Category: Culture
25 ways you can support refugees
A week ago, I published a post called “Do something” urging readers to not be passive in the shadow of modern refugeeism—a phenomenon that has displaced nearly 70 million people worldwide. To put it plainly, everyone...
Do something
In fifty years, we’re going to look back at the first half of the 21st century and remember again that the Syrian crisis—the apex of larger regional and international conflicts—was the defining struggle of a...
Not my voice
The final speech of the Republican National Convention painted a bleak, Blade Runner-version of America. The only solution, according to Trump, is himself. “Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone...
A most futile foreign policy
This election is, unfortunately, not about policy. It’s a popularity contest. A polarity contest. It’s about proving how bad the other candidate is. Both Trump and Clinton have terrible favorability ratings. Clinton is seen unfavorably...
Always returning
I’m back. A week ago, I stepped onto a plane from Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut and traveled back to the United States after a year away. There are a thousand stories to tell,...
The Customary Realness
Two days ago I woke up to a wall of fury and sadness after the killing of Alton Sterling. Yesterday, I woke to see my feed spattered red with the blood of Philando Castile. And...
The issue is guns… and prejudice… and radicalism
Why can’t it be about each of those things? Inevitably, too many have forgotten to mourn with those who mourn. Instead they have moved directly into the politicization. So, first, mourn. * * * Keep...
Come November, I’m voting for democracy
Here is the bottom line: Donald Trump does not represent the ideals of democracy. He is an authoritarian egoist, a celebrity of insolence, a self-made cult of personality. Many of the values he openly professes...
The misadventures of Sykes-Picot
There is nothing more likely to start disagreement among people or countries than an agreement. – E.B. White Your neighbors can’t even mow their lawns straight, and definitely not to the edge of their property—that’s...
Syria in summary – February 2016
The third attempt at a peace conference in Geneva pretty much started off already on a downhill slide. The opposition, championed by the Saudi-founded High Negotiations Committee, was immediately irritated by an unprecedented uptick in...