Waxing Poetically: Addressing Culture with a Twist of Poetry

T-shirt of WWE wrestler John Cena

For readers in the United States, this Monday is Labor Day. Since its establishment in 1884 by the Central Labor Union, Labor Day has been a day to honor the dignity of work for citizens all over the nation. So in this vein, I’d like to comment on what such dignity might entail and what Labor Day means to me in general.

For many people, Labor Day dictates that barbecue feasts, baseball games and family road trips rule their being on this day. For others, it’s just another reason not to go to work. To my thinking however, Labor Day ultimately is a solemn day of reflection on the reality that every job, regardless of status or title holds equal value and importance to every other; it would not be a job if it did not. This fact is clear when a person doing a given job recognizes his or her job has a particular requirement and logistical reason behind it without which the other systems, wheels and cogs would inevitably fail. This philosophical truth has not been lost among the wisest minds in history and was most eloquently and elegantly conveyed by Hindu scholar Sai Baba when he advised, “Remember the whole thing is just a play and the Lord has assigned you a part. Act your part well; there all your duty ends. He has designed the play and he enjoys it.”

Often, a person might feel his or her job superior or inferior to another based the duties of each position. A medical doctor may for example think she is superior to a street sweeper or the janitorial staff at a hospital due in part to the doctor’s higher pay and further education in her field. Yet in making such an assumption, she wrongly neglects that without the cleanly work of the “lowly” janitors, washers and nurses’ aids, the doctor’s working environment would become slovenly and dirt infested and in turn, cause more sickness, death and an overall, overwhelming lack of sterility. In this way, the collective non-existence of something as seemingly irrelevant as a cleaning staff can have disastrous consequences.

The same cycle of duty occurs in walks of life. A person’s car certainly does not come into existence without those who help make it -from the dealer who sold it to the miners who dug up the metals to construct one bumper. Nothing happens by magic. The teenager who works the drive-thru at MacDonald’s provides a meal (however unhealthy it may be) to someone who needs it at a particular moment in time.

There is an intrinsic honor in all work. Work always serves some function which satisfies a need, want or purpose in something or someone. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said so beautifully,“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” If I’ve made even one reader realize this today, then I’ve done my job! Happy Labor Day to all!

Wax laboriously!

Hi all! The past few days, I’ve been quite inspired by certain anonymous friends, family and aquentences’ belief in distinct calling or a vocation as the religious say. So I thought about what I thought my vocation is.

I’ve had a few things happen to me or those around me that have caused me to take full stock of what my mission might be. From slightly high blood pressure to a a 20 something family member’s battle with cancer, it all made me want to excel in all that I do. Many of you are aware of my deep faith through this blog. It’s that faith that has made me ask myself questions about my what my life really hold for me. Last year, after coming out of college and dabbling in sales and marketing. I felt that full, unrelenting and unmitigated calling to writing full time — And in one year I’ve gotten some of my dream writing jobs. I’m not hugely rich as of yet, but I have hope and I thank each of you for your support!

With that said, I do have a point in all this. Waxing Poetically is my personal effort to keep the online community intellectually informed and cognizant of the world around us in a way they’ve not been allowed my mainstream media — from analyzing the merits and missteps of stem cell to exposing the simple teaching on and range of religious traditions, or exposing the unheard voice of political independents, at the end of the day I just hope that my readers think about how thy really feel on any issue. I also, ask that if you like what you read that you Stumbleupon, Digg or share this blog as well as Art from the Outskirts with as many people as you can!

Thank you to you all! Keep waxin’!

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I know what you may be thinking. “What the heck does he mean that there are exceptions to the Ten Commandments?” Well, don’t worry I haven’t abandoned my faith in the least. To the contrary, my faith has never been stronger. My point is simply that there are only small technical points that may be shifted in very specific cases in which certain otherwise sinful acts are completely taken away from their originally evil context.

