Wow. So...the rollercoaster of my life continues with so many emotions and thoughts this weekend!
Good conversations, good ponderings, some things done, many things left undone, frustration, questioning, feeling connected to my faith, feeling to connected in my relationship, in my friendships. Ah...the rollercoaster!!!
But a few thoughts to put down on paper, so to speak.
First of all, Prof. Wangerin's sermon was amazing today. So challenging. So needed. He preached on Mark 7:1-8; 14-15; 21-23 and talked about how we as humans must not follow human inventions but God's commandments. That even if we're doing things that seem right in human terms, that if they are not on God's terms then we have to change it. He wove these stories in and around this central message in that wonderful way of his so that it just spoke his message in words that made you want to align your life with God then and there. Just re-evaluate priorities, put God first, attempt to act right in every situation.
I struggled a lot in the service, becuase my problem is not accepting this idea it's figuring out HOW to do that. In leadership, in friendships, in prioritizing projects. God gets pretty specfic in Mark..."It is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." And yet, it is within these sins that things get tricky. God didn't write a book with specific advice for each situation...we're left to struggle with how to serve him and obey him within each context. And it certainly isn't easy. Come on God? I mean...really!?!
Other things from this weekend....Fellowship House Dinner & Meeting was full of blessings. God is working certainly. Bible Study...God was working indeed. It's been a very God-intensive weekend, which was interesting because I've been feeling very out of the faith loop in some ways. Habitat for Humanity build...interesting. Migraines, lack of sleep, tiredness, late-night conversations, evening goofiness. Happy roommate moments. Unhappy homework moments. Wierd future-thinkng moments. Interesting reading moments...feminist theory on international realtions, what?!?! Talking to others who feel the Valpo Culture shock after being away. Watching the Merchant of Venice (boo!). Thinking about how my response to "Of course you can't save the world" is different than it was a year ago. Realizing that I am a different person than I was two years ago and beginning to be okay with that.
Changes, changes...could the roller coaster just slow down a little so I can take it in please?
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Thursday, August 31, 2006
My Local vs. Global Debate
So. As I was walking home today with my Freshens smoothie in hand (which may be hypocritical to this blog entry since i'm fairly sure their cups are made out of some sort of styrofoam...smooties helping killing the earth :-( sad day)... I was thinking about the honors thesis that I want to write. The one I will sadly not be writing, since it is not specific enough nor directly in line with my class Making Things Right with Professor Schwehn. And that's all okay. I'm going to learn a lot and hopefully write a good paper without killing myself.
But I was thinking that I still want to write the paper that I have inside my head. And maybe its because I'm such a word person. That's how I make sense of things. I either talk things out or write things out...and a lot of times I think about things way too much before I do either of those things. But I feel like unless I get these thoughts down on paper I have no chance of understanding or grasping those ideas or ever doing something that will help make some little tiny part of this world right.
My thesis for my ideal honors thesis that will never be written is this:
What is the best way to go about making a difference in this world: locally or globally? How can you best make things right, or is this one of those questions that is not an either/or but a both/and. What does it take to bring about a transformation? Why are the Gandhis and Dorothy Days and Martin Luther King Jrs of this world so few and far between? Or is that just an illusion? And how do you get past the fact that despite all of the corruption, selfishness, pain, suffering, anger, and violence in this world...really we all live in a hodgebodge of hope and love and relationships...or at least the desire for all of that.
I want to look at movements like fair trade and groups like the UN that have a global focus. Non-profits like the Red Cross, Lutheran World Relief, Catholic Relief Services, Christian Peacemaker Teams, Engineers without Borders, etc. Government organizations like the Peace Corps and the State Department, Inter-Governmental Agencies like the World Bank, IMF, NATO, and the role of International Law and treaties in bringing about a more peaceful world. I want to look at how soup kitchens and food banks and local governments and community organizations bring about individual change and community transformation in local communities. And I want to look at the connection between the two...how things like education and awareness within our communities connect us with others around the world. I want to look at who groups like SALT and the Church and national governments must have a dual focus. I want to explore whether elements of this debate have always been at odds or whether forces like globalization and increasing global interdependence have made it impossible to do one without the other.
