Little Ole Northfield

I grew up in Chicago all of my life and while I wasn't in the skyscrapery part, I was still a quick drive or train ride away from the loop. So I'd consider myself a city kid, even if the suburbs begin not too far from where my house is, and I live walking distance from three forest preserves. In Chapter 8 Lane discusses the American ideal of space, and how we seem to be in a constant struggle between finding freedom and feeling lost, and comfort and constriction. I would hardly consider my community constricting, but to some degree I've always been interested in that small town feel. The community he describes where it's impossible to walk anywhere because everyone offers you a ride is one I've sort of dreamed of living in. I've never experienced it in my neighborhood, so I thought Northfield might give me the chance. It's part of the reason I chose St. Olaf; I figured I could try small town life for a while (even if the campus is a microcity of its own) and see how it goes. So far, it's been in great. I'm excited to see where it takes me, and if I'll find the perfect medium Lane describes in the future.

The Trophy Lawn

Stilgoe's article on the American landscape, as well as Opal's blog post really got me thinking about what a lawn says about a person. We associate a beautifully manicured lawn with happiness and I don't think we completely consciously comprehend the reasons why. Well, take some time to think about it. If you have a lawn that means you can own property, suggesting status. The bigger it is, the more money it suggests you have to spend on land. If it's perfect that means you have extra time to tend to its every detail, meaning you don't work all the time to pay off your property or have to tend to other more pressing tasks in your life. By matching the lawn of the neighbors you show you fit perfectly into the society you've chosen to live in. I wonder if lawns are actually beautiful, or if we've just been conditioned to believe so.
If you look at a city, Chicago for example, you can see how the desire for a lawn comes into play. The upper class neighbordhoods have sweeping lawns, hugging their wrap around porches all of which is perched on top of a tree lined street. Middle class neighborhood have pleasantly sized lawns. Lower class neighborhoods have apartments with people stacked on top of each other, with little to no lawn space for every person in that building. Of course this is only a general pattern, as there are expensive apartment buildings and ways to get cheap land, but it symbolizes the value we put on a square of plant.

Plus I really don't think lawns are pretty. I'd much rather see a patch of legitimate prairie grass or even a zen rock garden than that green that's inefficient at fixing carbon and steals water.

You Go Girl!

Anne Hutchinson finally made the Puritans more interesting for me. Prior to this I found it hard to engage in the materials we've been reading, but now I'm hooked. To me, Anne Hutchinson represents the fundamental freedom America is built on- the freedom to pursue who you are truly meant to be. Anne Hutchinson fought for this freedom. She realized her own personal power and the power of women in general. She saw that her circumstances prevented that freedom, and strove to change the circumstance. In the other article I read the author describes the system the Puritan men had in place, and every aspect of that society was geared to prevent women from self-actualization. They were to remain submissive constantly, not even free to experience God in the same way men were. Hutchinson sought to level the spiritual playing field and open up the faith to women, and arguably eventually recreate the woman's role in Puritan life. There is something deeply respectable about her actions, and her willingness to stand up in opposition to all of those against her. I believe she is the model of a valuable American citizen. I just can't stop fawning over her courageousness, I find her truly remarkable and hope that we will read about more characters like her, and that all of us may strive to gain some of her qualities.

Love is all They Needed.

When reading the Model of Christian Charity I'm shown values I am familiar with. Winthrop teaches the values of justice and mercy. He realizes that in this new world that "every man [should] help another in want or distress." This idea of community is one that I believe has traveled up the ages, and now more than ever should be emphasized. FDR's freedom from want exemplifies this. As an American community we are bound by the foundation of our country to aid one another in times of need, simply because we are human. I feel like a broken record with how I constantly preach supporting those who are less privileged, but it's something I'm starting to realize that I am passionate about.

Winthrop's ideals clash with Bradford's description. I fail to see the "justice and mercy" in attacking the Native Americans the Puritans come in contact with. The beautiful ideal of equality under God disappears as the colony grows large and some become more prosperous than others. And the negative freedom of participation is never even granted to some in the community, like women or children born into Puritanism. There's some obvious disparities; ones that existed then and still, in some ways, remain now.

Glee- America in a Nutshell.

I'm just going to put this out there; I adore the television show "Glee." And while all of us watching it in the Hoyme lounge tonight may have joked about making a post about it, I am actually going to follow through, because I love it that much. The whole time I was wondering "How on earth and am I going to connect this to Amcon?" but I believe I have found a way!

Glee says more about the American value system than I have the willpower to type in one blog post. All of the characters on that show embody some sort of American high school stereotype. In essence it is nothing we haven't seen before- another teen drama with pregnant kids, on and off relationships and a gay teen. But it's somehow edgier; the music adds a whole new aspect and it's almost as if the show is saying "Yeah, we're another teen drama, but we've got music. What are you gonna do now?"

