Tea Party and Such

I must say, I am quite proud of our class: there were several relevant and interesting posts regarding the topic. I was expecting all cartoons, sad day. It's also interesting that most of the posts had something to do with a negative view of the tea party. Again, good job guys. And I must say, most were quite informative. Thus, there is plenty for the editorial!

Mr. Franklin

It's true that Benjamin Franklin used to my very favorite of all historical figures: he invented the public library for god's sake.  How can someone not be awesome after that?  Therefore, it came as a surprise to me upon reading his autobiography/actually memoir, that he was actually quite arrogant.  Painfully so, in fact.  I do believe my least favorite quality that someone can posses is arrogance.  He almost seemed to think it a girt to the readers that they got the pleasure of experiencing his vanity.  Needless to say, I was incredibly upset for the remainder of the book.  I'm not going to lie, it kinda ruined the view I had of him as this infallible wondrous awesomely fantastic person who did all these really cool things while still being a human.  And the rose colored glasses died.  I realized he was an arrogant prick who was MUCH too interested in the weather.  I didn't really want to read about that.  At all.  And I understand that he may not have edited the writing, and those parts may have out, but still.  It was near the end of the book that I realized something else that made me feel a bit better: I feel like if I'd invented the fire station, I'd be arrogant too.  Therefore, I forgive you, Sir Benjamin Franklin, for having an awful personality because, as you said in your book, you deserve to be vain.  Never fear, my favorite stuffed animal will continue to bear your name.

Benjamin Franklin

JESUS CHRIST. If I did as many things in my like as Benjamin Franklin did in his, I do believe I would EXPLODE! Truth.

More Freedom!

Cullen made a great point about freedom meaning different things to different people or groups of people.  This makes me think about a posting I did earlier concerning the Puritan idea of freedom and how it differs from the idea of freedom today.  I had previously thought that the concept had just evolved over the years, but now I feel like we're just a different group of people than the Puritans and that's why we think of freedom differently.  We currently don't have to worry about the freedom of religion, whereas they did every day of their lives back in england.  Maybe how one views freedom is entirely circumstantial.

Stuff In My Dorm Room

Desks, dressers, window seats, pillows, sheet sets, mattresses, mattress pads, beds, blankets, lamps, ipods, phone, laptop, ihome, phone charger, ipod charger, harddrive, two boxes, 2 ipod cases, fan, textbooks, my books, backpack, lapdesk, pencils, pens, markers, colored pencils, envelopes, filing carbinet, coloring book, folders, noteboos, laptop case, water bottles, 5 wash clothes, 4 towels, laundry hamper, clothes, shoes, 2 jackets, hats, scarves, mittens, belts, posters pictures, picture frames, planner, binders, pins, key chains, keys, lanyards, pins, tool box, tools, command hooks, mirror, hair dryer, hair straightener, hair diffuser, face wach, tooth paste, tooth brush, contacts, contact case, contact solution, glasses, glasses case, glasses cleaner, glasses cloth, makeup, makeup case, nail polish, que tips, tweezers, hair clips, braceltes, hair binders, shampoo, conditioner, salt, cups, bowls, plates, silverwear, coffe maker, coffee, coffee filters, brita filter, food, allergy shot serum, refrigerator, medication, sunglasses, stamps, snuggie, hydrogen peroxide, neosporn, airborne, excedrine, pill container, vitamins, drawings, vaccume, scissors, lanters lights, Kleenex, Christmas lights, hair yde, inhaler, hygene products, mouthwash, deodorant, extension cords, power stripes, washer detergent, dryer sheets, sish soap, shower caddy, razors, bathrobe, purses, wallets, gift cards, money, containers for organization, printer, printer paper, printer ink, headphones, stuffed anials, pillow cases, white board, callender, dry erase markers, bags, suitcases, lotion, umbrella, garbage can, recycling can, floss, chapstick, ring, earings, hand mirror, standing lamp, tuperwear, closet, hangers, guitar, guitar case, curtains, windows, window openers, hair cream/spray, nail polish remover, computer charger, carpet, homework, tape, cardes, three whole punch, stapler, calculator, white out, bubbles, cord binders, pencil puoch, change purse, magnets, letters, flashcards, flashcard case, flashcard organizers, stickers, temporary tattoos, bobble heads, lenticular posters, id card, bus schedule, class schedules, notes, dvds, flashdrives, futon, chairs, I pad, perfume, cds, radios, super glue, duct tape, table, smoke detector, in case of emergency sign, address book, laptop lock, room phone, hedgeball, pamphlets, monopoly money, monopoly pieces, toothbrush charger, remote, parking ticket, fish, fish food, frog food, frogs.  

