https://www.scmp.com/rss/509503/feed Stephen J. Lyons is the author of four books of essays and journalism. His forthcoming book “West of East” will be published by Finishing Line Press. He writes commentary and essays for many newspapers and magazines, including the Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, The Globe Post and The Independent. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com I am grateful to have lived in the golden age of the United States when I could read any book I wanted. Today, I look back with nostalgia at a time when I learned about Martin Luther King Jnr, Rosa Parks, the Battle of Wounded Knee and this nation’s full participation in the slave trade and the forced resettlement of Native Americans. My knowledge of my country’s past came not only through books but also throughout my years in the Chicago public school system and in the state universities I... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/united-states/article/3209238/florida-texas-book-bans-show-conservatives-are-leading-us-down-road-ignorance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/united-states/article/3209238/florida-texas-book-bans-show-conservatives-are-leading-us-down-road-ignorance?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Feb 2023 22:21:11 +0000 Divide and conquer – this strategy has worked for centuries. Americans’ full-throated participation is required as we blame each other for everything, from job losses to political defeats to the rising costs of living. And, if we can’t condemn each other, then we can always turn on those invasive brown and black immigrants from what previous, twice-impeached US president Donald Trump called “sh**hole countries”. Meanwhile, the real culprits, the cabal of greedy billionaires that manipulate the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3164956/how-billionaires-are-exploiting-world-crisis-and-laughing-all-way?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3164956/how-billionaires-are-exploiting-world-crisis-and-laughing-all-way?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Jan 2022 17:30:17 +0000 The investigation by the US Department of Defence into the August 29 drone strike on 10 civilians in Kabul, Afghanistan, recommended no disciplinary action. What a surprise. Seven children died as a result of the strike. However, according to the Air Force’s inspector general Lieutenant General Sami D. Said, children can be difficult to spot to the drone operators stationed in Nevada, Virginia or wherever their headquarters happens to be. Some assumptions were made, Said continued, including the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3155513/kabul-drone-strike-whitewash-shows-its-business-usual-us-under?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3155513/kabul-drone-strike-whitewash-shows-its-business-usual-us-under?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Nov 2021 17:30:14 +0000 While browsing a bookstore in St Petersburg, Russia, back in the golden days of 2019, when we could leave our Zoom bubbles, I searched for a translated copy of any of my four books. Russia is known for its illegal knock-offs. Yet, if I had found one of my titles translated in Cyrillic, I would not have been upset. I would have rejoiced. After decades of toiling with words, to see my name in print – in any language – is always validating.  Which brings me to 22-year-old poet Amanda Gorman, whose... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3127974/uproar-over-biden-inauguration-poem-translators-underestimates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3127974/uproar-over-biden-inauguration-poem-translators-underestimates?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Apr 2021 03:00:14 +0000