I walked the cramped row of concrete houses in the Indian slum and watched a group of boys playing cards on the dirt ground. One of them yelled something I could not understand, and the little group fell into fits of laughter. I listened and wondered how many of their sisters’ voices would never join them in laughter, how many little voices had been silenced forever. […]
The demonstration that started it all is Occupy Wall Street, a group of just a few hundred protestors in Liberty Square aiming to shut down Wall Street. The protestors refer to themselves as the 99 percent, and claim they are opposed to the 1 percent who possess the most wealth. […]
Complaints are commonplace, but working through solutions too often is not. Students often grumble about what seems like an unnecessarily high amount of handicap-parking spots or the shrinking number of seats available at noon in the Brewer Student Dining Hall. While some of these problems cannot be fixed — the Grant Events Center will always need its own parking no matter how close it is to students’ dorm rooms — proposing solutions to any complaint is better than just airing frustration. […]
Have you ever been at a party and heard a funny joke about women behind the wheel, or in front of the stove? Successful jokes take reality and twist it, exaggerating its characteristics to make a caricature that, ridiculous as it is, still resembles the truth enough to make you laugh. When a joke about women is received with riotous laughter, it illustrates a far deeper societal problem than the situation might lead you to believe. […]
Having com mitted my life to missions, one would think I would be excited to go to Honduras over my fall break to serve the com munity. Instead, a surprising bitterness overcame me. […]
I know a man — we will call him Michael — who is at war with the world. Michael’s night job is drink ing. He has been an alcoholic off and on the last several years. His father left when he was young, and his present parents ignore and blame him for every possible flaw. His best friends tease him into one-night stands. Michael finds his temporary fix on the bas ketball court or soccer field. “Fulfillment” never looked so broken. […]
ExRated.com, according to its website, offers “character reviews” that help singles make informed dating choices, much in the same way restaurant and movie reviews serve as information sources for consumers. Users can anonymously rate individuals from one to five stars while analyzing personality traits, habits and other characteristics. The site claims the threat of a poor review will motivate people to be more courteous and thoughtful in their dating life. […]
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