Modern conservatives are using the term 'American exceptionalism' to describe their belief that the United States stands out from the rest of the world and has a unique role in our collective history. The Washington Post published a series from the On Faith blog about this belief, what it really means, and the effects it could have around the world, asking 'Is America blessed?'
In one of the series of posts, Robert P. Jones, CEO of Public Religion Institute questions whether this sense of 'exceptionalism' has led to a superiority and sense that this gives America (and Americans) a kind of 'divine hall-pass' that allows us to stand above (not up to) moral standards to which the rest of the world is held. I have felt that this is the problem with the direction of the conservative movement in the US in recent years. The mentality that 'It's ok when I do it, because it's me, but you can't do the same' is no way to conduct a life, a business or a government. When it comes to social issues, it seems that conservatives will speak out against those who support gay marriage or religions other than Christianity, but when other groups do the same, their rights are not honored in the same way. The right to free speech does not apply only when it is speech of a certain kind. What would these same people do if their words and ideas were stopped or contradicted by another group because it was seen as indecent by someone else. Would American conservatives have changed an exhibit at the Smithsonian if a gay-rights group demanded it? Doubtful. When it comes to foreign policy, it is OK for America to go about the world invading and forcing our beliefs on other countries, but no one thinks of what it does to those invaded. What would we do if we were invaded? Would we just allow that foreign power to overpower us and would we accept their ways of life and laws, regardless of their contradicting our own traditions? Of course not. Do not all countries have their own right to stand up for themselves in the faces of such things? What gives America this divine right of superiority? Jones cites early writers from the American Revolution and our early history as calling America divinely endowed, but I was under the impression that divine honors should come from the divine, not from man. President Obama has been under fire from the right because of his comment that he believes America is exceptional in the same way that Britons believe in British exceptionalism and Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism. I agree. I don't understand how we can go about saying that we're better than everyone else. I love America and I know how blessed I am to have been born here, but I think we should also understand that other countries in the world about which people feel the same. So what if they do not hold to the same beliefs and traditions that we do, but their people hold to those beliefs because they value and love the same. (Find Jones's piece here: http://ow.ly/3jJZG) There are also links to the other pieces in the series on this page. It has begun. In America, the holiday season commences with a huge feast with family and friends and continues in the same style for about 5 weeks until we ring in the new year with more food (and a little more cocktails...) Thanksgiving is my official start to the Christmas season. There are others in my life and in the commercial/retail sectors who are under the impression that Christmas starts at Halloween. I take issue with that.
Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Christmas, and I will expand on that LOVE soon enough. But, I also believe that there is an appropiate time for a giant light-up sleigh, complete with 8 reindeer, to be placed in the center of our local mall parking lot. And that time has come! The day after Thanksgiving is when I give myself permission to go all out for the rest of the season. I've started my constant stream of Christmas music. (I should look into downloading some new tunes, come to think of it...) We will decorate and start wrapping presents. I will take most of my free time for shopping for the perfect gift for those most important in my life. And, most importantly, I will be happy. ALL. THE. TIME. The thing I love most about Christmas is the warm-fuzzy feeling I get. Christmas music reminds me of all of the wonderful holidays I've spent with my family and friends over the years and all of those great memories just make me smile. People ask what Christmas means to me. For me, Christmas means dressing up in our best, bundling into our heaviest coats and into the car and going to my church's candlelight Christmas Eve service. If I could only do one thing to celebrate Christmas, this would be it. I'm getting teary just thinking about it. When we were little, it meant getting to wear our pretty Christmas dresses that our moms picked out just for the occasion and going to church and seeing the big tree and the boughs of evergreen around the sanctuary and exchanging our little gifts with friends. Now, it means so much more. As we got older and we all went away for school and now work, Christmas Eve is the time we are all back together. We get to see who's home and what everyone has been up to in the last year. We sit around and gossip about who's home and what they've been up to in the last year...and remember all of those past Christmases we've had in that church. And then, at the end of the service, we all light our little candles and sing Silent Night. I can't help but get goosebumps. I can't describe the feeling, and I can't describe that environment that I grew up in, but that indescribable feeling is what Christmas means to me. Christmas Eve is about celebrating the 'reason for the season', as they say, but for me it also brings old friends, who have become family over the years, back together, and I think that is just as good a reason to celebrate. I’m taking a break from writing about really pressing current events like the possibility of the Smithsonian charging admission to put some personal musings down on…screen. Taking the hint from my brilliant roomie’s latest blog post at What have you thought about today?, I began thinking about what happily-ever-after really means. Do I really need a Prince Charming to be happy?