Is this too big of a thing? I don't know. This is probably a longer life type of debate that I'll continue to look at.
Last year about this time I came to the conclusion that what brings my studies and interests together can be described in one word: community. I'm interested in how communities work, how they communicate within and how they work with other communities. I'm interested in how communities are built, how they change, and how conflict tears them a part. And I'm interested in how the communities of the world interact on a global stage.
My central question since last fall has been how individuals interact in these communities and help bring about positive change.
Someday I'll write a paper about that question too. But for now, I will turn in my intensification form tomorrow and embark on honors thesis research. Stay tuned for more.
But I was thinking that I still want to write the paper that I have inside my head. And maybe its because I'm such a word person. That's how I make sense of things. I either talk things out or write things out...and a lot of times I think about things way too much before I do either of those things. But I feel like unless I get these thoughts down on paper I have no chance of understanding or grasping those ideas or ever doing something that will help make some little tiny part of this world right.
My thesis for my ideal honors thesis that will never be written is this:
What is the best way to go about making a difference in this world: locally or globally? How can you best make things right, or is this one of those questions that is not an either/or but a both/and. What does it take to bring about a transformation? Why are the Gandhis and Dorothy Days and Martin Luther King Jrs of this world so few and far between? Or is that just an illusion? And how do you get past the fact that despite all of the corruption, selfishness, pain, suffering, anger, and violence in this world...really we all live in a hodgebodge of hope and love and relationships...or at least the desire for all of that.
I want to look at movements like fair trade and groups like the UN that have a global focus. Non-profits like the Red Cross, Lutheran World Relief, Catholic Relief Services, Christian Peacemaker Teams, Engineers without Borders, etc. Government organizations like the Peace Corps and the State Department, Inter-Governmental Agencies like the World Bank, IMF, NATO, and the role of International Law and treaties in bringing about a more peaceful world. I want to look at how soup kitchens and food banks and local governments and community organizations bring about individual change and community transformation in local communities. And I want to look at the connection between the two...how things like education and awareness within our communities connect us with others around the world. I want to look at who groups like SALT and the Church and national governments must have a dual focus. I want to explore whether elements of this debate have always been at odds or whether forces like globalization and increasing global interdependence have made it impossible to do one without the other.
Is this too big of a thing? I don't know. This is probably a longer life type of debate that I'll continue to look at.
Last year about this time I came to the conclusion that what brings my studies and interests together can be described in one word: community. I'm interested in how communities work, how they communicate within and how they work with other communities. I'm interested in how communities are built, how they change, and how conflict tears them a part. And I'm interested in how the communities of the world interact on a global stage.
My central question since last fall has been how individuals interact in these communities and help bring about positive change.
Someday I'll write a paper about that question too. But for now, I will turn in my intensification form tomorrow and embark on honors thesis research. Stay tuned for more.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
International Econ: Thoughts
So, I may be a complete dork, but I am absolutely loving my International Economics course right now. I think it's one of those classes that everyone should have to take because it's so so so relevant!
Today we were looking at the current percentage changes between the US Import Price Index and the US Export Price Index and talking about some of the reasons that we're paying 7% more to import goods than we were last year, and the problems with the fact that we've only seen a 4.4% increase on the prices we get for our exports. (Basically we're paying more for what we're buying than what we're selling.)
These issues are in the news all the time - questioning whether the US has a trade advantage, whether the US is losing out in the world market, losing absolute advantage in markets we used to dominate, etc. It was so interesting to see it broken down and actually look at the numbers, and then try to answer Prof. Raman's question: so as a policymaker what would you do about this trade deficit?
