Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in The Swamp.
Oppression Is Not a Trend
I am no longer surprised what the world is doing, especially when it comes to race relations. There seems to be this new epidemic of White folks calling the police for whatever black, brown, or any person of color is doing. I guess because they are so comfortably emboldened by the tangerine tyrant that we have as the president of the United States, the police are now their attack dogs. (Not like this is new, but you get it.)
By Janine Addison8 years ago in The Swamp
Crisis Mode
Due to foreseen events, the world has become a meaner, more hostile place. Trumpism has given credibility to the madness. The lust for power and wealth by men have always given way to the anguish so many suffer. And too many suffer still. The words of Thomas Jefferson have no place in the America we see today. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, well, it is suffice to say they have all been taken away. They have been replaced by an oligarchy rule. An oligarchy rule that has tarnished the respectability and shattered the credibility that was our birthright when our founding fathers first penned the Constitution.
By Dr. Williams8 years ago in The Swamp
Republicans Are Now Completely Immoral
In the 9th grade, I took great delight in pissing off my sociology teacher. He was a WW2 veteran, had literally marched on Auschwitz, was an evangelical Christian, and deeply conservative. In classroom “discussions,” I used to quote anarchists from Camus to Sid Vicious just to infuriate the man. One day, as I argued the benefits of anarchy, he became enraged like I’d never seen him. He pounded his fists on my desk and leaned in close enough that spittle flew into my face. His eyes gleamed, and he savored what he said next with the delight of a wonderful fantasy. He said, “If there were no law, Mr. Bulley, I would shoot you.” He cocked his head to the side, considering his options, then continued, “I would use a high-powered rifle with a scope, a 30.06 and I would wait on the hill behind your house and when you stepped outside, smiling, confident, cocky, you would never see it coming. You would never realize you were dead until your own chest burst apart and your front door was littered with gore.” He grinned, I think because he finally shook me. “That, sir, is why we must have law.”
By David Bulley8 years ago in The Swamp
Let's Talk About It: Race
We often do not agree with each other on most issues and topics today and it’s no exception when it comes to how each of us perceives race. The importance of how we perceive race within schools is something we must explore deeper. Through the years, humans have been debating whether race matters or not. Meaning, some people will look at race as an important aspect to look at when it comes to how race affects people’s lives. Race is a way to represent each other’s culture and shows representation of a group or community for students within schools. As we look at each segment of how we perceive race, try to gain an understanding of how each person’s experience can affect what they believe in when it comes to race within American schools.
By Angel Tapia8 years ago in The Swamp
The Trump Movement
When Donald Trump announced his candidacy for President in June 2015, the media and viewers alike brushed it off, simply believing that the self-made business tycoon did not have the experience or temperament to hold such a high office. Now, almost three years since the day he first announced his candidacy and 16 months into his Presidency, questions are still asked as to how voters made Donald Trump the President of the United States.
By Quinn J. Gable8 years ago in The Swamp
Unpaid Parking Meters
The fifth gunshot was still ringing in the hallway rafters when they latched the stall door shut behind them. He’d never been in the girl's bathroom at the high school before and she hadn't seen him since his family stopped coming to church. It wasn’t uncommon to go months without seeing someone at their school given the number of students that attended. He was surprised that she wasn’t crying. He remembered the day at church when he saw her crying in the pew across from his. He had tried not to stare that day but he couldn’t help but notice the way she tried so hard to stifle her tears and the way her parents remained straight-faced the entire mass.
By Katie Healy8 years ago in The Swamp
'Invisible Man' by Ralph Ellison
"Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat." This book has been on my reading list for a long time and I was so happy to finally get around to reading it. I bought an old copy (owned by the Stiegel family—whoever they may be) at an independent bookshop in Chicago called The Dial, combining my love for classic literature, old books, and independent bookstores.
By Enobong Tommelleo8 years ago in The Swamp
Review of 'The Americans' 6.6
In The Americans 6.6, Jackson — a new mark Elizabeth is working on, as a conduit to Senator Sam Nunn (of earlier Watergate fame, in case the name sounds familiar) — anyway, Jackson says Rififi (a 1955 French movie), where Elizabeth first contrives to meet him, is the best heist movie ever made. I agree! I felt that way when I saw it as a kid in the late 1950s at a beat-up old movie theater (I think the Globe, on Pelham Parkway in the Bronx), and the movie has stayed with me to this day. Jackson was not only correct in the 1980s when he said that to Elizabeth, his appraisal is true today. The very word, "Rififi," said sotto voce in the movie, gets me in the mood for any great foreign heist movie. So far, Jackson's role hasn't materialized in The Americans, but I just wanted to make that point about Rififi.
By Paul Levinson8 years ago in The Swamp
The Astute Rise of Islamism
In his book titled The Great Heresies, the great British historian Hilaire Belloc, in reference to the 1683 siege of Vienna, stated that ‘’It has always seemed possible, or even probable, that there will be a resurrection of Islam, and that our sons and our grandsons would see the renewal of that tremendous struggle between Christian culture, and what has been for more than a thousand years, its greatest opponent in history. The suggestion that Islam may re-arise sounds fantastic- but only because men are most powerfully affected by the immediate past:- One might say that they are blinded by it… Less than a hundred years before the declaration of Independence, Vienna was almost taken (by The Caliphate) and only saved by the Christian Army under the command of the King of Poland, on a date that ought to be among the most famous in history. September 11, 1683” (Belloc,1683). Belloc’s statement was resuscitated if not substantialized, following the attacks on the World Trade Centre on September 11th, 2001, which was arguably the most convulsive tragedy of the 21st century, after which the western world suddenly found itself vanquished with trepidation. The rest of the world, although startled, the attacks did not seem to provoke any threats. Perhaps the reason behind this was the fact that the terrorists had made clear what, or more appropriately, who their targets were, and what their underlying motivation was for their cause. Their targets, which exclusively consisted of innocent people, were not condemned to be so on the merits of the land mass or the natural resources of their respective countries, but solely because of ideological differences and were deemed as merely infidels. Their aim was not necessarily to conquer vast lands and claim natural resources, but rather, to revive the Islamic Caliphate by abolishing the economic, political and judicial systems of all infidel nations, thereby establishing a unified Islamic State under the hegemony of ‘Sharia’, which is the canon law of Islam. The end that Al Qaeda proclaimed to be to be striving towards at the time of 9/11, is shared today by the Islamic State.
By Hasan Shakeel8 years ago in The Swamp
