Hunger and Homelessness

The School of Americas protest was the same week as the hunger and homelessness week; I am glad because they tied in together, but I was sad that I was not able to be on campus for the hunger and homelessness week. Because the United States support war, the government is not able to feed every citizen, such as the people who go to bed hungry or help fund money to those who cannot afford a living space. For the price of one missile, a school full of hungry children could eat lunch every day for 5 years. Instead of focussing on something that just brings out world down, why not try to use that money on something useful? I am thankful for the soldiers who go out to fight for our country, but if it was up to me, there would not be wars because in my eyes war does not solve anything. The government should be using that money to better our country rather than using it to destroy other countries. 1.37 billion people live on less than $1.25 a day, and 2.56 billion live on less than $2 a day. Moreover, 5.05 billion people, more than 80 percent of the world's population, live on less than $10 a day. The number of chronically hungry people worldwide grows by an average of four million people per year. Yet people think it is better to support a war and not focus on what is happening in our country? It is mostly the 1% of the population that do not want to make a change because they are comfortable where they are and do not want to give up some of the money they make. Lately to me it seems like almost every issue we have in our country relates back to the 99% versus the 1%. Instead of trying to solve other countries problems, or causing problems in other countries, the government should look at the United States to see what things need to change in this country in order to make it a safer, and better environment for those who live here rather than funding a school that does not help those people who are homeless or do not have enough money to eat and survive. The School of the Americas protest showed me that the school is not beneficial to the American citizens, and gives Americans a bad name because the school trains soldiers to go into Latin American countries to kill innocent people, and CEOs of big companies, as well as workers. The protest links to hunger and homelessness week as well because when the American soldiers invade and kill innocent people it causes those who lost their spouse, or parent to be homeless and hungry since they do not have their source of money. I am glad I went to the protest because I had no clue that this was happening in the United States; the protest was very informative, and I learned a lot, which has caused me to want to be more involved with shutting down the School of the Americas. 

Christ the Light Cathedral

I really liked Christ the Light Cathedral; it was such a beautiful cathedral. Three Catholic theological beliefs illustrated in the architecture of the Christ the Light Cathedral are the shape of the Cathedral, the water fall going into the Mausoleum, and the alter in the Mausoleum. Christ the Light Cathedral’s shape symbolizes a womb. The Cathedral is very open and round; it symbolizes the peoples’ growth as a person and how worshipping and going to church develops people. The shape also could represent Noah’s arch upside down because the walls are all wood and in the shape of a boat. The ceiling is open and does not have wood over it because it represents “the heavens being able to gaze upon the earth and the earth to gaze up the heaven”. The ceiling also is pointed but rounded which symbolizes growth and prayers to go up to the heavens but also back down to the people in church. Also as you enter the Mausoleum there is a hallway that goes downward as if you were going underneath the earth.While walking into the Mausoleum there is a picture of Jesus and bath of water, an in front the Mausoleum there are waterfalls on the walls, these symbolize rebirth and purity. The water is a symbol of resurrecting the people who have past away and been buried in the Mausoleum. The water in the Cathedral is played throughout the whole Cathedral, because there is a bath of water right as soon as you walk into the Cathedral, which purifies and resurrect people who enter the Cathedral. In the Mausoleum there is an alter that is right below the alter upstairs, the ceiling is a little see-through; this represents that people whether they are deceased or alive are all one. Even though the people are deceased they share the same world we live in. The alter downstairs in the Mausoleum is also the original alter from the Cathedral.

SOA Protest

The SOA Protest was very educational. I learned so much by going, and felt a part of an important event. It was not exactly what I expected, but was one of the greatest times of my life. I was able to speak out for what I believe in with people who believe the same thing. The SOA Protest shows people and younger generations that there does not need to be harm or war in order to stand up. Although the School of the Americas is still open, the crowd and fight against it is becoming bigger and stronger. I would recommend it to everyone to attend it at least once. It is definitely a wonderful experience.