We talked about long term efforts like increasing production, value or quality of goods, to increase the demand for US products. Or the more interesting one to me was by changing policy to balance out trade...taking the example of trying to cut down our demand on gas so that we were importing less. To do this, policymakers could establish a larger gas tax (which would never happen, i.e. Republicans, automotive industry/oil corporation lobbyists), or actively encourage the building of public transportation infrastructure (which won't happen anytime soon because it's soooo expensive), or put a tax on various vehicles (ha! i laughed at that one, the automotive industry would be in an uproar!)...
It was interesting 1) because I love the intersection between economics and politicts and 2) more depressingly, how soon we got to the conclusion that it couldn't happen. And not because of the political situation in Washington, but because of the lack of an American consensus or demand for alternatives to oil. The class, overall, basically saw Americans as the stereotypical tied to their SUVs/pickup trucks/gas-guzzling machines, unwilling to promote public transportation or to have any inconvience. Prof. Raman suggested that the answer may simply lie in just letting the gas prices continue to rise, with the idea that if people's pocketbooks tighten enough they'll demand something different.
And while I guess that's true, it seems awfully pessimistic. One about the nature of the American people. And two about our nation's leaders. Isn't one of the responsibilities of our nation's leaders to help guide the consensus ? To stand up and argue for what is best for our country, especially economically!?! I mean these are issues that even Republicans and Democrats can get together on, because not only are their economic and environmental issues at stake, but political issues as well. Why can't the consensus be changed before we get so broke that we can't afford gas? or before we use of the world's oil resources?
Today we were looking at the current percentage changes between the US Import Price Index and the US Export Price Index and talking about some of the reasons that we're paying 7% more to import goods than we were last year, and the problems with the fact that we've only seen a 4.4% increase on the prices we get for our exports. (Basically we're paying more for what we're buying than what we're selling.)
These issues are in the news all the time - questioning whether the US has a trade advantage, whether the US is losing out in the world market, losing absolute advantage in markets we used to dominate, etc. It was so interesting to see it broken down and actually look at the numbers, and then try to answer Prof. Raman's question: so as a policymaker what would you do about this trade deficit?
We talked about long term efforts like increasing production, value or quality of goods, to increase the demand for US products. Or the more interesting one to me was by changing policy to balance out trade...taking the example of trying to cut down our demand on gas so that we were importing less. To do this, policymakers could establish a larger gas tax (which would never happen, i.e. Republicans, automotive industry/oil corporation lobbyists), or actively encourage the building of public transportation infrastructure (which won't happen anytime soon because it's soooo expensive), or put a tax on various vehicles (ha! i laughed at that one, the automotive industry would be in an uproar!)...
It was interesting 1) because I love the intersection between economics and politicts and 2) more depressingly, how soon we got to the conclusion that it couldn't happen. And not because of the political situation in Washington, but because of the lack of an American consensus or demand for alternatives to oil. The class, overall, basically saw Americans as the stereotypical tied to their SUVs/pickup trucks/gas-guzzling machines, unwilling to promote public transportation or to have any inconvience. Prof. Raman suggested that the answer may simply lie in just letting the gas prices continue to rise, with the idea that if people's pocketbooks tighten enough they'll demand something different.
And while I guess that's true, it seems awfully pessimistic. One about the nature of the American people. And two about our nation's leaders. Isn't one of the responsibilities of our nation's leaders to help guide the consensus ? To stand up and argue for what is best for our country, especially economically!?! I mean these are issues that even Republicans and Democrats can get together on, because not only are their economic and environmental issues at stake, but political issues as well. Why can't the consensus be changed before we get so broke that we can't afford gas? or before we use of the world's oil resources?
Sunday, August 27, 2006
My International Closet
So, the night before I left for Valpo, as I was packing up all my clothes, I checked the tags of most of my wardrobe.
Why you may ask? Well, I've meaning to do it ever since I got back from Nicaragua. While I was there (with the Social Action Leadership Team from VU), we met with workers from a free trade zone where businesses like Kohls, GAP, etc have large factories to produce clothes cheaply without fair labor conditions. It presented a really interesting conundrum of how to ethically shop in a globalized world.
