Christo and Jeanne-Claude Visit

Here is a link to Christo and Jeanne-Claude's website. If you have a few minutes this weekend, take a look at some of their work, or at the Frequently Asked Questions about their work.

Of course, you can always just search Google Images for more pics of them and their work. If you do take the time this weekend, please post a comment here about what your impressions of their work: How did you react to seeing their work for the first time? Was there one work that you liked best? Least? Why?

As usual, there are no right answers, and this comment is not required. But the more familiar you are with their work, the more you will get out of their visit on Tuesday night.

Can we blame Ishmael? (F Block)

In the book A Long Way Gone, by Ishmael Beah, Ishmael commits a vast number of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and was altogether just cruel to a whole bunch of people who may not have deserved it. However, prior to these events, he was put on numerous drugs, and convinced mentally that violence is OK. So, given these circumstances, can we really blame him for what he did? While I agree that there was a whole lot of outside influence, at the end of the day, he still did these horrible things, and must, like anyone else, face up to his charges and take the responsibility and blame for his actions.

This is not to say that I don't realize the circumstances, he was under alot of physical and mental strain, but the outside influence can only go so far. just because he has been badly drugged doesn't mean that his body was taken from him by an unseen force, while it could have warped his intentions, it was still Ishmael, not drugs or violence, directing his body, and this must be realized, that his atrocities were his own doing.

In a way, before drugs even came into the picture, he chose to take the trip down the dark road that led to his career as a soldier and in that accepted responsibility for anything that he might do. although once again there were outside influences, he chose to become a solder, and no matter what those influences were, the facts of his decision remain, it was by his own doing that he became a soldier, when he was given the choice by the army to flight or fight.

In the end, back on my first point, we all have to accept responsibility for our actions, and as hard as it is to say, Ishmael did what he did, not anyone else, and this must be acknowledged.

Blame (G block, the best block)

I do not believe that the atrocitys Ishmael committed were Ishmael's fault. Ishmael did not willingly take up the child soldeiring life. He was given the descison to either join the army or be killed by nearby rebels. What would you choose?? Also, the murders Ishmael commited and terribly actions he took, were because of the drugs Ishmael was on. Clearly, Ishmael cannot be held responsible for his actions during his soldiering days.
Another reason why Ishmael cannot be blamed for his actions was that Ishmael was brainwashed. First he was on multipe drugs that deluded his mind while sharpening his other attributes. During this time Ishmael was not a teenage boy, but a drugged, killing machine, who could not, did not, have any other choice but to do what his fellow soldiers did. Any other actions would have met certain death. Another reason was that Ishmael had no close family members still alive. He was ALONE in the world, a scary thought for a young teenage boy. The army embraced him, and he had to join the army for his own survival. The army became his family and with the army Ishmael escaped certain death. If you blame Ishamel reflect on Ishmael's choices and decide what you what have done?? How would YOU have SURVIVED without taking these actions .

The Existence of God? (F Block)

Certainly this book brings in to question why bad things happen to good people, or good people being forced to kill. Why must the most innocent children be forced to war? Why are they given drugs? Why are they so inhumanly violent? Why doesn't God do something? Many Christians I know believe that God has a "path" for each of us, but was Ishmael's path really meant to be strewn with horrors of war? Also, I think with the absence of a divine being, Beah presents to us that the power of human action is not to be underestimated. In the Bible God is so massive that he punishes with the book of Revelations, but it seems not to be too different from the gross humanity that is thrown at us in the book.

Throughout the book, there hasn't been any direct reference to God or any kind of divine being. One might say that UNICEF's efforts to return these boys back to normal is an act of God, even though through Ishmael's eyes, it's the worst that could have happened. However, this topic made me realize the irony of the narrator's name, Ishmael. In the bible, Ishmael is the expelled son of Abraham, so there is an obscure but valid biblical reference in the book. One time that spirituality is mentioned is when Saidu cryptically voices that every time they try and run away, a part of him -a part of his soul- dies until he will just be an empty body walking beside them.

Leading up to tonight's reading, Ismael had many flashbacks of childhood memories or African legends his grandmother has told him. However, in the last reading this changed. Now that Ishmael has been brainwashed to kill and addicted to drugs, he suffers from flashbacks of blood and deaths of his friends, as opposed to the nice childlike stories of Bra Spider. The evidence of evil certainly does not prove or disprove the existence of God. One might interpret the slivers of joy when they go to the city or listen to rap as God trying to save them from their misery, but no one really understands if it is God or luck that gives them these sparse pleasures.

