This Week

With Easter coming up and Passover being this week, the discussion of religion, the commercialization of religious holidays, and the cultural rituals associated with religion has been very popular among my friends and I.

I think what makes the best discussions the best discussions is the variance of opinion. For this blog post I asked a few of my friends to give me an anecdote of what this week means to them, whether it be Passover, chocolate bunnies, or Catholic liturgy.

Natalie:
“Judaism in general, has deep ties to its history and traditions. After being persecuted time and time again, tradition is deeply rooted in our rituals. If we had not held onto some of these key traditions, it is quite possible that Judaism would not exist today. Passover is a prime example of the rituals we have developed and continue to practice today. We come together around the same time every year, ask the same four questions, eat the same unleavened matzo and hope that next year, we’ll be in Jerusalem to celebrate. The repetition of these rituals never gets old to me. In fact I find comfort in knowing that while the world around me changes, I know that during Passover, and for that matter all Jewish holidays, the rituals and the traditions stay the same. So each year, however trivial it may seem, I dip parsley in salt water not once but twice, and sit with a pillow behind my back to remember my ancestors that came before me.”


Sarina:
“Springtime for me is not defined by matzos for Passover, or church services for Easter. My sister and I were raised in what you may call a “secular” household. My mom chose not to include religious leanings in our childhood, but instead our holidays revolved around school breaks and fabled figures. Easter for me was simply a time to celebrate the hopping of a giant bunny, literally. The end of my spring break was defined by dying Easter eggs, and leaving out our Easter baskets for the Easter Bunny. Jelly beans and chocolate bunnies (not that I like chocolate) were something I looked forward to Sunday morning. Until I was older did I actually realize that Easter had a different meaning besides candy. But even then, the thought of a resurrection seemed unrealistic, much like the Easter Bunny. Religion depends on the personal beliefs of each individual, and these beliefs are greatly influenced by family relations. Being raised in a household that never mentioned Jesus, or his death, I do not associate Easter with any type of religious distinction.”

Austin:
“Ever since I was young I have loved the Easter Season especially Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter Sunday. Throughout Lent I take more time out of my life to improve my relationship with the Lord while at the same time attending the sacrament of Confession more frequently. I attend the services of Holy Week on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, which focus on the events of the Last Supper and the Lord’s Passion. Holy Week prepares me for the celebration of Easter Sunday with the Catholic Community. I find it upsetting that many Christians have become “Easter-Christmas” Christians who only attend Church on those two days each year. All I can do is better myself to make the world a little better place and the Easter Season is a beautiful time to grow spiritually.”


Is this week equally as important to all three parties? Are their commitments to ritual just as strong? Is the fact that this week can have deep significance to multiple people but for different reasons, what makes this week so special?

Building Blocks For The Future

Almost every kid loves Legos, well maybe only guys, but I had a legitimate obsession. I think the first crime I ever committed and the first time I ever sinned was over Legos. My Mom’s office partner had a big box of Legos, and she had some sweet pieces that enhanced my collection back home, so in the mind of a five year old if they made my collection better, I had the right to them.

What is so awesome about Legos is the freedom and creativity associated with Legos. I could be a deep-sea diver, a pirate, a space cadet, or a knight in shining armor. These sweet occupations in the world of Legos carried over to my vision for my real life. My dream job was to build real life Legos. For a huge majority of my childhood I wanted to be an engineer and design planes for Boeing, or guns for Remington, or build giant bridges and cities.

My parents were so proud of their “little engineer” who was always building and modeling and creating. Legos give kids the power to create and develop, and so I was compelled to create and develop in the real world. And this elates parents! I remember one year for Christmas Santa gave me book about building bridges. I guess Santa was proud of the “little engineer” as well? My plan to be an engineer, work for Boeing, or design the world’s coolest bridge was foolproof! Except there was one minor detail: math.

Legos need a warning label. I would suggest something like this: WARNING: Playing with “real life Legos” requires math. Enjoy it while you can.

