Ryan Fecteau

Two African countries. One’s stride for equality.

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Fecteau) — Tue, 10 May 2011 01:57:00 +0000

THE heat under the debate of homosexual rights in the United States grows warmer from one election to the next. California sat in the hot seat in May of 2008 when its Supreme Court upheld gay marriage; however, the measure was overturned by an affirmative vote of Proposition 8 during the November elections. While gay marriage is legal in only five states and the District of Columbia, progress is marked by acceptance. Observation shows that homosexuals in the U.S. face fewer cases of violence (violence being distinctive from hate speech) and atrocities compared to those in most of Africa.

The contempt for homosexuals in Uganda is emboldened by extreme measures of anti-gay legislation and violence. Yet, the country of South Africa contrasts much differently in most respects to homosexuals. Certainly, South Africa nor Uganda compare to the more advanced governmental and social context of the U.S., but South Africa’s treatment of homosexuals separates itself from Uganda’s by a wide margin. As a result of more secure legal protections and quality of life for homosexuals, South Africa, despite being an African nation, is more conducive to supporting homosexuals than Uganda.

In 37 of 54 African countries, laws exist that permit criminalizing and making illegal homosexuality; most of these laws date back to British colonial rule (Ray 75). Uganda serves as a prime example of an African country that upholds discriminatory laws; the country still imposes charges against sodomy. In addition, several countries without written laws have governances that simply deny the existence of homosexuality altogether. As South Africa’s legislator supports marriages for homosexuals courtesy of a 230-41 vote, more than 37 African countries continue defaming, jailing, and murdering gays and activists. However, there is no concrete foundation for glorifying South Africa by any means; the country still faces degrees of homosexual oppression. The directive of this comparative analysis resides in a twofold premise: Uganda headlines a hate movement, while South Africa takes the stage of progress.

However, questions remain as to how and why South Africa has managed to mostly overcome a stigma of violence and prejudice seen throughout the continent of Africa. Moreover, why is Uganda, a democracy with legislative elections, promulgating the most notorious cases of violence and legislation against homosexuals? The answers to such questions rest in a side by side analysis of Uganda and South Africa in the context of government and conflict.

The population in Uganda fits several standards for a dangerous democracy set forth by Oxford University professor Paul Collier in his book “Wars, Guns, and Votes.” First, Collier notes that violence is more likely to occur when the population is predominantly made up of unemployed educated young men (Collier 130). According to the Central Intelligence Agency, 49.9% of Uganda’s population consists of persons between 0-14 year of age with 8,692,239 being male and 8,564,571 being female. 48.1% of the population is between the ages of 15-64 with a near 50-50 split of males to females. This leaves a median age among the Ugandan population at 15.1 years (The World Factbook). With the third largest growth rate in the world, 35% of the population is below the poverty line (The World Factbook).

Such youthful origins of violence is communicated in journalist Elizabeth Day’s article “Why was I born gay in Africa?” Day reports the struggles of homosexuals by featuring Florence Kizza, a Ugandan lesbian. As Kizza approached a “marriageable age,” she says those in her Ugandan community began questioning her sexuality (Day 1). Day writes that in “December 2000, neighbors broke into [Kizza’s] house and found her in bed with [her partner]. The villagers stripped the two women naked, paraded them through the streets and then beat them in front of a baying crowd” (Day 1). A year later, Kizza was arrested by police officers who over a three day period beat and raped her (1). Fortunately, Kizza fled to the United Kingdom where she now enjoys refugee status. According to Day, her partner’s whereabouts remain uncertain. This is one example among many in Uganda where a young community sparks vicious acts of violence.

On the other hand, the population statistics in South Africa appropriately fail to align with those in Uganda. The CIA reports that only 28.5% of South Africa’s population is between the ages of 0-14, and 65.8% are between 15-64 years of age (The World Factbook). While 50% of the country falls beneath the poverty line, South Africa ranks 220th in the world for population growth (The World Factbook). The fact that South Africa reports a higher population below the poverty line than Uganda, but fails to host similar violence is qualified by Collier’s description of “causality” (Collier 124). He explains that low-income is not necessarily the definite link of violence, because of the many other causal links to low-income, for example economic growth rates (Collier 125). Therefore, in South Africa, the high level of poverty does not necessarily cause violence. Rather, it is more likely that the smaller population of youth causes the modest level of violence in South Africa.

Furthermore, University of the Western Cape professor Kelvin Mwaba’s report “Attitudes and Beliefs About Homosexuality and Same-sex Marriage Among a Sample of South African Students” indicates another distinction that can be made from Uganda. The report Mwaba compiled finds that of 150 undergraduate students polled, 71% “viewed same- sex marriages as strange and supported religious groups opposed to such marriages” (Mwaba 801). However, 83% of those polled were women (Mwaba 802). The potential indicator of violence that Collier mentions says young men tend to be the perpetrators not women. In addition, the report shows a drop to 37% of the polled supporting outright discrimination against homosexuals (803). While attitudes towards gays in South Africa face obstacles, the construct for violence presented by Collier seems less likely in South Africa than that of Uganda.

A second aspect that Collier points to for a country’s risk of falling into civil war or being more apt for violence is a past history of such things. Collier says that there is “a risk of violence caused by the gradually decaying effects of previous violence than by something underlying and constant” (Collier 129). Like most African countries, Uganda and South Africa have histories of violence. However, the conditions of such violence are drastically different between the two countries. In Uganda, there is “a wide range of ethnic groups with different political systems and cultures” (The World Factbook). Collier mentions how vast diversity can cripple a country, and for Uganda it did. In the 1970s, the “dictatorial regime of Idi Amin was responsible for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents...” Then from 1980-85, “guerilla war and human rights abuses under Milton Obote claimed at least another 100,000 lives” (The World Factbook). Collier says that “Amin had not only wrecked the Ugandan economy, he had suffered the ignominy of being deposed through an invasion by Tanzania...” (Collier 183).

While Uganda faces a past stained by violence, Collier touts current President Yoweri Museveni, the successor of President Amin. Since taking power in 1986, Collier says that “President Museveni has achieved a remarkable transformation. Despite being landlocked and resource-scarce, Uganda has been one of the fastest-growing of Africa’s economies” (Collier 182). Yet, the oppression pressed upon homosexuals in Uganda is not one reveled by President Museveni. This makes sense, because Museveni is not in a position where he must scapegoat a minority to compensate for a poor economy. For example, in Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe said homosexuality “‘degrades human dignity. It’s unnatural, and there is no question ever of allowing these people to behave worse than dogs and pigs’” (Ray 75). Whether Mugabe believes in this homophobic sentiment is irrelevant, he masks his country’s economic woes with social conflict. Even though Uganda lacks such a homophobic figure head, the country’s majority party (which Museveni belongs to) picks up the slack.

Ben Anderson writes in his article “The Politics of Homosexuality in Africa” that “no other comparative geo-political region, such as Asia or the America’s, has such a high rate of anti-gay legislation” (Anderson 126). Uganda’s parliament is steadfast on approving the most notorious of the anti-gay legislation from Africa. David Bahati has proposed a bill that exclaims the death penalty be used on those who commit ‘homosexual acts.’ The legislation states that it “‘further recognizes the fact that same sex attraction is not an innate and immutable characteristic.’ But only if sexual orientation is voluntary can a person be held accountable for his or her choice” (Rausing 22).

Sigrid Rausing asserts in his article “Uganda is sanctioning gay genocide” that “[persons] no more choose to be gay or bisexual than you choose to be left-handed or ambidextrous; it’s a morally neutral position” (Rausing 22). Furthermore, the anti-gay legislation, according to Rausing, “addresses only the ‘offender’, as though in gay relationships there is only ever a perpetrator” (22). This first time offender would be subject to imprisonment for life according to the bill. Which then leads to the offense of “aggravated homosexuality,” these persons are considered “serial offenders” (22). In essence, the anti-gay legislation subjects those who are homosexual prior to the bill’s existence will face the the death penalty. Rausing explains that “anyone who is a confirmed gay man or lesbian and already has a sexual history faces the death penalty, alongside homosexual rapists and child abusers” (22). Also, if a Ugandan knows of a homosexual, he or she must inform authorities 24 hours after inception of the knowledge, or otherwise also face a prison sentence (22). As a result of the offender-victim scenario in the bill, partners will be forced to choose “between ‘victim’ or ‘offender’; the former protected [by the government and paid [by the offender], the latter imprisoned or killed” (22).

The distasteful and heinous anti-gay legislation promotes practices similar to Nazi law. In addition, journalist Carina Ray writes in her article “Confronting Homophobia” that “at a time when the fallout from the decade-long civil war... has not been... dealt with, it seems almost criminal that Uganda is trying to pass draconian anti-gay legislation” rather than focus on reconstruction (Ray 75). Following international pressure, the BBC reports that President Museveni “said the bill was now a ‘foreign policy issue’ and would be discussed by the cabinet” (Uganda 1). The same article says that Sweden and other countries threatened to cut aid to the country (Uganda 1). In a meeting with ruling party members, Museveni exclaimed that country leader after country leader had contacted him about the legislation. He said, ‘“Mrs. Clinton [the US secretary of state] rang me. What was she talking about? Gays’” (Uganda 1). In a country where homosexuality is already punishable by 14 years in prison, the legal protections for homosexuals would be grossly dehumanized under this legislation.

In contrast, the legal protections for homosexuals in South Africa are awesomely stronger. Mark Massoud highlights in his article “The Evolution of Gay Rights in South Africa” that “in 1996, the South African government approved a new constitution. In addition to ending de jure apartheid [the segregation of blacks], it was the first in the world to protect the rights of homosexuals” (Massoud 301). This implementation of a homosexual legal protection in the law of the land in itself transcends any of the attitudes of the population. Furthermore, South Africa worked to sew the division of legality versus social attitudes; therefore, rising an additional success for homosexuals. Massoud writes that “the space between a progressive legal code and a conservative society became the arena for action by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) between 1994 and 1998” (Massoud 301). The “Gay and Lesbian Equality Project” (or the ‘Coalition’) found gains in lobbying for the removal of sodomy laws (301). Campbell Lyons, executive director of Khululekani Institute for Democracy, explains that the National Party (former apartheid supporters), the African National Congress (ANC), and others negotiated a “constitution, and the democratic government... [that] attempted to remedy past injustices by guaranteeing equal rights for all” (302). In large part, South Africa noted its past and acted in a manner to assure that all persons, no matter how diverse, would not be discarded from legal protections.

The empathy effect in the South African governmental renewal continues to set the country from the rest of the continent. South African Justice Edwin Cameron wrote an article in 1993 that demonstrated this very concept of empathy. The article entitled “Sexual Orientation and the Constitution: A Test Case for Human Rights” made equal “sexual discrimination with the racial injustice that existed under the apartheid regime. [Justice Cameron] suggested that racism, sexism, and homophobia fostered similar negative consequences: a breakdown of rights and equality” (303). The Coalition claims that Cameron’s remarks motivated top political players to liberalize their views (303). However, they still had to overcome the social attitudes in order to solidify their momentum of removing sodomy laws. Massoud says that “by 1998 the Coalition was at the forefront of the growing group of NGOs dedicated to empowering South Africans to recognize, understand, and demand their new rights in court” (305). The education campaign led by the NGOs eventually harnessed victory in the Constitutional Court case National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v. Minister of Justice of 1998 (305).

Further, homosexuals in South Africa found another legal victory in 2006. Joining only Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden, South Africa’s parliament per the direction of the Constitutional Court approved gay marriage for the entire country by an overwhelming majority (Fastenberg 1). In a continent that is haunted by anti-gay laws, prosecutions, violence, and injustice, South Africa further extends opportunity, legal protection, and quality of life for homosexuals. Hence, emphasizing its polar opposition to the homophobic Uganda.

Even with the record of NGO success and critical historical attitude in South Africa, the question of what forces and influences have prompted the proposals and violence in Uganda remain. Thus far, sodomy laws and homophobic notions have been linked to British colonization; however, Collier dismisses this as a qualifier for violence and social stigmas. He says, “...there is a ready demand for evidence that colonialism is responsible for the subsequent violence. Unfortunately, Anke and I cannot find evidence that supports this contention” (Collier 128). Instead, a combination of components influence the decisions and violence in Uganda.

First, weakness in Uganda’s constitution have been exposed by actions taken by President Museveni. Whereas South Africa undoubtedly associates with a strong constitution, Uganda lacks the necessary fortitude. Collier notes that the ease by which a president abolishes term limits serves as a “good measure of how vigorously the society had built constitutional defense” (Collier 150). Unfortunately for Uganda, President Museveni “succeeded in abolishing them...” (150). Secondly, Western religious influences factor into enraging homophobia in Uganda. Western evangelicals’ presence have increased tensions in many African countries, while for the most part not influencing South Africa. According to Anglican priest Rev. Kapya Kaoma from Zambia, “renewal church movements [from the United States] are exporting their homophobic doctrine to churches in Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria” (Ray 75). For example, Scott Lively, Caleb Lee Brundidge and Don Schmierer, three American evangelicals, met with Uganda’s ruling party to’ indirectly’ encourage the passing of the anti-gay legislation (Johnson 1). The three have described homosexuality “as a disease that could be healed, although they have subsequently disclaimed any responsibility for the bill” (Johnson 1). Lively, Brundidge and Schmierer also authored propaganda communicated through different international organizations. Lively serves as the President of Defend the Family International; he declared that “legalising homosexuality would mean legalising ‘the molestation of children and having sex with animals’” (1). Additionally, Brundidge works with the International Healing Foundation as a “sexual reorientation coach”; he “claims once to have been gay himself” (1).