This prompted a search for wisdom and inspiration, via StumbleUpon.com naturally. And of course, where else would a single girl like myself find inspiration on my quest for happily-ever-after but the wise and wonderful Carrie Bradshaw. I like to believe that we have some sort of supernatural bond considering that we have the same (fabulous) name. "Think about it. If you are single, after graduation there isn't one occasion where people celebrate you...Hallmark doesn't make a "Congratulations-You-Didn't-Marry-the-Wrong-Guy" card. And where's the flatware for going on vacation alone?" -Carrie BradshawIt is true. Once you are finished with school, the only milestones that are widely celebrated (outside of birthdays…everybody gets those) include someone else. Weddings, births, anniversaries all require that pesky significant other that has remained elusive thus far. I am among few of my friends who are seeking fulfillment in my career. As I discussed with one like-minded friend, I want to ‘be’ my job. I love what I do (ie. Writing) so much, that once I find that job that will lead me to a career doing what I love, I want to be that powerful career girl. I want to find my happiness for myself, in my own life and career. This will, perhaps, take away from a personal life, but lucky for me, my Prince Charming will be as career-focused as I am. So, I've decided to focus on me and getting myself to a place where I'm happy, and then finding someone who will fit into that place. Once I get to my own happily-ever-after, I'll find someone else whose happily-ever-after is in the same neighborhood. Now famous among my friends, my vision for my future life is thus: I will be wildly successful in non-profit development and/or advocacy, married to a brilliant, ambitious man (who looks great in a suit), and living in northwest DC in a big house just because we can. I always hold onto my faith that I will get my happily-ever-after. I honestly don’t think I could get up everyday and go through the mundane routine that has become my life without the hope that it could get better. Let’s face it, there’s a whole lot of up from where I’m at now, and something’s got to give sometime soon. Maybe it won’t be at the ‘right’ time. Maybe it won’t happen in the way I think it should. But, I have learned that most good things in life are worth waiting for once they do finally come along. So, until then, I will follow another one of the fabulous Miss Bradshaw's bits of wisdom: "The fact is, sometimes it's really hard to walk in a single woman's shoes. That's why we need really special ones now and then to make the walk a little more fun." During my usual boredom-inspired Twitter scrolling this morning, I came across this NBC 4 (Washington, DC) story about the possibility of charging admission to the Smithsonian museums http://bit.ly/92cKW8. My immediate response was 'Not a chance!'
As we have all heard by now, the Obama Administration has created a National Commission of Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to address our country's fiscal issues. One of the ideas to come out of this Commission is to cut the Smithsonian's operating budget and begin charging admission to all of the Institution's museums. The Smithsonians have been free since 1846, and although the NBC writer calls it an 'indulgence the country can no longer afford', I disagree. I think it is a luxury that we all have the privelege to enjoy as tax payers. If you really think about it, we do in fact pay for the museums in the same way we pay our police and fire services and any other government officials. This story was brought to my attention by a tweet from a DC blog, We Love DC, and I agree with the response found here: http://wldc.us/cBpTzC. The blog calls the museums 'our collected treasure', 'trophy case', 'built with the hearts and minds of the American Public and to charge for them would be a travesty.' These museums tell the story of our country. The story of our history, our advances in air and space technology, our natural history and research in world natural history, our Native American roots, and the incredible creative works that have come out of this country throughout our histor can all be found within a few blocks in some of the most beautiful buildings on some of the most beautiful property in the world (in my limited, and biased, experience.) The Smithsonians are more than just a place to walk around and look at stuff for a few hours. They hold treasures that are essentially free for the taking for all Americans, regardless of who you are, where you're from, and how much money you make. Charging admission would hinder the Smithsonian's truly fulfilling one of its main purposes: to reach and educate the American people. See the Institution's response: http://ow.ly/391Z5. Those audiences who are most underserved in the areas of arts and culture would only continue to become more so. The Smithsonians serve those who cannot afford the expensive, fancy museums and galleries in other cities. They can come to the nation's capital and see the roots and creations of this country on display, for no charge. To get off my cultural high horse, I will address the actual charge, should