Reflections.......

What was the most Refreshing aspect of the class?

The most refreshing experience of the class aside from the discussion board had to be the Learning blog.  I am laughing while I am writing this because it was the one thing that while looking at the syllabus that I was absolutely dreading.  When I talked to my partner about this class at the beginning I complained, over and over and over again about how much I was dreading this.  Why couldn’t it be like other classes that I just talked about what I learned for that week and wrote that down?  I’m not too sure if I didn’t come close to having the adult equivalent of a temper tantrum.  

However, it was the most enjoyable part of the class for me because it forced me to do a few things.  First it forced me to be more aware of the things that were taking place around the world.  I can’t really share what I have learned if I don’t take the time to not just hear the news but to interrupt the information within the news.  There is so much information that is available nowadays that a person can literally go on information overload. 

Secondly, it gave me an avenue to write my thoughts on the things that are going on in the world.  My partner is a beautiful and caring person who takes a vested interest in areas that I am passionate about.  Though, I am sure that sometimes she grows tired of hearing my ramblings about these things. Sometimes people talk not in a need to be heard but as a way to process the thoughts and ramblings that are going on in their mind. Writing down my thoughts and opinions about things allowed me to clear some head space. 

In Retrospect, if I had the opportunity to do it all over again what would I do differently?

In retrospect the weeks where there was the addition of the reading and quiz work in our religions text book was very difficult for me.  When the class initially started I had scheduled and prioritized my school week to ensure that I was able to complete the all assignments.  For whatever reason the first couple of weeks with the additional readings I really did not re prioritize me schedule.  This led to very... very…very late Sunday nights trying to cram all of my readings and discussion post in order to meet the deadline.  I was completely frustrated and overwhelmed with no one but myself to blame.  I know that during those weeks I did not learn as much information as I could. If I had the opportunity to do it all over again I would have really paid attention the first weeks with the additional reading to adjust my schedule.  While this did not affect my grade it did affect my goal of approaching every week with learning as my first priority.

What did this class Reinforce?

When I worked for the government there were two things that we were not allowed to talk about at work: politics and religion.  Religion is often debated and celebrated all in the same breath.  Throughout my readings it reinforced that there are far more similarities with religion than there are differences.   Each religion has holidays that celebrate certain events throughout the religions history.  Most religions have some type of book that has been recorded.  These books describe the teachings of that religion.  These teachings all have codes or rules that followers of the religion should follow.  Most religions have a formalized teacher, mentor, or spiritual advisor that is responsible for ensuring that people are following the religion.  The teachers, mentors, or spiritual advisers have a designated meeting place or institutions where people can come and practice religion.  Instead of getting caught up in the differences that we have with religion, why not look at the reason these difference exist.  There is a logical reason that Jews eat kosher food products while Muslims eat halal food products.  While I may not agree with the reasons, the reasons exist nevertheless. 

Finally, this class reinforced that as educated people we have an obligation to remain informed about things going on in the world.  There are many things that touch the world that we live in on a daily basis.  We meet people from different races, culture, and ethnicity every day.  But we normally don’t ask people to share something about themselves that make them unique.  So I ask you what about you as a person is unique?  Whatever it is that makes you unique share that with others and have them share with you as well.  You will be amazed what you learn.

What Would Happen if Marijuana was Legal?

Why in the world would I speak about the legalization of marijuana?  First let me start out by saying that I have never tried or used marijuana.  No, this is not the Bill Clinton I did not inhale situation.  It was never something that I had an interest in trying.  However, the public fascination with marijuana and people that admit to using the drug has always surprised me.  Marijuana is a drug crop that is a source of continuing debate within the United States.  Once upon a time I lived in the great state of Colorado. Colorado is known for many things including beautiful mountains and amazing skiing.   Colorado is also known for having a thriving marijuana culture.  In 2002, the Colorado Senate passed an amendment making marijuana possession legal if a doctor prescribed that the person would benefit from the use of marijuana and decriminalized persons carrying 1 ounce or less.  This amendment is strictly at the state level and does not affect federal law.  To compensate for this amendment there are numerous state legal medical marijuana dispensaries located throughout the state.    

