I consider myself a cafeteria Catholic: I pick and choose want I want to agree or believe in within the Catholic Church. Going to a Catholic college has strengthened the things I do believe in but it has actually turned me away from the church in some sense as well. The one thing that has strengthened is my passion for social justice and Catholic Social teaching. I believe at the heart of the Catholic Church is social justice for everybody and that is why service is such a big part of our faith. Catholics as well as all Christians need service in order to develop and practice our faith. The hard part of this is getting and staying active in this service. That is why I think the Catholic identity is helpful; it will keep me active or pursuing service throughout my life.
I also think the Catholic Church can blind its followers from this service. Mainly, the politics of the Catholic Church can be the biggest blanket over a person’s eyes. Everybody has different opinions on what is and what is not Catholic. The church today is so big it incorporates such a large array of followers, all with a little different view on the Catholic faith. I think this is a beautiful thing, but it is also very challenging and can be detrimental to a Catholic Institution such as Loras,because everyone is automatically stereotyped and pigeon holed into a certain group. Let’s look at two examples: the conservative traditionalist and the liberal peace loving hippies. The traditionalists are stereotyped that they like to keep things the way they are and not even discuss certain issues that the church views as wrong, i.e. homosexuality. On the other hand, the perception of liberals is that they like to stir things up a bit and bring out some issues for discussion because they believe things could change for the better. These two groups often times butt heads and don’t want to listen to their other sides point of view. At Loras I feel like you have to be part of one or the other or nothing at all, which is not what the Catholic Church is all about. So when I leave I am going to be strong in only one side and will struggle in understanding where the other side is coming from. The college seems to struggle at finding a happy balance between these two sides and having them learn from one another.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Am I Prepared?
I have said in previous blogs that when I first came to Loras I was only concentrated on my science degree, which was true. But as I started taking classes in different disciplines that forced me to think about larger issues beyond science, I was gradually filled with a desire to make a difference in the world. But as I learned more, took service trips, and opened my mind even more I gradually and sadly realized there was no way I could save the world. I had to reevaluate my stance on world saving and decided to scale it down a bit. Now I believe that I do have lots to offer society when I leave Loras, but I need to offer those things on a local level. I can use my health science background to help people anywhere and my liberal arts education will insure I keep an open mind while helping others. Another quality Loras has taught me through their small campus and numerous activities is a sense of community. This is something that I want to maintain after Loras by becoming active in a community. This drive for community as well as my educational background will allow me to offer many different talents to my local community.
The different social issues I will face after I leave Loras could range greatly from where I live and how I spend my time. For instance, if I were to stay in Dubuque I could easily live in a predominantly white neighborhood, go to work, and totally seclude myself from the social issues in the Dubuque area. But if I choose to spend some of my time in a highly diverse area like the Washington neighborhood, I would almost instantly face social issues. Maria, Missy, Ryan, and I have already spent a little time at the Multicultural Family Center with a group of African American girls from Senior High School and have been faced with some of these issues. We asked the girls how they liked Senior and one of them instantly responded "It's too ghetto!" and another one slapped her and told her "You can't say that!" Meaning she shouldn't say that in front of white people. Later on in the conversation, a sophomore girl said she had a 3 month old baby. We must have looked shocked because one of her friends said "Look at all 'em! They like 'err'". I expected I would encounter young teenage mothers while working down there but the thing that struck me was how ok all of them were with it. To them it was a common occurrence and happened all the time. In my high school I had a classmate who had a baby with his girlfriend their senior year which is a rare occurrence in my town. It was huge shock to the school, to the community, and to the couple but people did anything they could to help them out. I don't think these girls from Senior have much help from the outside community and it is not shocking when it happens. I have to say I was not that prepared to face these issues. My whole life I have been around a predominantly white Catholic society: a society that thinks everything is hunky dory and only hears about the inner city projects or 'ghettos'. Even while at Loras, I haven't faced very many social issues because again we are a predominantly white catholic college. My liberal arts education does help by teaching you about the different social issues in the world and gives you an open mind to see all sides of these issues. But that does not even come close to what you will experience when you go out into the real world and do service. In a lot of ways I am like the narrator from Invisible Man. He had always heard about the way blacks were treated up north but once he saw it he was shocked. But the narrator was almost scared by what he saw especially when he saw the black rally taking place close to white police men. I do not feel scared; I feel like this is a perfect way to learn about these social issues and see how I handle them.