So now I’ll go through each Commandment (some of which do not have direct exceptions, but when read too literally can be easily misconstrued).

he 10 Commandments - God’s Revelation in the Old Testament
The 10 Commandments are found in the Bible’s Old Testament at Exodus, Chapter 20. They were given directly by God to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai after He had delivered them from slavery in Egypt:

“And God spoke all these words, saying: ‘I am the LORD your God…

ONE: ‘You shall have no other gods before Me.’

Exception: There officially is no exception here in the Judeo-Christian tradition as God is only one God even in unity with the Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit. However, some argue that because each of the three persons of the Trinity is thought also to be distinct, this violates having only one God.

TWO: ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image–any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.’

Today, this is read in the context of the rampant worship of carved statues. Obviously, many cultures allow sculptures of religious figures though never for those objects to be worshiped as gods. Still, in a purely literal sense all cultures violate this principle through all religious sculpture and some other forms of art.

THREE: ‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.’

Exception: One exception I see is if one is acting in a play or film. Clearly, if someone is acting a part, they don’t mean to take the Lord’s name in vain.

FOUR: ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.’

Exception: If one has to work during religious hours (i.e., if one works as a nurse in a hospital).

FIVE: ‘Honor your father and your mother.’

Exception: If one’s parents are trying to kill a child and that child defends his life.

SIX: ‘You shall not murder.’

Exception: ALL Biblical Holy wars are included. Also, killing is self-defense is permitted.

SEVEN: ‘You shall not commit adultery.’

Exception: The hypothetically situation I think of is if one is ask to have sex with someone in order to cure a disease… BUT this is highly unlikely.

EIGHT: ‘You shall not steal.’

Exception: Christian teaching prohibits following any law that contradicts the Word of God. So for instance, in Zimbabwe where prices have become too high to afford, stealing food from the corrupt government to feed one’s family may at times be just.

NINE: ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.’

Exception: There are a few here: lying when acting, working undercover, or hiding the truth when planning a surprise for someone.

TEN: ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.’

Exception: In the age of mass production, buying a copy of your neighbor’s favorite movie is not the same as stealing his only copy.

The 10 Commandments - Christ’s Summation in the New Testament
About 1,400 years later, the 10 Commandments were summed up in the New Testament at Matthew 22, when Jesus was confronted by the religious “experts” of the day:

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:36-40).

A reflective reading of Christ’s teaching reveals that the first four commandments given to the children of Israel are contained in the statement: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” It continues that the last six commandments are enclosed in the statement: “Love your neighbor as yourself”
(allabouttruth.org).

Wax well!<a

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Forty-five years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave what is arguably one of the most monumental and impassioned speeches in American and world history in the name of human freedom: I Have a Dream. Spoken most appropriately in front of th Lincoln Memorial at was was to be known as the March on Washington, it is the speech many credit with ushering in a time of understanding and hope for a nation, with initiating the Civil Rights Act just one year later, and most more importantly lifting the spirits of disillusioned and despairing Black folks by telling them of one man’s dream for a unified, courageous and resolute people whose contemporaries would one day judge them not for the color of their skin on the outside of them but by the content of their intrinsic character deeply rooted within. He hoped and prayed that a self-respecting people would be able to hold their heads up proudly and affirm their worth as human beings equal to any other on Earth. Yet, there is an element and an aftermath of I Have a Dream that seems to escape the hearts and minds of many. It is the simple truth that I Have a Dream is not just about Black people, but all people.

The Universal message of I Have a Dream has always been a self-evident truth as plain to me as the existence of the Sun. So, one day when I stumbled upon a poster of the speech at a college charity sale, I quickly scooped it up, bought it and placed it on my dorm room wall without the slightest second thought. It stayed on my wall for several weeks without a single significant mention from anyone in my hall.

Then several weeks later, one of my brothers came to visit me and while casually survey all the slackerish glory that was my room, he looked at the poster, turned to me and said, “You know you’re white…right?” to which I replied, Yeah. That’s why I have [the poster]. I continued to explain why I have it by telling that without that Dr. King and speeches such as I Have a Dream, I might not have the best friends I have, several of whom are black, my girlfriend who is Filipino, my My extended families who are Mexican and Puerto Rican, and even my bodily rights as a disabled American. Needless to say, he got the point.