Killer Coke

I was very surprise by the amount of companies Coca- Cola owns; I did not know they own half the companies they do. The workshop was not very informative but it mostly focused on how many campuses have coke related products. I want to be apart of this campaign because it is very interesting to hear such negative comments about a product that almost everyone I know drinks. This company has abused its power and have cheated workers and the governments in Mexico out of hundreds of millions of dollars. In Mexico they made a fake level of employment so that the Mexican workers would not get a high wage but rather get a small amount of pay for all the hard work they do. Coca-Cola also deplete and pollute water resources in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and other countries, which leaves them with no drinking water. They also discriminate against race in the United States. Coca-Cola is monopolistic and practice fraudulent business practices. They also benefit from hazardous in El Salvador and avoid tax in Mexico, the Philippines and the United States. I would like to stop the company from gaining even more money, because it is an example of the 99% and the 1%.

SOA Vigil

The SOA Vigil was such a moving experience; it was so sad to hear all the names of the people who were murdered by the SOA graduates. It was amazing to see all the crosses of the people and the age range of the people who died. A touching story is a woman said she could hear her children crying for her as the SOA graduates where killing her children; she was hiding in a bush and said she could not help them because she had to survive so she could tell people the truth about what happened. At the SOA protest a few years ago she stood on stage as they read the names of people who were killed in the massacre in her town; as they read the names she would say "that was my neighbor, that was my child, that was my husband". This story was really touching because here we are teaching people how to kill other people so that they can overtake dictatorships and further corrupt the world, while people in Latin American countries are fighting for their lives and losing their loved ones. I was surprised by the amount of police officers that were at the vigil; I did not expect there to be so many officers or helicopters. There was a tape playing over and over again stating if you cross the fence you will be arrested and put into jail. What I didn't understand was they do not want their land to be damaged but yet they will go into people's countries, towns and homes and damage it and murder them, that just did not make sense to me. It boggled my mind because it does not amend to the moral theory of treat others how you want to be treated. How could these people think it ok to kill innocent people and assassin dictators in Latin American countries?

We are the 99%

Lately a lot of people have been occupying Wall Street, because most of the money in the world in within the 1% of the population. People are having to chose between paying their rent or buying food; that is just ridiculous to me. People should not have to chose between two things everyone should have; how do they expect people to fend for their families and support them when they aren't given an opportunity to? Our government has became so corrupt over the years and it seems like everyone is just worrying about themselves rather than how their actions could affect someone else. The police officers turned a nonviolent protest into a violent one. I was so surprised when I saw the police officer at UC Davis pepper spray the students. As a child growing up in the United States we learn that we have the freedom to speech and express what we believe in, but in reality we do not because if we did those students that were nonviolently taking a stand in what they believe in would not have been pepper sprayed and citizens in Oakland would be able to protest without getting tear gassed. People should get paid a reasonable amount of money for the time they put into their work, not a wage that would barely support their lives. It seems that people do not make enough to have an opportunity to make it higher into their positions or to even have a job. So many companies are cutting back on their amount of employees, how do they think the people without jobs are suppose to live and support others? We live in a sad, sad world...

16th Street Baptist Church

The Baptist Church in Alabama is a symbolic and historical church. The church was used as a meeting place for civil rights activists; that is often where meetings would be held. On September 15, 1963 a group of people bombed the church and killed 4 girls. It only cause exterior damage to the church; people from Wales helped with the finances and building that wall back to how it was.

The only stained glass that was not shattered by the bomb was the picture of Jesus, but it was damaged; Jesus' face was knock out. That was amazing to me because only the middle of the glass broke but the rest of the window was fine. The people from Wales wanted to donate a window to the church. The window is of a black man with

one hand pushing away and the other open. This symbolizes him pushing away oppression and asking for forgiveness. People often mistake it as a black Jesus but it is just an ordinary man from the time period of the civil rights movement.

