opinion

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

I Am Done with Debating
I am done with debating with people. Be it atheists, flat earth supporters, vegans, leftists, right wing nut jobs, other Christians, non-Christians, liberals, blind conservatives, gun control advocates, gun rights supporters, holocaust deniers, or anything about the American Civil War... anyone or anything, you name it. I am just going to live my life the best I can and not worry about the opinions of other people. No matter how foolish I find their ideas or outlook on life.
By Halden Mile7 years ago in The Swamp
Is America Great?
Don’t send death threats. The title of this article is a question not a statement. Don’t accuse me of ‘hating’ America. Don’t tell me to go back to the country where I came from.
By Walter Rhein7 years ago in The Swamp
Boycotts Over Bigots?
So we all know the story of the two men arrested in Starbucks. If you don't know, there were two black guys who were waiting at Starbucks for their friends. They hadn't ordered their drinks yet because they wanted their friends to show up before they ordered. The trouble started when one of the men asked where the restroom was. The manager told the guy that since he didn't pay for anything he couldn't use the restroom. Somehow the cops got involved and the guys got arrested for trespassing. The manager that called the cops was fired. When part of the 911 tapes got released, the employee was heard saying that there were guys there that refused to leave or buy something. In my opinion, they could have waited out in the car.
By Lena Bailey7 years ago in The Swamp
Reason First: Did Delawarean Naithan Grzybowski Deserve to Die?
To be gunned down in Wilmington, Delaware ought to not be a regular occurrence. But it is. 18-year-old Naithan Grzybowski fell due to, as of this writing, an unknown assailant’s rounds. The city, which earned the grisly moniker “Murder Town USA” by Newsweek in 2014, continues to see acts of start of force, by way of the gun. The teenager received bullets in his blue car, and later died on the pavement adjacent to the road. Does this require tighter gun laws? Should there be a ban on firearms for citizens? Not even close.
By Skyler Saunders7 years ago in The Swamp
Reason First: High for Thought
It would be cute if it were not so pernicious. The tales in the news of cocaine washing ashore following Hurricane Dorian and New York state decriminalizing marijuana would be kind of funny. It’s adorable not to think that the two substances cannot be completely legalized. Whether it’s an ounce or a hundred kilograms of either substance, the fact should remain that individuals ought to have every right to produce and consume drugs.
By Skyler Saunders7 years ago in The Swamp
Reason First: Who's Right About Property Rights?
The usage of body cameras on police officers is like putting a bandage on top of a bandage of a bullet wound. It is in no way mending a major problem but it sounds nice on news clips and in print. One problem that exists with the body cam is that they do not address the root of the problem of the start of physical force. That would be property rights. High on the ladder among individual rights, the rights of the citizens should be protected by the police. No amount of body cameras will cease the amount of deaths by firearms. In Wilmington, Delaware, the police gunned down 35-year-old Ricardo Hylton for allegedly firing a weapon. The two officers who struck Hylton have been placed on administrative leave. Why? The story doesn’t need body cams. The story requires an objective view of the facts.
By Skyler Saunders7 years ago in The Swamp
China and Hip-Hop: Appropriate to Appropriate?
“You have freestyle?” Those three intimidating words step out from the pursed lips on an expressionless face, hidden behind dark shades that reflected the other’s face, frozen with anticipation, looking up at the tall, thin figure. Suspense climbs like a roller-coaster to the top of its tracks. The gears shifting, with a slight creak of unoiled desperation and scrambling, are almost audible from the contestant’s working mind. Draws in a deep breath. They open their mouth. And it comes out. Words flow with the rhythm of spontaneity—a stream of spoken word, poetry, lyricism. Rap.
By Yung Lo7 years ago in The Swamp
Brexit, Unwanted Child of Democracy.
Brexit has become something of a swear word and most would rather forget it. It has divided UK like never before and has also put a strain on once united Europe.
By SJ K7 years ago in The Swamp
The Middle Class Is a Trap
The middle class is mostly comprised of everyday jobs such as doctors, lawyers, school teachers, firemen, retail employees, etc. Most of these people were taught to go to school, get a job and work for 40 years, some people didn't even get to higher education. They were programmed for safety and security. So taking a risk looks like an opportunity to fall into poverty so they stay stuck at the edge looking at others who either succeeded, died trying, or somewhere in the middle.
By Marcus Lathan7 years ago in The Swamp
Double Standards - Are They Now Politically Acceptable?
Not so very long ago, being able to prove a charge of double standards, against anyone, was to subject that person to public ridicule and humiliation, but now it is so commonplace, especially on social media, that it seems to be ignored. Has it become acceptable for a political group to complain bitterly about other groups behaving just as they have previously? In the ongoing attempts to frustrate the British referendum result, to leave the EU, the remainers used a raft of measures that were undemocratic and outside the usual norms of political behaviour. Then when a leave Prime Minister took a step that was actually within his constitutional powers, the remainers made a huge fuss and noise claiming all sorts of terrible crimes were being committed against the British constitution.
By Peter Rose7 years ago in The Swamp
In America, the Black Man Is the Most Targeted and Sought After
Black men are the most sought after men in the world and yet also the most targeted. In 2019, black men have been targeted on several levels. There have been videos where black men were being followed or approached by police with either false information or no information. One video that went viral on YouTube and Facebook showed a black man from East Texas gets approached by the police when he was playing basketball with his kids. The officer called him by a name that was not his name and then, made a try to cuff the man then, the officer called for back up and officer that showed up as back up brought a device to try to find the man they approached as the suspect they were trying to apprehend. Then, picture of the suspect they were after did not match the identity of the man that they approached. The man frustrated and angry did tell the officers that he would report them for what they had done to him. This kind of incident has become almost normal and common place between black men and the police when rhetoric of racism and White Supremacy is being shouted from the White House Lawn.
By A.J. Jones7 years ago in The Swamp
Our National Nightmare Decimating Dreams
We can’t seem to wake from this current national nightmare. Nearly 60 years ago this week, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. invited us to dream at the Lincoln Memorial’s steps. It’s a dream which some of us had been deluded into thinking would come true soon.
By Rev. Jason Carson Wilson7 years ago in The Swamp