Most importantly, the Western evangelical message is resonating within a culture that stands closely to religion. RW Johnson indicates in his article “West turns Africa into gay battlefield” that Museveni’s minister for ethics “says homosexuality is a ‘moral perversion that must not be allowed to spread’” (1). Ugandan churches echo these sentiments; “Archbishop Henry Orombi and Pastor Martin Sempe have been leading a campaign in support of the bill” (1). Retired bishop Christopher Senyonjo who preached acceptance experienced the intolerance of the Church of Uganda when it “stripped him of his pension” (1). Between a preexisting homophobia and many financial incentives for African clergy “who pump up the volume of their anti-gay rhetoric”, Western evangelicals are amplifying their message in Uganda (Ray 75). Lively told a Ugandan audience that he “‘knows more than almost anyone in the world’ about homosexuality. He says that the genocide in Rwanda was carried out by gays, [and] that AIDS is a just punishment for homosexuality...” (Johnson 1). With such extreme legislation being considered in Ugandan parliament, Lively’s message has reached his target audience.

In South Africa, archbishop emeritus of Cape Town and 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu aligned himself as a religious voice for homosexuals. Even in 1996, Tutu sounded his support for the homosexual equalities in the South African constitution. He said, “it would be a sad day... if... the Final Constitution did not guarantee their fundamental human right to a sexual life, whether heterosexual or homosexual” (Massoud 303). Recently, Tutu offered his resentment of Uganda’s treatment of homosexuals and proposed anti-gay legislation. He says, “the wave of hate must stop. Politicians who profit from exploiting this hate... must not be tempted by this easy way to profit from fear and misunderstanding. And my fellow clerics, of all faiths, must stand up for principles of universal dignity and fellowship. Exclusion is never the way forward on our shared paths to freedom and justice” (Tutu 1). Tutu also mentions the impacts homophobia has on treatment for those with HIV/AIDS; driving persons into hiding rather than medical facilities (Tutu 1). Finally, he asserts an impacting word to the religious community; “I would never worship a homophobic God” (1).

One final medium for Uganda’s hatred and intolerance is born in the media. CNN’s Tom Walsh writes that a Ugandan tabloid Rolling Stone (not to be mistaken with the US magazine)released a list of ‘top 100 homosexuals’ in the country (Walsh 1). With photos and addresses published, an accompanying banner read “Hang Them”; the tabloid later stated it meant for hangings to follow legal procedures (Walsh 1-2). One of Uganda’s leading gay rights activist was included on this list. A year later, David Kato was found “bludgeoned to death in his home near the capital” (1). In an interview with CNN following the release of the list and prior to his death, Kato shared a fear for his life. He said, “The villagers want to set my house ablaze. They want to burn my house” (1).

Conclusively, these ruthless conditions for homosexuals in Uganda have detailed the deep contrast with South Africa’s continuing progress for homosexual equality. While Uganda slips away into Western evangelical influence, anti-gay legislation, and media led ‘outing campaigns,’ South Africa moves forward with a constitution that guarantees legal protection, the passage of gay marriage, and NGOs that drew off of the aspects of global tolerance for homosexuals. Between the ongoing violence and distasteful opinions in Uganda and its neighbors, progress is far away from being realized. A staunch ignorance stifles any alleviation to the dehumanization of homosexuals. South Africa must stand as an example of triumph and progress for gays. Uganda and others need note that homosexuals deserve a voice. They deserve acceptance. They deserve legal protections. And most of all, they deserve their humanity.

Works Cited

Anderson, Ben. “The Politics of Homosexuality in Africa.” Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Web.

Collier, Paul. Wars, Guns, and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places. New York: Harper Perennial, 2010. Print.

Day, Elizabeth. "'Why Was I Born Gay in Africa?'" Guardian. 27 Mar. 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/27/uganda-gay-lesbian-

immigration-asylum>.

Fastenberg, Dan. "A Brief History of International Gay Marriage - TIME." International Gay Marriage. TIMEs Newspapers Ltd 2010, 22 July 2010. Web. 04 May 2011.<http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2005678,00.html>.

Johnson, RW. "West Turns Africa into Gay Battlefield." The Times. Times Newspapers Ltd 2010, 17 Jan. 2010. Web. 17 Apr. 2011.

<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article6991023.ece>.

Mwaba, Kelvin. "Attitudes and Beliefs About Homosexuality and Same-Sex MarriageAmong a Sample Of South African Students." Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal 37.6 (2009): 801-804. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 11 Apr. 2011.

Rausing, Sigrid. "Uganda is sanctioning gay genocide." New Statesman 138.4976 (2009): 22. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 11 Apr. 2011.

Ray, Carina. "Confronting homophobia." New African 492 (2010): 74-75. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 11 Apr. 2011.

The World Factbook 2009. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2009.

<https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html>.

Tutu, Desmond. "In Africa, a Step Backward on Human Rights." The Washington Post. 12 Mar. 2010. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/

content/article/2010/03/11/AR2010031103341.html>.

“Uganda President Museveni wary of anti-gay bill.” BBC News. 13 Jan. 2010. Web. 04 May 2011. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8456624.stm>.

Walsh, Tom. "Ugandan Gay Rights Activist Bludgeoned to Death." CNN. 27 Jan. 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. <http://articles.cnn.com/2011-01-27/world/

uganda.gay.activist.killed_1_gay-rights-homosexuals-human-rights-watch?

_s=PM:WORLD>.

Maine 1st District Congressional Election: 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Fecteau) — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 00:18:00 +0000

Maine: GOP surges, not in Congressional election

Maine’s 1st Congressional District offered one of the few Democratic victories on the night of November 2, 2010. The race between Democrat incumbent Chellie Pingree and Tea-party endorsed Republican challenger Dean Scontras removed itself from the national--and Maine--voting trends. The contrary election results supported the notion that voters from Maine support the candidate rather than the national discourse. As Paul S. Herrnson says in Congressional Elections, “Congressional elections are affected by perceptions of the performance of government” (Herrnson 1). While much of the country saw Republicans as change for an ill-perceived legislator, Maine granted Pingree a positive perception of her first two years as a United States Representative.

Maine’s 1st District includes the counties of Cumberland, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, and York. Its demographics remain on par with United States averages, except for race and ethnicity breakdown according to the New York Times’ District profile. The 1st District has a 95% white population opposed to the United States’ 65.9%, a 1.1% black population opposed to 12.1% on the national scale, and a 1.4% hispanic population opposed to 15.1%. The $53,324 median income of District 1 nearly mirrors the U.S.’ median of $52,175. In addition, the 65 and older population comes in just 2% higher than the U.S.’ 12.6% (Maine Profile 1). Appealing to the white middle-class worker, and elderly population is key based on the demographical date provided.

In terms of the 675 Republican gains in state legislators, Maine followed suit giving both the State House and Senate to the Republicans (Baiz 1). As Herrnson says, with the impatience of a slowly rebounding economy, “The president’s party has historically lost congressional seats in midterm elections when economic trends are unfavorable...” (Herrnson 25). Taking advantage of the impatience, the GOP gained 60 seats in the U.S. House. In conjunction, Republicans have control of Maine’s capital Augusta for the first time since 1970; Republican governor-elect Paul LePage provides his party with both the Blaine House and Maine legislator for the first time since 1960 (Robinson1). However, the success by the Republican candidates in both the state legislative and gubernatorial races failed to coordinate with the U.S. House races. This failure by the GOP in Maine comes with a history of Mainers voting against the tide of massive congressional power shifts.

Pingree defeated Scontras in 2010’s election by a 166,196 (55%) to 126,218 (43%) count (Races 1). In 2008, Republican Senator Susan Collins shared similar success despite a large wave of support for Democrats. In congressional District 1, Collins received 234,708 (59%) votes to Democrat Tom Allen’s 165,220 (52%). Collins success in this district underlines why she won 444,300 to 279,510. District 1 backs Democrats more often than not and by large margins. Scontras’ 43% of the vote in 2010 compared to Collins’ 59% in 2008 expresses a difference of 16%; meaning that a significant number of Democrats voted for Collins in 2008, but did not vote for Scontras in 2010. While 107,514 less voters contributed to the tallies in the 2010 election, it cannot be easily assumed that these are Collin supporters who stayed home (Election Results).

Furthermore, data associated to the 1994 mid-term elections, a more microscopic look at the 2008 election, and 2010 elections exemplify Maine voters shying away from the voting trends of the election cycle. Using Maine’s largest city Portland as a measure of Democratic success, because of the city’s tendency to share more liberal values, hence their 73% support for gay marriage (the highest in the state during 2008 referendum that failed according to Maine.gov), the misuse of Maine as ‘strictly liberal’ is exposed.

Portland has eight state legislative districts, and in 2008 all eight were secured by Democrats. In Portland District 117, Democrat Ann Haskell defeated Republican Philip Haskell with 75% of the vote. In District 118, Democrat Jon Hinck defeated Republican Joshua Miller with 74% of the vote. In District 119, Democrat Herbert Adams defeated Republican Ryan Hendrickson with 87% of the vote. In District 114, Democrat Peter Stuckey defeated Republican David Fernald with 72% of the vote, and similar percentiles followed in the remaining three districts (Election Results). As seen, the Democratic victories in Portland’s eight districts were won handily; keeping in mind this matches the Democratic surge across the country. On the other hand, 2010 illustrated some changes in Portland; District 116 gave Democrat Denise Harlow the victory by 56% of the vote. In District 115, Democrat Steve Lovejoy won by 54% of the vote, and in District 119, Democrat Jill Barkley lost with 46% of the vote (Election Results). With the margins of victory for Democrats slimming in 2010, Portland supported seven of the eight Democratic candidates.With this said, one would expect a lack of success for Pingree in Portland. Without available data of city-by-city voting results, Cumberland county (which Portland’s population is the majority of) gave Pingree 59% of their vote in 2010 (Maine Votes ). While in 2008, Pingree, running against Republican Charlie Summers, received 56% of Cumberland’s vote (Election Results). The percentiles run closely to one another, but the sheer fact that Pingree received more support from the Portland region in 2010 than in 2008 provides further indication that Maine only adopts certain national trends in its voting.

Additional comparisons can be made from the 1994 election that was later labeled the “Republican Revolution.” Herrnson refers to the causes of political power shifts; “Hostile sentiments directed at congressional Democrats and President Bill Clinton led to the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994. Disapproval of the performance of President Bush, congressional Republicans, and the war in Iraq helped the Democrats reclaim... 12 years later” (Herrnson 21). In spite of the “hostile sentiments,” Maine’s 1994 congressional races were not easily handed to Republicans. In 1994’s District 1 House race Republican Jim Longley won 52% to Democrat Dennis Dutremble’s 48% (Election Results). Yet, in District 2’s House race Democrat John Baldacci won 45.7% to Republican Richard Bennett’s 40.7%. And in the gubernatorial race, Republican candidate Susan Collins received a mere 23.1% of the vote while Independent Angus King defeated Democrat James Brennen 35.4% to 33.8%. The New York Times said of the election, “Everyone who follows politics in this unpredictable state has been somewhat surprised by the turn of events...” (Rosenbaum 1). The “unpredictable” state continues the practice of this sort of voting behavior. During the congressional election in 2010, Mainers voted in a comparable manner for governor. Democrat Libby Mitchell received only 19% of the vote, and Republican Paul LePage eked out a 38% to 37% victory over Independent Eliot Cutler (Races 1). Again, it is reiterated that Pingree managed a handsome victory for reelection despite Democratic control exchanged to Republicans in almost every other aspect.

As to why Pingree surfaces as a victorious candidate among Democratic agony, one can look at the several factors that contributed to her successful campaign for reelection. First and foremost, she was the incumbent candidate. Although incumbents were not popular in 2010, Herrnson says, “Even during the tidal wave elections of 1994 and 2006, more than 90 percent of all House members and and 85 percent of all senators who sought to remain in office were able to do so...” (Herrnson 22).

Secondly, media coverage and other communications focused their attention on the gubernatorial race; LePage garnered the majority of election coverage with his shrewd remarks and controversial property tax history. In regards to this ‘under the radar’ election, Herrnson says, “In the absence of spirited, high-intensity elections, most voters use “voting cues”--shortcuts that enable them to cast a ballot without engaging in a lengthy decision-making process. The most frequently used voting cue is incumbency” (Herrnson 198). With minimal attraction to the race in the overall arena, voters tend to vote uninformed; for instance, Herrnson says, “in an open-seat House contest, about 37 percent of all voters can remember both candidates’ names” (Herrnson 197). Pingree had two key components for gathering votes: the voting of incumbency and presumably name recognition.

