opinion

Opinion pieces from the left, right, and everyone in between.

A Response to the Whiny Brats (re: Doctor Seuss)
On the Vocal forums the other day, I saw an “article”: a “Seussian” examination of what reactionaries and guilty parties are calling “cancel culture.” The article in question essentially complained, in poorly-metered half-rhyme, that you cannot express your opinion without fear of being “cancelled” and shut down. The author then went on an anti-transgender rant, again in that same poorly-metered mess of a rhyme scheme. In the comments, I read messages from other Vocal authors thanking him for being willing to share his opinion in a timbre I could only describe as disappointing. And I’ve been wondering why I was so disappointed. (I mean, I know why I was disappointed. No one should be lauded for sharing toxic opinions. But I’ll get to that later.)
By Steven Christopher McKnight5 years ago in The Swamp
A Day That Will Live in Absurdity
Two months into the Biden presidency, the memory of what happened on January sixth seems to be oddly faint in the national conversation. It's a weird thing to have happen because the 9/11 like event will no doubt go down in the history books, and will likely signal a milestone in the decline of American democracy. Still, we seem to be over it. If an event like 9/11 could completely change the landscape of American politics and spawn two shiny new wars, why did the political animus generated by this crisis pitter out in less than two months?
By Laura Roark5 years ago in The Swamp
Prepare for a New World Order
It is incredibly sad to see the country that I hold so dear to my heart crumble apart. it is sad the victors write the history books. However, it appears that no one is reading those history books. Civilizations around the world have dealt with some sort of unrest. It dates as far back as the written word goes. Conquered people pay the price, whether it be locked into slavery or taxed and forced into military service.
By Thomas R Dorsett Jr5 years ago in The Swamp
The Member of Parliament & The Poisoned Lake
THE BLUE LAGOON Known locally as the "Blue Lagoon" because of its azure and therefore alluring colour at Harpur Hill, near Buxton in Debyshire; the county of the Peak District.
By Alan Russell5 years ago in The Swamp
Is More Gun Control The Answer
As we endure yet more mass shootings, liberal politicians and pundits are screaming for more gun control. But is this really the answer? I say no.
By Lawrence Edward Hinchee5 years ago in The Swamp
The Fall of Icarus
The mass murders of eight people in Atlanta and 10 in Boulder were only 6 days apart. 144 hours, 8,640 minutes, 518, 400 seconds. How many times have we lived through this? How many more times must we go through this before something is actually done?
By cd ybarra5 years ago in The Swamp
Blinding Censorship
Blind censorship is the death of an educated writer and an educated reader. Life is filled with one tribulation after another and the raw experience will often be censored; instead of discussed. Bandaids over bullet wounds are not beneficial to anyone but the aggressor while the victim ends up feeling gagged. The blind censorship subconsciously tells the aggressor “as long as no one sees” and lets the community sit on their Sanzaru thrones; like Mizaru, Iwazaru and Kikazaru rolled into one person per person.
By Cadma5 years ago in The Swamp
Politics and Religion Part 4
As we have seen, the Democratic Party started out as the big business, whites only, small central government party. There were Progressives (as they were called before 1917) but those people tended to be on the Republican side of the aisle. Theodore Roosevelt was considered a Progressive and he was a Republican. Woodrow Wilson was considered Conservative, and he was a Democrat. But that all changed with Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) and the 1935 relief act.
By Eric B. Ruark5 years ago in The Swamp
HUMANKIND’S MOST DEADLY ADDICTION!
(IMPORTANT Note to moderators: While at first, this SEEMS like an attack on religion, it is not. It is a flip flop with a turn around at the end! Read the last 50 lines and the bottom to see why! Then delete this message to you, to avoid any spoilers for the readers!)
By Ross E Fortune Lombardi5 years ago in The Swamp
Political Correctness Has Gone Too Far
I was born in 1987 which makes me a Gen Y. Political correctness has gone way too far. There are so many brands, songs, sporting teams and just everything that was ok for years, is now frowned up and classed as Politically Incorrect and forced by public pressure to change names. I learnt my nursery rhymes as everyone else did 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' definitely not 'Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep' and it doesn't matter who is up in arms, but I sing the old way to my nearly 3 year old daughter and will continue to do so.
By Ashleigh Holmes5 years ago in The Swamp
Storytelling as Mind Control
Propaganda can be an insidious beast. The most ironic object I own is sitting next to me as I write this. It's an article I picked up for $6 in a bookstore in central China - a copy of George Orwell's 1984, fully translated into Chinese. Within these pages is a classic tale of a government worker tasked with the annihilation of any information that might run contrary to the tale spun out by Big Brother, now available in a real-world nation that has made the machinations of Minitrue seem almost quaint.
By Andrew Johnston5 years ago in The Swamp
Right-Wing Boycott? Yeah, I'll Be Buying That
In the wake of the spree killing of eight people in Atlanta, online retailer Zulily announced it would donate $200,000 to #StopAsianHate.
By LUCINDA M GUNNIN5 years ago in The Swamp