While reading the two articles for today, I couldn't help but think two different things: 1. nothing has changed and 2. a lot has changed. A paradox it seems, yet I think that in someways I may be correct in my thoughts about Christian social action. In the early 20th century both Catholics and Mainstream Protestants fought for social justice. In the "Reformers and Crusaders" article it seemed that a lot of Catholic reformers focused on labor and economic issues. During this time of course, many women, children, and immigrants were being exploited in the work place. If any regulations existed about their working conditions, no one was enforcing them. Many christian groups worked to change this. Father John A. Ryan actually outlined legislation proposing "minimum wage laws, an eight-hour day, provisions for public housing, and government programs to support the unemployed, the elderly, and the disabled" (Fisher, 96). Christian organizations today are still fighting for these same things. Granted, these issues have come a LONG way since the early 20th Century, yet there are always people being exploited for their work. In this time period, Christian organizations may not be fighting for better labor laws in the US, but certainly in other countries this has become a huge issue.
We are always hearing about the children in India who are forced to work 14 hour days for less than a dollar so that babies in American can but their five-pocket jeans from The Gap. I think that this might be one of the bigger differences or things that have changed since the early 20th Century. American Christian social action groups no longer focus domestically and instead focus a great deal on internal crisis - for a good reason. While the poor do exist in great number in the US, some conditions of the poor in other countries is completely horrific. Globalization has made we Americans much more aware of life outside of the US. It has opened our eyes up to a truly universal ideal for social action.
Another thing that I think has changed since the 1920s is hostility towards Catholics. In my experience anti-Catholic attitudes seem to have decreased substantially since the 1920s. However, I did grow up in a town where all my good friends were Catholic, now go to a Catholic College, and live in a town where the majority of people are most likely Catholic, so there is a chance that I may just not have had the right experiences to really make any inferences about this issue.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Dubuque: A Shady Past, Perhaps Perhaps
Although Dubuque is not my hometown, since going to school here for the last four years I've grown incredibly interested in Dubuque's history- particularly some of its more controversial or "shady" past. I've long heard from professors or other Dubuque natives about some of the "culture" type wars - such as the Irish Catholic church vs. the German Catholic church, but something that I found particularly shocking is Dubuque's history of racial discrimination/prejudices. I learned a few years ago that Dubuque used to have a very active Ku Klux Klan group that had marches and burned crosses. I also learned that after the Civil War when former slaves were being shipped up North, the citizens of Dubuque refused to let any black people off the trains that stopped in Dubuque. However, there are other instances in Dubuque where the people have been quite forward in their treatment towards other races.
I think that my interest would be narrowed to focus more on the Klan presence in Dubuque. I would try to research this group by going through old Newspapers most likely. I would also try to talk to older citizens of Dubuque and also younger citizens to see what they can remember about the Klan's activities. I would also try, somehow I haven't quite figured yet, to maybe talk to someone who is supposedly a member of the Klan. Herein lies the biggest obstacle when doing research on this particular topic, Klan membership is supposed to be secret. People most likely won't want to talk too much about their involvement. Also, a lot of people won't want to talk about Dubuque's association itself with the Klan just because it isn't pleasant and it looks poorly on this community. I feel like a lot of people would rather just bury this part of their history under the rug instead of acknowledge its reality. This is something that Kammen focuses on in his writing. He says that most people don't like to discuss the negative aspects of a community because those things aren't pleasant. Kammen says, however, that "This looking on the bright side of things might be a good philosophy for individuals, but it is not always the best way to tell the complete story when we apply it to the past" (Kammen, 5). Some people might want to pretend that the Klan didn't/doesn't exist in Dubuque's past or present, but that simply isn't the truth and it shouldn't be ignored.
While I think this is already a fairly interesting topic, I would still try to write this as entertainingly as possible. I would want everything to be factual, but I think I would try to write it sort of like an E! True Hollywood Story. I would want a lot of personal testimony. I just think this kind of story that touches on secrets and scandals would do best in this kind of format. I would draw a bigger audience because of its entertainment value as well as its factual relevance. The juicier it's presented, the better the story seems. I would want this to be a dry history writing that we are forced to read in some textbook.
Just a side note, Wikipedia totally has a "History of Dubuque" page. FYI.
