By Farrah Hassen | – ( Otherwords.org ) – “If I must die, you must live to tell my story,” wrote Dr. Refaat Alareer, a 44-year-old Gazan poet and literature professor. A few weeks later, Alareer was killed while sheltering in his sister’s apartment, along with six family members. In the densely populated Gaza Strip, […]
Americans Want a Ceasefire. It’s Our Politicians Who Are Out of Touch
By Farrah Hassen ( Otherwords ) – Two years ago, filmmaker Mohannad Abu Rizk asked children in Gaza about their dreams. One young girl responded, “My dream is for us to stay alive and to live in peace. We have a right to stay alive.” She’s one of the 2.2 million Palestinians living in the […]
Don’t Silence Palestinian Voices: Their Absence from News Coverage is Unfair and Harmful
By Sarah Gertler | ( Otherwords.org ) – Like many of us, I’ve been glued to media coverage of the terrible violence in Gaza and Israel. I was deeply shaken by the brutal killings of over a thousand Israelis on October 7. The families of Israelis killed and taken hostage deserve justice for these crimes. […]
Meeting Union Demands would be a Win-Win for Automakers
By Sonali Kolhatkar ( Otherwords.org) – The United Auto Workers (UAW), a union of nearly 150,000 workers at America’s “Big Three” automakers, are on strike. On the face of it, UAW’s demands sound audacious. They’re calling for a 46 percent pay raise and a four-day workweek, among other things. But in the broader context of […]
Climate Change is our Biggest Security Threat: Our Federal Budget Should Reflect That
By Lindsay Koshgarian, Alliyah Lusuegro ( Otherwords.org ) – As the hottest summer in human history approached its end, tens of thousands of climate marchers rallied in New York to call for bold climate solutions. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Washington lurched toward another fight over the federal budget. More than ever, the U.S. needs to get […]
Trump Isn’t too Big to Jail — if we are a Nation of Laws
By Mitchell Zimmerman The day after Donald Trump was arraigned for his alleged effort to steal the 2020 election, he posted a naked threat: “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!” That followed his federal indictment. After he was indicted in Georgia, Trump openly warned a witness not to testify. “I am reading […]
We have one more Chance to end Child Poverty in America
By Kassidy Jacobs When I was born into poverty, the deck was stacked against me in all aspects of life — from educational opportunities and health care to the future earnings I could expect. Now I’ve graduated from college and I’m poised to start my first post-college job. What made the difference? Hard work, yes […]
Housing Is a Human Right — Governments Need to Recognize It
By Farrah Hassen | ( Otherwords.org ) – In the wealthiest country on the planet, too many people still lack access to housing. The pandemic revealed the full extent of the U.S. housing crisis. Where were the roughly 580,000 people living unhoused in 2020 to go under “stay at home” orders? And what about those […]
Extremists Want to Ban Discussing Their Abortion Bans
By Jim Hightower | ( Otherwords.org) – Unfortunately, it’s 1984 again in America. Not the year. The book. George Orwell’s classic novel tells of a far-right totalitarian clique that uses “newspeak” and “doublethink” to impose their rigid, anti-democratic doctrine on society. Their regime held power through mind control — they had a “Ministry of […]