Currently, I live in New Jersey and read an interesting article in the newspaper this morning.  In an effort to reduce the stigma and criminal charges associated with marijuana, the Assembly Panel in New Jersey have approved a bill that will greatly reduce the penalties for carrying small amounts of marijuana.  (“Assembly panel OKs marijuana measure”, 2012)The bill still has yet to receive senate approval.   New Jersey is trying to join twelve other states that have decriminalized marijuana. Small amounts of marijuana are classified as being in possession of 15 grams or less.  A summarized version of this article is available at http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012205210306. Supporters of the bill point towards that fact that marijuana is far less addicting and less harmful than alcohol and even cigarettes. Which lead me to the question what would happen if marijuana was legal? 

We allow people to literally drink themselves to death.  Numerous people die from lung cancer associated with the first hand and second cigarette smoke.  On television there are numerous commercials that showcase the harmful effects that cigarettes can have on your body. Yet these vices are legal and provide billions of dollars of revenue to companies that sell these products. 

Medical marijuana is already a billion dollar industry. If marijuana were legal it is estimated that it would generate 35 – 45 billions of dollars. (“How Big Is The Marijuana Market?”, 2010)  Legalization would not only generate billions of dollars in revenue, but good old Uncle Sam would be able to tax that revenue as well.  There is always a concerted effort to help fight the war on drugs.  Would it not be a cost savings to the American people if the money and resources used to enforce the illegal use of marijuana were used on other resources?  There is always a concern with the ingredients of illegal made drugs.  If marijuana were legal and government regulated it would ensure that no one received a tampered batch of the drug. 

People that are against the bill think that it encourages marijuana use among young people. There is a sense that if marijuana was legal it would be sending the message to the people that marijuana was safe.  They feel that marijuana is a “gateway” drug that leads to the use of more drugs that are more harmful to the body.  However, how is this problem any different from using cigarettes and alcohol?  Alcohol and cigarettes are dangerous to a person’s health as noted by various surveys.  There are consumer advisories to use these products in moderation.  Why wouldn’t the same apply to marijuana? 

References

Assembly panel oks marijuana measure.  (2012, May 22).

            The Courier-Post, pp. A1, A5.

How big is the marijuana market.  (2010).  Retrieved May 22, 2012, from

http://www.cnbc.com/id/36179677  

Could you forgive your father’s killer?

In an attempt to get ahead of my school assignments I began working on my reading project this week.  My reading project is a chapter in the book by Immaculee Ilibagiza called Left to Tell.  The chapter and book are based upon Immaculee’s experience during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, while hiding in a small bathroom with seven other women and children.  The article really struck at my emotions and I wanted to pursue the topic further from a different person’s viewpoint.  That is when I came across the BBC documentary named Roger Genocide Baby. 

The documentary which is about one hour long highlights the life of Roger.  Roger’s mother Illuminée Nganemariya was pregnant during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.  She managed to keep her and her son safe during the 100 days where Hutus the majority tribe in tried to exterminate the minority tribe of the Tutsis.  During that time she watched as men hauled off her husband and eventually killed him.  However, she was able to get to safety with her son Roger and soon after migrated to England to begin a new life.  In order to deal with the pain of the situation she wrote a book describing her journey. This documentary could really be about Illuminée Nganemariya herself.  Fortunately, this documentary shines a small light on her viewpoint and spends the other time sharing with the audience the fascinating viewpoint of her son who is now 17. 

In order to explore his Rwandan roots Roger returns to Rwanda.  His exploration is in meeting members of his family that are still alive, attending a remembrance ceremony, and being face to face with a man who was convicted and served jailed time for killing Tutsis during the Rwandan genocide.  He uses his mother’s book as a guide to places that he visits throughout the journey.

