Umemployment Rates & Human Rights...

This week we watched a documentary film on the interaction between Moroccan and American students. At the very beginning, before watching this film, my perception of Morocco is that it's a peaceful, beautiful vacation spot. Watching this film didn't change my perception at all but learning more about the current issues, such as high unemployment rates, certainly did. I did a little research and came across that although unemployment is at 11 percent, it is said that in urban areas for youths, it is as high as 33 percent. Because of the high unemployment rates, Moroccan residents are trying to get out.

On the contrary, African migrants, from Western Zahara, are trying to get into Morocco for opportunities of employment. However, there is a huge issue in Morocco regarding dumping hundreds and hundreds of migrants in a remote part of its southern desert. Click here to view desert exiles video (embedding was disabled.)

Watching the documentary of Morocco made it seem like it was a very nice place but there are these underlying issues that make it seem not so nice anymore. The rules of Morocco that govern with absolute power seem like they're not interested in sharing or having non-Arabs to sit with them. Exiling people to the desert is such a gross violation of human rights.

Stereotyping Religion

After watching Reel Bad Arabs in class, I began to think about the stereotypes that dominate my life. I encounter stereotypes everyday. When I tell people I'm going to college, they act very surprised because I'm a waitress. Waitresses can't be intelligent? When I tell people I'm majoring in accounting, they make a painful face. Accounting can't be enjoyable? Why do people have to make assumptions so quickly?
I was raised to not be quick to judge. My mother hates being stereotyped, especially about religion. Around the holidays when my mother goes out and about, everywhere she goes there are people saying "Merry Christmas" to her. She hates it. Just to prove a point she will go out of her way to reply "I'm Jewish" even though we're not at all. However embarrassing this may be to me, she has a point. Why does everyone assume that Christmas is being celebrated in every house? The assumption that people believe in a higher power is evident in everyday life. Even the common reply to a sneeze is God bless you. In this video clip, Dane Cook finds himself in an awkward situation similar to that that the cashiers encounter with my mother. Warning: this video contains vulgar language.


Religion is not something to be taken lightly to some people, so why must other people insist on bringing it into everyday life. Or should these people not be so sensitive to these common sayings and greetings? I'm torn between these two extremely different opinions and I hope that through this course I can come to terms with my spiritual identity as well as others.

Slumdog Millionaire

When I was watching the Oscars on Sunday night I noticed that the movie Slumdog Millionaire kept winning for every category it was nominated in.  I kept seeing more and more clips and it made me want to re watch the movie.  In doing so I noticed that for one of the multiple choice questions that Jamal, the slumdog millionaire, had to answer was about depictions of God Rama.  Then the movie went on to show a group of people violently killing those who lived in the slum, which ended up being the cause of death for Jamal's mother.  Upon viewing this movie the first time it didn't click that this riot was due to the fact that the people living in Jamal's slum were all Muslim's and that they were being attacked.  One of the attackers even yells "get them, they are Muslim's" before violently beating and igniting the people of the slum.  So I kept re watching that scene in the movie to find out who was doing the  attacking and who God Rama was in the hopes to write a blog post in relation.  

After some research I found out that it was a group of Hindu's that came after the slum and that Muslim's have always been targeted by Hindu's.  While doing my research I also came across the fact that such riots really happen in India and that some were directed under state sponsorship.  That fact is also shown in the movie when Jamal and his brother run up to the police station and try to get them to intervene but the officers seem more interested in their card game then the mass killings happening around them.  Since we have been talking about the different religions in class I wanted to know more about the Hindu - Muslim conflict and who God Rama was since it was a figure shown in the movie clearly associated with the riot.

In Davies book Europe he describes the Islam religion as "meaning submission, it was a universal religion from the start."  However, now Hinduism makes up 80% of India, leaving a small percentage left for Islam and any other religion.  He goes on to say, "one of the most basic perceptions is that all Muslim's are brothers and sisters."  This gave me the impression that they are peaceful people.  After researching online I found out that the conflict of these two religions is because of a caste system, the various castes of Hindu's being at the top and Muslim's at the bottom.  The tension comes from the fact that Muslim's find it hard to accept Hindu's and Hinduism as being superior to Islam and they think that since Muslim's once ruled India for many decades that they should remain superior.  

