With the vast majority of Filipinos being Catholic, the most prominent holiday celebrated in the Philippines is Christmas (“Pasko” in Tagalog).

At this point, the phrase is everywhere. Late capitalism, in its current usage, is meant to describe the stage of capitalism where things get so bad that a revolution happens. The term was popularized by a Marxist theorist and activist named Ernest Mandel in the mid-twentieth century. I think it sounds almost ominous because a “late” period implies that we are at the end of something.

Our free market is run by selfish, untrustworthy sociopaths. Corruption has become the norm. In the last 30 years, our checks and balances have been badly eroded. And it was only 25 years ago that the world celebrated the “triumph” of American capitalism. Is this a coincidence? No.

I may not be a politician nor do I have a lot of power. But I will use my voice to humbly say that looking back on the twentieth century, I find nationalism and exceptionalism really creepy. Next week, our country will be celebrating one of the worst holidays of all. To Native Americans, Thanksgiving is a day of mourning because it is a reminder that in return for their help, they were repaid with the loss of their land and destruction of their people.

The public library system is basically socialism at its best. It’s one of the few environments that doesn’t judge anyone or take advantage of anyone. It doesn’t try to sell anything and it can’t be bought. It offers people dignity and nobility.

Can you really train people to be more accepting of diversity after making them sit through a 2-hour seminar? No. Let's be realistic. It's too conceptual. And simply outlawing bias doesn't make it go away. Never mind that almost every single training facilitator will do everything they can to avoid actually saying the word “racism".”

Everyday, people get sucked into the lure of MLMs (“multi-level marketing” or “network marketing”) and I can’t stress enough the need to stay far, far away from them. I understand the need for flexibility, especially if you are a full-time student or are raising young children. Believe me, I also understand getting a job that allows you to create your own schedule and work remotely takes Hunger Games level competition.

Movie franchises and cinematic universes have backed themselves into a corner. They've become overstuffed and chaotic from the constant pressure to sustain themselves for the sequels to come. Originality is dead. The very existence of Marvel and other brand expansion movies is making it impossible for filmmakers, even the ones with the most industry clout, to get their movies made.

The body positivity and the no makeup movements, with their empowerment slogans such as, "you are beautiful just the way you are," are still equating happiness, morality and self-worth with beauty. That's the real issue here.

The Fourth of July is a fraud. Whose independence was it anyway? The Founding Fathers wanted independence and freedom only for a select few. It's no different from our leadership today.

Why are people so numb to what is actually happening to families in the migrant detention centers, yet they get so emotional at the utter mention of the term “concentration camp”? How did this moment come into being?