Rosa Parks Museum

During the SOA trip, we stopped at the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. The museum was very interesting and I learned a lot of things that I did not know growing up. At the museum we learned that the picture of Rosa Parks that are in history books is a staged picture and not where she was sitting when she was arrested. Rosa Parks was in the "black" section of the bus, but since the bus driver did not like her and there were white people standing in the isle of the bus she was suppose to get up and give her seat to the white women. It shows how bad censorship is because growing up kids learn that she was sitting in the "white" section of the bus, which is not the case. Rosa Parks was an activist before the day she was arrested but that day made her want to make a change even more. While at a camp, white people fed her and cooked for her, she said it was a nice feeling but that as soon as she goes home she will have to be the one doing that for white people and have to do everything on her own. It was interesting that she was able to see what it feels like to be a white person. The bus boycott was the most interesting part because the blacks decided to make their own business and buy cars and transport blacks to their destination rather than taking the bus.

Justice Walking

The Justice Walking course is very interesting to me; I really like to help people who are in need so it will be nice to be involved in an activity like the J-Walkers. I have gone to the Catholic Worker house before; it is such a great feeling to helping the Catholic workers and feeding the people who come to the house for food. Its amazing to see all the different types of people who do not have a place to live or food to eat. It really puts everything into prospect because when I was growing up I always expected to have food and a place to live but never thought I could lose it so I was not that grateful for it, but after going to the Catholic worker house, it made me grateful for even having a hair brush. It is crazy how bad people have it out in the world, while working at the house I did not hear one complaint from the people going to the house; they were very thankful, which makes me want to go back there and help even more. The Justice Walking course is a great thing to be involved in and although it doesn't count for college credit, it should not be about the materialistic things you get out of this course but rather the learning experience and doing a good deed for another human being.

Pacific Islander Club Festival

I really enjoyed the festival the Pacific Islanders prepared. I liked hearing about all the different languages they speak and their cultures. I have never heard of Palau, so it was nice to hear about a place that I did not know anything about. I also liked the dances they came up with. It was cool to see how different my culture is from other cultures. I learned that in Tonga the type of clothes they wear reflects on their social status; it is very different than our culture in the United States. It was also cool to see how the Indigenous Sacred ways are still practiced in some Pacific Islands.

Zeitoun Essay

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, is a book about the Zeitoun family, a family “caught between America’s two biggest policy disasters: the war on terror and the response to Hurricane Katrina.” Zeitoun decided to stay behind during the storm to hold down their business and make sure their properties were safe, while his wife Kathy and their children went to go stay with her sister and her family until the storm passes. While help rescuing people, Zeitoun was arrested for being stereotyped as a terrorist. Kathy shows change in identity from the start of the book to the end of the book; she is more independent by the end of the book and is not reliable on her husband. Throughout this essay examples of how Kathy is more independent by the end of the book will be discussed, starting with how Kathy converts to Islam then moving towards how Kathy is not like other Muslim women.

Kathy had to overcome not only being looked down upon because she is a woman but also because she is Muslim. In her early twenties, Kathy decided to convert to Islam; even after 15 years of being Muslim, her family would tell her, “now you can take that thing off” (57) Although being Muslim was looked down upon, Kathy stood by her religion and did not back down. By Kathy challenging herself to convert to other religion after going up with one religion shows her independence and willingness to try something new instead of sticking to what is seen by others as “normal”. Even though Kathy was harassed for wearing the hijab and her family did not respond to her being Islamic very well, she stood by it and did not give up. One day when she was shopping with Asma trying to find where she parked, “a girl about 15 was crouched behind Kathy trying to grab her hijab; Kathy cocked her hand, ‘you got a problem?’ she barked” (46). The teenagers called her names and made fun of her thinking that she will not do anything about it, but she was not like other Muslim women and spoke up and talked back to the teenagers. This shows that Kathy is not going to let other people affect her identity and chooses to be independent and strong on her own. She does not need to rely on her husband or anyone else to speak up for her or her beliefs. Before “in middle school she was the one being picked on, pushed around and gawked at” (59); Kathy then started to grow to be “quick to fight, quick to argue”(59). This shows that Kathy started to change how she viewed herself and knew she had to stick up for herself otherwise she was just going to be bullied for the rest of her life. Kathy did not let anyone get away with treating her with disrespect. Even though she was a Muslim woman in the United States after the September 11^th attack, she did not let those stereotypes or comments get to her and affect her identity. Kathy only allowed herself to change her identity.

