I’m a fan of cheesy things. I think they’re hilarious and oftentimes don’t get enough credit. This cover of “Music of the Night” by the UK boyband Teatro (yeah, you read that right) might just top this list.
Overwhelmed. November 19, 2007
For my two loyal readers … I apologize in not having written anything these past few days. I was on a role there for a while! But with the end of the semester comes a class debate, a paper to present at Notre Dame, a class presentation, a book review and two take home finals. Throw in time with my family at Thanksgiving and you can see why I’m not updating all that much.
But, dear readers, I will try harder to keep up with my blog. Though I don’t promise anything deep and incredibly insightful.
Blessed Are the Peacemakers? November 2, 2007
I’ve had several people say to me that they would like to read the paper I recently wrote for a class about Baptists and pacifism. I figured putting it up on my blog would be the best way to reach everyone. So here it is.
Blessed are the Peacemakers? War, Peace, and Baptists in the Twentieth Century
Now remember kids – no plagiarizing!
Trick or Treat? November 2, 2007
Anyone who knows me relatively well can tell you that social justice and social service are big things for me. Obviously encompassed in those two are being socially conscious and sensitive to what’s going on in the world around you. Unfortunately, most people are neither of these things, and their actions are painfully evident of that fact.
Case in point: A friend on facebook (after all, you’re not really friends until you’re friends on facebook) posted some Halloween pictures from her workplace. Most of the costumes were pretty standard, a few were even funny, but there was one in particular that offended me …
A woman dressed as a homeless person, complete with the cardboard sign that said “Pregnant. Homeless. Hungary. Will Work. God Bless You.”
Being a “hobo” for Halloween is one thing, but outright mocking someone who lives on the streets with no shelter or food is unacceptable. How would this person like it if someone chose their greatest flaw, the thing that they are most ashamed of, and made a costume out of it? I know I certainly wouldn’t want that done to me.
While the costume itself is disturbing to me, I think it speaks greater truths to how Americans view those who are homeless. They are people to be made fun of, to be mocked, to be ridiculed. Surely, we think, those people are on the streets because of something horrible they did in their life. Maybe they’re a junkie. Maybe they’re just out of prison. Maybe they’re just too lazy to get a job.
Most Americans never take the time to consider that maybe, just maybe, people who are homeless are homeless because the system that is supposed to help them actually keeps them down. Or because they have mental health problems, but obviously can’t afford treatment and medication because insurance is little more than a pipe dream, if that.
My point in all this is that we, as a community, need to be more aware of the repercussions of our actions. I vote we choose to be part of the solution, and not the problem.
