INTERNATIONAL DEATH PENALTY ABOLITION DAY

I know its a week away, but...

From Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty:

"March 1, International Death Penalty Abolition Day, marks the anniversary of the date in 1847 in which the State of Michigan officially became the first English-speaking territory in the world to abolish capital punishment. It is a day to remember the victims of violent crime and their survivors; it is a day to remember those killed by state sanctioned violence - guilty or not- and their survivors; and it is a day for intensified education and action for alternatives to the death penalty."

Eh?

Lao Tzu wrote that “a good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. A good artist lets intuition lead him wherever it wants. A good scientist has freed himself of concepts and keeps his mind open to what is”.

I first came across this translation of this quote while reading Leading With Soul by Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal. This quote intrigues me. I have frequently consulted the Tao Te Ching when struggling with life and its meaning, so I am somewhat familiar with Lao Tzu’s writing, but I think more so than any other verse (with the exception on his verses about oppressive governments) these words have recently had an impact on my day to day life. I have even gone so far as to include this on my email (yeah, I know it’s cheesy, but at least the quote is somewhat thought provoking). I like to interpret this message into my work life by letting conversations and plans develop more “organically” if you will. This does not mean that I slack, or just let things fall apart, but I do not want to constrain my ideas to “what has been done before” or “what works somewhere else”. This is a problem I have encountered more than once in my present position. Too many times I am confronted with “this works great at _____, so we should do it here”. I am not a fan of this train of thought all the time. My institution is like no other. There are different students, different staff, a different culture and a different climate. I fear that this may come off as slacking or inexperience on my part, I just hope that I can help change some minds.

"Spirituality and Education" Pt. 1

Disclaimer: This post is a "stream of thought" post so I apologize if it is a bit rambling.

I recently attended a conference concerning the issue of spirituality in education. The conference was primarily focused on the issue of the spirituality of college students. This is a topic I am very interested in, and have been doing research on for the past year. It seems that college students (specifically in North America) are undergoing a significant developmental change. My colleagues in the world of higher education are struggling on how to deal with the issues of morality, spirituality and ethics when it comes to our student’s beliefs and behaviors. I find this a very difficult issue as well, because our students are obviously struggling and despite many of our efforts we are just unable to help them. This problem is not just at public or "secular" institutions, but is widespread and occurring at religious institutions as well. There seems to be an underlying desperation among my colleagues, and that honestly concerns me. What concerns me most is that many of my colleagues have not yet worked out their own spiritual existence, so it is very hard for them to work with students who are also trying to work out their spiritual existence. The proposition that one can help another work out spiritual crises when they have not gone through a similar crisis is quite frightening. To make things worse, most of our college students are of the Millennial Generation. This generation is very different from those of the past, and they are evolving faster than Higher Education can keep up with them. There is no correct way to address this issue, but it must be discussed and we must find a way to better help our students and ourselves.

I will address this issue more in a few days. If you have any thoughts, please share.

This and That

I find it hard these days to find time for the things I once so enjoyed. I hope that the reason I am unable to find time is because I am lazing or slacking, not because I am getting older and have to deal with other issues. Jenn and I have often mentioned that since we moved here, we have noticed that time goes by faster. It really does seem that the way of life moves faster than our last home, a smallish community deep within the Rocky Mountains. I’ve always heard people say that the way of life in the south is slower than everywhere else; I think those people are crazy.

I do think things here move faster. I believe it has a lot to do with the consumerism culture, as well as the Southern "hospitality culture". In regards to consumerism, it seems to me that individual’s lives revolve around three things: 1) Shopping, 2) Work, and 3) Church (notice how I did not say God). The overwhelming impression here is that if you are not at work or at church, you must be shopping. No ifs ands or buts about it. This plays into the Southern "hospitality". More so than anywhere I have ever been, these Southerners are social creatures. They cannot be alone with themselves and their thoughts. If they are alone, they must be shopping. Everything is about interacting with others, church, high school football, going to the mall, going to weddings, etc. It is all about being around and being seen. I won’t say whether this is right or wrong, but it is very different than what I was used to. I am more comfortable with the "rugged individualist" of the Mountain West…or at least people who are okay with being alone.

Anyway…these are just some thoughts after having a not so awesome day in the mid-South (that is what the truck commercials call this area of the country). So I must then live in the central northwestern corner of a mid-southern state that borders "mid-western" and "southern" states.

A New Year

I know that it has been 2006 for almost two weeks now. I am behind, as usual. It has been a long couple weeks, and it feels like it should be much later than in the month than it is.

As everyone and their mom have said, 2005 will be a significant year in the history of the USA. It will also be a significant year in the history of the World (well, at least in this current incarnation of the world). I think we all know the reasons why 2005 was a big year, and despite the fact that your middle school social studies teacher would use that same statement right before s/he would go ahead and tell you why such and such was significant, I am just going to leave it at that.

The reason that I write this post is then to just make sure that I get on the bandwagon (albeit a few days late). But seriously, another year has passed and we are all older, hopefully we are all wiser, and maybe, just maybe, some good will come out of 2006 (like the impeachment of GWB). It would be nice if he was kicked out of office, but at least an impeachment would do nice. If we can impeach a President for lying about sex, we should at least be able to impeach a President for lying about WMDs, domestic spying, lying about Iraq’s ties to Bin Laden, etc. It would be great if this would start a trend. Our society is so darn litigious as it is, maybe we can take that to the next level and just go crazy impeaching our elected officials. I am sure we wouldn’t have to stop at GWB…we could go state by state and impeach some governors too.

For my parting words of my first post in 2006, if you have not seen the “World’s Largest Retailer Movie” aka Wal-Mart: The High Cost of a Low Price, I would suggest renting it and watching it. Here is a toast to 2006 in hopefully being a Worlds Largest Retailer free year!

Do Unto Others

I found this on the Raw Story site and the article can be found at Kansas.com, Professor beaten; attackers cite KU creationism class.

Obviously I don't know who did this, nor do I know the motive. However, the fact that this person was beaten allegedly by individuals who disagreed with his stance on Intelligent Design is horrifying. By all accounts the professor had not spoken about intelligent design followers in a positive light, but that should not warrant a physical attack on him.

Way to go Skyhawks!

From the Durango Herald: Undefeated Fort Lewis wins national Division II soccer title. "In a tight, vigorous game, Fort Lewis defeated Franklin Pierce 3-1 to claim the national championship."

Woot! Woot! I know I graduated four years ago, but this is pretty awesome as it puts my Alma Mater on the map. All of us who graduated from Fort Lewis know how great it is, but now the rest of the country is getting a little taste.