Although Herrnson says, “The negative news stories generated by scandal or an association with scandal can put a campaign on the defensive and prevent it from communicating the candidate’s message for the remainder of the race,” a private-jet scandal may have benefited Pingree (Herrnson 238). Scontras’ campaign produced claims that Pingree dejected House Ethics Committee’s rules by flying on a corporate jet owned by her fiance. In response, as the Bangor Daily News reports, “She quelled the furor by producing a letter from the House Ethics Committee saying the fights were acceptable...” (Curtis 1). However, Scontras made it a focal issue of his campaign while Pingree moved forward to press home the ‘issues.’ In this case, Herrnson’s point regarding scandal distracted the innocent (Scontras) rather than the one (Pingree) accused of scandal.

Next, the notion that most elections see two candidates with polar stances on issues was not entirely true in the District 1 race this November. Herrnson says, “When both candidates campaign mainly on valence issues, the dialogue can be like a debate between the nearly identical Tweedledee and Tweedledum. That would be unusual, as most candidates select policy positions associated with their party and so are on opposing sides on most issues” (Herrnson 212). While both candidates had definable differences in values, Scontras moved towards the middle during a year when uniform conservatives were preferable. In fact, it is interesting that the Tea-party advocated for Scontras given his more moderate stances on issues compared to his 2008 Republican primary race for District 1 U.S. Rep. In a comparison of debates, Scontras answers in 2008 that he is the only ‘pro-life’ candidate, for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, and for off-shore drilling. In 2010, Scontras says that the right to have an abortion has been upheld by the Supreme Court, gay marriage should be decided by the states, and he is flat-out not in favor of off-shore drilling (The Real Dean Scontras 1). Unlike LePage (also a Tea-party backed candidate) who stood by off-shore drilling and pro-life stances and received victory, Scontras distanced himself from what he believe hindered his 2008 bid for office.

Lastly, money like all democratic campaigns proved to be an important factor. Especially for Pingree, as Herrnson says, “A typical incumbent’s campaign--one waged by a candidate who faces stiff competition in neither the primary nor the general election--will generally engage in heavy fundraising early and then allow this activity to taper off as it becomes clear that the candidate is not in jeopardy” (Hernnson 178). Both candidates saved money through having no primary opponents, and this led to Pingree out-raising and out-spending Scontras. She raised $1,013,040 and spent $732,501; Scontras raised $361,166 and spent $305,970 (Maine Profile 1). $345,650 alone was raised via contributions from Pingree’s Web site (Maine Profile 1).

All in all, Pingree managed survival during an election cycle filled with angst and impatience for the promised ‘changed.’ In this midst of the second-coming of the ‘Republican Revolution,’ Mainers sent a Democrat back to Washington and gave the GOP control of the state for this first time since 1960. The repercussions of Republican control aligns with what Herrnson says tends to happen under such condition, “Uncompetitive House districts are often the product of a highly political redistricting process. In states where one party controls both governorship and the state legislator, partisan gerrymandering is often used to maximize the number of House seats the dominant party can win” (Herrnson 23). Time will tell whether or not Maine faces redistricting to benefit future GOP candidates, and if Pingree can again receive another stint in Washington.

Works Cited

Baiz, Dan. "The Republican Takeover in the States." Washington Post. 14 Nov. 2010. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/ 2010/11/13/AR2010111304276.html

Curtis, Abigail. "1st District Voters Return Pingree to U.S. House Seat." Bangor Daily News. 02 Nov. 2010. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. http://new.bangordailynews.com/ 2010/11/02/ politics/1st-district-house-hopefuls-see-race-get-tighter/.

"Election Results." Maine.gov. Web. 16 Nov. 2010.

<http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/prior1st.htm>.

Hand, By. "Maine Vote." Bangor Daily News. Web. 16 Nov. 2010.

http://maineelections.bangordailynews.com/?County=C.

Herrnson, Paul S. Congressional Elections: Campaigning at Home and in Washington. Washington, D.C.: CQ, 2008. Print.

"Maine Profile." The New York Times. 16 Nov. 2010. Web. 16 Nov. 2010.

http://elections.nytimes.com/2010/house/maine/1.

"Races." The Portland Press Herald. Web. 16 Nov. 2010.

http://www.pressherald.com/votes/results/US_House.html.

"The Real Dean Scontras." Chellie Pingree for Congress. Web. 16 Nov. 2010.

http://www.chelliepingree.com/pages/the-real-dean-scontras/?source=e1.

Robinson, Steve. "Can a Republican Revolution save the State of Maine?" The Bowdoin Orient. 12 Nov. 2010. Web. 16 Nov. 2010.

<http://orient.bowdoin.edu/orient/article.php?date=&section=2&id=2>.

Rosenbaum, David. "THE 1994 CAMPAIGN: MAINE; In an Unpredictable State, the Senate Race Appears Predictable - New York Times." The New York Times. 29 Oct. 1994. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/29/us/1994-campaign-maine-unpredictable-state-senate-race-appears-predictable.html.

Health care: A fundamental protection

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Fecteau) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 21:34:00 +0000

Health care: A fundamental protection

“...we still must lay the bedrock foundations for a new national health care system for all our people. The need for action is critical for far too many of our citizens. The time for action is now,” said President Richard Nixon in a “Special Message to the Congress on Health Care” on March 2, 1972.

Providing reform to the American health care system of principals and practices has long been a part of the national agenda, from President Harry Truman’s 1949 “Fair Deal” to Nixon’s call for reform, to the overhaul presented and approved by Congress this spring; both political persuasions have recognized a need for health care reform. And both parties stand valid with this notion.

However, the success in completing and achieving such reform has led to failure during past presidencies except for the massive overhaul approved by Congress this spring under the Obama Administration. Truman’s proposal essentially fell apart with few aspects becoming law. President Jimmy Carter, President Bill Clinton, and Nixon lost in their endeavors for health care reform. With both sides, presenting legislation over the last 60 years one must ask: Why a lack of success? I would argue that achieving a health care overhaul represents an eternal linkage for a party to addressing one of the most important issues facing Americans. As stated by Ezra Klein in Taking Sides: Political Issues, “The subject’s famed complexity is a function of the forces protecting the status quo, not the issue itself.” (Klein, 182)

Disregarding the political battles, the issue must be discussed in the light of why such reform is needed. An estimated 45 million Americans have no medical coverage and an overwhelming 100 million are not adequately insured for major or long-term illness or disability. (McKenna, 180) For 45 million Americans without medical coverage and another 100 million with inadequate coverage, the “denial of care when health and life are at stake is fundamentally life-denying.” (Lakoff, 67) The opposing argument to reform would argue that a national health care system “would do a poor job, deny individuals the right to choose their own physician, and make the system much more costly.” (McKenna, 181) While this rhetoric can be broken down (as it will be later in my argument), it can be simply stated that in any case, all people would have the capacity to receive coverage rather than have no capacity at all.

Contrary to the system becoming more costly under reform, “Canada, France, Great Britain, and Germany all cover their entire populations, and they do so for far less money than we spend.” (Klein, 182) In addition, the pharmaceuticals being smuggled across the Canadian border by American seniors are not only the same company-produced drugs from the United States, they are sold for far less; Americans pay 60 percent more than Canadians do. (Klein, 183) The figures prove the suggestion that health care reform in the United States to be “more costly” is not valid. As countries with universal health care reforms spend less to cover more, and medication sells for far less, the validity to a health care reform proves more sustainable.

In regards to the “ever so long lines,” Canadian health care reform, which is not considered one of the strongest of the health care reforms, challenges this notion. A 2003 study revealed that elective surgeries and diagnostic tests took three to four weeks in relation to waiting, while the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2001 found that 32 percent of Americans waited for over four months (not including the millions who lack coverage, and don’t seek help). In addition, no wait times in Canada existed for emergency surgeries. (Klein, 183) Also, France, a country with a highly touted health care system, its citizens visit a physician on average, six times a year; whereas, Americans make visits 2.8 times. Per capita, France spends half on health coverage compared to America. (Klein, 184). All in all, the misconception of long lines settles upon a central point: “If you can’t see a doctor in the first place, you never have to wait for treatment.” (Klein, 183)

Next, the accusation that federal health care would not serve Americans with quality professionals, medicine, innovations, and so forth, all are made with no substance. According to the Jounrnal of the American Medical Association, English people suffer from lower rates of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, heart attack, stroke, lung disease, and cancer. (Klein, 186). The opposition presents statistics regarding infant mortality amongst Americans being higher than that of other countries, not as result of poor medical coverage, but “to such factors as race, geography, income, and education... These factors have nothing to do with quality of (or access to) health care.” (Goodman, 193). I would argue that the factors mentioned have everything to do with health care. As health care can be directly tied back to race (minorities represent 52 percent of uninsured according to Families USA), income (medical expenses and bills uncovered by insurance combat wealth), and education (families with disabilities and chronic illness face larger struggles in obtaining a focus for education).

While the opposition presents rhetoric against reform, they do little to offer propositions. “Advocates of national health insurance would do well to look at how countries like Germany, Sweden, and Australia are choosing free-market reforms to alleviate the problems of their national health systems.” (Goodman, 199). First off, the statement praises countries that were earlier criticized for their reform, and secondly, it suggests some sort of “free-market reform” without ever presenting the meaning and implications of such reform.

Even without clear definition of “free-market reform,” the problems with relying on free-market can be exposed. Nixon White House tapes cite a discussion regarding a health care company and its policies. Nixon expresses praise for less care being provided to Americans and administrators making more money. This shows “...what conservatives think one is supposed to do--use your entrepreneurial skills to make money any way that’s legal.” (Lakoff, 67)

While combating the fallacies presented by the opposition, it would be ignorant to not simply study the absolute and undeniable need for this reform. George Lakoff’s The Political Mind presents a logical argument for reform. He says, “Is police protection a commodity? Should you have to buy your police protection, say, from competing security services? Burglars? With guns? Sorry, you’re not up to date on your premiums. You’ll just have to let them rob you, or maybe kill you.” (Lakoff, 66) He continues by asking the same of fire protection, and the point is made clear. It is simply illogical to believe that police and fire do anymore of a service to the people than health care would and should. Those opposing health care reform say that they wish not to pay taxes for other Americans’ health care coverage. I must ask, do they complain about paying for putting out someone else’s fire? In addition, “the issue is not just a matter of cost, though one-third of the cost of private health care goes for profit and administration, while Medicare only spends 3 percent on administration and none on profiteering,” it is a fundamental right. (Lakoff, 67)

All in all, denying Americans, the suffering of Americans, the high medical costs charged to Americans, and the coverage not applying to the needs of Americans, demands action on the part of government. The debate of decades must end, and answers must be provided. Comprehensive and affordable coverage must serve every American. If America fails to generate wellness, then it fails to compete on the global scale, and it pulls away its own life support--its own protection.

“[I]f health care is seen as protection--on par with police and fire protection, food safety, and so on--then it becomes part of the moral mission of government...” (Lakoff, 68)

Bibliography

Ezra, Klein. Taking Sides. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

Goodman, John C. Taking Sides. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

Lakoff, George. The Political Mind: Why You Can't Understand 21st-century Politics with an 18th-century Brain. New York: Viking, 2008. Print.

McKenna, George, and Stanley Feingold. Taking Sides. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

Memory of discontent

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Fecteau) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 04:40:00 +0000

(The book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek can be read on Google Books)

“Curiosity gets the best of us,” or so they say. Innocence is the domineering element that wanders in the darkest shadows of every person, maybe even within that curiosity. This innocence, it lingers with good intentions, it appears with unfortunate results. An element purely depicted like innocence, bears such evil consequences.

Annie Dillard's excerpt from “The Fixed” in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is the entity of this very innocence that causes such guilt at the hands of its outcome. Dillard recollects a childhood memory of a moth's cocoon which in the curiosity of children was given a detour in fate, and in the protection of a glass jar was paralyzed into misery.

In the excerpt, Dillard presents her memory with a conviction of the innocence playing such a murderous role on the abrupt interference with natural cycles. Dillard uses finespun rhetorical strategies to produce her discontent and guilt regarding the innocence and the implications on natural cycles.

First, Dillard makes use of invigorating imagery throughout the excerpt. This imagery develops the innocence of the students, and splashes color on this portrait of the moth. In line 2 of paragraph 1, Dillard immediately exposes her desire to add a lot of imagery to the excerpt, she states the month is January, but continues by adding the description of “doily snowflakes taped to the schoolroom panes.” As the reader, you develop the sense that the children are young, and it is just a normal, innocent classroom. It is an image that almost anyone can relate to, and it feathers the situation for what comes later in the text. By adding this minute imagery, Dillard creates her guilt later in text by giving contrast to what the children should be acting like in this learning environment to how they interfered with a natural cycle. She shows how she now knows as an adult that the innocent behavior they performed in an elementary setting only gives her remorse and discontent with the situation. Like the previous example, Dillard's explanation of the moth's character creates a foundation for Dillard to later tear down the innocence with her attitude of guilt and discontent. “The Polyphemus moth in the picture looked like a mighty wraith, a beating essence of the hardwood forest, alien-skinned and brown, with spread, blind eyes,” (Line 11, Paragraph 1). The preceding example is the imagery that Dillard uses to make clear what the moth will look like. A very important piece to this imagery is the “mighty wraith” that she outlines. The addition of strength to the moth, only makes the disruption of its natural cycle all the more solidified. It is important that Dillard doesn't just use the moth's strength to create its image, but also she uses many descriptions of beauty which again develops the guilt and discontent she reveals later in the text. She provides powerful imagery with a delicate touch, and then uses this imagery as a base on which to reveal her discomfort. The images she provides in the beginning is a specific strategy she designs to lead into the image of the moth crawling down the driveway. This last line of the excerpt is the brain-child of several rhetorical devices, but they all act in summing up the author's guilt. The guilt being enlarged at the end is powered by the imagery that she had used at the beginning of this excerpt as mentioned.

