Alright... so after many days of being switched into summer mode and not being able to make myself sit down and actually do any work whatsoever... (and the worst part, not even really having that bother me... usually I beat myself up a lot if I have something overdue... not this time at all for some reason...) I decided that a fitting virtue to dissect in its relation to my habits, and my life in general, would be Industry, simply because it is one thing that I generally lack in all facets of life. Truly, if I could achieve being Industries in regular intervals, and not just in short huge bursts when I absolutely need to, my life would end up being a lot better (not to mention my GPA!). So, here goes the experiment.
(Disclaimer: I have the most irregular of days in the summer... I really am not entirely sure when to really call it the end of one day and the beginning of another, because I go to sleep when I'm tired, and wake up when I'm not... which has me having taken my sleep during just about every part of the day, at some point, and also had me awake during every part of many days. My sleeping habits destroyed the ease of this assignment.)
Sunday: Alright, to start out with we have the day before this very assignment was due. I had planned this day out as the one in which I would complete my poetry project for an online course I am taking with Mr.Viles, and then to use whatever time I had left for either some violin practice, or maybe just some kicking back, relaxing and watching some nice films. What happened in actuality though, would be something like this: (These next few actions of mine are something I'm assuming this journal is going to be seeing a lot of) I sat down at the computer after waking up around 1 in the afternoon, and went to go through my usual checking of all my stuff half hour process before starting anything productive. This process extended to an hour. After that, I pulled up the Prophets and Poetry ning page to make sure I knew what I was doing for this project, I did, so I opened up my started version of it... and ten minutes later had finished rationalizing why I didn't need to do this yet and how I had plenty of time before the end of Monday to get all my work done. I then spent the rest of the night in that horrible World of Warcraft that has begun to destroy my life known as (yes, I'm quite ashamed, I did so well for years avoiding getting into it...). Absolutely nothing industrious about this day.
Monday: This would be the day everything was due in both Honors and Prophets and Poetry... I hadn't slept the night before, and by the time I had been able to convince myself that I needed to get some work done it was about 7pm. As I opened up a document to start writing this assignment in, I also opened up my Aim messenger to see if any neat people were up and about. They were. I ended up getting a very small outline of my response to the other part of the Benjamin Franklin assignment by the time midnight rolled in. At this point it occurred to me that I was actually late in doing something, and how very different this Monday had been to my last few with all of my mad dashing to make sure I got each and every little thing I needed to get done actually done, because I don't not do things, that's just not what I do. Then I realized that I wasn't overly caring at the moment and that I'd do it all tomorrow. At about 3 or so in the morning when everyone else had gone to sleep, I was determined to actually get something productive and good accomplished as I'd seemed not to have done in so long, so I went upstairs and grabbed my newly acquired Violin to try and do more stuff with it seeing as how I still am overly not able to make decent sounds come out of it. This lasted only a few minutes before I hopped into my bed and instead of reading anything for this week, instead popped into my DVD player 10,000 BC which my brother had made me borrow when I was off at his apartment last. Absolutely nothing industrious about this day either.
Tuesday: After waking up around 2:30 I strolled downstairs without caring about the two weeks worth of work I had yet to start, and poured myself some yummy cola. Seeing as how no one else was home yet, and there was nothing else to do, I fired up my computer and checked the update for the computer baseball league my dad, his friends and I have, and spent some time making changes to my team (don't ask, hah). Then I popped onto the Prophets and Poetry page to see if anything new and interesting was supposed to be done this week, (We'd moved onto Muhammad) and in fact there was a new video we needed to watch that I had enough motivation to hit play on. For the next two hours I was actually truly entertained, it was a really good video in fact, and that fueled a surge in posting in the discussion boards there, which I had been neglecting a little before (not so much as I'd been neglecting everything else however). I ended up doing random bits of work for Prophets and Poetry most of the day, and managed to get a ton of conceptual, intellectual thinking in before around nightfall when my friend informed me his account for that horrid World was no longer frozen, and I was to accompany him in his adventures, having felt like I semi accomplished something today, I obliged him. After a few hours of that, I headed off to the land of sleep while watching the amazing film that is Kill Bill. A step in the right direction for my industriousness.
