The Middle East, Rap Music, and Movies

A few weeks ago, I was reading about J. K. Rowling in Time magazine. Speaking on how global Harry Potter has become, the author reported that a teacher in Pakistan asked their students to look at the books politically. The students called Pervez Musharraf Voldemort, and labeled Benazir Bhutto as Bellatrix Lestrange. Bellatrix Lestrange is evil, which didn't fit with what the press was saying about Bhutto after her death (the photo is from the Academy of Achievement).

William Dalrymple was the exception--and solved the Lestrange-martyr mystery. In Time (Jan. 14, 2008), he writes things like: "Amnesty International accused [Bhutto's] gouvernment of having one of the world's worst records of custodial deaths, abductions, killings, and torture."

I went to a Sundance film yesterday. Slingshot Hip Hop. It was a documentary about Palestinian rappers in occupied Israel. And after the showing--woah, five of the rappers were there. They were sitting right behind us, and went up and fielded questions and did a little free-style.

It was an interesting way to look at the conflict--how rappers from the different groups can't all get together for a concert because visas to leave the occupied territory are so hard to come by--and because the issue and honoring of visas is so arbitrary. Where some of them live, it takes eight hours to travel fourteen miles, because of all the checkpoints set up.

That surprised me. They can't move around. They don't have mail and electricity gets cut off. They aren't free. The rappers more than once in the film called rap their reason to live.

I think, though, an equally sympathetic story could have been told from the Israeli side. During the Q&A, someone asked what they could do to help the occupied Palestinian cause, and one of the rappers essentially said, "don't support Israel." Both sides of the conflict are unyielding--it is all black and white, so no one can win.

I saw Juno this weekend. It was the best movie I've seen in a long time. I liked it even better than the fancy Sundance flick. Fox Searchlight owns the image.

Letter! To the Editor!

The Deseret News yesterday published a story on the front page about Senator Allen Christensen's (R-Ogden) bill to require every Utah public school classroom to display the American flag and a copy of the Declaration of Independence. I thought this was an entirely ineffective way to promote patriotism, Sen. Christensen's stated objective, so I wrote a letter to the editor. And the Deseret News published it.


Here is the article:

Law sought to require classroom flags
by Jennifer Toomer-Cook

The Pledge of Allegiance, flag etiquette classes, the "In God We Trust" motto, and now, the Stars and Stripes and the Declaration of Independence—state legislators want to make schools more outwardly patriotic places.

Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, is drafting a bill that would require the display of the American flag and a copy of the Declaration of Independence in every public school classroom in Utah.

"This started off because a friend of mind did a little bit of research on college campuses and he couldn't find anybody who could tell him what the Constitution was, let alone what was in it — and these were college students," Christensen said.

"There's not a lot of patriotism going around out there," he said, contrasting controversy over the war in Iraq with patriotism of World War II. "We need to pass some of this on to the younger generations, what a truly special and wonderful thing our Constitution is and what a fabulous country we live in. We can't require they say the Pledge of Allegiance anymore, but anything we can do to teach the younger generations to truly revere the flag and at least know something about the Constitution, I would love that."

The bill does not require the Constitution be displayed in classrooms, but Christensen said he might add that provision, and maybe the Bill of Rights, to the bill's requirements.
But some educators wonder if the bill will have the desired effect.

"I always assumed that the state required the American flag be in every classroom — I've never been in a classroom without an American flag," said Mike Leavitt, a history teacher at Riverton High School. "I don't necessarily believe (the bill's requirements) would raise the level of awareness for patriotism or for our Constitution."

Many schools have a "freedom shrine" of historically significant documents. State law requires elementary students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily, though parents can excuse children from the exercise. Secondary schools are encouraged to do so weekly; the Granite Board of Education, for one, requires as much.

State law also requires schools to post the national motto, "In God We Trust." Several school districts received donations to buy framed depictions of the phrase; Christensen believes a similar outpouring would follow his bill.