Despite its corniness I still think Glee challenges your average American teen. It tells them to speak out, to be themselves. To not be afraid of being the odd one out, and to follow your dreams! It's a challenge to the norm just because of its medium and because of its content. So yeah, it is another teen drama series. But it has music. Awesome music at that.

And that's all I have to say about that, since my friend needs his computer back.

The Thrilling Life of the New England Puritans

I don't know if it's because I had class until 5 today, or if it's because I'm easily distracted but I just could not absorb what Cullen is saying. He claimed that Puritans were not what we thought they were, but just proceeded to describe a group of people I was already fairly familiar with. They never struck me as extremists, just citizens of England fed up with a state that was becoming increasingly corrupt. They were the first of the ideal American citizen in that they gave up comfort striving for values they believed were important. Despite my misgivings Cullen's literature made me realize how fundamental the Puritans were as a building block for American society. Their Mayflower compact set a democratic tone for the rest of American society. As Cullen said, "... it is precisely the willingness to do something difficult, painfully, unintentionally mischievous or finally impossible that gives purpose to individual lives...". Perhaps in my laziness I failed to recognize how hard core the Puritans were, and how much of what we have now is thanks to them.

Learning to Love St. Olaf

Learning to Love St. Olaf- Tou and Enich

because it is in the middle of nowhere

because windmill hypnotizes you walking to Hoyme
because the fragrance of malt-o-meal fills the air
and because the hill is more dynamic than a field

because we say “Um ya ya!”

because we live in a dorm
we have eaten locally
and because the cold starts in September,

because I’ve started adjusting an inner warmth
my skin is chilled
my homesickness near the pit of my stomach

because I must wear shoes all the time now

because I have taken a risk with friends
because each one is welcoming
because I’ve seen them in the same place I am
because they relate to me too

because I have found a new community
because they will all support me
because we all chose the same place to be

because changing your mind is not an option
because it is time.

From my home, America

Haugen's poem regarding relatives coming back from America sent a few thoughts through my brain. Does America really fundamentally change the way someone appears? I would like to think that it is simply psychological, that this parent or sister simply thought that their child or sibling changed drastically because they wanted to believe they did. No one place should alter the feeling behind someone's eyes. Or should it... Well, not enough to confuse someone as much as this poem seemed to be.
But then I think back to my time abroad in London and Scotland, and my fellow Amconer Mike made a comment. There we constantly saw American symbols, could watch Friends at 11, and saw American news. "People here," Mike said, "must get tired of constantly being bombarded with American culture." The American ideal can alter the communities it comes in contact with, and it seems to be spreading. I don't doubt this individual was extremely altered by their experience. So I suppose yes, this all does make sense to me.

All or Nothing

I went to the Liberal Learning and Religion panel discussion today, and while at some times it was hard to follow the intense constitutional language, I think I got the gist of it. Our founding fathers didn't want to exclude any religion, but came from a background of generally protestantism. So later, when approaching issues of religion, that is what their template was.

What I found most interesting was Professor Casson's talk about religious symbols and their place in a secular state. He discussed how using religious symbolism can get messy when used on public lands. I am reminded of Chicago's Daley Plaza around the holidays. The Plaza is most famous for it's giant Christmas tree, but more recently a large Hannukah menorah has appeared as well as a flame that is supposed to represent the presence of Islam (I believe that's what it was, I don't quite remember).

It makes me wonder... It seems as far as religious symbolism goes you either need to represent all the religions or none of them. That cross in the desert would have more been acceptable if the Jewish Star of David and Islamic Crescent Moon were present as well. But they weren't, which means the symbol was hollowed and made to represent a secular idea instead.

Freedom-Bound Dreams

In the introduction to The American Dream Cullen mentions many different aspects of the American Dream, and how it has evolved over time. Towards the end I picked up on one particular aspect of what Cullen said, and it struck me;

"... all notions of freedom rest on a sense of agency, the idea that individuals have control over the course of their lives."

Thus freedom, security, and The American Dream weave themselves together to create this nebulous idea that the United States is founded on. Immediately I thought "What about those who can't control the course of their lives? Those who are stuck in their social situation with little hope of moving their life forward..." Where is their American dream?

T.T. Williams discussed the idea of an open democracy, which provides justice for all living things. In this open democracy constantly questioning and carrying a "healthy sense of indignation". I hate to sound didactic, but a sense of complacency on issues of justice isn't acceptable. Those loosing sight of the American Dream should not succumb to fear and silence themselves, and if they do, we should be their voice: a voice for the voiceless.

Beginnings

Had to start over for ease's sake, but here's the quote I started with again.

“If you want to be free, there is but one way; it is to guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your neighbors. There is no other.”
-Carl Shurz