Wednesday: This day after beating myself up about not beating myself up about the work I still hadn't done without anything at all preventing me from doing it, I learned that two other very good students (two of the best I know, actually) hadn't started theirs either. Needless to say this did nothing but make it even more okay in my mind that doing nothing and not caring wasn't actually that bad of a thing to be doing. I did however happen to do quite a bit of posting on the Prophets and Poetry forum for the second day in a row, though. I also managed to semi make plans for before I left for Massachusetts on the weekend, so that I wouldn't be stuck sitting in my house like I had been for quite some time (The last time I'd done anything at this point was Saturday), I'm not entirely sure if that qualifies as being industrious because it was plans not for something productive, but for something entertaining... but I took the act of planning as being somewhat productive in and of itself. I also managed to make myself sit down and tune my Violin, (one of the only things I can confidently say I can actually do correctly with it), which is actually a very relaxing thing to do. This day seems to indicate that I am getting out of this it's summer, so I am not going to do anything mood I've been in lately. (Quick note: watched Kill Bill volume two as I was going to sleep, and for the first time, I truly appreciated it as being not only as good as the first one, but actually a lot better... it's much more story, and character driven, and it's got classic Tarantino dialog much more often the the first. Not sure why I needed you all to know that.)
Thursday: I began making preparations for my departing to my Daddy's in Mass for the rest of the summer, until I was informed that I wasn't going to be leaving until the next weekend, instead of this coming one as had been originally planned. So after having my stuff packed, I decided my room was semi already started to be cleaned... so I might as well attempt to chip away some more at the insane level of messiness and disarray it has been in for months. I'll just say that it is now... cleaner but not clean. After that, I went for a walk out in the nice outdoors, and took some nice photos of myself, which I hadn't done in a while (It used to be almost an everyday pastime, no joking.). I came back home, had a nice discussion with a couple of good people, and then headed onto the Prophets and Poetry page for yet more forum posts. That video really did make me get into that class again, after having stopped caring about it do to a few very horrid podcasts. I also opened up that long forgotten document with the crude outline for my other Ben Franklin post, and couldn't bring myself to think of anything to do with it. I then spent the rest of the night in that World I've already told you about, then one that is the exact opposite of industriousness, it truly is very addicting... even when I sit here and I have only negative thoughts about it I kind of want to go play in it. Besides the last part of the day I would say I had the industriousness of a decent human being, which is way more then I usually have.
Friday: A complete and utter fall back into the pit of the summer mindset. I did absolutely nothing productive this entire day. I socialized, watched a film, and then joined my friend in that world till even after he went to sleep. I'm not entirely happy with my list of accomplishments.
Saturday: So, after not sleeping, I headed out with my family to look at things move slowly and loudly down the street in a big line (Otherwise known as a parade). The Egg Festival, wasn't to bad, saw some cool people I hadn't talked with since school got out, got some candy, but when I got home, I was quite tired... which is slightly unusual, because normally after I go through an allnighter I don't start getting actually tired until at least around five, but I fell asleep around one in the afternoon, and didn't wake up until dinner. After that I did some more Prophets and Poetry work, and actually finally made myself realize how little time I had to do work, because I had this weeks assignments to do as well, which included reading an entire book. So, I promised myself that I would indeed do all of my three weeks of Honors work tomorrow, because I really was to tired to effectively accomplish anything at that point. I held true to those determinations, it would seem since I am writing this currently, and it is now Sunday.
Well, I'd like to start off by saying... this week has made me look like a pathetic human being (and I mean more so then I usually am). Not only do I turn into the least productive, most lethargic thing on the planet in a week where I definitely needed to do work, but I also did so on a week that I had to tell everyone just how much of one I actually was. I seem to have, for the most part, for now atleast, have broken free of he it's summer mentality I had gotten myself into over a couple weeks of not really needing to do much. If I was to do this next week, I make a hopeful assumption that it would not shine quite such a negative light on myself, but who knows, I might be even worse next week. I really hope not. This assignment has discouraged my spirit, and damaged my overly huge ego, I just realized. I really highly doubt Benjamin Franklin would have looked at my week of industriousness and have been anything but appalled, though I wouldn't actually care about his opinion at all, so that wouldn't matter quite so much. I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this anymore, so I think I'll just end it here. Have fun, all.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
Ensuring Equality. (English Week Two Post)
In Touching Spirit Bear, during a Healing Circle, a feather is passed around to all those who wish to speak. An intriguing idea, I know. As it turns out, Native American tribes have been using such a system for centuries, more commonly, however, the item, or "Talking Token", took the form of a Talking Stick, with a feather on the end, as well as fur, and beads. At first I wondered why Ben Mikaelsen had chosen to use jsut a feather which seems to be much less common, then I remembered that these meetings were being held in contemporary times and as such most likely didn't follow every little detail of what would have once been considered average. Also, it may just have been that the Tlingit were one of the few tribes to forgo the Stick part of the Talking Token.