the Commission's plan actually go through. (I submit that it will not because other attempts to charge at the Smithsonians have all fallen through.) BUT for argument's sake, let's say it does pass and I have to pay everytime I walk into a Smithsonian (which is a lot when I'm in DC). The Commission is proposing a $7.50 charge for admission to the museums. Honestly, I am unclear, and it seems that the plan is not fully fleshed out, as to whether the cost will be $7.50 at each museum, or a $7.50 charge for all of the museums. A $7.50 charge for all of them would be tolerable. Perhaps you would have to go to the Smithsonian Castle and pay for some kind of pass that will allow you get into all of the museums for that day. That wouldn't be so bad, I guess. But $7.50 for every museum?? That would be an incredible financial burden for vacationers in an already-expensive city. For a city that prides itself on so many free attractions, this would be a huge hit for tourism, I think (and so does the blogger). A historian friend who shall remain unnamed proposed the question, 'How else will historians get paid?' The simple answer is the same way they've always gotten paid, through the Institution's budget funded by our tax dollars. Of all of the things that our taxes pay for, besides civil protection like police and government, I think that our cultural resources are among the most important. The artifacts that are found in these museums are invaluable for current and future generations to understand our history and important to past generations to honor their work and memory. Another way to think about it is to compare the Smithsonians to our National Parks. Most (not all) of our National Parks are free, at least for entry, and all employees are paid through the tax-payer-funded budget. Mostly, I just think that the Smithsonian Institution is just that--an American institution that should be preserved just like all of the pieces of history that the museums preserve. **11-20-2010: Note: After doing more research and having further conversation, my assertion about the National Parks was not true. Apparently most Parks do in fact charge admission fees. ** Well if you've been following along, I have blogged about two different books in the past few months, and now before you judge me for being non-committal to my literature, allow me to explain.
Regarding This is Where I Leave You, I did finish it, I just never blogged about the ending. It was fabulous! Definitely one of the best books I've read in a long time. And it was a random find at Barnes and Noble. It is just so well written and the message and story and...everything is great. I can't say it enough. YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK! Tropper has several other novels that I hope to read sometime in the near future. Regarding The Same Kind of Different as Me, I did not finish this one. It is so powerful and emotional that I needed to take a break. I don't want to give away what happens and why I was so emotional about it, but it is really good, but I just need to take it slow Now I'm reading another random Barnes and Noble find called The Lace Reader about a woman from Salem, Mass who was raised by her mother and great-aunt who make Ipswitch lace and read the lace like others read palms. It's not the next great American novel, but it's entertaining. I started reading another book recently. (One of the many in the stack that has been accumulating on the floor next to my bed...) By Ron Hall & Denver Moore and spanning the men's life during the 1960s and 70s, Same Kind of Different as Me is the true story of the oddest of odd couples. Ron Hall is a white, rich, fine art broker. Denver Moore is a black, homeless, former sharecropper. Both men end up in Fort Worth, Texas, on opposite sides of town, and the law. Denver ran away from his sharecropping shack in Louisiana, the only life he'd ever known, and jumped on a train heading west. His travels took him to several cities, but he ended up in Fort Worth permanently; as permanently as a homeless, uneducated man could be. Ron Hall was a happily married, very well wealthy art broker just sailing smoothly along in his life. Ron and his wife Debbie had been Christians for most of their marriage, but one day Debbie heard of the Union Gospel Mission, and feels the call to do more than donate funds. This just happens to be the mission across the street from which Denver had taken up residence near a Dumpster. Denver had built a reputation as the dangerous man on the streets, the one whom other drifters, homeless, and even those who merely passed him on the streets steered clear of. And he wouldn't have it any other way. He would much rather live alone, on his own terms, than have any other contact with other people. He began going to the mission as earn a little bit of a living by cleaning, but he never spent the nights there. Ron and Debbie saw Denver when they began serving meals to the homeless and mission residents on Tuesday nights. As Mr. & Mrs. Tuesday, Ron and Debbie spent a few weeks serving, but then when Denver made his first, memorable entrance into their lives, Debbie was struck by a call from God again. She had had a dream