"Become Who You Are" Archives

“The Fault Is Within Us” By: John LoPorto

On December 14, 2012, a senseless shooting occurred in a Connecticut school. In this shooting, twenty children – twenty innocents – were murdered. I did not want to write about this; I wish beyond everything…
“Home: The Reason For Survival” By: John LoPorto

Home – the entire spectrum of humanity can be contained within this simple four-letter word. Love, fear, hatred, compassion, security, and kindness all live between the h and the e. In the spirit of Thanksgiving and the stigma…
“I Am Frustrated, Hear Me Roar!” By: John LoPorto

I love political theory, especially liberal democratic theory. It has been evolving for over two and a half millennia and it still faces the challenges of nihilism and extremism; it’s pretty incredible. But, I don’t…
“The Three Improvised Facts of Life” By: John LoPorto

Theatrical improvisation gets a bad reputation. Too many people think it is about actors gone awry and acting crazy. Well, they are wrong. Theatrical improvisation can teach us a lot about life. Improv is not…
“World War II: The Perpetual War” By: John LoPorto

World War II was not a war against Germany or Japan: it was a war against ideas. We fought, and had to win, World War II to preserve our idea of life. In the end,…
“What Would the Founders Do?” By: John LoPorto

I love the Founding Fathers. No, let me rephrase: I freakin’ adore the Founding Fathers. They’re the only group that was forced to develop a political theory and then implement it. So what would the…
“Become Who You Are” By: John LoPorto

The ending of “Schindler’s List” is by far one of the most touching scenes in cinematic history, and it poses one of the more interesting questions of humanity: When does kindness and altruism reach…
“The Men With the Pink Triangles” By: John LoPorto

Words are powerful. They are the vocalization of thought. There is nothing more dominant, more potent, more visceral than an idea. Ideas created our nation and ideas continue to make it grow. Some words, however,…
“An Eighty-Year Old’s Wisdom” By: John LoPorto

My great-grandmother was born in Poland. Early on in her life she developed a love for America – specifically, the opportunities for a better life – and thought it could be her salvation. Before World…
“A Letter to My Future Children” By: John LoPorto

I’m sorry. Although I do not know the future, I can only hope it is better. I grew up in an age of decadence, incredulity, and general apathy. How can it possibly get any worse?…
This is currently a hot topic

“Become Who You Are” By: John LoPorto

Hillary, Stonewall, and the Constitution Change comes in small forms. On December 6, 2011 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a speech centered on LGBT rights at the United Nations conference in Geneva. Her speech…
Meet the Author: “Become Who You Are”

John LoPorto is a native of Detroit. Upon receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Political Theory from James Madison College at Michigan State University, he was offered a position at a prestigious international law firm’s…

“Become Who You Are”