Tag Archives: Social Criticism

By S.J. Kerrigan | Published: February 24, 2015

A lot of people I know claim they are not religious. If they had said they were not very religious, I could accept it, but to claim complete separation from religious thought is like saying “I do not get angry,” or “I do not get hungry.” It’s self deluding. No one is entirely rational all the time […]

Posted in Opinion | Also tagged Psychology, Religion, Science | Leave a comment

The Shadow of Japanese Internment

By S.J. Kerrigan | Published: February 17, 2015

Today is President’s Day, officially still known as Washington’s Birthday. It’s a day where we celebrate the contributions of America’s executive branch, apparently regardless of what they’ve done. Of course, no one cares when Washington’s Birthday actually is; it’s always observed on a Monday to ensure consumers can shop on their three-day-weekends. The modern President’s Day is actually the result […]

Posted in Opinion | Also tagged Imperial Presidency, NDAA, Terrorism, War | Leave a comment

George Carlin and America’s Death Instinct

By S.J. Kerrigan | Published: February 11, 2015

George Carlin once joked that mankind has done little more than demolish, harvest, strip-mine and otherwise blast nature into the past, where men of science hope it will stay, out of sight and out of mind, a phantom of a world that no longer exist except in very specific fenced in areas for tourist to gawk before […]

Posted in Opinion | Also tagged Psychology, Technology | Leave a comment

Never Mind the Torture Report (Or Rectal Re-hydration for the Masses!)

By S.J. Kerrigan | Published: December 9, 2014

Today the Senate Intelligence Committee is set to release a report on the CIA’s use of torture in the years after 9-11, but the contents of the report are practically irrelevant since the decision not to punish those responsible makes it an exercise in historical archiving at best, nothing more. After his inauguration in 2009, President […]

Posted in Opinion | Also tagged Civil Liberties, Imperial Presidency, Justice System, Terrorism, Torture, War | Leave a comment

What is the Meaning of Life?

By S.J. Kerrigan | Published: August 26, 2014

How is that for an ambitious question? So what is the meaning of life? Well, if you ask most people from a complex, industrial society, you will get a lot of unsure answers. Occasionally, you will get an answer rooted in religion such as, “The purpose of life is to serve God,” but what that […]

Posted in Opinion | Also tagged Technology | Leave a comment

Super-Tech Makes Democracy Impossible

By S.J. Kerrigan | Published: February 1, 2014

Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Director of Google Ideas Jared Cohen recently wrote in their book The New Digital Age that “What Lockheed Martin was to the 20th century, technology and cybersecurity companies will be to the 21st.” Indeed, the transition is already taking place. Google now spends more money lobbying congress than the military industrial giant they seek […]

Posted in Opinion | Tagged Social Criticism | 2 Responses

We’re Not in Kansas Anymore, This is Dark-America

By S.J. Kerrigan | Published: December 21, 2013

In 20th century science fiction, there is one particular story format that is often employed and is usually a fan favorite — the alternate or parallel universe, where the characters are the same but the roles are switched. In the alternate universe, the good guys are bad and the bad guys are worse. This idea […]

Posted in Opinion | Tagged Social Criticism | 1 Response

Selling the American Dream is the Biggest Market of All

By S.J. Kerrigan | Published: September 30, 2013

In America, people believe that a house is who you are, while a car is who you want other people to think you are. If you have no house and you have no car, by extension you are nothing, and you want to be nothing. Many have modeled their lives around this belief, taking on […]

Posted in Opinion | Also tagged Justice System | 1 Response

How Do You Deal With a Dying Culture?

By S.J. Kerrigan | Published: August 24, 2013

Superheroes are the modern versions of classical mythology. They offer answers to philosophical questions about morality, what it means to be human, our responsibilities to each other, and more. Most importantly, they reveal our culture’s inner values. Put simply, they are a legitimate part of our cultural heritage, but in recent years superhero movies and other […]

Posted in Opinion | Also tagged Literary Criticism, Media | Leave a comment

Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television, Jerry Mander (Book, 1978)

By S.J. Kerrigan | Published: August 6, 2013

Humanist and environmental activist Jerry Mander is nearing 80-years-old, but you wouldn’t know it to hear him. In recent years he has spoken on the dangerous, unsustainable and “obsolete” system of global capitalism, but his earliest and probably most influential public work is his manifesto warning about the many dangers of television. Here in his […]

Posted in Reviews | Also tagged Literary Criticism, Media | 2 Responses

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