Sheila's Prayer

Yesterday, we went to visit Oscar and Sheila, two of the recyclers in Redemption who play a somewhat smaller role.  I first met the two of them back in April, wandering around some industrial facilities in West Oakland.  At that time, they were simply looking for a decent place to sleep.  Where they might find adequate shelter and warmth in that area, I had no idea.

For the last several months, though, they have apparently established a “home.” Tucked at the end of Ettie Street in West Oakland you will find a small area of huddled shopping carts, covered in tarps, with a few blankets in between them.  Scattered underneath the carts and around the blankets caked in filth, you will find all kinds of odds and ends: a piece of an old sofa, a plastic container with a half-eaten bagel, a suitcase filled to the brim with Oscar’s cherished books.  In the farthest corner of their little encampment is their bathroom, which is anything but private.  The edge of their camp is against a fence which blocks out the area beneath the freeway to public access.  This fence serves as one of the “walls” of their bathroom, the other of which is one of the tarp-covered shopping carts.

To use the bathroom, they squat against this fence, and defecate into a bucket or an old Folger’s coffee container.  To keep things relatively sanitary, this material is discarded into trash bags which are kept on the other side of the street until the time comes to remove them.  The city doesn’t service these trash bags, of course, so they must walk a few miles to dispose of their own waste.  This is sadly ironic in some ways, because just behind their fence is a human waste treatment facility, its powerful engines constantly purring.   

In spite of all this, we arrived to find Sheila sweeping the sidewalk surrounding her encampment.  She gathers all the dust and dirt in the area into little uniform piles, and lifts them up into one of her small trash cans.  It’s a fairly surreal experience – nothing out of the ordinary, were it not for the extraordinary and dire living conditions she had been placed in.  Considering her position, it’s somewhat remarkable she finds the motivation to clean the area in the first place.

We had a fairly quick interview with Sheila, as Oscar never showed up.  Sheila says he was out to purchase some of the medicine to help him cope with his cancer, which includes pills that cost about 20 dollars apiece.  A monumental price for almost anyone, but especially for people who have to gather some 100 pounds of glass just to make 7 dollars.  She gave us a tour of her home, and we asked her what her most treasured possessions were and where she kept them.  “The blankets.”  She responded.  “Because when it gets cold out, they’re the only things that are going to keep us alive.”

Before we left, she asked me if she could have a little money.  Though I know Sheila is prone to cocaine use and alcohol abuse, she had been so helpful in the interview that I felt obliged.  I gave her a mere two dollars, not necessarily a great honorarium for a two-and-a-half hour interview.  I thought to myself that some celebrities, just as prone to self-destruction, would be paid thousands for a similar grace of their time, and indeed might even be said to be “winning.”  I can’t justify Sheila’s actions, and I can’t say for sure how she ended up spending that two dollars.  But isn’t her life more valuable than that?  Isn’t it obvious that the paltry offering I gave her was far too little, that her story and her time should be considered useful and wanted?

I hope that Sheila will be one of the lucky ones who can get into rehab and change her story, but realistically even that probably wouldn’t be enough.  To break the stranglehold of poverty found in this corner on Ettie Street, there would need to be a comprehensive, creative, and patient effort on many different fronts, an effort that I doubt many Americans are willing to give or even pay attention to at this particular juncture.

We call ourselves the greatest nation in the history of the earth, but how does greatness allow this?  How does greatness turn a blind eye to this?  How does greatness view itself as helpless to overcome this, or simply too busy or too indifferent to engage this?  The short answer is that it doesn’t, and the long answer needed to break this cycle of poverty and ensure our national greatness is much more complicated.  But that answer is indeed needed – that discussion is needed.  The first step is to accept that this aspect of greatness is left wanting, and to see to it that we do our part to remedy it.

When we left Sheila, I gave her a hug and she kissed me on the neck – as far up as her tiny body could reach.  That expression of love and faith alone was worth far more than the two dollars I gave her, and far more than I can hope to achieve by having this interviews with her.  Even if it’s too late for Sheila, her time and her kiss are now her prayer – a prayer that others won’t have to live like her.  A prayer that others will have a home, and a security, and a community to foster their spirits and salve their wounds, and love them, and appreciate them, and confer dignity upon them.

I can only hope that I can help be the messenger of Sheila’s prayer.    