A long while ago, probably around the Fourth Grade, I realized how much of my life would never have unfolded the way it did if not for the diligent work of those who ended slavery, who made segregation a strange and distant thought and who generally for the the rights of all men and women to be created and treated as equal in the eyes of humanity. I challenge each of you who read this to picture your life if racism and inequality had been deemed okay still today. What would happen to the Black doctor who gave you that operation that saved your life? What would have become of those of you who are married to someone of a different race? For those who are disabled, where would your status stand if the country were still so separated by our differences? To hate crime victims of all kinds, would you have any hope of justice in a country that said hate was okay? I say emphatically to all: You would not.

Forty-five years later America stands humbled by the prospect of the first Black man to be elected president in our history, Barack Obama. This is part of the dream. Let us not forget this was preceded by a the first woman to be speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi and the first Black and female Secretary of state Condoleeza Rice before her. With all things considered, though it has further to go, America has come so far and I am so, so proud! This is why no one should ever forget the dream!

Until next time… keep wax poetically!

I was talking to my girlfriend the other night and I had an epiphany: Though I know where he stands on national policies, I don’t know Barack Obama. Who is this man? What does he think about before he goes to bed. What’s his favorite movie, book, work of art? I know all this trivial, but I want to know these things.

You see, it’s really elementary. The measure of a man is often who he is when nobody is looking. As Jesus says, God knows the secret deeds. Who is Barack Obama to his family, friends and to the people who bag his groceries? Is he truly for the people on his day off? what are his hobbies beyond just playing basketball? Lastly, what does his non-oratory, regular speaking voice sound like? No one knows.

Oddly, I feel as though I know George W. Bush. He’s the guy who loves to vacation on his ranch. He loves to watch baseball and hates to read newspapers. He’s optimistic to a fault. He truly believes the world will be okay and that the high fuel prices in the country will help people drive less and the recession will take care of itself. Isn’t that cute? Frankly I imagine, “Dubbya” might have a barbecue after as he would call it a “nuc-u-ler” explosion. I also get the immediate impression he’s never had to work for anything. He’s just so happy all the time. Who else could be dealing with a civil war that he started, a terrible economy that has been stagnant for at least a year and multiple in-house scandals and still act as if everyone else is crazy. I’m truly boggled by it more and more.

So, I’m sincerely hoping against hope that Barack will show he’s as upstanding in private as in public, that “Yes we can!” is a personal affirmation and not simply a public placation. I pray this Thursday night at the DNC he will show who he is in full. If he does, he may be unbeatable.

Keep waxin’!

The following is a debate on the morality of abortion between Peter Kreeft, Professor of Philosophy, Boston College and David Boonin, Associate Professor of Philosophy, UC-Boulder Yale University from 12/1/2005. Each argument is the most thorough I’ve heard in quite some time. Boonin argues viability or fetal independence is key. He says the fetus has the right to life fully but that because it uses the mother’s body, the mother may have the right to cut off life support in the womb due to that mother’s right to control her body. He uses a very logical analogy of the right of a person to refuse bone marrow to a patient if the donor will be substantially harmed by the donation. Kreeft, in turn, argues the naturalness and inherent healthiness of the state of pregnancy in itself in so far as to say the pregnancy though trying and strenuous is not harming the mother’s body, to use my own analogy, anymore than being hungry a half hour before one’s lunch hour harms one’s body. Rather one’s hunger is simply an inconvenient precondition to one’s being able to recognize hunger in order that it be satisfied within the upcoming lunch hour.

Both debaters bring across strong rationales and I want to stress that though I am pro life, I feel neither speaker fully moved me toward either viewpoint because of the profound logic of each stance. Please listen fully to this 90 minute debate when you have time. This just seems like a discussion which warrants your comments…. So get waxin’!

(Listen here).

