opinion
Opinion pieces from the left, right, and everyone in between.
Reason First: Can Someone Be Too Black or Not Black Enough?
The issue over how “black” an individual is should be nil. Whatever the people who say that they’re “black” is actually a floating abstraction or concept are not grounded in reality. What does it mean to be “black?" How does someone qualify for such a tribalist notion? Presidential candidates and Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris have both been accused of not being black enough. Most recently, Senator Booker has stated that senator Harris has nothing to prove. It’s as if to be black means you must subscribe to the unknown and unknowable, know who Playboi Carti is dating, and enjoy pig feet smothered in hot sauce. What it means to be black should pale in comparison to being a rational, confident individual.
By Skyler Saunders7 years ago in The Swamp
Reason First: Should the Government Be Involved in Cornrows and Afros?
Nonessentials, like hair texture and skin color, should have no bearing on whether an employer hires a candidate or not. And there definitely should be no laws for or against natural hair. In reality, in a fully free laissez-faire capitalist society, there would and ought to be discrimination against race, color, sex, sexual preference and anything else that really doesn’t matter among private citizens. All that should be considered is the competence of a given potential employee.
By Skyler Saunders7 years ago in The Swamp
The Craze That Swept a Nation
With great fondness, I look back on a life well-lived. Sure, there were times of anguish and sorrow, but overall, I remained steadfast to my convictions. But, as I remember, many a time those convictions got me into a whole lot of trouble. Nonetheless, I managed to survive with just a few scrapes and bruises. Now, when I compare the times of my youth to today, the sharp contrasts are so evident, especially the behavior patterns of society. In many ways, there has been a steady decline throughout our whole society. The morals, ethics, individual responsibility and integrity many of my generation possessed was instilled by our parents and our schools. Some 60 years later, much of what we see today reflects the retardation of many of the basic principles we were taught so long ago.
By Dr. Williams7 years ago in The Swamp
The Importance of Wording
Diction is the choice and use of words and phrases in writing; there is specific diction used by the media and people that manipulates the information that is being presented. Diction can also be used to minimize the importance or what is actually happening. For example, people use the phrase "abortion debate." A women's right to bodily autonomy is not up for debate, this is a religious minority's move to control the bodies of everyone who has a uterus. That cannot be called a debate because it is not a debate, it is a human rights violation. People also tend to call Nazis monsters, but they are not supernatural creatures or mythical demons; they are human, terrible humans. Nazis were young, they have parents, they are parents, they could be siblings, they eat, they sleep, they die, they still do not deserve forgiveness or empathy. When people use that wording, it dehumanizes Nazis and that creates a level of separation between us and them; that can be dangerous because people will then ignore the subtitle signs of anti-semitism by saying "Oh they're not monsters." Do not forget that they are human and they do not deserve sympathy.
By Selena Vazquez7 years ago in The Swamp
The Cults of Brexit: Leave VS Remain - A Battle of the Antagonists
I am completely and utterly fed up with Brexit, you might be as well. But it seems as though the savage Leave and Remain armies, that do battle daily, have become stuck in a kind of ideological trench warfare, with neither side willing to budge an inch. None of the participants involved in the Brexit debate will submit to the will of the other, a massive democratic decision is being rolled back, and each side is looking more and more like fascist generals squaring off their infantrymen and preparing for death or glory.
By Johnny Vedmore7 years ago in The Swamp
Socialism v. Capitalism
Before I get started, I want to make sure everyone understands the definition of each system. The dictionary definition of socialism is a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole. Capitalism is an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state. In other words it means “free-market.” Socialism being closer to a system of government called “communism.”
By Jacob Nelson7 years ago in The Swamp
World Leaders and the Power of Speech
For a few centuries, charming, angry, relatable, mesmerizing, or larger-than-life leaders have come to power with bad intentions. They manipulate the people who find out later that it was all for personal gain. The thing is, it's a recent phenomenon. Before the rise of democracy, there may have been tyrants, but none that had to manipulate citizens to gain their power. There's Napoleon in the early 19th century, who took France from revolutionary turmoil to nearly taking over Europe by becoming a charismatic, trustworthy tyrant hellbent on raising French nationalism and seizing all kinds of power. Then you have the rise of fascism with Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, and Imperial Japan, and arguably the rise of the Soviet Union, with controversial figures like Lenin and homicidal figures like Stalin. Of course, there have also been demagogue dictators in other areas of the world—Mao Zedong, Kim Jong Il, Robert Mugabe, Sadam Hussein, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Idi Amin, and Muammar al-Gaddafi.
By Keegan Roembke7 years ago in The Swamp
Universal Discredit: The Tory Disgrace
Ian Duncan Smith will not be neatly preserved by the pickling jar of time. His undoubtedly scaly skin will be further distressed from him being the third Tory Titan to fall to Blair. His already bald scalp will be stripped tighter by his sweetheart’s scandalous salary. His grisly cackle will be encapsulated by his fairytale accolades and achievements. But the dash that will finally turn the sweet cucumber into a bitter pickle will be his implementation of universal credit.
By Joe Southwood7 years ago in The Swamp