Cheers to the Fighters

The following is the single greatest poem I have read in a long time, and the only thing that makes it sweeter is that it was written by the single greatest person I have ever met.  No ado is necessary, as the poem speaks for itself, and single-handedly surpasses anything I could write in response.

 

Natalie, I love you.

Cheers to the Fighters

I burn our candle in hopes to burn time.

The batteries in the old clock will not be replaced

in an attempt to forbid my mind to count

the hours since we parted.

True love takes hard work,

hard work takes pain

I guess that's why divorce turns dreams into dust.

People keep on hoping.

I have tried hope.

It's a nice word, but is meaningless

without commitment, without strength.

Complaints benefit others, but never yourself.

They can keep complaining about love

and we will keep proving them wrong.

Cheers to the fighters —

Someday we will retire in paradise.

-Natalie Cole
(http://nataliemarie-nataliescorner.blogspot.com/2012/08/cheers-to-fighters.html)

First Days in Oakland/Berkeley

It has only been a few days since I’ve arrived in Berkeley to work on my friend’s documentary, Redemption, but I sincerely feel as though I’ve made the right decision to come here.  Not for any monetary reason (were it not for the generosity of my hosts, I would barely make enough money to scrape by here) but more fundamentally for the purpose of a good challenge, and a good story to be discovered.

Redemption tells the story of Oakland’s recyclers: members of an economic underclass who survive by redeeming countless bottles, cans, bits of metal, and other goods at local recycling facilities.  In our case, the facility in question is Alliance Metals.  If you didn’t know what you were looking for, you probably wouldn’t even notice it if you drove by its location in Dogtown.  Were it not for the ever-ubiquitous amounts of stolen shopping carts rolling to its gates, it probably would never be noticed.  

Amir noticed.  He’s the kind of guy who notices everything.  Every story, every person has something special to offer.  And he doesn’t just say stuff like that, he genuinely lives it.  Yesterday, we visited the recycling center for what was only my second time.  By happenstance, we arrived just as Miss K, a friend of Amir’s was finishing up her route for the day and trading in the recyclables she had collected.  Covered in filth, and with the general air of poverty around her, most people would brush off types like Miss K, but not Amir.  He gave her a big hug, and summarily introduced me to her.

He invited her to lunch, and we resolved to eat at a small Korean restaurant on Telegraph Avenue (she is originally from Seoul).  Miss K and I stepped out of the car a bit earlier than Amir, who was fumbling around with his keys and wallet in the car.  As Miss K walked into the restaurant and asked for a seat, the greeter told her she would have to wait.  Only moments later, as Amir and I stepped in, we were immediately offered a seat that was clearly vacant.  

The poor are invisible to us, because we do not want to see them.

Is it fear that leads us to stick our noses up at people in such a way?  Is it shame?  Or is it something else?  Does Miss K have the air of a bum or a drunkard about her, which leads us to refuse her service or our time?

When you get to know Miss K, she really is as personable as anyone else.  She makes small talk and asks questions about you just like any stranger would.  The only stark and obvious difference is her extreme poverty.  Miss K is old (nearing 60) but she has a certain resilience about her, a certain dignity, a certain beauty.  She is a sweetheart.  She is diminutive, but strong.  She has a cute smile.  

But would you have seen her?

Regrettably, I must admit to myself that, were it not for this experience, I wouldn’t have.  I would have passed her on the streets.  I would have never known anything about her story.  It’s hard to hear every story, or to make time for everyone, but perhaps even a smile and a “good morning” would have meant something.

I’m beginning to notice things out here I never could have possibly noticed had I stayed at home.  As an outsider to Oakland and Berkeley, I can’t say that I understand it yet, let alone that I know how to fix it or even address it.  This place is fraught with urban blight, cycles of poverty and injustice, and countless other issues to be sure.  Yet, at the same time, there is a wealth of spirit and energy just waiting to be cultivated.  Sometimes it hides, and other times it emerges from the ether, in the form of Miss K’s contagious smile.  I am beginning to sense this spirit.  I hope to embrace it and define it, at least a piece of it.

I am where I am meant to be, and I look forward to the new adventure each day brings.

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The Courier

**Disclosure: Much of the poetry I post here is in a rather raw form, and I'm open to criticism or whatever from anyone.  I may change it later if I feel I worded things incorrectly, but until then I hope the 3 people that visit this blog will enjoy it.  Anyway, here's a poem I just now wrote**

The Courier

Looking at your pictures,
I can't help but feel that
I'm trying to reach you in a
wholly inadequate way,

Like a Zealot trying to soften
the distance between he and Christ
merely by reading scripture.