It was a system used in order to create an environment where everyone's opinions and thoughts were equal, and could be just as easily heard. Using a Talking Token ensures that not only the most passionate, forceful, or just plain loud people could be heard, but also the coolheaded, meek, and quite, could voice their thoughts on whatever matter a meeting was discussing. In addition, being the only one allowed to speak was supposed to give the speaker and added sense of duty, and honor with which to carry on to his speech making it truthful, and meant with good intentions. It is quite amusing when thinking about the intention behind the talking token, and how everyone using it is supposed to be honorable and honest... and then seeing some of the ways it was abused in the book. Cole did point this out at one point actually, but only after he had only done so himself.
Apparently the tradition has morphed through the years (as they all do) and been integrated into various places, used in any number of places with no specific requirements to use it. (I do think I remember using a beaney bag for some sort of version of this when I was younger...)
Works Cited: (Or, more appropriately, Work Cited:)
Locust, Carol. "The Talking Stick." Acacia Artisans. 7 July 2008 <http://www.acaciart.com/stories/archive6.html>.
It was a system used in order to create an environment where everyone's opinions and thoughts were equal, and could be just as easily heard. Using a Talking Token ensures that not only the most passionate, forceful, or just plain loud people could be heard, but also the coolheaded, meek, and quite, could voice their thoughts on whatever matter a meeting was discussing. In addition, being the only one allowed to speak was supposed to give the speaker and added sense of duty, and honor with which to carry on to his speech making it truthful, and meant with good intentions. It is quite amusing when thinking about the intention behind the talking token, and how everyone using it is supposed to be honorable and honest... and then seeing some of the ways it was abused in the book. Cole did point this out at one point actually, but only after he had only done so himself.
Apparently the tradition has morphed through the years (as they all do) and been integrated into various places, used in any number of places with no specific requirements to use it. (I do think I remember using a beaney bag for some sort of version of this when I was younger...)
Works Cited: (Or, more appropriately, Work Cited:)
Locust, Carol. "The Talking Stick." Acacia Artisans. 7 July 2008 <http://www.acaciart.com/stories/archive6.html>.
Hidden Revelations. (History Week Two Authors Intent)
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, like all Authors, had an agenda when sitting down to write A Midwifes Tale. After scoring through entry after entry in Martha's diary which was entered in daily for 27 years, Ulrich extracted many revelations which challenge contemporary points of view on daily life, and society in general during early years of America as it's own nation. Upon coming to these realizations, and learning of the enormous level of misinformation that has been handed to people today about the time period of early America, Ulrich wrote A Midwifes tale, infusing it with all of her discoveries into the nature of life in the late 18th, early 19th century America.
The roll of Midwives in society today is all but extinguished. The most shallow, and obvious purpose in Ulrich's writing was to shed light into a way of life that survived for centuries, but is easily forgotten today. A Midwife's Tale is, as it title blatantly states, a look into the life of a Midwife; it is meant to show the trials and joys that many women found in their lives after being called to fulfill their roll as a healer and a life giver. Ulrich, through Martha, is establishing a piece of historical society; a piece that until now had gone unrecognized for their struggles and achievements. Martha's many long nights spent without hardly any sleep tending to women, ensuring that a new life would enter the world, are an extraordinary tale of human ability, and giving that needed to be given it's due credit. Ulrich understood this.
