humanity
Humanity topics include pieces on the real lives of politicians, legislators, activists, women in politics and the everyday voter.
The Ongoing Crisis Should Not Be Wasted
It is always wise to try to search for the positives around you, especially in the midst of a crisis situation. It may seem impossible to accomplish at the time, and you may not always have control over the circumstances. However, you do possess the power to control how you react and control the crisis as opposed to being controlled by the crisis. Instead of getting distracted and lost in turmoil, if one chooses to focus on any good that can emerge from it like knowledge gained, lessons learned, and potential growth, neither the future nor the present needs to be so grim.
By Andrea Zanon4 years ago in The Swamp
Stand Up For Ukraine
In all the years that we humans have graced this planet with our presence, there has been one constant that seems to follow us wherever we go… war. Even when we speak of peace, the routes which we plot out to get there can often be considered an offensive strategy – peace by force, whether you like it or not. We trudge onward, leaving a trail of destruction in our wake. At times it feels almost impossible to go on, the relentless stream of bad news becoming overbearing, willing us to switch off and stop paying attention. It is imperative that we keep paying attention.
By Outrageous Optimism 4 years ago in The Swamp
Carton Policy
Bahaa Murad, a 25-year-old engineer, boarded the death boat that sank off the coast of Tripoli a few days ago, searching for his dreams, which are supposed to be too small to risk because of them. “I want to take a hot shower every day. I sprinkle water on my body, when I want, not to wait days for the water to reach us.” This is how Baha’s mother recounted, explaining that he went out to join the boat happy and optimistic, wanting to complete his studies in Germany, secure his future, and send money to his mother to pamper her. The grieving mother does not deny that the family finds what suffices it: “It is not food and drink that we lack, but dignity.” Survivors talk about taking an illegal and dangerous journey, as if they were talking about going out for a picnic. The infernal dangers they expose themselves and their children to are underestimated. On board the death boat, only half of its passengers were recovered, and it is estimated that at least 30 bodies are still with the boat at a depth of 400 meters, a shocking number of children, infants and pregnant women.
By Roxanne Mann4 years ago in The Swamp
Where Worlds Meet
Introduction Borders are essential to the idea of the state. Without them there is no way for the state to control and exert its identity. Classic definitions of the state revolve around the state and its ability to control a monopoly on violence within a territory delineated by borders. Such is the western concept of the modern state. But when did this come about? And why do we need borders defined by the state instead of porous borders that follow community identities. These are decolonizing questions that seek to critically attack the modern day concept of the state. I argue that borders are inherently colonial. They were inspired by colonial imperial thought and have taken on a life of their own. The goal here is to engage in an exercise that goes “beyond rigid identities and imposed labels, as it will open the way for the existence of multiple knowledges rather than a monolithic one” (Capan 7).
By Arjuna Fournier4 years ago in The Swamp
I am Indian. Why Is the Government Sending Me Into Exile?
The letter from the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs showed up in September 2019. My mom sent me a WhatsApp message of the letter, illuminating me that the Government regarding India was denying my Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI). India doesn't perceive double ethnicity and the OCI - an extremely durable visa for people of Indian beginning - is the closest comparable to double citizenship and given to a huge number of Indians all over the planet. I had 21 days to answer and to challenge their cases; it was day 20 when I had gotten the letter. On the off chance that I didn't answer it would be assumed I had nothing to say in the have any meaning and my OCI would be dropped. I answered by email quickly to challenge their cases, with the Indian Consul General of New York recognizing receipt, and a printed version of which was conveyed to the Home Ministry. Then, on November 7, after The Print revealed that my status was under survey, the public authority declared by means of Twitter that my OCI status had been removed. This was the main I knew about it.
By Abhishek Gupta4 years ago in The Swamp
The Tragedy of the Privates
Private property is rooted in the philosophical thought experiment that is the “tragedy of the commons”. By this “Hardin refers to a tragedy of overgrazing and lack of care and fertilization which resulted in erosion and underproduction so destructive that there developed in the late 19th century an enclosure movement” (Cox 52). By this logic private property is validated because without owner ship then there is no responsibility for maintenance to any one individual making the commons a place where all take from but none contribute to. The result is a destruction of the environment needed to produce value. By taking land from the commons and making it private the idea is that individuals now how vested interests in maintaining the land and making it productive. Yet, when we critically examine the condition of the planet today we can see that private property may actually lead to a sort of tragedy of the privates. As we have seen private property has not quite been enough to produce sustainable productive structures. Rather “logical imperialism allows imperial countries to carry out an ‘environmental overdraft’ that draws on the natural resources of periphery countries” (Clark and Foster 330). Moving to privatize the next piece of land to fully exploit when the last one has been depleted. Not for a community but for a subset of businessmen, investors, and asset holders. Thus, we see that “Capitalist accumulation and the "market economy" are fundamentally parasitical regimes” (O’connor 1).
By Arjuna Fournier4 years ago in The Swamp
Media Markets and Marketing Games
The first instinct of both parties in the United States is to blame the other for the political problems of the present. Any political debate between them seems to descend into a game of creative name calling that has little purpose and even less potential for achieving real dialogue. It is always taken for granted that these two sides are lightyears apart.
By Thomas Sebacher4 years ago in The Swamp
