We are not just the users of cultural tools. We are the passers-on. And whether we like it or not, we will be judged by the sharp tools we allow to proliferate.

After a reporter asked Donald Trump about the “eyesore” tent, he ordered it dismantled. The Peace Vigil, which had outlasted multiple administrations, wars, and Cold War threats, was silenced because its persistence offended the aesthetics of power.

We live in a moment of performative cruelty. We are governed by people who mistake sadism for strength. If you feel sick watching it unfold, as I do, that’s not moral confusion. That’s moral clarity.

Just a few days in Malta, and I felt something rare: ease, welcome, belonging. It made me realize how much we’ve normalized isolation…

I’ve come to a conclusion as plain as the local bread and as bitter as the espresso: I feel more welcome here among strangers than I do back