Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in The Swamp.
American Slavery
TheNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass was written by himself during a time in America when slavery was still legal in many parts of the country, particularly the south. This book outlines the hardships that he endured while in the bonds of slavery. Douglass describes his many masters and his struggle to learn how to read as a child. While a slave he witnessed many atrocities. He saw his aunt, brother, and countless others brutally beaten.
By Almárëa Laurësil8 years ago in The Swamp
The View From the Dumpster
We are all aware of the Great Wall of China in terms of its historical significance and its significant size. Rightfully so, the Chinese people are very proud of this structure. Despite its magnificence it has absolutely no impact on those of us who reside in other countries, such as the United States. But there is another wall that the Chinese have put in place, one that most people have not heard of. It is that wall that has an impact on our lives. You likely won’t read about it, unless you follow industry news for waste and recycling.
By Heinz Weverink8 years ago in The Swamp
Where Does Authority Come From?
Where does authority come from? Legally, authority is shaped by the people, the people who vote, the people who are being voted for, the people who enforce laws, and the people who break laws. Authority is power. Authority is defined as “The power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.”
By Clare Woodford8 years ago in The Swamp
Punitive Parallels — The Genocide of Neighbors
The world has witnessed many atrocities... some worse than others. The Rwandan genocide and the Holocaust are two of the most horrific and devastating. These two acts of genocide differed in the manners by which the killings were accomplished and because of the ideologies motivating the factions. The Germans were obsessed with ridding the earth of what they believed to be substandard humans. The Hutus were out for revenge (Lemarchand). No matter the situation, the overwhelming victimization of cultures ties these events together. Although the details of the genocides do not mirror one another, each were backed by political interests with the intention to dehumanize and completely wipe out a specific group of people.
By Almárëa Laurësil8 years ago in The Swamp
The American Dream
Is the American Dream a Myth or Reality? 325,051,571 people are living in America right now. 43.3 million of them are immigrants. 43.3 million families, children, hardworking citizens, all seeking the same thing, the American Dream. Are we all searching for something that isn't actually acquirable?
By Clare Woodford8 years ago in The Swamp
The Poverty Trap
As of 2013, in Ontario there were a total of 460,100 people on Ontario Works. Of this, 64 percent were adults, with 27 percent being single adults. There were also 427,100 recipients of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). Ontario may be one of the worst provinces for their social assistance and policies. Welfare creates an everlasting trap for all recipients, keeping their recipients below the poverty line, and trapping them there with their policies. Not only are rates far lower than in previous reports, but they are also much too low for this wage alone to support a family/person. Rates of adults using food banks has increased dramatically because of the inflation and increases in everyday costs. The poverty gap has increased by about 200 percenrt since 1993, leaving many recipients living on incomes 60 percent below the poverty line in Ontario.
By Rion Marks8 years ago in The Swamp
The Hour Glass
As the sands of time flow downward the sea of change continues to ebb. It ebbs not with grace but with a velocity of a coming tsunami. The world that I once knew when I was young is unrecognizable now. Back at a time when memories were made has kept my compass almost on the straight and narrow. I lived through times of hardships and woe, experienced joy and adulation and through it all never have I seen what our world has come to today. Sure, there are scientific breakthroughs and technological marvels that have made an impact but, yet the world keeps shifting toward a more ominous outcome. Our world is more convoluted, complex and dangerous now.
By Dr. Williams8 years ago in The Swamp
The Link Between Starvation Wages and High Crime
I belong to a Facebook group whose members, according to the group's name, are there to improve the city where we all reside. Recently, someone posted a poll asking members to vote on the causes of our current spike in criminal activity. Here are the top three responses:
By Angie Still8 years ago in The Swamp
Guide to American Political Parties
Politics. It’s what makes America… America. Even if you're not crazy about politics, or perhaps hate the topic, you hear it almost everywhere you go. It’s one of the main conversation topics that almost always end up becoming an argument, because everyone has a different view on how the country should be. But not everyone is right and not everyone is wrong — that is where politics come in.
By Jacqueline Hanikeh8 years ago in The Swamp
Getting Over It: Brexit & The Mythmaking Saboteurs
Much of the last 2 years in politics has been unpredictable and surprising. Brexit has started the UK on a radical journey that looks to be messy, bumpy, and hard to forecast. But there are a few things we can be relatively sure of. The kind of Brexit we get very much depends on how debates are settled in the UK. Brexit produces the need for a vast number of debates because it will effect every pocket of governance, business and the economy. Sweeping changes with far reaching repercussions are to be introduced; touching on the border arrangements in Northern Ireland, regional funding, devolved powers, regulatory environments and the bodies that maintain them, post-Brexit trade policy, immigration systems & policies and thousands of laws and regulations.
By Dan Dutchison8 years ago in The Swamp
