Learning that my expectations are wrong!

In the fall of 1986, I started attending college at the University of Maryland, Munich Campus.  I took most of my required core classes, but avoided a couple that made me nervous.  I knew I had to take them, but I delayed it because I knew the classes would involve a lot of reading and writing.  I love to read, but  I've never thought myself a good writer.  Fast forward to 2015 and I was at the point where I needed two core classes to complete my degree...American History and World Literature.  It was time to hunker down and enroll in World Literature.

I walked into class with my book and planned my trip to Books-a-Million to get the required reading list.  But Dr. Hamon's version of World Literature was the complete opposite of what I expected.  If you've ever watched Charlie Brown, you can see what I expected!

As the first class meeting closed, I realized there was no required reading list. This was not a "book club" style class where you read books and write multiple, boring essay papers.  This was a class where we blogged about topics related to the snippets of stories that we read.  This was a class where we researched a topic of our choosing, yes, OUR CHOOSING, and then updated a Wikipedia article and wrote a short essay, as "the" class subject matter expert.

So what did I learn?  I learned not to judge a book by it's cover (no pun intended).  I also learned that I'm a pretty decent writer.  I throughly enjoyed writing and reading the weekly blogs.  Finally, I learned that there are many ways to teach and learn material and that classroom environments of today are not the same as those of 1986.  I have zero regrets about avoiding the class in 1986.  In 1986, I would have learned that nodding off might get you some public humiliation along with a bad grade!

My Colleagues and the Doc 3 Essay

It was interesting to read my colleagues posts regarding the things that kept them from and helped them to stay on task when writing their Doc 3 essays.  A few people said it was helpful that the essay topic was the same as the Wikipedia article they had written.  Heather Cook said, "The most beneficial thing for me when working on Doc3 was being able to work on the same subject as the Wikipedia project."  Molly Lauritsen said that being able to use the same topic, "...helped me get a jumpstart because sometimes one of the things that drag me down with papers is all of the research that is involved."  I agree that being able to use the research from our Wikipedia articles was not only helpful, but an extreme time saver.

Like me, life and other priorities seemed to get in the way for some of my colleagues.  "The fact that I got a job" hindered Johnny Jordan in writing his paper.  For Larkin South, his "...problems started on November 12 when StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void was released."   The life-work balance is something most adults struggle with and finding solutions to create that balance is extremely helpful.

Even though each of us faced different struggle in completing our essays, I really what Antoinette Nelson says that helped keep her on task.  She was very insightful when stating that, "Setting goals and making a schedule makes my life so much so much easier."  I could not agree more!

Doc 3 Task

When writing my Doc 3 essay, the main thing that helped me stay on task was the looming deadline.  I've always worked best under pressure, but I also understand the stress I feel, when I procrastinate.  Knowing this fact about myself, helped me to work steadily on this essay.

I had a couple of things that hindered my progress.  At the beginning of my writing, I found it difficult to settle on a topic.  I initially wanted to write about the poetess, Marie de France, but I found there was not a lot of information about her.  There was however a lot of information about her lais and so I decided to pick one called The Chevrefoil.  

The other thing that hindered my progress was life!  I am a busy mom of three children.  Between my schooling, my kids' after school activities, cooking dinner, cleaning house, doing laundry, and spending quality time with my family, I found that I would, on occasion, put writing my Doc 3 essay on the back burner.

My Colleagues Posts

In reading many of my colleagues posts, I found a few who believe that Dr. Ben Carson lives by the highest ethical standard.  I found it interesting though, as this may not actually be the case.

As a young boy, he was constantly in trouble and had a raging temper.  He has recently claimed that he protected white students during the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.; he stabbed a man; and he has had no involvement with Mannatech (a company that has made exaggerated claims about the therapeutic benefits of their products).

The problem is that some of these claims cannot be confirmed and some have even been shown to be outright lies.  Although Dr. Carson may seem like a ethical candidate on the surface, I have to wonder if we need to dig deeper to find out his truths.

Samuel Gutierrez believes in Dr. Carson and said, "The best set of firm ethics are those who stand their ground."   Kimberly Barron says Dr. Carson, "listens to others and understands, even if he doesn't agree with what they're saying to him he still see's it from their point of view and puts it into consideration."

Standing your ground doesn't necessarily mean that you are being truthful and honest. It may actually be a method to hide the truth and to try to convince your audience that your story is believable.  I do however agree that Dr. Carson seems to be fair in listening to other's viewpoints.  Whether he chooses to change his views based on what he hears is a different story.  Only time will tell, if Dr. Ben Carson is a truly ethical man.  

Presidential Ethics

As far as ethics are concerned, I think Mike Huckabee is the most ethical nominee.  According to his campaign website, http://www.mikehuckabee.com/about, as Governor of Arkansas, "his administration fought long-standing corruption in the state’s political machine, resulting in numerous indictments and convictions of powerful legislators and other elected officials."  

In 2005, Time Magazine named him one of the five best governors in America and Governing Magazine named him as one of it's "Public Officials of the Year."

He values soldiers and police officers because "they are the only thing standing between our freedom and total anarchy."

