opinion
Opinion pieces from the left, right, and everyone in between.
My Two Cents for the Bank
Political discussion was once a much smaller topic. Debated over water coolers at work and during ads of sports games, the topic was widely ignored by the vast public. Whether for the better or worse, it seems as if everyone is involved in politics in some way. This change was most apparent when a friend of mine started getting political on social media. Though it was mostly just memes he found funny, it was strange. This friend would openly sigh if anyone mentioned politics. Hell, he knew so little that I had to explain who Republicans and Democrats were so he could finish a project in high school.
By Kellen Pifer5 years ago in The Swamp
Equality Without Anarchy
Equality without anarchy; can it exist? Think about something; even if you're too young to remember (as I am), undoubtedly you can at least imagine this. The last time that a race-related issue was raised and people turned to violence and destruction to make a point… it sent military tanks rolling up the city streets of Augusta and Harlem, GA.
By Timothy A Rowland5 years ago in The Swamp
Freedom: Is It a Mere Slogan?
All of this stuff about Trump, symbolism, cops, monuments, rioting, and so on, has me thinking about freedom. What the hell is it anyway? In assessing freedom, I will address the nature of authority, the exaggerated scandals of monuments and Founding Father-shaming, and a host of other things (but, thankfully, I DO NOT discuss facemasks in this particular piece, other than to say right here that, in my view, it's more of a medical/scientific concern about limiting the spread of a potentially deadly virus).
By Wade Wainio5 years ago in The Swamp
Future Primitive
In advance, I apologize for my rant, but better out than in. I have thought about this for many sleepless nights as I pace the night dealing with bad nights. You know those nights, where the past creeps up and fills the landscape with bad things that you thought you had gotten over, but never can. In my pacing, I went over all the intel I learned, or was entrusted to me, and see a future with a landscape painted with stupidity, and blood. I see many factions, and many endgames in play, and since I am nobody, my ability to stop it all is limited to my turf, and here I shall stand,mentor those awake, and aware, and fight.
By R. Herne Steelegrave5 years ago in The Swamp
Why Progressives should support Biden
Moderate Democrats are one of the biggest obstacles in the path of a Progressive America. Historical support of big money, PAC’s, and corporate donors allow influences into the Party that are antithetical to a collective focused government. The Biden/Harris ticket promises more of the same. VP Biden has actively worked with lobbyist groups for decades, and Senator Harris’ current campaign shows donations from Kaiser Permanente, AT&T, Walt Disney, and others on OpenSecrets.org. It would be foolish to believe that this new potential Administration will do more for Progressives than previously elected Democrats. Biden/Harris will be a continuation of Clintonian policies, just as the Obama administration was, and our dreams of a shared collective will continue to remain unfulfilled.
By Nicholas Dark5 years ago in The Swamp
Report on Day 2 of 2020 Republican National Convention
I didn't watch much of the First Night of the 2020 Republican National Convention on Monday. I made up for that by watching just about all of the Second Night of the convention last night. Here's what I saw and heard: lies.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in The Swamp
Black Trans Lives Matter, too- and we need to keep saying it
It’s been over three months since George Floyd was murdered, and the tidal wave of anger and resistance unleashed by that latest in a long line of dead black bodies is still at the forefront of our consciousness, even if it no longer dominates the newspaper headlines. The demonstrations- which started in Minneapolis and spread rapidly, first across the U.S.A and then worldwide- have made the already widely-known Black Lives Matter movement a household name. Calls for justice for Floyd’s death were swiftly joined by the same demand for Breonna Taylor, shot eight times by police officers who’d burst into the wrong house. And the resulting media attention, from the New York Times to Instagram, has drawn an unprecedented level of cultural and societal attention to issues of systemic racism and police brutality. In particular, calls to “defund the police” have highlighted the nauseating extent to which police forces have both neglected and outright persecuted non-white- and particularly black- communities.