I think that my interest would be narrowed to focus more on the Klan presence in Dubuque. I would try to research this group by going through old Newspapers most likely. I would also try to talk to older citizens of Dubuque and also younger citizens to see what they can remember about the Klan's activities. I would also try, somehow I haven't quite figured yet, to maybe talk to someone who is supposedly a member of the Klan. Herein lies the biggest obstacle when doing research on this particular topic, Klan membership is supposed to be secret. People most likely won't want to talk too much about their involvement. Also, a lot of people won't want to talk about Dubuque's association itself with the Klan just because it isn't pleasant and it looks poorly on this community. I feel like a lot of people would rather just bury this part of their history under the rug instead of acknowledge its reality. This is something that Kammen focuses on in his writing. He says that most people don't like to discuss the negative aspects of a community because those things aren't pleasant. Kammen says, however, that "This looking on the bright side of things might be a good philosophy for individuals, but it is not always the best way to tell the complete story when we apply it to the past" (Kammen, 5). Some people might want to pretend that the Klan didn't/doesn't exist in Dubuque's past or present, but that simply isn't the truth and it shouldn't be ignored.
While I think this is already a fairly interesting topic, I would still try to write this as entertainingly as possible. I would want everything to be factual, but I think I would try to write it sort of like an E! True Hollywood Story. I would want a lot of personal testimony. I just think this kind of story that touches on secrets and scandals would do best in this kind of format. I would draw a bigger audience because of its entertainment value as well as its factual relevance. The juicier it's presented, the better the story seems. I would want this to be a dry history writing that we are forced to read in some textbook.
Just a side note, Wikipedia totally has a "History of Dubuque" page. FYI.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
I met recently with Annie, who is a Pastoral Associate at St. Mary's. We first discussed some different volunteer/outreach options for my experience. Two programs that are on St. Mary's campus are the Maria House and the Lantern Center. The Maria House is basically a women's shelter for those who have been abused. The Lantern Center is a place for people that provides those who are new to Dubuque (mostly for those who do not speak English) an opportunity to learn how things in Dubuque work, like the bus system. Also, another type of outreach program, not necessarily associated with St. Mary's, but to whom they often refer people, is to the St. Vincent De Paul store where they are provided with vouchers and help people buy groceries and others supplies that they need.
After we discussed these programs we decided to go look at the church. As I walked into the church I was immediately overcome with emotion. This may be the most beautiful church I have ever seen. I was only in the church for about 10 minutes and already felt that the closing of this church was a huge loss for not just the Washington community but Dubuque itself. I learned that the church was built by a congregation of 60 German immigrants. All of the glass pane windows were made in Germany and shipped over on a boat. If anyone has not yet been in this church I would strongly recommend visiting before the Church closes. Right now they don't have a closing date, and it's not really sure what's going to happen to the church after they close. So go see it now!!
On to the second topic....Liberal arts to me basically means "well-rounded." At Loras, I feel that while we do have individual majors and all take different classes, the required classes that we are to take are intended to make each of us a more well-rounded person. This, I'm sure, is probably supposed to help out in the real world. You know, that whole life after college thing that's looming over our heads. But since I haven't experienced the real world yet, I do not know to what extent any of the stuff I've learned in in my liberal arts classes. For instance, the calculus I was required to take, or the one about Brazil might help me somehow in my future, but I cannot at all think of how.
Martha Nussbaum believes a liberal education should be "committed to the activation of each student's independent mind and to the production of a community that can genuinely reason together about a problem" (Nussbaum, 19). She spends a lot of time discussing how colleges and universities are Socratic and and why that is a good thing. However, many people believe that all these institutions do is force young people to question tradition. Nussbaum clearly views this as a good thing, but there are plenty of people who do not want their traditions questioned and get very angry when their kids come home from school suddenly challenging the views they've been raised to believe. In regards to service, I think her definition of a liberal education clearly supports service and makes people want to help those less fortunate than themselves. Activating one's mind and question social norms can help point out obvious faults in the status quo. Once these problems have been recognized, service is one solution that communities come up with to help solve these problems.