Like any Holy text,
Your photographs and letters
Serve only as a reminder.

I cannot read my way into
your arms any more than I can
read my way into
the arms of God.

Your love,
His love,
All love must be lived.

Your truth,
His truth,
All truth must be sought,

With a hungry
and eager heart,
ready to bleed
in love's sacred name.

Your passion and his
resonate inside me
as one,

And I realize his true scripture
lies in you,
His Courier,

On whom He has written His sacred word.

A Strange Crossroads

I seem to be at some sort of really strange crossroads.  In parts of my day, I feel gripped by a state of intense apathy, searching for anything to escape the monotony of what I've been doing for ages.  In other parts, though, I am ensconced in an even more intense passion for everything around me; every sound, taste, touch, and sensation is amplified, and I feel as though a muse has put the very light of the Gods into my soul, and that my every action and utterance will produce seeds that edify and flower as I walk through the garden of my life.

These sensations are, to understate, fairly distinct.  And, strangely, they seem to originate from the same place: my collegiate experience over the last 4 years.

On the side of apathy, I feel tired of doing some of the same routines over and over.  I have written pages of meaningless work for many different professors, proving that I have the ability to write coherently and that I understand the material I've just read.  I have sat in on lectures concerning the same theories, the same ideologies, the same general difficulties of the years ahead.  I have poured through the busywork and have re-proven the basic competencies I thought I had shown mastery of in high school.  Yet, here I am, in my final semester, proving many of these same basic skills again.

Yet, on the opposite end of this spectrum, I have discovered incredible things about myself.  I found a love of international politics, and a desire to leave the world a better place than I found it.  I discovered student activism, which has been the hallmark of my time at university.  I found philosophy, and with it the treasure of a million unique ideas I'm only beginning to understand.  I found physics and chemistry, the sciences trying to understand the complex machinery of our world, and I found that the knowledge I thought I had is miniscule and in need of deep expansion.  I found poetry.  I even found love, real love, in the strangest of places and the furthest distance, but learned that such barriers are meaningless when surmounted by intense conviction, longing, mutual trust and purity of heart.

These final few months, despite my strange relationship with apathy and passion, I feel no ambivalence about moving on.  This chapter, as glorious as it was, is merely a prelude to the next story, which I intend to make as special, as unique, and as sincere in its passions as was my previous one, if not more so.  I indeed feel apathy for many of my tasks, but I also still feel the hunger for further knowledge, and the confidence in myself that I can bring big plans to fruition.

So, as this chapter closes, I'd like to pay tribute to everything that it was for me, and to offer a sincere hope that my actions here were for the better, and that any damage I may have caused along this path may in time be healed and overgrown with new joys.  I won't forget this time, and I won't forget those who sacrificed for me, or believed in me, and on the non-believers I wish no ill fortune, because I know that theirs is a part of the larger story as well.  The story that knows of no difference, and holds not to degrees or measures, but rather to the fullness and beauty of itself, which is eternal and unrelenting. 

Thank you, everyone, for allowing me to play my part.

Whisper in a Gale

My life may be a whisper
in a gale, but those same
winds that silence me will
carry my message farther
than any shout ever could.

-Zach Stickney

Protest of SOPA/PIPA

Below is a sample letter I sent to Rob Bishop, Orrin Hatch, and Mike Lee of Utah in protest of SOPA/PIPA.  (For more info on these acts, check this out: http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/stop-the-stop-online-piracy-act) 

This letter is pretty slap-dash, but it gets the point across.  Feel free to copy it and edit it in any way you deem fit and send it to your Representatives in Congress.  This is how citizen-led democracy works!  Get involved- it only takes a few minutes.

Dear Congressman Bishop,

Today, as you may know, thousands of websites are blacking themselves out in opposition to SOPA and PIPA, two acts currently making their rounds in congress which threaten a free and open internet.  Despite their good intentions, these acts make it possible for website access to be restricted to American citizens.  In fact, many of the provisions in both SOPA and PIPA are reminiscent of the censorship laws used in nations like Syria, Iran, and China, 3 nations which severely limit their citizens access to information and, thus, severely limit the liberties of their citizens.