As for God Rama I learned that he is a commonly adored God to the Hindu culture.  He always holds a bow and arrow symbolizing that he is always ready to destroy evils.  During the riot scene in the movie Jamal and his brother come across a child dressed as God Rama.  However, in response to this Hindu's have come forward and said that the movie depicts one of their God's in a bad light.  Many have come forward to justify that Lord Ram, also known as God Rama, has nothing to do with killing Muslim's and that part in the movie should be censored or banned in India.  They said that the director, Danny Boyle, used the years of 1992-1993 when there was genocide against Muslim's and that the movie gives a false impression of what their religion is about. 

I was not able to find that particular clip to show you but I have put the movies trailer below, which quickly shows the riot and the child dressed as God Rama.  It's a really good movie, you should go and see it!

Outlawing Abortion

I was reading some headlines today and I came across one that really stuck out. A few weeks ago we were talking about abortion and what the qualifications are to abort a fetus. Whether or not abortion is morally and ethically right or wrong has been a controversial issue for quite some time. Here's an article that I hope everyone finds interesting:

"North Dakota's House of Representatives has passed a bill effectively outlawing abortion. The House voted 51-41 this afternoon to declare that a fertilized egg has all the rights of any person. That means a fetus could not be legally aborted without the procedure being considered murder. Minot Republican Dan Ruby has sponsored other bills banning abortion in previous legislative sessions - all of which failed. He also sponsored today's bill and says it is compatible with Roe versus Wade - the Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion. (Rep. Dan Ruby, -R- Minot) "This is the exact language that's required by Roe vs. Wade. It stipulated that before a challenge can be made, we have to identify when life begins, and that's what this does." VO CONTINUES But Minot Democrat Kari Conrad says the bill will land North Dakota in court, trying to defend the constitutionality of a law that goes against the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. (Rep. Kari Conrad, -D- Minot) "People who presented this bill, were very clear that they intended to challenge Roe versus Wade. So they intend to put the state of North Dakota into court defending Roe vs. Wade"."

I think this is a very important matter that fits directly into our discussion. Like it says in the article, they are declaring when life begins. I think this is outrageous and unconstitutional because it goes against the supreme court decision that has already legalized abortion.

You can view the news video here.

"ND House Passes Abortion Ban." Minot News, Weather, Sports and Entertainment. 17 Feb. 2009. KXTV. .

Bueller, Bueller, Bueller

I found the controversy about Ben Stein speaking at UVM’s commencement very interesting. To me Ben Stein had always been nothing more than the teacher in Ferris Bueller’s day off



I was surprised to hear that he was very active in science (although many disagree), and he had even made his own documentary, Expelled, about intelligent design. After hearing about the controversy I thought I would watch the movie to see what had everyone so upset. Here’s a clip from the movie.



I like that Ben Stein is questioning the norms of society and presenting an argument to a topic that is anything but certain. Growing up I always believed evolution to be true because it was taught to me as if it was. In middle school and high school science classes my teachers taught evolution as if there were no doubts about it, and looking back I think that was wrong. I have no idea what should be taught in schools, but to me teaching evolution isn’t far from teaching religious views on creation. Evolution seems to work perfectly in a society that has a constant thirst for answers. How did we come to be? There was a big explosion out of nowhere and then we evolved from single celled organisms. Tada. That answer seems to be much more satisfying than responding with “no one knows.”

I had my quams with evolution before watching Expelled, and I don’t agree with everything Ben Stein says in the movie either, but it’s refreshing to see people questioning the way things are instead of being content with the theory of evolution.

