Tribalism on the Trail: The Politics of Hate in the US and EU

                Tribalism, in all its modern forms, is a societal disease.  Whether it is the unscientific belief of the genetic supremacy of one race over another, the willingness to kill and enslave others in the name of your deity or what side of imaginary lines drawn on a map is the sole determinate of what kind of person you are and the quality of life you will receive.  The bearers of the message of intolerance and bigotry find their home from the right.  Here in the United States, the competition for GOP candidate seems to be one of who can veil their bigotry the thinnest.  Over in Europe far right “Eurosceptic” parties are on the rise, trying to ensure that everyone gets in their daily two minutes hate against the foreigner. 

The Last Man On His Earth

This story is something I was inspired to write up real quick after speaking with somebody close to me. I think if there's anything to take away from this short is that, if you can relate to this story you can see that you are not alone.

The Last man on His Earth

I am the last man on earth.
There was no apocalypse nor was I spared some horrific death by a plague that wiped out all of humanity. It's something much more confusing.
What's left here for me is nothing but a life wasted. Without the human interaction that we all crave, ones existence gets put into perspective. I am making no difference in any lives and have no one to make a difference in mine. What is next when there is nothing?
The truth is that I see people every day, but they don't seem to see me. Maybe I am a ghost to them or they are ghosts to me. I see them in passing without a word to be spared by their mouths or mine. We do not seem to be part of the same world.
They all seem to interact in a world around me, yet I am not part of it. Why can't they see me, why am I the one alone?
I'm not seeking pity or anything of that sort. All I care for after all this time is someone to sit down and talk with, someone to laugh and tell stories with. Someone who cares.
I am the last man on my earth and the confusing part is, I am one in seven billion people alive. If this statistic is right then why am I alone?

Today We Remember; But Today Many Still Hate

Fourteen years ago today tragedy struck our country. The waves of destruction that came with the collapse of the World Trade Centers resonated around the world. Today we do not forget that tragedy and the course it had set our world on.

Sadly however, today I have seen one of the ugliest of responses to the 9/11 tragedy rear its head yet again. As you may have noticed on the news or on your feed there has been a tragic loss of life in the city of Mecca due to a crane collapsed killing an estimated 65 people. What is disgusting is the responses from the American people. A lot of the online responses have been, "It's what they deserve" or "It looks like Allah doesn't protect his people either". Racism and bigotry are what is ruining this country and this world. The blind association that all Muslim people are terrorists is disgusting and makes me ashamed of my fellow citizens.

Today we remember one of the greatest tragedies to ever befall the United States. Remembering however is not synonymous with hate. We do not remember this day because we are meant to hate, we remember because of the loss and the need to heal and rebuild. Love your fellow man even if you are not sure that they love you because that's what it takes to grow and that's what it takes to create a peaceful outcome. If we do not do this we are at risk to repeat this trend whenever we feel threatened, as we did with McCarthyism during the Red Scare and with Japanese Americans during WW2. It is finally time to end this trend.

We say "Never Forget" when referring to today, but maybe we should add, "unity can happen" to the list of phrases that everyone knows.   

When Is 248 Enough?

     As of this writing, August 27 2015, there have been 248 mass shootings so far in 2015 in the United States, according to the website Mass Shooting Tracker.  This defines a mass shooting as a shooting in which four or more people are shot, opposed to the FBI definition of a mass shooting as the shooting death of four or more people.  GunsAreCool, a subreddit page, started and runs the website.  So far this year we have averaged more than one shooting a day, as pointed out in Christopher Ingraham’s article, We’re now averaging more than one mass shooting per day in 2015.