Well, just when I thought I might have run out of topics to blog about, along comes Vh1’s special on hot teen stars to cover all my socioanalytical needs. Over the weekend while eating lunch, I had the TV on and I happened upon a retrospective on teen stars which included C. Thomas Howell who you might remember as Ponyboy from The Outsiders. Anyhow, the sociologists at I Love the Past 30 Seconds (or fill in your favorite nostalgic title here) Pointed out one the all-time most intriguingly horrid films to be heralded with the likes of Howard the Duck, Dude Where’s My Car and Of course I’d be failing you as an analyst if I didn’t include Showgirls in that bunch. Even beyond such colorful gems is an ever rarer diamond named Soul Man. I watched it. It’s corny. But, unlike its associates, 1986’s Soul Man stands as one of the more meaningful bad movies ever made.

Clearly, for me to make such a commanding statement I must provide ample evidence — I’ve got it! The plot begins when Harvard Law Freshman Mark Watson (Howell) is suddenly cut off from his father’s millions and left to pay for school on his own. Mark, knowing he cannot do this looks for a scholarship and find that the one which suit him the best is only for black students. Mark then uses experimental tanning lotion in a high dose to make himself look black. Mark gets in to Harvard Law thinking that he’ll be welcomed with open arms in “The Cosby Decade.” He soon finds out otherwise in a string of unabashedly racist jokes, including when the student assume he’s am excellent basketball player, when two snobby white guys just happen to be telling black jokes when Mark is around, (this occurs in a least five scenes and gets tiresome after three) and in an attempt at a serious tone, Make is thrown in jail after a white police officer tails him causing to be pulled over for reckless driving after which Mark is beaten in his cell by who he describes as “drunken bigots.”

Meanwhile as cliche’ movie writing dictates, Mark has a love interest, a single mom, Sarah who somehow becomes the love of his life while the two study in the library –cue the worst Lionel Ritchie song you’ve ever heard and multiply it by seven– Mark then discovers after a night of warm conversation, that he took the scholarship Sarah would have gotten had he not darkened himself. Mark feels terrible about the whole mess and decides to make amends by paying Sarah her full scholarship plus interest and telling his Professor and superior (conspicuously played by James Earl Jones) that he wants to do charity work and put a portion of his future lawyerly earnings toward a scholarship in Sarah’s name. Sarah forgives Mark and the the happy couple walks hand-in hand as the credits roll.

However, there are some good points to this fiasco of color lines. First is the utter implausibility of the premise. I no of no tanning formula that will turn anyone black. So in that way, there is an element of fantasy which can make the viewer lose sight of the fact that the lead character is in blackface. Next, is the very noticeable fact that though Mark is pretending to be black, he makes no attempt to change his personality, voice or mannerisms in general. The obvious exception is when he has to hind his voice from people who know him as white (including his own parents). lastly, it become clear thoughout the film, that how mark is treated has little to with making any kind of overt joke. Rather, Mark just learn how it feels to be black and becomes a better person for having lived that “reality.”

Overall, while I expected to be offended greatly at some point, I actually enjoyed the unbelievability of the plot of Soul Man. The scenario made me wonder if it would ever be done in our current age of affirmative action. I do think someone might try to do something similar, thought possible to discredit the affirmative action movement as a whole. There are those who may say basing Harvard Law eligibility on race allows such a stupid premise to be considered. But then, to live in a world where racism must be counteracted by law is quite preposterous itself.

Wax, rinse, repeat.

This is a little preview of one of my posts on my new blog Art from the Outskirts For more join me there regularly as I explore both the limits and the wonders of the various arts.

