opinion
Opinion pieces from the left, right, and everyone in between.
Morality Vs. Legality
In America, our laws are often based off of Christianity. Thou shall not kill, thou shall not steal, and the like. While we know these are wrong to do because they affect a person or property that is not ours, some of these laws fall into a gray area of doing what is right vs. what is legal.
James HowellPublished 6 years ago in The SwampDon't Move To The United States and Get Cliquish
People new to the United States do not understand the culture. Sure, our culture is what makes people suicidal, but that is another topic. We need to build a more supportive culture in general. People feel like nobody is willing to connect with them sometimes. Getting into cliques based on ethnicity is what the new immigrants do because they are scared to death. Not mixing amongst people is what can destroy a person socially. Learning English is necessary when moving to another continent altogether. The New World uses English as it’s the main language. But we are a melting pot or perhaps a salad.
Iria Vasquez-PaezPublished 6 years ago in The SwampRemembering Cable Street
In the current political climate, with the rise of the authoritarian right-wing in its current visible form, we should do well to remember the resistance to the previous forms of right-wing authoritarianism and the birth of anti-fascist movements out of the Second World War and beforehand. Perhaps the greatest of popular mobilizations against fascism was the Battle of Cable Street. It originated out of a march of the British Union of Fascists, a march which would cut through the heart of a Jewish neighborhood, and an armed clash with the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) and a planned effort by 86 organizations to stop the march of the Fascist Union. The first attempts to end the march were peaceful, a petition signed by 100,000 people, and other such attempts. When this did not end the march, a member of the CPGB would organize a blockade of the fascist march through popular organization.
Thomas SebacherPublished 6 years ago in The SwampAdaptability Is Key to Democratic Survival
Adaptability and intellectual flexibility are keys to survival. The only real advantage humans have over other species from planet Earth is the adaptability that they have. The ability to accept and cope with changing conditions, their ability to adjust to fresh challenges.
Peter RosePublished 6 years ago in The SwampMass School Shootings: An Epidemic Sweeping Across America
I would like to begin this article by personally asking you to read it all the way through, whether or not your beliefs fall in line with mine. I put a lot of time and effort into this article, not for it to be condescending or intentionally aggravating, but to educate. I simply want a safer America, and no matter what, I think you, as the reader, want one too. If, for any reason, you feel that I have published a false report, or something offensive in nature, feel free to email me via the email address located at the end of the article. I hope you enjoy reading my thoughts an opinions, and I hope I may serve as a voice for my fellow students of America.
Heroic RenegadePublished 6 years ago in The SwampThe Left
In history, there are many who claim that the left is immoral, that its precepts are unlikely, that it is itself as bad as the right. However, these analyses are flawed, quite fatally, according to the words of Che Guevara—"The true revolutionary is motivated by deep feelings of love," a compassion that goes deeper than the surface of liberation and goes into the details of liberation. Guevara was not wrong. The left has always had a strong emotional appeal—children starving tends to wake one up from the illusion of capitalist paradise rather quickly and angers one to the point of radical actions. The Right, on the other hand, is motivated by hatred and greed. As I see black children killed, I am disgusted by the police and the criminal justice system that has failed them. But the right does nothing, sees nothing, and if it addresses these it chooses the side of the police, not the side of those who have less, who are persecuted, but the side of the privileged.
Thomas SebacherPublished 6 years ago in The SwampYou Ignorant White Supremacist
White supremacist types are all fairly ignorant, you people really are. Why bother with so much hate? You have hate in your heart for something dumb—outward appearance or religion if we are talking about your hatred of Jewish people. Racism, however, goes both ways because Jewish people occasionally prefer not to intermix or marry outsiders. White nationalists do not want to do anything about their racism. They want to create their own White state. To which I think to myself, why bother? You people are twisted. Hating somebody for their race or looks is so futile.
Iria Vasquez-PaezPublished 6 years ago in The SwampRight and Left
Right, politically, is categorized as authoritative and more inclined to think and act blatantly upon the physical world. An example of far right thinking was the case of Adolf Hitler himself. Under his authority, a large amount of people were physically enslaved and punished for crimes they didn't commit. Another example of this type of thinking would involve a police state, where police hold ultimate authority in all situations, essentially inciting the same thing: total loss of freedom.
School Shootings, Gun Control, and the Media
I am sure by now we are all aware of the latest school shootings in Parkland and Santa Fe. These shootings are devastating tragedies that our entire nation mourns. Our country goes into a frenzy each time these horrific events happen. Immediately, there are news reports flooding social media and passionate debates on gun control laws among the people. One thing we can agree on, no matter what side of the debate you fall on, is that something must be done. What we cannot agree on, though, is what must be done.
Elizabeth HortonPublished 6 years ago in The SwampWhy This English Girl Supports Repeal the 8th
Why Irish Abortion Laws matter to me As a fan of BBC’s Call the Midwife, I’ve seen the desperate lengths women resorted to in order to abort unwanted children: backstreet abortions, taking unprescribed drugs, and self-abortion that was too graphic to describe. Of course, this was reflecting the lives of women 50/60 years ago and to most of us, it seems unimaginable that scenes similar to those portrayed on TV in a 1950s based show can still occur today in the UK and neighboring countries. I am, of course, referring to Ireland, both North and Republic. For those who are unaware, abortion is currently illegal across Ireland, but this could change Friday 25 May when the public gets to vote on whether the laws should be overturned.
Ellen RosePublished 6 years ago in The SwampIf You Got Mad at Starbucks, YOU Are the Racist
This Starbucks situation is really pissing me off. That might not be an eloquent way of describing the thoughts within me right now, but it is an accurate one. The corporation, whose products I am actually quite fond of, announced today that it will begin instituting a new policy where anyone, regardless of being a customer, is free to use their lobbies, couches, tables, chairs and bathrooms at any time, for however long they need. Some are calling this a perfectly reasonable and acceptable response to their racist policy of throwing out two black men for just sitting there and not buying anything, but then again, some people call Larry The Cable Guy the pinnacle of stand up comedy. Some people say a lot of things, and the diversity in intelligence that the human race is subject to is truly a detrimental thing to have happened. That 5%, 10%, 85% percent quote Edison has makes a lot of sense.
Aubrey KatePublished 6 years ago in The SwampSocial Respect and Its Effect on Governance
Social respect and the result when it is missing: While it is not a science-based observation, it does seem that respect is declining in all societies. Respect for others, even your enemies, used to be normal, but now it is rare.
Peter RosePublished 6 years ago in The Swamp