Understanding Religion

Last week, we started to get into exploring and understanding different religions. We had to read Karen Armstrong’s, A History of God. The chapter we read is the history of the Islam religion. The Arabs had experienced a time where wealth was prominent in their tribes. They no longer put the tribe first but had a deeper focus on the individual and success. They looked to the sayyid or chief to lead their people and had lost any religious beliefs that they had. They were at a loss facing many problems including constant competition and killings. Muhammad saved his people. He became the Moses, Abraham that the Arabs needed. His first experience tore him from his sleep. “He said that an angel had appeared to him and given him a curt command:” “Recite!” He refused this angel twice and after the third embrace he had the words of the new scriptures. It took years for Muhammad to believe he was indeed a messenger from God; “the Koran was revealed to Muhammad bit by bit, line by line and verse by verse over a period of twenty-three years” (139). This history doesn’t really dig into what their belief is. It says their Gods name is al-Lah and is the creator of heaven and earth and he provided them with food and water. At the end of the chapter it says that Muhammad’s religion is known as Islām and that Muslim was something different. This was confusing to me because I believed them to be the same religion. While this chapter answers how this religion began, it does not specify what they really believe in.
After reading this, I want to know more. I want to understand the basics of their beliefs so that I can compare different religions and really understand them. This is something that really interests me. I hope that in class we will be able to touch more in depth on these topics.
Now I’m going to switch gears a little bit. Last night I watched The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Yes, this may be lame to some people but I am obsessed with it. Anyways, this episode Grace the Christian gets birth control. Her mother fond condoms in her room so gave her birth control but she told Grace she doesn’t want her to have sex. Grace wants to wait to have sex and to her the pills symbolize this commitment and make her want to wait.


This tied really well with our altar projects. To Grace the pills have a hidden message that leads to religion. For most we wouldn't get this message because brith control and religion usually clash. This brings symbolism to life for me. For me though, I find that I get so much more out of religion then just faith. It had given me tradition and strong family ties. I would not give up my experiance growing up as a Catholic because it has made me who I am today.

I was wondering for those who do not have a religion, how are traditions started in your families? Do they originate from some religious form?

Musically Deceptive: The Faith Behind the Words

I've always been interested in religion, but it hasn't been until recently that I've started noticing the subtle hints of it more main stream culture. While flipping through my music list, I happen to come across certain bands listed as Christian Rock that previously, I had believed to be completely without religious connotation. 

A band called Demon Hunter, which I had originally thought was of the metalcore genre, is actually classified as Gospel music. The members themselves are Christian by faith and  if you listen closely, you can hear them express. At first, I didn't believe it. I thought it was a misinterpretation by crazed evangelists trying to rationalize lyrics, especially since the instrumental portion was influenced by Machine Head and Living Sacrifice, both well established metal bands. 

I listened more closely and realized that these weren't such stretched theories.  In their song "Through the Black" much of what they're singing about is religiously affiliated. 

In the lines "I follow the downside, I'm waiting for something else. I know that you'll be here and I'll be waiting," it can be inferred that the wait for  contact from God, or the rise to heaven is what is being sun about. The entire song goes on in this manner, addressing the belief that God is always watching us, and that we'll be redeemed when he finally comes again. 

Another band that threw me for a spin genre wise, was Blindside. Although they have a very alternative/metal feel, Blindside is classified as Christian Metal. In their album "About a Burning Fire," their spiritual side can be clearly seen through their lyrics. One of their songs, "Shekina," is actually the Jewish and Christian name for the outer presence of God's glory. 

I also looked into their lyrics more deeply and realized that once again, religion had snuck it's way into my play list. The most notable song was the first song on "About a Burning Fire,"  called "Eye of the Storm." 

This entire song is an allegory to religious growth and experience. The chorus reads "Please come closed, 'cause I don't even touch you anymore. Please see I'm walking into the eye of the storm, and I'll still come out loving you even more." To someone not looking, this may just seem like a love song, and in a way it is. On a deeper level it's about the experience of moving away from the your comfort zone, and still feeling him in your life. 

These are only two examples, but there are many other bands that also have more secretive Christian roots. Anberlin, which was originally called Servants after God's own heart when it was only the bassist and singer, have Christian Punk roots that show in many of their lyrics. Skillet, which also has a rough sound bordering more on the Alternative/Industrial rock side, is also a Christian Rock band. 

