Jesus Camp

I watched the documentary Jesus Camp tonight and all I can say is WOW! I mean I was aware that people like that existed and everything but actually seeing it....damn. For those of you that aren't familiar with the film, it documents Pastor Becky Fisher and participants in her "Kids on Fire" Evangelical summer camp. To say that it is disturbing is completely understating my feelings. So many things just made me gasp, some examples: 1) "Let me tell you something about Harry Potter. Warlocks are enemies of god. They're an enemy of God. And, had it been in the old testament, Harry Potter would of been put to death. You don't make heroes out of warlocks." (not that she hated HP but that she told a bunch of kids that as Christians they would have killed him if he were real) and 2) how the camp people made a prophet of Bush, and 3) 5-6 year old kids "talking in tongues" as they prayed to stop abortion. I definitely recommend watching Jesus Camp as I was definitely fascinated and if for no other reason than to get a glimpse into the life of fundamentalist Christians, but be prepared to be more than a bit freaked out.

I Want to Hold Your Hand

Overheard comment while waiting for class:

1L in legal writing section: "So can I get extra credit if I come by your office hours?"


Umm....I am sorry, did we just hope in our time machines back to 10th grade?! This is law school. Professors do not want you trying to crawl up their ass and for the most part they don't really give a damn about whether or not you take advantage of office hours. Office hours are held because they are required as a condition of employment for professors, not because they have some deep-seated need to hold your hand. Most professors are not crying themselves to sleep at night because no one comes to his/her office hours (notable exceptions to this rule include Prof. S). Professors have their own research and professional agendas and you coming to visit them in office hours only interrupts that process. Now most professors are more than happy to help you once you get there because they do want you to succeed especially when you are willing to make the extra effort, but they certainly don't want to provide an incentive so every student will roll into their office with no specific question or plan but instead just wanting the face time to get the extra credit. Seriously, how have you made it this far in law school and still be this clueless?

A Dream Deferred?

(Warning: I am back and so is my soapbox)

Today is Martin Luther King Day and unlike other years where I have just let that fact slip by without much thought other than how I get a day of no classes, I decided to really think about Dr. King and his legacy. So I hauled out my Penguin Book of Twentieth Century Speeches that I have kept from undergrad (the book is awesome, fyi) and re-read Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and honestly I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad. For all the positively and feelings of hope instilled in the message of his address and for all of the changes that have occurred since then, it also served as a brutal reminder of how far we as a nation have yet to go. I couldn’t help but wonder if Dr. King’s dream would ever be realized and how long that realization would take, because to me that speech could very well have been written yesterday. Sure we have done away with institutionalized segregation and bigotry but have we gotten to a place where we can stand-up and call each other sisters and brothers? Are we not still a land full of segregation and oppression?

If you don’t think segregation and oppression still exist talk to a Mexican immigrant who is accused of stealing American jobs, live a life in the day of a young Islamic-American man who is often regarded as terror suspect in his own country, or go to a small southern town with an all-white community pool and golf club. We still judge people by the color of their skin and not by the strength of their character. We still judge people by their socio-economic status and not on their own attributes. Racism and hatred still fester and bring pain and suffering. America is still not the great nation it could and should be. Dr. King’s words are every bit as applicable now as they were then.

I hope that Dr. King’s message will reach out and inspire a new generation to strive to achieve those dreams and to break free from the confines of maintaining the status quo. Our generation needs to pick up the banner so artfully and passionately carried by Dr. King and his contemporaries and finally be the change he envisioned. In the words of Dr. King, “Now is the time to make real the promises of Democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.” It is my sincere hope that in another 44 years my grandchildren will read Dr. King’s speech and feel nothing but hope and inspiration. I want for them to have difficulty seeing any similarities between the America they know and the divided nation that Dr. King speaks of, because only then will Dr. King’s dream be a reality.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

So another holiday season has come to an end and I am sad to report that I think I have come to the conclusion that the holidays will never be able to achieve the ridiculously high expectations I put on them. Every year I am filled with the heady thought that this year will be the year that breaks the trend of less then stellar holiday experiences. I am swept in with the beautiful music and the idea of being filled with joy, thanksgiving, and being blessed. I bop around singing my favorite carols, getting intense joy out finding the perfect gift and start to think that maybe the world is a little brighter then it thought. But then comes the actual holiday time and it never pans out how I expect it to. I end up getting bummed out by the over commercialized gimmy-gimmy attitude of Americans, get pissed about the ridiculous traffic, and overwhelmed by my family. Then I start to feel guilty about no longer being filled with joy, thanksgiving, and hope and that just adds so much to the whole holiday funness. It’s never a bad holiday but it’s never a truly great one either. I just have to learn to accept that just because I love Christmas carols and the ultra-conceptual idea of a perfect family holiday doesn’t mean I love the actuality of the real holiday season.

Basically the holiday season at my house with my family is just very overwhelming. Not to be melodramatic but honestly every time I step into my parent’s house its like I can physically feel a wave of energy crashing into me. Sometimes the energy is exhilarating and just what I need to recharge and sometimes it’s a little like I am drowning in my family. Before you think I am being all judgy, let me say that I am totally willing to own up that a large share of the blame belongs to me. You see, I am relatively low-key and somewhat of a loner so after about 8 hours of my loud outgoing family I am feeling a little overwhelmed and usually needing an escape.

It just that with my family there is always a constant hum of activity. Everywhere you go there is someone and chances are they are doing that something rather loudly. In the living room you will most likely find my father watching television at mind numbingly high volumes as he going deaf. In the kitchen most likely my mom will be cooking while having a conversation with at least one of my siblings. This conversation will be interrupted at least five times by one of my youngest sisters running in and screaming that my brother is bothering them or my sister singing and dancing herself Broadway style into the kitchen to get some milk. Upstairs my grandmother is finding fault with something or someone and someone else is running away from her in tears. Every room has someone, and they are never just sitting there quietly.

And if by some chance you find somewhere to be alone it never fails that within 5 minutes someone will have tracked you down to ask you what you are doing and most likely if you are mad at them. No one in my family seems to get that sometimes I just need some freakin down time. I’m not mad, I am just exhausted. This might be hard to get if you never met them so to clarify I will share that more than once friends have commented that they think of my family after watching “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” or “Cheaper by the Dozen.” I always love spending time with them but sometimes it reminds me of a George Burns quote, “Happiness is having a large close knit family in another city.” All in all I love them to death and wouldn’t trade them for anything but sometimes you need to vent and if you can’t vent on your blog then where can you?