Stop Treating Our Election Process as Untouchable. It Erodes Democracy.
American elections are a disaster. On the surface, they’re viewed as the perfect model of democracy, one that all developing countries should follow. But if you lift the lid, it’s a horrible, dark, slimy mess, from the continued existence of caucuses, to voter disenfranchisement, to the undemocratic Electoral College, to an excess of money in […]
In The Fight to Defund, Social Media is the Mobilizer
Photo by Sydney Kornegay On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officers brutally murdered George Floyd, sparking mass outrage and protests across the United States and around the world. These demonstrations are not just about Floyd; they’re about all of the victims who have died due to the systemic racism that built this nation. The history […]
How Police Officers Are Shielded From Accountability
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis, widespread news coverage and nationwide protests forced the city to act. The four police officers involved were fired and charged, and the city council promised to dismantle the police department. This may seem like a victory, but it is enough? Laquan McDonald was murdered in Chicago […]
It’s Not the Spectacle of the Protests That Matters. It’s the Substance.
What you feel when you see a police officer depends entirely on who they are to you. For the privileged white protesters who donned military gear, brandished guns, and marched uninhibited into the Michigan State Capitol on April 30, police officers were public servants to be shouted at on the way into the building. Amid […]
Coronavirus in America: Obsession and Oppression
For the past few months, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has completely upended the conventional functions of our society. As we attempt to understand and combat this virus, there are still a plethora of unknowns. Despite our limited knowledge about the virus, stay-at-home orders have been widely accepted as a measure to mitigate the disease’s spread. […]
My Beef with Dairy: How the US Government Is Bailing out a Dying Industry
The US government’s support for dairy farms exacerbates overproduction and supports an unsustainable, dying industry, wasting billions of taxpayer dollars. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), American milk consumption dropped from 275 pounds per capita in 1975 to 149 pounds in 2017. Due to dwindling demand, US dairy farming operates at a […]
The 2020 Elections You Need to Care About
If it feels like the 2020 presidential race has dragged on for several years already, that’s because it has. Representative John Delaney broke the record for the earliest candidacy declaration when he announced in July 2017 that he would seek the Democratic nomination. A couple dozen announcements followed throughout the next two years until Michael […]
Eschewing Electability: What Democrats Can Draw from the Far-Right Playbook
Talking heads, opinion columnists, and mainstream pundits continually stressed that a Democratic victory in the 2020 presidential election was predicated on a nominee who could appeal to centrist swing voters. Political commentator Thomas Friedman, in a New York Times op-ed, pitched Michael Bloomberg as that candidate—one who could send a message of “national unity, personal […]
Proportional, Not Popular: Reforming the Electoral College
Five times in the history of the United States, the results of the Electoral College and popular vote have differed. In 2000, George W. Bush defeated Al Gore with 543,895 fewer votes. That election thrust the Electoral College into the national spotlight and spurred debate over reform. In 2016, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton despite […]
Bill Who? The Republican Primaries’ Significance in the 2020 Election
Despite President Trump’s approval rating sitting at 44 percent as of March 20, 56 percent of Americans—including 65 percent of independents and 93 percent of Democrats—disapprove of his administration. Even the number of Republicans supporting the president has fallen by two percent since January, when the president’s approval rating peaked at 49 percent. Yet toppling […]