Some would think that with the name of Christian rock behind them, these bands would sell less because of their religious connotation, but in fact they are some of the top selling and most popular bands. As McDannell states in Material Christianity, "The commercial fascination with the material culture of Catholicism is currently widespread in the U.S." Religion has become fashionable, and even though we may not realize it, we're sporting it more now than ever. It's become an accessory, a genre, a culture outside of it's original contexts. 

This Love

After Friday, I have been thinking about what each person chose to do his or her altar on. For me, what I am majoring in is not what I believe in the most. Although I wish it were something important to me, I could not picture the media as something that I want to feel extremely a part of. For me, it is my friends and family that mean the most. They shape who I am and who I want to be above all things. With them, I am apart of something bigger than myself. I cannot just stick within my own bubble; I give back and receive comfort in the fact that I can find something tangible in the belief of the people that surround me. I realized that I am not the only person that has this “abstract religion” in the presentation of the altars. While sitting and listening to each person present, they explained a large variety of things that they held on a pedestal such as accounting, snowboarding, and certain aspects of culture. These beliefs may be classified into material things such as material goods that are spoken of in Colleen McDannell's, Material Christianity. Someone could possibly find belief in an icon or a piece of jewelry that may make them feel closer to a loved one. These certain pieces of their lives, they turned to as what they found belief in. People even did actual religion as what they felt the most apart of, which is interesting to me because it is not the first thing I turn to.

What we traditionally see as religion is the set beliefs within Catholicism or Judaism where the followers must go by certain written beliefs and rituals. How can we define religion in today’s society? In such an obscure and new time period, can we redefine religion as set beliefs within what we hold the most true.

Seeing what people did for their altars sparked a conversation between a friend from home and I. He is extremely inspired by music and expresses to me how music is his outlet and almost a religion to him. Him and my other friend are coming out with a new album and their newest song is a song attributed to music’s uplifting motion in their lives. He told me that when his mom and sister first heard it they thought it was about a new girl in his life because it brings forth so much passion for one aspect of his life. In the song titled “This Love”, he talks about his love affair and learning for this thing that brought life to him during the hardships. His hip-hop and art was this thing. It accompanied him through tough times almost similar to what spirituality or an actual person could do.

As my friend and I continued our discussion, we talked about how people can look to what their passionate about as their belief system and their religion. What creates purpose for us in this life is almost what gives us our spirituality. Our belief in one thing, makes this life real and worth living.

On a related topic to last semesters Scientific Revolutions class, I found an article on Darwin the other day on the New York Times website called "Darwin, Ahead of His Time, Is Still Influential". The article summarized that although Darwin may not be necessarily looked at as correct, biologists are reexamining his studies. In their reexamination, they see what an amazing man he really was. What they were most amazed by how deep and broad his ideas were. He went from animal breeding to continuity between humans and animals. My point of bringing up Darwin is not necessarily bringing up the scientific aspect, but the dedication to his passion.

This dedication brought upon new ideas that had never been looked at or understood even today. Darwin's science was his religion. In this world where our passion is our religion, could religion and science not constantly be debated? Would a shift ever be made from traditional religion to this abstract? Could religion ever become modernized and simplified?

Religious Uncertainty

Coming from a person who is not spiritual, or even religious, this class has been an interesting experience thus far. In last week’s class my mind was able to reflect on what the meaning of religion is. Before coming into this class I thought that people turned to religion because it was a chance to be a part of something, and to be in a place of comfort and peace. Also, I saw religion being used by my family during a time of death, and a time for a family get together. But I learned that there may be more reasons to why people turn to religion. It may not be because people want to belong to a community that shares common beliefs, it may be because our society has made it so that religion is part of our everyday lives.

As McDannell had said in Material Christianity, “one of the reasons why the material dimension of American religious life is not taken seriously is because of how we describe the nature of religion.” I think that one of the reasons that I am not very spiritual is because I fall into number of Americans who don’t take religious life seriously. I was not pushed by my parents to go to church, or to learn the bible. My mom did not have me baptized because she wanted me to have the choice of picking the denomination of what I want to be a part of. One of the reasons I have yet to be baptized is because there are a lot of religions, and within these different religions there are different beliefs, and norms. I do believe in a higher power, but because there are a lot of religions and it is hard to find something that shares my personal views. Sometimes I wonder how many people are in my shoes, and do not have a religion to conform to because they cannot relate to their religion.