As far as relativistic morals and situation ethics, Hilary Clinton leads the pack.  In the book titled, The Seduction of Hillary Rodham, David Brock levels many accusations against her.  Among them are that she has a disdain for compromise, has never accepted legal and ethical structures and lives by an end-justifies-the-means philosophy.  Funnily enough, Mr. Brock is now part of a Clinton-supporting Super PAC (Political Action Committee) called “Correct the Record,” and he claims that his "blinding by the right" led him to write the book.  I tend to think that he might also live by the philosophies of moral relativism and situational ethics.  

Our textbook states that Machiavelli believed that "the end of political stability justifies the means, even if those means include deception..."  If you look at the scandals that Hilary Clinton seemingly has been a part of, she has been very deceptive in her methods.  She has refused to turnover documents and hard drives for examination and was vague in her answers during a Congressional hearing.  The persona that is displayed reflects a person who thinks that her immoral, illegal, and unethical actions were warranted.

Our textbook also references Montaigne's essay "Of Cannibals," where he says that "each man calls barbarism whatever is not his own practice."  Each man is a hypocrite if they believe what another man is doing is worse or different, than what they are themselves doing.

Hilary Clinton is one such hypocrite.  She has said that money is corrupting politics and has denounced super PAC's, yet she is counting on two large one's to support and fund her campaign.  She calls it a "necessary evil."

At the end of the day, I believe that we should have a president who fights and stands up for our country.  Moral relativism would better suit a president because it would allow political stability.  Sometimes, the president might have to do things that are not acceptable to reach that goal, but it is important that he/she try to do things using a moral compass and also do the things that ensure Americans can continue to live with the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The Beauty In My Life (In the style of Li Bo)

The most beautiful thing in my life is my family.  I have been married to my husband, Jim

for 25 years.  We have three children:  Ashley (21), Cameron (16) and Peyton (13).  They 

mean the world to me and I don't think there would be quite as much beauty in my life, if

they weren't in it.  Here is my poem:

A daily hug encases me:

Squeezing - softly - so heavenly.

I look into eyes of golden brown.

And think of the love he's given me.

The calm surrounds me peacefully:

My phone - brrring, brrring - noisily chimes.

Her duck-lipped selfie stares at me.

I giggle softly and say hello.

I sit in my Jeep patiently waiting:

His smile - like a burst of sun - appears.

I watch as he flops into the passenger seat.

I'm thankful that his smile is for me.

The room is silent as the music starts:

The voice - angelic - upon the stage.

I gasp and fight to catch my breath.

I wipe my tears and know she's mine.

Beauty in my favorite song (Don't forget to click the link at the end!)

If you've ever watched the television show The Voice, you know that it has amateur singers competing to win a record contract by singing cover songs.  In the fifth season of the show, I fell in love with the voice of a young girl named Caroline Pennell.  Her voice was beautiful, ethereal, and angelic.  One night, she sang a White Stripes' song called "We're Going To Be Friends."  Her rendition was absolutely breathtaking. 

The song is beautiful because it expresses the innocence that children experience.  The friends in the song walk, play, learn, and discover the natural world around them.  At night, they dream of it happening all over again. 

Fall is here, hear the yell

Back to school, ring the bell

Brand new shoes, walking blues

Climb the fence, books and pens

I can tell that we are gonna be friends

I can tell that we are gonna be friends

Walk with me, Suzy Lee

Through the park and by the tree

We will rest upon the ground

And look at all the bugs we found

Safely walk to school without a sound

Safely walk to school without a sound

Here we are, no one else

We walked to school all by ourselves

Theres dirt on our uniforms

From chasing all the ants and worms

We clean up and now its time to learn

We clean up and now its time to learn

Numbers, letters, learn to spell

Nouns and books and show and tell

Playtime we will throw the ball

Back to class, through the hall

Teacher marks our height against the wall

Teacher marks our height against the wall

And we don't notice any time pass

We don't notice anything

We sit side by side in every class

Teacher thinks that I sound funny

But she loves the way you sing

Tonight I'll dream while I`m in bed

When silly thoughts go through my head

About the bugs and alphabet

And when I wake tomorrow I'll bet

That you and I will walk together again

I can tell that we are gonna be friends

Yes, I can tell that we are gonna be friends

As a mom, this song really resonated with me.  In today's world, it is difficult to escape the bad things happening around us.  This song let's you get away from all the negative, even if only for a couple of minutes.  That's an important thing to help one stay positive and optimistic.

My two daughters, knowing how much I loved Caroline's arrangement of this song, surprised me with their own performance for Christmas 2013.  I was in tears listening to them perform it so beautifully.  I especially loved their unknowing innocence in the song.  My youngest daughter keeps glancing at the tv, which I find so cute.  Their version absolutely means the world to me.  To me, it is the most beautiful rendition of the song, flaws and all, because it is heartfelt.  I love it so much and hope you will enjoy it too.

Click on this link to see 
my daughters sing my favorite song!

Dante's Version of Hell

According to Dante, there are Nine Circles of Hell.  Each of the circles represents a different sin; Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy, Violence, Fraud and Treachery.  Some of the circles are divided into groups, where sinners are split even further.  For instance, the fourth circle that represents greed is divided into a group for hoarders and a group for lavish spenders.