Pocahontas Poem

"...and in my arms you slept, a foolish child,
and under my protecting gaze you placed,
chattering nonsense about a God

you had not wit to name. " -Paula Gunn Allen

I think I liked this poem the best because it shows the world from Pocahontas' point of view.  It shows her frustration.  Here she loves this guy, but he has no ideas about her people.  She saves him again and again, spends her life protecting him.  She feels trapped by it but can't help it at the same time.  And she's frustrated.  Who wouldn't be?  She's living his life to continue protecting him but he just keeps trying to change her and tell her things that don't make sense.  Here she's thinking they didn't even name their god, how stupid.  He is foolish, but believes her to be the unknowing one.  I really can't imagine living like that.  Especially because at the end of the poem, she feels as though her life was wasted; she lived only so that he could benefit.  How sad.

Differences Between Bible and Qur'an

It is clear to any reader that the Qur’an and the Hebrew Bible differ greatly. It’s not some huge secret; they aren’t even written in similar styles. While both narratives refer to similar material, Genesis is a much more chronological narrative, while the Qur’an is a conversation. While they are different, there are some important aspects that they share. For example, both texts agree upon the idea that God has the power to create what he wants, and he has the power to make things go his way. God has a plan. He shows this in Genesis by telling people what’s not right and having them figure it out, or just by flooding the earth and taking care of business. In the Qur’an, it’s put much more simply: “God schemes (Qur’an 10:21).” The occurrences in the account of Joseph differ greatly between the Qur’an and Genesis. These proceedings, by how they occur, show how the will of God is carried out throughout the story. Through the events that unfold in the story of Joseph, the plan of the God in the Qur’an is much more clear than the plan of the God in Genesis, simply because he consistently must put events back on track.

The events in Genesis and the Qur’an differ, if only in small ways, and show the presence of God’s plan. One of these events is how Joseph comes to be a slave. In the Qua’ranic version of his brother’s treachery, they “throw him into a hidden depth of a well (Qur’an 12:10).” There is no talk of selling Joseph as a slave, but, incidentally, he is still found and taken as a slave. When this happens, the Qur’an makes sure to mention to the reader that “God was well aware of what they did (Qur’an 12:19).” Even though the brothers didn’t intend for Joseph to be a slave, it was an important step in the chronology of the story. He had to be taken as a slave for events in the future to take place, allowing for God’s plan to continue. Had this not occurred, Joseph would not have been sent to jail and met the man whose dream he explained through whom he met the king. God had to make a slight correction to the way things were going. The Qur’an makes this clear by telling the reader he’s around. Even though it wasn’t the brothers’ intention, it had to happen. God’s interference and presence in general at this time shows that he is aware of what’s happening and what needs to happen for actions to unfold the way he wishes. In the Genesis account, there is no such variation from God’s script. Joseph’s brothers straight up “sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver (Genesis 37:28).” God doesn’t even make an appearance in this section of the story in Genesis, presumably because his plan is going accordingly; there is no need for him to interfere or change what’s going on. Because of his lack of presence, it seems to the reader just as though the story is being told. It’s much more cut and dry. The God in the Qur’an is obviously present and controlling events while the God in Genesis is hidden and not mentioned, watching from afar. Because of this, it is much more evident that the God in the Qur’an has a plan; he’s making sure it goes accordingly the entire time.

The Qur’anic account of how Joseph ends up in prison is quite different than that of Genesis, but they have the same result, showing how God has these things planned out. Josephs prison sentence is again an important narrative device; without this experience, Pharaoh would never have come to know Joseph, and Joseph would never have ended up in his place of power from which he helps Egypt. This makes it important that the incarceration occurs. This isn’t a problem in Genesis when Joseph is practically dragged there by an “enraged” and betrayed husband (Genesis 39:19). Since it’s in the logical order of events and happens without obvious involvement, the Genesis God remains behind the scenes and unheard from. He needn’t say anything if what he wants to happen is already going down. This is not the case in the Qur’an. In this version of the story, Joseph is cleared of all charges. The husband, finding evidence to suggest his wife’s guilt, doesn’t blame Joseph for a thing. Here, the Qur’anic God faced a problem: Joseph needs to go to jail, but he isn’t accused of anything. How will this problem be solved? This hitch is, as it turns out, easily remedied. Again, the Qur’anic God shows up to set things right. His quick fix this time? He “protected [Joseph]” from the hoards of women who want him by imprisoning him anyway (Qur’an 12:34). Even though the events were different, they ended up having the same result. In Genesis, the flow of the story makes sense and is logically what would happen, letting God off the hook. There’s nothing for him to fix, and no reason for him to step in. However, in the Qur’an, God had some damage control to do. To make proceedings follow the path that was needed for his plan to be carried out, God had Joseph imprisoned anyway. He became involved in the story to do this, showing evidence of his plan.

Joseph had to endure a series of occurrences to end up in the place of power he achieved as part of God’s plan. The very first step in the order of these events was his brothers wanting to get rid of him in some way. Again, this isn’t really an issue in Genesis, since he goes ahead and tells his brothers all about his great dream, making himself look quite arrogant. This makes them incredibly angry and causes them to decide to teach him a lesson, starting off the chain reaction that is the rest of the story. God isn’t there. He watches from afar. Apparently, happenings unfold as planned. But, yet again, something gets a bit off track in the Qur’anic version of the story. Jacob tells Joseph not to tell his brothers the dream. So he doesn’t. So where is their motivation to relieve the world of Joseph? Problem. Solution? They want to get rid of him anyway, out of jealousy. His brothers don’t like that he’s the favorite, that “Joseph…[is] dearer to [their] father than they are (Qur’an 12:8).” The favoritism that he has been given by God since birth is the factor that causes this particular event. Quite a suave solution, if I do say so myself. The events are back to where they are supposed to be. Again, these are different cases with the same outcome, the outcome that needed to happen for God’s plan for Joseph to continue. The plan of the Qur’anic God is just much more obviously present because extraneous circumstances keep requiring his attention to protect it, while the Genesis God doesn’t need to reveal himself, making his plan less noticeable.

In comparing the two texts, Genesis and the Qur’an, side by side, many differences can be discerned, especially in the account of Joseph. These differences include the way in which Joseph became a slave, the reason for his incarceration, and why his brothers decided to dispose of him. Although these differences are interesting in themselves, what’s more important is what they show the reader about God and his plan for the world, or, in this case, Joseph specifically. Both texts agree that he has a plan, and yet this is much more evident in the Qur’an. This is shown through the differences in the stories. The Genesis God is absent from these events; his plan is probably going off without a hitch. Because the readers don’t hear from him, his plot remains hidden and the readers continue to be unaware of his goals. However, the God in the Qur’an shows up every time something goes the slightest bit amiss to put things back to how they should be. He has a plan, and he can’t let little upsets like Joseph’s innocence stop it from working. Even though both Gods are schemers, it’s much more obvious in the Qur’an that a plan is being carried out because it always needs fixing.

