Adoption

As I am wont to do, I'm going to copy and paste a final essay. This one was for Sociology 1000. Its main focus is adoption (obviously). I'm warning you now, its 10 pages).

1. Introduction to the Issue
In April of 2010, a grandmother said farewell to her daughter's adopted son as he boarded a plane for Russia. He had a one way ticket. In a letter to Russia's child protection ministry, the mother claimed the boy was violent and she had been lied to by Russian officials about his mental state, which had been deemed normal. [CNN news] Since 1996, “at least 14 children have been killed abroad […], according to Moscow officials” [BBC news]. Most of those deaths occurred in the United States. What would drive a parent to kill their child? The fact that the child was adopted may account for some or all of the reason.
Adoption has probably been going on since the beginning of human creation but the formal system we enjoy today came about around the time of the Industrial Revolution, where there were many homeless children. Adoption really came about after orphanages filled up and adults realized that the orphanages were not benefiting the children in the long run. This prompted the government to set up adoption, so that children may be part of loving homes. The reality is that “the family was set up as a social service agency, albeit a small one” (Pivnick 2010). Looking back, the government really began adoption when it ran out of funding to take care of all the children that needed to not live with their biological parents.
The people who put children into the adoption cycle and the people who adopt the children both claim they are doing it for the benefit of the child. They figure they are preventing the child from living an unpleasant life, probably on the streets or with abusive parents. It sounds like a fairytale, almost. Many people find it to be just that, too. After adoption, many things can go wrong. This essay endeavors to discover what goes wrong in adoption, whether it is a flaw in the system or adoptive parents, and what can be done to fix these problems so that no more children will be murdered by their adoptive parents, who are supposed to love and protect them like a natural parent.
In order to answer these questions, two factors will be examined. First, some of the most common problems that are experienced by the child and adopted parents will be analyzed. It will be discussed whether these problems arise because of the adoption situation or because of some flaw in the adoption system. In order to discover the truth about the adoption situation, one must go back to the birth mother and find out why she gave up her child because this not only can influence a child later but it is also a telling sign about the adoption system. Finally, methods to remedy problems in the adoption will be discussed. There has to be something a person can do to prevent parents from killing their adoptive children.

