We Are...Disturbed

Last week, many of my students blogged about the recent events at Penn State. In class, we debated several questions, including: 1) Should all state residents who witness child sexual abuse be "mandatory reporters"  (i.e. legally obligated to report such crimes to the police)? 2) Was the dismissal of Joe Paterno an appropriate action for the university to take? Some interesting viewpoints were put forward in our discussions on both sides of both questions.

As for my own perspective, I found all the news coming out of State College profoundly disturbing on multiple levels:

1. First and foremost, the crimes themselves are indescribably disturbing. To think that a man founded an organization to help disadvantaged kids, and used this organization as the means and cover for abusing such kids for over a decade, is to become conscious of a special kind of evil. Sandusky clearly belongs in the lowest ring of Hell, along with Judas, getting his brains chewed out by Satan, frozen in a lake of the dark angel's tears.
2. The concerted effort among many administrators to cover up these crimes also appears soul-defilingly wrong. It seems that the athletic director, coach Paterno, and other officials knew something was wrong at least as early as the late 1990s, had that confirmed in 2002, and still failed to take sufficient action to protect the children (past, present, and future) victimized by this monster. Yes, Paterno's dismissal was justified. No, he should not receive $500,000 per year for his retirement. Use that money for need- and merit-based scholarships. (And by merit, I mean academic merit -- not athletic merit.)
3. The failure to intervene by those--most notably Mike McQueary--who witnessed these crimes actually taking place, also challenges one's comprehension of human decency. Now, on some level, I can understand that witnessing such an act must be shocking, and that such shock can potentially paralyze the witness. Who really knows how he/she would respond to such a sight? One of my students said he would have killed Sandusky, personally, vigilante-style. Another student (female, <120 pounds), said she would have picked up a chair and clobbered him with it. I have no idea what I would have done, but I hope to God I would have done more than run away and not call the cops.
4. The response to the firing of Paterno by Penn State students (i.e. rioting) also disturbed me. Now, I am all for protesting. The Occupy Wall Street folks, for example, have my sympathy and support. And I also would have been understanding had Penn State students rioted in response to the inexcusable conspiracy to cover-up crimes against children by their university's administration. But I cannot understand rioting against Paterno's dismissal. "JoePa" (ugh!) is not the victim here.
5. Similarly distasteful have been media reports that emphasize the "suffering" of students and alumni who are "struggling" with the damage to their school's image. Penn State's all-important "brand" will recover with greater expediency than the psyches of those victimized by these traumatic acts of violence. 
6. Finally, I am disturbed by the cult(ure) at Penn State that made these events possible. Why do people love Penn State and "JoePa" (double ugh!!) so passionately and uncritically? I think it must be a result of the cultish obsession with college football at this campus (and beyond). When your allegiance to a man, an institution, a football team, or a symbol becomes so devout that you are more concerned about preserving the integrity of that man, institution, team or symbol than defending basic human rights, you have cult-ivated quite a perverse and corrupt form of pride. A couple of my students picked up on this in their blogs, and one linked to a great clip from the Daily Show, in which Jon Stewart makes a similar point (as only Jon Stewart can).

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Penn State Riots
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Powerless

A week before our Halloween nor'easter, I was on the roof pruning away potentially harmful limbs that were near a power line (not to mention the roof itself). Of course, I had no idea, at the time, that a big snowstorm was on the way--I was only up there because Yuriko's dad had suggested that we do a little pruning before winter arrived. Good thing I didn't put it off too long--who knew winter would orchestrate an October overture?

When the storm came, I knew that despite my efforts of the previous week, we were going to lose power. I kept thinking about the only other big October storm I could remember, which I think was in 1988. At the time, I was quite a young lad, living in upstate New York--near Albany--excited by Tommy Lasorda's Dodgers and their march through the postseason. (I remember my neighbor was a huge Orel Hershiser fan.) When the storm hit, all the trees still had their leaves, and as a result, there were branches down everywhere. We lost power for an entire week, and had to move in with my grandmother, who lived across the Massachusetts border.

I had a feeling the same sort of thing was bound to happen with this storm. There are a lot of big, old trees on our block, and most of them still had a lot of their leaves. There was no way they would hold all that snow. As the branches started snapping Saturday afternoon, we felt like we were under siege, and I figured it was just a matter of time. Around 3pm, while I was washing the dishes, the lights went out. No electricity also meant, of course, no heat--but it also meant no stove, no water (well pump), and no toilet flushing (sewer pump). Yikes. 

Our neighbors went out in their SUV to pick up some Chinese food for dinner, and they brought us some won-ton soup, fried rice, and sesame chicken. We ate by candlelight, played chess, and went to bed early. The house was pretty cold when we woke up Sunday morning (a little over 50). We then went out for breakfast at a diner, and spent the afternoon at a friend's apartment, who was nice enough to let us warm up and shower. We ended up going back to the same friend's apartment Monday night, as our power was still not restored, and we really didn't want to deal with another 30 degree night in an unheated house. 

When we returned home Tuesday morning, the power was finally back, and it was quite a relief. 

So this was our third "extreme weather event" in the past couple months. Are the gods upset? Are they trying to tell us to stop burning fossil fuels? Take away my fossil fuels for a few days, and I feel pretty damned powerless. I guess until there are some affordable alternatives out there, we're going to be stuck in a pretty vicious circle.

When English Professors Try to Teach Economics

Last week I screened Charles Ferguson's 2010 film Inside Job for all four sections of Comp I that I am teaching this semester. When I originally got the idea to do this, over the summer, I had no idea how nicely it would coincide with the rise of the Occupy Wall Street movement. If anyone is unsure of why people are protesting corporate greed in lower Manhattan, this film will shed some serious light on the matter, as I believe it did for many of my students.

This week I've been leading discussions of the film, and although it's been fun, it's also been a challenge. I am no expert in Economics. I took a very poorly taught Economics class in high school (around the time of the dot-com bubble), and never took any Econ classes in college. My undergraduate college was very, very left of center, so I was surrounded by a lot of anti-capitalist thinking, but I had a very nebulous understanding of what capitalism was, how it functioned, and why--and in what circumstances--it could be dangerous.

Although my understanding of these matters matured a bit throughout graduate school, I still never had any formal training in basic Economic theory. When teaching a film like Inside Job, therefore, I have to continually remind my students that I can only help them understand what the film is saying -- I cannot offer any expert opinion on the validity of the film's claims. That bit of critical thinking they must, like me, do on their own as non-experts. One of the themes of my course that is emerging, which I hadn't really reflected on previously, is the importance of learning how to assess, as a non-expert, the validity of complex arguments made by so-called experts and non-experts alike.

On a somewhat related note, I have been surprised at how many of my students feel a stronger visceral annoyance about those who "cheat the system" -- by which they mean those who take public assistance instead of looking for a job, or take public assistance and use it for drugs -- than they do about the super-rich who pay little in taxes. Interestingly, I heard a segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation last week that addressed this issue. Some states have recently passed laws requiring drug testing for applicants of welfare and other forms of public assistance, and questions have been raised about whether or not this is constitutional and whether or not it will save money. As it turns out, initial studies suggest that the cost of doing the drug testing is greater than the money saved by eliminating the estimated 2-8% of welfare recipients who abuse drugs. The report also made an interesting point that went against conventional stereotypes -- the percentage of people on welfare who abuse drugs is NOT any higher than the percentage of people in the general population who abuse drugs. If this is true, can it be constitutional to mandate drug testing for them simply based on the fact that they are applying for public assistance? If the issue is more about making sure tax-payer dollars never go into the hands of drug dealers, then does that mean that all public employees should also be drug tested? I'll be interested to see if any of my students change their thinking on this issue in light of these findings.

On Top of a Mountain

Yuriko and I have developed this habit of over-booking our weekends. On the one hand, it's great, because we almost always have something fun planned, but on the other hand, sometimes we get so exhausted and just want to lie low, catch up on some sleep, and hang out with the dog and cats in Reading (which we just learned is the poorest city in the United States). But we rarely get to do that.

The weekend before last, we went up to the Poconos and visited the quaint little town of Jim Thorpe. This was our second time there, and, small as it is, we like it. There are two very good restaurants, some cool shops, nice little mountains, and it's just fun to walk around. This time we were there to see this "modern bluegrass" band, Joy Kills Sorrow, whom we discovered last winter in Delaware. They had opened for Eilen Jewell, a singer I like, at the Arden Concert Guild. This time they were playing their own gig--two sets at the Mauch Chunk Opera House. (The town of Jim Thorpe used to be called Mauch Chunk, before the celebrity/athlete who is now the town's namesake was buried there.)

Joy Kills Sorrow is comprised of some really talented folks. Bridget Kearney, the bass player who writes or co-writes most of the songs (and sings harmony) is my favorite. The lead singer, Emma Beaton, from British Columbia, has some fabulous pipes, a fun, quirky personality, and a growing number of tattoos. The rest of the musicians are also virtuosos -- Jake Jolliff on Mandolin, Matt Avcava on guitar, and Wes Corbett on banjo.

Earlier in the day, we went on a little hike up Mount Pisgah, and I realized when we got to the peak that I hadn't done this in awhile, and I had almost forgotten how much I like just chilling on the top of a mountain--even if it's just a glorified hill, like the mountains we have here in the East. There is just such a sense of peace and calm up there, not to mention a beautiful view of the valley below and the surrounding hills and ridges. Here's a picture of Yuriko celebrating the fact that we made it, hiding all fears of falling off that rocky overlook.

We're planning on going to Bear Mountain this weekend, in upstate New York, with some of my old friends from college. Hoping for brilliantly sunny weather and peak foliage. After descending from the mountaintop, we're planning on spending the night in Brooklyn. We may check out the action at (Wall) street-level -- far less placid, but perhaps equally invigorating?

A Decade of Disillusions

I didn't want to write about my memories of 9/11 last week because I felt that I wouldn't be able to do so without trying to make some political point, and I can't stand when people exploit emotionally charged, traumatic events to do that. But then so many of my students wrote such compelling stories of where they were, what they were doing, and how that day changed their lives, that I felt like, maybe now, a week later, drawing on their example, I would take a stab at it.

For me, 9/11, perhaps because it happened at the beginning of my senior year of college, is connected in my mind with my education--and the limits of that education. I was in school at Bard College (an artsy, liberal arts school, north of New York--if you take a boat up the Hudson River 100 miles from where the twin towers used to stand, you will see Bard on the eastern bank of the river), and as great as my education was there, I felt wholly unprepared to understand 9/11, or the events preceding or following it. Bard was a place filled with incredibly thoughtful and creative individuals, but our world there could seem so incredibly insular--as if it were a product of our collective imagination, discontinuous with the "real world." As a result, sometimes I felt like I was losing track of the world beyond Bard, that it didn't make sense to me anymore.

To give an example of this, let me back up a year to the fall of 2000, and the "election" of George W. Bush. (I put "election" in quotes, because, as many of you will remember, the other guy actually got more votes.) I remember being pretty disenchanted with both candidates--and voting, perhaps foolishly, for the Green Party candidate, Ralph Nader--but I also remember never quite taking seriously the idea that Bush could become president. Every time I saw him speak, I couldn't help but laugh--his words so obviously lacking not just in eloquence (or even grammar), but also substance. He had nothing to say, but he managed to say it poorly. How could a nation be charmed by that? I couldn't understand.

A year later, with Bush in the White House, when the planes hit the towers, I, like most Americans, was stunned. I asked the same question as everyone else: "Why would anyone do such a thing?" On some level, this question can never be answered satisfactorily. Certainly at the time of event, we were so overwhelmed with grief and horror, that groping for some sort of explanation seemed impossible and inappropriate. Yet, as time passed, one might expect that we, as a nation, would seek some sort of understanding of the history and culture that enabled this violent act--that some serious inquiry into why there existed such extreme anti-American hatred in certain communities, in certain parts of the world, would take place. Yet all those who tried to offer such an explanation, by critically examining recent American history and foreign policy, were accused of trying to "justify" 9/11, as if they were saying Americans somehow deserved it. As a result, such critical self-reflections were silenced, and people took an anxious comfort in believing that terrorists were simply evil people who hated our way of life.

I was approaching my college graduation with little to no understanding of who Al Qaeda were, what their relationship was to the Taliban and the rest of the Arab and Muslim worlds, or why they wanted to kill and terrorize Americans. When we started dropping bombs in Afghanistan, I didn't know what to think. I wanted to believe that we were doing what was necessary to make sure we would be safe from another attack, but I also kept thinking about all of the Afghan civilians who were being killed in the crossfire. What had they done to deserve the destruction of their country and lives?

After graduating in 2002, I again found myself unable to understand the conversations circling around me in public debate. Already involved in a war in Afghanistan, which seemed to be crawling along in a futile attempt to find Osama bin Laden (the ultimate "bad guy"), there was talk of starting another war in Iraq. I couldn't understand why. Iraq had not attacked us. Iraq had nothing to do with Al Qaeda or 9/11. Why would we fight them? The media coverage centered around Bush's attempts at "selling War in Iraq" to the American people -- why would he want to "sell" a war, and why would we want to "buy" it? I couldn't believe anyone would go for it...until we all did.

In spring of 2003, shortly after the Iraq War began, I was at a protest for peace in Middletown, Connecticut, and someone drove by, yelling at the protesters something about how we were disrespecting 9/11. I was baffled. It seemed so obvious to me that the man who had truly and deeply disrespected the lives that were lost and the families that were traumatized on 9/11 was the President, by exploiting people's emotions in order to lead them into a senseless war against a regime utterly unconnected with the terrorists who attacked us.

Eight years later, I think I have begun to understand some of the reasons behind this horrific chain of events, but much I still fail to comprehend. I am glad that most Americans seem to believe that getting our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan is important, even if the government--with a new president--is slow to listen and act on that. But I am concerned that many of us--and many of my students--think of these wars very indistinctly, unsure of why they were fought at all, why they were fought the way they were, or why they are still going on. Worse yet is the fear that these wars are not thought of at all, that our troops and their sacrifices are given token respect but never deep consideration. Where might our troops be asked to go next, if we do not keep a vigilant eye on the government that directs them?

Many of my students pointed out the inspiring sense of unity and togetherness that immediately followed 9/11, as well as their admiration for the soldiers who took on the burden of responding to the attack by pursuing Al Qaeda. I would like to propose that, in order to revive and sustain that sense of unity, we must realize that it is our duty, as citizens, to protect our soldiers, just as much as it is our soldiers' duty to protect us. By that I mean, we cannot let fear, a desire for revenge, or an uncritical "patriotism" pull us into an avoidable war--true patriotism involves restraining that impulse for war, making sure we do not put our brave, all-volunteer forces in harm's way unless absolutely necessary. We owe them that much, and so much more.

Adapting to the New Normal

Last Thursday, when Yuriko and I woke up, the Schuylkill River had creeped over the bank and was inching toward the road. We checked the Weather Channel website and saw that more rain was predicted for most of the day, and that the river was not expected to crest until sometime that evening. We realized that pretty soon the road would be impassable. If we left for work, we'd likely be unable to return that night. If we didn't leave for work, we might be stuck at home for awhile. We decided to do the "responsible" thing (responsible as employees--not necessarily as homeowners) and abandon the abode, taking with us toiletries, an extra set of clothes, and Baylor (the dog). We ended up staying at the Homewood Suites that night--a pet-friendly hotel on higher ground.

By stomping through some neighbors' backyards later in the day, Yuriko was able to return briefly to check on the basement and the cats. Luckily, there was no damage. Here's a picture she took that shows our road, lawn, and driveway as they merged with the Schuylkill.

By Friday morning, the river had receded and we were able to get back home. Some mud and debris were left behind, but we considered ourselves very lucky that the house was completely unaffected.

We know that many others were not so lucky. I kept seeing reports on the news and facebook from my former town--Binghamton, NY, where I lived for six years--that showed immense flooding. The Susquehanna, it seems, had reached an historic level, wreaking an extraordinary amount of damage. In 2006, when I was still living up there, a record-setting flood swamped many riverside homes and businesses, dealing a serious blow to an already weak and vulnerable economy. That flood had been the worst in recorded history for Binghamton. Last week's flood was worse still. Floods of this magnitude, according to experts, should be expected roughly once every century. The upper Susquehanna valley has had 2 in 6 years.

Meanwhile, Texas is literally on fire--Texans are experiencing an unprecedented drought that has destroyed cattle farms and ignited hundreds of wildfires.

For me, this is pretty convincing evidence of what many climate scientists have been saying for awhile: global warming is creating atmospheric conditions in which extreme weather events will happen with both greater frequency and intensity. As Heidi Cullen, whom my students will read later this semester, has written, "the weather is getting more extreme. The conditions have arisen for more major storms, longer droughts, and serious flooding, and they are getting worse." What can we as individuals do to diminish our contributions to climate change and to encourage governments and companies to invest in the infrastructure and technology that will help us adapt?

Crisis after Crisis

I thought last week's bi-partisan compromise on raising the debt ceiling and cutting the deficit was supposed to avert the next catastrophic global crisis. It seems, however, that ever since that bill became law, more and more bad news has been accumulating. (It at least prompted me to teach my ENG 100 students the plural of "crisis" (crises, not crisises).

On a side note, I decided to give any of my ENG 100 students a little extra credit if they took the time to write an email to Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, who voted against raising the debt ceiling last week, expressing their reasons for supporting or disapproving of his controversial vote.

Crisis #1: The U.S. government's credit rating was downgraded by S&P from AAA to AA+. Is this a real crisis? I bet many of students would be happy with a grade of AA+. The explanation behind the downgrade was not earth-shattering: the U.S. has a dangerous level of debt and a dysfunctional, polarized government. Ok, I guess that is a crisis -- the kind of permanent, standing crisis that is becoming more and more normal.

Crisis #2: The stock market seems to be plummeting. Personally, I don't put much stock in stocks. That's probably because I don't really own any. If the falling stocks end up making unemployment worse, then I'll begin to worry. But I just read that the unemployment rate actually improved a modest tenth of a percent over the last month, so that's something positive--not much, but something.

Crisis #3: Americans are still dying in Afghanistan and I can't figure out why. Thirty U.S. troops were killed on Saturday in a helicopter crash. This is the number one issue on which I am fiercely critical of Obama. Bin Laden is dead; al Qaeda has deserted Afghanistan for Pakistan and other countries. Why are we still in Afghanistan? How many more brave, U.S. soldiers and innocent Afghan civilians need to die while we trade shots with the Taliban?

Crisis #4: People are rioting in certain neighborhoods of London and other cities in England. Local businesses are being vandalized; police officers are being attacked. Every report I've heard about this has been very vague. The riots may have been triggered by the killing of Mark Duggan by police. Duggan was allegedly a drug dealer. It's unclear to what extent the riots are a result of outrage over this event, or a response to the generally tense relations between the police and the people of Tottenham (the London neighborhood where the riots originated). The mainstream coverage seems to be deliberately avoiding delving into the racial tensions and police misconduct that may be the underlying causes of the violence. Rather than try to explain what is happening, most accounts I've seen attribute it all to "senseless thuggery."

But at least the Red Sox took 2 out of 3 against the Yankees over the weekend. Also, my summer classes are ending this week, and I'm driving up to Maine with Yuriko to celebrate my friend Kim's wedding. So here's to savoring the little joys of life as the world falls apart...

The House Deals

It looks like, for the time being, economic disaster has been averted. The House of Representatives has passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling (and cut a crapload of government spending) in order to avoid an unprecedented default. This is undoubtedly a good thing. With unemployment still very high (over 9%), the U.S. could not afford to plunge into another recession. Also, the fact that our national deficit will be significantly cut means that the federal government will begin to move towards greater fiscal responsibility (i.e. not spending a great deal more than it's taking in).

There are, of course, aspects of this bill that are not, or may not, be so great. How painful will these cuts be to public employees or those who need public assistance? Time will tell whether or not these cuts were "the right cuts." Is it fair that these cuts were not accompanied, or offset, by any additional tax revenue from large corporations or the wealthy? This is a question of ethical and economic philosophy, but I would certainly say, "No."

But those who, like me, are unhappy with the "cuts only" approach to deficit reduction should realize that it is undoubtedly the right of the House to pass such a bill and insist on its terms. It is the House's right because the House is the most democratically representative institution in the U.S. government, and that is where legislation ought to begin. In my wild, radical fantasies of reforming this government--the House would be one of the few things left standing. I think the Senate needs to go. (Why have a chamber of Congress in which Wyoming and California are equally represented, despite the fact that California's population is 40 times greater than Wyoming's?!?) I also think that the U.S. should not have a president--give limited executive authority to the Speaker of the House (in other words, make him or her equivalent to a "prime minister.")  Such reforms (though they exist only in my head) might make the government in Washington function. The party in power would be able to set the agenda and get things passed, without always worrying about filibusters or vetoes. When the agenda turns out to be bad policy, the people can vote them out--but at least when they're in, they can get things done.

This is why I cannot understand how liberals or progressives can attack Obama for not being "tough enough" during this debate, or for letting the House Republicans set the agenda. It was the Republicans' agenda to set. Americans voted them into office last fall, and, for better or worse (I agree it's not for better), they have the right and power not to pass tax reform and to insist on spending cuts. For those who, like me, think that's bad policy, the thing to do is not to blame Obama, but to do what you can to make sure Democrats take back the House next year (not to mention keep the presidency). Urging Obama to circumvent the House's authority by taking potentially unconstitutional, unilateral action is asking him to be too much like George W. Bush, who, like so many recent presidents, dangerously pushed for expansive, undemocratic executive power.

This is not to say that the Republicans were justified in hijacking the budget debate by threatening to not raise the debt ceiling unless they got their way. That was irresponsible and reckless, and that is exactly why we should make sure their control of the House ends next year. But it is not a good enough reason to prompt the executive branch to overtake the constitutional power of the most democratically representative branch of government.

Problems in Perspective

Whenever I have a little bad luck, I try to remind myself of 2 key things: first, I am an incredibly lucky man; second, my problems are pretty tiny compared to the extent of human problems on our amazing, warming planet. My luck goes way back to my birth, which was the result of a pregnancy that was not only unplanned, but incredibly unlikely. (This is not the place to share the full story, but let's just say that it's pretty serendipitously weird that my biological parents ever had sex with each other. I believe much more than alcohol must have been involved.) So when I get a little bad luck--like two cases of nasty poison ivy in one summer--I think, well, I shouldn't complain. After all, I'm lucky to be here.

If that doesn't work, I think about what a self-pitying schlemiel I would be to feel bad about my poison ivy, when so many people around the world are struggling to make sense of their lives amidst devastating losses or unthinkable hardships. How can an itchy leg compare to losing your teenage son or daughter at the hands of some fascist with a bomb, a gun, and a 1,500 page manifesto of hate?

(I've only had the privilege of knowing one Norwegian person--Maghnild Reiso. She was a student at an  international language school where I worked in Boston, from 2003-2004. She had dreadlocks; she was a foot taller than me; she was awesome.)

Or I can reflect on what enormous problems the planet is facing. The climate change crisis can make even the debt ceiling crisis seem pretty trivial. Heard an interesting interview with Heidi Cullen on NPR today, about her new book, The Weather of the Future. This was a reminder that heat waves like the current one are likely to become the "new normal" in the decades to come--along with all sorts of other forms of extreme weather.

So yeah--I guess I'll just apply some Caladryl, suck it up, and march on.

Raise the Roof

This week, while my ENG 230 students wrestle with Melville's short fiction ("Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby") and my ENG 231 students tango with Hemingway ("The Killers") and Fitzgerald ("Benjamin Button"), my ENG 100 students are writing comparative analytic essays about mainstream news sources. I find that understanding the news--especially political news--can be as baffling to first-year college students as Melville's moral ambiguity, Hemingway's minimalism, or Fitzgerald's magical realism can be for second-year students.

To open up discussion on one of the most important issues of the moment--the raising of the national debt ceiling and the plan to reduce the national deficit--I assigned a couple short readings from ABC News and MSNBC that claim to give "the basics" behind the debate in clear language. We'll see how clear and informative those articles were tonight.

From my own perspective, I am more than a little appalled that Congress has let America come so close to a potential default on our financial obligations. Such a default is virtually unprecedented, and many economists, although unsure exactly what the consequences will be, agree that nothing good can come of it. Some think a default could potentially trigger another global recession, perhaps one even more severe than 2008. We are, right now, struggling as a nation to make ends meet as our economy recovers painfully slowly from the last economic crisis. How could we be so foolish to risk another, even greater crisis, when we have not come close to fully recovering from the last?

Although I personally agree with Obama's plan to raise the debt ceiling immediately and to reduce the deficit with a combination of spending cuts and tax reform, I think minimally the Congress should, without delay, pass what most rational people agree on: raising the debt ceiling and cutting government spending. This will help us meet our short-term obligations, and it will begin to reduce the deficit in the long run. I think the Democrats are right that more tax revenue from super-wealthy individuals and corporations are fair and responsible, but if Republican representatives won't pass them, then that's their right. They won their elections last fall. What is nobody's right--from either party--is to allow a default to happen. That would be catastrophically irresponsible.

Jose Antonio Vargas

Last semester I had my students in Comp I read Jose Antonio Vargas's profile of Mark Zuckerberg (creator of Facebook) from The New Yorker. I thought the article was fascinating and well-written, and I hoped my students would appreciate both learning about the man who changed the way they socialize and the quality of Vargas's writing.

During my current Summer term Comp I class, I am teaching Vargas once again. This time, however, my students and I will be discussing his recent, very personal, narrative essay, "My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant," published a couple weeks ago in the New York Times. I found this essay to be incredibly moving, smart, and well-written. In publishing this piece, Vargas effectively came out of "the closet" as an undocumented immigrant, and opened himself up to a number of potentially unattractive legal consequences (arrest, detention, deportation--who knows?). He knowingly took this risk not only for personal reasons--he discusses in the article the psychological effects of living and practicing routine deception--but also out of a sense of justice and political activism. He is hoping to draw attention to the issue of immigration reform.

Twice in the article, Vargas mentions a proposed piece of legislation called the "DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) ACT." This modest law, first introduced in 2001, seeks to grant permanent residency and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as minors and complete a high school diploma. The bill was reintroduced into the U.S. Senate this year, but as far as I know, it has not moved forward.

My own thoughts on immigration reform are pretty out there. Philosophically, I don't really think nation-states should have the power to arbitrarily deport or deny entry to non-criminals. People should have greater freedom to seek opportunities wherever they are, so long as they are respectful of the communities in which they live and work. Laws designed to specifically and arbitrarily keep people out, I feel, are unethical.

Looking forward to this evening's class discussion. Hoping there will be a spirited conversation, if not debate.

Osama bin Laden Exception

I just wanted to link to this article by Glenn Greenwald, from Salon.com, as a follow up to my previous post. Greenwald's article gets at most of the things I find unsettling about the assassination and its jubilant aftermath.

Osama and Obama

I had an interesting discussion with my Tuesday/Thursday section of ENG 100 this week about the significance of Osama Bin Laden's death, and so I thought I would write some follow-up thoughts about the issue here, and see if I get any responses from students.

When I first read about the successful raid Monday morning, I was a little disturbed to hear that spontaneous, patriotic celebrations had taken place in Washington and New York the night before. While the knowledge that a known mass-murderer can never again harm innocent lives is undoubtedly good news, it still seemed somehow inappropriate to view his killing as a moment of national triumph--as a joyous occasion of sweet revenge fulfilled. However, at the same time, I became conscious of my own impulsive, elevated feelings, no less inappropriate. I felt somehow lighter, oddly relieved, vaguely proud. But why? Then I thought--hey, this could be great for Obama's re-election campaign. That seemed like a totally inappropriate response. But that's what I thought.

As I thought some more, and as I read some more of the press's coverage, questions began to arise. Why was Bin Laden killed instead of captured? Reports acknowledge that he was unarmed, yet he was shot in the head by troops. Does this mean that the order was to kill, not to capture? If so, why? Because Obama feared the messiness of detaining him, figuring where and how to have a trial? Because an assassination would be simpler, both legally and politically, for the U.S.? These are disturbing, but likely, possibilities.

Is there any significance to "international law" when there is no clear place to try an international terrorist, and no authority to check a state-sponsored assassination? Or, because it was Bin Laden, is everyone willing to grant an exception to the legal norm?

The one thing that I am hopeful for is that this will spur renewed demand to bring home our troops in Afghanistan and Pakistan. After nearly 10 years, the "hunt" is over. Maybe that's not what the war is really about, but then what is it about? Does anyone really know anymore?

Blossoming

The weekend before last, Yuriko and I went to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Philadelphia at Fairmount Park. Although the festival was smaller than I thought it would be, it was still quite lovely. The trees were blooming and beautiful, and there were some great drum and dance performances. It's always a challenge for me--not the tallest guy in the world--to get a good view of a stage without graded seating, but I did manage to get a couple decent shots of the performers. I'll post one below.

Pardon the tops of heads at the bottom of the image.

After the festival, we drove into Center City and had dim sum at Joy Tsin Lau in Chinatown. It had been years since the last time I had dim sum. I used to go in Boston, when I lived there, with a friend of mine who is Taiwanese-American and who knows what to pick of the carts and what to let pass by. Then I went in Oakland, while visiting, maybe 3 years ago. This was my first time trying it in Philly. The food was good--dumplings of all sorts, turnip cakes, short ribs--I avoided the things that are beyond my palate (chicken feet, snails). But as usual with dim sum, I ended up over-eating and feeling a little sick.

Last weekend I attended my first Reading Phillies game (so much cheaper than the real Phillies). This was fun, but of course it's not the same thing as a major league game. Tomorrow Yuriko and I are flying to L.A., and on Saturday we will be in Anaheim for the Sox / Angels game. It's a long way to go for a ballgame, but we got a really cheap flight (Yuriko's mom works for American Airlines) and we have a free place to stay (a friend of mine from graduate school lives in Ventura). I've been to southern California a couple times before, and it's not my favorite locale, but I do appreciate the weather and natural beauty once you get beyond the awful traffic of that massive, sprawling metropolis.

I can see in the faces of my students that they are all longing for the summer, and they are probably picking up on the fact that their professors are longing for the same thing! Hang in there, everyone--we're almost there! Stay focused, finish strong, and the beach days will be our reward.

0 - 6

I was very excited last weekend about the start of baseball season, and now, a week later, the Red Sox are 0 - 6. Baseball has a ridiculously long season, so a six-game losing streak to start the season is by no means fatal (there are still 156 games to go), but it really saps the enthusiasm out of opening week. (The Sox at the moment have a narrow 7-6 lead over the Yankees, so we'll see if this holds up and they manage to win their first game as I blog.)

Despite the disappointing start to the baseball season, April has started off with a good deal of fun (once the snow stopped falling). Yuriko and I went to Charlottesville, VA last Friday night to visit a friend of hers (Mark). He showed us around the Shenandoah Valley on what turned out to be a pretty nice Saturday. We stopped at several vineyards and tasted some locally made wines. I don't really have the kind of "sophisticated palate" required to discern all the subtleties of oakiness and honeysuckle, but a lot of what we sampled tasted good to me.



This weekend we are not making any long voyages, but we are headed to the main DCCC campus in Media tonight to see the student production of Arsenic and Old Lace. All of my students have the opportunity to earn a little extra credit if they make the trip out to see this play and write a short review. I'm hoping it is a good show -- I've heard it is pretty funny.

Only 4 weeks left in the semester! We've finally made it to the homestretch. Hang in there everyone--summer is just around the corner, but there's a ton that needs to get done between now and the finish line.

Reading Week

I spent the majority of my Spring Break at Yuriko's house in Reading. Unfortunately, Penn State Berks already had its break, so Yuriko had to work during the day. Still, it was nice to be able to see her every evening and not to have to make the hour-long drive up from West Chester every other day. I tried to make myself useful while she was at work -- walking the dog, taking the recyclables to the recycling center, grocery shopping, cooking, washing dishes -- all manner of manly tasks.

The big challenge was introducing my cat (Tess) to Yuriko's dog and cat (Baylor and Darcy, respectively). We tried to do it gradually. Tess was set up with her own private room in the front of the house, separated from the other animals and the rest of the house by a gate. After everyone was used to everyone else's sent, we tried allowing a little more interaction. When the gate was removed, Baylor made his way toward Tess, hoping to get a better sniff. She felt threatened, hissed, and made a really weird, deep growly-type noise. This prompted Baylor to become a little more aggressive, and he lunged at her, barking. She stood her ground, wacked him with her claws, and then bolted. Baylor snapped his jaw at her as she fled, but no one was hurt. Tess spent the next few hours hiding under Yuriko's bed. I finally lured her out with some food and got her back into her private room, with the gate restored.

Darcy and Tess never had so dramatic a confrontation. Tess clearly didn't want to have anything to do with her, either, but Darcy was willing to check her curiosity and concede to Tess some personal space. The two cats seemed happy enough to leave each other alone. Baylor, however, really wanted to get back into Tess's sanctuary. I let him back in a couple times, but carefully supervised. Tess was still not happy, and she kept on hissing when he got too close. Will they ever be friends? Seems doubtful, but you never know. What is certain is that it will take longer than one week. Anyone out there have any suggestions for introducing an old cat to an old dog, both of whom seem pretty set in their ways and resistant to change?

If the weather had been nicer, I would have taken Baylor for some long walks in the woods. There are some big county and state parks outside of Reading that I am eager to explore. Most of the week, however, was pretty chilly and damp, so I stayed inside more than I would have liked. I caught up on my grading and blog-reading, filed my taxes, and read Darkly Dreaming Dexter, the novel that inspired the Showtime TV series Dexter. I've been fascinated by this show for a little over a year, so I was excited to check out the book that it was based on. Surprisingly, I now think that the TV show is better than the book. Usually it's the other way around, right? The book is not bad -- and many of the things I love about the show are also present in the book (and they were in the book first), but I really think the show improved upon the strengths of the book in interesting ways. I love the inventiveness of the book's basic idea -- feeding America's appetite for serial killers and vigilantes with the same character -- but the show develops many of the supporting characters in much more interesting ways, and it also has better dialogue than the book.

One last note about my break -- Yuriko and I took a couple fun day trips. One was just to King of Prussia, which might not sound too exciting, but it was my first time there. Ooh, and I bought a vest! I'll try to remember to show it off soon. We also took a day trip to New York, which was a lot of fun. An aunt of mine, who is a painter and photographer, had an opening at a gallery on the lower east side. We went to her show, which was really cool, and also did some other fun things: walked along the High Line (a park converted from an old elevated train line), visited the FIT Museum, and had 2 delicious meals (crepes for lunch, Indian curry for dinner).

This weekend we are taking a slightly bigger trip, to Charlottesville, VA, leaving Friday and returning Sunday. I hope it's a little warmer there!

The Enemy Within

Peter King, a Congressman from Long Island, New York, has rekindled a controversial debate over the place of Islam in America. This debate was ongoing for much of 2010, especially in regard to the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque," and the extremist preacher (from Florida I think) who was threatening to burn copies of the Koran. The issues raised then are resurfacing now that King, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has arranged a series of hearings to investigate the radicalization of mosques in the United States.

According to the NY Times, King has recently asserted that "85% of leaders of American mosques hold extremist views and that Muslims do not cooperate with law enforcement." Critics of King (myself included) find such statements alarming, not because we fear his claims are accurate (there is no evidence to suggest they are), but because such talk is likely to intensify already dangerous levels of Islamophobia in American culture. This "othering" of American Muslims attempts to undermine the very meaning of the phrase "American Muslim" and the identity of those who fall in that category by implying that to be a Muslim is to be peculiarly vulnerable to un-American sensibilities.

This week, my students in ENG 100 are turning in critical analysis essays in which they respond to and critique works of opinion journalism. I'd love to know what your thoughts are on the opinion pieces written about Congressman King's hearings. I'm sure there are a bunch out there, but here are a couple from mainstream American news sources: CNN and FoxNews.

Yoga Matt

Apologies to any of my students who have been checking this thing, wondering why their professor, who constantly harasses them to update their blogs each week, hasn't done so himself. In my defense I have only the lame excuse that I've been really busy--but at least I've been doing a good job of reading blogs. After all, I do have about 50 of them to check on every week.

Not only have I been putting off blogging, but I've also not been exercising very much this semester. Aside from a few dancing lessons with Yuriko, I've been living a rather sedentary life. I keep saying to myself that spring will be here soon enough, and then I can take my bike out of my closet and put some miles on it. But carrying that attitude through January and February has not done much for me. That was clear enough when I tried to get through a 90 minute Yoga class last night. Granted, since I had never done Yoga before, it was probably going to be a struggle anyway, but hitting the mat for the first time at my most out-of-shape didn't make things any easier. Overall, I really enjoyed it--I was sore and exhausted afterward, but in the best possible way. It made me think I should have been doing this all winter.

As for life on-the-job, my Comp I students are finishing up their "critical analysis" papers, in which they must write a 1,000 word rebuttal to a recently published piece of opinion journalism. For many students, the first step--finding an article that they feel they can intelligently dispute--presented quite a struggle. The problem was not a lack of material or a lack of critical intelligence, but rather a widespread feeling of being uninformed about world events, politics, and current public issues. Many of these students have admirably taken the initiative to read up on an issue or two, and I applaud them for it. "If you don't know enough to write a rebuttal," I keep saying, "find out more about it!" College is as good a time as any to figure out what is going on in the world around you. I'm not about to tell my students what issues to care about or what to think about the issues they do care about, but I feel it is my obligation to encourage them to care about something--something bigger than their personal lives--and to reflect on its importance, to research its complexity, and to articulate an informed perspective on it.

This brings me to a final point. I've recently signed up for my first academic committee here at DCCC. The committee, called the "Academic Renewal Committee," will be trying to reform the college's general education requirements. I know many students feel frustrated with their gen-eds, and they often wish they had the freedom to take whichever classes they want. In light of that, I hope we can reformulate the gen-eds in a way that will more closely fit students' needs and make these classes more meaningful for everyone. If any of my students are reading this and want to comment, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the issue. What kinds of courses--if any--do you think ought to be required for all DCCC students in order to graduate?

Super Baby Weekend

Since the team that I occasionally care about (Patriots) and Yuriko's team (Ravens) were eliminated in the playoffs, we weren't invested in organizing our weekend plans around the Big Game. Instead, we decided to take a road trip up north -- to Albany, New York. Yuriko's cousin (Sarah) started a new job there a few months ago, and I have some old friends there who have an adorable 8 month old boy (Seamus). I also have a pair of sisters who live in Holyoke, Massachusetts (about 60 miles west of Albany), who similarly recently produced offspring. In short, I got to play "Uncle Matt" for a couple days.

This is Seamus, son of Shaun and Michelle Baxter, both of whom I've known seemingly forever. In general, he seemed like a pretty chill little dude, but he's still got baby lungs capable of producing unearthly squawks. He is a fast crawler, and I swore I heard him say "burger" when we went out to eat. (He also made a grab for his daddy's burger, which ended up on the restaurant floor. ... Poor daddy).

This is David, son of my sister, Amelia, and her husband, Joel. Not sure if you can see, but he's in Red Sox pajamas -- awesome. I always look awkward in baby-holding pictures, mostly because I'm an awkward baby-holder. Sometimes I wonder if this will ever change, or how I might react differently if it were my baby. I've always said that I didn't want to have kids unless circumstances were perfect for it. The possibility for perfect circumstances is for the first time imaginable, though not immediately foreseeable, but I'm still not sure if baby-raising is for me. They are just so loud and all-consuming. I know, though, from what my friends, family, and even many of my students have said, that they can also be a source of profound joy.

Here is my sister Marcy with her little Valencia. I also got to meet Valencia's dad, Earl, who seems like a very cool guy, both on his own, and the way he is with Marcy, Valencia, and Marcy's older daughter, Carmelina. (Cool names, huh? Marcy's an imaginative one.)

With all this running around from baby to baby, I wasn't able to grade any of my students' work, and they gave me a ton of it last week. All 3 Comp I sections handed in 800-word papers and in-class exams, which I am struggling to turn around this week. The papers have really been a pleasure to read, though, so that certainly makes things a little easier.

There'sssNo Day Like a Snow Day

I really couldn't get over the back-to-back snow days in the middle of last week. That's 3 full days of classes that DCCC has cancelled so far this semester, plus a couple evenings and some late starts. There have been more snow cancellations in the first 3 weeks of this semester than in the 6 years I was at Binghamton University in upstate New York. I have somewhat mixed feelings about it, too. In one sense, like my students, I'm happy to get an unexpected day off. On the other hand, it makes it hard to do the necessary things one must do at the beginning of a semester to ensure a good class (i.e. get to know your students, set a regular rhythm for workload, etc.).

I guess I should just be grateful that I have a job that not only gives me summers off, but also random off-days in the winter. And -- as good fortune would have it -- I found out that I am going to be offered a permanent faculty position here at DCCC. When I was first hired last year, I was only given a one-year contract. I had to re-apply this past fall for a permanent, tenure-track position. After 3 separate interviews (one on the phone, one with the "search committee," and one with the Provost), I was finally offered the job! I absolutely plan on accepting it, as I've really enjoyed my first year teaching here and also like the area very much. (Compared to upstate New York, PA winters are no big deal.)

This weekend, Yuriko and I went to see a Reading Royals hockey game (they won, yay; no major fights, boo). We also saw Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington. This turned out to be one of the best concerts I have ever seen. For anyone who loves soul music, know that it is still alive and well. Sharon Jones and her opening act (Charles Bradley) summoned the spirits of great artists like James Brown as they did their thing, singing and dancing with tremendous passion and virtuosity.

I wasn't able to take any pictures from the concert, but I'll close by posting some shots from the hockey game.

Now can we get through a full week of classes without a blizzard? I guess we'll see soon enough.

Ya Gotta Love Live Music

Last Friday turned out to be doubly delicious. Not only did the Sharon Little show in Kennett Square turn out to be really good, but I also was generously and thoughtfully given tickets to see Dan Bern next month in Philadelphia. What a great birthday!

Sharon Little apparently used to work at Kooma in West Chester, which is literally two blocks away from my apartment building. I'm not sure if she lives in Chester County or in Philly right now, but I'd recommend catching one of her shows before she becomes a big pop star. She is a little woman with a big voice, sort of in the Ani DiFranco tradition, but perhaps a little less angsty. What most impressed me, even more so than just her pure singing and songwriting talent, was her ability to really throw herself--in her entirety--into every song. This was accentuated by the fact that we saw her in a very small venue, the Kennett Flash. Every song felt like she was reliving the emotional experience that inspired her to write it in the first place. Here she is on TV:

Dan Bern is a singer-songwriter that I've been following since I was in high school. I first saw him open for Ani DiFranco in Albany, NY's Palace Theatre. Since then I've seen him over a dozen times, and at various venues (The Iron Horse in Northampton, MA; Club Passim in Boston, MA; Revolution Hall in Troy, NY; Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ; The Bowery Ballroom in New York, NY). Now I get to see him next month in Philadelphia! His songs are about all sorts of things: God, politics, pop-culture, baseball, tennis, Van Gogh. His voice has somewhat of a Bob Dylan nasally sound, but if that doesn't bother you too much, his melodic words can really make you think, laugh, and feel.

And finally I just bought tickets to see Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings in Wilmington next weekend. She is sort of a "retro" soul singer, with an amazing voice and a great band. I saw her this past summer in Brooklyn at a free, outdoor concert, but the sound quality was very poor. This time I will be seeing her in an opera house, so I'm guessing the acoustics will be a hell of a lot better.

Hooray live music! There were so few opportunities to see great bands and singers during my long 6 years in Binghamton. This has certainly been one of the biggest pluses of moving to the greater Philly area.

Week 1!

This semester I have asked all students in my writing classes to keep blogs that they are to update weekly. I figured it might be a good idea for me to do the same, so here goes. My students were told that they could write about virtually anything, and I'm giving myself the same freedom. I'm hoping at some point down the road, this blog gets a sense of identity and purpose, but for now, I'll be content to just say a little about this, a little about that.

The first week of the Spring semester is nearly at a close, and it has been kind to me so far. I was a little behind schedule preparing for all of the 5 classes I am teaching (1 section of Developmental English, 3 sections of Comp. I, and 1 section of American Literature II), but Wednesday's snow day allowed me to get on track. As an added bonus, I just realized this morning that Monday is Martin Luther King Day, and consequently, no classes. I can't complain about a 3 day weekend, but I wish I had realized this earlier, when I was planning my course schedules. With the snow day and the holiday, my Monday / Wednesday classes will be a full week behind right out of the gate. I supposed I'll just have to make some cuts later in the term.

Other exciting things about this week: Yuriko and I went to our second dance lesson on Wednesday night. I think I am not quite as horrible as I thought I would be. Our fox trot and jitterbug are coming along, though we tend to get a little disoriented when spinning. We're thinking of asking for an "intro to salsa" next week. I don't know if we're ready for that, but why not? Oh, and tomorrow (Friday) is my birthday! We have tickets for a show at the Kennett Flash in Kennett Square (never been there before), to see Sharon Little (whom I know little about). Not sure what to expect, but hopes are high.

More soon! Off to teach...