about a man who would change the city, on a call from God. The man in her dream had Denver's face, and she gave Ron the mission of befriending him and finding that call she believed was out there for him. I'm only about halfway through the book at this point, but the story has already really touched me. This was one of the books that I just happened to pick up at B&N without really knowing much about it at the time. Its a story of how one man's prejudice and preconceived notions about one population can be challenged once he finds himself in personal contact with a member of it. And that is true for both Ron and Denver. Each had ideas about the other based on race, economic standing, among other things, and each needed to work through those issues. The most powerful quote that I've come across is just too good not to share and reprint for all to see. "I guess we were pretty good at the whole Christian thing--or maybe we were bad at it--because we managed to alienate many of our old college friends. With our new spiritual eyes, we could see they didn't have fish stickers either and we set about saving them from eternal damnation with all the sublety of rookie linebackers. Looking back now I mourn the mutual wounds inflicted in verbal battles with the 'unsaved.' In fact, I have chosen to delete the particular term from my vocabulary as I have learned that even with my $500 European-designer bifocals, I cannot see into a person's heart to know his spiritual condition. All I can do is tell the jagged tale of my own spiritual journey and declare that my life has been the better for having followed Christ." This really touched me because I believe in exactly this sentiment. I'm really looking forward to finishing this memoir and seeing how the relationship between Denver and Ron will progress. The Supreme Court took up a new case this week. The congregation of Westboro Baptist Church protested at a military funeral (actually several over the years) and the family sued and won several million dollars in a jury trial. The appeals took the case all the way to the Supreme Court. The congregation preaches that God hates homosexuality and those who support it, and say things like 'God Bless Dead Soldiers'. They preach that God is punishing the world for the support of homosexuality by killing these sodiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The question before the Court is whether this speech is protected under the First Amendment. Other offensive speech has been protected by the Court in the past, but this seems to be drawing much more criticism and uncertainty from the Court itself and the pubic.
While what the Westboro congregation does is offensive and hateful and just plain rude, they obeyed local statutes about protesting and private property. So can the Court make judgements about what speech is right and wrong? Traditionally the decisions of the high court have strayed on the side of more freedom and more offense rather than restrict any speech. I want it to be known that I think that what the Westboro congregation preaches in their church and practices at funerals for our fallen heroes is incredible and horrible. I come from a military family and I know that I would not underestimate how I would react if this had been my family. That said, I think the Court would be wise to allow their horrible speech to continue, because I'm always wary of that old 'sippery slope' we always hear about. Just because most peope think it's wrong, doesn't mean we can stop others from saying or believing it. I always put myself in the shoes of those who are being censored. If I felt that passionate about anything, I would not want to be stopped just because others disagreed. Stopping their speech would set a precedent for others who want to control other kinds of speech in the future, based on disagreement. Right and wrong are subjective and can change according to the cultural landscape, but laws are essentially permanent. I'm also not saying that the pendulum would EVER swing as far as to say that anything as offensive as what is being said in this case will be accepted. These are just dangerous waters the Court is treading. Essentially, their job is not to say what is right or wrong, but they do have to decide if what is happening is illegal or against the Constitution. This WashPost article (http://wapo.st/btL6CB) gives a good overview of what is going on with the case and Westboro Baptist. The scariest part of this issue is the way that this group has twisted Christianity to preach hate and intolerance. They definitely do not believe in the same Christ that I do. Ever since I was a little girl, I've wanted to be a writer. At first, I thought the best way to do that would be to be a novelist. Over the years, I have found no success in that endeavor. Just can't seem to come up with a good plot that's not either trite or pointless. Not quite creative enough for that I guess. Where I do excel is in taking an idea and making it sound good, or concise, or clear, or whatever it needs. I like being able to manipulate words to make them express exactly what I want. And no matter what or how one writes, it is work, just not in the conventional sense.