2. Literature Review of the Issue
Many problems can arise from adoption, whether it be behavior problems from the children or the adoptive parents not feeling attached to their children. Such problems are toxic to the family setting but, in the case of a family that has not bonded, they can even be deadly. If adoption is the cause of this strife, then it should be stopped because it is no longer in the child's best interest, an idea that is spouted by adoptive parents and adoption agencies. Researchers have been looking into the problems adoption causes for many years, no doubt prompted by those who nay say adoption. The theory has changed over time, as society has changed in its beliefs, but the current emerging theory, which is very popular to study, is that a child needs to be given time to grieve for his or her situation.
In “Learning Adoption,” Dr. Pivnick cites several sources when he talks about the loss that children experience during the adoption process. He says that “adopted children are variously viewed as having sustained multiple losses” (Pivnick 2010) and credits Nickman's 1985 work Pscyhoanal. Study of the Child. Indeed, they have lost their birth parents, the person they might have been, and numerous others that are unique to each child, such as an aid at the orphanage that had been their caregiver for years. He concludes, however, that the mourning process that is unique to adopted children is merely a part of a healthy process and even hints that maybe the problem is with the person who is psychoanalyzing the child and family rather than with the adoption. “Learning Adoption” is not merely about the losses a child feels but how society comes to perceive those things as a loss and how that child has fit into society historically. In the Biblical era, adopted children were those children born to a man and a woman not his wife but were brought up by the man's wife. They generally had lower social status, except where God intervened, and any children the wife bore later were favored above the adopted child. The adopted child still had a higher social status than he or she would have otherwise; adoption was a way to raise one's status in Biblical times. In today's society, it is generally believed that a poor child is adopted by a rich family, thus also elevating the adopted child's social status. Through research, Dr. Pivnick concludes that there is no biological difference between adopted and biological children and that the way each adopted child copes with his or her situation is indicative of how successful the adoption was, i.e. how well adjusted to society the child is as an adult. (Pivnick 2010)
Another doctor, whose article is less research and more experience with treating adopted children who seem to be having problems at home, concludes that adjusting to being adopted can be aided through therapy. It is indeed important the author, Dr. Kupfermann, says that the child be well adjusted in order to lead a healthy childhood and life. Dr. Kupfermann also describes the problems that an adopted child faces, the problems that have been referred to above. Most of the problems stem from what doctors call “the primal wound” (Kupfermann 2010), which refers to the adopted child being separated from his or her birth mother. From this stems behavior problems, frustration, and pain which can be a circle of more anxiety for the entire family. Frustrated children act out, which sometimes cause adopted parents to feel as if there is no connection. It should be noted that Dr. Kupfermann and Dr. Pivnick both caution therapists and adoptive families from supposing everything stems from this primal wound. Children are sometimes obstinate and exhibit other incorrect behavior, a natural part of childhood that both biological and adopted children exhibit. Adopted children do tend to “be more dependent than other children on validation of and empathy for their feelings of loss and abandonment” (Kupfermann 2010). This may make adopted children more clingy and attention seeking than biological children, making more of a strain on adopted parents.
An adoptive parent, a sociologist named Josephine Ruggiero, recounts her story following the 7 year old boy being sent back to Russia. She adopted three children from Russia and, although they were all under five years of age, her family had an incredibly difficult time. Generally, when the children are that young, it is easier to help them adjust. Ms. Ruggiero says, however, that even now her relationship with the children is strained, even though they are outwardly attributes to society. Her reasons for why some adoptions fail has three parts. First, as mentioned above, the adoptive parents “are not adequately prepared in the pre-adoption phase” (Ruggiero 2010). Even if the adoptive parents have raised children before, they may not fully realize the extent of “the kinds of emotional struggles their children might face” (Ruggiero 2010) because institutionalized children do face more struggles adjusting than a biological child who has always known a family. Second, despite what many agencies say, the adoptive parents still “often receive incomplete or even false medical and background information” (Ruggiero 2010) which means that some parents adopt children, not knowing that the child has a serious illness or is at risk for a serious illness. Lastly, as also mentioned above, “there is a lack of postadoptive services specializing in behavioral issues” (Ruggiero 2010) so that adopted children do not always receive the kind of therapy they may need. Not all therapists are qualified to deal with adopted children and even the ones that do have experience sometimes mistake normal childhood behavior with misbehavior caused by adoption. As a solution to the many problems faced by adoptive parents, Ms. Ruggiero suggests that children from be put in a foster care home before being adopted, especially to a foreign country, to lessen the shock of going from an orphanage to a family where there are a multitude of roles they have never previously been expected to perform. (Ruggiero 2010) Such a measure would, perhaps, make life easier for both adoptive parents and adopted children in the beginning of the adoption, at the very least, because it is very “hard to take strangers and try to make them into people who love you” (Ruggiero 2010) for both parties.

