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.

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.

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.