It was amazing to see the differentiation of culture between how Roger could have been and the young man he is now.   He does not speak French and was raised in England. He speaks with a pronounced British accent and uses British slang throughout the documentary.  In addition, his clothing and the way that he dresses is far different than his fellow Rwandan’s.  Speaking English gets Roger in trouble when he is in a local shop, shopping for boots.  The shop owner overhears him speaking in English and immediately raises the prices of the boots.  I wonder what his thoughts were when he knows is Rwandan like the shop owner and was essentially excluded or taken advantage of because he did not speak the local language.  How do you look at yourself and your culture after that experience?

The main thing that Roger is searching for is his capacity to forgive.  His mother has forgiven the men who have killed her husband.  Can he forgive the people who killed his father? Can you forgive people that destroyed your entire family and effectively changed cultural traits that you have?

You would think with what happened there is no way that Hutus and Tutsis could live together after what transpired.  Though Roger goes into a village and meets a Tutsis woman whose family has all been killed.  She takes him to meet her neighbor who is Hutus and finished serving jail time for his place in the killings.  Although this man is not the person who killed Roger’s father, he asks Roger to forgive him.  Roger does forgive the Hutus man for his part in the killing, however he admits that he could not do the same if he was faced with his father’s killer. 

I have to commend Roger and his mother for even having the capacity to forgive any Hutus.  In their same situation I don’t know if I would have been able to forgive someone for slaughtering my entire family.  I especially don’t think that I could live as the women in the village and break bread with the enemy.  Perhaps for Roger, his mother, and fellow Tutsis living in Rwanda forgiveness is part of the healing process and redefining the Rwandan culture. 

Technology Maintaining Religious Practices

Within our textbook it highlights how technology can affect folk culture with the integration of popular culture to the masses.  What if the opposite could be used instead?  What if you leveraged technology to maintain your cultural or religious practices?

While there are Mormons that live in Arizona, most of the Mormon population in Arizona was in northern and central Arizona.  When I lived in southeastern Arizona there were a surprising number of people within my high school that were Mormon.  Since most of the schools that cater to the Latter Day Saints are based in Utah, they had no choice but to go to a traditional or public high school. Perhaps if they would have had the choice to go to a Latter Day Saints affiliated school then they still would have chosen a public school.  Without viable options people can be forced to use educational resources that are available.  

Now however with technology there is school Liahona Preparatory Academy that offers distance education along with their private high school education.  Here is a link to the website http://www.liahona-homeschooling.com/Default.aspx.  When students enroll in Liahona Preparatory Academy they are given access to streaming video of the classes they are registered in. 

Just as with Bellevue University there is a discussion board with daily assignments, supplemental notes, and an area for students and parents to check grades.   For a practicing Mormon that migrates to another area in the United States or world for that matter they can still continue to have their children embrace what they hold to be important.  While visiting the Liahona website there was testimonial from distance learners from Idaho to Alaska.  I would be interested to find out where the farthest distance learner lives away from the academy. 

There are some drawbacks to distance learning in my opinion.  The interaction with the teacher and other students is a crucial portion of the learning process.  I know that seems hypocritical to say when I am currently enrolled in distance learning.  However, I feel that is different from a high school learning environment where people learn social cultural norms and interaction. My interaction with kids that were home schooled could be described as awkward.  Since they had limited interaction with cultural standards of a school environment and I had no idea of the cultural standards of a home schooled environment it was difficult for both parties in my opinion to relate.  I wonder how this continues when they interact with more and more people throughout the United States.  Most people in the United States attend some form of public or private schooling and learn school cultural standards.

While I am not a practicing Mormon or an advocate of distance learning or home schooling, I respect parent’s wish to have their child educated in the manner that see fit.  I applaud any cultural or religion that does not view technology as a pitfall and embraces the technology to maintain its culture and religious practices. 

Are We More Alike Than We Think?

