Skirmishes began over water — My thoughts about how the Empire became what it is today got me thinking about the Southwestern Water Wars, a period of time in which the Empire’s southwest region experienced a drought that was beyond anything that had ever happened before. Lake Mead was a puddle and the Colorado River…

Opposition isn’t about respect for the dead. It’s about imperialism. — COVID-19, climate change, and mounting tensions in various communities have me thinking about my own mortality more than I ever have before. Speaking of climate change, more and more people, including myself, are considering the environmental impacts of our current death practices. A standard cremation emits around 42 cubic meters…

The Catholic Church tells us to respect the dead yet won’t confront its own bloodstained history. — The same Catholic Church that calls human composting disrespectful funded and partook in the cultural genocide of Native Americans. This reveals that the Catholic Church does not care about respecting the dead at all. Rather, this institution cares about maintaining its influence as a religious and political organization.

Gunshots ringing in the distance — As soon as I saw the hordes of heavily armed militias approaching, a wave of panic washed over me. I looked to Amalia. She told me to get on her motorcycle and, for the first time, I found myself protesting. I couldn’t leave my family, even if it meant I…

Thinking of sending your kid to military school? Don’t. — If you’ve ever seen references to a vague ‘military school’ in school or film, you’ve seen a nod to the troubled teen industry. This industry is made up of a series of institutions, such as schools or camps, that promise desperate parents and teens an end to problems such as…

Amalia practically yanked my arm out of my socket as she dragged me down the fire escape. For being as tiny as she was, she had the strength of an ox. After nearly falling down the stairs multiple times, we ducked into an alleyway. As I caught my breath, I…

Without the full story, people get hurt. — Taking the Bible out of context doesn’t just lead to simple misunderstandings about what certain passages mean. It leads to justifying outright evil, especially when the people taking the Bible out of context are members of a more powerful class trying to maintain power over a less powerful class. …

A secret asexual traitor to her country — Being shunned by society in general hurts but being shunned by a group that dedicates itself to uniting and empowering the marginalized is a unique sort of pain. On the Internet, the little information I could find about asexual history was mostly “debate” over whether asexuality alone could make someone…

In the 2019 Chapman University Survey of American Fears, Christian nationalism came out as the second strongest predictor of being against vaccination. Many Christian nationalists believe that receiving the COVID-19 vaccine demonstrates a lack of faith in God and that God will protect them via divine intervention. …