Kathy is not like typical Muslim women; she does not relied on her husband and is not suppressed. Kathy wants to do what is best for her and her children whether it is with or without her husband. An example is when Kathy wants to leave their home before the storm hits New Orleans. “’Honey’, Kathy says [to Zeitoun], ‘I think we should go’ Zeitoun’s reply is ‘you go, I’ll stay;’”(50) Kathy then leaves their home with some belongings and their 4 children to go stay at a family members house for a couple of days. Kathy can make her own decisions and will do what is right and smart even if it means to leave her husband behind. Although they are coming back in a couple days, it takes strength to leave him behind because the worst could happen and he could pass away while they are gone. By Kathy being able to leave it shows that she is independent from her husband and does not need to rely on him like other women in her society have to. She knows that she is capable of doing fine without her husband if it came to that because otherwise she would not have left him behind. Her society or the authorities do not suppress Kathy, when her husband is arrested she did not give up fighting until he was out of jail. Kathy did everything she could to get her husband out of jail, such as find a lawyer and find out exactly where Zeitoun was so she could get him out of jail. Although it was tough on Kathy, she stayed strong and prevailed. She set out to accomplish something and she was able to accomplish it. Kathy is a good role model for young women and women today because she was an underdog, both a woman and a Muslim, but was able to be strong and was not suppressed by her society or men.

Although Kathy is not the main character of Zeitoun, she plays a key role in this book because without her the story would not be as strong or intriguing; Kathy is a heroine herself, by overcoming all the obstacles in her life and having to work in the shadows of her husband even though she is doing hard work as much as he is. She tries to make this world better by making phone calls about mistreatment of others to protest against it. Kathy’s identity changes throughout the course of the book; she goes from the girl being bullied in middle school to the woman who does not let others put her down for being Muslim and a woman who speaks up. Kathy does not let how others view Muslim women affect her identity; she stays true to herself and does the best she can in day to day life.

September 11th

With the September 11, 10 year anniversary passing it makes me really mad and upset that people still stereotype a group of people that look like each other together. I understand that a group of people have done something terrible to our nation, but I do not think the people living in the United States that share the same culture or beliefs should be punished for something they did not do or did not even know about. All people in the United States should be called Americans, not based on where they are from or what they wear; American means a citizen of America, the definition does not state what an American should look like or what they should believe in. Muslims, Arabs and people from their religion/ culture should not be stereotyped or put down because of what other people, who they might not have anything to do with, in their culture/ethnicity decided to do on September 11, 2001. I am really disappointed in the so called Americans who still stereotype them and judge them when they do not know anything about the individual. Americans should stick together and come together as a nation no matter what the ethnicity, culture, religion or beliefs are.

Sufism

Sufism is a denomination of Islam also known as the “mystical inner tradition of Islam”(407). Sufism is a more self based religion by the individual putting themselves first and figuring out who they are because in Sufism, people believe that if an individual does not know who they are, how are they suppose to know what is good for them and their well being. Sufis also believe that an individual has to know him or herself in order to know their creator. Sufi asceticism is based more on inner detachments. Having complete trust in and surrender to God is an essential step in the voyage. In order for an individual to become a Sufi they have to encounter direct experience. Being taught knowledge from someone else does not make an individual a Sufi, they have to experience it themselves and study it on their own. To be a Sufi a person has to experience a connection with God; they cannot just study about it or hear about it from someone else they have to experience it first hand. To become a Sufi it takes many years of studying and dedicating time to God. Sufis are the opposite of fundamentalists; they do not follow a strict view of doctrine. Sufis do not focus on the faults of others. It takes a lifetime to become a Sufi because an individual could not experience their epiphany until their late adulthood after they studied Sufism for many years. Sufis believe everyone has a true self; they also actively work towards something/ yearn for something. Sufis practice to discover reality behind the 5 Pillars; they also meditate, which quiets their mind. The aim of Sufism is for an individual to become so purified that they are the perfect mirror for the godly attributes.

Outsider

A time when I was seen as an outsider was when I was at my friend's graduation/18th birthday party. All of the people at the party were Muslim and Fijian and I was the only white person there that did not know anyone. It was very uncomfortable to be in a surrounding like that. I just kept to myself and followed my friend wherever he went because I did not want to feel even more of an outsider. But that back fired on me and made me feel even more uncomfortable because I felt like I was bothering my friend. This really put things into perspective for me because I found out how it feels to be "different" than the rest of the population. People who aren't outsiders do not see how they make or affect how a person feels so they do not do anything to change it. By experiencing feeling like an outsider I now know that if I see an outsider or feel like a person is feeling left out, to talk to them and invite them so they feel more comfortable and have more confidence about themselves.

Divided We Fall

Watching the film Divided We Fall surprised me when the Americans would stereotype people who wore hijabs and call them terrorists. It was sad to see our country fall apart right in front of our eyes; people fear others that they know nothing about. Since Americans did not know much about them they would gang up on them. They were the same people who lived in the United States before the attack, so how are they different after the attack? It did not make any sense to me; just because one group of people from their religion decided to hijack the plane and crash it into the World Trade Center does not mean that everyone from that religion had a part in it. The story in the film that resinated with me the most was the story about the women who came to the United States from India to attend her husband's service; the Americans were very supporting towards her during his service and showed concern and love towards her. She had nothing but nice things to say about the Americans even though they were targeting and stereotyping her community of people. I would like to say thank you to her for being the bigger and better person and only seeing the positive things from the situation. I would also like to thank the Americans for putting aside the stereotypes and mean thoughts and for being there for her when she needed someone to be on her side. American means of or pertaining to the United States or its inhabitants, it does not say that a person can only be from a certain religion or ethnicity so why are people focus all their negative thoughts against this one group of people?

Volunteering at Crestmoor

I volunteered at Crestmoor Elementary during their open house night and watched the little kids while their parents went to go meet their teachers and learn about their classes. I really enjoy volunteering because it not only gives me good karma but also makes me feel good about myself. I love to give back to my community and that's why I want to be a nurse. A little over a year ago, a terrible fire happened in San Bruno. Ever since so parents have not felt safe to leave their kids at home or anywhere alone, so that's why they had the babysitting service during open house so parents would feel safe enough going to open house knowing their kids are in safe hands. Although the fire ruined many homes and killed a few people, it brought our community closer and made people realize to appreciate the small things in life. By volunteering I feel like I am doing my part in giving back to the community to make the world go around. Volunteering is my role of service. The religion I most agree with is Buddhism based on the fact that a person creates their own karma; I believe that is what Buddhism has taught me to do which is why I love to do things to better other people. It also relates back to our service role in the Connections Project class. I gave back to my community by volunteering for those parents who do not feel safe leaving their children at home alone.

My View of Religion

Growing up I was introduced to two different religions; my father’s side of the family is Buddhist and my mother’s side of the family is Catholic. I was never really pressured into going for one religion over the other; my parents wanted my siblings and me to be able to choose what religion we liked most on our own, even if it was not Buddhism or Catholic. Although my father and grandmother both practice regularly, my mother’s side of the family does not practice regularly. My grandmother, on my father’s side, is a pioneer member of Buddhism. Growing up I would see my grandmother and my dad chant and would attend meetings with them but was never really interested in practicing the religion. Throughout elementary school, I went to CCD and made my first communion and later in high school made my confirmation; although I went through with both ceremonies, I was not interested in making my first communion or confirmation but did it for my family. After being introduced to both religions and practicing, or attempting to practice both religions, I came to the conclusion that I do not completely believe in a religion; I believe that things happen for a reason and people’s actions affect their lives instead of their lives being set out for them before they were even born. I do not believe in a higher God and do not believe in a second or other life. I believe people where brought to this earth to make whatever they want to make of themselves and those who do good deed will have better karma. Since I do not believe in God and do not like going to church, I do not want to get married in a church, which my mother’s side of the family hates so they try to force me to getting married in a church instead of a beach where I want to get married. My godparents, who are also my aunt and uncle, say it is their duty as my godparents to raise me as a Catholic and to get me to go to church weekly. It’s my life and I should be able to determine what I believe in and do not believe in right? Whenever I tell them that they all just get worked up even more and try to get me to go to church more, which I do not understand because none of them go to church weekly or read the bible. My religious lineage is lenient with my parents but with the rest of my family it is a big deal. My spiritual views have changed my life because I do not believe my life has been set out for me by a higher power, so I know what I do now will affect me later, whether it’s an hour from now or 5 years from now. I do not believe in fate; people change their minds and decisions all the time, which will change the coarse of your life or their life. I make my decisions based off of what I know will be good for me and others in the future rather than thinking things will sort out somehow. I am not the type of person to just sit around hoping God has something better in store for me; I take action and make the best out of every situation because only you can change your life, no one else can change you or your life. Although I do not believe completely in one religion, I do believe in parts of Buddhism; I do believe in karma and that that if you have a positive attitude about something negative in your life, you have the power to change the outcome to a source of benefit. Now that I am older, I do believe more in Buddhism than in Catholicism; I do not believe in chanting myoho-renge-kyo, but I do believe that tapping into your inner-self will help you with communicating with others and change the outcome of the situations you have to face by preparing you to have a positive attitude and having the power to overcome any obstacle. I am still trying to figure out all my thoughts on what makes the life go round but each year my thoughts on religion become clearer and clearer.

Group Presentations

It was helpful to learn and see how each person interprets the different religions and what they think the most important details are. I really like the group presentations because it not only allowed us to get to know each other better but it also helped our communication and group work skills a lot by us having to communicate and plan the presentation with our partners/group. The group presentations also gave the class a taste of each religion before actually having to read and learn about it. Also by groups presenting the information rather than us just reading the book really helped me comprehend the material better. I really enjoyed the visuals groups brought in. I also liked having group presentations because it allowed each student to figure out where their strong points are and where their weak points are. By having group presentations on the religions we were also able to see the similarities and differences within the religions; it also helped me comprehend which religion was developed before the other. I think the groups should be only 2 people though so that each person has to learn and prepare more information for the class instead of relying on others to do the work. Also it seems more organized when 2 people are in a group because it is less people to have to work around.

Journal Entry #1

   My name is Ashley Jordan Rich. I do not practice religion; however, my mom is Catholic and my dad is Buddhist. I believe in parts of both religions, but overall I do not fully believe. My take on religion is that it is just a reflection of how you are in life; for example, when Buddhists chant, what they expect to get out of it they have to put that much effort and time into their life. I believe that if you are serious about your religion and practice it consistently then that person will earn what they deserve because they are more likely to act that way in life, but if someone is lazy in their religion that reflects how they are in life so they might not get the same outcomes. To me religion is just a mirror image of yourself and your attitude and outlook on life. I do not believe just praying to God will get what you want, but if you work hard it will get you what you want. I also believe that for some people, religion is just a scapegoat or crutch for them not to do as well as they want, or the reason why they did not get the job or grade they thought they were going to get. Some people say, "I didn't get the job because it was not in God's plan for me," those type of people have caused me to not believe in religion because they are not taking responsibility for their actions, and it caused me to see religion differently.
   I am a 18 year old female aspiring to be a nurse and follow in my mother's footsteps. I have many goals set for my life and would like to accomplish most of them if not all of them. I am attending Holy Names University because I like that the school is small and that the students are able to have closer relationships with their professors than at a UC or CSU. I also am at Holy Names University for their 2+2 Nursing program. I would also like to graduate with honors.  One topic that most interests me is Women in Religions; I am really interested in that topic because at times women were not allowed to be involved in anything but cleaning around the house, doing house work and taking care of children and it will be interesting to see how women influenced religion. Also to be able to see how women were looked at in different religions. What I am hoping to get out of this class is to be able to look at religions and/ or traditions and be able to apply it to the modern day and see what has become extinct and what has changed but still lives today. Also to be able to see how religion and tradition affects or influences the population.