I read the New Yorker regularly and often find articles I'd like to blog about but by the time I get around to blogging on them the issue is two or three weeks old, so I usually don't. There were two interesting articles in the Jun 27th issue. One was on the mayor of a town in Albania. One of his first official acts was to literally paint the town -- to brighten up the buildings.
The other was on Patrick Henry College, founded 5 years ago, and seems to be a factory for taking young homeschooled adults raised in the religious right, and train them to become politicians and congressional staffers. This gives me pause. What will happen to the college if (hopefully) a Democratic president is elected next time around. It's tricky to start a college with such a limited focus. I also wondered at their choice of name, since Virginia also has a Patrick Henry Community College. Anyway, I discovered a new blog, The Wissy, that has already covered the subject thoroughly, so instead of me reinventing the wheel, I would refer you to this posting.
Another new blog I've been checking out frequently is the community forum at the Christian Alliance for Progress. I found this posting very thoughtful. I've gotten into hot water on more than one Sunday by suggesting that if the religious world is going to condemn homosexuality on scriptural basis then we have to toss out the divorced and adulterers too, as well as a lot of other people on a variety of other grounds. Generally the room goes very quiet. Someone quoted a passage in Leviticus on homosexuality and I pointed out that it only discussed men and did that mean lesbians were okay. There was a general discussion on how we had to take cultural mores into account and that when it said men it meant women too. I said if you were going to be literal in one place you had to be literal everywhere. I did bring up the food restrictions and was rightly corrected that those were taken out in the New Testament. I'm not sure how much the rest of the class appreciates my "devil's advocacy" but it does lead to a lot of discussion.
Go have yourselves a good weekend. I'm leaving town on Saturday but will be checking Albert's postings on Live 8 on Philly Future.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Two Interesting Posts
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2 comments:
That college you mentioned seems like an indoctrination school, like a brinwashing facility.
Samantha,
Thanks for commenting. I had no idea so many people read this blog.
It caters more to those who already have a shared world view. Since much of its success, after only 5 years since starting, is due to a steady stream of internships and jobs in DC (less than 2 hours away), I wonder what will happen to the school if that stream dries up.
One point that really struck me is that the female students struggled with the conflict between their own ambition and the general understanding that they would marry and have a traditional life as wife and mother.
Another point was that people who have been so isolated from anyone who does not share their values for their first 22 years may have some trouble adjusting to life in the "real world" where you have to work with, and live near, people who have very different views. If you haven't learned how to deal with these situations by the time you graduate from college you could be in for some real shocks.
I wonder if the college is doing the students a disservice by keeping them so isolated. Plus, not everyone who aspires to a life in politics or government actually ends up there and without a broader education some of these people may have trouble adapting their education to being, say, a car salesman.
But, I could be biased.
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