Mitchell A. Sobieski, Author at Milwaukee Independent

A house on fire: When voters refuse to equate their actions to the suffering their choices created

Posted by Mitchell A. Sobieski | Jan 16, 2025

The 2024 U.S. presidential election solidified a disturbing trend in American politics, a willingness among voters to choose leaders whose policies and track records directly harm their well-being. The phenomenon is not new, but its persistence and increasingly dire consequences require some reflection. How did America arrive here? Why do voters, especially those who stand to lose the most, continue to support candidates whose actions lead to destruction, division, and personal suffering? And what lessons must we learn from this cyclical self-sabotage? 2016: TRUMP’S VICTORY AND THE “ANOMALY” THAT WAS NOT In 2016, Donald Trump’s election was often described...

The dark truth of “American Exceptionalism” is a nation that tolerates the slaughter of its children

Posted by Mitchell A. Sobieski | Dec 21, 2024

The phrase “American exceptionalism” is often invoked to highlight the country’s unparalleled achievements, innovation, and values. But in the context of school shootings, this term takes on a darker meaning. The United States stands alone among developed nations in its willingness to tolerate the routine slaughter of its children within schools — spaces that should be sanctuaries of learning and growth. For the past quarter century, school shootings have been as American as apple pie. Each incident is met with hollow “thoughts and prayers” instead of meaningful change. This is not just an anomaly, it is a systemic failure...

The death of Brian Thompson exposed the structural violence of the private health insurance industry

Posted by Mitchell A. Sobieski | Dec 10, 2024

The brazen murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, on a Midtown Manhattan street has rattled the U.S. health care industry. But beyond the tragic shock of an executive’s targeted killing, an unsettling truth now lies exposed with deep and pervasive anger at America’s private insurance system. In the aftermath of Thompson’s death, what began as a crime story rapidly morphed into a larger conversation about insurance-driven structural harm and fury. As thousands took to social media to express bitterness rather than sympathy, America’s long-suppressed frustration with a system that often denies necessary health care, inflates costs, and...