3. Positive and Negative Opinions of the Issue
Adoption is not generally considered a bad thing. In fact, it is considered good because it is helping children who would otherwise grow up in orphanages or on the street. The reality is that adoption is a surprisingly contested topic. Birthmothers are strongly against adoption because they say that they were coerced out of their children, who were then put into corrupt situations. Adoption agencies are for it, of course, because they get money from adoptions. Adoptors are generally for adoption, although there seems to be a portion who cautions that therapy must be used in the process. Adoptees are divided, more than likely because of their personal experiences. In all cases, it is the personal experience of the individual that dictates the stance towards adoption.
Perhaps the most interesting negative opinion of the entire adoption process comes from the women who gave up their children. Reading through the webpages of “exiled mothers,” what women who gave up their children for adoption call themselves, shows how strongly linked these women still feel to their babies. The faq section of exiledmothers.com states that “adoption is not a choice, it is what happens when there is no hope and no help. […] Only abandoned mothers abandon babies” (First Mothers Action 2003). When women give up their babies for adoption, it is generally because they are coerced into it by someone who is telling them that they are unfit parents or that the child would be better off if it were adopted. The language of the quote links the mother and baby and the language of the entire article is the same. According to these women, coercion is still a force in women giving up their babies, a factor that adds to the grief of these women over what was done; they claim that some women are made to sign the papers to give away their child while still under the anesthetics, immediately after childbirth. These exiled mothers are for reuniting, which is considered a healthy thing in order for every member of the triad in adoption (birth mother, adoptee, and adoptor) and may heal wounds such as the above mentioned primal wound (Lifton 2010). Their literature seems to suggest they are for adoption, some of the women having adopted children themselves, but against the coercive way in which mothers give up their babies. It should be noted that the majority of these women are North American although they agree that all women are coerced out of their babies, often for the money the baby will bring or the better life that baby would have, according to the adoption agencies.
The adoption agencies can be sketchy at worst but there are also good agencies, as well as government agencies that aid in adoption. It should be stated that there is an understanding by all parties that there exists a black market in babies, with some agencies referred to as gray market, indicating that they operate on the fringes of acceptability. The agencies connect people who want to adopt children with the children or birth mother. For this service, they charge a fee. It can be said, and is said profusely by birth mothers, that agencies sell babies. Either way, adoption is good to this group.
Along the same lines, adoption is generally good to adoptors. It is always a good thing to would be adoptive parents, or else they probably wouldn't go through with it, but the story can change after they deal with the difficulties of the adopted child. These parents may have no previous child rearing experience, children are usually difficult, whether they be adopted or not. In this case, generally, the adoptive parents are still for adoption but are more hesitant to recommend it profusely.
Adoptees share this seesaw of feelings about adoption that depends on their experience. Well adjusted children look favorably on adoption and sometimes even adopt children of their own. If a child has a bad experience, however, it colors their feelings against adoption because they believe that their experience was the rule and not the exception. In an article entitled “Myra's Story: A Life Narrative as it Unfolds in the Treatment and Journey of an Adopted Woman,” Sandra Rosengarten describes the life of one such adoptee named Myra. Myra was never outright abused but she always felt suppressed and as if she did not belong. These feelings followed her into adulthood and were the cause of her many poor relationships. While Myra never speaks outright against adoption, she makes it clear that she believes no child should suffer like she did and she has empathy with other adoptees. (Rosengarten 2010)
These personal experiences color the way individuals view the topic of adoption; if a person has a good situation, they are for it and vice versa. There may even be an black or gray market adoption agency member who disagrees with the practice and is against adoption for that reason that they saw the worst aspects of it. Generally, though, adoption agencies are for adoption because it benefits them and adoptors and adoptees are for or against it based on their personal experiences. Birth mothers, for the greater part, are against adopting out their children. Because those birth mothers are the source for children, it stands to reason that adoption itself hangs in the balance.