The state core curriculum also includes flag education for elementary students and U.S. history and civics for older children.

Crestview Elementary principal Verneita Hunt says those lessons are taught.

"You can't make kids more patriotic," said Hunt, whose students have sent valentines to service men and women in Iraq in past years.

"You can show them, teach them, help them understand our country, and then because of the love of their country ... they will become more patriotic because they choose to be, because they understand the freedoms our Constitution gives us."

In the aftermath of the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, several schools showed outward signs of patriotism, including singing patriotic songs, writing notes to the troops, offering service.

Schools still do that sort of thing. But they've been downplayed as schools focus on the three R's and do-or-die tests. And it's true, today's students are not like those in the 1940s.

"How do you change society?" Hunt said.

"It's been a long time since we've had a world war ... since our nation has truly come together and sacrificed hard," she said. "We get a little spoiled in our life — and sometimes it's our own freedoms, freedom of speech, of being able to do things we do ... and we forget truly what that freedom has given us."

Leavitt says students learn better when they can relate the Constitution to their lives now, rather than to words on a hanging document or in a textbook.

Riverton High students turned civics lessons into practice last month when they lobbied legislators and the Jordan Board of Education to observe Veterans Day, a state and federal holiday, with time off from school. Students came up with the idea from their own experience with family members and loved ones who have served or are serving in the military, and they wanted a day to spend time with and honor them.

"When kids see civics in action, that's the best way to learn," Leavitt said. "That's kind of what we're teaching as educators, is rigor and relevance, something where the kids think this is going to apply to them, pertain to them, in the future. That's the best way to do it."

And here is my response:

As a 20-year-old college student, I was taken aback by Sen. Allen Christensen's claim that his friend "couldn't find" college students with knowledge of the Constitution, but even more so by his lack of confidence in my generation.

It cannot be assumed, as Sen. Christensen has done, that we do not love our country. I have experienced public education much more recently than Sen. Christensen. I did learn patriotism from my public schools — not from mechanically reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, rather from teachers who taught well and challenged me.

I do not believe this proposed bill can foster better citizens. Measures to improve the quality of teaching and learning, however, could.

A plea to the international community...

...to help Bush find bombs to decry that actually exist.

It turns out the Iranians aren't plotting to blow us up after all. News recently broke that according to the National Intelligence Estimate (I don't know what that is, but it sounds very official), Iran halted its nuclear-weapons program in 2003. HALTED ITS NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM IN 2003. This week's Time (headline: "Now They Tell Us?") neatly timelined-out quotes from Bush and others about Iran's aggression towards the US...their serious pursuit of nuclear weapons...WWIII....

To be fair, NIE estimate is "moderately sure." Or "mostly positive." Or "Yeah, I think so." Something like that. What is that on our color-coded terrorist scale? Violet?

All this sounds somewhat familiar--namely one of Bush's big reasons for going to Iraq, that is, his claim that they had weapons of mass destruction. His claim despite the lack of evidence from UN weapons inspections and Hans Blix (who, according to the picture in my mind, is an avid skier and is fond of wearing scarves).

So here I offer my solution to these befuddling unfindable-weapon situations. I here officially launch the Bombs for Bush campaign: A plea to the international community to help Bush find bombs to decry that actually exist.

The bomb part of the image comes from http://www.303rdbg.com/bombs1.jpg.

For Your Reconsideration

I got back to school Sunday after being home for the Thanksgiving break. I was rather melancholy Monday--components of which likely included being re-surrounded by 30,000 unfailingly smarter and more beautiful people, having my range of mobility once again reduced to the time I have to walk to my destination and back, and the fact that my statistics midterm didn't actually just go away while I was gone. All this brought upon a reconsideration of several things in my life--and then a list of other things that I think we should all reconsider:

1. Pedestrian Crossing Flags

Who thought of this in the first place, anyway? I think it is an idea that would appeal naturally to the eight-and-under crowd, but after that, you just look silly. I think we should figure out if they actually make it safer to cross the street, or if all they do is give you a few moments as an honorary member of the Utah Color Guard.