Speaking of the last line, it is the last line that uses repetition demandingly which lets all the light shine on her guilt for the situation and her uneasiness of this final image. “The Polyphemus moth is still crawling down the driveway, crawling down the driveway hunched, crawling down the driveway on six furred feet, forever,” (Line 44, Paragraph 6). When Dillard writes this line, she puts to paper her own replay of an image she cannot extinguish from her memory. The moth in reality is not at all still crawling, but within her own memory, within this text it is “forever” crawling. This line distinguishes guilt in a bold fashion; this is the line that concludes her attitude and the effect she and her classmates had on this moth's natural life cycle. Another thing that makes this line powerful is the fact that it wasn't something she had seen happen, she observed the moth receding down the driveway for a short while, but the repetition of it crawling is something she thought to be inevitable. The inevitability she infers only projects the depth to which they interfered with the moth's life. The use of repetition makes the line stick out to the reader, and it is able to drive at the importance it has on the author. It is one of those lines that can't be forgotten; it is one of the only lines in the text that really drives throughly at emotion, attitude, and impact. Another use of repetition in the excerpt is the point of this very large moth, she uses its name, Polyphemus, nearly each time she refers to the moth, and she describes it to have strength and legs “shaggy as a bear's.” When Dillard continuously makes reference to the moth's size and strength with a simile like the bear example, she exemplifies her discontent to how young innocent students were able to disrupt this large creation's life. This excerpt is in large scale a repetition of a memory that Dillard would seemingly rather forget.

Next, Dillard's style of syntax reveals her attitude towards the innocence and the interference of natural cycles. Her short sentence structure at the beginning of all the paragraphs, except for the first and last, many times shapes the path in which she slowly reveals her guilt and discontent. “It was coming. There was no stopping it now, January or not,” (Line 22, Paragraph 3). The beginning to this paragraph exposes Dillard's guilt in a very straight forward, reality directive. She makes reference to her discomfort with the situation that she caused by warming the cocoon, and also brings forth the guilt that comes when you are the cause of something bad. The sentence structure puts forth the scenario at hand, and allows for Dillard to be held at large for her disruption in a natural cycle. “The teacher fades, the classmates fade, I fade;” (Line 24, Paragraph 3). This line's specific sentence structure, and arrangement expresses Dillard's attitude of the subject. Dillard first of all uses herself last in the sentence; by doing so, she sheds light on the importance of the event to her life. It shows the reader that this event is truly imprinted upon her memory. Like the context of the sentence, the line seems to descend and also fade away, and if she uses “I” first, the longer words at the end would hinder the effect of the fading tone. In conjunction to her attitude, this sentence structure portrays Dillard as the focus, and by doing so, Dillard's craft ministers her guilt and discontent on the burden placed on the moth through an innocent disruption of its life. Dillard's syntax ultimately flows together well in order to create the ever lasting final image of the moth's forever journey.

In her use of diction, Dillard creates a parallel of words that would make reference to her adult-self, and words that can be associated to a young innocent child. For example in line 16 of paragraph 2, Dillard uses the words “warmed” and “squirmed,” these are words that would be used by a young child. When placed in the situation of the text; it only makes sense for Dillard to use these words, because she is attempting to relieve the guilt from her adulthood onto her childhood. She understands that the movement of the moth were clear signs to not continue to hold the moth so tightly, yet she does, thus disrupting a natural cycle. Dillard's guilt in the situation causes her to avoid the memory by fading it with childish verbs. In line 23 of paragraph 3, Dillard uses the words “frayed” and “furious,” these are words that would be coming from the adult version of herself. By using these words, Dillard is taking notice of the situation, and with the focus zeroed in on the moth, it means that the guilt doesn't have to be applied to her childhood. However, the two words still provide that point of the moth's strength, and in turn relates back to Dillard's intrusion of the natural cycle. Although she tries to advert her guilt, like the memory, like the moth crawling, it is inevitable.

Lastly, a language device that Dillard uses becomes a directive towards her attitude of innocence and its disruption of natural cycles. Dillard uses the teacher as a symbolic figure of the topic at hand. She turns the teacher, the authority figure, into the person that stands by and is ignorant towards what is happening. “She put it, still heaving and banging, in the ubiquitous Mason jar,” (Line 21, Paragraph 2). “Someone—it must have been the teacher—had let the moth out,” (Line 39, Paragraph 5). These two lines show an obvious ignorant character, who had not known what to do in any situation regarding the moth. The teacher had let the kids take the cocoon, because they were getting restless, and then she allowed them to warm it without supervision causing it to breakout too soon. These descriptions are symbolic to the people that choose to avoid problems, or only do what they feel is satisfactory for the moment. This depiction of the teacher supports a part of Dillard's attitude of discontent with having a teacher, who took no recognition of the opposing results of her actions on the moth's natural cycle. There is a sense of frustration from Dillard to the teacher, but by assuming the teacher let the moth go, it is interrupted that Dillard already knows the teacher to lack in responsibility as an authority figure.

Dillard's guilt and discontent is intertwined in her rhetorical strategies in order for them to be read as her deciding attitude of innocence and its interference of natural cycles. The rhetoric embodies her attitude and gives way to the address of innocence and its effects. Ultimately, the attitude leads to successfully sending the message of thinking about your innocent actions, because the results might be the moth forever crawling.

A mirror for empathy

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Fecteau) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 04:34:00 +0000

THE STORY: http://www.oregonlive.com/mask/

The humming of the projector sounds, it illuminates an image onto the screen, and each word dictates the birth of the next frame. Whether it be through the sound of one's words, or the ever lasting wave of text, language is the soul for the manifestation of entry to another's life.

Like the character, who rises from poverty to establish a place in this world, a relationship is developed with the audience. An audience, that has probably never personally experienced the hardships, and deniable tastes of homelessness, is immersed into the heart of the man. It isn't a feeling of grief that holds one side by side with the character, it is the art of the intellectual use of language that places the reader into the identity of the subject.

In Tom Hallman's article, The Boy Behind the Mask, language powers the projector, and its reader is traced through the life of Sam Lightner. The boy's life seems impossible to coincide with readers, but Hallman turns an article for a daily newspaper into a mirror for empathy.

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”-Bonnie Jean Wasmund

As I read this article, with an eye scoped for the design of Hallman's use of language in conjunction with the production of empathy, a theme is noticed that isn't blatant to the forefront of the article, but is very much relevant. It is this theme of Sam that Hallman creates which becomes the catalyst of empathy. Sam impacts those around him, changing their lives, and leaving an impression that can never be forgotten. It is this theme that sits as the source for empathy, but certainly it is the language devices within the text that are the building blocks to the success of creating the entity of this empathy.

There is not one use of a language device that out weighs the other; they embody each other, fulfilling the portrait painted by Hallman. Sentence structure in the article plays a distinctive role, and stands as the facade to the article. Hallman does not use many sentences that are long or complex, because he doesn't want the tone of explanation to set in. If Hallman were to explain a lot, the article's effect changes, and it takes the reader out of the text. Hallman keeps things simple in sentence length, but does not allow it to prevent the intelligence of the sentences. The sentences remain powerful, and thoughtfully designed.

“But this boy, a 5-foot, 83-pound waif, has learned never to draw attention to himself. He moves like smoke.” (Paragraph 2, Part I)

In the above excerpt, Hallman begins his sentence with “But,” not allowing it to connect with the sentence before, and does not combine the last sentence with the sentence that precedes. This gives emphasis on the fact that Sam avoids drawing interest to himself, and then more importantly the simile of Sam to smoke. If the sentences were to be all one, the affect it holds on the reader changes greatly, and the emphasis of each part is lost. In order to develop empathy, it is important for Hallman to keep the reader in the atmosphere of the events; explanation and long sentences just becomes a distraction. Instead, the description of Sam's size, and how he avoids being the center of attention connects itself to the simile without the use of conjunctions.

“All the blue veins showing through Sam's waxen skin worried him.” (Paragraph 76, Part II)

The above line is an example to the specific arrangement of words in a sentence. The line above is one of many sentences that are designed for the way Hallman wants them to be read. If the sentence read, “He was worried of the blue veins showing through Sam's waxen skin,” the influence on the reader changes. By providing the description of the veins within this “waxen skin” at the beginning of the sentence, the reader is able to draw the image, and then also feel the worry that Dr. Mulliken feels. In this case, rather than feeling empathy for Sam, you are able to identify with the worry of Dr. Mulliken thanks to the precise sentence structure.

I also hinted above to the pacing of this article, and the sentence structure plays a part in dictating the speed of the writing. Again, to the first example above, if all of it becomes one sentence structure, the pace changes dramatically, and throughout the writing the changes in speed are noticed. One of the areas, where the pace of the article sees a distinctive change, is during Part III, and the intensity of the surgery. Unlike, the rest of the article, this part consisted of rarely any extra details not relevant directly to what was happening. The rest of the article consists of transitions of extra details and background information, but this scene had bared an anxious and pressured pace. The significance of the pacing in scenes, such as the surgery, is to again, put the reader in the text. If Hallman adds a bunch of extra stuff to a climatic scene, the reader would not feel the empathy towards what is happening. However, during the surgery it is a natural physical and mental feeling as if you were actually in the surgery room. The bags of blood that signify time, but also the pressure on the doctors. The search for the nerves, and the hope not to cut one. The feeling that it is an improbable surgery, but still the desire to move forward remains. It is all created through this fast moving scene, and the empathy that is stimulated is not for Sam, but you are toe to toe with the surgeons. Yes, you are pulling for Sam to make it, but that is why the doctors continue with time closing in on them, it is all or nothing. It is this part of this article, where language is highly crafty, and the empathy is felt strongly.

“She wept.” (Paragraph 67, Part I)

It is a transition like the one above that Hallman uses extremely effectively. First of all, it creates a unique structure, a two word sentence with so much meaning. The organization of using lines like this one, gives the reader an opportunity to shift with the text. It also signifies to the reader that there is some importance to why the line has been left all alone. When you read the section, and then you hit the transition, it provides the full impact of what is happening. This transition followed a description of Mrs. Lightner covering up the deformity on Sam's face in a picture to see what he was suppose to look like; it hits hard, but the simplicity of the sentence gives delicacy to the situation. All of this contributes to the empathy of the specific example, which is the wonder to why it is her son that has been given such a burden, and the sadness of knowing he is going to have to live with it the rest of his life. It is a feeling that can only be created through the specific organization Hallman uses.

Another very obvious thing that Hallman does with organization, he uses the order in which the events take place. He doesn't take the ending put it first, he starts with the present building the reader's connection to the 14-year old Sam, and then goes to his birth, and then takes off from there. He doesn't go day by day, or year by year, but he highlights the meaningful events of the overlaying article. This organization creates empathy by establishing the reader with a sense of knowing the history, it is difficult to relate to something that you don't have the knowledge of, but Hallman assures his reader with what is happening, and then from there he creates the empathy through the events in Sam's life.

“The mass was soft. It jiggled. Debbie thought it looked like Jell-O.” (Paragraph 64, Part 1)

There is an abundance of literary devices in this piece that enhances the clarity of imagery. It builds the feeling of actually being apart of what is happening. In the example above, Hallman describes Debbie's experience of touching the deformity when Sam was an infant. This description introduces the reader to the mass that would be otherwise difficult to picture, but it can be conceived in this simile. Hallman presents “Jell-O” as something most anyone can relate to in order to successfully make the comparison concrete. These images play such an important role to the text, because without them the reader can't capture the atmosphere and can't completely depict the images that they are feeling empathetic towards. A reader needs comparisons of things relative to their own lives that way they can distinguish the items in the text. It is literary devices that complete the empathy of this piece of writing by inviting the reader into the image of each word.

“A huge mass of flesh balloons out from the left side of his face. His left ear, purple and misshapen, bulges from the side of his head. His chin juts forward. The main body of the tissue, laced with blue veins, swells in a dome that runs from sideburn level to chin...” (Paragraph 10, Part I)

This is just one example of several used by Hallman to create imagery for his reader. This one above is easily the best in the article. First, he uses it at the beginning of the article which is going to be a bit of shock for his reader; he doesn't ease into it, and by not doing so he makes his reader judge just like everyone else that meets Sam would. The imagery however, is very clear, and the reader is able to quickly come to terms of just what this deformity looks like. As the reader you can almost feel this growth on your own face which develops the empathy of being Sam. It is powerful imagery like this that holds the boldest impact on the reader, and gives them a passage towards empathy. If there was never a description of the deformity, it would be nearly impossible to feel the burden placed upon Sam which means feeling empathetic also becomes difficult; reasons why imagery is needed to solidify a connection to the article and ultimately empathy.