Am I bitter that playing with Legos in real life requires math? Yes. Why am I blogging about this? Because even if I had the opportunity to become a math genius, I would never trade the Liberal Arts for real life Legos. I find passion in the Liberal Arts. Not just in fellow students, and myself but in the actual course of study, and the professors who teach it. And this passion makes building “real live Legos” seem unexciting.

Dishes

Everyone has quirks.

Charles Jumonville, my Dad, loves to clean.  And when I say clean, I mean clean.  No matter where he is, or how much time he has he loves to clean.  His favorite motto about cleaning also permeates his life: “leave it better than you found it.”  My Dad is always striving to make whatever he has or wherever he is better and cleaner than he found it.  This motto is an excellent statute to model your life after, but I personally would not scrub the bathroom of the hotel we just stayed in.

But as much as I love to tease my Dad about cleaning, there is one aspect of cleaning that I actually enjoy.  For whatever reason The Jumonville’s do not have a dishwasher, thus we wash all our dishes by hand.  And honestly, I can say I like washing the dishes. 

Some of you, mainly Liz, may sarcastically say, “Washing dishes is necessary. Why are you blogging about that?”  I am blogging about washing dishes because the motto I associate with washing dishes also permeates my life: “Justice is washing your own dishes. Love is washing your neighbors dishes.”

It is necessary to wash your own dishes.  If not, they pile high and leave your whole house smelling like dirty dish water.  But washing your neighbors dishes is not necessarily necessary (see what I did there? I incorporated my blog title in a blog post!).  There are no direct negative effects such as high piles of dishware and poor odors.

So is justice necessary? Is love not?

I think this quote implies that humanity is rooted in justice.  Even though there may be people who never do their dishes unless they are told (my roommate), this action is an integral part of what makes humans human.  Justice is forever rooted in humanity.  We are all called and compelled to work for justice.  We do what is right and just for ourselves. Even though types of justice, such as distributive and social, are perceived and operated on the societal level, attitudes of justice towards yourself and others are engrained in human nature.  When little kids do something wrong, guilt leads them to believe that they deserve their ‘just desserts.’ 

But does this mean that love is not?  This quote leads me to believe the power of love stems from the freedom associated with love.  We have the freedom to choose whom we love, and whom we don’t.  When we choose to wash our neighbors dishes, we choose to go beyond the personal obligation of washing our own dishes, and we reach out to those around us.  Love is a greater sign of the goodness of humanity than justice can ever.  We all wash our own dishes, but it is a powerful sign if we wash our neighbors dishes.  We all like our friends and look after their well-being, and our own but how powerful is it when we look after the well being of those who aren’t our friends and family?

A Just Society

I guess I would consider myself an advocate for social justice. I am in the Be House special living option that focuses on leadership and social justice, and I love to debate sensitive issues and “hot topics.” But I ask myself over and over again what exactly is social justice?

Today in class when we were discussing our persuasive essays and speeches on public policy we were asked to list ten problems we found in society. My list included racism, gay rights, video games, and access to education. But as I look back I ask myself what determines an issue as a problem? What deems something an injustice against society?

I think the fact that these questions are so hard to answer is why so many “problems” exist in our society. The average individual would not consider himself or herself an advocate for social justice, and this is a problem! People don’t know what social justice is and this ignorance just perpetuates the problem. How often do we overlook those who have less than us? Do we ever stop and think about how our actions affect those around us? A web of moral ecology connects us all, and we must be cognisant of our interpersonal connections. Refusal to realize these interpersonal connections results in a world that refuses to be responsible for our actions. This responsibility is crucial to understanding the true nature of social justice, and without it solutions are hard to come by. But just now I admitted that I ask myself over and over what social justice is? So does that mean that each and every one of us perpetuates social injustice by not having a clear definition?

So is social justice just an endless chain of questions? I feel terrible saying that I honestly don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.  It appears just as society quells one social injustice another one seems to present itself. But this “endless cycle” is what makes the commitment to social justice so strong. And as citizens I believe we are compelled to continue this struggle no matter how endless the cycle seems.