The Psychological Aesthetics of Sexual Attraction as Artistic Appreciation

A Commentary by Michael LaPenna

“Introduction”

It begins innocently enough: A young man gazes from across the room at a little diner in suburban Chicago. His eyes have fixed themselves upon the seemingly angelic presence of a vibrant, young, women in a gently draped pink, cotton blouse and white, Capri pants that both appear to fit quite well with her body’s contours. She has features that he’s rarely seen: richly carameled skin, and wavy, black hair that falls to the nape of her neck. All the while he can’t help but notice that her hair has the faintest indigo tint in the room’s light. As she turns her eyes toward him, the young man notices her familiar dark brown, walnut shaped eyes quite craftily and symmetrically woven into her face. Her nose is kitten-like and her mouth’s lines seem to invite him to conversation with her…and so the young man carefully approaches the women.

“Hi” he says. She looks calm back at him. “Dave?” she asks. Moksha” he exclaimed!
“How are you?” I knew it was you!”
Oh, I’m pretty well, I’d say.”
“Babe, c’mere! You remember Moksha from the figure drawing class? Ya know… the model.”

“Dressing Table” Pino Dangelico

Has this type of scenario ever happened to you? Have you noticed someone so striking that you couldn’t help but think of that person as a kind of art? Every line, curve, dip, dimple and indentation was almost palpably pleasing to you If so, you may, like me, be the type of person who occasionally visits art galleries, paints, writes, etcetera. On the other hand, you might be like a lot of folks on the planet who simply know what they like in any object, whether that object be a painting, a flower or yes…even a person! Do I risk credulity or misogyny in assuming this? Many if not most of us have likely admired aesthetic niceties, but more often we think the word aesthetic itself belongs tagged on to a piece of furniture as in “The craftsmanship of that chair is amazing!” or “This house looks Victorian.” or in the look of a particular film as in “That movie reminded me of a Hitchcock film.” But the world actually means specifically that which relates to the perception of beauty in art or nature. In this sense something that looks a particular way, feels, seems or reminds and so forth is expressed aesthetically. In other words, it is a that part of us which is not confined to rigid definitions of beauty, attractiveness or ugliness within the strictures of scientifically precise measurements. Whereas a person can know what the standard of beauty is mathematically, symmetrically and with regard to markers of health such as coloration or body mass index, there are those aspects which never quite conform to the prescribed definitions given by science such as Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky expressed in his 1864 novella Notes from the Underground When the Underground Man declared, “I admit that twice two makes four is an excellent thing, but if we are to give everything its due, twice two makes five is sometimes a very charming thing too.” In the same way, art is objectively placed far beyond the mechanics of science. Sometimes attraction is as well.

Stay tuned for Section 2!

Back in the Fall of 2000, America was a very different place than it is today. Britney Spears was a vibrant star on the teen pop horizon. With the booming economy Bill Clinton had enough free time to receive oral sex and ponder the definition of “is,” before federal prosecutors, and a prodigious college dropout named Shawn Fanning had just shocked the music biz by creating a way to download all the music fans wanted for free by creating a little thing called Napster, and lastly George W. Bush’s admission into the White House was still pending review by the American public.

Just eight year later, the once glowing teen Britney has rebounded and rehabilitated and reinvented herself more times than a less than shimmering Dennis Rodman at and Alcoholics Anonymous drag show. A formerly fumbling President Clinton now stands at his wife’s side proudly as she claims the runner-up spot for the presidency while Shawn Fanning’s seemly slacker-like ingenuity has sparked a multitude of copycat Media sharing sites including itunes, Youtube, Limewire and stumbleUpon…. And, yes, “Dubbya” after winning two dubiously contested elections, stands poised to become the most disliked American leader in recent history.

Yet, beyond the circus side show that is America, there has been no greater progression in popular culture than that of the Internet. While in 2000 instant messaging, chatrooms, webcams and online video were just growing into their trendy, personal uses, today, prolific media such as online forums blogs, and video diaries have matured into fully cultivated tools able to move millions of voices where ever they wish to go.

In a documentary this past Thursday, BBC News offered a glimpse into the Internet’s remarkable effect on this year’s presidential campaign. It focuses primarily on the Net’s ability to reach millions of people who might not have been heard and raise millions of dollars that might not have been raised in previous years. Most notably, it details Senator Obama’s raising of 200 million dollars via just two million supporters over the Net and Senator McCain’s ability to appeal to youth in as man in his seventies using the very same medium.

