Commitment

I've made it abundantly clear that I feel peace begins with each and every one of us. In the short term I feel the best way I can make strides towards peace is by working on furthering my own inner peace. By working towards being more at peace with myself, I will also be working towards putting myself in a position to more positively impact the world. It's difficult to be rational and compassionate when the overwhelmed by the stresses of life. Therefore I am making a commitment to reduce stress in my own life and find inner peace.

In the long run, I suspect education is key to peace; people ruled by irrationality will always be plagued by conflict. My passion for erudition and education have me on a path which I hope will enable me to affect meaningful change, even if only in a small region. Thus I'm making a long-term commitment to help others find peace by educating them.

Inner Peace

As I've intimated from the beginning of this blog, I feel that personal, inner peace in each person is necessary before peace on a larger scale can even begin to be a viable option. Daily stress, worrying about making ends meet, and existential angst all put us in an adversarial mindset where we are more likely to look at other people as as impediments to our own happiness than as fellow beings just trying to making a living in this world. Although it can be difficult to find the time, it greatly benefits each of us to find a way to shut out the world and regain our mental focus every once in a while. I know I find myself needing to do it fairly often, but it dramatically improves my quality of life.

The Ritalin of the Masses

Karl Marx said that religion was the opiate of the masses; what we need now is something to serve as the Ritalin of the masses. The modern citizenry generally lacks both the ability and the desire to focus on current events long enough to have an informed understanding of what’s going on in the world today. Unfortunately, this problem extends far beyond just a lack of political awareness, and seems include a lack of awareness about any topic which isn’t found on the cover of People magazine.

In the decades following the Second World War, the notion of American exceptionalism reached its zenith and has since diminished so far as to now be nothing more than a joke. American ignorance has become infamous both domestically and world-wide. In some segments of the population, being uneducated is almost a mark of pride. The inverse is true as well: intelligence is a source of derision and children quickly learn to hide it lest they face harassment; it’s not surprising that few kids want to be labeled a nerd.

In a democracy, an ignorant public is a liability: already more than once in my lifetime the people of this country have been misled by shrewd politicians more concerned with their own agendas than with the good of the nation. I remain convinced that, in a country with a better-educated populace, the case for invading Iraq would never have been accepted so readily (if at all), nor is it likely that George W. Bush would have served two terms as president.

The current trend is not encouraging either, as education becomes less concerned with thought-processes and more of a goal-oriented affair. Test scores are now the primary focus of K-12 programs in this country, students aren’t taught how to evaluate arguments or come up with rational solutions to problems. Rote memorization and regurgitation of facts in order to correctly bubble in answer sheets seems to be all we want out of the next generation of students.

When voters are unable to critically assess claims made by people in public office, they are in a position to be influenced by emotional appeals rather than logic. Once that becomes the norm, as it has in the United States, policy debates become popularity contests and all it takes to further one’s personal agenda is convincing rhetoric. Since the people who actually care about peace and justice in the world also tend to be people who rely on reasoned arguments, it’s clear that a lack of awareness on the part of the electorate can only detract from the creation of a peaceful world.

Re: Stand Up!

The video "Stand Up" was an interesting take on the issue of LGBT discrimination. The fact the video featured Irish students, to me, served as a depressing reminder that bigotry is far from a US issue. Similar in scope is the "It Gets Better" campaign started by columnist Dan Savage, and serves to assure LGBT teenagers that, once past the tense years of adolescence, life gets better once its in their own hands.

This is one of a number of issues which tends to greatly frustrate me since the "morals" people claim are being violated are purely subjective, social constructs which predominate our culture due to our religious background. Perhaps it's slightly changing the focus here, but I think many of the issues we face today stem directly from our society's extreme tendency towards social conservatism and religious fundamentalism.

Small but significant portions of the population are denied legal recognition of their relationships because a set of stories written millennia ago and on the other side of the world doesn't agree with them. It would actually be fascinating if it wasn't so sad; had another culture attained hegemony things might be very different in that respect. In many parts of the world, LGBT members of society were not only tolerated, but in certain cases were held in high regard.

