Living Water

Some of you already know that I spent our last break in Nicaragua on a mission trip.  Water and all it symbolizes became a re-occurring theme for me while on this trip. I knew beforehand that the water in Nicaragua wasn’t safe for us to drink. We had large jugs of warm, but clean water at the mission project, so I didn’t think too much about it prior to going. It wasn’t until I was actually there in front of the sink that I realized I would need bottled water to brush my teeth. I started noticing just how much I rely on water throughout the day. Every time I showered, or washed my hands, or saw my clothes being washed, I had the conscience thought that the water wasn’t “clean”. I can’t quite explain it, but water was on my mind a lot.

Going into it, I knew water was a scarce resource for many developing countries.  I also knew that the United States is a big consumer of all the world’s natural resources and I wondered just what effect that would have on my experience.  What I didn’t know is the extent of our wastefulness. Consider the following:

• Americans use about 100 gallons of water at home each day.
• Millions of the world’s poorest subsist on less than 5 gallons per day.
• 46% of the world’s population doesn’t have water piped to their homes (yet we have a water cooler in our office!)
• 1 out of 8 people in the world lack access to clean water.
• 3.3 million people die from water-related health problems each year.
• In Florida, 3,000 gallons are used to water the grass for each golf game played – and that’s just in Florida!
• U.S. swimming pools lose 150 billion gallons to evaporation each year.

When you are standing in a developing country, watching kids play right next to open sewage flowing down the path – it becomes apparent just how wasteful we really are.  It made me feel really shameful actually.  I already cared deeply about the environment prior to going on this trip, but this experience awakened the activist in me.  Having access to clean water should be a human right. 

So my question to you this week is two-fold, “Do you think the United States should spend money to help the developing world obtain access to clean water – even when we have our own problems right here at home?  What are some things you could do to lower your own water usage?”  Answers are due no later than Sunday, August 5^th, 2013.

I'll Follow You Until You Love Me

I woke up this morning to news that the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton is in labor.  After weeks of paparazzi being on “baby watch” the frenzy is now even more heightened as they camp outside the hospital hoping to capture a picture.  I understand this baby will be third in line to the Royal throne, but I can’t help but feel they should give the woman some space.  I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that Princess Diana, was tragically killed in 1996 after being pursued on a high-speed chase by paparazzi, who then stood over her dying body and continued to snap photos of her last moments alive.

Here in America, we have even more lenient laws towards paparazzi.  The list of celebrities who have had altercations with paparazzi is long, and usually results in the celebrity being criminally charged.  Consider the following:

• Chris Martin, the front man for the band Coldplay was charged with malicious damage after attacking a paparazzi’s car for getting too close to his wife Gwyneth Paltrow, who was pregnant at the time.
• In 2010 Russell Brand was arrested for battery after he pushed a photographer for trying to take an up-skirt photo of his then-girlfriend, Katy Perry.
• In January, a paparazzo was killed after pursuing Justin Bieber on a high-speed chase down the Los Angeles freeway.
• In June, Kim Kardashian was boxed in by four cars on the freeway, who then forced her to slow down so they could photograph her through the windows.  When she complained, she says they subsequently threatened her life and the life of her unborn child.
• Last week, Kanye West was involved in an altercation with paparazzi at LAX, which is currently under investigation and may result in charges for the star.

Many say this is just the unfortunate price of fame.  Celebrities know what they’re getting in to when they choose high profile careers.  The paparazzi have a job to do, and the better or more scandalous the photos, the more money they make.  Others say it’s a dangerous violation of privacy and there needs to be tougher laws.  In a few weeks, we will discuss the right to privacy, which is an implied right in America, not an enumerated one.  We will talk about how the Courts have ruled in privacy cases that don’t involve celebrities.  So my question to you this week is, “What do you think about paparazzi who will “do anything” to get the shot?  Should we enforce tougher laws and restrictions on them, or are they only doing their job?  Would you feel differently if you were a celebrity?”  Answers are due no later than Sunday, July 28^th, 2013.

Justice For Trayvon - Part 2

I’m sure by now you all have heard about the Trayvon Martin case.  Martin was a 17 year old, unarmed, high school student who was fatally shot after an altercation with George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch coordinator.  I initially blogged about the details of the case last year, shortly after Zimmerman was arrested for murder, 45 days after Martin’s death.  You can read my initial post, including Zimmerman’s 9-1-1 call and see your fellow students’ comments here: http://historicalandpoliticalissues.blogspot.com/search?q=trayvon

On Sunday, a jury found Zimmerman not guilty of the charges, which set off demonstrations around the country protesting the verdict.  The jury found Zimmerman innocent under Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” law, which allows individuals to use “justifiable force in self-defense when there is reasonable belief of unlawful threat”.

So my question to you this week is two-fold.  “Do you agree or disagree with the jury’s verdict?  Do you agree with “Stand Your Ground” laws – why or why not?”  You must answer both questions to earn full credit.  Answers are due no later than Sunday, July 21^st, 2013.

Choose Your Own Adventure

It's always hard coming back to school after break. Don't get me wrong, I love teaching and being surrounded by all the crazy, creative evergy that is all of you. That being said, it's still hard to get back into the grind.  So for our first blog post, I'll go easy on you.

This week we started our study of the Constitution and the freedoms that make us uniquely American. You can order your own free copy of the United States Constitution from: http://www.constitutionfacts.com/index.cfm?section=bookstore&page=freeCopy.cfm

Normally, our first blog post has something to do with the freedoms you value most and whether or not you are proud to call yourself an American. This quarter, I would like to start with something different. A good portion of this class will be spent discussing current events and political issues that affect our everyday lives. For this post, I would like you to tell me at least one issue that you are interested in studying. To help you out, you can look over the blog posts that we've had in the past several years to get an idea of the type of things we've covered. Many of the topics are pretty controversial and I do my best to not censor the information available to you.

So my question to you this week is, "What is one issue that you are interested in studying in this class?" Answers are due no later than Sunday, July 14th, 2013. I'm looking forward to a great quarter!