The United States has a crisis on its hands. And blood. So much blood. Common sense gun control laws are needed desperately, but instead the US Constitution is being used to harm the most vulnerable of its citizens. It has been crumpled and twisted and tied like a blindfold over the eyes of those who'd rather be blind and believe in the fantasy of blind justice than face the truth that their country is in crisis. There have been 18 school shootings in the US this year. It is …
MomentUS: An Interview with Teen Activist Hannah Alper
I wanted to call this post "Hope in Action" because that is what I see and think about when I hear the name Hannah Alper. How else do you describe a person who, by the age of 9, had discovered what she was passionate about and was already putting her words into action? I think she is amazing. (I have it on good authority that her parents think she's pretty great, too.) However, I didn't want to confuse readers or project my feelings onto you. Oh, who am I kidding? You know me. That is exactly …
Truth & Reconciliation on Canada’s 150th Anniversary
Being a Canadian is so much more than living in Canada, it's an identity that encompasses one of the top 20 most diverse populations in the world. That is a great source of pride for me; my heart swelled when 25,000 Syrian refugees were welcomed here, and when I see our diverse communities uniting values side by side, I am never more proud. This year, as Canada celebrates our 150th year of Confederation, I can't help but feel bittersweet about the festivities. Our rich history …
10 Books You Need to Go Back and Read NOW
Image source: BNW Movie Production It feels, increasingly, as though we’re living in a time that will go down in the history books as the defining moment of the century. Regardless of where you currently live, there are challenges we couldn’t imagine we would face, back when we were studying history and reading classic literature in high school. But really, who knew we were studying playbooks for our future, back when we were analyzing dystopian novels? Turns out, there are a fair …
An Action Plan for Living in a Trumped-Up World
On the day the now-president of the United States refused a question from a CNN reporter during a press conference, and labelled the outlet “fake news,” I was as outraged as millions in the US and around the world. Trump was setting a dangerous standard, one which journalists were already familiar with in Russia and Turkey. I sat down to write about the dangerous course we were taking and by the time I opened a new Word document, there was a new outrage. And then another one and another one. …
