“Let us not wallow in the valley of despair my friends. Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream … I have a dream that my children will live in a nation where they will not be judged [...]
It’s that time of year again. Soon after reading this article, you’ll probably be heading home to stuff yourselves with turkey and mashed potatoes. Some of you will go temporarily insane over the 4 a.m. deals on Black Friday. If you live anywhere in a place where there are actually seasons, the fall foliage will [...]
I get really ticked off when I hear the term “political correctness,” but not for the reason you’d think. Think about how many times you’ve actually heard someone use it in a positive, non-ironic context. Now think about the number of times you’d heard someone say, “I know this isn’t entirely politically correct, but …” [...]
When Barack Obama was a senator running for presidency in 2008, he promised “hope” and “change” not only for the American people but for the world. Since the day he took office, people polled in foreign lands have registered more support for our president than the American people time and again. His healing, meditative “cool” [...]
It should be pretty clear to most observers by now that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of a peaceful nuclear energy program. While they haven’t yet enriched uranium to the very high levels required for weapons use, they’re well beyond any capacity required for a nuclear power plant, and their [...]
When the United States was first established under the Constitution in 1787, not all men could vote — much less women, who wouldn’t have the uniform right to vote until 1920. Universal suffrage for all citizens is one of the few constitutional changes which can be truly said to draw negligible amounts of controversy — [...]
Issues alone do not determine election results; the makeup of the electorate is the most important factor. This is why getting out the vote is so important to any political campaign; voter persuasion is great, but supporter mobilization is more important. Unfortunately, this emphasis on turnout also leads to the temptation of voter suppression: tactics [...]
“Vox Populi; Vox Anon; the voice of the people is the voice of anonymous; WE ARE LEGION” — Anonymous, 10/9 In recent weeks, much has been made of the mindless rabbles known as the Occupy Wall Street movement. They have claimed, at different times, that they are “what democracy looks like,” a “liberal Tea Party” [...]
I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching lately. Right under my nose, against any expectations I ever had, and apart from any institutions or organizations I’ve been a part of, an inspiring new movement has sprung up and caught the nation’s — nay, the world’s — attention. For over a month now, protesters have been [...]
Left Said: Anti-immigrant groups seem to lie in two main camps. The first claims that immigration is an economic concern — U.S. wages are being undercut by illegal and unregulated labor — and that government resources are being drained by millions who do not pay into the system. The second are the “culture warriors.” These [...]
Right Said: Every American is somewhat familiar with the immigrant experience, most more recently than the Mayflower landing at Plymouth or the Godspeed at Jamestown. My own maternal ancestors came to the United States as recently as 70 years ago, forced to flee — since they were “bourgeoisie” capitalists — from Chairman Mao’s genocidal revolution. [...]
Left Said: “Nothing can be said to be certain, except love and war.” — Benjamin Franklin “All is fair in death and taxes.” — Anonymous proverb Wait a minute. Something tells me I didn’t quite get that right. Regardless, the permanence of these four institutions as part of the human condition — and the permanence [...]
Right Said: As President Obama pontificated to the nation last month about how Stimulus II would renew our economy and restore the middle class he claims has evaporated, he made it abundantly clear that Congress should pass it “right away.” What he failed to elaborate on, despite having taken a month to release the plan [...]
I’m not an immigrant or a minority; I’m unfamiliar with that experience. However, I am familiar with American culture. Please resist branding me with the choice terms of “racist,” “xenophobic” or “nativist,” and instead entertain a thoughtful critique of U.S. identity politics and how multiculturalism has become destructive to the American identity. Multiculturalism is not [...]
“Understanding the spirit of our institutions to aim at the elevation of men, I am opposed to whatever tends to degrade them … I [am against] curtailing the existing rights of white men, even though born in different lands, and speaking different languages from myself.” — Abraham Lincoln, 1859. Contemporary American society views myself as [...]