Dawn Allen is a freelance writer and editor who is passionate about sustainability, political economy, gardening, traditional craftwork, and simple living. She and her husband are currently renovating a rural homestead in southeastern Michigan.
Inspired by the post-Brexit protest across the pond, Americans wanting to protest the implications of the recent presidential election have begun to wear safety pins. Wearing the safety pin is meant to convey that the wearer is a “safe” person for those who will be experiencing increased persecution under a Trump administration and by the
In one of the handful of “a liberal visits Trump’s America and this is what she learned” articles that have come out lately, author Arlie Russell Hochschild talks about a five-year stay in Calcasieu Parish in Louisiana, where she met and interviewed many local residents. One of the themes that came up time and time
It was hard to hear over the din of Trump vs Clinton, but a number of positive changes were approved by voters around the country this election season. Our federal system, exemplified by the 10th Amendment, allows for a lot of leeway for states and local government to come up with their own solutions to
Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. –Dylan Thomas, 1914-1953 By now, we’ve had some time to lick our wounds and digest the political events of the last seven days. To some, it came as a
As G.K. Chesterton once said, “Don’t ever take a fence down until you know the reason it was put up.” I hope President-Elect Trump’s transition team has considered Chesterton’s advice as they plan their attack on the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”). A bit of history. There are a few different
Recently, the New York Times reported that international trade is down. Global trade was flat in the first quarter of 2016 and fell slightly in the second quarter, with the value of American imports and exports falling by more than $200 billion in 2015. While this may merely be a temporary lack of demand for
After months of protesting the Dakota Access pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, the Standing Rock Sioux and their supporters have finally broken into mainstream American awareness. Their plight has garnered news coverage in widely read media, from a FAQ in Popular Science to editorials in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and
The times, they are a-changin’. In a stir of the demographic pot just as sudden and unsettling as the party shift that the United States went through in the 1960s, we are now, today, voting in the first Presidential election of what I perceive as a new era in the relationship between the two major
What a time to be alive! Assisted by profligate use of fossil fuels and inspired by generous subsidies, we are awash in cheap carbohydrates. Commodity corn is used to make corn syrup, to fatten feedlot beef, and as the main ingredient in all kinds of junk food. At the same time, we’ve become far more
In Part 2, I discussed how a crisis in American manhood, sparked by the loss of jobs and opportunity, is leading not just to hopelessness, addiction, and suicide for men, but also in misogyny, xenophobia, and a vicious Presidential campaign. Where do we go from here? Having a society full of hopeless and jobless men