In October 2018, President Trump announced that he would be sending more than 5,000 active-duty military personnel to the U.S.-Mexico border in response to an approaching caravan of migrants. The troops would be there to support the Border Patrol and National Guard in their mission to secure the border. Currently, the Posse Comitatus Act prohibits active-duty troops from performing law enforcement activities.

The Civil War ended in 1865, but the United States has struggled to cope with its legacy ever since. Who is to be honored, and how should we remember those who fought and led troops on both sides? Recently the conversation over the place of monuments commemorating Confederate generals and soldiers has been prevalent in the news. To truly understand the issue, we must look to the origin of the monuments. Considering the time and place in which they were erected can help determine what to do with them.

The United States has had a long, varied approach to the crisis in Syria. Red lines have been drawn and ignored, missile strikes became commonplace, troops entered the region. Now it appears that we are leaving Syria. Contradictions and failed promises marked our time there. But even with the country’s chaotic recent past, it is unwise for the U.S. to leave Syria under Russian influence and the leadership of Bashar al-Assad.  

This year marks the hundredth anniversary of the Spanish Flu pandemic, which killed at least 50 million people worldwide. In 2014, there was an outbreak of Ebola in West Africa that killed about 11,000 people in less than three years. In the United States, we seem to have a cultural fascination with infectious diseases. Box office hits like “Contagion” and “Outbreak” evidence the hold they have on our collective imagination.

While shopping in Boston over fall break, I stepped into The Frye Company and wandered around the high-end footwear store looking at various men’s boots. Stopping at a pair labeled “Prison Boot,” I could not help noticing the price. They were $378.00. I put them back and continued browsing. The next pair I found was called “The Union Worker Boot”—priced at $298.00. The irony was not lost on me. There is little chance that Frye sells these boots to their namesakes. It markets them to a wealthy clientele.

In 2014, the city of Flint, Michigan started using the Flint River as its main source of water. The pipes, however, contaminated the water with lead. This caused a national outcry. The governor declared a state of emergency and health officials told residents to stop drinking, bathing in, or in any way using the contaminated water. Instead, Water Resource Centers distributed bottled water to the residents until they received individual water filters. As of today, the pipes are still not fixed. On the other hand, lead levels in the water are below the Environmental Protection Agency’s “action level” of 15 parts per billion and the pipes are in the process of being repaired. According to several studies, the water is now safe.