Society

Articles

• If You’re Going to Disagree, Don’t Suck at It – This article examines why online disagreement so often collapses into hostility, arguing that the problem is not disagreement itself but the widespread inability to perform it well. Drawing from patterns observed in public conversations, the piece distinguishes healthy disagreement—focused on claims, evidence, and mutual respect—from destructive modes that escalate through identity threat, performative signaling, and dehumanization. It highlights how bad behavior not only derails discussion but also damages the credibility of the position being defended, creating collateral reputational harm for anyone who shares the same conclusion. The author frames boundaries not as fragility but as deliberate curation of one’s conversational environment, emphasizing that blocking is a response to behavior, not opinion. Ultimately, the article positions disagreement as a learnable skill requiring clarity, nuance, and respect, and argues that better conversations depend on practicing these fundamentals consistently.
• Why Japanese TV Feels So Odd (and Kind of Insulting) – Japanese television has long intrigued global audiences with its eccentric game shows, flamboyant variety programs, and seemingly boundless creativity. But Hideki Saito’s article challenges that perception, revealing a medium that has grown increasingly sanitized, formulaic, and exclusionary. Drawing from personal experience and cultural critique, Saito explores how risk-averse production, celebrity-driven banter, and condescending viewer cues have eroded the originality that once defined Japanese TV. His piece invites readers to reconsider what makes media engaging—and what’s lost when innovation gives way to safety.
• Liberation Day or Tariff Trap? Trump’s Economic Ouroboros in Action - Trump’s newly announced “worldwide reciprocal tariffs” are being sold as a patriotic push to restore domestic manufacturing, but in reality, they defy basic economics and operational logistics. The policy ignores the complexities of global supply chains, the high cost and time required to build competitive U.S. factories, and the fact that many raw materials and components still need to be imported — and are now tariffed. Rather than boosting production, these tariffs risk inflating costs for American businesses and consumers while offering no realistic path toward industrial self-sufficiency. Far from a liberation, the move resembles economic cosplay: performative, impractical, and likely short-lived. Ultimately, it’s American households who foot the bill for this misguided strategy — a policy powered more by political theater than practical results.