On Religion and Gun Control

This is an opinion piece that I'm just putting together very quickly. I won't be arguing any points with anyone after the final word of this post.

With the tragedy that took place last Friday the country is rightfully in shock. It is difficult to maintain a positive state of mind. People should be mourning and be emotional at this time; but this should not leak into the political sphere. Now is when politicians need to avoid making political moves that are affected by emotional states or emotional pressures from the public. There are two very different outcries that are coming from the post-Sandy Hook world: gun control and the oft asked question, "Where was God?".

First, the connection that people make from a shooting to gun control is an obvious and understandable one. It does not stop these things from happening though. September 11th, the greatest attack on American soil in our history, was not perpetrated with guns. The Oklahoma City bombing did not use guns. In the United Kingdom and Ireland a masked conflict has taken place for many decades where guns are supposed to be illegal. Criminals will commit crimes. Guns will be owned by those people that wish to own them, and will be used by those that wish to use them. The large majority of gun owners do not commit crimes. When does a few's crimes become cause to take away others' freedoms? It is simply politicians using people's emotional states to further their cause. Perhaps there should be more emphasis on the man that committed the crime, not the inanimate object he chose to use, in the investigation. My family does not own guns, and I do not plan to ever own a gun, but it is our choice and I can provide a guarantee that owning one would not cause any one of us to hurt another person with it.

The second idea that I've seen popping up in the response to Friday's tragedy is people asking, "Where is God?" I believe that God was right where he was supposed to be, in people's private lives. There are links to videos such as Mike Huckabee's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR39j1KMOsE

He points out that we have pushed God from schools and public places over the years. Yes, we have...and yes, we were right in doing so. I agree wholeheartedly that the goodness of people showed up in all of the ways that Huckabee mentions, and if people wish to believe that that is God coming through then they should do so. To me it is people being raised to be kind and morally good, which does not require religion to do. Also, it does not specifically mean the Christian God either. There is no evil god, as all faiths have similar moral teachings. I am glad that he points out that it is not the lack of God being taught in school or that homosexuals are allowed rights that caused the shooting to occur; that can be left to the nutjob Phelps family to conclude.

All of this comes from an antiquated notion that the United States was founded as a Protestant state and that we have become godless over time. This is factually inaccurate in every way. While we were and still are majority Protestant Christian statistically, we have never been a Christian state. The founders made very clear their attempts to rid the government of religious overtones (which they failed in doing as we can see in our Pledge of Allegiance and on our money). Many of them were not traditional Christians themselves, being deists and pragmatic agnostics. Religion was something that was to be studied in one's own private life, and maintained privately. We are a diverse state, and if people want to create private schools that teach Christianity, Islam, or any of the rest then they absolutely should. Public schools, government buildings, and the like should not lean towards any one religion. In a democracy majority rules; and while for now the majority are Christian Protestants it does not allow us to ignore the minorities' religions in favor of creating an institutional leaning.

It is up to parents at home to raise children to grow up to be good, stable individuals in the way they see fit. We should stop blaming guns for the actions of people, and we should stop looking to the public system for moral direction by the use of religion. It is not the government's job to choose these things for us, it is ours. Don't let a terrible event give rise justifications for freedoms being taken away, and a prejudice in government. It is time to be heartbroken and come together, but politicians cannot let this time affect their judgment in allowing our state to veer even further from the values in mind when it was created.

Stay for a While

Hello everyone,

I'll be honest: I'm writing this post in part to waste some minutes before going home.

It's been incredibly relaxing to have all those essays finished. I had no idea how run down I'd gotten, how I hadn't really been sleeping, only lying there with my eyes closed. My mind has been busy, and it needed some down time. I'm always pretty relaxed about papers because I know how I get if I'm stressed so I work extra diligently to prevent that from happening (even though it's in those pressure moments that I seem to create my best work). I probably work harder making myself not relax than I do on the papers themselves.

Everyone needs to have time to unwind. It's a travesty that time gets the lowest priority in the world. The last few days have been great for me. I've gotten to sit down and watch some movies I haven't seen in a long time, and last night a few friends and I went to a pub in the city centre to watch some NFL.

Most of all, I've had some time to let my mind wander freely. The way I've lived, my ideas and things I believe in, have come under a lot of pressure this semester. I've had to learn, I've had to adjust, I had to grow and sometimes even change. Luckily I've had some friends that have been selfless while I've been selfish getting myself back on track.

