Category Archives: The Texas Orator

Study Abroad is supposed to be transformative: that’s the whole point. Yet, as every stubborn college student does, I underestimated how much a couple short months would change my perspective on almost everything. These are my thoughts and reflections on a trip that was the best decision I have ever made. Read about my travelsContinue reading “From Regina to Kunming: The View from a Changing China”

“We must take our country back.” The most salient political refrain of our time is so widely endorsed that it is impossible to locate its origin. Populists from every corner of the globe all seem to share the same message, but they rarely quote each other. Their appeals to fear of subversion and to theContinue reading “Populist Promises and Sovereign Illusions”

Diagnosing what ails the American republic is a national pastime that has indicted particular culprits such as new technology, economic inequality, and Newt Gingrich. At the risk of adding yet another sky-is-falling tome to this burgeoning literary genre, there is another clear and present danger threatening political discourse. American politics has been afflicted by rampant reductionism, otherwise knownContinue reading “Labelocracy: A Nation Ruled by Labels”

This semester, I was lucky enough to be joined at The Orator by a couple of fellow Canadians, one of which has very graciously agreed to join me in a conversation about a recurring topic in Canadian politics: First Nations issues. First Nations are what people in the States refer to as “Native American” communities; the CanadianContinue reading “A Conversation on Canada’s Forgotten Peoples”

As the polls open for early voting, the classic “I voted” stickers serve as a reminder of American civic duty, or the lack thereof. Bemoaning low voter participation is a tried and true American pastime. Yet, the most unrelenting aspect of this phenomenon is the chronic inaction by elected officials. In these midterm elections, noContinue reading “Democracy Promotion Begins at Home”

It’s no secret that bipartisan consensus in Washington is exceedingly rare. Yet, the few areas of agreement that do exist are hardly fraught. Foreign policy has historically enjoyed relative harmony between rival factions, especially in regard to the practice of diplomacy. Both the anti-imperialists of the left and the small-government isolationists of the right imploreContinue reading “When Diplomacy Gets Dangerous”

Fate, as we all know, is a fickle thing. It demonstrated this as Senator John McCain, a veteran and politician whose character and wisdom have inspired Americans since the 1960s, fought his last good fight against brain cancer on Saturday. The announcements of his passing occurred almost exactly as I listened to the last fewContinue reading “A Tribute to John McCain”