I just read a New York Times op-ed by John Grisham about his work as a writer, and the other work he's done over the years. Grisham worked at a nursery watering flowers (been there, done that last summer...but it was actually a great experience for me), then worked laying chain link fence. His laboring continued as he took a job with a road construction crew laying asphalt in Mississippi. He decided that manual labor was not his calling, and tried selling underwear at Sears. Not so good either. The next logical step: the law, obviously. He spent years as a lawyer around his home county in Mississippi and eventually found himself in the state legislature. It wasn't until he sat in on a case involving a young girl who was murdered that he was inspired to create a story. Grisham admits that writing was never a childhood dream, and he never felt a longing for the craft. "Still, something about writing made me spend large hours of my free time at my desk," he says in this piece. He also makes it clear that out of all the jobs he's had over his lifetime, his writing is the hardest, but the most rewarding of them all. I admire his work (and his prolific career), and I understand his feelings about writing. I love writing, and even though I can't write fiction in any way close to Grisham, I love writing about my ideas, and crafting ideas and images out of words. Grisham's op-ed can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/opinion/06Grisham.htmlweeblylink_new_window All families have issues. And every family's issues are unique, intimate, and personal. In This is Where I Leave You, Jonathan Tropper airs the dirty laundry of the Foxman family for all the world to read. Lucky for the Foxmans their not real, and can't feel the vulnerabiltiy that would come with this amount of airing. This family, Jewish more by tradition than practice, is asked to sit shiva (a seven-day mourning period that basically consists of the family sitting together in the house, meditating and honoring the dead) by their here-to-fore un-religious father. The story is told by Judd Foxman, one of the four siblings who have lost touch with their parents, and each other, and have a lot of pent up passive aggression that is released in the tension of even the first hour of their shiva. The story is the story of a family that is placed in a situation where all of the tension, blame, subtle hatred and jealous of lifetimes are in open season, because in all reality, they have nothing else to talk about trapped in their home for seven days fulfilling a duty in a religion that none of them truly believed in anymore. It is also a story of Judd's coming-to-terms with his own failing marriage and unemployment. (His wife cheated on him with his boss--so now he's down a wife and a job.) Through his eyes, the reader can analyze the situation with the necessary background knowledge of a sibling, knowing all of the childhood issues that caused each sibling their own unique psychological issues. We can also watch Judd face his own problems and sort them out in relation to the others' and their collective situation. I've just begun reading this novel, and already I love Tropper's style of prose, his underlying humor in the face of tragedy, and the honesty with which he presents all of the different issues facing the Foxmans at the same time. He is one of those authors who use off-color, or at the very least unusual analogies and descriptions of emotions, that no one would ever think about, but make perfect sense in the given situation. In describing the moment when Judd finds his wife in bed with another man, the minute details and at the same time simplicity with which he describes the scene seem strange until you try to imagine standing there as he did. And the entire picture comes together and the reality and the emotion of the words become so true that you feel as though you were standing in the doorway, too. I can't wait to see how the rest of the week plays out between the siblings, their mother, and the neighborhood mourners who come to pay their respects. Tropper has several other novels which I will be on the lookout for in future. Verdict: this is yet another excellent random find at Barnes & Noble! Last night, the 62nd Emmy Awards were handed out, honoring the best of the past year in television. There were a lot of new winners, and some snubs of long-standing shows, most notably Lost. I'm not a Lost fan, so I have no insight on the issue. The new show that I was watching most closely was Glee. I love everything about Glee; the music, the plot, the humor. I always wished that my high school had a glee club or show choir. Ryan Murphy won the Emmy for best director of a comedy last night. In his acceptance speech, Murphy addressed the importance of arts education and how he is using Glee to bring attention to the issue. I agree, wholeheartedly. Glee has used a unique humor and different take on a sitcom plot to get people interested in music; even those who didn't think they would like to watch a show choir. I watch because I love the music and the humor, but I also love the movement behind the show. The Gleeks around the country have helped to make show choir, musical theater, and a capella singing acceptable. Perhaps no more Gleeks will find themselves covered in slushies. Glee also shows how being involved in positive activities in school can help students to be more productive in their educational and personal lives. Making Tina more outgoing, Artie more comfortable with his disability, Finn, Quinn and Puck more compassionate to those 'less cool' than themselves, and Kurt more comfortable in his sexuality, New Directions is not only a way for the characters to embrace their love of music, but also a new love for each other and a new perspective on their lives. Mr. Shu gives every member of the club self confidence to be themselves, no matter what others think. Being involved in choir, band, and dance while I was in school helped me to be outgoing and comfortable in my own skin. In conclusion, I love the arts and especially arts education, and I truly admire the efforts of those like the production team of Glee, and the multitude of other individuals and organizations who work to be sure that the children of America have the opportunities to enjoy the arts that I am blessed to have had.
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Carrie:-2010 Westminster College grad Archives
January 2015
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