Off-Campus Bingo!

For my off-campus event, I went to go play Bingo with Brady and Megan. When we got there, we were a little surprised by the people who were playing. We had originally planned to go to Sun City and play, so we were expecting a certain…uh…age of clientele. The people at Creekside Bingo were certainly far more varied in ages, as well as races, and social classes. The name of the Bingo place in it’s entirety was Creekside Charity Bingo, which I thought meant that the proceeds of the game were going to charity. Instead, to play the game, it cost 5 dollars, and the payout was huge- anywhere from 250 dollars to 750 dollars a hand. The game itself was the charity part of Creekside Charity Bingo. Most people in the hall were pretty intense upon the game; I’ve rarely felt so much tension in such a small space! We sat down at a table, completely mystified by what was taking place around us. People were stamping their cards faster than my eyes could follow. Even so, the woman next to us stopped stamping, and took us under her wing. She told us what we were to stamp, and the basic rules of the game. Between games, I went to go and get a coke, and I ended up talking to this woman. She had migrated from Houston to Round Rock following Hurricane Ike, and she had recently become immersed in the competitive world of Bingo. The place she had been staying at in Houston had been completely ravaged by Ike, and now she was living with friends in Round Rock. I could tell from her clothes that she wasn’t well off, and she, like many people around her, took the Bingo games and prizes very seriously. Though every person in the hall who I spoke to was incredibly nice, I couldn’t help feeling out of place, and a little awkward. I found myself hoping I wouldn’t win, because I really don’t need the money, and I would probably feel a little guilty if I did. I think its sad that I was unable to feel comfortable around the people in the hall, but it wasn’t an uncomfortableness sprung from fear or anything like that, but more of an awkward knowledge that I had so many more opportunities than most people in that room. I feel that our society sort of conditions people with more opportunities, to pity those who have less, and so the class differences become more apparent. I wish that people regardless of social class, or race, or gender, or sexuality, or any other characteristic could enter any situation and not feel like a different KIND of person. We are all essentially the same, just brought up in different kinds of circumstances.   

50 facts Blog

So, I thought that my discussion went pretty well. The discussion on why we should help people in the extreme poverty class, I found to be the most interesting. I also thought it pertained fairly well to our discussion we've been having on civic engagements. My opinion on it is that we should help those who are in the extreme and moderate poverty levels, but my reasoning is two-fold. First, I feel that on a moral level, it is imperative that we help those in that sort of pain, regardless of how far away there are, or the obstacles that stand in the way. For me, I don't know, we're all human, part of the same conscious, all interconnected through our common Dna, common needs, and (as corny as it is) common love. I can't differentiate between Americans and Ugandis, because children in both countries can feel the same pain, can hurt the same, and if I can do my part to help prevent that, I can't see any other alternative. The second aspect is one that was brought up in class; from a practical standpoint, helping others, in Africa for example, is a logical step. One, if these countries were able to emerge from the state of poverty that they are embroiled within, then economically, we would be able to benefit globally from increased capital, markets, and increased comparative advantage. If the situation were improved, there would be less crime; many studies have shown that often the cause of increases in terrorist recruitment is less about ideology, and more about poverty ad desperation. This would obviously have positive ramifications for our safety. Thirdly, it would be practical to help others because it could help restore some of the moral, "soft", power that America has lost in the past eight years. 

p.s.

sorry my irish temper came out, btw :)

Civic Engagement Take Two

I think that our debate about people only participating in volunteer work because they are self-righteous or pretentious is absolutely ridiculous. While I will not deny that these people exist, so what? I have more respect for people who help with wrong intentions than for people that do not help. Honestly, many people say they don't want to help because they do not want to end up like those people, but I feel that says a great deal more about the person they are, than their subjects of criticism. This may seem slightly harsh and it is, but I get very angry when people accuse people who their time to help others as having only self-interested motivations, especially by people who do nothing to help, nor have had much experience, if any, in volunteering. You may not want to volunteer, and that is fine, but don't you dare sit there from your ivory towers criticizing those who are making a difference, many of whom are incredibly amazing people, who are giving themselves to something they believe in. Frankly, I think those people who criticize are not only incredibly selfish, but they are ignorant of what it means to help people. One another thing that is incredibly annoying to me is when certain people have these logically structured ideas about volunteerism and helping people, when they themselves have never volunteered. How can you know anything about anything without actually experiencing it? Because you've read a philosopher or pundit who espouses those same ideals that you espouse during our Paideia group? Try then expanding your horizons and reading Rousseau or Marx. Or actually get hands on experience, and formualte your OWN opinions.
A problem that I had with our discussion in Paideia was that I constantly heard, what will I get out of this? While I believe that volunteering is not a one way street, it should be much less about me, me, me, and much more about the people we are interacting with. If it isn't, then you will probably be the only one who gets something out of it, and it will be a one way street. In fact, only caring what you get out of an interaction seems much more selfish and pretentious than helping to make yourself feel better. Actually, I take that back. It seems EXACTLY the same. And it screams egotistical. It makes me sad that certain people don't understand how alike we are as humans. When I help someone, it certainly does shape who I am as a person and I am fine with that. When I help someone, and I can connect with someone on a deeper lever, I see myself in them and I learn a great deal about myself. So, there is a benefit to helping others, but it is not one that is appreciated enough, in my opinion.
Many people were constantly asking why we should help. To me this has always been an obvious thing; if I see a person who is hurting, I want to help. When I see a child starving in Africa, it absolutely breaks my heart. There is such a polarization of us versus them in so many peoples opinions. I feel as though a great deal of people can't see the common thread that connects humanity, and so often people far away, spatially or even situationally, are seen as different, and by some, as lesser. This to me is the essence of losing what it is to be human. While our reason and logical faculties are a large part of what separates us from animals, I think the most important thing is that we are able to empathize and sympathize with others, often in spite of our logical rationale and egocentric nature.

Civic Engagement Blog

To me, civic engagement encompasses helping others from the local, national, and international level. I think civic engagement can involve helping those thousands of miles away, simply because we share the commonality of all being human. I would love to do something for our Civic Engagement program that really has a tangible effect on someone. I think the best way to do that is to focus on a specific group of people to help, and then figure out what they need, and how we can get it to them. Some issues I care about are basically anything having to do with helping kids. I think that education is the greatest type of volunteering, so that might be an idea for a future project. The only worries I have are ones I have from other projects I've participated. One is that logistically, these things are often difficult to work out, and two, many times apathy is the most difficult roadblock to helping people.