opinion
Opinion pieces from the left, right, and everyone in between.
Oh, The Humanity
Ronald Reagan was the very first president I helped elect into office. Twice. Much to the chagrin of my Minnesota DFL (Democratic Farm Labor) relations, and my died-in-the-wool Liberal, Communist grandfather, I was the family’s token black sheep; the young turk Conservative. Call me the “Alex Keaton” of my family, the tie-wearing, church-going, Reagan revolutionary. For me, Conservatism was the political manifesto of God, and as a bible thumping, ministry-bound seminarian, I laced my speech and actions with the finer points of Reaganomics, and lauded the presidential pink-slipping of striking air traffic controllers. The 1980s was most definitely the Age of Conservatism, with its military build-up that bolstered the Reagan version of Roosevelt’s “walk softly but carry a big stick” philosophy, and the unfettered growth of corporate America, who proved to me over and over again that greed – in it’s proper perspective – was indeed good.
By Scotty Roberts6 years ago in The Swamp
1924
Maybe I’m obsessed with validation and purpose. A needle is in my stomach. It pokes me periodically. Where are you from, poke. What is your purpose, poke. Who is your family, poke poke. I asked Them, the two relatives who would know family history, for a deeper understanding of the bodies, beings, minds, occupations, preoccupations, histories of my family. I asked Them for traditions. I asked Them for ethnicities. I asked Them for hometowns and cultural practices and stories. I want flesh and blood. I want answers. I want identity.
By MINDSOCKET6 years ago in The Swamp
Secrecy of labor unions and capitalist bankers
Secrecy of Labor unions and capitalist bankers The two main controllers of all economic activity are too secretive. Both labor and capital are too important to be left just to their own structures. They are both, naturally, focused on self interest but they have such strong influences over everyone else that these self interests need some form of accountability to the rest of the population. If we are to have democratic government, then surly we need open democracy within the two main levers of economy. We are all so interdependent in the the modern time, that the economy affects and to a degree, controls us all. Having elected government without any form of democratic control over these twin pillars of economic activity, is detrimental to democracy itself.
By Peter Rose6 years ago in The Swamp
The State Withdraws: The volunteers move in.
We're often told by the left that we require the overwhelming state to provide nearly every public service in society on these fair shores. We simply can not live without the Government - it is impossible and every retreat of that state, in all its mighty glory, will automatically equal yet another child in poverty.
By Tom Guyton-Day6 years ago in The Swamp
Can you be a Christian and a Liberal?
Being a christian liberal is like being a conservative atheist. It's almost an oxymoron... Liberals get the stigma from conservatives that they're dangerous because they don't have a higher power to look up to. In fact, some conservatives even view fellow conservatives who are atheist as an attack from the left.
By Gareth Seagull6 years ago in The Swamp
Crumbling Walls
I have come across a recurring theme in cinema and music over the past few years that has really changed the way that I view authoritarian systems. The most recent viewing that drew this thought process from the back of my skull is the anime adaptation of the manga 'Attack on Titan'.
By Michael Grube6 years ago in The Swamp
I am anti-Socialist/Communist
I have been asked many times, (More times than I care to count) given my current financial circumstances, why I am so Anti-Socialist/Communist. Well the answer is simple, because I love freedom. I want the freedom to choose for myself what I will do, if I want to become rich I can. If I want to stay the way I am, that is my choice as well. If I choose to believe there is a God, or if I choose to believe there isn't, I am free to do that. If I choose to speak on anything, I may do so without the fear of being attacked. You see under a Constitutional Free Market/Capitalist system, I have that freedom. I have the freedom to fail or succeed, if I have the skills and determination to succeed. But if don't have them, then I will fail. In a Free Market/Capitalist system it's all on me, fail or succeed, it's all on me.
By Charles Goodson6 years ago in The Swamp
My Thoughts on Canada's Banning of Assault Rifles
On May 1, 2020, the Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau had announced the banning of 1500 different types of assault rifles. This was the reaction of the gruesome mass killing in Nova Scotia on April 18, 2020. The shooter of this atrocious act had used an assault rifle to carry out his heinous act.
By Brian Anonymous6 years ago in The Swamp
The future- will political ideals matter?
The future- Will political ideals matter? This current – April 2020- pandemic is throwing up interesting questions about the future. It also shows how interconnected we all are on this overcrowded planet. Not just interconnected one nation to another, which enabled the virus to spread world wide in such a short time but also how our individual lives have become so dependent on so many other people. Interconnection is different from interdependent. It is not good for any group, or nation, to depend entirely on another, for its basics of food, shelter or defense. Dependency can become slavery so very easily. The mantras of the 1970's about small is beautiful and how to strive for self sufficiency, have been buried under the commercial needs of gigantic global companies. We have personal access to mass world wide communication but the question has to be; has this empowered us or made us reliant on advertising funded platforms? The greater part of the funding for social media comes from global commercial enterprises.
By Peter Rose6 years ago in The Swamp