Perception

The portrayal of Pocahontas varies greatly is each picture.  Sometimes she looks Native American, sometimes she looks Native American with European customs, and sometimes she looks downright white. I thought this had a lot to do with the reading that described the Indian Princess: She an idea that people have in their heads but don't know actually.  This becomes clear when we see that none of the representations of Pocahontas look remotely similar; i have a hard time believing it's because she looked different every day.  It's just an interesting thing that even people who were specific, actually people can be romanticized and perceived differently by different people.

Differences

I don't think I quite understand why Native American Women were portrayed in such different ways.  I don't get why one is so good and one is represented so badly.  I man, i do, but not actually.  Plus, I feel like their are portrayals of Native American women that have children that are portrayed well.  But I do understand stereotypes.  And that's what the Europeans did to the Native Americans, and I feel like they are still stereotyped today.  What a sad day.

Motives

Something I noticed in both the Genesis and Qur'anic account of Joseph is that not only are some of the events inconsistent with one another, but the reasons behind some of the events differ as well. I thought this was interesting because if the motives are different, then the stories end up teaching different lessons.

For example:

In the Qur'an, Joseph simple goes to prison because they thought "after seeing the sings of his innocence, that they should imprison him for a while." (12:35)

Basically, he's just SO innocent that incarceration is needed. This, I feel, shows what we talked about in class today: no matter what people want to do, God's will shall always win out.

In Genesis, however, Joseph goes to prison because his master thinks he tried to get with his wife. That's legitimate: he is assumed guilty of a crime and thus must suffer jail time for it. This account also teaches the more legal lesson of no adultery and such.

I just thought that it's interesting that both accounts are similar but teach different things just by the way events are presented.

Comparison Between the united States and Scientology. Kinda.

"They found that by creating  nation, a symbol, a legal unity called the United States, they could take over land, profits, and political power from favorites of the British Empire." -Howard Zinn, A people's History of America, Pg. 59

This is so incredibly true.  It almost begs the question, was all the rebellion really for freedom, or did the founding father's just really want a lot of stuff for themselves?  This was a completely genius plan: it easily all could have been a rouse.  This reminds me of how the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, is quoted saying, "The way to make a million dollars is to start a religion."  Even though it may have all been a ruse, it still worked out in the end.  And by that, I mean the United States, not Scientology.

Fair?

Religion again guys!! Some food for thought:

"Mention in the scripture Abraham; he was a saint, a prophet.

He said to his father, "O my father, why do you worship what can neither hear, nor see, nor help you in any way?

"O my father, I have received certain knowledge that you did not receive. Follow me, and I will guide you in a straight path.

"O my father, do not worship the devil. The devil has rebelled against the Most Gracious.

"O my father, I fear lest you incur retribution from the Most Gracious, then become an ally of the devil."

He said, "Have you forsaken my gods, O Abraham? Unless you stop, I will stone you. Leave me alone."

He said, "Peace be upon you. I will implore my Lord to forgive you; He has been Most Kind to me.

"I will abandon you and the gods you worship beside GOD. I will worship only my Lord. By imploring my Lord alone, I cannot go wrong."

Qur'an 19:41-48

Abraham tells his father not to worship false gods and to worship his God, but Abraham's father is upset that his son denounces his gods. Abrahams says he will pray so that his God doesn't punish his father for not believing in him after Abraham has told him to.

Is it fair that Abraham's father would be punished for believing in different deities?

Fair:
1. The Qur'an assumes that Abraham's God is true
2. The Qur'an assumes that Abraham has a valid and believable argument for the existence of God
3. Therefore his father has just outright rejected God in the face of truth and reason

Unfair:
1. It seemed to me that Abraham didn't have a valid argument besides an oh hey you should believe me kind of thing
2. Abraham's father could be just as sure that his gods exist, and he wouldn't want to denounce them and risk their punishment
3. It seems unfair that God would give humans free will only to punish them for not choosing him, especially if he's omniscient and knew they would choose other deities if given the choice.

For the last two points especially, I'm inclined to think that it's incredibly unfair for Abraham's father to be punished, but I'd like to hear other thoughts on the topic.