Category: Opinion

The minds of youth are precious and pure. Parents and every sort of group hopes to keep them that way as long as possible, leading to censorship in schools — specifically regarding banned books. Certain books in schools face bans due to religious groups or overly-concerned parents and other parties. The list of challenged books includes “Their Eyes Were Watching […]

A photograph of Ellen Degeneres and President George W. Bush caused an internet uproar. When Ellen Degeneres addressed the internet storm, she explained that she and Bush were friends, though they disagree with each other on issues like politics.  “When I say be kind to one another, I don’t mean only the people that think the same way that you […]

Speaking before the United Nations’ Climate Action Summit, 16-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg delivered an impassioned chastisement to world leaders for their negligence and inaction concerning climate change. Her viral speech, viewed over 4 million times on YouTube, put Thunberg directly into the international spotlight on this issue and led to her being criticized by numerous people on the […]

“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19). How should Christians approach working in a secular environment? Having a strong relationship with the Lord will have ripple effects that impact earthly […]

Cancer.  Lung disease. Stroke. COPD. Cigarettes kill. Vaping kills too. At the time this article was published, the New York Times reported a total of 29 vaping-related deaths. According to The New York Times, the principal deputy director of the Center for Disease Control, Dr. Anne Schuchat, commented at a news briefing that the vaping-related illnesses are life-threatening and a […]

Have you ever wondered where your clothing comes from? Maybe you’ve glanced at the tag on your favorite T-shirt and thought about how the shirt is probably more well-travelled than you. By plane, train, boat or car, the T-shirt has crossed oceans and maybe continents to cover your body. Even if that thought never occurred to you, you probably at […]

What kind of parent are you if you don’t want the best for your children?  I’m pretty sure this is the question that pounded in Felicity Huffman’s mind when she involved herself in what many have called one of the biggest college scandals to the date.  However, using bribery to get your children into college is not only a toxic […]

The days of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are over — or are they? Officially, NAFTA has met its end, and a newly-signed trade agreement is waiting for ratification in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was supposedly negotiated to allow for a better trade agreement between the North American countries. The new agreement, […]

David and Joseph are two of my favorite biblical figures. Both men chased after God’s heart despite falling into seasons of sin and sadness. Christians can greatly benefit from combining the integrity of Joseph with the repentance of David in their own lives.  The story of David’s sin with Bathsheba is well known. But to understand the magnitude of God’s […]

When the First Step Act became law in December 2018, the federal prison system completely changed. Through use of incentives, creation and expansion of classes, priority checks, easier reentry periods and newfound respect for prisoners, the act has influenced the lives of over 3,000 prisoners as of July 2019. While the First Step Act (FSA) has fundamentally changed huge aspects […]

Editor’s note: Troutman writes this with total respect for Taylor Swift. Troutman wanted to take the time to call into question some of the artist’s misguiding behaviors.  If you were born in the late 90s and early 2000s, there is a large chance that you were or are a Taylor Swift fan. Swift rose to stardom during the early 2000s, […]

When Bernie Sanders proposed the College For All Act on the floor of the United States Senate in 2017, he highlighted a core principle of his democratic-socialist agenda: universal free college and student debt cancellation for Americans. Back then, Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont, was expressing an unpopular socialistic policy that even the mainstream Democratic Party was timid to […]

After the gavel slams, the clinking of the handcuffs closing around a new prisoner’s wrists somehow sounds very final.  These sounds mark the last few moments of a person’s life outside of a prison until their time is served. The U.S. penal system sees prison as a punishment, but that punishment’s effectiveness is becoming null. The hope of the penal […]

In the hustle and bustle of college, voting generally isn’t the first thing on any of our minds.  With mountains to be hiked, homework to finish, tests to study for and football games to cheer, it is easy to forget to vote in something like a congressional election, which doesn’t garner as much attention. No matter how easy it is […]