocalypse of nuclear fire is upon us. He and his presidency are the subject of much controversy and much consternation of the people. Simply put, Donald Trump is a very...complex character. Is he a "stable genius?" Is he a "f*cking moron"? Will we ever be able to tell?
By Force Of Will8 years ago in The Swamp
Impactful Political Cartoons About Gun Control
There is a mass shooting virtually every few weeks. Hundreds of men, women, and children die because of gun violence, and still we have no solution. And while we sit around waiting for the next mass shooting to happen, these political cartoons about gun control depict the senselessness, sorrow, and stupidity surrounding the firearms debate.
By Jody Hopkins8 years ago in The Swamp
Patty Cannon: The Infamous Slave Trader of the 1800s
On Investigation Discovery, the show Deadly Women focused on a 50-year-old woman named Patty Cannon who was living in a man’s world. In 1810, in Sussex County, Delaware, Cannon was known to dress and portray herself as a man, according retired state archivist of Delaware Russ McCabe.
By Darryl C. Richie8 years ago in The Swamp
Pollution and Packaging
Pollution and Packaging Pollution is defined as—to contaminate, as with poisonous or harmful substances. Deciding what is harmful is not as easy as many will think. Consider light pollution. Anyone walking a street in the dark will not think of street lights as harmful, yet a night sky watcher will consider the light as a pollutant. The food processing industry does not consider the gases and packaging materials they use to prolong the shelf life of their products as harmful, yet many health-conscious people do.
By Peter Rose8 years ago in The Swamp
What's for Dinner? Plastic!
Imagine 25 years from now you and your family take a trip to the beach, you pile out of the car, and can hear the wave rushing to the shore. As you walk to the beach you see a couple bottles, caps and other debris littered as you walk and once you get to the beach you are slightly disappointed at the sight before you. Little to no seagulls flying around begging for food. Sandpipers nowhere in sight and every few steps you're kicking empty plastic pieces around and out of your way. Gone are the days of sea shell hunting because now the most that washes on shore is empty bottles, caps and ripped up plastic bags.
By Misha Alsleben8 years ago in The Swamp
The Problem of the Commons
In some ways, the Problem of the Commons forms the core of all liberal philosophy. If the world were different, or the people who live in it different, it would not be a problem. This essay hopes to explain what the issue is, and how it relates to a good portion of what are commonly seen as liberal or progressive political positions in the west.
By Daniel Herron8 years ago in The Swamp
