humanity

For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.

Home. Top Story - August 2019.
Their lives were in their faces. You could see it, lives that had pain, struggle, joy, ups, downs, and most importantly, wisdom. If you looked into their faces you could see it, or maybe, they could just tell you. If they told you it would have to be over a glass of wine, because lives that complicated aren’t just exposed and expounded upon so easily. Those faces had pain that was deep and black, with strength that was old. Older than the Zambezi, the Nile, the Limpopo or the Mississippi, yes, strength that goes back that far.
By Robert Burton6 years ago in Humans
Beneath the Surface of Their Skin
The only race that people are allowed to make fun of is their own. That's one of the unwritten rules that has been established within recent years. The only exception to that rule was when it happens amongst friends and if they are okay with it. However, stereotypes are a completely different matter. Stereotypes are not something that should be used for humor, especially when the costs of stereotyping far exceed the rewards, if there are any at all. The reason why I don't agree that stereotypes bring people together is that they set high standards and expectations, they tend to apply to only a few percents of an entire race's population, and they are often used as a shortcut when it comes to figuring out what other people are like.
By Jeniah Clarke6 years ago in Humans
A Smooth Transition
Since my first hit of LSD in 1992 it has been my belief that every man and woman on this earth has more than a handful of what I call sub-personalities. There's a theory out there that basically says that we all have a handful of distinguishably different personalities inside us that pop out here and there that are all conscious of each other. This supports a pretty vague overview of how I really think it works and could quite possibly be the wrong way to look at it all together. I believe that for the most part, we all have two versions of one personality and these two different types of personalities have sub-personalities, which can be temporarily be amplified or reduced in less than a nanosecond. Much like an equalizer on a stereo works, this hypothetical mechanism, which I'm guessing works in conjunction with your hormones, can with lightning fast reflex, adjust your personality to best suit the situation according to your mind set. I say this because if your mindset is an aggressive one or a passive one then it’s always going to have that undertone… hence the two personalities in the sense that the adjustments made to fit the situation at hand will be swayed by either the aggressive you or the passive you.
By Jason Carson6 years ago in Humans
The Guilt Trip
Guilt is an emotion that all of us have felt. It's an emotion that has been used to drive us to correct our behaviors. If you do not make amends for your mistake, then it will always eat at you. It is easy to dismiss small things; brush them off, because everyone does it from time to time. Or maybe you decided that shoving it down, and never talking about it again was best (Spoiler: it really isn’t). Pushing your guilt down will only work for so long, and eventually, you will have deal with it.
By Melissa Yinger6 years ago in Humans
Why We Are Only as Sick as Our Secrets
It’s natural to want to hide things we fear others will judge us for. Everyone has experienced that hot flush of blood to the face when something you wanted to keep hidden is exposed. Is it embarrassment? Sometimes.
By Veronica Monet6 years ago in Humans
The Frailty of Will
Written October 26, 2017 Nobody is perfect, and most people are actually far from it. Human beings by nature are flawed. We hurt people we care about, we destroy the world we live in, and we always have an excuse for why our bad behavior should be pardoned. It’s not to say people are completely terrible, but it is to say that we are greatly flawed. Despite the fact that we all know this, many people are hesitant to admit their flaws. One way we see them without admitting to them is through fiction novels. In most cases, fiction is just a hidden form of truth. Authors write the stories that are hard to tell, and people relate to them, because they find some common ground without realizing. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “The reason that fiction is more interesting than any other form of literature, to those who really like to study people, is that in fiction the author can really tell the truth without humiliating himself.” This applies not only to writers, but to readers as well. No one wants to admit they’re terrible, but they absolutely love to read about it.
By Alice ♡6 years ago in Humans
We Don't Mean It but We're All Big Jerks
Not all of us can be saints. In fact, I think we're all jerks and we don't even realize how bad we are until we sit back and reflect on ourselves. We'll notice that we display an alarming amount of ill-mannered behaviour towards our fellow citizens.
By Brian Anonymous6 years ago in Humans
A Blunt Letter to Entitled People
Entitled - verb (used with object), en•ti•tled, en•ti•tling. To give (a person or thing) a title, right, or claim to something; furnish with grounds for laying claim.
By Christina Scanlon6 years ago in Humans
An Open Letter from Generation Z
There are a lot of opinions on who generation z is, what generation z stands for, and how generation z lives in today’s society. I’m not saying those opinions are wrong because everybody is entitled to their opinion, but I suggest actually talking to someone who is from generation z. Not belittling them or telling them what you were doing when you were their age, actually talking to understand why their head is where it is and why they view the world with such disappointment, anger, and realism. We didn’t grow up hearing that we were going to go to college, have a great job and own a house by the time we were 23 and everything was going to be fine from there. We grew up hearing that it was going to be difficult, we were going to struggle a lot, and college was going to be insanely difficult to pay for. On top of that, we see how much the millennials are struggling with their dreams that came burning to the ground like the Notre Dame. Which isn’t their fault, they’re trying their best with the shitty cards that were dealt by some shitty people.
By B6 years ago in Humans
The Struggle of Staying Kind
This is the kind of thing you never want to think about. You never want to take that good, hard look at yourself and ask if you’re becoming an unkind person.
By Leigh Victoria Phan, MS, MFA6 years ago in Humans
Accepting Myself as Mixed Blood
As a woman with skin that is too weird to be white, but too pale to be considered truly Native American, I’ve faced a lot of pressure from my people and from white people to basically “pick a side.” To change myself in a way that will make it clearer what I am, make it easier to be put into a category. To be quantified and found wanting, like blood is used by the USA government.
By Jessica Riffle6 years ago in Humans
It's All in the Details
Whenever I hear someone say, “I’ll send you details later.” Those simple words evoke one of my many painful bittersweet childhood coming of age moments. We all have them.
By PAT CHANEY6 years ago in Humans