Thanks to the ACA, 1.2 million more people received mental health and substance use disorder treatment. What will happen to them? Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 217 to 213 to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” and replace it with the American Health Care Act. The AHCA now must go...
Author: Kristance Harlow (Kristance Harlow)
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You Call Us “Snowflakes” Like it’s a Bad Thing
Snowflakes are tiny frozen structures that, by themselves, will melt with a touch. But snowflakes, when they get together, are not some fragile thing. The Blaze just fired its young conservative mouthpiece, Tomi Lahren, for expressing pro-choice views. Before she was fired, this lady was giving out Snowflake Awards to shame left-leaning folks offended by the current state...
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We Have a Media Literacy Problem, and “Fake News” Hysteria Isn’t Helping
What is “fake news?” What is “the media?” If we can’t be more specific in our language, we don’t have a chance of understanding the world around us. The latest scapegoat in the wild world of news and American politics is “the media.” The media is to blame for everything. The media is dishonest. The...
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How to Stop Being Ignorant of Your White Privilege
You’re not a bad person for having white privilege. However, you do need to accept that this unequal system unfairly benefits you. [Content Note: Racism] Are you white? If you answered yes, this lesson is for you. This is Part 3 in a series I like to call, “How to Be Less of a Jerk:...
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Read These 10 Books Before They’re Banned in the U.S
Books have been banned and burned for as long as the written word has been circulating in print. That’s why you need to read each one of these — before you can’t. Oppressive regimes control access to ideas because they know that knowledge is liberating and diversity is powerful. History has not been kind to those...
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Yes, Trump is a Lot Like Hitler. But It’s Not Too Late to Stop Him.
Both Hitler and Trump rose on tsunami of lies, fear and anti-free speech platforms. It isn’t too late to stop history from coming full circle. Deportation raids are happening en masse across the country. Refugees have been turned away at the border, echoing a shameful past when Holocaust refugees were refused entry to the United...
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What Bigoted Rev. Jeffress’ Private Sermon Tells Us About Trump
Jeffress’ presence at the inauguration and his role on Trump’s evangelical advisory board can tell us something about Trump’s plans. by Kristance Harlow Just before Donald Trump’s inauguration, Reverend Robert Jeffress delivered a sermon privately for Trump and his family. It was a decision that, like many of Trump’s decisions, drew controversy. In 2010, Jeffress...
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Trump Never Admits His Mistakes. Here’s Why That’s Dangerous.
In terms of progress, being wrong is a necessity. Making mistakes and finding errors is how we come to new understandings about the world. by Kristance Harlow Throughout history, stubborn self-righteousness has not been a good approach to democratic domestic and international relations. Kathryn Schulz argues in her book, Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error, many...
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New Puerto Rico Governor Wants Independence or Statehood — And Its Woes Are The U.S.’s Fault
by Kristance Harlow Puerto Rico is experiencing a huge economic crisis. The population is declining in response as people leave the archipelago in a financial exodus. Eric Platt reported in the Financial Times that the $110 billion debt suffered by the commonwealth “has prompted one of the largest migratory movements within the U.S. in decades.”...
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Trump’s False Narratives: Why He’s So Good At Them, and Why So Many Believe Them
by Kristance Harlow The stories we are told throughout our lives, both real and imagined, color the lens through which we interpret the world. The present is legitimized by the stories told about the past, and we are more likely to believe a story that aligns with the ones we’ve always been told. President-elect Donald...