“The 14-year old lay motionless in his bed at Portland's Legacy Emanual Hosipital & Health Center. (Paragraph 2, Part II)

The strong and powerful use of word choice that can be created, like “motionless” in the above line, gives way to the reader's portrait of imagery, and their empathy towards the subject. The informal diction of the writer can or cannot produce the right flow to the piece. In Hallman's article, his word choice is impeccable, because each adjective, each detail, and every word used allows for the successful creation of empathy. In the example, if “motionless” were to be removed, the impact on the reader is entirely different, but with the word, the reader can see the child laying in bed, and they understand his state. Word choice is a device in language that can make or break the affect, and Hallman most definitely makes his article. Each word grabs the reader into the story and leaves them with so many different impressions, and so many images. Without the right word choice, feeling as though you are one with the subject becomes vague. Hallman ensures his piece to be as clear, and definitive as possible giving way to the reader's empathy.

The details that Hallman uses ties into the word choice, and together they make the combined effort of dragging in the reader. In Part II, Hallman sets the reader in the middle of Dr. Marler's plead to get the hospital's top doctors to take on the case. Hallman doesn't simply state that after hours of negotiation and deliberation, they decided...instead he brings the deliberation to the text. He makes it clear that it wasn't something they just said “oh well” to, but it was in fact a highly complicated decision to make. Through details like these, the reader again develops empathy to the specified subject, and can also weigh the situation at hand. Everything comes to life to the reader through Hallman's precise use of details.

“I'll wait,” Sam says firmly. “This is where I belong.” (Paragraph 129, Part IV)

Considering this is a journalist piece of writing, dialogue is a must, but what it adds to this piece is just a tremendous bonus. This truly brings the text to the reader, and establishes the feeling of everything happening in the present. Hallman uses dialogue extensively through the surgical procedure which further advanced that scene, because the doctors set the mood for the difficult and dangerous surgery. In the line above, Hallman uses a piece of dialogue from Sam that gives parallelism to this piece, because at one point Sam is trying to keep himself unnoticed, but in this part, a shift in behavior is experienced. Through the use of dialogue the reader is only more compelled to feel empathy towards the piece, because the words of the characters speak so much more loudly than the anything else in the text. It brings character to the characters, and allows the reader to make identifications with them. An understanding is created, and through the words of the characters, the reader is engulfed by the writing. The overall feeling and emotions are felt by the reader when Hallman uses these quotes to establish the full interaction of each time frame.

Through a boy with a deformity that never seemed to relate to anyone, Hallman uses Sam's life to create empathy in the reader, and leave the footprint of Sam on the hearts of everyone.

With language at hand Hallman holds us to a mirror of empathy.

The lone survivor

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Fecteau) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 04:24:00 +0000

(Could not provide the passage, you'll have to go purchase Rachel Carson's book, The Rocky Coast)

The structure's name is rightfully given, a skyscraper. Walking through the city that never sleeps, and looking up at the buildings that never end, the view casts a roaring shadow on all that rests below. It fuels your mind to question, how it is that the half-an-inch long ant exists in contrast with the 1,000 foot tall giants.

In the passage from The Rocky Coast by Rachel Carson, Carson immerses into a natural formation unmasking the world that fits within its closure. A place unknown to the world is penetrated by harsh waves, the tides shift in and out, and the rock walls expand until the pain of dislocation is felt. It is not just the timeless rock that constructs this sea cave, there is life inside that also endures the inevitable crashing of the tides.

Carson channels an abundance of description, creating a distinct imagery of a dynamic existence. She takes the description and fuses language instruments into her writing which gives voice to her message. The message is that in an unkind reality, the appearing dominance is not always the survivor. The simplest of organisms continue to leave the largest footprint on the chronology of this planet.

The foundation of this writing is laid by the accumulation of description and detail. Carson in every facet of the passage constructs her use of other devices from the description and detail she provides. Through the use of this detail and its connection to other language devices, Carson is able to project her message to the reader. “The waters of the pool are never still. Their level changes not only gradually with the rise and fall of the tide, but also abruptly with the pulse of the surf.” (Line 24, Paragraph 4). Carson's description of the waters in which engulf the cave supports the impact of her message. She shows the strength that the water holds, and later exemplifies the small simplistic sponge, who has survived in this destructive environment for centuries. In addition, as in the example of the description of the water, Carson uses very specific word choice, and develops an important use of imagery. Carson's choosing of the word, “abruptly” provides emphasis on the unpredictability of a powerfully independent tide, and in turn solidifies her description. The way in which Carson's description overlaps into other language devices leaves much discussion in her one use of this language device.

Another language device that Carson uses to convey her message is her tone. More importantly, it is the fact that she uses a shift in tone in the piece which outlines her message. “Waves entering a confined space always concentrate all their tremendous force for a driving upward leap: in this manner the roof of the caves are gradually battered away.” (Line 55, Paragraph 9). At this point in the passage, Carson is still using a tone that enrages the waves, and gives portrayal of its dominance. She creates this cave of constant movement, and the life inside forever struggling for survival. She provides an example of the mussels that are attached to the cave's ceiling; they fasten themselves to the top with the inclination to never let go. “As I lie and look into the pool there are moments of relative quiet, in the intervals when one wave has receded and the next has not yet entered. Then I can hear the small sounds:...” (Line 69, Paragraph 10). This line shows a distinct shift in tone. Carson is now leading to something; she is driving at her point. She takes this place of endless commotion, and turns it into an almost silent existence. It is within this shift of tone that Carson is setting the stage for the introduction of the main character to her overriding message. It is this creature, even more hidden than the cave itself, that has survived in silence for an overwhelming number of years. This new tone leaves Carson a path in which to present her message without deception.

Continuing from the shift in tone, Carson then provides a repetition of one specific word choice. “But seemingly most fragile of all are the little calcareous sponges that here and there exist among the seaweeds.” (Line 91, Paragraph 16). The repeated concept of fragility develops a structure for which Carson can render the message of the simplistic sponge living like a vase on the brink of falling to the floor. Carson describes many of these creatures in the cave as fragile, and most of those she considers fragile are the creatures of smaller size. The baby mussels are presented as fragile, which is interesting , because earlier in the text the adult mussels are shown to be almost senseless creatures. Carson then fixes her lens directly on the sponge's fragility. By focusing on the sponge, she is able to later present its long existence on Earth. This repetition hits a specific idea over and again, until Carson drives the reasoning of the repetition into the ground. Another example of repetition used by Carson in a more discrete way is the creation of some sort of mystery. “Perhaps behind a thick curtain of concealing weeds.” (Line 4, Paragraph 1). The repetition of an underlying question, a presence gone missing, is placed within the text for the reader to find. What this does to the text is makes the reader question there own strength. Something that humans (“to the view of the casual passer-by”) have ignored is forced into reflection by Carson's repetition of such an unknown world. Carson follows up on this questioning by providing the reality of humans time on this planet to be insufficient, and despite the dominance we present, not even we can survive in all environments. “The concealing weeds” represents our denial to the truth of our existence. Carson crafts this questioning, and presentation of denial from the beginning and carries it throughout, and finally shows it as she lifts the curtain on the fragile, but long existing sponge.

A final key to the passage is the metaphor Carson uses to depict the sponge as a clock which seeks no set ending point. “But it is the sponges that give to the cave and its pool their special quality—the sense of a continuing flow of time.” (Line 104, Paragraph 18). It is this direct reference to the sponges timeless structure that conveys Carson's message of the fragile, simple, concealed creature outlasting the most domineering life forms. Carson continues off of this line by describing how the sponge is unchanged, and she makes a highly probable prediction by saying they will remain this way for thousands of more years. “...all that remains when the living tissue is gone—are found in the first fossil bearing rocks...” ( Line 113, Paragraph 19). This line alludes back to the sponge's endless existence, and it adds emphasis to even when the sponge is gone, it will remain apart of the cave. This entire creation of the sponge's durability leaves the reader with Carson's final line, which unlike the rest of the passage uses a specific syntax. “The tide was rising.” (Line 124, Paragraph 22). This line is very short, unlike the rest of the sentence structure, but it is forward, discrete, and leaves the impact of the message. The line embodies the message that the all so powerful human, who believes to be immortal, can't endure, and cast its shadow over all aspects of life. When the tide rises, unlike the sponge that has called the destructive cave home, the human must exit. The line also provides reference back to the short existence of humans on the time line of Earth, and the ever immortal existence of such a simple lone survivor.

As the waves crash, as the tide swirls with anger, it isn't the man who built the ever so large building that survives. As the buildings come toppling down, the simple fixtures of life, the sponge will forever be the guest to this planet.

The Greater Depression?

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Fecteau) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 04:13:00 +0000

Lines round the street corners, the hungry in ragged clothing wait their turns for a scoop of soup. Once a millionaire, a man with a beaten suit stands selling apples, hoping to earn enough money to feed his family. Hoovervilles engulf New York City, shacks made from a variety of materials become the homes for millions. Farms are dried up by a massive drought, the dust bowl sweeps the Midwest leaving families fleeing and animals dead. World War I Veterans (Bonus Army) embark on the capitol begging for their bonuses, President Hoover commands for them to leave, two infants die from tear gas. Families, millions of families are without heat, electricity, and jobs. The Great Depression lasts over a decade; it reveals the very shattering of an economy.

While the United States economy of today heads into its 17th month of what Federal Reserve economist William Strauss defines as a “recession”, the swirling whispers of a depression protrudes through the media. The Blue Chip Forecast, which successfully predicted the recession, has indicated that it will have a life of 18 to 21 months. With this valuable economic prediction, and several new indications of the bottom being met, the notion of comparing today's economy to that of the Great Depression is invalid.

October 29, 1929—Black Tuesday, the stock market plunges, sending its value $30,000,000 downward within a two day period. It took three days for the stock market of 1929 to drop a little over 30%. 11 well-known Wall St. investors commit suicide.

October 1, 2008, 10 days of stock market decline sends flares into the sky over Wall St. A longer state of decline than 1929, but the results don't a line, the market falls 24%, 6% less than the mere three days it took the market of 1929 to bottom out. More importantly the Republican President George W. Bush has few months remaining in the Oval Office. Three years were had by Republican President Herbert Hoover as he grasped to his failed economic policies; the same policies that would be paraded by Republicans for many years to come. As Mr. and Mrs. Hoover were served seven course meals for dinner, citizens couldn't afford a slice of bread. “...the lesson should be constantly enforced that though the people support the government, the government should not support the people,” said President Hoover (---)

The reasoning for why the market crash of 1929 gave out so easily and produced a domino effect is very simple, the “Roaring Twenties.” In 1924 the market begin its slow march to a boom. “By 1927, the bull market is jumping all the fences. Stocks are doubling and sometimes doubling again” (Part 12, Freedom: A History of US). With the economic experts declaring that the bull market will just go on and on, millions of people begin to purchase stock. 2/3 (600,000) of investors get it for a cheaper cost as they buy on margin, borrowing most of the money and receiving more shares. By the summer of 1929, people are buying stock in anything; the market is one large balloon waiting to pop as stocks sell at 50 times their earnings. And so it does, in the fall of 1929, everyone begins looking to sell their stocks, but no one buys. The market rips apart, and those who bought on margin now owe money to the banks. The majority of citizens not involved in the market lose their savings as banks had been lending money to speculators who can't pay their debt. This collapse proves more penetrating than the crash in 2008.

But the 2008 stock market plummet was still a large blow to the economy, so why not worse than the Great Depression? The United States today has the Great Depression to thank for an economic situation of less trauma. During the Great Depression there were no safety nets for citizens as the economy disintegrated. “That safety net was built by the New Deal and whatever the New Deal's flaws it has helped to prevent another collapse by allowing people to keep spending,” said Temple University professor of history and director of American studies Bryant Simon(---) The New Deal reformed the United States, and insured the future. The stock market becomes regulated, work hours are limited, child labor is shutdown, fair wages secured, bank deposits are insured, unions advance, electricity is introduced to places like Tennessee, farming is reborn, and a pension policy, the Social Security Act is implemented. Several of these initiatives, and many of the programs introduced by President Roosevelt caught the citizens of today from free-falling. The Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) in 1933 offered re-financing of citizens' home on the brink of being lost to foreclosures. “...one of the reasons cited for some in the House [of Representatives] initially voting against the bailout package last fall,” said Simon (---) These indications of President Roosevelt's rescue plan saving our economy from a complete collapse is just the mere surface of reasoning for why the comparisons made between the two time periods are unsound.