The ninth circle represents treachery.  This Circle of Hell is divided into four "rounds" where sinners are frozen into an icy lake.  Their depth in the frozen lake is based on the severity of their sin.

The circle that I found the most interesting was the seventh circle which is divided into three rings; the outer ring where murderers "live" in a river of boiling blood and fire.  The middle ring is for two types of sinners:  those who have committed suicide (who appear as trees that feed human-faced birds called harpies) and those who are shamelessly immoral (who are chased and eaten by dogs).  The inner ring is for those who are blasphemous or have committed sodomy.  These sinners "live" in a desert of burning sand, where burning rain falls.

Dante's view of Hell leads me to believe that he was either very imaginative, very angry or a combination of both.  He believed he was destined for Heaven, but if it was anger that led him to write Inferno, than he would surely have been bound for the fifth circle of Hell (Anger) where if he was intensely angry, he would have fought on the River Styx and if he was sulky and bad-tempered, he would have gurgled under the surface of the river.

My opinion of Chevrefoil (Doc 3)

In Chevrefoil, a poem written by a medieval poetess known as Marie de France, the narrator summarizes the story of Tristan and Isolde's adulterous love affair.  Isolde's husband, King Mark, has discovered the affair and has banished Tristan to exile.  Tristan learns that Queen Isolde will be traveling to Tintagel to hold court with her husband and decides to carve his name in a hazel branch in hopes that Queen Isolde will see the branch, stop the procession and come into the woods to meet with him.

Chevrefoil, is also known as The Honeysuckle, because of the use of symbolism regarding the relationship between a hazel tree and a honeysuckle bush.  These plants are meant to represent the love of Tristan and Isolde.  In verse five, Marie de France says,

For he could not live without her.
It was exactly the same with the two of them
As it was with the honeysuckle
That has attached itself to the hazel tree:
When it has so entwined itself and taken hold
And completely surrounded the trunk,
Together they can survive quite well;
But if someone tries to sever them,
The hazel tree quickly dies,
And the honeysuckle as well.

Many believe that the metaphor of hazel and honeysuckle implies that Tristan and Isolde need each other's love desperately, the honeysuckle needs the hazel to survive. If they are severed, both will die.  But their judgment is clouded; in fact, honeysuckle was used medicinally during medieval times to cure cloudy vision.  

There is danger in both staying together and being apart.  Many Celts believed that the nuts of hazel trees provide wisdom and knowledge.  Honeysuckle, in literature, has been used to represent intense love or sex.  In reality, hazel trees are rather small trees, while honeysuckle are an invasive plant that grows at an alarming rate. The intrusive growth of the honeysuckle would very quickly suffocate the hazel and kill it. 

In my opinion, the hazel and the honeysuckle do not represent the love Tristan and Isolde had for each other, but instead represent the idea that their relationship was parasitic and deadly.  Although the poem does not address this, the tale of Tristan and Isolde does end with both of their deaths;  Tristan by betrayal and Isolde by overwhelming grief.  In the end, their toxic love kills them both.

A little similarity, please.

The Qu'ran and the New Testament have more differences, than similarities.  One of the similarities is both tell the story of Cain and Abel, but they do so in completely different ways.  The New Testament tells the story, but the message is in one's interpretation.  The Qu'ran tells the story, but it overtly expresses the consequences.

In the New Testament, the story is told in Genesis 4:1-15.  Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve.  Cain farmed the land and Abel kept flocks.  One day they brought offerings to the Lord.  The Lord was pleased with Abel's offering, but not Cain's.  Cain was very angry.  Verse 6 says that the Lord asked Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”  Cain took Abel into the fields and killed him. When asked by the Lord where Abel was, Cain lied and told him that he did not know.  Cain was condemned to suffering for the rest of his life.

In the Qu'ran al Ma'ida 27-32, the story is told conversationally. Cain and Abel are not called out by name, but are referred to as the "two sons of Adam."  In Verse 27, Yusalifi says, " Recite to them the truth of the story of the two sons of Adam. Behold! they each presented a sacrifice (to Allah): It was accepted from one, but not from the other. Said the latter: "Be sure I will slay thee." "Surely," said the former, "Allah doth accept of the sacrifice of those who are righteous. "  Then Pickthal says, "But recite unto them with truth the tale of the two sons of Adam, how they offered each a sacrifice, and it was accepted from the one of them and it was not accepted from the other. (The one) said: I will surely kill thee. (The other) answered: Allah accepteth only from those who ward off (evil)."  

The murder of Abel is expressed in Verse 30, "The (selfish) soul of the other led him to the murder of his brother: he murdered him, and became (himself) one of the lost ones." The Qu'ran goes on to say that killing or saving another human being is the equivalent of killing or saving all of mankind.  This is offered up as proof that Allah is sovereign.

Although both readings tell the story of the murder of Abel by Cain, the messages are completely different.  In the New Testament, the message is that there are consequences for your actions, while in the Qu'ran, the message is that Cain's actions are akin to waging war against Allah.