I’m back! School is over, admittedly later than expected!
I’ve survived the first year of High School, and am now ready to start publishing my posts more regularly. However, even with my freed schedule, I’ve been doubting my abilities to publish my large posts more than a couple times a week. The size of them make it hard to even get started. Which is why I am going to be completely rethinking my posts; from now on, I will be publishing one post every other day, but they will only contain one or two stories. This will cut back on the quantity, but increase the quality of my posts.
Here we go!
A Judicial Backslide
Throughout my short stint as a Substack writer, I have done my very best to be nonpartisan. And yet, despite this, I feel the need to call out the actions of the US Supreme Court. They have backtracked years of progress in a few months. First, came Roe v. Wade, where they removed federal protection of abortion. Even if you support this move, you must acknowledge that this is a blow to women’s rights - they have lost their complete control over their body. And now, they are chipping away at the separation of church and state.
Not long ago, the highest court was faced with a case in which a school coach was fired and sued because he led a group prayer for his team at a public school. The court ruled that the school’s response was obstructing free speech and freedom of religion. They did not acknowledge that the kids felt pressured to join the prayer - so what about their freedoms? The US government does not sponsor a religion, but this seems to be a step in that direction. As does when the Supreme Court voted in favor of allowing tax dollars to go to religious schools. This is not acceptable, even if the schools represent the majority religion. Government does not fund religion; that is a fact established by the founding fathers, who repeatedly pressed their desire for a separation between the church and state. And yet, a Republican rep. said this: “the church is supposed to direct the government.” That, is big. It doesn’t matter what political party you support; America is a melting pot of countries and cultures; the first amendment protects that.
We cannot become a theocracy.
Goodbye, Technoblade
Being a typical teenager, I’m a big fan of YouTube - in particular, gaming YouTubers. I can spend hours scrolling through my top channels, watching video after video. Recently, upon the recommendation of my favorite channel, I searched this guy called “Technoblade.” Who I found was a young man battling a terrible disease, all the while beating others at Minecraft. Through his fight with cancer, Technoblade always stayed positive; cracking jokes about nearly having an amputation, messing with his doctors. I truly believed that the treatments were working, that he was improving.
Until, a day or two ago, I found a video titled, “So Long Nerds.”
Technoblade’s cancer had spread from his arm to the rest of his body, and he could fight no longer.
In his farewell post, Technoblade said his name was Alex. He was just 23 years old. It had been months since he was diagnosed with stage four cancer, against what his father called “nearly impossible odds.” In response, he led an initiative called “Minecrafters vs. cancer.” Dream, one of the most famous Minecrafters of all time, contributed over $20,000. Even in his final days, he was doing his best to improve the lives of many - whether by donating money or making fun videos. In his passing, many of the Minecrafters he had collaborated with posted their own tributes - even his favorite game, Minecraft, gave a subtle acknowledgement.
“Technoblade never dies,” was his Minecraft catchphrase. Alex, you may be gone from this earth, but you’ll never be forgotten, by the millions of people who you’ve made laugh.
Goodbye, Alex.
- I know this story didn’t have too much to do with world events, but it mattered to me, and I had to write it.