Please watch the report and comment as you see fit. You’ll note that the report does have a slightly left-leaning bias. But, whatever you do…keep waxful!

Watch the BBC report).

“Attacking or Embracing” by Abigael Escobal

Readers, it is a presidential election year in United States and for a citizen like me that usually signals my need to brace myself for the quixotic banter and pre-packaged idealism that lay ahead in every major debate until the final hand is shaken and one more innocent tot is baptized by the kiss of a politician. Over the past two years, I’ve heard arguments for change and tax hikes for the wealthy from Senator Obama and calls from Senator McCain to reduce wasteful spending by such a regal and superfluous declaration as to say that radical Islamic extremism is the transcendent or even “transcendental” threat of the 21st century. (I wonder if McCain is looking forward to a mystical terror experience anytime before his would-be term is up). With all this there lingers something even more prominent on the lips of many in Washington: The idea as expressed by John McCain and implied by journalist Ann Coulter that the United States is a “Christian” nation.

The Christian nation premise is nothing new. Many of America’s founders and law makers knew quite a bit about the Bible and Christianity as is contained and expressed in works such as Thomas Jefferson’s Jefferson Bible which argues for a moral mimicking of the teachings and ways of Jesus Christ. However, many argue that while many Biblical principles correlate well with those of the nation’s justice system, the idea of the United States being a Christian nation may be a bit misguided at best. Writer and journalist Cenk Uygur explains why when he says, “My name is Cenk Uygur. And I am proud of it. It might sound a little different to your ear, but it doesn’t make it any less American. That’s the whole point of the country. If I wanted to live in a place where your race, ethnicity or religion mattered, there were plenty of other countries to choose from. I chose to be an American because I believed we were all equals in the eyes of the law.”

Uygur speaks to the intrinsic independence required for a free nation as stated in the First Amendment of the Constitution:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

In light of such realities, Uygur has written a piece originally published in The Huffington Post pointing to the fact that in October of 2007 42 congressmen voted “present” (not “yea”) concerning a resolution passed by the House of Representatives that would allow the Islamic holy month of Ramadan to be recognized within Congress. Uygur identifies himself as agnostic and it is unclear from the language of his piece what his cultural religion is. However he indeed makes an effort to defend religious freedom fully, as I equally as a person of faith, uphold his right not to practice a religion. Separation of powers is explicit in American law and in such a regard, I do not support any legislative action or inaction that infringes upon that boundary. If the government wants to claim America to be an exclusively Christian nation in the name of its collective right to free expression of faith, that’s fine. But I’d be surprised if their legal council were not comprised of at least some, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Atheists, Agnostics etcetera. Furthermore, are these not the same individuals who always reference theocratic governments as extreme and radical? I guess they don’t include Christians in that bunch. Alas, it seems the “transcendent threat” to which John McCain refers is being welcomed by Congress’ somewhat inhibited and non-transcendent understanding of democracy.

In sum, it may be the separation of church and state which allows each body to flourish on its own merits. Moreover, it is likely the freedom to choose one’s faith that makes each believer’s faith that much stronger. Thirdly, it may be that if we as autonomous beings were not free to choose what we believe that we would never truely believe in anything for the fact it would inevitably be taken for granted. You see, this is not a Christian nation. It is rather, a nation whose citizen are free to choose to practice Christianity. Never lose sight of that difference!

So until we meet again, I hope you will feel free to express your faith whatever it may be and may you as always… wax poetically!

Footnote:

The term transcendental has several meanings:

1. Philosophy
a. Concerned with the a priori or intuitive basis of knowledge as independent of experience.
b. Asserting a fundamental irrationality or supernatural element in experience.
2. Surpassing all others; superior.
3. Beyond common thought or experience; mystical or supernatural.
4. Mathematics Of or relating to a real or complex number that is not the root of any polynomial that has positive degree and rational coefficients (thefreedictionary.com).