Religious Views after reading A Long Way Gone (G Block)

After reading our required chapters for tonight, I had a difficult time processing the thought of a divine being watching and guiding us through our lives. Many holy books state that God loves us and gives us comfort when we feel anguished. This certainly does not apply to Ishmael and the other child soldiers of Sierra Leone. They never asked for their lives to be taken and families to be destroyed. Never received any love or guidance when they were forced to kill. Many of you may disagree in some way but I believe we are all here to control our own fates. Believe me, I would like to believe that someone out there could bring joy and prosperity to the earth. But that still doesn't explain why so much chaos and madness happens in our world and so many prayers are never answered.

Ishmael and his friends have seen things that would drive sane men to the brink of insanity. The killing of children and slaughtering of innocent people. Where was God when the little infant was shot down in the dawn of life. He or she shall never know the joys of life and what it has to offer and instead be buried in the blood drenched earth along with the rest of the village. Where was God when the devoted father decided to drive home early to kiss his daughter goodnight but was killed by RUF rebels on his way home. From 1991 to 1997, over 189,000 thousand children under the age of nine died either in combat or by rebel raids in Sierra Leone.

We control the fates of ourselves and of our peers and only us. For those of you who are religious, I urge you to not be offended by my opinion and know you can be completely honest in your responses. But I ask only that tonight after you say your prayer, ask yourself, is somebody really listening and will this divine being act to make your life easier?

Discussion of US Involvments in the Civil War of Sierra Leone (G Block)

We are talking about the 10th poorest country in the world, with a GDP of only $700 per capita (While it is $46,859 in the US). This is a country with one of the highest infant mortality rate and one of the lowest life expectancy rate. This country is Sierra Leone, a place that suffered an 11 year long civil war which half of the population—that is more than 20,000 people made refugees and 20,000 slaughtered during a campaign called ‘Operation No Living Things’. Here comes the question: Why did the United Stated, the most influential country with the strongest military in the world just let the Africans suffer and expect themselves to fix up the situation on their own, while even Nigeria, a country with internal economical problems, spent $1,000,000 per day battling the war criminals?

To be exact, America was involved diplomatically after the war was officially ended and helped Sierra Leone elect a government, but that’s it. It did not send any troops, not even a single American was part of the 6,000 UN Peacekeepers sent to the battlefields. Only $15 million was offered to aid the government of Sierra Leone. It is now necessary to bring up the Kosovo incident, a place where its people is suffering from a situation similar to the one in Sierra Leone, yet the US Congress approved a total of $90 billion for it’s aid.

“So is the Arabic’s life more worth saving than the African’s? That is a double standard.” Questioned American Civil Right’s leader Jesse Jackson.

“Sierra Leone, a country of no strategic importance to the United States, highlights the Clinton administration's struggle to define places worthy of intervention on humanitarian grounds." Claimed professor David Wippman of Cornell University, " it has not pursued justice as vigorously in Sierra Leone as it has in other parts of the world,"

"I know that some are troubled that the United States and others cannot respond to every humanitarian catastrophe in the world," President Clinton told the U.N. General Assembly in September. "We cannot do everything everywhere."

So are limited resources the true reason why a nation as strong and powerful as the United States leaves the dreadful situation in Sierra Leone? Or like some scholars suggested ‘America cannot benefit directly from the civil war’? Some people also thought leaving the Africans to solve their own problems was the right thing to do, so they can be independent. If that's the case, why did the US help Iraq and Afganistan? The answer is now up to you to decide.

Sending Troops into Sierra Leone (F Block)

One major controversy dealing with Sierra Leone is whether or not the United States should have sent troops over to presumably save some lives. Being one of the most powerful nations in the world, the United States was expected to aid the country in some way, however they failed to do so. I believe sending troops over to Sierra Leone would indeed have saved many lives and helped the country recover, however doing this would make Sierra Leone less independent and more reliant on other countries.

If the United States was to intervene, Sierra Leone would still not know how to handle the situation on their own if this was to happen again. The only way they can learn to run their country is from learning from their mistakes. Because we chose not to send troops over, Sierra Leone is more capable of repairing the damage independently. Although it sounds cruel to disagree with trying to save lives, Sierra Leone will benefit from our lack of help in the future. 

This situation is similar to the African colonies during Imperialism. When the Europeans divided up Africa and enforced their government, Africa was immediately trained to live they way the Europeans had forced them to. Today, Africa is still struggling with creating a stable government because they never really learned to do this on their own. Similarly, sending troops would have damaged Sierra Leone's chance of becoming independent in the future. I  believe the United State's decision to not aid Sierra Leone was a smart one because of the impact it will have on their ability to be independent in the future.