Hannah and Her Sisters. Dir. Woody Allen. Perf. Woody Allen. Youtube. 5 Feb. 2007.

I am at a point in my life where I can make my own decisions. However, I have yet to find a religious group that I fit into. I have the chance to question what religion means to me, and what it will do for me. Today, in America I feel that people do not have this opportunity because many people either are not raised with any kind of faith, or they are and have difficulty casting aside the faith their parents gave them. I feel lucky because my mom told me she wanted me to have the chance to choose my religious beliefs. As in the video above Woody Allen’s character is trying to convince his parents that he wants to follow Christianity but they have a hard time understanding his explorations because they were raised Jewish and did not ever worry about anything else. It is obvious that Woody Alan’s character wants to know more about life than what his current religion is offering.

If given the chance, would you choose to erase your religious background and start exploring faith anew?

Different Meanings of Religion

Last week our class talked about the question "what does religion mean" and some people said it can be a sense of belonging, while others said it can mean being part of a larger community. My family turns to religion for hope and answers to why things happen. My step-dad Dave was just diagnosed with ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease) about 2 months ago, this disease will stop his muscles from working and lead to his death. When Dave learned the diagnosis he turned to religion to help him deal with the pain. He now reads the Bible every night before bed, my mom and Dave go to church every Sunday, and we say Grace before dinner on Sunday nights. My mom also has become very religious when she found out that Dave has ALS. She prays to God that maybe Dave will have the strength to hold on for many years to come. Through this experience in my life, I also look up to God and ask him why things happen to good people. I believe that God has a reason for why things happen, and even when they don't always go as planned we need to make the best of life. Many people have different reason why they turn to religion in tough times or why they feel that religion has a huge part in their lives. In my family we turn to religion for answers that no one else can provide.

Now I'm moving to the topic of religion in songs. I was sitting in the car last Saturday and heard the song "God Love Her" by Toby Keith. I knew the song has religious meaning but I never listened to it so closely until then. It describes a boy who falls for a very religious girl. The girl decides to run off with the boy and her parents are very angry at her. Her dad is a preacher who does not like his little girl dating a non-religious "bad boy". Watch the video here.

As you can see there are many material objects in the church that represent the faith. The Bible was shown in the video the most. She came walking out of the church with it in her arms and then when she made up her decision that she wants to be with the boy, she dropped the Bible showing that she wanted to be free from the rules of her religion.



In Material Christianity Colleen McDannell talks about how "material culture specialists derive meanings from objects themselves by paying attention to the form, distribution, function, and changing character of the objects and their environments" (pg. 2). If we would have listened to the song without any words we could have came to the conclusion that the girl was very religious because she came out holding the Bible and the song started with Toby Keith singing outside of a church. Objects such as a church, the Bible or even the Cross can tell us that they are of the Catholic religion. Although my house does not have many objects representing our faith, the hope in our hearts and the spirits of courage are enough to make us believe. We do not need material objects to remind us of God.

P.S- Thanks for listening to the country song, as I know most of you do not enjoy country!!

Marvelous Malia and Sweet Sasha

I find it interesting that it hasn’t even been a month since the Obama’s have been in office and the major corporations are already trying to make bank off of their historic achievement. Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia are dolls created by Ty, the makers of beanie babies. They came out right before the inauguration. The company has denied that they are actually based off of the children of President Barack Obama. Alan Duke wrote an article for CNN, Ty denies Obama girls inspired Sweet Sasha, Marvelous Malia. The press secretary for Michelle Obama, Katie McCormick Lelyveld said, “"We feel it is inappropriate to use young private citizens for marketing purposes,” (Duke).

