Life after door kicking.

Author: lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Knee-Jerk Empathy Leads to More Victims, Or why “doing something” isn’t the same as doing something useful

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    In the wake of tragedy, familiar arguments rush back into the headlines. Recent shootings—both abroad and at home—have once again reignited the gun control debate, accompanied by alarming statistics and emotionally charged claims. That reaction is understandable. Grief demands answers. But urgency is not clarity, and too often this debate relies on misleading definitions and…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Democracy Isn’t Dying—It Was Designed to Decay

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    In 2016, something broke in me—not emotionally, but philosophically. It wasn’t just the candidates. It was what they represented. On one side, a career politician who embodied every manipulative, transactional instinct of the political class. On the other, a billionaire game show host playing populist messiah. Presented with this absurd binary, I assumed this had…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • The Cost of Isolation: Six Lives That Prove We’re Meant to Be With People

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    And Why I Still Fight the Urge to Pull Away Isolation is tempting. Quiet. Predictable. Controlled. I battle with the urge to isolate. There are days when even stepping into a party, a store, or a casual conversation feels draining, like the world is tapping a vein and taking what I’ve got left. Sometimes it’s…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Two tales one city

    Do you have a favorite place you have visited? Where is it? Picking a “favorite” place isn’t easy. You’d think I’d say Las Vegas since I grew up there, but that’s home, not a getaway. I’ve taken a few California trips, and I’ve technically “been” to Germany and Ireland—if airport terminals count as cultural experiences.…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • The Luxury of Forgetting: How Comfort Has Made Us Fragile

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    Before we dive in, let me set the scene: I had a whole December lineup planned—light, festive, easy reading. Been ready since Halloween; I had the idea right after doing true crime for October, just to keep things cozy and low-key and avoid bumping into politics or mental-health vibes this month. Then the lineup disappeared.…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Let’s get one thing straight: socialism has worked before. Once. In a war camp with spears.

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    “He trained his fellow-citizens to have neither the wish nor the ability to live for themselves.” —Plutarch, on the Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus Socialism Worked Once—in Sparta. And Y’all Aren’t Man Enough to Be Spartans Sparta was the original communist wet dream—no private wealth, no individual luxury, shared property, mandated equality, state-raised children, and universal military…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Forgotten Veterans: America’s Overlooked Wars

    Not every war makes it into the schoolbooks. America’s most celebrated veterans come from the major wars—World War II, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan. But thousands of Americans fought, bled, and died in lesser-known conflicts that helped shape U.S. policy and identity. Here’s a chronological look at some of America’s forgotten wars—what sparked them, how they ended,…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Not All Who Served Are Gone—

    Understanding the Difference Between Veterans Day and Memorial Day Every year, Americans post flags and “thank you for your service” memes twice: once in May, once in November. Most mean well—but a lot of people still mix up Veterans Day and Memorial Day like they’re interchangeable. They’re not. And if you’re going to wave the…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Freedom isn’t comfort.

    Just One Man’s Opinion About Rights These days, it’s common to hear people declare that healthcare is a human right, or that access to food, housing, and even internet should be guaranteed to everyone. The language of “rights” has expanded dramatically, often invoked to describe what people ought to have, rather than what they are…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • When the Game Gets Rigged: Rozier, Billups, and the FBI’s Big Gambling Busts

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    From NBA prop bets to Mafia-backed poker schemes, the line between sport and spectacle is blurrier than ever. — Introduction I don’t do much sports betting anymore — I don’t follow the leagues like I used to. The NFL and other major leagues give me WWF vibes now. The stadiums, the hype, the storylines —…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking