It's been a while...

It's been a while since I've blogged. But rest assured, avid readers (aka: no one...), that I do have topics about which to write. It's just about finding time, creating time, using time, to write these articles/blogs/whateveryouwanttocallit.

Currently I'm taking classes, have an internship, and have a job. I'm editor of the opinions page of the paper, and I volunteer at a adolescent residential treatment facility. I'm in two bands. So I'm slightly busy. I'll get going here though. Someday.

The difference between sports and music: How we teach our children to hate

Live broadcasting. What an amazing technology. As I type, I'm sitting in the atrium of Concordia's campus center. I'm also experiencing the Prism concert that's taking place right now. It is being taped and broadcast over the internet so, even though I am not sitting in the audience I can still see and hear it. Just want to say, that is pretty incredible if you ask me. 

While watching/listening to the concert I had somewhat of a revelation. It has to do with our education system, politics, budget cuts, after school programs, music, sports, war, and world peace. Let's start with some things I've though before...

For a while now, I've had a problem with our nation's obsession with competetive sports. This stems from the realization that, from a very young age, we teach our children to hate other people. Now, I don't think this is a blatent attempt to turn our children against others, but that's what happens. Through organized competetive sports, we teach them that they are on a team and they need to beat the other team. We teach them that they are stronger, faster, smarter, and all-around better than the other team. They start believing that they are part of a collective, and that their collective is somehow more entitled to win than the other group. Not only this, but we teach them to think negatively of the "other," to yell chants at their opponents that go beyond talk about the game, to verbally and (sometimes) physically attack people. We separate, teach them the infamous "us-them" mentality. 

Not only is it a matter of "we're better," but it's that "we're better only if we beat them." This teaches kids that their worth is determined by their dominance over another. My team can't be good if we lose all the time. And my team is the best if we always win. This can turn very nasty, because everyone wants to be seen as good/talented/strong/winners. So, not only do we teach that they should hate the Other, but they need to beat the Other in order to affirm themselves. Sounds like classic bullying to me: tearing someone else down to make yourself feel big. And this principle of we-are-better-than-them is universalized. It doesn't stay on the field or court or pitch or diamond. It is applied broadly to life and becomes more than a game.

Recently in politics we have experienced a very similar schism. "The Democrats" are against "The Republicans" and they can't both win. Classic us/them thought. And the competition becomes not only about who is better for the job. We're all familiar with the political adds that are just outright mean and nasty that go beyond the political issues.

Anyway, the point is that I think we teach our children to belong to a group and then hate everyone who isn't in that group, and that this is portrayed and reinforced by our focus on sports. 

Now, onto the education system.

School districts around the country have been talking for the past years about extending the school day, or moving it back. Contemporary brain research shows that the adolescent brain still retains sleep chemicals until late morning. This means that middle/high school students' physiology is telling them to be sleeping during their first 2 or 3 classes of the day. Some places have moved the school day hours back in order to better accomodate this, so that kids can actually be more awake when they're expected to learn. But the most common reason that this idea is shut down? Sports teams. We don't want those students playing sports into the darker hours of the night, and we certainly don't want to all-out cancel sports. So, we leave things as they are.

But then, when we face budget cuts, what's the first thing to go? The arts. Music especially. We take away band and orchestra and choir because kids need to learn writing and math and science.

Here's where we come to my revelation for the day. 

What is a band? What is an orchestra or a choir? Much like a athletic team, it is a group of people working toward a common goal. The significance, though, lies in the difference between music and sports. In sports you're working for a common goal: that of beating other people. In music, however, your common goal revolves around making something beautiful. It is about blending everyone's unique pieces into a completed whole. There is no focus on, say, "the trumpets are better than the trombones," or, "the sopranos are faster than the altos!" In fact, when this happens in a band, orchestra, or choir, everything falls apart. There cannot be competition between the sections, or the music does not blend right. The result is best when everyone works perfectly together. Music teaches that you can work together without needing an enemy. 

So, what are we teaching our kids? From the way things are going now, we will continue to teach future generations of Americans that competition is what makes you great. You have to be better than someone else. We teach hate. Yes, we teach teamwork, but only if your team is working to destroy someone else. We ignore the peaceful notion that you can work with others for everyone's benefit. It's not performers against the audience. 

Our system is set up in a way that anger and hate are easy to learn. Compassion and love are being phased out. What are we going to do about it?

My Lord's Prayer (on 11/12/10)

So I was just thinking today about things, and I know I have different beliefs than a lot of the people around me. I don't know exactly what those beliefs mean for me or my relation with the Christian church, but I figured I'd make my own version of the Lord's Prayer to reflect on some of the beliefs I hold at this particular moment in time. I'll probably elaborate on this more in another post, but I want to get to sleep right now.

Our creator
Who art in everything
Hallowed be thy World.
Thy kingdom is here and now
Thy will is being done
On Earth through all things as pieces of heaven.
Every person this day deserves daily bread.
Forgive us our selfishness
As we educate those (including ourselves) who are ignorant to injustice.
Let us not sit idly in complacency with the World's problems,
But move us to action in love.
For thine is the splendor, the wonder, and the mystery.
Forever and ever and ever and ever.
Salaam.

That's what I'm feeling at this particular moment. Of course, that doesn't capture everything I believe, but it is a slight indicator. Anyway. That's all for now. Sleepytime!

Election results: And the winner is...

If you haven't been keeping up with the 2010 election results, you've spared yourself a lot of pain. And I'm not talking about the fact that the Republicans "won" the House, or that the Democrats "kept" the Senate. (I'm not referring to California's Prop 19 failure either.) I am speaking of the awful competition between the parties at the expense of democracy.

Last night I was watching CNN's report of the election results as the ballots were being counted. There was a panel of sorts, composed of prominent politicians from both the Left and the Right. As voting data came in, they provided commentary about the significance of the votes, hardly masking their personal opinions and reactions. (Which is just fine by me, no matter which side you subscribe to. I'm all for personal expression.)

The thing that saddened...nay, maddened...nay, infuriated me was the way these politicians were talking about the results. Why do we say that the Republicans won the House? Yes, candidates that belong to the Republican party do represent a majority presence there. But really? Do we have to say that "they" won?

By saying "they" (in effect, labeling myself non-Republican) we are setting ourselves apart. The same could be said about "we." "We" insinuates that there is a "they," which creates a boundary between groups of people. Is this necessary in US politics? I don't think so. Why do we say that "they" win or "we" win? Shouldn't we all be winning? This is, after all, the point of a democracy - a country ruled by the people.

I think we've strayed from the original intentions of democracy. By no means do I hold to the rose-colored fantasy that the American governmental system is perfect. I am well aware of corruptions, loopholes, shortcomings, misguidances, etc etc etc that exist. But shouldn't we at least try to bring about the greatest justice by banning together and working as a cohesive unit? No more of this "us/them" dichotomy.

It's not about the Republicans "winning" or the Democrats "keeping." It's about the US functioning. It's about the American people voting for individuals they want as representatives. It's about working together for the things that need to change. Which, let's be honest, no matter if you're Republican, Democrat, Independent, Green, Tea, or anything else, there are myriad problems to address. So let's ban together and get things done, not sit and run our mouths about winning and losing.

Post numero uno

So, I've tried having a blog before and it really didn't work out for me. I just didn't ever make time to write anything worth reading. I'll be better this time.

I am learning a lot right now. And I want to share that knowledge. Whether or not you agree with what I have to say is up to you. (And honestly, I don't expect that many people are even reading this to begin with...so it really shouldn't matter.)

Mainly, I want to have a blog (and be consistent with it) in order to force myself to have a little bit of reflection time each week. I do reflect, but rarely do I write down what I discover. (Not that I think my "discoveries" are entirely insightful or ground-breaking anyway.)

Whatever...anyway, I'm gonna blog and that's all there is to it. We'll see what comes of it eventually.

But for now, it's late on a school night and I'm going to sleep.

That's all.