By Emma Curzon5 years ago in The Swamp
Donald J. Trump
People, a lot of us are skeptical. Some of us have faith. Some of us believe. Some of us want to believe. Some of us don't believe. Take a step back and think about everything that has happened in your own lives to this point. We have all seen how unfair life can be. How we from time to time get cheated by the courts, by the law, by a person we trusted. We go to work and receive our pay that never seems to be enough. We watch the news and hear one lie after the next about why we are struggling. We listen to one President after the next say every time how he, or she will be the one to fix it. And we grow old hoping the whole time things will get better. All the while dealing with life's problems. Bills, jealousy, fighting, kids, schools, house, cars. We never seem to have enough time to do what we want or think about the things we want to do because we are constantly tired and busy. We all want something to believe in. Something that when we wake up each day, we can look ahead and think to ourselves, that is why i'm doing this, that is why i'm here. And we can have confidence that the work we are doing will pay off and we will be rewarded for it. We can make plans to do things and look forward to them and be excited about them. And look forward to sharing them with our families. Well, lately in this country things have not been like that for anyone that I could see. It has been slowly getting worse in every way in each aspect of our lives. We are usually too caught up in trying to survive to notice when it started getting worse but I think we all have that moment where we can look back and recognize a slight change. But for me Donald Trump becoming President was at first, no different than any before him. But then I started paying attention to the media harassing him at every turn. I started to get curious as to why they were giving this man so much trouble unlike any other President before him. I found it odd that the intense hatred for this man was off the charts to an unreasonable degree. I was curious as to why they were targeting this man who was just another President in my mind. He was no different than any other I personally had seen come and go to that point in my life. Presidents come and go. Some are liked some are disliked. But this time it was unusual. He was doing something that the media and the establishment and the whole world was not happy about. I started to pay closer attention and I realized that what he was doing, he was doing not for himself, or for anyone other than America and Americans. I saw that he doesn't even take his Presidential salary. I started to like him a little for that. I watched him re-structure the trade deal with China. Not to make himself rich, but to stop the financial bleeding of America. He brought jobs, manufacturing, and money back into this Country for Americans. I liked him a little more for that. I watched him bring our economy to it's greatest success in decades if not in history. And he did all of this while under fire and constant attacks from the democrats in Congress. All of this while being smeared in the media and insulted at every turn. And I liked him a lot for that. And the First Lady being supportive of him and dealing with the snubs of the Media. She handled that with the kind of Class I can only compare to Jackie Kennedy. I watched all of this and I realized that, for the first time since I have been alive, we have a man in that Office that is there for us. A man who is there for the People of this Country. And he is fighting people from every direction. He deserves so much better than that. If people that dislike him knew what he really stands for and what he is really fighting for and how hard he is fighting, they would be ashamed of themselves for ever slandering him. He is truly an inspiration for all Americans . If we could aspire to be half the man he is, we would be lucky. If he is the real deal, then we are watching history unfold. If he isn't, we still have a man in that office fighting for you and me. We should be so lucky. We have all become so used to the way things are, that we forgot how they should be, and CAN be. I see people doubting him and saying his sincerity isn't real. But it is real. And the suffering this country is dealing with is real. The corruption is real. The lies that the media and the Democrats are uttering are real. And the man in the oval office who is fighting for you, he is real. I believe his sincerity is real. And I believe in President Trump and what he is doing for us. So if you want to wake up and go to work, and feel good about your future for once. You should believe it too. Because there is nothing wrong with wanting to believe in something. There is nothing wrong with hope. There is even nothing wrong with being wrong. To believe in something that is bigger than yourself is never wrong. It is your hopes and your ideas of what a good life can be like. That is something that can never be taken from you. That is a dream that belongs to each and every one of us and is unique to us. If I am wrong then I am wrong. But I believe that life can be better and I want to help make it happen. Is that a bad thing? Is it really so impossible to believe that a man who may not be well liked by everyone, might actually be a good President? The message here is that, you don't have to like him, but try to give him a chance before you judge him. And I mean you, yourself, give him a chance without the input from the media. You might see something there that was clouded by the hatred of everyone else. It is at the very least something you can do for our country to take a closer look.
By Brian Becker5 years ago in The Swamp
Report on 2020 Democratic National Convention, Day 4
And the 2020 Democratic National Convention concluded on Thursday night, very likely the most important political convention in our American history, because it nominated candidates for President and Vice President for what in many ways is the most important election in our history, upcoming in November. Why so important? Because it's the last and only chance to vote out of office a President who is the biggest threat to our democracy in history, Donald Trump.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in The Swamp
Searching For Truth, Part III
You never know. Things are a little bit different this year. They are not so good. Comparing the past hundred years or so with now was necessary. It forced me to look within myself. I realized this used to be a wonderful time of year for sports fans, for it was the time of year when there was a grand intersection of sports. On television one could see several different sports being played every day, all the time, everywhere, by high school, college and professional athletes in baseball, basketball, football and soccer. And by kids in the neighborhood. The ancient sports, those that pitted one player against another—sports like golf, tennis, wrestling and boxing became easier to deal with because they did not rely necessarily on fan support. You could still safely wander around the golf course looking for your ball.
By Barry Blake5 years ago in The Swamp
Report on 2020 Democratic National Convention, Day 3
What a speech by Barack Obama on the third night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, the first virtual National Democratic or Republican Convention in history! I thought the speech was so pertinent and powerful it was even better than his speeches as President, and in his campaigns for that office. Unafraid to call out the monster, the would-be destroyer of our democracy, now in the White House. Sobering, inspiring, chilling, and so very necessary.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in The Swamp