The different social issues I will face after I leave Loras could range greatly from where I live and how I spend my time. For instance, if I were to stay in Dubuque I could easily live in a predominantly white neighborhood, go to work, and totally seclude myself from the social issues in the Dubuque area. But if I choose to spend some of my time in a highly diverse area like the Washington neighborhood, I would almost instantly face social issues. Maria, Missy, Ryan, and I have already spent a little time at the Multicultural Family Center with a group of African American girls from Senior High School and have been faced with some of these issues. We asked the girls how they liked Senior and one of them instantly responded "It's too ghetto!" and another one slapped her and told her "You can't say that!" Meaning she shouldn't say that in front of white people. Later on in the conversation, a sophomore girl said she had a 3 month old baby. We must have looked shocked because one of her friends said "Look at all 'em! They like 'err'". I expected I would encounter young teenage mothers while working down there but the thing that struck me was how ok all of them were with it. To them it was a common occurrence and happened all the time. In my high school I had a classmate who had a baby with his girlfriend their senior year which is a rare occurrence in my town. It was huge shock to the school, to the community, and to the couple but people did anything they could to help them out. I don't think these girls from Senior have much help from the outside community and it is not shocking when it happens. I have to say I was not that prepared to face these issues. My whole life I have been around a predominantly white Catholic society: a society that thinks everything is hunky dory and only hears about the inner city projects or 'ghettos'. Even while at Loras, I haven't faced very many social issues because again we are a predominantly white catholic college. My liberal arts education does help by teaching you about the different social issues in the world and gives you an open mind to see all sides of these issues. But that does not even come close to what you will experience when you go out into the real world and do service. In a lot of ways I am like the narrator from Invisible Man. He had always heard about the way blacks were treated up north but once he saw it he was shocked. But the narrator was almost scared by what he saw especially when he saw the black rally taking place close to white police men. I do not feel scared; I feel like this is a perfect way to learn about these social issues and see how I handle them.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Liberal Arts Education
I generally get two reactions when I tell people back home that I go to a Catholic Liberal Arts college: “Holy crap you must be smart,” or “You damn liberal hippie.” But in order to receive a liberal arts education you do not have to be wise and you definitely don’t have to be a ‘liberal hippie.’ To me “liberal arts” refers to an education that exposes you to many different ways of thinking. The student is not focused on one style of learning, for example, the scientific method. Instead the student is pushed outside of his or her comfort zone of thinking and forced to look at problems from different angles. I think liberal arts are absolutely relevant outside of college. In the real world you are going to be faced with many problems and certainly not only in the profession which college trains you. There will be family and social problems in which a liberal education can prepare you for. For example, if a drunken man asks me for money, and I know he is going to use that money to buy more booze my biological research degree will not come in handy. But my liberal arts education will help to think about this problem ethically and act responsibly.
Martha Nussbaum believes that a liberal arts education is essential in creating superior world citizens. She believes that the use of Socratic style of thinking and questioning is essential in our daily lives and daily discussions. Nussbaum says, “Philosophy breaks out wherever people are encouraged to think for themselves, questioning in a Socratic way.” Since individuals are faced with Socratic thinking every day, they must be taught how to use Socratic thinking in school through a liberal arts education. But Nussbaum also realizes that not everyone holds the same view she does. Many people are in favor of a traditional style of education, memorizing the facts and figures without question. Still, Nussbaum believes that one must question his moral traditions in order to make them stronger or find that they are not actually moral at all. So no wonder people are having a hard time accepting this Socratic education, it is destroying their traditions--things they have believed in their whole lives and have taught their children. Traditional supporters believe Socratic thinkers are throwing these out the window, when in reality they are questioning them to try to make their beliefs stronger.
A liberal arts education is the perfect tool in order to do service. It prepares you on how to think and react when encountered with a difficult problem while doing service. I will have to make ethical decisions and the Socratic style of thinking will be very beneficial. Performing service is going to be very difficult, but I know my liberal arts education has prepared me to make it a little bit easier.
