Citizens need information about politics to maintain a functioning democracy (Van Aelst et al., 2017). In the past the United States populace has obtained information about politics from traditional media outlets (i.e. newspapers or television)(Katz, 1996), but in today’s modern media environment people more often turn to the internet as their means of information acquisition (Chaffee & Metzger, 2009; Van Aelst et al., 2017). The internet provides an almost unquantifiable diversity and quantity in the content available to its users (Chaffee & Metzger, 2001; Napoli & Karppinen, 2013). In respect to a well functioning democracy it would be optimistic to…

Knowledge is power. Those who control the generation of knowledge, and therefore truth, have power in society. Examples of the power of knowledge generation are all around us, one need look no further than any television news outlet to see the processes of power play out. CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, all of these companies are structures of knowledge generation, beit through framing, story selection, and even the timing of release (i.e. prime time), they control what and how the public receives knowledge. This is powerful.

What these powerful companies choose to release will set the political and social agenda of…

A key process of growing up is learning to function in society. We learn how to live and play with others, we learn how to maintain a household, and we learn to pay taxes. We learn these skills from the media, from our teachers and tutors, we learn from our parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters. We learn from the world around us, and over time, as we begin to understand the patterns of interaction all around us, the way the world works becomes naturalized in our minds. We are not in a constant state of questioning that which is natural…

What would you say if I told you that every piece of information bouncing around in your noggin can be thought of as currency? Every idea you’ve ever had, every Wikipedia page you’ve ever read, and every story you love to tell, all a form of currency. Currency that we exchange with one another, at a party, next to the water cooler, in the privacy of our bedrooms. The context and content of our stories dictates where it is valued and in what circles it is valueless. A story about the specific flux mediation technology encasing a specific nuclear reactor…

There is a nice woman who regularly visits my store, she, and many of my other customers, are residents of low-income housing buildings that make up about 3 square city blocks in Downtown Portland. Two days ago she was mugged by a local homeless women for refusing to hand over her last cigarette. She has minor bruising on her face from where she was hit with a bottle and had some of her personal belongings broken in her purse, but she is otherwise alright. …

Racism, hate, xenophobia, bigotry, toxicity, argumentativeness, anger, frustration, fear. Each of these a cognitive state of being that in many ways shapes the way we, as individuals, perceive the world around us, and therefrom shape how we treat others. Unfortunately, the era of Trump has coincided with a dramatic growth, or, more relevantly, a resurgence of these negative cognitive frames. Outcomes of these cognitive frames range from unfriending someone, to preparing a kill list of prominent Democrat politicians.

Is Trump to blame? The media? What about religious leaders? Community leaders? Pop culture? Ideologically isolated internet circles? 4chan? The answer: probably…

Chapter 1: A Journey Begins

The dark green pirate ship faded to black as it moved between the escape pod and the sun. Yarlian chewed on his lip as he watched the pirate ship’s cargo hatch open, and in one smooth swoop the pirate ship swept up the escape pod into the bowels of the cargo bay. As the hatch closed, Yarlian checked the charge level of his handheld railgun one last time. 25%, it read. Yarlian knew he did not have the firepower necessary to overcome an entire pirate crew. However, his mission is clear, and he would die…

Conversations regarding the legality and politics of abortion are often focused on the ethical right or wrong of abortions, but whether or not something is “right” or “wrong” does not affect the real structural implications of abortion legislation. When women are unable to terminate an unplanned pregnancy, for whatever reason, they are, for all intents and purposes, locked into a massive financial and life commitment they did not choose. Aside from the obvious relationship this has with our ethical concepts of freedom, the socioeconomic burden of a child creates immense personal and communal barriers.

Personal barriers are exemplified in a…