Today's economic faults are attributed to three specific offenders; the crash of the real estate market (excessive building), Wall St. speculation, and credit defaults. Whereas in the 1930s the deep wound on citizen's confidence within the economy played a leading role in the struggle for a rebound. The 2009 economy has a bruised confidence, but there are signs that show the pain isn't all that deep. For the first time since the crash in 2008, the stock market has risen back over the 8,000 point mark; at one point the market was wandering in the 6,000 point region. While consumers are spending less than they did before the economic downturn, the past two months have shown a 1.2% increase in consumer spending. In the month of March the Consumer Confidence Index rose to 26% after several months of decline. In the housing market, the past three months have shown a 1.2% increase in home sales according to the most recent Existing Home Sales Report. These are dim changes in the economy, but they are reassuring to the confidence and state of the current situation. Debt, securitization, and credit were all highly dependent on the real estate market, and thanks to quick reactions through bailouts, and bank policy these categories were not released to an overwhelming crash. In the bank department, banks have wisely made loans more difficult to get; this prevents someone from receiving a loan, when they have horrible credit. As the economy reemerges, again more and more loans will be dispersed wisely. The refinancing of homes again comes into calculations, because of the many home owners eligible for housing foreclosures. With quick action being taken by many different sectors the confidence being reestablished is evident through the results. “Strauss conceded that the Federal Reserve is exercising authority it hasn't had to use since the Great Depression, but he was optimistic that a crisis like the 1930s will be avoided.” (Link) There remains confidence in the economy and the government, which proves today's economy to be stronger than the economy of the 1930s. “Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” (Hakim) This notification made by President Roosevelt in his inaugural address pinpoints the importance of confidence in the economy being either make or break. Confidence was near nonexistent during the 1930s, but today it stands much more firmly, contributing to the restrengthening of an economy that isn't validly compared to the Great Depression by pundits.

Another important item of the economic agenda is on the global scale, and today's global economy is faced with great hurdles. But the sitting establishment of cooperation between nations indicates the efforts will reform the falling global economy. In the 1930s, the global economy was melting, and the collaborative effort for fixing it was minuscule, and as a result Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany promising a fix for Germany's economy. Summits like the G20 meeting that took place during the first days of April are affirmative steps in the direction of restoring the global economy. “The World Bank senior economist says a positive outcome of the G20 meeting would be seeing some confidence restored and signs the financial markets are moving up once again.” (CNN) The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expectation for 2009 is a drop of 1.6%. In 1930, GDP fell by 27% in the United States. This concludes that today even the global economy is in better shape at least in the light of the United States' perspective. While the confidence of the economy in the United States is stationed in higher spirit, on the global scale it lacks. “Basing decisions around fear is not the right way to go. We are going to get through this difficult time,” said President Barack Obama. (---) President Obama's message to the global community is one he hasn't used often in the United States which shows more concern for global confidence. With confidence not being a focal issue in the United States, it provides strategists the opportunity of tackling issues that aren't abstract, and instead solving issues that have more approachable answers in the path to an economic recovery.

Conjunctively, several key figures depict a clear outlook of a current economic crisis that shares no state as detrimental to that of the 1930s. An overwhelming 50% of banks between 1930 and 1933 closed. More importantly, these banks closed with every last penny locked inside. Without accounts insured, every citizen with deposits in the bank had lost what they transacted. This is something that didn't happen in today's economy, because of the FDIC which was established during the Great Depression. Again, today the FDIC was used during an economic crisis as deposits are temporarily insured up to $250,000 until January 1, 2010. However, the banking industry isn't nearly comparative to the 1930s as only .5% of banks have closed, and this can be accredited to the bailouts that took place in order to prevent banks from caving in. Reassuring the stability of the banking system was an obvious lesson learned from the 1930s and hastily protected in today's economic scenario.

Conclusively, the evidence presented of such completely differing time periods and a much more demoralizing economic crisis expresses the fallacious comparison being made by many media sources and pundits. The current economic situation is not to be made out for less than what it is, but it certainly isn't needed to be portrayed for something it is not. The pure struggle of survival in the first severe economic crash of this country's capitalistic system will forever be the deepest cut in history until there is an absolute dissolving of the economic system. The 2008-2009 economy is not the Greater Depression, it is a recession.

“One vivid, gruesome moment of those dark days we shall never forget. We saw a crowd of some fifty men fighting over a barrel of garbage which had been set outside the back door of a restaurant. American citizens fighting for scraps of food like animals” said Louise Armstrong (Hakim)

http://www.augustana.edu/x11866.xml.
http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2009-03-31-voa32.cfm.
http://www.temple.edu/newsroom/2008_2009/0%20stories/ComparingtodaytotheGreatDepression.htm.
http://money.cnn.com/news/storysupplement/economy/recession_depression/
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2008-11-03-economy-depression-recession_N.htm
http://www.vancouversun.com/office+booming+economy+goes+downhill/1360359/story.html
http://books.google.com/books?id=RHINtHpq8p0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=great+depression#PPR14,M1
http://books.google.com/books?id=pT8gMTpQ5L0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+great+depression#PPA3,M1
http://www.money-zine.com/Investing/Stocks/Stock-Market-Crash-of-2008/
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE52Q2XI20090327
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/national/stories/040209dnintobama.420b4b5.htm
http://www.realestateabc.com/outlook.htm
Freedom: A History of US by Joy Hakim

THE ROAR: 'Go Greene'

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Fecteau) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 04:04:00 +0000

That phone call startled many back to consciousness on the mild summer morning of June 30, 2009. The 1 a.m. ringing of the phone sounded like an alarm—always unwelcome. The voice of regret and despair pieced words together. The listener heard them slowly as if time had been stretched. But the message was clear, Derek Greene, 21, and his brother Gage Greene, 19, had been killed.
In the wake of death—murder, the friends and family of Derek and Gage Greene are not weeping in silence. Instead, through the community service team “Go Green,” the memory of the Greene brothers rests not in the darkness of a crime scene, but in the radiance of doing good for Biddeford.
“Being a person that was always on the streets, I thought it would be a good opportunity [joining Go Green],” said Eli Copeland said.
According to Go Greene advisor Laura Kimball, the Greene's encounter with alleged murderer Rory Holland may have been avoided if there was a group reaching out to youth on the streets. Seeing the absence of such a group and searching for strength, Tammy Cole, the mother of Derek and Gage, initiated Go Greene.
“She [Cole] wants to better things for the kids in the community,” said Kimball, “so they don't have encounters with unsafe situations.”
Through Cole's vision and hope for youth in the community, the strength she has needed after the death of her sons is no longer absent; Go Greene is a reality. With the condolence she gained through the group, the youth recognize Cole for what she means to them.
“We are her kids,” said Sydney Proctor. “She is like another mother.”
And to each other, they consider Go Greene their family. During their Tuesday night meetings and community service projects, they work together, laugh together, and most of all remember why it is they wear the shirts that read 'Do work' on one side and 'Go Greene' on the other.
“I think they [Derek and Gage] would be proud of us,” Kerry Chambers said.
The work that Go Greene continues to do around Biddeford has changed not only the appeal of the city, but the lives of the young adults that once spent their time on the streets—the same young adults that saw the bodies of Derek and Gage lay motionless. One day of removing graffiti from a brick wall is one more day that Derek and Gage have left their memory on this community. It is one more day that such tragedy has provided refuge for youth like Copeland who would otherwise be at risk.
“We've taken a negative action and turned it into a positive action,” said Proctor. “Instead of lashing out, we are doing projects that are helping the community.”
The group has been given opportunities from many different people. Tiffany Pelletier served on a youth panel in October that asked questions of the four Biddeford mayoral candidates. Go Greene planted flowers around Biddeford High School. They continue to clean graffiti off the walls and bridges around the city, and Rick Lachance had the team helping at Westbrook Skating Rink. However, Kimball described one person that has given the group something more than just an opportunity.
“Charlotte [Bourgault] placed her trust and confidence in Go Greene,” said Kimball.
As Director of In-a-Pinch, Bourgault was depended on by the community for her devotion to serve the public. For many years, she coordinated a Christmas gathering that provided children of less fortunate families presents. This year, Bourgault asked Go Greene to help coordinate the gathering, however; she passed away only days before. The project she took great pride in, Go Greene now carried the responsibility and expectations. And just as before, Go Greene rose to fill the void of a loss. Joy could be seen in the faces of the children and the community expressed their appreciation for Go Greene's work.
“Couldn't have done it without you,” Lachance said.
When candlelight burned bright in remembrance of Derek and Gage and tears represented more than words, the family that was born could not have been predicted. The appreciation and confidence in this group of youth could not have been foreseen. The strength and vision of Cole could not have been fathomed. And that phone call did not relate the message of lost lives, instead; it called for the memory of Derek and Gage to be carried forward. It called for the community service family, Go Greene.
“At that moment, we had two friends that were never coming back,” Proctor said.
Now, they have two friends that will never be forgotten.

THE ROAR: 'Los Cuatros Fantasticos'

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Fecteau) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 03:48:00 +0000

Around 80 orphans, three bedrooms per house, two bunk-beds per room, and living their young lives in the poorest of conditions, Aldea Infantil de San Miguel is the home away from home.
In the summer of 2005, Biddeford High School Spanish teacher, Kathy Foss traveled to San Miguel, El Salvador. Foss spent the week with three friends at the orphanage, where they did what they could to bring forth change.

“Everything is run down,” said Foss. “It just needs a little TLC.”

The buildings are concrete and tile. The windows have no screens. The weather is “so hot.” The dry season causes the wood inside the homes to curl and peel; the torrential rains sneak their way through the roof and windows and into the homes. The conditions expose the children to health problems, insects carrying disease, such as the deadly illness of malaria.

“The little kids came running over,” said Foss. “They didn't know who we were, they just thought 'new friends!'”

60 children in the orphanage are under the age of 15, and about 20 are 15 or older with the oldest being 19. They are living at the orphanage for a number of reasons, but it is the country's sunken economy that causes many them to seek refuge at the orphanage. Foss' family is from Ecuador, a country very much like El Salvador with a slightly different in accent in dialect. Like El Salvador, Ecuador is also struggling economically.

“Do you have a car?” Foss' cousin asks.

“Yes,” Foss says.

“And your sister has a car too?”

“Yes.”

“And your boyfriend has a car?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, you must be millionaires!”

Foss is one of 35 first cousins. Her family in Ecuador, like many families in the country, cannot afford to own a vehicle. The children at the orphanage ask similar questions about the United States. Their questions graze the surface of what they believe the country is like.

“Is it true it is so cold in the United States that your bones freeze?” One of the girls asks.

None of the children want to travel to the United States, they all fear of freezing. They don't understand that the country includes such differing climates.

“Is it true everyone has a car?” Another asks.

Foss describes their questions as “cute”, but at the same time it awakens a sense of sadness within her; she knows it is luxuries such as a car that these children don't have.

“We spent the week doing odd jobs,” Foss said.

Foss, her friends Annie, and Eli organize futbol and basketball competitions for the kids. Foss says the events are equally as competitive to those in the United States. The three of them also clean up after a food vendor, who serves El Salvador's national dish, pupusas(stuffed tortillas).

“They[the children] were like sponges,” said Foss. “They observed everything we taught them.”

The children do not have any means of learning about environmental issues, or the knowledge to take a stance against these issues. So, Foss, Annie, and Eli teach the children about the environment around them, and how they can help. The children that can go to school, do, and they don't come outside to play until all their homework is complete.

“The children were the best to acclimate us to the country,” Foss said.

El Salvador is a country that in 1980 to 1992 endured a long, deadly civil war. The lives of more than 70,000 people were taken, including high ranking religious figures. The United States provided aid to the country, but once the US stopped fostering the country, El Salvador's economy fell. The El Salvadoran government took whatever money the citizens had. Most of the orphans do not understand the history of violence, but their faces are the images of such negligence.

“I felt very foolish,” said Foss. “I know so much, and then I get there, and I see four pictures of priests that had been murdered.”

Foss attended St. Michael's College, her professor was from El Salvador. The fourth person they had with them in El Salvador during the week was her professor's brother, Boberto. He shares stories with the group of hiding in ditches from gun fire; friends going into hiding, and activists being slaughtered. Foss' professor was attending college in El Salvador for her doctoral in philosophy and Spanish, but was exiled from the country for studying a subject of 'free thought,' and in addition, women were not allowed to attend school.

“I learned not to take my job for granted,” said Foss. “I don't take anything for granted.”

Her professor began this program as a service trip for students at St. Michael's College, but Foss could not attend, because of her major. Foss spent a lot of her time studying El Salvador. Once she graduated, her professor set her up with the trip.

“When I finally leave this world, I would like to leave it better than I found it.” Foss said.

During one of the days in El Salvador, Foss and her friends bring 20 of the children, and the “mother superior,” who is the leader of the orphanage, to the movies. They spend $80 at the movies, essentially $3 per ticket. “It was very cheap.” The children treat it as a very big deal, so they dress up.

“They looked very nice,” said Foss. “They were showered, and put together.”

They go to see The Fantastic 4. On the way back to the orphanage, the children in a show of appreciation and thanks coin the name, 'Los Cuatros Fantasticos' for Foss, Annie, Eli and Boberto.

“What do you say to these people that have taken us to the movie?” Mother Superior asks.

No answer, Mother Superior gets upset.

“No one has done this for us, I guess we just don't know what to say,” one of the children murmurs.