Martha's Diary is one of the only written records to show the true roll of women in a society that has been assumed to be completely dominated by men. The uniqueness of these documents in itself warrants investigation into. Ulrich realized the possibilities such a record held in distinguishing whether or not the notion that women in early America truly were subservient to their male counterparts was correct or not. What she found, and shared through A Midwife's Tale is that the balance of power between the genders in early America was much less one sided then previously thought. Martha controlled an entire half of her families economic transactions and contributed to it's stability throughout her time recording her life, and Ulrich knew that this was a revelation that the world needed to come to.
When thinking of Revolutionary times in America, the time directly following gaining our independence from Britain is not included. Through investigation of Martha's diary Ulrich realized that at it's core, this was an inaccurate analysis of the time period. Ulrich goes into detail about the struggles America was going through in establishing itself as stable nation. The core concept that America was founded on (namely the right of every man to not be ruled by tyranny) caused uprisings and violence by manual laborers against pen pushing landowners; meanwhile the religious diversity of America was just starting to develop, and as all such processes happen, the beginning was very rough; and even the medical practices of the nation were undergoing a transformation into a scientifically organized system. Ulrich used A Midwife's Tale as a conduit to giving a better understanding of a time period containing a society that was most certainly undergoing revolutionary change.
With all of his insights into the society of early American society, from the lives and rolls of Midwives, to combating the notion of the female roll in society, to the vast sweeping changes the society as a whole was undergoing, there is one core concept that he pushes across. The introduction quotes various statements by others who had gone through Martha's diary James North saying it was "brief and with some exceptions not of general interest.", Charles Nash saw it as "trivial and unimportant... being but a repetition of what was widely recited many times.", and even a feminist history of Midwifery describing it as "Like many diaries of farm women, it is filled with trivia about domestic chores and pastimes.". Including these quotes, and then continuing on to delve into and explore the true depth of information and insights that can be found in Martha's entries is almost a direct challenge to the idea that even an average regular monotonous life is meaningless in the grand scale of the world. Ulrich strives to prove that the everyday human existence no matter how uneventful and unimportant truly is a meaningful piece of history that can unlock an entire universe of information if given the attention it requires. In essence, Ulrich was stating with A Midwifes Tale the old adage that you can't judge a book by it's cover... or for that matter, a diary by it's repetitiveness.
The roll of Midwives in society today is all but extinguished. The most shallow, and obvious purpose in Ulrich's writing was to shed light into a way of life that survived for centuries, but is easily forgotten today. A Midwife's Tale is, as it title blatantly states, a look into the life of a Midwife; it is meant to show the trials and joys that many women found in their lives after being called to fulfill their roll as a healer and a life giver. Ulrich, through Martha, is establishing a piece of historical society; a piece that until now had gone unrecognized for their struggles and achievements. Martha's many long nights spent without hardly any sleep tending to women, ensuring that a new life would enter the world, are an extraordinary tale of human ability, and giving that needed to be given it's due credit. Ulrich understood this.
Martha's Diary is one of the only written records to show the true roll of women in a society that has been assumed to be completely dominated by men. The uniqueness of these documents in itself warrants investigation into. Ulrich realized the possibilities such a record held in distinguishing whether or not the notion that women in early America truly were subservient to their male counterparts was correct or not. What she found, and shared through A Midwife's Tale is that the balance of power between the genders in early America was much less one sided then previously thought. Martha controlled an entire half of her families economic transactions and contributed to it's stability throughout her time recording her life, and Ulrich knew that this was a revelation that the world needed to come to.
When thinking of Revolutionary times in America, the time directly following gaining our independence from Britain is not included. Through investigation of Martha's diary Ulrich realized that at it's core, this was an inaccurate analysis of the time period. Ulrich goes into detail about the struggles America was going through in establishing itself as stable nation. The core concept that America was founded on (namely the right of every man to not be ruled by tyranny) caused uprisings and violence by manual laborers against pen pushing landowners; meanwhile the religious diversity of America was just starting to develop, and as all such processes happen, the beginning was very rough; and even the medical practices of the nation were undergoing a transformation into a scientifically organized system. Ulrich used A Midwife's Tale as a conduit to giving a better understanding of a time period containing a society that was most certainly undergoing revolutionary change.