I'm happy I'm able to go back to Kansas for a little while now. I arrived in Dublin in September with certain expectations and security. Those particular expectations and security are gone, but slowly (you know the process) my expectations of Dublin and my life here are changing, making it easier to live here. There are several people here though that I'm extremely happy for having met, and I have one semester done of my degree so, all in all, things are well I should say.

I've learned this semester that I don't want to have any regrets, to not pass up on an opportunity and if I want something then I should give myself every chance to have it. That's why coming to Ireland will never be a regret. I came here to give something I really wanted the chance it deserved; past that there's nothing I could do. Also, there is every reason for me to be here for International Relations. Where better to gain an understanding of and learn about other places than in those places? For years I've had a pretty good idea what I wanted to do but after so many classes I caught only glimpses of it. I was steered all over the place and bogged down. It's finally coming into view now. I have a great background of knowledge from all those classes that were tedious (and let's face it, killed my childish curiosity for the subject) but it has been amazing to finally see what I can do with what I know.

I've also learned that those things you wish you'd said, sometimes you get to say them. Most of those things, you stopped yourself from saying them because you shouldn't have said them. Lashing out and venting doesn't make you feel better. They're like a drug with short highs, damage, and regret. In the end, you're being hurtful and no matter how hurtful someone has been to you it is still wrong to hurt others.

My apologies, this has run a bit long. I'm mostly just waiting for my flight home these last few days and when I get my mind running it can be difficult to stop it. I forget that this is a one way conversation as well and I get a bit of a stream of consciousness thing going. I will see some of you in a few days for pizza and beer, and others I'll see throughout break at different times. Can't wait.

Edwords

Halfway: London/France and Writing Papers

Hello everyone,

It's been a long time since I've written on here. It's hard to say all that's happened since it has been so long. It's felt longer than however long it was.

The main event was when my mom came to visit. Well, she didn't come to visit but she was in London for work which is about as close as it gets without being in Ireland. I flew over to see her on a Thursday after my Dissertation Design class, and we went out to a pub in the City before going to a Bavarian style beerhouse for some schnitzel.

The next day we woke early to catch a tour bus to Oxford, Warwick, Stratford-upon-Avon. I've been to London several times and my mom and I decided it would be good to get outside of the city and see what England had to offer. It was great to see the Cotswolds, with the thatched cottages and things. Also, Stratford is the birthplace of William Shakespeare, if you've heard of that guy, so that was pretty neat. I'm not really a fan, but still. We also got to see the room at Oxford that the Harry Potter dinner hall was based off. Once again, I'm not a Potterhead but it was an awesome room and campus. It was another one of those campuses that I don't think I'd enjoy actually going to university at. They're very manicured and feel stuffy. I wouldn't feel comfortable there. Warwick Castle was also good. Definitely the best preserved castle I've ever been to but it has been turned into a bit of a kiddie place with all the live actors and weird tours like "Live like a Princess" and things. A little Ripley's Believe It Or Not feeling.

The next morning we woke even EARLIER to get a train to Paris through the chunnel. I completely blanked and forgot my passport at the hotel so we missed our train but were able to catch a taxi to the hotel and back in time for the next one so we didn't lose too much time. Paris was great even with the cold and the rain. We didn't have very much time there, so we had to rush all over the place and take pictures of the outsides of the main landmarks but didn't have the time to go into any of them except to the top of the Eiffel Tower. That was really cool, although it did mess with my fear of heights a little. We had crepes at a cafe by Notre Dame and walked along the Seine for a little while before grabbing the train back to London. The next day we woke late, had a quick lunch and I came back to my scholarly life in Dublin.

Other than that trip I've mostly been locked up in my room researching and writing papers. I've finally finished them, including my research proposal after over a month of working on them. I couldn't believe the feeling of relief when I handed them in. I've been frustrated with school in the past, but never quite so close to wanting to give up. I spent a lot of nights staring at the computer screen with bloodshot eyes panicking that I was going to get writer's block and fail. I lost trust in my ability this semester. It may have been that I wasn't completely sure what was considered solid work here versus K-State, or just the feeling of extra pressure; thankfully I pulled through and wrote several papers that I'm VERY proud of, and a couple that I'm at least semi-sure are worth a decent grade. I've always been a natural paper-writer and I had to keep telling myself that I've never steered myself wrong before and trust what my fingers were typing.

