“Landslide”

I took my love, I took it down
Climbed a mountain and I turned around
I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Till the landslide brought me down.

Oh, mirror in the sky,
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Well, I’ve been afraid of changing
Cause I’ve built my life around you.
But time makes you bolder,
Children get older,
I’m getting older too.

Oh, take my love, take it down.
Climb a mountain and turn around.
If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills,
Well the landslide will bring it down.

If you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills,
Well maybe the landslide will bring it down.

The lyrics of this song tell of someone reflecting on their life thus far, and deciding how to proceed in the future. The narrator is looking back on how they have lived, and at the same time wondering about how to continue in their life. Because of this, I think that the narrator is at a crossroads in their life. The reflective and thoughtful nature of the song is clearest in the lines “Climbed a mountain and I turned around/ I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills” The narrator has obviously accomplished something big in their life, and is looking back on it and processing it. Then, the line “Till the landslide brought me down” shows the narrator moving on in their life, away from their past. I also think the lines “Can the child within my heart rise above? / Can I sail through the changing ocean tides? / Can I handle the seasons of my life?” show the narrator pondering how to continue in life. The future clearly holds questions that the narrator has been searching for answers to, but the questions can’t be answered easily and simply.
This song brings back a lot of memories for me, because it is a song that is sung at my summer camp. All the girls in the oldest section of camp who will not come back to camp again sing “Landslide” together for the rest of the camp at the end of the summer, I think it is a very appropriate time to sing “Landslide.” This is because most of us have come to camp together for four or five years, and have met friends at camp who we see every summer. After out last year at camp, we often don’t know when we will see each other again, and whether we will ever come back to camp again. This may sound melodramatic, but camp and friends from camp are really special, because of their unique place in one’s childhood and quest for independence. So when we sing this song, we are reflecting on everything we’ve done together at camp. At the same time, we are wondering whether we will come back to camp for a longer trip and how we will bring camp and the things we have learned there into our lives back at home.
This idea of looking to the past and the future in one’s life also connects to our topic of journeys and the books The Iliad, The Odyssey, and Siddhartha in English class. In all three of these books and in the song “Landslide,” the main character is on a journey of some sort, and takes time to contemplate their life and their future.

Fleetwood Mac. “Landslide.” Fleetwood Mac. Rhino/ Wea, 1975.

*I wanted to underling the second "Fleetwood Mac" (the name of the album of the song), but blogger wouldn't let me.

Photography in Different Places

The exhibition catalog from a photography exhibition called The View From Here offered an interesting analysis both of the exhibition and of the photos in the exhibition. The View From Here was an exhibition that featured recently taken photos from both the Midwest region of the United States and from Central Europe, specifically Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The author of the essay in the exhibition catalog acknowledges that these two areas are quite different, but points out that photographs taken from the two regions focus on the place that the photo was taken and make statements regarding that place. The essay says “…each artist shows something about his or her world that the viewer would not have known, and likely not have seen before” (14). The author also stresses the importance of place in a photograph, because photos are so strongly linked to where they were taken. I agree that the location of a photograph is very important in deducing a photo’s meaning—knowing where something was taken almost always puts it in context for viewers and helps them understand the photographer’s message. Also, many photographs make statements about their settings, and when this is the case, the photo enhances a viewer’s knowledge of the photo’s subject. From personal experience, I know that looking at photos with a message about a place can do much more than let you know what something looks like physically—it can tell you about the culture, social issues, and people of an area.
One artist in the exhibition whose work I found particularly interesting was Paul Shambroom. His photos in the exhibition were taken of town meetings in the rural towns of the Midwest United States. In taking these photographs, Shambroom wanted to explore how these small towns are governed. Shambroom, who is quoted in the essay, says, “Seating arrangements, clothing and body language all provide clues to local cultural traits and political dynamics” (21). Before I read this quote and gained a deeper understanding of the meaning of his photographs, I found his photos interesting to look at because they revealed a rural world that I had never experienced. The people in the photos are sitting around meeting tables, either discussing amongst themselves or staring into the camera, and I thought it was fascinating to compare their varied expressions, postures and mannerisms. After reading Shambroom’s quote, however, I began thinking about which people in the photos had the power to rule their towns, and which were less powerful. Perhaps the people who sat up straight, visibly gesticulated their ideas with their hands, and engaged in conversation were the citizens who made the town’s decisions, while those who slouched and stared into space were the people who followed the lead of others in regard to their town’s decisions.
I was glad to have read the essay in The View From Here’s exhibition catalog, because it made me think more about how photographs can reflect and show a location to viewers. Also, the insights on the photos in the exhibition really helped me understand the meaning of the photos and the messages that the artists wanted to convey. These insights helped convince me that photographers really do take photos with a statement in mind, and not just to show a scene to someone else.