4. Conclusion and Your Opinion of the Issue
Adoption is not generally the first topic that is thought of when people discuss controversial topics but it is just that. Adoption is difficult for all parties. It is, at least, better for the children than not being able to take care of themselves and ending up on the street, more than likely, as happens after a child staying in an orphanage. The government saw that children raised in orphanages did not become contributing members of society and adoption was born (Pivnick 2010). It sounds innocent enough, that children without a home are taken into caring homes and given a chance at life but there are some flaws with this thinking, those flaws being what makes adoption a controversial topic.
The birth mothers, who call themselves exiled mothers because they were exiled from their children's lives, say that adopting out a child is wrong because of the coercion that causes a mother to give up her child and because of the situation that their child can end up in after he or she is adopted. Many birth mothers claim that they were forced to give up their child for adoption so that an adoption agency can sell their child (First Mothers Action 2003). It is less an argument against adoption itself and more against the practices that occur before the child is adopted by adoptive parents. Their argument against adoption is that the practice implies that they are unfit mothers and the adoptive parents to whom they give up the child might be worse for the child. Many of these women go on to have successful families so they are clearly not unfit mothers but this falls under the coercion aspect. A method of coercion is to tell young mothers that they are unfit, or that their children could have a better life with another couple (First Mothers Action 2003). On the website exiledmothers.com, there was a story of a woman who gave her child up to a family but the adoptive mother turned out to be a drug addict and repeatedly endangered the life of the little girl. It is here where the entire argument against adoption is perfectly valid; children are not always better off being placed with people just because that person wants a child and can afford one.
Adoptive parents are generally not prepared for “the kinds of emotional struggles their children might face” (Russian Adoptive Problems). First, adoptive parents usually have never had children before so they are unsure of how to parent, let alone how to parent a child with higher emotional needs that arise from adoption. Second, even for a person who has raised other children, the needs of an adopted child are unique. The needs of all children are unique but an adopted child needs to be able to adjust to life in a family and find their identity as part of that family, a process that can be difficult on the adoptive parents and the children alike. It is to the credit of adoptive parents that they manage to overcome the normal difficulties of parenting as well as issues caused by adoption and, despite this essay and the numerous examples of adoption failures, most adoptions are successful.
The flaw is not with the parents or the children in the adoption system but it is the adoption system itself. Here, the birth mothers are inarguably correct in hating the system. There probably is coercion from adoption agencies, who also often fail the adoptive parents as well. The adoptive parents are lied to about their children's medical and family background, or not told at all, and not given additional aid when the adoption does not turn out like they think it will. There is a misconception among adoptors that they will bring the child home and the child will fit in, everything will be okay. The reality is that if a person brings home a puppy, even, it needs time to adjust and needs to learn where it fits into the family. Bringing home a child is even more complicated with that because a child is an intelligent being who is capable of reasoning out the situation and reacting to it. Most often, the agency merely apologizes profusely and hangs up the phone (Kershaw 2010). If there were more support for parents, perhaps tragedies could be avoided, either the tragedy of a family of strife or the tragedy of a parent killing the adopted child. If a parent kills a child, it could only be because they feel life will not get any better unless the child leaves and they have no idea how to end the adoption. If adoption agencies kept up with parents, they would better be able to spot possible problems and avert them. If an adoption agency had kept up with a woman from Tennessee, a little boy wouldn't have been flown back to Russia and driven to a government agency by a stranger, with a note from his adoptive mother in his pocket saying how he wasn't what she had wanted.

Nutrition and Backpacking

I mentioned a lot that nutrition while backpacking is a huge problem. You have to carry your own food and pack it out. That severely limits the protein you can bring, as well as fresh vegetables and fruits. I've come up with a good solution, at least in my opinion. Living where I do, rice is HUGE. I had to buy a rice steamer because the friends I had over all the time complained about the quality of my rice. So, packing rice seems like a wonderful idea. Its small, it fluffs up, and its nutritious. Yay :D But you need more than that, unless you find golden rice :P I also love canned chicken. But it comes in huge containers! Well, pet stores sell covers for cans (made for cat food but it works). But better than that, the canned chicken can be divvied up between my boyfriend and I for dinner, in/with the rice. If we get tired of chicken, there's the old Cuban favorite of black beans and rice. I think its an excellent idea, arguably better than chicken. We still need vegetables and fruit, though. Vegetables, I'm still working on. Ideas are welcome. Fruits, dried fruit is excellent. Wouldn't want to get scurvy :P But that's just dinner (which, btw, you can note that the chicken can double as a cold meal, if you don't have the energy or time for a hot meal).

