In the blinding rainbow of our excitement about marriage equality let’s not forgot that there are more frightening opponents to face.

Although several candidates have officially declared, and some have officially declined bids – there are still several individuals speculated to announce their run. You pretty much just need to have written a book with the word “America” in the title to be considered for a GOP candidate these days.

For those of you who are uncertain about the effectiveness of Barack Obama’s presidency I hate to tell you- supporting his reelection is your only option.

As the resident of a big city (Chicago) and the former resident of an extremely touristy city (DC) I think a lot about the qualities an Urban (with a capital U) person. I also think a lot about the types of conformity, crazy efforts to fit in, and downright stupidity that is often associated with this desire to be cool and to be a part of the city in which you live. Although pretty confident about my knowledge and street cred in both DC in Chicago, when I travel I often find myself feeling like its the first time I’ve ever seen a building taller than a barn.

This is a meditation on finding confidence in new environments.

There is something wonderful about being a part of a generation that believes so strongly in change. In revolution. In limitlessness. There is also a deep felt sadness and disappointment associated with this membership.

Activism used to be a full time job. Today, young people rely more on accidental activists –not politicians or pastors but writers, musicians and actors who use their celebrity to bring attention to a cause. Everyday Facebook or Gmail let me know that XYZ celebrity supports gay marriage and demands that I click “like” to join the pack.

It’s Mother’s day again?
Didn’t I just send flowers?
Do I have to send cards to all my friends who have suddenly and uncoolly morphed into mothers?
Isn’t this just one more Hallmark holiday?
Mother’s Day, as pink and fluffy as it may be, in fact is not a Hallmark holiday – at least not originally. In the wake of the violence our country has been experiencing (and maybe celebrating, I cringe to say) this is a good time to reflect on the pacifist origins of Mom’s day.

A couple weeks ago, I read a post on Thought Catalog and found myself to be annoyed, upset and angry. The author, Chelsea Fagan, shares wisdom about how women shouldn’t dress like “sluts” if they don’t want sexual advances from men. “Women know the kind of attention they attract when they dress like that” she so eloquently states. The whole article is a commitment to the kind of thought processes that everyone who respects women has been trying to abolish for years. Rape, or sexual assault, or verbal intimidation or a cat call on the street by an individual toward a woman is the fault and responsibility of that individual not the women, regardless of her actions or her style of dress. This woman had me fuming. I told myself that even selfish, egotistical, ignorant people have a right to their own ideas and opinions. I urged myself to not fly off the handle.

Somewhere deep in the recesses of When Harry Met Sally early 90s meditations on gender, a gravestone of the most clichéd contemplation lies.

Can Men and Woman Really Be Just Friends?

Hopefully we have all moved past such a woefully simple perspective on gender and relationships to a place where friendships can exist without sex and sex can exist without friendships. Where men and women and gay and straight are all a part of one community with individual differences not characterized as whole groups. There does, however, still seem to be one question looming out there – when is the right time to “out” yourself?

With the overwhelming possibility of government shutdown looming the past few weeks, I have been struggling to keep criticisms bi-partisan. I am a Democrat, born and bred, but I try not to be the first person to say that a problem is “the fault of the Republicans” (unless you catch me after a few beers in an election year), but I have been having a hard time keeping my mind open. I feel like what is happening right now on the Hill, and in the offices of governmental officials all over this country is a refusal of Republicans to support certain social issues. Social issues that Democrats have been holding on to with all (or most) of their might. To be fair, I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that my real enemies in this nation are not “the Republicans” but “the God-fearing Republicans.” This realization came into focus as I separated my categories of thought into smaller segments.

Whenever I’m really riled up in an argument I try to remind myself to control my voice and to avoid dropping F-Bombs. Yelling and swearing, I tell myself, are ways in which people who cannot smartly make points or communication emotions make up for that lacking.

Is the FCKH8 campaign missing that point?

By the time you are 15, you’ve developed the beginning of what will become Break-up Coping Strategies. Maybe you haven’t even started dating yet. You got cut from the basketball team, failed a test or were ignored by someone you were crushing on and you automatically flip into Break-up Coping mode.