But the United States is not Iran, Syria, or China.  We are a nation founded on beliefs of openness, citizen involvement, and freedom of information.  The problems of copyright infringement are real, but the methods outlined in SOPA and PIPA are considerably worse than any current problems we have, and are very draconian in substance.

I encourage you to vote "no" to both acts, and to encourage your colleagues to do the same.  Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Zachary J. Stickney

Bad Science

Political Scientists often get a bad rap from the “hard” sciences of the physical world – chemists, physicists, geologists, or what have you – who deal in sciences where measurements and units of analysis are fairly consistent and well defined.  They say there is nothing scientific about what we do because we deal primarily in seemingly unscientific variables which are heavily value-based and inconsistent.  Whereas something like the mineral compounds of a certain rock or metal will always be objective and constant, something like the approval ratings of a president or what to do over a hot topic like abortion will always be subjective, conflicting and value-laden.  In this light, why would we even call political science a science at all?

Though political science is certainly incompatible with the natural sciences in many ways, the truth is that political science is an incredibly useful tool for understanding the most unpredictable variable we as a species have yet encountered – ourselves.  Political science gives us a means to qualify and quantify a myriad of issues that concern the day-to-day lives of a great deal of people.  It helps us find the policies that work and don’t work.  It helps us identify the core problems in our communities.  It helps us prescribe, rather than simply describe, means to build strong institutions, fight corruption, and provide for stable governance.  And, believe it or not, political science even has its own “scientific method” when dealing with issues that are prescriptive in nature.

The problem with political science, then, lies not in the science itself.  Rather, the problem with political science lies in the “Bad Science” approaches many would-be political scientists take.  It is important to note that, when I mention political scientists in this instance, I am not restricting my view only to professional political scientists and politicians.  Instead, I am referring to any individual who is involved in a political system, which may very well include every person in the world.  The reason I refer to political scientists in this way is by virtue of the sheer pervasiveness of the field of political science.  Even individuals who have never voted, never intend to vote, and know literally nothing about their own government and political system are indeed actors in their respective political spheres, and ergo can be considered political scientists of sorts (albeit horrible ones).

These “bad scientists,” which I fear may constitute a very large number, are those who have made very little or no effort at all to examining their political beliefs and what they entail.  These individuals, trapped in a strange and esoteric view of the world, subscribe to an extremely narrow-minded view of the political climate around them and indeed may only be concerned with things such as their day-to-day dealings and well being.  When confronted with a political issue, they tend to follow an extremely faulty scientific method.  They have their pre-conceived notion of what they see as correct, and then try to find data, whether quantitative or anecdotal, to support their conclusion.

As any “hard” scientist would tell you, this is a completely backward way of solving a problem.  While I will admit that personal biases are virtually impossible to do away with entirely in this field, the fact remains that, when trying to solve a problem, every effort should be made to see to it that the end result in itself is not biased.  Proceeding in such a matter is not only possible in political science, but is actually fairly easy.  One example would be the Student Ethics Committee I am a part of at Weber State University.  This group is currently attempting to tackle the issue of campaign finance reform in the State of Utah.  This is an extremely sensitive topic, but we have developed a basic route to understanding the problem.  We will be studying lobbyists, representatives to the legislature, the amount of funding in campaigns, and a number of other topics.  Once we have gathered this data, we will piece it together and compare it with other data from other models which are perceived as working well.  After this comparison, we will generate our recommendations for the State of Utah.

Notice that the recommendations are the very last part of the report – not the first.  Though we have an idea of where our research might lead, we have not yet created any recommendations, as we don’t know exactly where the data will point us.  Though when our recommendations are created there is certainly the possibility that our results will be disputed, the fact remains that we will have followed an empirical research model and will have produced information that is useful and for the most part free of bias.

But even in the hard sciences results are often disputed.  Part of being a good scientist is realizing that your work may not have been without flaw.  You must detail your method and leave it open to replication by other parties, who may or may not get the same results as you did.  Accepting that you may be wrong is, again, part of being a good scientist.  Letting yourself subscribe merely to dogma is antithetical to good political science and is antithetical to the development of strong communities and political systems.

I encourage you, then, to instead be good political scientists.  Starting this process is not at all difficult, and can begin by doing something as simple as reading a newspaper or comparing views online.  Many websites are available, in fact, that can help streamline this process for you.  Two I would suggest are www.factcheck.org and www.politifact.com.  These sites can help you sort through the dogma and find the heart of the issues most important to you.

