You’re a freedom toddler. Yeah – you. Someone sent you the link to this post because you’re acting like a crybaby or a bully, with little or no critical thought, and using “mah rights” as an excuse to be selfish, hurt, or intimidate others – and you don’t actually understand the so-called rights you’re using as a bludgeon or shield. A toddler has...
Time is a funny thing. The linear progression of our lives from one moment to the next, measurable only through our memories of what was compared to our perceptions of what is, against our hope of what will be. We all march the inexorable goose step into the future and none of us are immune from the ravages of time. For all that, we constantly try to bargain, cheat, or equivocate, with Time. We...
I ghosted you. Cut off communications. Blocked you on Facebook. Or maybe unfriended you. I deleted your comments on my threads. I cut you off of Twitter. I don’t return your calls or your texts. And you wonder why. Don’t worry; it’s not me. It’s you. You voted for, and continue to support, a racist. A man who calls people of color “dogs.” A man who praises other racists and bigots. A man who has...
(copy from my Facebook post) Note to everyone up in arms about #takeAKnee: I come from a ~strong~ military family with a strong military tradition. My brother is a Marine veteranMy brother-in-law is a Navy veteranMy father is a Navy veteranMy grandfather (father’s side) was a WWII Army veteran and POW who fought in the European TheaterMy grandfather (mother’s side) was a WWII Army veteran...
A Statue, A Book, a Billboard What does a Confederate statue and a book have in common? A lot, according to a billboard I saw today. Pittsburgh is a fairly progressive town. It’s one of the reasons why Carey and I fit in so well here. Get just a few miles outside of the city, though, and things start to change drastically. For my Florida friends, you can liken it to the greater Jacksonville...
GMO Hysteria Everyone knows that GMO food is bad right? GMOs are the Frankenstein’s monster of the food world. They’ll give you cancer, diabetes, digestive issues, shorten your lifespan, make you blind, and unleash an epidemic of (insert your poison here) on us all. GMOs are making us all sick and obese. Yeah, GMOs are bad. Except they aren’t bad. The hysteria and negative opinions that surround...
Racism Today No one admits to being a racist, but racism is alive and well today. Unless you’re a real piece of work you don’t walk around making racist remarks, you don’t disparage another race intentionally, and you don’t go out of your way to antagonize, belittle, or marginalize someone of another race. We don’t have lynchings as a regular thing nowadays and we don’t see the pointy white hats...
A Stoic is Born Two thousand years ago, a man was born. He was born of low stature but his words and deeds would endure and even, today, he is spoken of with reverence and awe. I’m not talking about Jesus. I’m talking about Epictetus – the famous Stoic philosopher. Epictetus was born a slave in Athens. He was the property of his master, who could do with him as he saw fit. Indeed, at...
To those argue that we should track Muslims in the United States, treat them differently, or otherwise discriminate against a Muslim, be they citizens or other – because you want to “protect our way of life:” I have news for you; the Constitution is our way of life, not whatever mistaken impression of America you hold dear. The First Amendment guarantees the government won’t discriminate based on...
I’ve turned my Facebook feed into a battleground recently. I’m angry at America right now. Trump is the answer to that question – did the terrorists win? Yes, they did, and I cannot remain silent. When Trump and his isolationist, war-mongering, fear-mongering, white supremacist, misogynistic ways become the norm across the land – the terrorists have won. Since 2001, under...
Ron Sparks is a technology professional, science fiction and fantasy author and poet living in Zurich, Switzerland. His latest book "ONI: Satellite Earth Series Book 1" is available on Amazon.com.