If you knew that the adorable shirt that hung on the GAP sale rack was made by someone who made 17 cents a day, worked in a factory with unsafe working conditions, was prevented from organizing to demand better conditions and at the end of the day still couldn't provide for their families...would you still buy it?
The answer is probably yes, because at the end of the day as Americans we still have to buy clothes and there arn't that many alternate options that let us buy what we need for the money available to us. And, when we do buy that shirt, the money does go to the employer of the worker, and the money eventually does filter down to the workers who might not otherwise have a job at all.
And yet, at the same time, isn't buying that shirt still participating in the exploitation of others?
It's a conundrum. And one very relevant today as globalization continues to spread rapidly...which is clear everytime we open our closets.
For example...my closet brings together garments from Sri Lanka, Honduras, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, USA, Australia, Taiwan, and Mexico. And that's just shirts...
Add in jeans and pants and you add a bit more of a cosmpolitan flavor: Madagascar, Moldovia, El Salvador, Jordan, Costa Rica, Kenya, India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Nicaragua, and Turkey.
Oh and those two adorable jackets that I couldn't leave the store with out? The two big players in the world economy of late, China & India.
It's just interesting you know? I have no solutions to this...and in some ways it's not a problem. And yet, at the same time there is a sense of responsibility to make sure that our livelihoods don't depend on others' pain and suffering, is there not? There is a sense that if we take on the godly responsibility to be good stewards of our resources then we have to deal with the nexus between being a good steward and being a consumer. How to deal with it is a larger question.
Of course, can I do anything about this today? No. It's a longer process. A process of adjusting oneself into just living, to quote my friend Kat Peters.
Or, as someone wise told me..."You do as much as you can each day to effect change, but recognize that as a broken and sinful people we will always struggle."
Why you may ask? Well, I've meaning to do it ever since I got back from Nicaragua. While I was there (with the Social Action Leadership Team from VU), we met with workers from a free trade zone where businesses like Kohls, GAP, etc have large factories to produce clothes cheaply without fair labor conditions. It presented a really interesting conundrum of how to ethically shop in a globalized world.
If you knew that the adorable shirt that hung on the GAP sale rack was made by someone who made 17 cents a day, worked in a factory with unsafe working conditions, was prevented from organizing to demand better conditions and at the end of the day still couldn't provide for their families...would you still buy it?
The answer is probably yes, because at the end of the day as Americans we still have to buy clothes and there arn't that many alternate options that let us buy what we need for the money available to us. And, when we do buy that shirt, the money does go to the employer of the worker, and the money eventually does filter down to the workers who might not otherwise have a job at all.
And yet, at the same time, isn't buying that shirt still participating in the exploitation of others?
It's a conundrum. And one very relevant today as globalization continues to spread rapidly...which is clear everytime we open our closets.
For example...my closet brings together garments from Sri Lanka, Honduras, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, USA, Australia, Taiwan, and Mexico. And that's just shirts...
Add in jeans and pants and you add a bit more of a cosmpolitan flavor: Madagascar, Moldovia, El Salvador, Jordan, Costa Rica, Kenya, India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Nicaragua, and Turkey.
Oh and those two adorable jackets that I couldn't leave the store with out? The two big players in the world economy of late, China & India.
It's just interesting you know? I have no solutions to this...and in some ways it's not a problem. And yet, at the same time there is a sense of responsibility to make sure that our livelihoods don't depend on others' pain and suffering, is there not? There is a sense that if we take on the godly responsibility to be good stewards of our resources then we have to deal with the nexus between being a good steward and being a consumer. How to deal with it is a larger question.
Of course, can I do anything about this today? No. It's a longer process. A process of adjusting oneself into just living, to quote my friend Kat Peters.
Or, as someone wise told me..."You do as much as you can each day to effect change, but recognize that as a broken and sinful people we will always struggle."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