Papers this semester were: How the Media Affects Foreign Policy Decisions; Failure of Policy in the War on Drugs; Social Unrest and a Lack of Change: The Argentine Economic Crisis; A Realist Perspective on Asymmetric Warfare; The Democratic Peace Theory; and Covert Action and its Place in the Study of Democratic Peace

I'll write another entry that's more about coming home soon, how the semester has gone outside of classes, and a little more heartfelt soon.

Edwords

Haggis and Stuff

Hello all,

As many of you know I've been having a rough time since I got to Ireland. This has not subsided, but I am regaining confidence. Last week I learned that my partner for a 25-30 minute presentation I have to do has left UCD and I was told at first that I had to do it alone now. A friend I've made in class was interested in doing the same topic that I had but had not been assigned it at first, but since she was in a group of 3 the professor allowed her to switch and become my partner. This has been the start of the slow process of things improving I hope, and I'm really happy I'm able to have a partner again.

Oh, and the biggest news, I went to Edinburgh in Scotland for 4 days since my last post. While the climate is the same as Dublin it was great to get out of the city. It didn't have the 'head clearing' affect that I thought it would but it was still good for me. The city was beautiful; full of medieval structures and still had the feeling of a castle town. Edinburgh Castle (and the hill that it was on) was by far the biggest, and coolest castle I've ever seen. There were multiple museums inside it, and I ended up wasting a rainy afternoon wandering the ramparts and halls there.

I also went to the Scotch Whisky Experience (yes, whisky). I'm not a Scotch drinker it turns out. I was able to drink the one they let me try, and after the first 2 sips I grew accustomed to it...so maybe I could become one? I probably should since they sent me home with my own Glencairn glass. The place was also home to the world's largest collection of Scotch bottles (all unopened).

Other things I saw on this trip were: Holyroodhouse Palace where the Queen stays during the summer, Arthur's Seat, Calton Hill, Burns Monument, National Scottish Museum, several cathedrals and churches, Scottish Parliament and some really awesome shops. The best night though was when I went to Brewdog (a brewery that I've had beers from before; I always try to visit a brewery). I finally got to try Sink the Bismarck! beer, which is 41% alcohol and the strongest beer in the world. This wasn't near as bad as I had predicted, and ended up quite enjoying it. While at Brewdog a man sat next to me and we began talking. He turned out to be a graduate business professor at Bath University, but had been at Oklahoma before that. Such a small world. After talking for a while there I went back to the hostel and met a group of Swiss students that invited me to go to a club with them. I spent the rest of the fun, drunken night with them.

I've now turned in my first paper, which was also my shortest. It's extremely difficult to tell what the professors are expecting here so I hope to get it back so I can gauge what these next four papers should be like. I'm also trying to have a better outlook on my situation in general. A lot of things have gone wrong, and things I thought were stable turned out not to be. This is too bad but, as a friend told me yesterday, I have a lot to offer and I shouldn't let anything get me down. Whether it's school or relationships I will always end up in a better place if I just believe in myself. This belief hasn't resonated with me yet, but at least I feel like I'm on the way to attaining it. Waiting is the hardest part about waiting for something better, but it will come along.

Until then I have friends and family that appreciate me for the intelligent, hopefully fun person that I am. Thank you all for being there for me.





Edwords

First Trip - Short Post

Hello everyone,

Quick update here. I've just finished my first paper for the semester. I've written about the relationship between news and foreign policy, and how the media can affect policy. It was just a short paper and really just an extended book review but with everything else that's been going on it's been hard to focus on it so it seemed a lot more difficult than it should have been.

Tomorrow morning I leave for Edinburgh, Scotland. I booked this trip mostly to clear my head, but also because I've always heard great things about Edinburgh and have wanted to go. I'm going alone, but that just gives me the ability to do whatever I want to. I walked around London for a few days last summer on my own and had a good time so I'm hoping it will be the same.

Also, in late October I'll be flying to London to see my mom for a weekend. We're going to Paris for a day trip and then visiting the surrounding area of London so I'm really looking forward to that trip. Other than that, things are getting better. I finally have my financial aid figured out, and classes are interesting. I'm also making friends with some people in my classes which is helpful. Sarah and I are talking again as well, in a sort of trial friendship thing that's hard to explain.

I am looking forward to Christmas break more than I ever have before though, and can't wait to be home in Kansas for a while to see all my friends and family.

