In memorium

Chinua Achebe passed away. He was a hero of mine. Many do not know who he is. I do. He wrote two fantastic books, "Things Fall Apart" and "No Longer At Ease", and they changed my life. They changed the way I think. They changed the way I act. I only hope I can live up to the expectations this great man had for the world. His influence will live on and on. From Chicago I add my voice to the myriad admirers and beneficiaries he left behind who send their condolences to his family. He will not be forgotten. His books sit on shelves across the world and they will be read for generations to come. Thank you, Mr. Achebe.

RIP John Lennon

Thank you.

Long time then

It has been quite a while since my last post and much has happened in the past seven months. I have been accepted to medical school at Midwestern University's Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. I have read many books. I have started writing. Despite trepidation I have felt regarding sharing my thoughts and writing I recently decided to begin posting these here. I will try to be more visual as well. First I will post a self portrait photograph. Not an especially flattering photograph in my opinion, but it is realistic, and I am not sure glamour is to be valued more than honesty and candidness. Anyway...

reducing environmental impact

This past week I fixed up my peddle bike. I put on brand new tubes and tires and the thing cruises. I really need new cranks and and peddles, but that is a project for another day... and another paycheck. I was inspired by my brother who is always filling my head with ideas related to environmental conservation and preservation (without the politically loaded connotations). Now I ride my bike to work every morning and then I take the train downtown in the afternoon and ride home from there. I decided it saves on gas and the environment, and I get exercise everyday biking up the hills to my house. To be continued...

Utah legislators... where do I start?

In a recent meeting with several college and university presidents from higher education institutions across the state, state senator Howard Stephenson R-Draper lamented that valuable state money is being wasted thanks to students who want to pursue liberal arts degrees instead of technical degrees, and that therefore jobs are being wasted. Jobs are wasted? Senator Stephenson, what was the unemployment rate in Utah last time you checked? How many technical jobs are open here in Utah that stand vacant, just waiting for a student to give up on his or her dream of pursuing a career in philosophy or literature, dance or music? Show me some statistics because with I just don't believe it. Senator, I graduated with a degree in history, a Bachelor of Arts. I am applying to medical school this summer. You may ask, why would I choose to "waste" my time with history if I am on the road to becoming a doctor? The answer is simple, so that I don't live my life in a narrow-minded cage the way many of our beloved state senators and representatives do. I refute the world they try to build. I refute this fallacy that money is wasted on liberal arts education. It enables more fully those who take the time to enjoy and support it the ability to appreciate beauty, think critically, and in general lead a better life. Where would we be without Tchaikovsky? Hemmingway? Robert Frost? Shakespeare? Monet? Rachel Carson? Mozart? Picasso? This is just a short list from off the top of my head of some prominent artists that have had a profound effect on my life as of late. Where would I be without them? The world would be a colder place without the liberal arts.

Even if I just think about the economic effects of a loss of the liberal arts, where would the technical jobs be? The SLTribune reported that the kids taking history and psychology classes actually helped pay for the science education! Where would the computer industry be without liberal arts? Where would the jobs be for the people who developed the ipod, ipad, iphone, nook, kindle, samsung galaxy, etc without books, newspapers, music of any sort?

I realize this is all over the place but I have to go for now. This is just an incomplete thought so far. I am so frustrated with people like Stephenson right now, I had to let some of that frustration out.

Here is the article I read:

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/51183443-76/education-utah-science-degrees.html.csp

Recent occurences

In the post holiday and post bachelor-degree gloom, I find myself searching for meaningful employment. A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a position at Volunteers of America, a non-profit organization with offices here in Salt Lake City, Utah. The opening was for a Homeless Youth Outreach Worker. Basically, the outreach worker travels the city trying to get homeless youth to come to the center and become involved in the various programs Volunteers of America has to offer, including drug rehabilitation, job placement, warm meals, showers, social activities, G.E.D. obtainment, and a general place to hang out without fear of harassment from police, business owners, other youth, etc.