Work Cited:

Evans, Catherine. “Being Here.” The View From Here. Ed. Robert Stearns. Minneapolis: Arts Midwest, 2002. 14-23.

*I wanted to underline "The View From Here" in my post and my citation, but blogger wouldn't let me. Also, I wanted to indent the second line of my citation, but blogger wouldn't let me do that either.

Photograph

Palin's Questionable Practices

An investigation surrounding the firing of Walt Monegan, the public safety commissioner in Alaska, has become a central topic related to the presidential campaign and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. This firing has come under scrutiny because of the possibility that Monegan was fired by Alaskan governor Sarah Palin as punishment; Palin had wanted Monegan to fire or punish one of his troopers, Michael Wooten. Wooten also happens to be Palin’s sister’s ex-husband, and the couple underwent a difficult and unpleasant child custody battle in court after they divorced. Allegations say that Palin wanted Monegan to fire Wooten because of this personal conflict, and that Monegan’s subsequent firing was therefore unjustified.

Palin’s administration kept a close watch on Wooten; phone calls and meetings on the topic of Wooten were very frequent. According to Palin’s sister and Wooten’s ex-wife, Wooten intimidated his ex-wife and threatened his former father in law and former sister in law (Palin). However, even after Wooten was given a suspension for these charges, the investigations about him continued far beyond the conclusion of his punishment. “In all, the commissioner and his aides were contacted about Mr. Wooten three dozen times over 19 months by the governor, her husband and seven administration officials, interviews and documents show” (1). Monegan recalled getting many calls from Palin, her aides, and even her husband on the topic, and said, “I hung up wondering how long I could keep my job if I tick off my boss’s husband” (2). Wooten is still a trooper in Alaska today, but Monegan was fired on July 11. The Palin administration cited the need for “a new direction” (3) in the department when they fired him, and Palin herself has given varied accounts of her reasons for Monegan’s firing since the topic came into prominent view. Tellingly, Palin hasn’t cooperated with bipartisan investigations into the matter.

The issue surrounding Palin’s influence in Monegan’s firing is very complicated, but I believe that it boils down to a few truths about the vice presidential candidate. The first reality is that making Palin his running mate was a poor choice for McCain. Disregarding any questions about her merit as a vice president, McCain chose to involve a legislative investigation in his campaign when he chose Palin for his vice presidential candidate. If McCain unconsciously brought this problem into his campaign, then I believe it is obvious that he didn’t do the necessary research and background checks before choosing a vice president. On the other hand, if McCain was aware of the problem involving Sarah Palin when he chose her as his running mate, then he clearly was not concerned with his vice president’s record or method of conducting business, and he picked her simply to gain media attention.

The second problem that Palin’s investigation brings up is the problem of how the Alaskan governor conducts herself in office. I believe that bringing personal matters, such as family divorces, into one’s work is inappropriate and a poor way of doing business. Furthermore, it is unacceptable when these personal matters target one person, such as Wooten, and involve taking a private grudge out on him in a public and job-threatening way. If Palin is a politician who rules by threatening her enemies, preventing her enemies from talking about their disagreements with her, and potentially causing her enemies to lose their jobs, then I believe she is the last politician we need in the White House.

Work Cited:

Kovaleski, Serge F. “Palins Repeatedly Pressed Case Against Trooper.” New York Times 10 Oct 2008: A1.