A Girl, A Book, A Game, A Pub

Hello everybody,

Honestly, I'm not quite sure what to tell you all. As you know from my last post, I've not been in the best of places lately and that's definitely had an effect on every facet of my life over here since. It would be an extremely long post if I tried to describe the details of the whole thing, but I'll avoid that for all the obvious reasons. Simply put, I don't know what's happened. I didn't expect it, I don't know how to handle it and I'm extremely disappointed by the whole thing. Things look good sometimes, and then there are days that I think it's going nowhere or there is no solution at all.

I've also begun reading for my first short paper of the semester. I've chosen to do an in depth analysis of how the media affects foreign policy. So far the book I chose has been using case examples to show how the media can shape public opinion to cause wars, stop wars and influence politicians, but also how politicians can counter the media or use it to their advantage. I wish I could read it without writing the paper, but that's not the basis of going to school I guess. Lately I've been wondering what the point of my lectures are in the first place though, as there are no tests at all. It is all based on papers; none of which are explicitly about what we've learned in the course, so I'm wishing that I had no class (though I don't have much anyway) at all and could just write.

Last weekend I went to an Irish Premier League soccer match in Bray, a town just down the coast from Dublin and saw the team that's currently in 1st place play. It's quite a talent and atmosphere drop-off from going to Sporting Kansas City matches, but I had to try to get my mind off of how I was feeling. It was a pretty good game, with a lot of near-goals but ended in a nil-nil draw.

Saturday I went to a pub in town called Bull & Castle with a few Americans that are studying abroad here. It was a good night, spent in a beer hall with a large selection. I was a little short on money so it turned into a short night though. Also, I joined soccer in order to get to know people here on campus but after going to the meeting it turned out to be way too large of a time and money commitment for me to make and I am not going to participate now. I'm a little disappointed it worked out that way.

Outlet

Well guys, it hasn't been too terribly long since I last wrote but it feels like a lot has happened. I should have cautioned you with this: It's not good news. I can't say a lot of individual things have happened, but they've been big things. First of all, I still haven't heard back from my school about my money situation which is getting extremely frustrating. I'm sure it will happen soon enough, but at this point I'd take any sort of correspondence as a good sign. I could use some good signs.

Classes have been good so far. They're boring, but that's to be expected since what I study is so much theory and philosophy. I will be doing my presentation in International Security over whether the media portrays security of the state and individual correctly. I'm glad I got this one because I'm sure I'll be able to find a lot of resources to use and talk about so it will really cut down on the guess-work for me. In International Economic Crisis I have decided to write about the Argentinian economic crash, and particularly the International Monetary Fund's involvement afterwards.

I've also finally met all of my roommates. They are all pretty nice, though not always talkative and we all seem to have a lot of work so we're in our rooms more often than not. I sat down with one and her friend last night and talked for a while. They are both new to Ireland and have had many of the same impressions about the Irish people and culture that I have had, which I'm glad for so I don't feel like I'm the only one. Also, I've joined the UCD Super League soccer system and will find out my team next week. I'll be embarrassed most of the time since I'm so out of shape and unskilled overall at soccer. Goalkeeper would be my preference for position, as it seems the one I could do best at. Other than soccer I've joined International Student Society, Arts Society, and Commerce & Economics Society. Most of them I joined because there are a lot of nights out as a group so I can get to know people.

This is the part where the bad news comes on a little stronger, so read on at your peril.

I've had a relationship end this past weekend which has obviously hurt me a lot. It is recent so this is going to be somewhat reactionary, but not angry. After being away for so long there were bound to be changes in our feelings towards one another, and while one had them grow stronger, the other did not. She was the only friend I had over here before I came, and while all these unfortunate things were happening with classes, financial aid and homesickness she served as the ground that kept me stable. That ground is gone now, and I'm not sure how and when it will be found again. It's funny how your brain knows exactly how to remember everything suddenly when it hurts the most to see it.

I was very happy to be back here with her after so long apart; as many of my friends know, it killed me to be away from her. Perhaps I chose to come to school here a little too much because of her, but I felt it was the right decision and did not look at the possible negatives because of my feelings toward her and hers toward me during application/acceptance/arrival. It was the right decision for me to come here, and for me to give us every chance for this to work out. Life is not something to be lived too cautiously. If there is someone that you feel as though will make yours better then you should pursue that with everything you have. There is still plenty of time for anything to happen.

