The American Peasant

Ever since the events that occurred at Charlottesville the threat of ethno-nationalist movements such as the KKK, Vanguard America, (Neo)Nazis, the Alt-Right and other right wing extremists is finally getting the attention it deserves. With the increased publicity came the public backlash and many companies who had some connection to the groups have decided to terminate business with them. Some of these companies are content-sharing tools and ethno-nationalists and others individuals have brought up the argument that it is wrong for companies to "shut down" speech just because they disagree with it. The slippery slope argument is that today they'll shut nazis down and tomorrow they may shut you down. It is quite interesting that people who believe Hobby Lobby, a private business, should have a right to a moral stand now feel other corporations should be neutral platforms of speech. It is also important to remember that no private business is forced to provide a platform ...

I am not religious. As a matter of fact I am agnostic as I lack the gift of faith but I do have respect for the figure of Jesus and his teachings and I'm familiar with the scripture. So it is not surprising to me that when I saw some people trying to somehow legitimize the claims of white supremacists as reactionaries to the left I thought of Rev 3:15-16. "I know your deeds,  that you are neither cold nor hot.  I wish you were either one or the other!   So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth." There's something to be learned from this. There is value to being rational, tempered and objective. There is value to listening to the other side and not letting emotions get the best of us and I like to think of myself as such a person even though I allow myself to feel raw and uncensored. I do this because it is equally important to be human and I don't want to lose that instinct and the capacity to be outraged by ...

The year is 2017 and I am writing a day after the rally "Unite the Right" at Charlotesville, VA. If you do not follow the news you may not know that hundreds of white supremacists carrying citronella torches marched last night at the University of Virginia. Some of their chants, which were filmed on video, include "white lives matter", "you will not replace us", and "blood and soil", the last one being an allusion to "Blut und Boden" from Nazi Germany. Perhaps the news I consume and the people I follow influence my perception on the gravity of the situation. I'm aware that the KKK and other groups with similar views have always existed and marched in the US. Despite that, I can't help feeling genuine shock at the events and my perception of these groups is that they have become more confident and brazen on their views. They have reason to feel confident. David Duke, Andrew Anglin, Rocky Suhaida, Alex Linder, Don Black, and man...

American values are of a universal nature. Our belief in a right to individual freedom and our commitment to justice, the pursuit of happiness and equality are the values that comprises the fabric our nation. These values have found fertile ground in minds everywhere who dream of a better world for everyone. We share in common this spirit of progress and reason which compel us to protect those who are most vulnerable and it is also in this spirit that we must continue to move forward into the future. Some have forgotten this simple lesson. They are suspicious of anyone who do not look like them and sustain that the beliefs of certain people are not compatible with american values. The values of this country are not found on how we dress, what we look like, our faith or how we speak. The values of our country are found in our treatment of each other. They're reflected in our willingness to accept that even though we may not always agree with each other as long as we share those fou...

Things have been written before about the administration's slogan “Make America Great Again”. In an interview with the Washington Post that was published in January, Trump described the thought process behind the slogan which he trademarked in 2013.  He explains that he discarded the shorter version “Make America Great” because in his opinion "that was a slight to America because that means it was never great before". It is obvious that the message resonated with many people.  It is not that “Make America Great Again” is successful in conveying a universal message. The fact the slogan worked well with a particular demographic is a testament to its ambiguity. It is an invitation to assume that you and an elite developer from New York known for his showmanship, share the same idea of what makes this country great.  It is not clear by which standards we declare greatness. The greatness part will be whatever you want it to be and although caution dictate that we read ...