Visual Essay on Religious Fundamentalism

Just to clear up any potential confusion: The three guys in the 3rd-5th pictures aren't just any preachers. The first is Pat Robertson, who said that the Haiti earthquake happened because Haitians made a pact with the devil. The second is Jerry Falwell, who blamed 9/11 on feminists, abortionists, homosexuals, and the ACLU. The third guy is Harold Camping, who predicted the Rapture on May 21st 2011 (the billboard in the next image was done by his organization). All three of these men are evil fundamentalists, which is why they were included.

Family Member Characterization REVISED BECAUSE I SUCK AT WRITING (It still sucks because I still suck, but it's better)

All four of my grandparents are awesome in their own ways, but with regard to overall strength my paternal grandmother takes the prize.

For her 80th birthday a few years ago, all of her children and their families came to celebrate. On the night of her birthday, we went out to a restaurant. Instead of enjoying some unhealthy food on her birthday, my grandma ate very healthy food, just like she usually does. Perhaps that type of commitment to a healthy diet is the reason she was just as healthy and mobile as all of her children 30 years younger than her. Or perhaps it was the fact that instead of eating donuts for breakfast with the rest of us she was down at the gym exercising. She doesn't look 80 years old, and I don't think she ever will.

I wish I had the same determination to be healthy as she does. That's one thing about her that hasn't been successful at influencing me, at least not yet. But it's not my fault. It's food's fault for being so damn tasty. And exercise's fault for being too hard. Ok, it is my fault. I'm a lazy bastard who is not in shape. Wait, I take that back, round is a shape.

When my grandma isn't exercising and takes the time to relax, it's usually in front of the TV keeping up with current events and politics. Every weeknight we visit the night is spent watching Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. My grandma loves her because she is a "strong, smart woman". This is a common theme with her political statements. All of the problems we have are because the country is run by men. I think this is borderline sexist, but I know better than to mouth off to her. Our political views are usually something we have in common, but we were in opposition in 2008 because of the gender issue—I liked Barack Obama because he was awesome, she liked Hillary Clinton because she is a woman. She has always been very politically involved. She even ran for office when she was younger. She didn't win, but this was in a time where women weren't really involved in politics, so it was a statement just to run in the first place. She has donated a lot of time and money over the years and every visit seemed to have at least one phone call from the DFL asking her for more. Some of the coolest things in my grandparents' house are all of the signed pictures of her with politicians. The list includes recognizable names such as Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, Jimmy Carter, and Hillary Clinton. Depending on your political persuasion, you might not think highly of those people, but it's noteworthy regardless.

I would have to guess I inherited my political views from her. Neither of my parents are especially outspoken with regard to politics, and none of my other grandparents are either. I love to form opinions, and I especially love to argue. My grandma's outspokenness about politics has inspired me to not be afraid about expressing my opinions, and to not worry about what other people think. I am really glad she was able to instill this quality in me, as it is one of the qualities that defines me as a person.

She's retired, but she still has to work hard every day. My grandpa has declined a bit mentally over the past couple of years, and she makes sure he takes his medications, drives him down to Hardee's to talk with his friends, and tries to limit him to two glasses of wine. Both of them have somewhat short tempers and every once in a while you overhear them having a bit of a heated discussion, but it never escalates. I think my grandma is really good at keeping things under control.

She has influenced me this way as well. Although I love to argue, I don't get angry. I get sarcastic, bitter, and condescending, but I don't get mad at people. She has enforced my ability to argue without it getting out of hand.

In general, she is a force to be reckoned with in influencing her grandchildren. When I forgot to send her a thank-you note, she let me know, she didn't ignore it. One of the first things she said to me on my next visit was asking me if my arm was injured. When I or any of my siblings or cousins did something wrong they were going to get a talking-to. Not an angry one, by any means, just one that makes sure we understand. She is able to be effective in discipline in a way parents can not.