2. Tax Returns

Doesn't this system seem incredibly inefficient to anyone else? Granted, it is a huge country, and we have to manage taxes some way. But couldn't there be a more efficient ways? Perhaps starting with public education about taxes would help--learning a little less about Colonial America in high school history, and a little more about how to maneuver living in this country today.

3. The New Utah License Plates

I saw one out of the corner of my eye yesterday and thought it was an ad for Marlboro cigarettes. That's all.

Please feel free to add to the list.

Halloween on Campus: a deeper look

This being my twentieth Halloween, I feel qualified to discuss the classification that exists among Halloween costumes. These patterns have become evident to me through years of observations.

All Halloween attire falls into one of three broad categories:
Category A: Every-day attire uninfluenced by the observation of Halloween
Category B: Attire that clearly acknowledges Halloween but that cannot be classified as a costume
Category C: Halloween costumes

Category A: Every-day attire uninfluenced by the observation of Halloween
Generally of little note. Ambiguities, however, arise in several cases, which can be sorted into several classifications.

Ambiguity #1: Specialized attire
Example: an individual’s attire identifies him or her as a “professor” not because it is Halloween, but because that is the individual’s profession. Similar confusions arise with professions such as doctor or firefighter.

Ambiguity #2: Lifestyle
Potential confusion arises from such habits as skateboarding or excessive studying/fondness for pocket protectors.

Ambiguity #3: Personal preferences.
While individuals utilize social cues to signal they are wearing a costume, these signals are sometimes falsely triggered when what would be an extraordinary choice for one individual (appropriate for Halloween) is in fact an ordinary choice for another. Potential “false-trigger” attire include bright colors or patterns, retro-styled clothing, or unexpected use or fit of an article of clothing.

Category B: Attire that clearly acknowledges Halloween but that cannot be classified as a costume


Individuals in this category wish to acknowledge the event of Halloween, but perhaps are unwilling to invest themselves to the full extent seen in Category C [see below]. The manifestations that characterize Category B Halloween attire often include a limited number of the following elements:
-The presence of unordinary colors, particularly black and orange, and, to a lesser extent, purple and bright green
-Motifs that include cats (typically black), pumpkins and/or jack-o-lanterns, and the stereotypical witch
-Attire components and patterns that would typically be considered irregular, such as pointed shoes, headbands with antennae, and broad stripes
Category C: Halloween costumes
The costume, worn in traditional observance of Halloween, accounts for only a minority of attire choices. Though the minority, it is perhaps the most notable of our three categories.

Costumes are first sorted into two broad categories
C.1 Living Things
C.2 Inanimate Objects

These categories can be broken down further:
C.1.1 Generic
These costumes do not represent one specific person. They include the categories:
C.1.1.1 Generic Ordinary People



Includes professions and stereotypes.
Common manifestations: member of the army, nerd



C.1.1.2 Generic Extra-ordinary
Common manifestations: which, ghost

C.1.2 Characters from works of fiction and pop culture
C.1.2.1 Characters from works of science fiction

This major category accounts for a major proportion of Category C
Particularly notable manifestations: Characters from Star Wars, Harry Potter
C.1.2.2 Characters from other works of fiction
C.1.2.3 Characters from pop culture
Manifestations: Uncle Sam, Miss Mary Mack

C.1.3 Figures from real life
This category encompasses the emulation of actual figures
Manifestations: Marilyn Monroe, the current president

C.2 Inanimate Objects

A relatively unlimited category, including such varied possibilities as an iPod, the Rorschach inkblot test, a Lego, and “God’s gift to women” (for which the individual wears a gift-wrapped box with a tag that reads ‘To: Women From: God’)