I interviewed but didn't get the job. Regardless of my disappointment, I still feel that getting involved in programs such as this is a worthwhile pursuit. I have resolved to be more active in my own way to further the goals of non-profit organizations like Volunteers of America. They need the help of ordinary citizens, especially in Salt Lake City and Utah in general. It seems to me like too many people consider homeless people to be less intelligent, or of less worth. This has historically been the case. Too few of us (myself included) actually take the time to find out why a person is in the situation they are in (i.e. homelessness). Could it be that these people have been subject to circumstances out of their control? Could it be that the homeless are homeless not because they lack intelligence, initiative, perseverance, etc., but rather that they have been downtrodden by chance or some poor decision, and that they lack the ability (not ability in the sense of their own skill and self determination, but ability in the sense of what society will or will not ALLOW them to do based on social restrictions, assumptions, and so on) to "pick themselves up" as so many others have done.

Or have they? According to studies done by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or the OECD, upward economic mobility is "relatively low" in the United States when compared with other countries (http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/2/7/45002641.pdf). The "American Dream" is a fantastic ideal and something to aspire to, but it is in all actuality a myth. John Boehner really needs to tear up over this, because his success may be due in large measure to luck, chance, and circumstance. That, and the fact that he is white. But I digress. For many homeless youth, their lifestyle came as a result of desperation and having nowhere else to turn. Many youth left home to escape abuse in its many forms. Many left because of drug addiction. Many left home because they were ostracized by their families for revealing their aversion to heterosexuality. In all cases, the homeless youth that the Volunteers of America work with are termed "throwaway youth", because it is impossible for them to return home. The homes they once had either do not want them any longer, or it is not safe for them to return. Where do they turn to then? Certainly not the man who, in the Salt Lake Tribune's Reader's Forum on December 29, said "Business people come here for conferences and witness addicts, drunks and schizophrenics roaming our city. They [meaning the business people] and the people who call Salt Lake City home deserve better" http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/50943494-82/homeless-lake-salt-downtown.html.csp). This man then goes on to propose the "best solution for all parties concerned": a tent city. Comments and opinions of this nature betray a callousness that we as a society need to break free from. Such apathy is utterly appalling. My short experience at the Youth Outreach Center has opened my eyes to a better way. Instead of pushing our homeless brothers and sisters away, we need to embrace them and reintegrate them into society. The homeless are not aliens, they are canny, resilient, inspiring PEOPLE who deserve our attention. If they are addicts and drunks, why not help them overcome their addictions? If they are schizophrenics (which is another common stereotype) why not help them on the road to mental health? The homeless are human. They have feelings. They need us and we need them, so let us help them.

Think about it...

Lyrics for Bruce Springsteen's "Ghost of Tom Joad", based on the character from Steinbeck's immortal "Grapes of Wrath"...

Men walkin' 'long the railroad tracks
Goin' someplace there's no goin' back
Highway patrol choppers comin' up over the ridge

Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge
Shelter line stretchin' 'round the corner
Welcome to the new world order
Families sleepin' in their cars in the Southwest
No home no job no peace no rest

The highway is alive tonight
But nobody's kiddin' nobody about where it goes
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
Searchin' for the ghost of Tom Joad

He pulls a prayer book out of his sleeping bag
Preacher lights up a butt and takes a drag
Waitin' for when the last shall be first and the first shall be last
In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass
Got a one-way ticket to the promised land
You got a hole in your belly and gun in your handSleeping on a pillow of solid rock
Bathin' in the city aqueduct

The highway is alive tonight
Where it's headed everybody knows
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
Waitin' on the ghost of Tom Joad

Now Tom said "Mom, wherever there's a cop beatin' a guy
Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there's a fight 'gainst the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me Mom I'll be there
Wherever there's somebody fightin' for a place to stand
Or decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody's strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes Mom you'll see me."

Well the highway is alive tonight
But nobody's kiddin' nobody about where it goes
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
With the ghost of old Tom Joad

The second to last stanza always gets me. That part is amazing to read in the book, and it is amazing to hear in the song. There are too many people who desperately need a voice these days and either don't have one or if they do it gets drowned out in the useless noise of pop culture and political punditry. This song inspires me to seek out these voices, listen to them, and chime in to make sure they are heard. The character Tom Joad represents the fight, the struggle for justice. Tom Joad is my hero. If I am involved in that struggle, I am Tom Joad. If you are involved in that struggle, you are Tom Joad. We are Tom Joad. "Look in their eyes, Ma..."