With all of his insights into the society of early American society, from the lives and rolls of Midwives, to combating the notion of the female roll in society, to the vast sweeping changes the society as a whole was undergoing, there is one core concept that he pushes across. The introduction quotes various statements by others who had gone through Martha's diary James North saying it was "brief and with some exceptions not of general interest.", Charles Nash saw it as "trivial and unimportant... being but a repetition of what was widely recited many times.", and even a feminist history of Midwifery describing it as "Like many diaries of farm women, it is filled with trivia about domestic chores and pastimes.". Including these quotes, and then continuing on to delve into and explore the true depth of information and insights that can be found in Martha's entries is almost a direct challenge to the idea that even an average regular monotonous life is meaningless in the grand scale of the world. Ulrich strives to prove that the everyday human existence no matter how uneventful and unimportant truly is a meaningful piece of history that can unlock an entire universe of information if given the attention it requires. In essence, Ulrich was stating with A Midwifes Tale the old adage that you can't judge a book by it's cover... or for that matter, a diary by it's repetitiveness.
The Loss of a way of Life. (History Week Two Thematic Question)
Midwife; a title associated with the "ridiculous" notion of women giving birth in their own homes, a title associated with medical practices done with the hope of success, a title associated with the distant past. Martha Ballard held this title in the late 18th century; she held it and did not associate it with anything else then her everyday life, the life of one of the last true to hold that title. In her lifetime, the associations which have been mentioned were already beginning to form, without her knowledge. Martha Ballard was a midwife; that much is known. Martha Ballard was one of the last true Midwives; that much can be easily concluded. Martha Ballard played an integral part in the survival of her entire community by following a path that would not be possible for many to follow after her; that is the truly meaningful statement.
Midwifes throughout time had held a place of very important role in any given community. They were not only the one's to deliver the children of every pregnant woman in their community, they were also the main source of health care for many societies. The place of a midwife in a community had been vastly unchanged throughout the years when Martha Ballard began her diary. She was, for all intents and purposes, a midwife in the traditional sense of the word. She would be woken at all hours of the night to trod off to perform her duties just as innumerable women had done before her. She would be given a higher standing in society then all most any women could attain in, and before, Martha's time. Martha Ballard was one of the last true midwives.
The main duty associated with Midwifery was, of course, the delivery of children. A Midwife would be tasked with making sure each and every child being brought into this world, did so with as much ease as the process allows. When a Woman went into Labor (and sometimes when she only thought she went into labor) a Midwife was sent for, and then said Midwife would arrive and sit with the woman for as long as it took (sometimes hours). After the baby was delivered the Midwife would make sure that everyone was doing fine, and once that had been established, and then be on her way back home. Every once and a while the midwife would check in on the new mother and her child to again, make sure that every one was in good health.
Making sure everyone was in good health leads to the other major role of a midwife; which was that of healing those that were not in such good health. A midwife provided health care for her community in the form of traditional, and herbal remedies. A Midwife in Martha's time would employ methods of healing which had been used and improved for hundreds of years. She would grow most of the herbs needed in her remedies herself, and administer them herself. Without any need for a formal degree in order to practice, a Midwife could tend to her sick neighbors.
Around the time Martha was writing her diary things were starting to change in the realm of medical practices. She only saw small pieces of it, and couldn't have possibly known what the end result of these small pieces would end up meaning for her profession, or the entire world. There were stirrings in her time that were the beginnings of the very different world of health care that we now know. These stirrings would eventually mean the end of even the possibility of others wanting to follow in Martha's footsteps. Without being aware of it, Martha was a dieing breed.
More often as the Diary goes on Doctors are called to childbirths as opposed to, or as well as Martha. This was one of many signs of the incoming age where doctors would be, practically, the only source of medical care of any kind. The move into the realm of childbirth which was always before considered strictly that of Women, was a major step to the insurance that every form of medical treatment was to be an institutionalized, highly organized, structured event. It was a first step in the abolition of any one's right to provide medical care to people without going through recognized training, and being certified by national standards. This meant, in effect, the end of the entire tradition of the Midwife.
Along with this overturn of medical care to only officially trained men, came the change from traditional handed down remedies, to more "scientific" methods of health care. During Martha's time this was still in it's experimental stage, doctor's were still trying to lay the groundwork for this new system of medicine. This meant a parting from herbal remedies, and plunge into more tools, surgeries, and eventually antibiotics. It was a shifting of focus to discovering why something worked, before assuming it would. This shift in medical practices meant a further investigation into how each and every part of the human body functioned, and how to repair them based on deductive reasoning, and logic.
