Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

rational rambles


Ms. Malik Leaving!!

I love having class interns. Generally they're actually a breath of fresh air. Last year when I took history (with a certain teacher I will not name...) I didn't learn ANYTHING until the student teacher came and taught us. I mean no offense to our AWESOME oakland mills teachers, but often I find the student teachers are just more cheerful and excited about teaching. Ms. Malik was always upbeat on Monday mornings when we were all pretty much dead...

Unhate?

From the warm up question: is love the solution to end hate?

Often, we like to think it is. If hate is returned to hate, isn't it only reciprocated? We tell ourselves then that we must treat hate with its opposite to cancel it out--love. But love is very rarely the opposite of hate. More often, it's the source of it. Because people love their religion, they choose to hate others'; because people love money and power, they hate people in their way or who have the things they think they want.

And in this unhate campaign, it's the love of certain beliefs that  instigate hate between parties: the belief that homosexuality is bad, the belief that one religion is better than another, or the belief that one nation can invade another freely. The campaign was criticizing the hate that happens between world leaders; but what did they prove, or solve, by angering those leaders and their supporters? In this scenario, this company is acting merely as a rabble-rouser, not proposing a solution. I think they tried to make a dramatic statement about overcoming prejudice, drawing parallels of love as the solution or opposite of hate. The opposite, or solution to hate is not a kiss on the cheek, but understanding and tolerance--something much harder to achieve than an emotion as fleeting and extreme as love.

 

 

 

Uh-oh, Another Song...

Yes. I'm doing it. A second song post.

Today I chose "Roll Away Your Stone" by Mumford and Sons.

Roll away your stone, I’ll roll away mine
Together we can see what we will find
Don’t leave me alone at this time,
For I'm afraid of what I will discover inside

Cause you told me that I would find a hole,
Within the fragile substance of my soul
And I have filled this void with things unreal,
And all the while my character it steals

Darkness is a harsh term don’t you think?
And yet it dominates the things I see

It seems that all my bridges have been burned,
But you say that’s exactly how this grace thing works
It’s not the long walk home that will change this heart,
But the welcome I receive with the restart

Darkness is a harsh term don’t you think?
And yet it dominates the things I see
Darkness is a harsh term don’t you think?
And yet it dominates the things I've seen

Stars hide your fires,
These here are my desires
And I won't give them up to you this time around
And so, I’ll be found with my stake stuck in this ground
Marking the territory of this newly impassioned soul

But you, you’ve gone too far this time
You have neither reason nor rhyme
With which to take this soul that is so rightfully mine

There's something about this song that is truly inspiring, on a spiritual level, and perhaps, if you choose to interpret it so, on a religious level as well. Maybe "roll away your stone" is referring to Jesus' rise from the dead, and how he mysteriously rises up affter death and rolls the stone of his tomb away to walk again. Whether this is what is intended or not, I also see it simply and secularly as a calling for rebirth: new life. And although we may be scared to take chances and start all over again ("For I am afraid of what I may discover inside"), we can be determined to pick ourselves up.
"Darknessis a harsh term don't you think?" In this phrase I like to think of the darkness we may paint for ourselves and our future, looking down the road and seeing little hope. But instead of dwelling on this darkness, the song takes a turn for the better: here is what I want to discover in myself and my llife, and with this "newly impassioned soul" I won't let anyone tell me that I can't achieve what I want, what "is so rightfully mine." 
And on a side note, I can't help but point out that any song that references Macbeth is pretty much awesome in my book. ("Stars hide your fires, let not like see my black and deep desires.") But in the song, the singer is almost declaring his desires for finally the first time, and no matter what they are or what others think, they can't be changed.

 

American Christianity

Can we talk about American Christianity or can we only talk about different denominations?

I think it would be an insult to most Americans if we amalgamated all of Christianity in America under a single label. Each denomination has its own rituals, practices, and often, interpretations of scritptures. And churches can very easily be recognized by race of the attendees as well. While these labels (Methodist, Episcopalian, Baptist, Lutheran, etc.) may seem like divisions of the whole, Christians living in America, but I think they are more often seen as distinctions, not divisions. Surely one can argue, if there are fewer denominations and simply one Christian ideology of America, wouldn't we have less religious tension and isolation of sects? Probably true, but we'd also lose the diversity of all these different communities. Americans have freedom of religion, and shouldn't expect to be categorized under "American Christianity" simply for another's better comprehension. We regonize different denominations because it would show ignorance and intolerance if we tried to classify it all as American Christianity. There are Christians, there are Americans; but painting a picture of "the one American Christianity" is just wrong. 

​