Top Stories

Stories in The Swamp that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.

Dear Donald, Why So Sovereign?
Dear Donald, I'm writing you to discuss the speech you gave in front the United Nations General Assembly. I'm not too pleased with what I heard from you, and many others aren't either.
By Chelsea Kendrick8 years ago in The Swamp
Corrupt the Youth
This essay does not intend to add to the thousands of think-pieces on Donald Trump's profound unfitness of the Office of the Presidency on the basis of his politics, for it is clear that the subjectivity surrounding the definition of “unfitness” has rendered this line of argumentation useless for those not already convinced of its validity. For 60-odd million Americans, Trump's attitudes do not qualify as unfit, and I will leave it to others to rip the hair from their own scalps as they shout hollowly, but how do you not get it?! The disbelief that the other side of the political aisle could possibly believe whatever lunacies they hold true is based on the presumption that one's own core values—whether they inclusivity and fairness on the left, or security and stability on the right—be intuited just as readily in the hearts of their opponents, and it is this incredulity that has led to so many argumentative stalemates among the Public. All of our moral-political decisions stem from these core values, and to assume that everyone shares core values is to have stopped discussion before it has begun. Therefore, I will not argue with either the right or the left, because in the present case it does not matter—this administration has launched an attack on the truth itself, a concept without which "left" and "right," along with most everything else, is mostly meaningless.
By PJ Reilly8 years ago in The Swamp
Is Trump At It Again?
In my previous article here on Vocal dealing with Trump, I talked about why he didn’t seem to fit the job in my opinion. As time has gone on, it seems like I’m becoming right.
By Jared Rimer8 years ago in The Swamp
Indian Guides
A truly moral nation, wishing to leave as its legacy the foundational principles and guiding ideals of freedom, fairness, justice, responsibility, and love and regard for future generations, must fully own the sins of its past and bend over backward to rectify crimes against humanity, which have too often been fueled by the American government’s unlawful interest in favoring the greed of a master population over the survival and viability of the oppressed peoples from whom its power was unlawfully derived. Particularly victimized have been this continent’s and nation’s First Peoples. As the majority of Americans continue to be beneficiaries of unconscionable acts of brutality, malice, racism, religious bigotry, theft, and other wanton acts of avarice against First Peoples, it is incumbent upon us and future generations to show the moral courage, stamina, sound judgment and wisdom the generations before us abdicated, for the evils exist not only in the past, but much as our own continued benefits from the crimes and privations of genocide sustain us, so do those crimes and privations continue to inflict undue suffering upon the most marginalized, impoverished, and vulnerable among us—a people so marginalized, indeed, that even the most well-meaning of liberals, rejecting the overt and cynical racism of President Trump’s brand of immigration reform, rally to the cry, “We’re all immigrants!” — seemingly or happily oblivious to the reality that some 5.2 million of us are not.
By Padma Thornlyre8 years ago in The Swamp
For Those Who "Don't See Color"
Welcome to your alternate universe, where up is down and down is hate. It would be ignorant of me to not touch on this particular subject, especially considering what's happening in the United States. From "building a wall" to the immigration ban, it seems that the theme for 2017 is white power. Where Democracy once reigned, some countries like Greece or Hungary are now reveling in what they call "nationalism" but we all know it by its old name: fascism. It is now seen as freedom of expression to be outwardly hateful to other human beings based solely on the fact that some people cannot accept the fact that the landscape of the world is now changing. Welcome to 2017, where the need for a Martin Luther King or Gandhi has never felt more needed than now...
By Claire Beauvoir8 years ago in The Swamp
I Was at the #PhoenixProtests.
We wore anti-Nazi "45" shirts. We were turned away from the doors of the convention center for our shirts. The guy said, "we have the right to refuse anybody from entering the rally," but we also heard him say, "yeah, not with those shirts."
By Luis Ramos8 years ago in The Swamp
Why You Should Remove My Ancestor's Statue… And All the Other Confederate Monuments
My ancestor was Commander Matthew Fontaine Maury, the Pathfinder of the Seas. You may have never heard of him, but he is buried between presidents James Monroe and John Tyler at the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA.
By Justin @ Vocal8 years ago in The Swamp
Let Teenagers Be Vocal
I'm outspoken. I kind of always have been, often finding my voice in political movements and social justice, always standing up for what I believe is right.
By Kendall Wisniewski8 years ago in The Swamp
Trump Can't Handle The Truth
In the television show Whose Line Is It Anyway? "Everything's made up and the points don't matter." It almost sounds like President Trump's White House, doesn't it?
By Christina St-Jean8 years ago in The Swamp
Dear Donald: It's Not Always About You
Mr. Trump; When you are already holding the top job in the United States, you shouldn't need to keep campaigning, and especially not with children.
By Christina St-Jean8 years ago in The Swamp
Appreciate Not Appropriate!
EXTRA! EXTRA!! DO NOT APPROPRIATE MINORITY CULTURE!!! Ladies and gentlemen, Boys and girls, White people. I have heard a lot of bullshit in my life on why culture vultures (people who steal from other cultures) always appropriate the cultures of minority groups (like black, Latina, Native American cultures etc.) and believe me, it's a lot of bullshit (my next article will talk about one of them). On the other hand, I've had a lot of people (who happen to be white) ask me how they can appreciate rather than appropriate culture. My white colleagues often tell me that they listen to rap music and enjoy it very much (I don't know why they feel the need to tell me but...okay). The follow up is often a question asking me if they are appropriating black culture just by listening to rap music. First, the answer is no. Second, my humble self would like to give you some tips on how to appreciate rather than appropriate minority cultures.
By PHILLY THE AFRICANA8 years ago in The Swamp
Racial Prejudice in America
Racial prejudice is defined as an irrational suspicion or hatred of a particular group, race, or religion that typically arises from race-based stereotypes (Nittle). The media has played a major role in distorting the images of many races with stereotypes that have made society come to believe they are all true and apply to everyone in the race. Vincent Parrillo’s “Causes of Prejudice” indicates that prejudice is not from a single cause but from psychology and sociology. He explains that people become hostile towards others when they feel their security is being threatened (Colombo). This essay will present a few images from the media that demonstrate the pervasiveness of inequality. These images prove that America is far from having equality among all races. Self-justification involves denigrating a person or a group to justify maltreatment of them.
By helianthus 9 years ago in The Swamp