Reflections on September 11

Ten years ago on this now infamous day, I myself was ten years old, a sixth grader at Whitesides Elementary school.  I remember walking to the entrance of the school and hearing my friend Andrew tell me that “Terrorists blew up the World Trade Center.”  I had no idea what he was talking about.  The words “terrorists” and “World Trade Center” were new to me, so I gave a rather nonchalant reply, saying something like “Oh yeah?  Wow.  That’s crazy.”

In the classroom, however, I finally began to grasp exactly what was going on.  It turned out that these terrorists were people who were angry with the United States for some reason, and that this World Trade Center was a large complex of buildings in New York.  A small television screen, normally reserved for educational films or children’s shows, became our gateway to hell on earth.  Broken hearts and burning cities flashed in front of our eyes, and those of us who hadn’t yet met death and tragedy had our innocence tarnished.

Ten years later, I wonder what lessons we best learned from that day.  Most of us who were so small had to learn the details of the attacks secondhand through our parents or other adults.  Given that even most of the adults didn’t understand the specific details, it seems that the picture of the tragedy itself was further tarnished by a failure to grasp the intricacies of a conflict that may very well define our generation.  Instead of attempting to understand this strange and specific enemy, we instead accepted a broad generalization, one which encompassed the entirety of Islam as enemies of the United States.  A faith which produced the light and love of poets like Hafiz and Rumi, and the incredible scholarship of academics like Averroes and Avicenna, overnight became our nemesis, and the face of Islam in the United States came not from its prophet or one of its many renowned children, but from Islam’s greatest thief, Osama Bin Laden.

As these years have passed, I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to learn the truth about Islam and its adherents, and to have learned much more about myself along the way.  I have learned that the messages worth holding on to are those which come from love, and those which were made to build upon that love.  Branding a faith with more than a billion adherents as an enemy of the world isn’t only wrong in a logical sense, but is also wrong morally, as it demonizes brothers and sisters and perpetuates a violent circle between them.

I believe the United States and its people as well as the world’s Muslims are, for the most part, on the right track in building bridges between our not-so-different cultures.  I can’t say for certain which lessons even my own friends and family have chosen, the path of love, forgiveness, and reconciliation, or the path of revenge which fortifies a circle of death, but I do hope that my own story might help others find what is best in them, and what is best in the people around them.  But for me at least, the lessons of these past ten years are best summed up by the words of Hafiz Shirazi:

Plant the tree of friendship for it brings boundless joy,
uproot the sapling of enmity, for it breeds countless sorrows.

The Missing Silhouette

The Missing Silhouette

Walking alone,
I noticed a couple walking
Hand in hand at dusk.
I caught the woman’s eye, and
glanced down, not wanting
to corrupt their moment
with my presence.

A streetlight over my shoulder
projected my shadow on
the pavement, illuminating
the missing silhouette,
casting a reminder of
the shadow I spent my own
loving moments with.

Casting a reminder of you.
You, who made mere summer
nights become poetry in motion.
You, who simultaneously
fill my heart to bursting
and leave me as lonesome
as a dove.

I’m not saddened or angry because
of this reminder, and I don’t
feel used or betrayed.
No, this reminder is a kind much too
heavy, this reminder is the kind
that makes my heart heave
and sigh.

-Zachary Stickney

The Problems of Lasting Peace

A few days ago, while wandering in Weber State's library, I managed to stumble on an awesome book.  I was in the library for no particular reason, trying to kill time before a meeting of some kind, and somehow I walked right into the peace studies section of our library.

There, in one of those old, ragged book covers, slightly covered in dust and smelling like all old books do, was a book entitled "The Problems of Lasting Peace" by former President Herbert Hoover and his aide, Hugh Gibson.

The book was written in the midst of the second World War.  The allies had begun pushing Hitler's Germany back in the European theater, and countless epic naval battles were no doubt taking place in the Pacific.  In the midst of all this combat and chaos, Hoover and Gibson noticed a pattern; endless cycles of violence in war, followed by brief periods of peace and development, followed again by violence.  This was true even in the case of World War I, the "war to end all wars," which, within 20 years, collapsed into yet another global bloodshed. 