Thanksgiving

Ah, Thanksgiving. It probably should instead be known as Foodeating or Footballwatching, considering that is done a lot more than giving thanks, but whatever. It's a five-day weekend, that's the part that matters to me.

My brother got home from college last weekend and Wednesday my family drove to the home of my maternal grandparents in Iowa. My mother's brother and his family were also there, including a Norwegian foreign exchange student that is living with them for the year.

Observations:

Everyone helped make the food. That was the fun part. The cleaning up was less fun, and it took a little more encouragement. The kids forced the grandparents out of the kitchen during cleanup, as they had worked the hardest in making the food.

My family and my mom's brother's family are very different. My whole family is definitely more introverted, whereas their entire family is very extroverted. This is evident with the foreign exchange student. My family is just not the type to host a foreign exchange student. We wouldn't be very good at it. Their family, however, has hosted three, and they seemed to have gotten along very well with all of them. They just become natural members of their family for a year.

Speaking of the foreign exchange student, he brought some interesting questions to my mind. What would it be like to experience the very family oriented holiday of Thanksgiving in a foreign country? You are in a house you had never been in before, with people you have never seen before. It takes a special type of personality to be able to handle that.

He also seemed very grateful to be accepted into my cousins' family, and comfortable being a part of it. He seemed really close to my cousins, as if they were actually biologically related. He hugged my aunt several times like one would hug a biological mom.

I observed a couple of things about myself. I can't be in a crowd for extended periods of time. On thursday for several hours 6 or 7 more people came over to my grandparents' house on top of the 12 that were already staying there. It created a big family socializing event, which I did not want to be a part of. I'm bad at socializing already, and the awkwardness of doing it with distant relatives you barely know made it even worse. I cherished my escapes into the basement to use the bathroom, just because I could be not with people for a couple minutes.

In general, I observed that even though I was away from home seeing family that I only see about once a year, I still spent a lot of time on my laptop, by myself. I guess I just can't adapt to the change in personality that is necessary to constantly socialize with family. I need something to be the same as at home. I know I should be able to be better when it's family, but I can't.

I might add more if this ends up not to be enough. I'm all blogged out for now.

Cartoon Analyzation Thingy

Mr. Smith felt sick at the end of class on Friday and had to leave so the blog post was never explained to first block. That's why this is going up on a monday.

This cartoon makes fun of the far right (You can tell cuz of the sign that says "FAR RIGHT" on the clown). It make the point that although the far right has been outspoken in their criticism of Obama for ruining the image of the United States through his interactions with foreign leaders, the ones truly hurting the image of the United States are the far right themselves through their baseless criticisms. The main visual attraction in this cartoon is the colorful cowboy clown. The rest is all black or neutral colors, so the red, white, blue, and yellow really stand out in comparison. This represents how the the far right's negative affect on the U.S. stands out in comparison to whatever affect Obama has had through his foreign policy. 

This cartoon makes fun of the Republican party, and how badly they lost the election among female voters and hispanics, two demographics they need to do better with if they want to win. It shows a old white male that represents the Republican party (as that is their only remaining demographic) reading a book called How to Pick Up Women Voters with another book called Spanish for Morons waiting to be read. All of this while he is drinking and smoking, which I don't blame him for after the drubbing the Repubs took on November 6th. The visual aspects of the cartoon paint an image of someone who is desperate and is not improving. This is conveyed through the context of the bar and by the ominous background.

Ahhh. Another two things I can't enjoy anymore after analyzing them.

The Dumbest Generation?

I apologize for any sarcasm that may or may not be present

In The Dumbest Generation, Bauerlein manages to attempt to try to make a somewhat effective argument. It was hidden throughout by a useless onslaught of redundant statistics, but I think I have been able to discern it:

• These kids have scored lower than other generations on some tests of knowledge
• A lack of knowledge in the areas these specific tests tested means that these kids are dumb
• They don't read as much as I did back before technology
• if they don't read as much as I did they are dumb
• They instead spend time on this newfangled compooter thing
• All new technology makes people dumb because I'm smart and I didn't use new technology 
• The statistics I am telling you show that technology is bad 
• See? Therefore anyone who uses it is dumb
• These kids don't respect smart people like me anymore
• Because all older people are smarter, kids should learn their place and not think their dumb opinions are valid.
• These kids aren't participating civically as much and when they do they don't do it the same way I do
• Because they don't do things my way they are dumb
• By combining the many ways these kids are dumb, it is clear that they are the dumbest generation that has ever existed in this country, and therefore they will affect the country negatively when they start to come into power.