Foss describes how she found the children's expression of thanks by the way they present themselves. She thinks to herself, “it is just a movie.” It shows her more clearly what people take for granted; $16 for Foss to spend at the movies in the United States, would be used by the children at the orphanage to buy food for three weeks.

“All I can do is share that experience as a Latin American, as an American, and as a teacher,” Foss said.

In addition to an opportunity of returning to El Salvador with her professor, Foss is going to send a 'care-package' to the orphans in May. Students at BHS have and continue to bring in clothing, and other odds and ends. The children are enduring the struggles of living in an orphanage of a poor country, but they share their smiles, and release their endless gratitude.

“They are just so simple, you appreciate the beauty.”

THE ROAR: Ryan from the vault

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Fecteau) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 03:42:00 +0000

At the turn of that eighth year, I often wonder what becomes of the President of the United States. The end of a job that demands responsibility, achievement, commitment and integrity. A scrutiny of every move ends (for the most part).

I once wondered; however, now I know. Just like our Commander-in-Chief, my term ends. The days of deadlines, editing, layout, reporting, picas, keeping others focused, and the red pen awaits the next. The experience and the growth that the position of Editor-in-Chief provides I will forever cherish. Yet, my work rests only at the end of this final column.

In the fall, my journey embarks on Washington, DC, where I'll be studying political science. Of course, by the time I arrive, Senator McCain's probability of life will have decreased by 70% according to the official reports from the 2008 election's 'Candidate Life Expectancy' report. Senator Scott Brown will have voted with the Democrats on every piece of legislation. Americans will remain brainwashed into the belief that President Obama's policies caused the recession. Health care reform will begin showing signs of success. Arizona's legislators will draft a bill legalizing the use of a taser on anyone who looks like an illegal immigrant. The illogical reasoning to slash hundreds of thousands out of the local school budget will be just that—illogical. And I will still not have my driver's license (just hilarious).

So I suppose this being my last column, I should push all sarcasm aside. These past few years of writing for The Roar never disappointed. In fact, many of my previous political allusions apply to my journalism experience.

When entering Journalism I my freshman year, the guidance department released their student “Course Drop Expectancy” report. According to the report, I had a 75% chance of dropping the course.

My political opinion appeared conservative; however, like Scott Brown, every single one of my columns expressed liberal ideals. The lack of newspaper readership wasn't caused by the last newspaper regime, instead, my misspelling of “Biddford” caused the turn-off.

When handing out newspapers, the ink collected on my fingertips caused speculation as to my citizenship. Suddenly, I found myself running from many border control officers with Tasers—for some reason they were in Maine.

In reference to illogical reasoning, the many pieces of writing that I have read with no clear angle and poor reporting could make the local government seem articulate.

Lastly, I managed to report on basketball games from Portland to Old Orchard, spend hours upon hours after school, and attend a thousand meetings without... my driver's license.

Oh, how I'll miss these days.

THE ROAR: Ryan from the vault

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Fecteau) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 03:36:00 +0000

Chopping away at the keys, CNN.com awaits in the URL box. Enter.

A few moments of loading, or should I say one palya of loading; “slow computer!”

I pace back and forth across the room. Sweat blazes paths down my face. My vision becomes distorted, or was it always like that? The anticipation is killing me!

Finally, the page appears with the expected news headlines on the right-side. My eyes quickly gaze over them, and then I find myself face-to-screen with a red box screaming “DEVELOPING STORY.” I am very excited; this beats the story regarding Obama's gazillion-dollar spending plan and that one about rabid kangaroo flu, they call it 'swine flu'. I really want to know who let Kangaroos into Mexico. I guess they jumped the border.

Anyway, the media player appears with live coverage of the highly important, super, monstrous, paramount event. At first the live feed from the helicopter isn't exactly clear. I assume that they are chasing after something, a criminal, or a tornado, perhaps. The camera begins to focus in on a subject. The subject is moving at a high rate of speed. It is a fast fella. Zooming in closer, the pixels begin to form a clear definition of the character at hand.

“A bird? A plane?” I ask myself.

“No, it can't be you fool, it is on foot,” I reply.

CNN's premier live coverage of the day is a man in a sausage costume (I would later find out, his name is Chorizo). The costume is taller than the average person, possibly around 6 feet tall. This sausage sports a sombrero, a large nose, a goatee, an awkward smile, and two beady eyes. Arms poke out on each side, and legs occupy the bottom.

Chorizo is dashing across the traffic of a busy highway. He gracefully leaps, and glides through the air. It is unapparent to me how exactly he knows where to run. He is outrunning motorcycles, vans, and formula 1 cars. It is a synchronized routine of great running.

Growing tired, energy nearly depleted, oxygen fading, and helicopter fuel wasted, the sausage reaches its destination, Miller Park, home of Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewers.

This live coverage of the historic event had me laughing to nearly the point of tears. But I was not laughing just at the sausage, I was laughing, because CNN had made alerting coverage out of a sausage race. The unexpected coverage held me merciless at its humor. War in Iraq? Failing car companies? Unemployment? Steroid use in baseball? Superstar: President Obama? Kangaroo Flu? Who cares, when you have a story like racing sausages?

THE ROAR: Ryan from the vault

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Fecteau) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 03:31:00 +0000

PREFACE: A big thanks goes out to George W. Bush and the Republicans for creating the "Recession 2000" and even greater thanks for sending out the first round of "aid" to Wall St.

These past five months have been rough for all of us; the stock market took a turn onto streets that can be found across America with holes and bumps end-to-end. The unemployment rate has hit a 16 year high, and best of all we all took witness to $700 billion being given to failing companies.

Companies that were paying their CEO's outlandish salaries, spending large sums of cash on advertising and as for the banks, they were handing out loans to any Joe Schmo who walked in. It amazes me that after The Great Depression we would repeat the same mistakes more than 70 years later. Going through all the mistakes, disappointments, responsibilities(or lack there of), and use of the money by companies afterwards would be a novel, so allow me to stick to my main complaint. The United States of America claims to be a capitalist nation, however; we sent life boats out for every company found with stocks on Wall St.

So I ask to the government of our nation to instead do what a true capitalist society does, and allow those companies to fail, and allow banks to close. With the security nets and with a competitive market, we can easily rise from the tough times. Never should we or should we ever again pass our money out to those who failed themselves. If a small business here in Biddeford, a business people depended on, had to close, the government wouldn't send a check to make sure they stayed opened. The auto industry got snubbed when they came off their private jets with tin cans, and it should have been the same case when the big companies made themselves out to be, dead or alive.

Instead, it would be to the benefit our country to invest money in the parts of it that are governmental bodies rather than flunked companies. A stimulus package that includes money for the state governments, to then trickle down to the city governments and then into public works projects, education and jobs would provide much more for people than money that never saw the light of day when it was sent to Wall St.

Failing companies need to point the finger at their chief executives, failing schools need to point the finger at their government. There is a huge difference here, one has absolutely nothing to do with government while the other depends entirely on the government and the taxes of their local people to fund and maintain a usable environment. Maybe if the government would have chosen one less company to save on Wall St., we could have seen a $39 million bailout for renovations to our school. Maybe if the government chose to not save three less companies, our unemployment rate wouldn't have sky rocketed and jobs could have been created for those folks now having no way to pay bills.

Rushing through a bailout package was the most unwise thing our government has done in the last 20 years. So the next time Wall St. sees a bad day make sure to get on the phone, and call your senator and make sure they vote to decline any rescue package, because it seems rather clear that first lift raft sank.

THE ROAR: Ryan from the vault

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Fecteau) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 03:26:00 +0000

I will be posting some of my writing from my time as the Editor-in-Chief of Biddeford High School award-winning newspaper, The Roar.

The trend sweeping the nation, the “cool” thing to do, become a fan of President Barack Obama. It isn't the hula hoop craze of 1958, or the revolution of fans The Beatles created in the 1960's. Then again, maybe it is.

President Obama's campaign in the fall of 2008 had a force of youth voters. These hypnotized voters are still following the rockstar they created leading up to and after election day. Whether they understand his policies, or not, it does not matter. They are drawn into his rhetoric and promise of “change.” They continue to purchase his memorabilia and fix themselves to the television as he speaks.

The fascination is seen throughout Biddeford High School. Students with the pins on their backpacks, the t-shirts, and some have President Obama as their cell phone's wallpaper. On the largest networking website, Facebook, students from BHS click to attend the President's speeches. As I watched President Obama give his first Address to Congress, I received text messages from his 'fans'. They praised and hyperventilated over the President as he spoke of the same things he has for the past 6 months. Even Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi looked like a hysterical President Obama fan, leaping out of her seat to applaud over and over again.

I support President Obama. I want him to succeed. I want our country to succeed. The selling of President Obama action figures, I do not support. The celebrity status he has been given, I do not support. The supporters who can't intellectually speak on behalf of the President's policies, I do not support.

The direction and the intentions President Obama has for our country is highly commendable. President Obama is going to make mistakes. He is going to have great achievements. We need to support him not for who he is, but what he can do for our country. It is ridiculous to even consider our President as some type of cultural icon as he sits in the Oval Office, deciding the fate of our nation.

If you want to drive the hype and the fad by becoming a President Obama fan, it should be done once he is out of office. Creating this fame for the President as he is only three months in office shows no outlook on the future he could be leading us to. The 'followers' of President Obama will be notorious not for their support, but for the hysteria created, despite the many years left for him to create error.

How will the fans feel if our country is paralyzed by his policies? The beloved celebrity no longer the savior of mankind, no longer the legend of greatness. The entity of the icon would be torched, and the fans will be frowned upon for the excitement they created without the support of a conclusion. I ask the fans of President Obama that they judge our President after his time in office is complete not as he sits in office with his hands clenched on our future.

It all seems irrational to go crazy for the President of the United States. However, as we enter the third month of his time in office like the devastating fourth month of the hula hoop and the 1970 breakup of The Beatles, the craze may all come to an end.

[Edit for relevancy] Or the misconceptions created by the right will spark a craze of another sort: Hate.

Education funding follies: Does it apply to your city?

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Fecteau) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:09:00 +0000

When Biddeford’s City Council approved the Biddeford School Department budget with $1.4 million worth of cuts, it was inevitable that the citizens would approve it. Without a strong campaign, an education on the impacts of such cuts, and large voter turnout, a vote against the school budget simply wasn’t achievable.

However, the citizens have the opportunity to vote on the school budget for the next three years. The tune from the City Council will sound the same note; “we want a 0% mill rate increase.” For those that didn’t get out to vote this year or overlooked the City of Biddeford’s mishandling of the school budget, not only will you have an opportunity to see a replay of it next year, you have a chance to stop this destruction of public education.

First, we need to hold the City Councilors accountable for being misinformed or deceitful with their words. At the Second Reading of the Budget in 2010, Councilor Rick Lavierre stated that the past two years he was in office, the school budget carried an increase. In the Fiscal Year 2004-2005, the mill rate to allocate for education at the local level in Biddeford was 8.57 according to documents from the Maine Education Department. This figure would decline each year until reaching 6.77 in the Fiscal Year 2007-2008. The increase Lavierre may have been citing was in Fiscal Year 2008-2009 when the mill rate increased to 6.90—a rather minor increase.

“We've always supported [education]. This council supported [education],” said Lavierre at the Second Reading of the Budget. “Past councils have supported it. The city has supported it by virtue of voting for the expansion; 34 million dollars.”

The difference between rhetoric and the numbers appear quite clear. In both the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 budgets, Biddeford fell well below the state average for per pupil cost according to documents available on the State of Maine Web site. Slashing the school budget year after doesn't express any sense of support for education and certainly shows no investment—even if Councilor Lavierre chooses to say so.

“We have virtually gone unscathed,” Lavierre said at the Second Reading of the Budget.

Councilor Lavierre compared Biddeford's school budget to that of Portland's. He said that he believes Biddeford has done a pretty good job as Portland had to cut approximately 44.5 positions. Of course, the average citizen doesn't recognize that Portland's budget nears $90 million, whereas, Biddeford's budget settles around $30 million. With the loss of 14.4 teaching positions in Biddeford in comparison to Portland's three times as large budget, Biddeford actually saved 1.3 less positions and saved $300,000. Yet, the comparison made and terminology used by Councilor Lavierre was not only unfair and far from the truth, it implemented a great deal of deception.

In addition, both Councilor Lavierre and Councilor Clem Fleurent made reference to the stimulus dollars and government aid that Maine and Biddeford may receive or has already received. While, the allocation of these dollars certainly has provided the school budget with a great deal of aid, they will absolve causing the city to find a way to cover the cost of funds moved into the 'stimulus budget'. If the councilors think that sitting idle for government aid and cutting the budget year after year points to success and support of education, they are mightily mistaken.

“I think we are doing real well,” said Fleurent at the Second Reading of the Budget.