Hoover and Gibson identify 7 "Dynamic Forces" which contribute to war and peace, listed as follows:

1.  Ideologies
2.  Economic Pressures
3.  Nationalism
4.  Militarism
5.  Imperialism
6.  The complexes of fear, hate, and revenge
7.  The will to peace

These forces are not arranged in order of importance, but they all have some varying degree of importance depending on which war is being examined.  It is important to note, however, that the first 6 forces typically act against the 7th; that is to say, the will to peace is broken when the emotions and actions prompted by the first 6 overpower it.

One of my favorite quotes from the book, paraphrased, is "Nations can blunder into war, but they cannot blunder into peace."  This, I think, is a key point which isn't given enough thought much of the time.  We tend to view things in black and white: a friend of mine recently said, "all the world's problems could easily be solved if everyone would just be good."  At face value, this is perhaps true.  But issues arise when the phrase is examined further.  Depending on your culture, your socioeconomic status, your race, your religion, your geographic location, your government, your education, and a myriad of other features, what would you define as "the world's problems?"  More important, what would you define as "good?"

Viewing the world through such a black and white, almost esoteric lens is what causes individuals, families, tribes, and finally nations to blunder out of peace.  Narrow definitions which fail to take into account the literally billions of possible viewpoints are destined to collapse.  They allow no structure or instrumentality for reconciliation, for the promotion of peace, or fundamental problem-solving.

This, in effect, is the key problem to lasting peace: a feeling that expedience, that black and white, are more effective than a structured method of peacemaking.  Expedience destroyed loose-knit peaces like the League of Nations and Kellogg-Briand, and expedience continues to threaten global peace today.

Global problems, however defined, are not so black and white as to be solved immediately.  Consensus must be achieved through arduous and often painstaking dialogue, taking into account a vast array of voices and concerns.  As such, lasting peace can only be achieved through the development of mechanisms capable of almost constant change, reinventing the status quo to meet new demands and changing environments.  The development of - and adherence to - global liberal institutions is, thus far, the greatest success the world has had in this experiment.

This, I feel, is a good enough afternoon rant.  That said, I would strongly recommend this book to any student of international law, or, better yet, any citizen of the world.

DRUGS!

Now that I have your attention, a recent report from the Global Commission on Drug Policy says that the global "War on Drugs" has backfired, driving usage rates of drugs up and forcing the creation of an underground drug trade similar to the alcohol black market which developed in the United States during prohibition.

The results of the report suggest that a dramatic rethinking of drug policy needs to take place, and that measures such as the legalization of cannabis (marijuana) should be considered, and that states should even look into measures such as treating drug use as a public health concern rather than a crime, as nations like Portugal have attempted.

What do you think of this report?  Has the War on Drugs failed, or is something else to blame for the increase in drug usage and cartel-related violence?  What can countries like the United States do to decrease drug use, or is the problem itself overblown and should just be ignored?

Let's hear it!

Follow @zstickney

Upward Bound American History Test

I recently finished working as a History teacher for the Upward Bound Pre-college program at Weber State University. Part of my job was to test the students' knowledge on American history and government institutions. My partner and I created a test which we thought would be fairly challenging, but not too difficult to pass. Most of the questions make up what should be general knowledge of American history and institutions and are not overly detailed.

The pre-test results weren't particularly great. Granted, these students are 9th-12th grade and have had very different experiences with history at their respective schools, so overall they did fine.

Pre-test average: 15/35 or about 42%

After the 5 week program, the students did a lot better overall and there were a few significant score increases among the students. In the last few days of the class we had discussions about the Supreme Court and a review day, and their comments were well thought out and insightful, and it appeared that they had learned a lot during the few weeks they were there. And they did: the results were quite a difference:

Post-test average: 23/35 or about 66%

This still isn't spectacular or anything, but considering the short time we spent and that many of these kids haven't had a government-focused course yet, I feel we built a solid foundation for them to expand on when they get back to school in the fall.

In the meantime, however, I would like to know what YOU would get if you took the same test I gave these students. There are 30 open-ended questions and a short 5 point essay at the end, so the test should take you a maximum of 10-15 minutes and probably less. Think you're up for the challenge?

Remember, don't cheat! These students didn't use notes, so you certainly can't use google. Simply answer to the best of your ability and show me what you know!