Martha Nussbaum believes that a liberal arts education is essential in creating superior world citizens. She believes that the use of Socratic style of thinking and questioning is essential in our daily lives and daily discussions. Nussbaum says, “Philosophy breaks out wherever people are encouraged to think for themselves, questioning in a Socratic way.” Since individuals are faced with Socratic thinking every day, they must be taught how to use Socratic thinking in school through a liberal arts education. But Nussbaum also realizes that not everyone holds the same view she does. Many people are in favor of a traditional style of education, memorizing the facts and figures without question. Still, Nussbaum believes that one must question his moral traditions in order to make them stronger or find that they are not actually moral at all. So no wonder people are having a hard time accepting this Socratic education, it is destroying their traditions--things they have believed in their whole lives and have taught their children. Traditional supporters believe Socratic thinkers are throwing these out the window, when in reality they are questioning them to try to make their beliefs stronger.
A liberal arts education is the perfect tool in order to do service. It prepares you on how to think and react when encountered with a difficult problem while doing service. I will have to make ethical decisions and the Socratic style of thinking will be very beneficial. Performing service is going to be very difficult, but I know my liberal arts education has prepared me to make it a little bit easier.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Wisdom and Service?
Everyone and every society have a different definition of wisdom. For example, I believe my grandparents are very wise since they have lived for a long time and have experienced many different situations and events. This wide array of experiences gives them wisdom on many different issues. Wisdom at its core is the knowledge of what is right and what is wrong. Many people in today’s society tie financial success with wisdom. In order to be financially successful you have to be money-wise, but there are many different forms of wisdom. A wise person puts thought into his actions and wants them to have a positive impact on society. This is why I think a discussion about wisdom is appropriate in a service learning class. Service has a strong positive impact on society; therefore a wise person will recognize the importance of service. A wise person can recognize the need to be actively involved in society in order to ensure that society runs according to his standards of right and wrong.
After reading “The Apology” for the second time in my college career, I have developed a greater respect for Socrates. He truly believed that he was performing service, or the act of god, when he pointed out to wise men that they were not wise. Socrates said, “For I spend my whole life in going about persuading you all to give your first and greatest care to improvement of your souls, and not till you have done that to think of your bodies or your wealth. And I tell you that wealth does not bring excellence, but that wealth, and every other good thing which men have, whether in public or in private, comes from excellence.” A good place to receive this excellence is through helping others. The act of service can bring true wisdom in recognizing the need to help others. This wisdom of service will lead to one’s own excellence.
The first time I read “The Apology”, I thought that Socrates was conceited and just liked to hear himself talk. I thought he did not care about his fellow Athenians and just wanted to make himself look good. But now I believe that he was doing his people a service by promoting their own personal excellence and true wisdom. This second reaction surprises me a little bit because it shows how much I really have changed while at Loras. The liberal arts education and the wide range of subjects and styles of classes that I have taken have taught me to think outside the box. I am able to look at different situations from different angles which has allowed me to draw different conclusions and perspectives. When I first came to Loras I thought I had a pretty wide perspective on most issues, but soon found out my rural public high school education did not expose me to many issues. I would definitely have been one of those men Socrates would have examined and proclaimed unwise because I believed in my own wisdom. Now I feel like a novice, and I think there is no better place to find my excellence than with service.
After reading “The Apology” for the second time in my college career, I have developed a greater respect for Socrates. He truly believed that he was performing service, or the act of god, when he pointed out to wise men that they were not wise. Socrates said, “For I spend my whole life in going about persuading you all to give your first and greatest care to improvement of your souls, and not till you have done that to think of your bodies or your wealth. And I tell you that wealth does not bring excellence, but that wealth, and every other good thing which men have, whether in public or in private, comes from excellence.” A good place to receive this excellence is through helping others. The act of service can bring true wisdom in recognizing the need to help others. This wisdom of service will lead to one’s own excellence.
The first time I read “The Apology”, I thought that Socrates was conceited and just liked to hear himself talk. I thought he did not care about his fellow Athenians and just wanted to make himself look good. But now I believe that he was doing his people a service by promoting their own personal excellence and true wisdom. This second reaction surprises me a little bit because it shows how much I really have changed while at Loras. The liberal arts education and the wide range of subjects and styles of classes that I have taken have taught me to think outside the box. I am able to look at different situations from different angles which has allowed me to draw different conclusions and perspectives. When I first came to Loras I thought I had a pretty wide perspective on most issues, but soon found out my rural public high school education did not expose me to many issues. I would definitely have been one of those men Socrates would have examined and proclaimed unwise because I believed in my own wisdom. Now I feel like a novice, and I think there is no better place to find my excellence than with service.
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