humanity
Humanity topics include pieces on the real lives of politicians, legislators, activists, women in politics and the everyday voter.
Conditioned to Cocoon
When I was six, I told my sister I wanted to buy a castle in Europe and have a summer home on the beach. She told me that I needed to get a high paying job. “I’ll just become a singer, an actor, and a model!” She told me that should cover it. That was in the late 1990s, a time when people didn’t carry an unlimited supply of media in their pocket.
By Josh Contreras8 years ago in The Swamp
Syrian Santa
It wasn't long before Christmas in Amman, the capital of Jordan. I'd overheard a stranger talking about a Muslim Syrian refugee who was working as a Santa Claus actor in one of Amman's many malls. Using a little internet sleuthing, I managed to find the mall and get in touch.
By Alex Sinclair8 years ago in The Swamp
“UNICEF Report: Almost 50 Million Children Displaced”
Imagine being all alone, detached from your home and possibly your family. Fleeing from inevitable issues, wondering when you can ever return home. In present time, that is how life is for nearly fifty-million children around the world, according to a recent UNICEF—United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund—report. Notably, the reasoning for there being so many suffering children refugees is the impact of certain areas fraught of great political and economic disruption. With continually increasing rates of children refugees, it is fundamental to understand how this refugee crisis will not only impact the children.
By Chloe Larson8 years ago in The Swamp
The Apple Tree
My Dear Mahnaz, There are two types of fire in this world, azizam. The first is a calm, tender fire, one whose gentle heat warms the bones and comforts the soul. This is the kind your father was. Atash means fire, but he was more of a candle. The second kind of fire, and I don’t mean to scare you Mahnaz jan, is a furious, vicious fire. One that rampages through villages, destroys entire cities and families in just one turn of the earth, leaving behind nothing but death and ashes. This kind, my daughter, my doxtar, is the Taliban.
By Georgie Cox8 years ago in The Swamp
Terror Changes a City in a Day
Terrorism has changed London in so many ways. Often, we don't even notice it. It's usual to be stuck at the train station, with no bin to put your gum in, because the IRA hid bombs in public litter bins. We hear the announcements every time we travel on the train — Please take all your personal belongings with you when leaving the train, and keep them with you at all times whilst on the platform. Terrorism is everywhere, but it is nowhere. London has changed, but is it for the better?
By Alex Gould8 years ago in The Swamp
Israeli Survivor of Munich Olympics Shares Story
Recently at Chabad of Bedford Hills, Dan Alon recounted his ordeal as an Israeli athlete at the 1972 Olympic Games, and the pain he kept silent for the next 35 years. But the tragedy that took the lives of 11 fellow Olympians had a simple message that endures for all Jews, and anyone who values humanity.
By Rich Monetti8 years ago in The Swamp
Does America Have a Mental Health Problem?
On Sunday, November 5, a man shot up a church located in Sutherland Springs, Texas, killing up to 26 people, making this the United State's 307th mass shooting this year. Donald Trump's response left a few baffled as he spoke about mental health but did not talk about any policy in the question. Earlier in the year, he revoked Obama's gun regulations for the mentally ill, giving them access to own a gun. Is his response just a scapegoat to stop the process of vetting gun ownership, or did he just raise awareness to an issue that's been ignored for a very long time?
By Maria Luisa8 years ago in The Swamp
Why Is It Like This?
Today, death seems to be a normalcy. We turn on the news and hear about another 30 people killed and it sucks; But we move on cause you know... What else can we do? We go to work and we hear about a president who seems to spew more hate than he actually speaks about politics. We hear theories that the earth is flat and, "THEY'RE LYING TO US!" Distrust comes out more often than truth and worst of all, hate always outshines love.
By Jonathan Norton8 years ago in The Swamp
The American Dream
Is the American Dream a Myth or Reality? 325,051,571 people are living in America right now. 43.3 million of them are immigrants. 43.3 million families, children, hardworking citizens, all seeking the same thing, the American Dream. Are we all searching for something that isn't actually acquirable?
By Clare Woodford8 years ago in The Swamp
I AM America’s Subculture & You Can’t Kick Me Out
I was born in the Bronx, New York to a 20-year-old, single mother who had just came to America for the first time, two years prior. My father had been another Dominican man who had come to America along with my mother, making me 100 percent Dominican of first generation Americans ("Dominica-Americana"). Dominican genetic makeup takes up percentages of Sub-Saharan African, Spain, and Indigenous American. Dominicans alone take up 3.3 percent of the Hispanic population, which is only 17.6 percent total. I feel to be able to really speak about your culture, you should be able to know how you appropriately classify. I also identify as a lesbian; LGBT community claiming to be 3.8 percent of all Americans. I, along with 18.2 percent of Americans, suffer from mental illnesses. I prefer to practice holistic forms of medication, compared to traditional. In many ways, I am shaped around Americas subcultures. Compared to the larger American society, I am a minority of great lengths. My highest following is belonging to "female," which still to this day comes second in a two-man race.
By Natalie Mendez8 years ago in The Swamp