While completing my third week discussion post I was led to the National Geographic website.  I saw an advertisement about the Genographic Project and decided to click to find details about the project. National Geographic in partnership with IBM has created The Genographic Project whose goal is to attempt to collect and analyze over 100,000 DNA samples from all over the world over a multitude of years.   (Genographic Project, 2011) While learning about how our ancestors migrated across the world. 

The kit is delivered with instructions of how to complete a DNA sample.  One the sample has been completed it is sent in anonymously to a lab to be processed with results. The ability to take your DNA and see how your ancestors navigated the world is fascinating. On one side, I thought this was a really cool project and I was kind of anxious to see what results it produced.   

Another part of me had a small bit of caution with partaking in this project.  My first cautionary aspect is that there is a United States/Canada and International kit.  This kit can be purchased for $99.95 and is available on the National Geographic website.  If you are really trying to get a true sample for your project they are effectively eliminating the world population that is impoverished, without computer access, and without a credit card.  Unless National Geographic has a way to capture additional information through another medium they seem to be limiting their information pool for their project.

My other concern is a lot of what I know about my family’s migratory path comes from conversations that I have had with my grandparents and even great grandparents.  Those conversations by the wood stove on both of my grandparents’ farms gave me the indication of who we were and where we came from.   I am sure that with any story that is passed down from generation to generation there are changes or omissions that take place over time.  While I don’t think that any of my grandparents’ deliberately were untruthful, any truly good story comes with some embellishments.  There is that twinge of concern if I participate in the project that my grandparents’ stories will be null and void.  What if the results are completely different that my grandparents’ stories?  I would much rather hold onto to conversations than gain insightful knowledge from the Genographic Project.

I am still undecided if I will participate in this project but I think that the premise of the project could encourage a more geographical outlook for everyone.  One of my favorite sayings is that we are more alike than we think and this project may be on the way to actually proving that fact.

References

The genographic project.  (2011).  Retrieved March 31, 2012 from

https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/lan/en/index.htm

What Value Do I Add?

That is a difficult question and honestly I dislike the question here as much as I dislike it while conducting my annual self performance appraisal.  Since I can’t procrastinate to the last minute like I normally do with a self appraisal I am going to dive into the process.  My greatest strength lies in being a culturally diverse person. Throughout my life I have lived in geographically different locations in the United States and overseas.  Each place in which I have lived has given me an overview of culture, traditions, and beliefs from a city, state, and country level.  I understand how culture, traditions, and belief can shape human behavior.

I enjoy learning about different culture, traditions, and beliefs through conversation.   I do not necessarily enjoying learning about this information in a classroom/reading format.  My preference is being able to sit down with someone and discuss their family traditions around something as simple as what they eat during the holiday season.  Food is a universal topic in my opinion because everyone eats food.  It is just the type of food is different from geographic locations and cultures. There are so many traditions that are ingrained food and food customs.

These types of conversations always lead to insight about a person, what they hold important, and why they hold something to be important.  For example last year I had a conversation with my co-worker about her holiday traditions.  This conversation stemmed from her Swedish roots and included their traditional Swedish smorgasbord.  Amazingly, because of the conversation she has invited me and my family to take part in the tradition next year. My family and I will get to experience something we would never have had the opportunity to experience otherwise.

What concerns me about this class is the religion aspect of things.  I do not consider myself a deeply religious person.  In fact, I consider myself a spiritual person that believes that there is in fact a higher being but do not define them as God or Allah.   Religion can produce such a heated discussion that it is listed among the topics that you should avoid at work, right next to politics. I know that sometimes I am not as open as I can be around religious discussions.  I do not have an aversion to learning the history of a particular religion but sometimes the history of a religion can be in debate.  In this course I will need to make a concerting effort to remain open to a topic that I know I have a bias about.

I feel that this class will be better with me in the class because I bring my own unique beliefs and experiences to the table.  Conversely, I think that this class will be better with everyone in this course.  We all have our own beliefs and experiences and we can learn from each other.  Our experiences together can spark a different view of the world that help promote change in ourselves, others, and the communities in which we live.