America has always had a contentious relationship with multiculturalism and, specifically, its tendency to simultaneously devalue and co-opt Black culture and Black bodies. One of the more blatant and visible examples of this is in the long tradition of white people using “blackface” and the practice of minstrelsy to demean people of color, perpetuate damaging […]
In the Summer 1993 issue of Foreign Affairs, the late Samuel P. Huntington published an essay titled “The Clash of Civilizations?”. The essay’s thesis has maintained an extraordinarily high value over the ensuing decades. In many ways, it became the dominant narrative among certain elements of the political right, particularly in the years immediately following […]
There has been much made in recent months of Americans realizing that their 2018 tax refunds are significantly smaller than in past years thanks to the Republican tax scam. This phenomenon has been well documented in the media, both social and mainstream. The story that has yet to emerge, but I expect will as people […]
Even as someone who has spent his entire life in “the South”, I will never understand the devotion and pride many people exhibit for their Confederate “heritage”. I’m sure that I have ancestors who fought in the War of Northern Aggression who probably fought well and died, if such a thing is possible, with honor for […]
Were the founders of the American republic religious people? Probably, but whatever the answer they had enough humility and foresight to realize that religion, especially the great monotheistic traditions, was a dangerous foundation upon which to build a new nation. Additionally, they seem to have understood that a government wrapped in theology would be a […]
Last week marked the end of another school year for most of our students in Alamance County (NC) and across the country and along with EOG exams and farewell parties comes the end of National School Lunch Program (NSLP) funded meals for schoolchildren. Why does this matter? It matters because there is abundant evidence that, […]
Why is it that our elected officials at the city and state levels are so quick to promise the moon to corporations looking to expand, relocate or establish themselves? The short answer, of course, is that they are not looking for long term returns or benefits for their constituents but are instead looking only at […]
There is a coup underway in the United States of America. Some have made an excellent argument that this coup has been going on for several years and is nearing a point of completion. The American electorate has been conscious participants and unwitting victims, but this coup has taken place all the same. This isn’t […]
In light of recent events in Parkland, Florida and before Las Vegas, Nevada, the nation finds itself once again contemplating its relationship with firearms and gun culture. Whatever the core cause of mass shootings, there is little room to deny that a pervasive obsession with firearms exists at every level of American society and that […]
So… here we are again. It doesn’t seem like that long ago, does it? Where was it? Orlando, wasn’t it? That’s right. That’s when that guy killed all those people at that nightclub. It’s just like old times, isn’t it? Only this time it’s Las Vegas and even more people got killed and, oh yeah, […]
Antidote Notes 