I feel like this coincides with our discussion in class last week on sacred and profane objects. The dolls have gone from being seemingly meaningless dolls to important historic and attention oriented dolls. If the Obama’s weren’t in office we would not have even heard of these dolls. It is just too much of a coincidence that the two dolls, the only African American dolls in their collection for 30, would have the same names as the President’s daughters. The company is making profit off of the innocence of two young children who have been thrown into the spotlight.

If it was a contest that had won a few lucky kids the opportunity to have dolls created for them this would be a totally different story. Michelle Obama may have even signed off a consent form to have the dolls made if Ty had asked. In many cases this could have been a kind of flattery for the family but Ty never consulted with the White House and has consistently denied that the dolls were inspired by Sasha and Malia Obama."Information concerning the development of our products and how we come up with names, how we select them, how we trademark -- that's considered as proprietary. I can't go any further with that question. Sasha and Malia are beautiful names" that "worked very well with the dolls we were making," said Senior Vice President of Sales for Ty, Tania Lundeen (Duke).


Duke, Alan. "Ty denies Obama girls inspired Sweet Sasha, Marvelous Malia - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. 23 Jan. 2009.
.

Symbolism.

This past week, we have been discussing a lot about symbols; ones that are important to us versus ones that are important to our major. As we outline our altar projects, we explore the significance of them. Symbols in general are used very frequently in our society, whether it be some association, group, league, organization or club. They are used to represent something other than what they appear to be. They represent events, places, people, groups and ideologies.

We use symbols very often, more than we actually realize... like metaphors! A metaphor expresses something unfamiliar in terms of something familiar. For example, "having a broken heart." You wouldn't think that just because a person's heart isn't literally broken in two that they're not experiencing any emotional pain. The untrue assumption that if an image isn't factually true, then the idea it represents must also be false. Likewise, from our reading in Material Christianity by Colleen McDannel, the author proposes that in Christian faith there are ideas that have been represented by all means of fictitious imagery. Some of it is for sure metaphorical; and some of it is reprehensibly literal. But the question of whether these images are just simply metaphors or literal descriptions of fantastical facts is a question completely separate from whether the ideas that the images represent are true.

Something important to me AND my major would be my degree. A degree, to me, symbolizes an education, career-orientation, focus, drive, motivation, and ambition. It also symbolizes an advantage. It's important to me because when my future employer looks at my resume and sees that I have a degree, I am for sure going to be getting the job over the other guy who doesn’t have a degree. Having a degree symbolizes the extra million dollar that I will be making versus not having one.

"According to the Census Bureau, over an adult's working life, high school graduates earn an average of $1.2 million; associate's degree holders earn about $1.6 million; and bachelor's degree holders earn about $2.1 million (Day and Newburger, 2002). A number of studies have shown a high correlation between higher education and cultural and family values, and economic growth. According to Elchanan Cohn and Terry Geske (1992), there is the tendency for more highly educated women to spend more time with their children; these women tend to use this time to better prepare their children for the future. Cohn and Geske (1992) report that "college graduates appear to have a more optimistic view of their past and future personal progress." Public benefits of attending college include increased tax revenues, greater workplace productivity, increased consumption, increased workforce flexibility, and decreased reliance on government financial support (Institute for Higher Education Policy, 1998)." (http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-3/value.htm)

...So does that mean that our failing economy may be symbolizing that we're not doing something right??

Do we really care?

After this past class, we have been talking about how we care about or relate to our major. For me personally and well three other people in the class also, my major means a lot to me. However, I feel like other things that I really care about stick out more. Whether it be from animal cruelty, poverty, or even the environment, we all care about something and even in the smallest way we try to that we care. I personally care about how the love in a family sticks together through the toughest of times. From births to deaths, from marriages to divorce, families are always strong. In the following clip Margaret Wheatley talks about how people act responsible when they care about something. 

I think that this will help us with our secular altars because all we have to remember is that if we care about something then we know that we can do something about it. We feel responsible enough to care. I think that as the semester continues on we will care about more things that what we already know of. As we dig deeper down, we will find the little things that we care about and unconsciously and consciously act upon. Also I feel that the readings will help us find what we really care about and will help us to understand them better.