For lunch, I'm planning on bringing ramen. Maybe putting some of the canned chicken in the ramen. Ramen is a good source of sodium, which makes you retain water (and thirsty) so its very satisfying. Oh, don't eat unboiled ramen noodles. It will make you sick, more than likely. At least, that was my experience. I've read its better to skip lunch and just graze throughout the day, though. I think I might lean towards that.

For breakfast, I'm thinking something like granola bars. Not a hot breakfast, but definitely filling.

For grazing, huge amounts of beef jerky and homemade trail mix. My boyfriend and I have agreed that store bought trail mix is way too salty and isn't as good for you as you'd need on the trail. We're going to talk to his brother (who's into nutrition) about the specific nuts, but we'll be mixing our own. Mine will have M&Ms. I can't not. Oh, but definitely dried fruit in the trail mix! That's where the dried fruit comes in. Beyond raisins, there are tons of deliciously dried fruits (or maybe that's just here lol). My boyfriend is saying a pound of jerky a day but we'll see. And I think I want more to snack but I haven't figured it out yet.I'm going to have to browse the dry goods section of the grocery store.

Bears and Backpacking

My main problem hiking and camping has always been bears. I've always been scared of bears, and I always end up by myself. I'm slow so I hike by myself; because I'm slow, I'm the least sore at lunch and dinner so I go get the water, again by myself; I set up the tent while my dad fires up the Firefly (our camp "stove"), the camp is usually closer to the woods, by a long shot. So, I spend a lot of time alone and my dad and I only have one bear bell between us. I love our bear bell but it ends up on my dad's pack a lot somehow, even though I'm the one that's always alone. It does work. I don't know if it was a bear or what that I scared away, but I have scared away some big stuff with that bell. Plus, it ensures that you don't startle the animal. So, what if I'm sans bear bell or the bear bell pisses the bear (or large cat) off? Like the posts I was reading yesterday, the chances of startling a bear or large cat are really slim but I want to be able to ensure that I can keep myself and my loved ones safe. That said, I'm an average height but slim girl. That means I don't have a lot of strength to defend myself from a bear nor do I have the height to threaten a bear. Last night, I was looking at knives. I'm aiming to get two 4" blades that I can strap to me when I hike. Besides defense, I could use a knife to open stuff and cut stuff off me (what stuff gets on me? Oh, just loose threads, stuff like that). Would a 4" knife do anything to a bear? No, probably not. Just piss it off more. But I'd feel safer with a knife and a bell. My boyfriend and I were discussing getting a gun last night. I'm not old enough to get a concealed license, apparently, but I could get a general carry license so it would be his gun until I'm old enough. I feel like a gun would be much more use in keeping me safe, especially since I'm going to live alone for awhile. Not that our apartment has a history of bad things, but the last thing I would need is for someone to break in and hurt my cats. So, yea, a gun is a good idea, in my opinion but there are huge problems. You have to get the gun (which is really expensive), you have to get the license (making sure you have the proper licenses for each state you're in), and you have to be able to keep up to date. Oh, and you have to be able to shoot. I'm not a bad shot, especially considering how severely astigmatic I am, but I wouldn't feel comfortable shooting if there were other people in range, no matter what.

Backpacking

Again, I'm presented with the opportunity to do a short hike on the Appalachian trail. I'm no thru-hiker but I do my best. My first year was terrible. I was used to seeing those pictures of women wearing tanktops and hiking so I packed only tanktops. At the the end of the first day, my shoulders were bloody. I had just gotten to the top of Spring Mtn, the southern terminus. I had to wear my dad's shirt for the rest of the trip, the shirt he had worn the first day that had his sweat on it. Gross! Here's what I learned the first year:

a) Wear t-shirts. Tanktops don't do it. Your pack straps will rub your shoulders raw. (oh, btw, I still have scars on my shoulders and its been 3 or 4 years)

b) Count your calories! Huh? Translation, pack only the amount of food you'll need and no junk food. (I didn't buy the junk food, not my fault)

c) If you go with a group, do make sure you have food to trade. If you know someone doesn't like M&Ms and you notice their trail mix has a lot of M&Ms, bring a little extra beef jerky for trading.