Link to Article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/us/10trooper.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp

Child Abandonment in Nebraska

In Nebraska, a law has been passed that gives parents of children up to age 19 the right to abandon their children at a hospital without risk of prosecution. Originally, this law was intended to prevent unwanted infants from being abandoned, and many other states have laws with similar intentions. However, the Nebraska law is broader and includes children of all ages, and this has led to a serious problem: many parents are abusing the law by abandoning their older children and teens. Reasons for these abandonments are varied, but in many cases, the teens have gotten out of their parents’ control. In other situations, the parents do not have the financial resources to support their children, or do not feel that they can provide an adequate home for their children. Jim Jenkins, a parent whose son was a difficult teenager to handle, says, “I can see some parents getting overwhelmed and deciding that giving up the child is the best thing” (1). Experts say that there are many programs in Nebraska designed to help parents in these circumstances; for example, counseling programs and welfare can aid such families. But parents quoted in the article reply that these programs are often difficult to find or too expensive, and therefore do not meet their needs and fix their children’s issues in time. Judy Lopez, a caretaker for her two young grandchildren, attests to this, saying, “Help is out there, but people have to know how to find it” (2).
I think that this article shows our society’s need for improved public assistance programs. The fact that parents feel so helpless and hopeless that they go to the extreme length of abandoning their children is a disgrace to our society. Clearly, more affordable and accessible programs must be established to come to these people’s aid. The longer families with such drastic problems wait for help, the more children are neglected and uncared for. In many cases, these kids probably feel unloved and unwanted, and a childhood with these feelings could easily lead to poor performance in school and an adulthood of joblessness, homeless, and crime. Many families and our society as a whole would benefit from giving all children the care and love that they need.

Work Cited:

Eckholm, Erik. “Parents Give Up Youths Under Law Meant for Babies”. New York Times 2 October 2008: A21.

Link to article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/us/03omaha.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&em

Homer, the Sexist

In The Odyssey, Homer shows his true colors: he treats his female characters with sexism. Homer shows women such as Athena as characters with the sole purpose of helping men. At first glance, Athena seems like a dominant character whose gender doesn’t detract from her influence in The Odyssey. She uses her power to disguise Odysseus as a beggar, to inform Telemachus of how to safely travel home to Ithaca and avoid the suitors and to help Odysseus and Telemachus conquer and kill the suitors. However, a closer inspection of Athena reveals that all of her power is used to assist men in the story. Athena doesn’t benefit personally from aiding Odysseus or Telemachus, and she acts as a servant to their needs. Therefore, Homer’s portrayal of Athena detracts, rather than adds, to the rights of women in The Odyssey. Other females who exist only to help males in The Odyssey are Circe and Calypso. Their roles as Odysseus’ lovers are benefit Odysseus as much as themselves. Odysseus’ use of Circe and Calypso as lovers during his journey show that women were willing go to great lengths to please men. Furthermore, Odysseus’ infidelity to his true wife, Penelope, demonstrates an unfair double standard: Odysseus is permitted to have affairs with other women while he is away, but Penelope must deny the suitors and wait loyally for Odysseus back in Ithaca. Homer obviously viewed women such as Athena, Calypso, Circe, and Penelope as servants to the more important men in The Odyssey.
In The Odyssey, Homer occasionally shows that women are not even good enough to aid men. When Athena helps Telemachus visit Menelaus and Nestor to ask for news of Odysseus, she takes the form of Mentor, a male friend of Odysseus’. The fact that Athena morphed from her natural female state to a male in order to help another male sends the message that females aren’t capable of helping males, traveling, or giving advice. These ideas are hideously sexist, and show that Homer, though perhaps telling the truth of the time that he lived in, was not at all a forward thinking feminist.
Additionally, many women in The Odyssey were dependent on men, another sign of Homer’s sexism. Penelope, of course, illustrates this dependence best. When Odysseus does not return from war, Penelope can barely carry on with her life due to her extreme grief for her husband. She spends much time crying for him, and mourns his absence incessantly. If the tables were turned and Penelope was the one missing from home, Odysseus would undoubtedly have the backbone to carry on with his life in a normal way, unlike Penelope. Therefore, if Homer were not sexist in The Odyssey, he would show Penelope active in her life and perhaps even filling in for Odysseus by ruling Ithaca. This is far from what happens. The helpful purpose of women, the fact that women sometimes took the form of men to help men, and the strong dependence of women upon men in The Odyssey show that Homer was truly a sexist.