Midwife; a title Martha Ballard held high, a title that had started losing it's significance by her death, and a title that is hardly ever used in modern society. No longer can someone follow in Martha's footsteps due to the more structured, scientific approach to health care. No longer could a woman be called at all hours of the night to perform deliveries in peoples homes. The time Martha Ballard lived was a last hurrah by those that called themselves Midwives. Martha Ballard was one of the last true holders of that title. She performed deliveries, and tended to the sick, even with the encroaching male doctors on the horizon, waiting for her to falter in order to take control of the entire field. Martha Ballard was, for all intents and purposes, one of the last true Midwives.
Midwifes throughout time had held a place of very important role in any given community. They were not only the one's to deliver the children of every pregnant woman in their community, they were also the main source of health care for many societies. The place of a midwife in a community had been vastly unchanged throughout the years when Martha Ballard began her diary. She was, for all intents and purposes, a midwife in the traditional sense of the word. She would be woken at all hours of the night to trod off to perform her duties just as innumerable women had done before her. She would be given a higher standing in society then all most any women could attain in, and before, Martha's time. Martha Ballard was one of the last true midwives.
The main duty associated with Midwifery was, of course, the delivery of children. A Midwife would be tasked with making sure each and every child being brought into this world, did so with as much ease as the process allows. When a Woman went into Labor (and sometimes when she only thought she went into labor) a Midwife was sent for, and then said Midwife would arrive and sit with the woman for as long as it took (sometimes hours). After the baby was delivered the Midwife would make sure that everyone was doing fine, and once that had been established, and then be on her way back home. Every once and a while the midwife would check in on the new mother and her child to again, make sure that every one was in good health.
Making sure everyone was in good health leads to the other major role of a midwife; which was that of healing those that were not in such good health. A midwife provided health care for her community in the form of traditional, and herbal remedies. A Midwife in Martha's time would employ methods of healing which had been used and improved for hundreds of years. She would grow most of the herbs needed in her remedies herself, and administer them herself. Without any need for a formal degree in order to practice, a Midwife could tend to her sick neighbors.
Around the time Martha was writing her diary things were starting to change in the realm of medical practices. She only saw small pieces of it, and couldn't have possibly known what the end result of these small pieces would end up meaning for her profession, or the entire world. There were stirrings in her time that were the beginnings of the very different world of health care that we now know. These stirrings would eventually mean the end of even the possibility of others wanting to follow in Martha's footsteps. Without being aware of it, Martha was a dieing breed.
More often as the Diary goes on Doctors are called to childbirths as opposed to, or as well as Martha. This was one of many signs of the incoming age where doctors would be, practically, the only source of medical care of any kind. The move into the realm of childbirth which was always before considered strictly that of Women, was a major step to the insurance that every form of medical treatment was to be an institutionalized, highly organized, structured event. It was a first step in the abolition of any one's right to provide medical care to people without going through recognized training, and being certified by national standards. This meant, in effect, the end of the entire tradition of the Midwife.
Along with this overturn of medical care to only officially trained men, came the change from traditional handed down remedies, to more "scientific" methods of health care. During Martha's time this was still in it's experimental stage, doctor's were still trying to lay the groundwork for this new system of medicine. This meant a parting from herbal remedies, and plunge into more tools, surgeries, and eventually antibiotics. It was a shifting of focus to discovering why something worked, before assuming it would. This shift in medical practices meant a further investigation into how each and every part of the human body functioned, and how to repair them based on deductive reasoning, and logic.
Midwife; a title Martha Ballard held high, a title that had started losing it's significance by her death, and a title that is hardly ever used in modern society. No longer can someone follow in Martha's footsteps due to the more structured, scientific approach to health care. No longer could a woman be called at all hours of the night to perform deliveries in peoples homes. The time Martha Ballard lived was a last hurrah by those that called themselves Midwives. Martha Ballard was one of the last true holders of that title. She performed deliveries, and tended to the sick, even with the encroaching male doctors on the horizon, waiting for her to falter in order to take control of the entire field. Martha Ballard was, for all intents and purposes, one of the last true Midwives.
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