I realize that was more than a little sarcastic. I'm not sure whether that tone is kosher, and considering this goes into the 85% category, I'll try to word that a bit more seriously.

Bauerlein thinks that the culture of the under-30 age group is one that has the effect of dumbing down to the point where they are the dumbest generation ever. They have no intellectual pursuits anymore, and are distracted by mindless technology that is hurting them. They, despite being dumber, act as though they are smarter than everyone else. Most importantly, they don't involve themselves civically, and those that do don't have the perspective required to do it properly. All of this is getting worse and people aren't realizing how dumb it makes them. Their dumbness will hurt the country.

Despite how much I hated the book, there were a few passages I agreed with. They are both from the only chapter I somewhat agreed with, chapter 6. 

"Democracy requires an informed electorate, and knowledge deficits equal civic decay"

This is one of the main themes of chapter 6, and it is one I agree with. Americans need to become smarter about politics. There are two aspects to this: Making sure everyone cares about their important civic duties, and making sure they can do those duties properly. This is one reason I think MoPro is one of the most important classes in the high school, despite its unpopularity among those who want to not give a shit.

"This knowledge principle forms part of the democratic faith, and it survives only as long as a fair potion of the American people embraces it, not just intellectuals and experts"

The reason that required knowledge for proper civic involvement is not known by a lot of people in America is because of a culture of anti-intellectualism in America. Being smart and actually knowing things and caring is seen as nerdy. We need to get it into people's heads that it's OK to be knowledgable, that you won't turn into a nerdy, geeky, dork.

The obstacle to this is that the people that really control the country won't allow people to become knowledgable, because an educated electorate goes against their interests.

There also were, of course, many passages that I didn't agree with.

"The Internet doesn't impart adult information; it crowds it out. Video games, cell phones, and blogs don't foster rightful citizenship. They hamper it."

This was a disgusting statement, because it proves that Bauerlein doesn't know what the hell he is talking about. He calls our generation dumb for embracing technology, but it is obvious that he knows nothing about it. If someone spent even 5 minutes on the internet they would figure out that it is the best resource in the WORLD for information, including adult information. you can learn everything on the internet, and just because it can also be used for other purposes doesn't negate the fact that it provides an availability of knowledge that cannot be compared to anything else that has ever existed.

The same thing can be said video games, cell phones and blogs. You cannot criticize these things outright, because the only "problem" with them is that they can appeal broadly enough  to have whatever affect the individual wants. It is ABSOLUTELY not the fault of these entities that some stupid things occur.

"Traditions must be there at hand"

This is something that Bauerlein got wrong over and over again. Just because this generation isn't the same as your generation doesn't mean that they are stupid. He needs to realize that sometimes thinking needs to evolve, and that doesn't happen by conforming to the same traditions over and over again. Traditions don't help us, they hold us back.

Overall, Bauerlein was not effective in arguing his point, at least not to me. I was not his audience. His audience were other people his age that were fed up with all the stupid teenagers that wouldn't listen to them. Perhaps his argument would have worked better for that age group, but it sure won't convince anybody who doesn't agree with him to start. He doesn't persuade, he just encourages the opinions of people who hate stupid young people by providing them with statistics. He appeals to their distrust of everything new, such as technology. To top it all off, we AREN'T the dumbest generation. Guess which generation is? HIS generation. 

Proof here

Yep. The guy writing the book "The Dumbest Generation" is actually from the real dumbest generation. Maybe that's why the book was so terrible.