d) Being a girl on the trail is difficult but do-able. Birdbathing works, a razor doesn't take up that much space, and only use the woods in the morning, at lunch, and in the evening, if you're with a group.

e) If the guide says "there's a water source here!" Don't take its word for it. You should never be 100% out of water. Never.

f) I almost forgot. Before you leave on your trip, make sure your raingear is, in fact, waterproof x.x If its not, they do sell spray to make it so. And yes, its a possibility.

g) Don't ask the Army Rangers for directions. In the southern part of the Appalachian Trail, you can run into them. They're wonderful guys, they're trying to be helpful, but they're needs for a campsite are very different than yours.

Second year was better. I wore my own t-shirts etc. but I had a new problem. I had just gotten a tattoo and, while my boots covered it, my pajama shorts didn't. Every evening, I'd wait for the tent to be put up and then change into long pants. That worked until I found a tick in my pants and accidentally flashed the tattoo at my dad. Uhoh lol So here's what I learned that year:

a) Make sure you have enough snack. You will graze. This is good. Oh, and make sure its accessible. Your snack won't do you any good if its in the bottom of your pack.

b) If you're in better shape, you'll probably need less to eat. Again, watch how much food you pack!

c) If you wear long pants, you'll probably get ticks.

d) Don't swing your food over a limb so high that you can't get it back down, k?

e) Bringing a weapon is comforting. There was one day, during lunch, we heard a wildcat kill something on the next hill. I can't tell you how scary those bloodcurdling screams were... Oh, and guess where we camped that night x.x In our defense, it was dark. We noticed in the morning and got the hell out of there. Also, I walked by a 500 lb black bear. I'd like to meet the jerk that let me do that. I've never met a jerk on the trail before but this guy was up there. We were walking in opposite directions (he was coming from the direction with the bear). He sees me, stops, opens his mouth like a fish, and keeps going. At lunch, I hear from the person in my group who was behind me that they had seen a 500 lb black bear off the trail. That person was only 5 minutes behind me, if that. I'll talk about bringing a weapon later.

f) Tea might not be a bad thing to bring. And hot chocolate is to die for. Literally. My dad and I were fighting over my last hot chocolate packets (I gave in. I'm such a good daughter. He pulled the whole "awww, my back hurts :("). soooo goood. Hot chocolate provides a little nutrition but tea provides some nutrition and some health benefits. For example, chamomile is excellent for pretty much everything. Plus, its nice to have a hot drink with a hot meal, that's not just water.

Life

Earlier this week, I ran a 15K. Funny thing about that, my boyfriend didn't tell me it was a 15K until mile 3 of the run. Apparently he was afraid I'd back out. I don't think I would have, though. It would have crossed my mind more, definitely, but I'm all for supporting loved ones. I was very sore afterwards, obviously, but I'm looking forward to a run tonight. Gotta start practicing for next year! I did it in 1:55 and I'd like to do it in maybe...what, an 1:30? Or at least not be as sore next time!

My house is routinely getting broken into, too. Fortunately, the intruder hasn't done anything (not that he would steal anything...). It all started about a month and half ago when my cat went into heat. The male cats outside went into a panic, trying to get to her. It took about 3 weeks but one finally figured something out. He can get in underneath the sink x.x. Fortunately, he can't get into the house house but he does get in under the sink. We barricaded the cabinet but my poor cat is scared to eat because he's always there. And that would be my intruder x.x So folks, lock up your female cats that are unspayed. Or rather, lock your house from other cats.