Councilor Fleurent pointed out that City Works Director Guy Casavant requested for $850,000 in road repair, but was only alloted $250,000. The suggestion by Councilor Fleurent that everyone has had to make cuts completely undermines the importance of education. A comparison of tar and pavement to the education of tomorrow's minds is simply outrageous and reason for much distaste in Biddeford's elected officials. Speaking of maintenance, Councilor Jim Emerson cited that the City Facilities Director said the $400,000 lost in the maintenance line of the budget shared no impact to upkeep of the schools. The issue with such a statement is it fails to incorporate the maintenance wounds from budgets past. The loss of maintenance dollars in the 2010-2011 budget only deepens the cuts made year after year; if the council believes the right direction for this city is million dollar renovation bonds then maybe they have this part of the budget right.

Councilor Fleurent later in the meeting referenced the nationwide teacher to student ratio as being 1 to 9. Again, one of the councilors used a general idea or misleading concept to distract from the damage they are costing this district. This calling to the nationwide average exposes Councilor Fleurent's out of touch knowledge of Biddeford's school systems; there exists little to no classes with 1 teacher to 9 students in Biddeford.

“I don't know why we are asking for more money,” Fleurent said at the Second Reading of the Budget. “I think it is the curriculum.”

What most of the city councilors have failed to recognize is the support for education is not a calling of more money, but instead more investment. The city can pave a road one year, and two years later have to pave it again, that is not investment—that is simple spending. Providing an education department with sustainable budgets is investment. It is direct investment in the curriculum that the city has constructed, it is indirect investment in the economy, jobs, growth, and innovation. It is at its purest form an investment in the future.

Councilor Pat Boston took exception to a statement that I made at the Second Reading that suggested the Biddeford City Council has missed the big picture. Maybe Councilor Boston and I have a different definition of “big picture,” it makes no difference. The outcome of lacking investment in education now affects the big picture if defined as one year from now, ten years from now or fifty years from now. As Biddeford slowly moves away from investing in education, measurements such as the Maine Educational Assessment scream out the results. At the high school level in Biddeford, MEA results are despicable especially in the area of math. On a national level, in 1985, the United States ranked first among the world in the share of its population at the age of 25-34 with a high school diploma and also a college degree. In 2005, the United States fell to 9th regarding high school diplomas and tied Belgium for 7th regarding college degrees according to a CBS Report. This is not a generalization, this is applicable to the big picture that Biddeford's officials fail to consider.

Councilor Fleurent said these cuts are going on worldwide, statewide, and nationwide. Yet again, this statement proves invalid. The United States spends 5.7% of Gross Domestic Product on education, this ranks 37th amongst all the countries; Cuba ranks first according to the United Nations 2009 report. The United States ranks 21st in regards to the literacy rate. American 15-year olds score below average for advanced nations on math and science literacy according to National Center for Education Statistics. A depleting investment in education simply is not taking place worldwide, it is happening here in the United States.

According to a Georgetown University report, “a drought of 3 million workers who possess the education training” needed for jobs will take place in 2018 if the current course in education doesn’t change. Biddeford's mishandling of education will cost the development of downtown Biddeford, it will cost the city new jobs, it will spoil property values, it will saturate the welfare system, it will cost the city young minds and new ideas, and it will cost this city its future.

We can stop this educational famine. Biddeford needs to tell state legislators that even a one cent increase of taxes could greatly assist locals. In Kansas, the governor signed into law a temporary one cent sales tax increase that provides the state with an expected $300 million.

The Biddeford City Council needs to end its recommendations to the Biddeford School Committee and allow for a budget to be presented that the Biddeford School Committee sees as best serving education; this would also end the City Council saying they are “accepting the school committee's recommended 0% mill rate increased school budget.”

Schools in Biddeford need to emphasize knowledge production rather than information retention. Integration of technology must develop into a cornerstone of the budget; if students don't have technology, the schools have not adequately prepared them for their future. City Councilors need to visit the schools and speak with youth and teachers about their concerns; muffling freedom of speech or discouraging the voice of those affected by the results creates a prison of regression.

A $175,000 amendment to the 2010-2011 budget would have effectively resulted in a seven cent mill rate increase and could have saved teaching positions and programs such as marching band. The City Councilors must become in touch with the citizens—to say they supported the $1.4 million cuts is not true, they just checked off a box accepting what was presented to them. I personally believe the people of Biddeford would have supported the $175,000 amendment.

Maine has the oldest population according to the Census Bureau. To expect students that find their way out of this state to ever return is irrational. We have left them nothing. A city with schools that have been neglected and not been provided the needed investment will not attract young families. We want to recover from an economic recession, we want to see the mill district revitalized, we want to attract tourists to visit our vibrant waterfronts, we want to create jobs, we want to be the leader of change, we want to discover a balance of young and old, we want to protect our history, we want to create a green environment, we want to avoid another economic crisis, we want to live, well it is time we invest in education now, tomorrow, and in the future.

-Ryan

It's not all black and white

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Fecteau) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:19:00 +0000

Since creating this blog-vlog, I have encountered a few things...

A) It is terribly diffucult to get people to follow your blog.
B) Finding time to update your blog is much more difficult than imagined.
C) I've posted two things on the importance of equality and have yet to balance it with humor.
D) The color scheme I chose for the blog page is black and white, but that doesn't speak to anything I post, my philosophy on life, or the reality of this world. Not everything, actually, very little is black and white. If one thing is constant in this world though, it is the inspiration within all of us (in some buried deeply) to form a community not just confined locally, but on the global scale.

Let's break down the barriers of black and white and give way to the enterprise of a global foundation. Every human. Every creed. Every culture. One Earth.

-Ryan

Equality: Humanity against humanity

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Fecteau) — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 00:53:00 +0000

It was on August 28, 2008 in Denver, Colorado when democratic nominee Barack Obama delivered a speech that indicated defeat for an exhausted intolerance; not speaking in terms of politics, rather in terms of equality. This speech had a certain significance, its rhetoric woven beautifully and its context profound. The voice of Obama, unmistakable, sounded with promise. “But what the people heard instead – people of every creed and color, from every walk of life – is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one.” As the sensation of chills set in, I realized that together, an intolerance and ignorance oppressing African Americans had been relieved. Together, we forgot a social injustice and this generation discovered acceptance.

However, we remain with much to overcome. We are faced with a rising tension, a cold hatred filed against homosexuals. Another minority with rights and privileges left absent, and a majority left scorning in opposition to their lifestyle. The majority holds in its hands the power to mandate human equality, but remains reluctant under the influence of ignorance and privilege.

Several close friends of mine are gay; they embody tremendous character; intelligence, courage, empathy, humor, determination, and potent ethics. Quite simply, they are human beings with aspirations and dreams. One wants to work in the medical field; he wants to save the lives of others. He wants to one day have a family; he wants to possess happiness. The thought that he is not guaranteed equality, that he is not guaranteed happiness, and that he is not seen as socially acceptable; saddens me.

No longer can this nation be held blind to intolerance. No longer can this nation bring forth division. No longer can this nation be the arbitrator of who is righteous and who is not. It is now; now is the time that this nation adhere to the freedom and justice all are deserving of. These conflicts maintain my passion to seek social justice for all people, and power my interest in politics and influencing change through government. For I reiterate that the practice of intolerance is to only command the lives of those we do not know.

I have learned from my friend not only the difficulty of finding yourself, but also the fear that exists with re-entering society as your true-self. There is no basis for reasoning that someone's sexuality changes their character, therefore; we must ensure social justice in this country, for it is an obligation we have to each other. The courage to protect the rights of others, the character of your friends, and the structure of your own morality are values I stand to closely. I endeavor to maintain these values and further advocate for equality as I seek my future profession. I believe that Americans of every race, religion, sexuality, and past time share one dream; a dream of prosperity, equality and freedom. In my heart, the sanctity of equality sounds with everlasting strength.

The two floods cascade into one. A red stain of life taints the sum. For the inequalities of one are the inequalities of all, human against human for human.

-Ryan

Intolerance: A Numbers Game

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Fecteau) — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 05:14:00 +0000

620,000.
An estimated number, but the constitution of the number does not change. It represents lives, the blood in which was spilled to defend what was known to be wrong, but was accepted as a possession. Like an ox, an animal not considered or looked upon to be as prestiges to a mustang, these people were worked until the skin on their knuckles teared away exposing the bone. As a nation began to fall to division, it was a righteous group pinned against an inequitable group. A conscienceless war, humans against humans for humans, fought because the color of skin determined who was superior to the other.
Sewing the tear of the stars on our flag had to be done in the way of the deadliest war fought in American history. Southerners with the immoral right to have slaves, and the involuntary determination to not give justice to those who were created by the hands of the same God. This war was tragic and horrifying, but its lessons were not and have not been learned. Throughout history and even before 1860, we as groups continue making decisions based on the quest of each other rather than as individuals. Our intolerance is a numbers game, when you put to use your own mind than the portrait of dark judgment may see a ray of light.
I am not a historian, I am not a psychologist, I am not yet a college graduate, but what I am is a person that understands the destructive behavior we have as humans. From facts to the hallways of a high school, I can see just what we have not changed in our conduct. Even as a two-term President of the Civil Rights Team at Biddeford High School, it is difficult to comprehend why it is we act on the impulse of others rather than the knowledge of ourselves. I could not agree more with the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. stated in paragraph 12 of “The Letter from Birmingham Jail.” http://www.mlkonline.net/jail.html
You and I walk the halls of our school, you and I see the intolerance students express towards other students. It isn't a matter of one student against another student, it is a group of students against another group of students. As a group we fuel each other's opinions and decision making, within this process the privileged gain the power. They harness what they have that gives them the advantage, and they are relentless when their principles are questioned. We are all students in this state of affairs, and whether or not you choose to sit at your desk and learn, who you are rather than who we are, is a decision that can be made only as your own individual.
Narrow and secluded the halls that make up our lives makes it more difficult to escape the impulse to listen to others. From those with more friends to those with more money, those with athletic ability to those with intelligence, those with color to those without; we continuously find ways to categorize each other, to stereotype each other and to restrict each other. We don't do this as individuals, we do this as coalitions. You don't laugh at those who can't afford the necessary items in life, you laugh as a group. You don't discriminate one another, you discriminate as a group. You don't repeal the freedoms of others, you repeal them as a group. Very rarely can you think of a moment in your life where you have not made a decision with the obligation of others in mind.
When life is good for yourself, do you think of those who aren't living well? When you have friends, when you have the luxuries, and when you have the privileges that others don't, not for one second do you think about lending your wealth. It is never seen when the “prosperous child” stands up from his or her lunch table to sit with the “losers.” If such a thing happened, what would your friends think? Would you be accepted? Oh my, would you lose all of those precious privileges? This is why we try so hard to not listen to ourselves, but instead follow the virtue of popular belief.
In 1961, a civil rights activist John Lewis enters a “whites only” waiting room at a bus station in South Carolina. Ku Klux Klan member, Elwin Wilson and other members beat John Lewis, leaving him bloody and bruised. The KKK is a group that still exists today but in 1960 was strong because it had the protection of its 'privileges' at stake. To allow a black man to enter their waiting room was outrageous. The incredulous hate of blacks in the 1960's and the treatment of them by whites proved that after 100 years of blood shed, we still had not learned our lesson. In 1787 when our founding fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence, they could not make a conclusion on slave trade, they decided that in at least 20 years a decision would be made; many generations and hundreds of years later, we had not fulfilled the promises made in the declaration. On ABC's Good Morning America, Elwin Wilson and John Lewis come together, and Wilson apologizes to Lewis. In a moment that stirs emotions, Wilson who had been as his son described “difficult to grow up with,” finds himself, not the KKK man from 1961, but Elwin Wilson, the man who realizes that the color of skin makes no difference. Elwin Lewis is validation that “privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily,” but acting upon the character of oneself, a new spirit is born.
There would be nothing dividing us, singling us out, given to one and taking from the other if we all were to be individuals. If we were all placed by ourselves on an island, the same island for each of us, no discrepancies. We could not act upon the thoughts of “we” rather than “I.” It would be straight forward, just and morally correct for the most part. If we live our own lives, not making it a matter of privileged and unprivileged, the world would be left with few problems. I am no better than anyone else, I have come to realize that I too make decisions based upon the collective thoughts of others, but through this piece of writing, I am sitting at my desk. For me the lesson is just beginning, I have many years of learning and evolving to do before I can be cleansed from “we” to “I.” I am human, I am no more privileged than any other, because if I was the things that I have lost would still be here. Coming to an understanding of what you have done wrong is the first step, looking to the lessons of history is the second step and what you make of step three is the purpose of the lesson,
to become a single existence.
To express injustice and intolerance against others requires more than the strength of one person, it is such a powerful and hateful entity that it requires a collective effort. When you sit at your desk, listen to the men falling at Gettysburg, listen to the apology of Elwin Wilson, listen to the cries of those in need, listen not to the voices of pressure and the evils of privilege, but to the strength of equality. It is time to find the morality of our individual, and give outset to right. Fulfilling the dream of conquering wrongdoing will only come when the light shines upon each of as individuals, dividing us for our just cause rather than our unjust character when the group's ideology is absorbed within us. I have learned more about myself in the few hours it took me to understand, analyze and write this, but what I realize when reflecting upon the message is I have been educated; we have all been educated each moment of our lives, yet we can't see what we hold ourselves blind to.

-Ryan Fecteau