An article from Bloomberg Business Week shares the plight of wealthy white families seceding from their school district on a mission to create their own. These parents express their frustration with the state of the schools. The violence, lack of challenging content and the lack of attendance in general, has these parents wanting more. And that's a wonderful strength of this neighborhood! But I wonder if this desire can be rerouted to benefit the community and city in a better way? I'm not convinced that building your own school and shutting off your neighbors access to the school because of their lower economic status is the answer. But this group the neighborhood has formed, "Local Schools for Local Children," has been collecting signatures to make these changes.
Again, the situation of investing in your children's education and not seeing improvement of the schools over the years must be frustrating. I am glad that there is a desire to change, but perhaps we should re-evaluate what would be best for everyone? Have we become so individualized that we do not see the impact this might have on others?
I'm so glad this neighborhood sees that change needs to happen. I am truly inspired by their desire to want their schools to be better. So perhaps, this group can lead the whole community that this poor education effects in a mission to better the entire school district.
Everyone wants more and better things for their children. Why not invite others into the conversation about how to make this happen for the city of Baton Rouge?
The Cheerio's commercial wasn't the only controversial ad during the Superbowl. If you don't know about it you should definitely check out a very thoughtful blog by Hannah Abbe on the topic. The Coca Cola commercial was also bringing out some disturbing reactions from Americans. The commercial sings "America the Beautiful" in several different languages and paints a beautiful picture of diversity in America.
I was shocked at the harsh reactions I saw all over Facebook by people I call friends and even some of my family (distant relatives but still those who proclaim to be Christian). One of which said, "Thanks Coca Cola, we just HAD to hear America the Beautiful in foreign languages. You just made everyone a Pepsi fan."
Is this really so offensive in a country that actually does not have an official language in the first place?
These reactions scare me a little, especially in light of the extreme actions taken in this article about Central African Republic and the "ethnic cleansing" going on there of Muslim. Not to mention what I guess we can call "lesser forms of discrimination" like in this article abouthate crimes going on in Britainright now against Muslims. People are becoming more and more afraid of each other. This is a problem!
I'm sure you're thinking that those are extreme examples and not even happening in our country. Well, discrimination, prejudice and persecution is definitely still happening. I grew up in a suburb outside of Houston, that was booming with people from all over the place. A mosque was built in a nearby neighborhood next to a farm. Well, the owner of the farm held pig races every Friday night ( a holy day, like our Sunday in the Islamic Faith) trying to send a message that they were unwanted here. While no one died, is that not the same motivation as ethnic cleansing? Doesn't Jesus say in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5)
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people
long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who
murders will be subject to judgment.’22 But I tell
you that anyone who is angry with a brother or
sister will be subject to judgment.
Don't we need to reflect on our motivations? Still not convinced we may be guilty?
Take a look at this article about the case of Jordan Davis, an African American teenager killed for his music being played too loud in Jacksonville, FL. If you don't think this relates to racial distrust, read the article and you will see that it was a senseless death based on unfounded fear.
We don't know each other.
And that is vital to any community because it unifies and wipes out fear. We need to be intentional about getting to know each other. To recognize that we all have stories to tell. The dignity and worth of a person should be celebrated but we can only celebrate what we know. Are we making it a point to get to know each other?
A writer with immigrant parent's perspective on the Coca-Cola commercial...
"We come to America, in other words, and we become American–but we don’t erase everything else that we were before, we don’t forget our cultures and languages as if they never existed, and we don’t hide them as if they’re shameful or less than patriotic. We bring them out and share them, and they make this country better and stronger. America isn’t weakened because people don’t submit to a monoculture; it’s strong because it can absorb the peoples and aspirations and talents of the rest of the world without erasing their cultures".
Last week, before the Olympic games started in Sochi, there was a comical article from the Washington Post that collected tweets from journalists who had arrived in a very under-prepared Sochi. It included reports of hotel roofs missing and undrinkable water. Apparently, this is not surprising and fairly typical of all mega-sporting events. Articles are coming out everyday on Brazil's controversial hosting of the World Cup games this summer.Controversial because this excessive amount of spending on hopeful economic boosts in light of incoming tourists is taking away from the most marginalized and vulnerable people of these countries. Countries compete to even host and it present itself as a sort of "right of passage" being able to host any of these games. But at what cost to the local people?
I mean really, the games should be controversial in every country. There are few that have the infrastructure to handle the amount of people that flood into the cities where these games are hosted. And the buildings are left vacant and unused after the games have finished. Does anyone else see a big problem with this?
Well, local Rio de Janerians do. In this article, a major backlash to rising transportation costs summarizes the frustration of the people towards their country for spending money on this, no doubt, prestigious event. The most poignant part of the article, I think, is ""We want Fifa-standard hospitals too," they shouted, making reference to the high standards demanded by the World Cup organisers for the event's venues."
It makes me wonder why FIFA and the Organizing Committees of the Olympic Games (OCOGs) not seem concerned about a country's welfare. And if they are not concerned, then we, as watchers and consumers of these mega-sports programs should take a stand with those who are making sacrifices for the world's entertainment.
It's a trend, these days, for corporations to have a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) department so why can't FIFA and OCOG too? PepsiCo has a clean water initiative andCoca-Colaworks to empower women all over the world. Corporations understand that giving back is important to people and over the past 20 years, consumers have demanded this of the companies they love. In the same way, we as conscientious consumers can demand that these buildings be put to good use for the welfare and betterment of the population after the Olympic games. Most host cities have great plans for re-purposing the buildings like London who plans to re-use the buildings for sporting events or housing. Many are skeptical of this being an actual possibility. Most decay and sit idle for years, like the buildings in Athens, Greece.
So much planning goes into making these buildings, I'm just asking for a plan that contributes to the community after and accountability that the money spent on these buildings will not be in vain. That the local people benefit from such an astronomical task.
The games embody so much! They are about countries coming together to celebrate athletic ability, hard work and determination, diversity and national pride. I think there's room for giving back to the local community somewhere in there, too.
Beijing may be leading the way. Below is the Olympic "Water Cube" from the 2008 Olympics. It cost 100 million US dollars to make.
And here it is today...the largest indoor water park in Asia...