If you remember the webcomic I was talking about before:
I finally submitted the first chapter to the artist and have the first 5 chapters sketched. They're short chapters but they're not too bad. I await my first official drawing! Yay!!

On a personal artistic note:
I have a deviant art account!http://raincloudt.deviantart.com/
I like to post pictures that I've taken (shocking) since I can't draw. I've been told they're decent pictures :) Quite a few of them were taken at a Chinese dance production in either Shanghai or Beijing. I finally got around to editing those for color quality and stuff so they look beautiful!

And I've spent the morning working on my amv!! I have a problem though. I was using a guide (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/working_with_dvd.pdf) but some of the stuff I need to download doesn't exist anymore. I'm so close but I can't quite get it! If someone could seriously tell me how to rip dvds... And its not illegal! Its the right to parody. I retain it :P I guess I'm going back to struggling with it :( PM/comment if you can help, please!

I just wanted to comment about how wonderful my apartment is. Out one window, I have a view to die for. But that's not the most wonderful part. See, its a one room thats a floor of a house. So if I sit in my bra on the computer (as I'm doing right now, cuz everything else has cat fur on it), everyone walking up and down the stairs can see me if they look. I think I'm back to being the only girl living in the building? /sigh Some guy and his wife used to live below me but they moved.
Oh, also speaking of my apartment, I have a guilty. The girl who used to live here moved home but she left something that I think might be kinda important to her. As far as I know, the only picture of her baby (that died after birth) has been sitting on the floor of my apartment since we moved in x.x I don't know how to get in touch with her and I haven't seen my landlord in months. I could give it to another neighbor but all he'd do to get it back to her would be to give it to her xhusband and I don't really want to do that (considering he was accused of being the cause of the baby's death). So for now I'm just stuck saying "that poor girl." The last time I saw her, she was crying because it was her baby's birthday. He woulda been 1 :(

Why Pagan in the United States?

I think it is safe to say that the United States, out of all the Christian countries of the world, is home to the greatest number of pagans. On a visit to the Norwegian embassy, I asked the percentage of pagans in the country. The speaker looked at me funny and said “Why, less than 10%, I think. I've certainly met anyone who is pagan.” “Not even Odinists or Asatru?” I pressed. “Odinists, no. Asatru? Now that is an American thing,” he responded.

One would think that, in a country where Asatru originated, there would be a higher percentage that believed in the old religions. Why is there such a high concentration of people in a foreign country that believe in a traditional religion when few of the people in the original country believe in it?

I believe there are two answers. The first is what plagues the United States as a whole; the search for identity. As such a vast country with so many different people, one begins to see (after meeting so many people) that we are all effectively the same. There is a desire in the United States to be something more than an American, to have a unique perspective. Could be developed more. Sometimes this results in Americans calling themselves by other nationalties. It is not uncommon to hear an American in the United States to say “I'm Italian. My great-grandparents are from Italy.” In most other countries, it is sufficient to be simply of that nation but the United States values foreigners so highly, that people want to identify as foreign at any value. Foreign is interesting, mystical, and sexy. American is normal and boring. That is the general view that causes people to identify as a different nationality. Identifying as pagan, or any other religion than Christianity or Judaism (the two mainstream religions), is foreign. It has the mysticism and the appeal that it is different.

The two desires to be different, to be from a different nation and be a different religion coincide here. If someone is Asatru, that generally means that they can trace their roots back to Northern Europe (granted, there are probably some that just believe). Not only is identifying as Asatru different, but it also gives you a link to Europe. Those are two highly valued concepts in the United States.