***UPDATE***  In the original test I failed to have a name/e-mail field so I can get in touch with you.  Sorry about that!  The new test now has a name and e-mail field.  Enjoy!  Also, here are the results for the first 6 nameless forms I received:

1.  27/35, an excellent score!
2.  17/35, pretty close to the average of my students on their pre-tests.
3.  22/35, a decent score, but nothing to write Jefferson about.
4.  20/35, see above.
5.  28/35, another excellent score!
6.  Belinda: 29/35, the high score so far, but not better than my top bounders.
7.  Nick: 29/35, which is especially good considering he didn't do the 5-point essay.
8.  Chad: 32/35, awesome!
9.  Sarah: 31/35, excellente!
10.  Lorrie:  24/35, pretty close to the post-test average for my bounders.
11.  Sarah (another one):  28/35, a solid score.
12.  Wendy:  29/35, well played!
13.  Alexa:  28/35, these averages are quite good!
14.  Zach (but not me):  29/35, very well done good sir!

Keep em' coming!

Understanding War in Afghanistan

I'm a huge fan of National Defense University.  Every so often their affiliate, NDU press, releases extremely interesting and timely material online for absolutely free.

The latest such release is a book entitled Understanding War in Afghanistan by Joseph J. Collins.  Since I just learned about this I haven't had a chance to read it, but I plan on making time for it shortly.  The book appears to cover a full range of topics, including Afghan history, key events and timelines in America's involvement in the country, and an assessment of the current situation and future projections.  Basically, if you're interested in learning about Afghanistan or understanding America's involvement in recent years, this book appears to be a must-read.

If you like what you see here, I would also recommend signing up for Prism, a quarterly publication on everything you could possibly want to know about defense strategies and military planning around the globe.  The best part?  Prism is also free, and you can have a physical copy delivered to your home at no charge.

You're welcome, geeks.

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American Civic Knowledge Survey

Special thanks to my Mum who provided the link to today's blog!  This quick quiz (only 10 questions) is a Civic-literacy exam created by the intercollegiate studies institute.  I'm not sure if what was written in the e-mail is accurate, but according to the e-mail the average American will score somewhere around 50% on this exam, and college professors typically don't get much higher.

The first time I took it I got a 90%, but I won't tell you which one I missed.  No cheating!  Take the quiz and see how you measure up!

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Bill of Rights Rap

  Behold world!  I wrote this song during my work as a History teacher/counselor for Weber State University's Upward Bound summer program.  We were learning about the Bill of Rights in History class, and I just wanted to try and make it fun for the kids.  I apologize that the sound quality isn't the best, but hopefully you'll enjoy it regardless!  Please see the youtube page for the full lyrics if you're interested.

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New Report Ranks Iran Last in the World on Fundamental Rights

A recent report from the World Justice Project ranked Iran last in the world on fundamental rights.  The report measured whether the government and its officials were held accountable under the law, whether laws were clear, publicized, stable and fair, and whether they protected the security of persons and their property.  It also measured the process by which laws were enacted, administered, and enforced, and whether access to justice was competent, independent, and free from interference.

Some of the key findings of the report in regards to Iran were as follows:

• Iran’s law enforcement is fairly strong and effective, but is often used as an instrument to commit abuses
• Iran suffers from a lack of government accountability
• Government corruption is prevalent in Iran
• Courts are efficient, but lack independence and are subject to corruption and interference
• Iranians lack access to fundamental rights such as the right to assemble and petition, freedom of opinion and religion, and basic privacy

Unfortunately, much of this news isn't all that surprising.  This report simply validates further what the world witnessed following Iran's June 2009 elections and the subsequent abuses up to the present day.

If you would like to read more, see page 68 of the report to view Iran's scores.


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U.S. Must Work to Solve its Middle Eastern Crisis of Legitimacy

Note:  This is something I wrote a few weeks ago but decided not to do anything with.  It was an attempt at an Op-Ed, so the content is anything but exhaustive, as anyone who has ever attempted to write an Op-Ed should know.  If you have any questions, please post them and I'd be happy to discuss.

President Obama has received a lot criticism for his recent statement that “the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both sides.”  Both Israeli leadership and U.S. Congressmen alike have decried the statement, saying that it is “inconceivable” that Israel could possibly return to such “indefensible” borders.  Despite this criticism, Obama’s call for constructive dialogue may be Israel’s — and the United States’ — last chance to choose between taking the initiative or becoming a pariah on the issue of Middle East peace.