I miss home a lot though. I miss my best friends. I miss my family. I miss going to Wichita Brewing Company and the Anchor. I miss Aggieville and Kansas State football games (I still wear my purple). Not a lot of people love Kansas, but there's a lot to miss in Kansas. I know I'm homesick because of the recent events and it will pass, but how I wish that things were different right now. Thank you to those that have reached out to me from America to help make me feel that little bit better for that little bit of time.

Edwords

New Chapter

Hello everyone,

Sorry it's been so long. I'm back in Dublin now, and finished with my orientation week and first week of classes as a graduate student. Most of you know, but for those that don't, I am pursuing an MA in International Relations at the school I studied abroad at last fall, University College Dublin. I'll give a really quick rundown of classes I'm taking this semester before I talk a little about some other things.

This semester I'm enrolled in:
International Security
International Economic Crisis
Theories of International Relations I
Dissertation Design seminar

So far the classes are great. The lectures are all really interesting, and several of the lecturers are entertaining. I've met a few of my other classmates and most of them are international students like myself, including two other Americans. It's pretty neat getting so many views of the international political system all in one room. Students I've had classes with have been from Ireland, Somalia, United States, Romania, Russia, China, Canada, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, and many others I can't remember right now.

Mostly it looks like I'll be writing a ton of research papers, and I have one 25 minute presentation (which will be easier now that I don't have to do it alone due to class size). Each class has multiple large papers, and a lot of reading to do for each class period. I'm sure it will keep me plenty busy to make up for the lack of class time I have. I'm hoping I'll get the motivation to do these papers early on so that I won't be very busy come December and can enjoy some time here.

Now we can move on to non-school related things. I'll be honest, it's been terribly difficult adjusting to coming back. I've had a lot harder time this trip than any other. I think it is a combination of it being my last year of school, starting something totally new and some other factors. One, it is always hard to be away from people and places for so long and have them be the same when you return. Also, I've had that grinding feeling that everything has gone a little wrong since I've gotten here, whether it be my financial aid, doing laundry, getting groceries or other simple tasks everything is that much more time consuming and frustrating in a new place. It hasn't helped that I'm living in a new part of Dublin that I didn't know, so even though I'm in the same city I can't depend on doing the same things I did last year I was here and have had to go through the total adjustment period all over again.

Things are looking up though now that Sarah is back in Dublin with school started, which gives me someone to make me feel at home. Also, I'm getting the hang of where I live in Dublin now and small things are becoming routine. I have some of the same complaints though, such as laundry being outrageously expensive and the bus I need never being on time but these are things the Dubliners complain about as well and is something I have to come to terms with.

Last weekend I went to Wexford and stayed the weekend with Sarah and her family, which helped a lot with my initial homesickness. Sometimes it is hard to really know how much you've missed someone until you finally see them again, and even after the predictable problems after being apart for so long I am happier than ever have her back.

There was always going to be some anxiety about moving my life across the Atlantic, and I definitely felt my share, but I don't see any way that I could end up regretting my decision. Moving anywhere was going to be hard but it's something I really wanted to do and feel that I had to do. I like my life here in Ireland, even when it gets hard and while there are definitely a lot of people I wish I could have packed up and brought with me to Ireland, there are also a lot of people already here that I am extremely happy to have in my life as well. I'm thankful for modern communication technology though, because without that little slice of home every once in a while I'm sure, no matter who is with me, I'd feel a little lonely. I always know how my Wildcats are doing, and I am still able to defend my Fantasy Football trophy. If any of my friends from home want to talk, I'm always happy to have a chat on Skype or Facebook messages.

This is a little longer than I was expecting, and I have a lot of other things I would like to talk about but I have a weekend ahead of me that I can write another post if need be, so I'll let you all go.

Love you all,


Edwords

Not Politics

Isn't singling out and punishing a company for one person's personal beliefs by not going to it discrimination from the left? Discrimination against personal beliefs is occurring from both sides. Chick-Fil-A has employed and served homosexuals chicken sandwiches the same as heterosexuals. His personal beliefs have not made him discriminate. This means that this issue should not be handled as public and political. It doesn't matter what you or I think about homosexuals when buying a chicken sandwich at a CFA - because the owner's belief doesn't affect the price of the product, service for the customer, or employment opportunities of an applicant no matter their race, gender, or sexual preference.

Stop it right now. This is a distraction from what really matters in our nation. Personal social beliefs should not become public by including them in the political arena