opinion
Opinion pieces from the left, right, and everyone in between.
Dear Mr. President
Dear Donald, President Trump, sir, I’m not sure I can find the words to properly convey my thoughts and feelings towards you. But first, I want to say, thank you. Thank you for being the President that this country needs, and obviously the President that 62 million+ people wanted. For eight years under the Obama administration, I watched in sadness and horror as my country started deteriorating before my eyes. Racial divide became greater than it has been since before the 60s, women’s empowerment gave way to neo-feminists waging war on all things masculine, everyone became a victim for one reason or another, honesty and transparency became political correctness and being careful so as not to offend anyone. A nation that was once proud and thriving became the laughing-stock for the world to see. With great failure to enact even the smallest change for the good of the country, apology tours, race baiting, and teaching the nation that if you play the victim then you are entitled to reparations, Obama slowly led this country down the toilet. I couldn’t think of anything worse happening to the greatest country in the world... and then I learned that Hillary Clinton would be running for President in 2016.
By Gretchen McGregor7 years ago in The Swamp
Congratulations
To Donald Trump, I would have normally used the prefix "Mr." or even started the salutation with "Dear;" however, I feel it unnecessary and inappropriate in this context, especially considering whom I'm addressing. On that note, I'll get to the point.
By Madison Page7 years ago in The Swamp
The Wrong Kind of Poor
The inability for large portions of the developed world’s populations to understand the actuality of those living in poverty having nothing or no one to help them, had once appeared to me to be a defect of privileged circumstance. The past ten years has changed the sympathetic opinion once held for the practically ignorant, to the conclusion they are willfully arrogant. It isn’t ignorance of the realities in poverty that fuels the societal idiot to make asinine proclamations such as, “If they don't want to be poor, why don’t they get better jobs?” It is narcissism that pollutes and avoids serious conversation. The statement (almost) always comes from someone who was fully supported by their parents until the end of adolescence, then presented with a high paying job right out of college due to various connections and recommendations that have no concern with ability. While these overgrown toddlers continue to dominate the highest paying jobs, it is my experience they are the least problematic people affecting the upward mobility of the working class and poor.
By G.M. Kidder7 years ago in The Swamp
Recontextualizing an LGBT+ Narrative
Let me start by saying that the target audience of this article is not those who agree with me; it is not young liberal students, social activists, or LGBT people. It is red-voting Americans who value tradition, constitutionalism, military prowess, and other tenets of conservatism. This article also does not seek to bash conservative values but to rather engage them in a way that allows red-voting readers to perhaps understand LGBT issues today in a context that better speaks to them. Liberals and conservatives speak very different languages, and the issues they care about are often encased with jargon that scare off readers of the opposing political persuasion. For example, liberals shy from conservative buzzwords such as liberty, military, and lower taxes. Conservatives in-turn recoil from the liberal counter-parts of trans~, social welfare, and racial inequality. If you rolled your eyes at any of the latter three nouns, then I am happy you're reading this.
By Darragh Joyce7 years ago in The Swamp
The Word Is Trust
Trust: A firm belief in the character, ability, strength or truth of something or someone. It is a confident hope. We see trust every day among a great and diverse group of people in this country. There’s the trust that a child has in their parents to catch them before they fall; both literally and figuratively. There is the trust that Christians place in God or another of “a higher power.” There is trust amongst friends, significant others, family members, trust an employer places in their employee and vice versa and the trust a patient has in their doctor.
By The Disruptors7 years ago in The Swamp
Protest: The Cry of Humanity
There is no need to protest when the cry of humanity is followed up with right action after speaking truth to power. Democracy—in its healthiest state—is where public servants (elected or appointed) are ambassadors for voters who put them in office.
By Bonnie Simpson8 years ago in The Swamp
Why I Voted for "Her"
I originally wrote this piece in September 2016 in response to a liberal friend of mine who was urging Democrats to basically fall in line and vote for Hillary Clinton. I agreed wholeheartedly but she went a step further and tried to whitewash her record, which I could not abide.
By The Disruptors8 years ago in The Swamp
Pride, Denial, and Isolation
Americans have always been proud of their fight for freedom, independence, and human rights. Ever since Jamestown, Virginia was colonized by the British in 1607, we have been fiercely clawing, spitting and vigorously brawling for these rights as humans. It has been over 410 years since then, and we have only evolved the original rights given to us to tailor the majority of the population, but not yet all of it. For decades, a large percentage of the population have been fighting a constant battle against racism, slavery, lack of women’s rights, and many more.
By Alonna John8 years ago in The Swamp
Reason First: Why Brett Kavanaugh Ought to Sit Away from the US Supreme Court Bench
What ought to be done about Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh is that he should cease any attempts to be on the highest judiciary bench in the United States of America. Though he may hold exemplary positions on issues like the human environment, he lags with other major concerns like Roe v. Wade. While he has stated that he would follow the decision “fully and faithfully” if he is confirmed, he may overturn that decision.
By Skyler Saunders8 years ago in The Swamp
Redefining Patriotism in America
Before I get into this, I would like to point out that this is not a post about taking sides, and it is meant as a way to reach out to everyone regardless of political stance. I was given the idea for this article by a great woman in my life, and she deserved a mention before I dove in.
By Alexis Lindberg8 years ago in The Swamp
