Politics

I see the news along with my news feeds on social media littered with articles and opinions on the daily, covering a variety of topics. I typically choose not to engage as it can get out of hand, cause people to get upset, and usually changes no one’s mind anyway. I do not get on social media looking to debate or bait others into an argument, I use it to keep up with the lives of those I know and have connected with. The National Anthem protests have been going on for over a year now, and I admit I initially dismissed Colin Kaepernick’s message as he was in the midst of losing his job and relevancy. (Semi-relevant, I am also a 49ers fan, and had just watched the team get dismantled by the ownership. Wasn’t thrilled with them) I grew to understand the meaning as time went on, and while he...

Dear people who reject feminism, I am a female senior in high school. I plan on going to college next year, possibly studying nursing or something else in the medical field. Both of my parents are divorced and either remarried or engaged. I have two brothers, three step-brothers, and a step sister. Almost all of my cousins are boys, so I know how even my own family treats boys differently than they treat the girls in the family. My interest in this matter stems from growing up around all boys and a very small number of girls, and having my own father tell me that girls soccer isn’t a real sport because girls don’t play sports. I was raised by a strong single mother who worked and put herself through beauty school with little help from anyone else. My grandmother is a strong woman who...

Dear Congressman Zeldin, Plato once said, "The measure of a man is what he does with power." Those words come to mind whenever I think about the first eight months of Trump's Presidency. I was reminded of them once again on the night of September 4th when you took to social media, using your power and influence to incite hate and division. This time your venom wasn't directed towards your opponents or those who disagree with your political views, as you have repeatedly done in the past. Rather, you decided to aim your hatred in support of a narrative that has become all too popular since the beginning of Donald Trump's presidential campaign. On the eve of Donald Trump's expected announcement regarding DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), you decided to share an article...

Dear Mr. Annan: How are you doing? I trust that life has been good. Mr. Annan, do you remember me? Probably not, but I certainly remember you. It was sometime in 97 or 98, at a very exclusive and nameless restaurant somewhere in Airport residential area, in Accra. You were there with a woman and a boy/ teenager, I assumed they were your family. I knew who you were and was a little star-struck, so I kept peeking. In my peeking, I noticed you constantly staring at me, it was a very small/intimate place. At the time, I thought you were just being a perverted old man, as they all were. Now when I look back, I think maybe that wasn’t the case, considering who you were. Perhaps you kept looking because you recognized the disturbing scene occurring before your own eyes. In a restaurant that...