Reading Time: 6 minutes A year ago, I reflected on decolonizing our thinking around archaeology, and the immediate challenges posed by such an attempt. Although on one level it’s self-evident that the field has been informed by extremely biased (and racist) actors, secular folk like me rely on scientific positivism for so much in our lives that it can […]
activism
Posted inThe Future
What fifty years of struggle can teach us, going forward
Reading Time: 9 minutes The year is 1973. In January, Richard Nixon is sworn in for his second term as president, the US officially withdraws from its conflict in Vietnam, and an investigation into the Watergate break-ins expands from the burglars to the statesmen. In the coming months, Nixon will orchestrate a cover-up of a cover-up, trying to hold […]
Posted inFree Expression
This week in protests and strikes: China, Iran, and the US
Reading Time: 5 minutes On Tuesday, November 29, the US and Iran played at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. It was a tense match, but not necessarily for reasons related to the game. The US Soccer Federation had originally flown an Iranian flag on social media platforms that omitted the emblem of the Islamic Republic. That was its […]
Posted inCulture
Giving Tuesday: An annual secular ritual with global ambitions
Reading Time: 4 minutes I like to say I’m not one for ritual, but I fall into seasons of celebration and reflection as much as the next person. I also understand folks who, having grown up with religion, long for secular equivalents to cherished childhood traditions. One of the five pillars of Islam is Zakat, charity from those who […]
Posted inCulture
First death penalty issued for Iranian protesters under expanded mandate
Reading Time: 3 minutes Last week, 227 members of Iran’s 290-person parliament advocated for harsher retributive actions to be taken against protesters arrested in the nation-wide demonstrations after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was brutally murdered by morality police in September. Prior to the parliament’s decision, the Islamic Revolution Court was already charging people connected to these protests with death penalty […]
Posted inMeaning & Purpose
On ‘tomorrow sorrow’: How we grieve the future today
Reading Time: 7 minutes I was six years old when Star Trek: The Next Generation first aired one of its most beloved episodes, “The Inner Light.” In it, Captain Jean-Luc Picard wakes to a life not his own. He lives in a small village, where he works as an iron weaver, and everyone explains that he is recovering from […]
Posted inClimate Crisis
The Scientist Rebellion: What will it take to get the world’s attention?
Reading Time: 8 minutes The Scientist Rebellion calls for more people “on the inside” to take up the struggle against government inaction. But where does the movement fit into broader climate change activism, and is its degrowth message enough?
Posted inReproductive rights
Is your activism getting in activism’s way?
Reading Time: 7 minutes Humans can be pretty nifty. When something goes wrong, when there’s a crisis in need of immediate redress, many of us are right there on the frontlines, trying to help. And sometimes knowing how to help is easy! Show up here. Sign the petition there. Contact your government representatives (always). But in many situations, the […]
Posted inLGBTQ
The ‘A’ in LGBTQIA: It doesn’t stand for ‘ally’
Reading Time: 3 minutes The LGBTQIA+ acronym has taken multiple forms and inspired many debates over which identities should be included. But having the “A” (one of them, anyway) stand for “ally” is not the way to go. Typically, we sort the letters as such: L = lesbian G = gay B = bisexual T = transgender Q = […]
Posted inCulture
Learning to love our messy activism: A podcast on quinoa
Reading Time: 4 minutes There’s the world we want to live in, and there’s the world we have. In many conversations here on OnlySky, I’ve noticed that one of the biggest mental blocks in activist discourse is our frustration that people won’t think or do differently right now. Why should we cater to their ignorance, or their obstinacy? There’s […]