The year 1859 was eventful. Construction on the Suez Canal began, Darwin published The Origin of Species, John Brown raided and was subsequently executed in Harpers Ferry, Colonel Drake drilled the world’s first oil well in Pennsylvania, and Charles Dickens published A Tale of Two Cities. Yet for classic liberals […]
“Single by 2030? Feminism, Family, and the Fight for Tradition”
Kate Hildreth dives into social media reactions to a study predicting that, by 2030, 45% of US women between the ages of 25-44 will be single. The study from Morgan Stanley has sparked a polarizing conversation on social media, particularly on X (formerly Twitter). Hildreth explores the cultural implications of […]
“Blue State Blues: Update from Wokeville, OR”
I am visiting a loved one in the bluest of blue states, Oregon. I’m in a small town that is adorable beyond measure; adorable in a way that differs from the East Coast cuteness of Millerton, New York, or Salem, MA. The Central Valley small town in which I find […]
The Collapse of Women’s Health and Work
The World Health Organization, United Nations, UNICEF, non-governmental organizations and governments are all publicly promoting equity, inclusiveness and diversity. At the same time, these organizations were leading lockdowns and mandates that disadvantaged women disproportionately, especially those with a low salary, in health and income. Many of the women who lost paid […]
Not Religious? Might Want to Check on that Again
We are all children of modernity, which is to say, the intellectual and social movement that started in Europe some five centuries ago and placed mankind, with its capacity to think and make, at the center of the universe. This goes for even those calling themselves post-moderns, as they depend […]
Two Minutes Love
Readers might be familiar with the “Two Minutes Hate.” It’s an idea from George Orwell’s novel 1984, a two-minute ritual in Orwell’s fictitious society, Oceania. The ritual involved the mandated viewing of programs projected onto large telescreens, with no religious or medical exemptions. The programs were called the “Two Minutes […]
Resolve to Think Carefully
Have you ever wondered about where our beliefs come from? What drives the way we frame the events we witness? What impact our worldview has on our actions? What meaning can we ascribe to our actions? How do behaviours become normalised and adopted by masses? I was at the Melbourne […]
In Defense of Uncertainty
I don’t know. On a scale of 1 to 10, how squeamish does this sentence make you feel? If the verbiage floating around social media is any indication, 21st century Canadians score pretty high in terms of our intolerance of uncertainty. In fact, we seem to be drunk on certainty, […]
The Paradox of Structure and Freedom
And why it matters more than ever I’m a junior in college, sitting in Theatre Improvisation 101, waiting for the first class to start. I’m so nervous I can’t actually breathe normally – respiration is coming in little fits as I sporadically remember that oxygen is important. All I can […]