Earlier this year, the Palestinian Authority announced that it would seek United Nations membership if a peace treaty with Israel couldn’t be reached by September.  This may not seem particularly dire due to the fact that the United States holds permanent membership in the U.N. Security Council, a body which holds veto power over membership requests.  But the fact is that the legal basis for denying Palestinian statehood is actually quite weak.  According to the Montevideo Convention, the article of international law which defines statehood, the state of Palestine meets the requirements already.  Palestine has a permanent population, territory (currently defined as “occupied Palestinian territory”), a government, and recognition by other states.  Palestine is currently recognized by over 130 nations, a solid two-thirds majority of the 192 nations represented in the U.N.

Despite this, it’s highly likely that the United States will nonetheless veto the request should it come to a vote.  If it does so, the decision will solidify the United States’ Middle East policy as merely Israeli-centric.  This serves well for our relationship with Israel, true, but it simultaneously crumbles the much more broad American interests in the Middle East and beyond, exacerbating an already severe U.S. crisis of legitimacy among those nations.  Many Muslim nations will seek to diminish their ties with the United States or even perhaps find a counterbalance to American power.  Without a true regional power to fill the void, most nations will turn instead to a rising power in world politics — the People’s Republic of China.

Examples of this shift to an Eastern orientation can already be seen.  Iran, already an international pariah and the target of multilateral sanctions, has been able to circumvent punishment to a high degree by shifting its trade contracts to China.  In recent years, trade between the two nations has been as high as $30 billion annually.  There has even been evidence that China supplied crowd control weapons and vehicles to Iran during its 2009 protests — a precursor to the Arab Spring — and that China is possibly supporting Iran’s nuclear program behind the scenes.  More recently, China was represented by 144 companies at Iran’s annual Oil Show this April, despite the “crippling” sanctions the United States and its allies hoped to employ.

China has also been at work elsewhere in the Muslim world.  Earlier this week, an article in the Financial Times reported that Pakistani Defense Minister Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtar has asked the Chinese to build a naval base at the port city of Gwadar.  If built, the naval base would allow China to have a permanent military presence near the Strait of Hormuz, achieving overnight what Russia was denied throughout the Cold War.  Though China doesn’t appear to be directly challenging the United States in either of these instances, these actions nonetheless illustrate an attempt to counterbalance U.S. interests.  Any loss of U.S. legitimacy among Middle Eastern nations will drastically increase the likelihood of conflict in the region, costing an unknown amount of American lives and treasure.

The United States must move beyond an Israeli-centric Middle East policy and instead embrace its broader interests in the region.  This does not mean abandoning Israel.  It means getting Israel back to the negotiating table and convincing the Palestinians that pursuing statehood without Israeli consent is against their interests and will undermine prospects for a lasting peace.  The stakes are high, and the status quo is unsustainable.  A change is necessary, and the future of Israeli security and American leadership depends on it.

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2 Year Anniversary of Iranian Protests

This Sunday, June 12, marks the 2-year anniversary of Iran’s fraudulent 2009 elections — a precursor to the current wave of protests known collectively as the Arab Spring. Though the 2009 protests didn’t lead to any substantive change in government in Iran, they nonetheless gave the world its first glimpse at a Middle Eastern energy source far more important than oil: a nascent people power asking only for dignity and solidarity among the fraternity of nations. The movements in Iran, Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere have proven that Islam and democracy are not at all incompatible, as some would suggest.

Though the struggle for justice in the Middle East is far from over, these protests nevertheless signify a watershed moment for the future of U.S. policy with the Muslim world. In the past, political expedience for the sake of energy security allowed the United States to side with dictators and demagogues instead of democrats. The tides have clearly begun to turn, and the United States must turn with them. The new U.S. policy toward the Middle East must place principled leadership over expediency regardless of the short-term cost.

UPDATE:  This letter to the editor was published in Ogden's Standard Examiner

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The Political Compass

Being a political science major has made me realize a rather interesting fact:

People typically have no idea where they stand politically.

If you ask them their feelings on a handful of key issues, they can usually answer with something fairly straightforward.  They may even be able to talk at length on a few of them.  But by and large, when it comes to defining a specific and consistent ideology they don't really seem to know what they're talking about.

Well now, THEY CAN!

Introducing "The Political Compass."

The political compass is a quick and free test which asks a few questions regarding typical political issues, both social and economic.  When finished, the test then gives you a visual representation of your political beliefs, placed on a quadrant according to your answers.  You can even compare your own answers to where famous political figures ended up, from more modern political figures like Barack Obama and Angela Merkel to people like Adolf Hitler and Gandhi.

So where did you land?  Were you surprised by what you found?

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