The second desire also stems from the vastness of the United States. It is the desire to have a mythology and a history. The United States is such a young country, there are few solely American folk traditions. Most of the folk traditions stem from European traditions. There is a movement to rediscover a folk tradition in the United States but its difficult. There can be no creation stories, we know how the United States was created; there can be few stories about geographical phenomena, the United States has always been too science based to accept a fairy tale. Without a folk history of their own, the United States turns to other countries. Part of the attraction of a traditional religion such as Asatru is the folk tradition. There are traditional theories and ways that are attractive. As I'm not Asatru but rather Celtic, I can only speak to the Celtic way. In the Celtic religion, there is a focus on the community and that there is a spirit in everything. The focus on community is important, being that many Americans feel as if they are losing the community to the city. It is the tradition that there is spirit in everything that more pertains to the current topic. Believing that there is life in a living thing may not seem like a unique idea but in a fast-paced America, it is easy to forget. It is too easy to forget the beauty of nature, and that it is entertwined in everyone's life, inextricably. Additionally, there is a movement in the United States to become more green. Being more ecologically friendly is a heavy part of these traditional religions.

If these things are so good, especially the latter, why do the original countries not have a higher amount of people believing in these religions? Very simply, its because they still believe in a way. The folktales still exist in bedtime stories and the tradition of being ecologically friendly is still a part of life. Even the festivals still exist, in some form.

And this last thing is what the Norwegian ambassador's assistant intimated to my class.

What Happened to the Other Posts??

As if I had any readers... but, assuming I did, I'd explain why half the posts disappeared. An opportunity has presented itself for me to join the Navy after all, I deleted all posts that I would not want the Navy reading. Not that they were bad, just that I would prefer not to have to explain those things to my superior. I'd probably just take the out of "I was a stupid civilian at the time," but still. So I'm going to try to keep anything military out of this blog from now on, except occasional updates on how my quest to join the Navy is going. Here we go *is excited*!

Vague Plot Idea

Dedicated to my junior and senior year history teacher in high school, I came up with this plot on the bus last week. I was reflecting on life and my recent visit home, at which point I visited my old high school. I was walking around, looking for the teachers I knew, when I spotted this guy in Civil War garb. Who in the world would do this but that teacher? When a teacher says "I want history to come alive for my students," they don't do half of what this guy does. Not only does he occasionally teach class in American Revolutionary War/ Civil War garb (as in, the military uniforms) but he shows pictures during the class. Pictures he took while he was in Europe, visiting these places. My freshman year, he led a hike on the AT to raise money for animal shelters; my senior year, he rode his bike across the United States. Unique guy. So, I thought, how funny would it be if a real Civil War soldier would run into him while he was in the middle of one of these classes?



On the day of the South's surrender, there is a reenactment going on in that area. Through a crack in the time-space continuum, some of the soldiers are transported through time. Some of the original Civil War soldiers are transported forward (discovered after the surrender is over and people are counting those left on each side). One unlucky soldier ends up on a prep school campus hundreds of miles south of his cohorts. When he sees another person in Civil War garb, he gets excited, thinking there is someone else there with him. It turns out that its a history teacher who was wearing the garb during a lecture. The poor soldier doesn't get it and the teacher tries to get him back in time.

The teacher is successful in getting the soldier back in time...but he goes back too. He goes back to the revolutionary war. He tries to not let anyone know that he is from the future but, during one of the battles (probably the battle of Bunker Hill), he gets really excited and it slips out, polarizing the battle.

On the day of the English's surrender during the revolutionary war, the teacher is propelled from the battlefield yet again.


“Surrender is almost magical.”

WebComic!

So, my friend and I are starting to write a webcomic together. Obviously, I'm the author :P It takes place at a research University, the most prestigious in the country. A kid gets accepted because of his blog, which is so philosophical and analytical that the dean of the College of Natural Science admits him and backs him. The kid didn't get into any schools so he decides its a great opportunity.
I feel like I'm lacking some huge plot problem, though. Every good plot has a major underlying problem or...something. I'll have to meditate on it during Socy (which is Sociology 1000. My freshman year, I took Sociology 3xxx which counts as Sociology 4xxx here. Soo... yay. This should be a breeze. I don't look forward to Geography though. I'm already having nightmares about maps...x.x)

To class!