activism
Grassroots campaigns have proven instrumental in bringing about political, social or environmental change; you've got to start somewhere-might as well start here.
School Shootings
So I saw not too long ago about the school shooting in Texas. My thoughts and positive vibes go to the victims and their families. I don't even know where to start on this issue. Honestly. It saddens me to hear that there have already been "22 school shootings where someone was killed or hurt" as reported by Saeed Ahmed and Christina Walker in this CNN article.
By Samantha Gittemeier8 years ago in The Swamp
How to Start a Political Campaign
I know it may sound difficult but I assure you, the steps necessary to start a political campaign are easier than you think. If you follow the important steps below, use common sense, and immerse yourself in political knowledge—I would recommend checking out the top 10 political books to read in 2018—you'll be ready to tackle anything. Getting started may be easier than you expect, but running for office can be grueling. So in order to ensure you have the best chance of success, get started off on the right foot.
By Carolena Trissel8 years ago in The Swamp
My Initial Reactions: Charlottesville, VA
I want to start by saying this is a very emotional piece for me that I wrote on Aug 17, 2017. According to Aljazeera, at 1:42 PM on August 12 a car rammed into a crowd of people protesting against a group of white supremacists. I don't remember what I was doing when I even found out this occurred, but I remember my reaction. It was the same reaction I had up until today, August 17, at around 1 PM. "Man, that's crazy!" You see I had only heard about what had happened and seen pictures from here to there on Facebook and YouTube. I heard the jokes about the irony that white supremacists were marching with tiki torches. I also talked about how annoying it was that they were screaming "White Power!" when at any moment WW III could begin because of North Korea's president and Donald Trump's diplomacy tactics. However, I had made a conscious decision to not watch any media that showed the video, so I was sort of speaking out of turn. I just didn't want to watch what happened! I already knew it was bad! I thought I didn't need to watch it to deem it wrong or stupid, but I don't know if that was the best decision. Today I got a glimpse of what happened that Saturday afternoon in Charlottesville and it just broke me.
By Robyn Thomas8 years ago in The Swamp
Help Save Our Oceans
Going to the beach has been something that I enjoy doing every day and night. I have learned so much about life just from going to the beach and always had a passion for studying marine biology. We all know that we receive so many health benefits from the ocean, right? Like sea salt, omega three from fish, vitamin D from the sun, vitamin K from kelp, etc. Now with some of us human beings traveling on cruises and boats, or even having a day or night out on the beach, we sometimes throw plastic products on the sand, depending on the people who clean our beaches to do the work. Now when we do that, sometimes the plastic products end up in the water by the wind. When a thing like this happens, it puts the marine life in danger, and ours. About 6.3 billion gallons of oil each year to make plastic bottles is used. More than 90 percent is used once, especially in medical fields and at home. In this year alone, 300 pounds of plastic, which is 136 kilos of single-use plastic, is in our oceans. Many human beings dump about eight million tons of plastic every year, but only 70 percent sink to the bottom of the ocean. As the plastic slowly breaks down its particles in the ocean, many marine lives, including coral reefs, feed on it. In the Western Mediterranean, approximately one to two ratios of plastic are in plankton and coral reefs. There are approximately five trillion pieces of plastic found around the world. The polyethylene used worldwide in products of toothpaste, cosmetics, and facial scrubs are significant sources of polyethylene.
By Maydha Rani Sheomangal8 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
Revolution
Today, we live in a world filled with deception, deceit, and lies. The United States government continues to perpetrate gross injustices on the public. Sadly, though, there really hasn't been a unified effort to make our government accountable for all the travesties they have imposed on the American citizen. Remember the 99 percent movement of just a few years ago? That protest never got organized, for if it did, maybe, just maybe, things would be a little bit better today. It is the public, though, that have been so indoctrinated in accepting whatever the government mandates. There have been countless numbers of unfunded mandates imposed on the American citizen, all of which have put financial strains on practically every American. That is just part of the issues facing us today.
By Dr. Williams8 years ago in The Swamp
My Experience in the National School Walkout
Even though most online writers are adults, I'm one of the few teenage online writers. Yeah, I know. I'm just a high school student who usually writes about movies and theories. But every once in a while, I write a political article, and today, it's time for another politics article.
By Jonathan Sim8 years ago in The Swamp
It’s Time for an Honest Conversation About the Second Amendment
I don’t think I am one to talk. I lived in a house where mom and dad despised guns, to this day. Yet, I went the other day shooting at a range here in Charleston, and they seemed to be happy for me that I got to have some fun trying something I’ve never done. How could that be possible? Now the real question stands, can we have a healthy talk about what’s tearing our country apart?
By Tristan DeJesus8 years ago in The Swamp
How to Establish a Health Care Rights Protest
Health care is a hot topic in this time period. We have to start mobilizing health care protests. As in, we do not want them to put in the pre-existing condition clause again, which is flat out denying people coverage if they have so much as a yeast infection. The state of healthcare in the United States is appalling. I’m lucky I live in California. I have fabulous doctors whose orders I follow well. I’ve been alive for 37 years and out of the hospital since 1991.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez8 years ago in The Swamp
Sharks on the Brink
Most people wouldn't think of sharks unless reminded by Shark Week on Discovery Channel or reading the rare news of a shark attack. People are scared of sharks and often want to put them out of their mind—especially when vacationing on beaches—but they risk extinction if we don't think of them. Recently, more people have become aware of the shark finning industry and realizing the repercussions that this practice has had on the global populations of sharks.
By Cameron Ellis8 years ago in The Swamp
The Double Standard in America
Yes, believe it or not, there are double standards in America. We live with it everyday, yet we do nothing about it. We have cops killing unarmed African Americans, which we turn a blind eye to. We then have children murdering other children in school hallways. We get in an uproar then, but when it comes time to do something, we cling to our firearms for fear that some government official is going to walk in our house and take them out of our hands. When a person of Middle Eastern descent does something wrong, we automatically claim terrorism. When a white male does it, it's the cry of a troubled young man. Where do we find the happy medium?
By James Howell8 years ago in The Swamp