After we discussed these programs we decided to go look at the church. As I walked into the church I was immediately overcome with emotion. This may be the most beautiful church I have ever seen. I was only in the church for about 10 minutes and already felt that the closing of this church was a huge loss for not just the Washington community but Dubuque itself. I learned that the church was built by a congregation of 60 German immigrants. All of the glass pane windows were made in Germany and shipped over on a boat. If anyone has not yet been in this church I would strongly recommend visiting before the Church closes. Right now they don't have a closing date, and it's not really sure what's going to happen to the church after they close. So go see it now!!
On to the second topic....Liberal arts to me basically means "well-rounded." At Loras, I feel that while we do have individual majors and all take different classes, the required classes that we are to take are intended to make each of us a more well-rounded person. This, I'm sure, is probably supposed to help out in the real world. You know, that whole life after college thing that's looming over our heads. But since I haven't experienced the real world yet, I do not know to what extent any of the stuff I've learned in in my liberal arts classes. For instance, the calculus I was required to take, or the one about Brazil might help me somehow in my future, but I cannot at all think of how.
Martha Nussbaum believes a liberal education should be "committed to the activation of each student's independent mind and to the production of a community that can genuinely reason together about a problem" (Nussbaum, 19). She spends a lot of time discussing how colleges and universities are Socratic and and why that is a good thing. However, many people believe that all these institutions do is force young people to question tradition. Nussbaum clearly views this as a good thing, but there are plenty of people who do not want their traditions questioned and get very angry when their kids come home from school suddenly challenging the views they've been raised to believe. In regards to service, I think her definition of a liberal education clearly supports service and makes people want to help those less fortunate than themselves. Activating one's mind and question social norms can help point out obvious faults in the status quo. Once these problems have been recognized, service is one solution that communities come up with to help solve these problems.
Monday, September 7, 2009
I've noticed while reading through most your blog entries that a lot of you have done service work your whole lives. If I did any as a kid, which I probably did, I honestly cannot recall it. At the moment I'm having trouble thinking of any service activities I've done. During my time here with Loras I've helped with Dance Marathon and done other activities with different organiziations that we are required by Loras to do. Most of those activities are escaping me, which should show how meaningful they must have been. In some ways, my lack of experience is probably why I'm very excited about this project.
I am very excited to learn about the historical context of this part of the assignment. I'm excited not only to learn about the church I've been assigned but also the history of every other church that our group is going to be focusing on. Dubuque has such a rich history and I've always been fascinated by how religion has shaped the community. I will be really interesting to see how everything all fits in together once we have completed our project.
Another thing, particularly with the St. Mary's, the church I've been assigned, that I will be interested in learning is what happens when a church is forced to close. St. Mary's has had a long and strong tradition in Dubuque. It's steeple can be seen for miles. Yet, sadly, it will be closing it's doors. This sad, and painful process will be one that is different from most other people's experiences with their churches and I hope that this aspect will help all of learn more about the "circle of life" as far as churches go.
The Washington neighborhood is full of different types of people. Different races, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds. This diverse area has seen it's fair share of problems, particularly stabbings at the moment. However, working in this area will hopefully allow me to become more familliar with some of the neighborhood's struggles, as well as it's strengths. This area also seem to exemplify many social issues to which our country is currently discussing. Working in this area will give me a hands on chance to really fully understand some of these issues.
I am very excited to learn about the historical context of this part of the assignment. I'm excited not only to learn about the church I've been assigned but also the history of every other church that our group is going to be focusing on. Dubuque has such a rich history and I've always been fascinated by how religion has shaped the community. I will be really interesting to see how everything all fits in together once we have completed our project.
Another thing, particularly with the St. Mary's, the church I've been assigned, that I will be interested in learning is what happens when a church is forced to close. St. Mary's has had a long and strong tradition in Dubuque. It's steeple can be seen for miles. Yet, sadly, it will be closing it's doors. This sad, and painful process will be one that is different from most other people's experiences with their churches and I hope that this aspect will help all of learn more about the "circle of life" as far as churches go.
The Washington neighborhood is full of different types of people. Different races, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds. This diverse area has seen it's fair share of problems, particularly stabbings at the moment. However, working in this area will hopefully allow me to become more familliar with some of the neighborhood's struggles, as well as it's strengths. This area also seem to exemplify many social issues to which our country is currently discussing. Working in this area will give me a hands on chance to really fully understand some of these issues.
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