A look at Yemen

While protests have been building over the past weeks in Yemen, the president remains defiant in the face of criticism. This is in spite of the fact that high-ranking military officers have thrown their lot in with the rebels. This fracture within the military is becoming more noticeable as time goes on: with some soldiers finding themselves fighting Republican Guardsmen loyal only to the president.

The Yemeni president has offered to not run for re-election, much in the same vein as former Egyptian president Mubarak did in hopes of appeasing the protesters. In the case of president Saleh's offer, however, there is much skepticism because he made a similar promise in 2005 yet later decided to run for re-election the following year, which he won.

Many Yemeni diplomats have broken with the president, either resigning in protest of a brutal government crack-down against dissidents last week. Yemen's ambassador to France has now called president Saleh's resignation "unavoidable" and has indicated support for the rebels.

A major complication in the matter, however, is a strong Al-Qaeda presence in the country. The United States and Saudi Arabia have come to rely on the heavy hand of Saleh in keeping the terrorists, if not in check, at least unable to operate freely and there is concern that, with the unrest and possible removal of the president from office, Yemen will become a safe haven for the group.

In Memorandum

Date: 02/14/2011
To: ENGL 1311 Students
From: Joshua Adams
Re: Amnesty International

All over the world there are people who are being denied basic rights or having those rights severely curtailed by their governments or other oppressive regimes. They are the voiceless ones who need advocates to campaign on their behalf in order to bring about needed change. As the world has become more and more interconnected, the scope of what constitutes human rights has grown to include more than just freedom from persecution, however. They now also include issues such as: education; economic, social, and cultural rights; human dignity and the abolishing death penalty; the concerns of indigenous peoples; and all forms of discrimination to name just a few.

Since 1961, Amnesty International has been at the forefront of the fight to end human rights abuses around the globe. Although originally founded in order to safeguard the rights of political prisoners, they now have broadened their scope to address all manner of human rights issues. They research reported cases and gather the necessary information in order to persuade governments to change the harsh policies which are affecting people. From demonstrations and letter-writing campaigns to community activities, they bring the story to the forefront, hopefully pressuring those in charge to bring about much-needed change. Individuals who wish to join in these efforts have many opportunities to do so, depending upon their desired level of involvement: monetary donations, membership in the organization, volunteer positions, internships, and full employment are all options.

Websites, newsletters, and podcasts are just a few examples of how Amnesty International spreads information on both its current campaigns and new issues which have just recently come to light. The organization also maintains an extensive online library of its publications, archives of reports, videos, and information about past campaigns it has waged; all of which can be found on the Amnesty International website: amnesty.org. When actively campaigning on an issue, they lobby the respective legislative bodies which directly shape the laws they are trying to change. Grassroots movements and other local organizations are also brought into the discussion so that the concerns of the people in the affected communities are heard.

Impressions of the Central Asian Institute

My thoughts immediately after watching a video from the Central Asian Institute:

I generally agree with the notion that education can serve as a means to help people in developing nations improve their lives. Obviously, people without the ability to think for themselves are more likely to be manipulated by others and will not have the basic skills to raise their children or contribute positively to their communities. The efforts of the Central Asian Institute seem like they have their hearts in the right place, but I do question the long-term efficacy of such efforts. It’s not like the notion of education being beneficial to society is at all new and many developing countries have, in the past, contributed greatly to science and the humanities.

One particular point in the video that gave me pause was the claim that motivated students could be given scholarships to further their education and then return to their villages to affect meaningful change. I have no statistics on the matter, but I wonder how often that actually happens. Perhaps I’m cynical, but I suspect many villagers, given the opportunity to have a university education and improve their own standing, might be hesitant to then return to their villages after being away. That being said, I do think education is essential to improving the lives of people world wide. Where I possibly differ is in the idea that traditional ways of life can be sustained while simultaneously educating and improving the quality of life for people. Education can be very revolutionary and it seems like in cultures which remain highly immutable to change it will be a very difficult task.

Obviously this video is a feel-good PR piece, and I think it has it’s place, but not once did they mention the violent backlash such education, especially the education of young women, often faces in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It’s certainly no secret that many schools have been destroyed and countless young women have been assaulted for trying to receive an education. Until these more fundamental societal issues are addressed, I question how effective these programs will be. Of course, it’s often suggested that educating women will, over time, curtail that sort of violent extremism.