Hunger Games Upset

Okay, I love the Hunger Games. It’s a great series; I read all the books. However, there is something extremely upsetting:

There are no asians in the movie’s cast!

I mean, there’s blacks and latinos, but no asians? Come on! What happened to racial diversity?

Americans with Disabilities Lawsuit

Hosanna-Tabor evangelical Lutheran Church and School in Redford, Michigan fired Cheryl Perich after she was diagnosed with narcolepsy and threatened to sue the school to get her job back. As a result, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the church on Perich’s behalf under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Controversy over the case centers on whether Perich falls under the ministerial exception of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In addition, the Supreme Court Justices are debating the limits of state intervention in church affairs and enforcement of anti-discrimination laws. The Supreme Court will decide the case in the spring.

The article reveals that the federal courts serve as an important mediator of conflicts such as those between church and state. The Supreme Court justices are faced with the task of clarifying vague or technical exceptions in acts of Congress and interpreting them to fit different cases. In Cheryl Perich’s case, the Supreme Court justices have to decide whether Perich falls under the ministerial exception in the Americans with Disabilities Act even though she taught secular subjects. In this, I was surprised that issues that seem to have such simple resolutions could be dismissed or appealed on slight technicalities. In addition, the article illustrates the separate spheres of influence of church and state. Government, acting out of separation of church and state makes exceptions for religion and often stays out of religious matters in policymaking. However, the Supreme Court’s job is to define the powers of church and state, and tell when church matters are exceptions to government’s laws, and when they must obey them.

Michelle Bachmann and HPV

During the Republican debate, Rep. Michele Bachmann raised the issue of her rival Gov. Rick Perry’s implementation of a mandatory HPV vaccine for 13-year old girls in Texas. Controversy arose because the HPV Gardasil vaccine was manufactured by Merck, a major donor to the Perry campaign. While Perry insists that Merck only contributed $5000, further investigation revealed that Perry accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from Merck. In addition, it found that Perry’s former chief of staff, Mike Toomey, worked as a lobbyist for Merck in a multimillion dollar campaign to persuade states to make HPV vaccination mandatory.

This article raises the question of whether interest groups and big corporations run government. In this case, the question is whether politicians like Perry can be “bought” by corporations that contribute large sums of money to campaigns, such as Merck. If this is true, then politicians like Perry are corrupt, and the elite and class theory of democracy holds. However, there is also the possibility that Perry’s actions and beliefs were genuinely intended to prevent cervical cancer to save lives. I learned that whether politicians have financial motives or genuine beliefs in their actions remains a much debated issue and test to presidential candidates. In addition, the role of interest groups and companies in funding campaigns and lobbying to their benefit is undoubtedly great. However, the extent to which interest groups’ contributions control politicians or translate into public policy makes up the debate over the validity of the elite and class theory.

The British Occupation of India

 

The Reasons and Consequences of British Christianity in India

1. Introduction
   1. Hook: In January of 1999, Graham Staines and his two sons were brutally murdered when they were burned to death inside a locked car. He was an Australian Baptist missionary who lived and worked in India with lepers for the majority of his life. His murderer—Dara Singh, was a Hindu militant who publicly boasted of his crime. However, the Indian police reported that Staines’ murderer was “never found.” This is just one heinous murder on the long list of crimes of Anti-Christian violence from the Hindus now that the British have lost their control over India.
   2. Thesis: Although Christianity brought new hope to India, the Indian independence from the British led to an increase in religious conflicts between the Hindu majority and the Christians.
2. Body
   1. When the British controlled India, conversion was safer and easier than after Indian independence.

i.      Under the Portuguese, conversion was forced. However, under the British, conversion was voluntary. Conversion is peaceful and true.

ii.      Churches from all over Europe felt the obligation to reach out and send missionaries to India and convert the people.

iii.      Christians were protected under British government.

1. The British ruled with Christian principles
2. The British were more favorable toward Christian subjects

iv.      After Indian independence, the Hindu majority again took control.

1. They discouraged conversion to Christianity
2. People who chose Christianity were expelled from society, persecuted
3. Caste distinctions, tie with Hinduism made it harder to convert
4. Christian missionary work in India proved beneficial in many ways.

i.      Missionaries worked to educate Indians, fight for women’s rights, provide basic shelter

1. Reading the Bible helped open up the Indians to western literature
2. The literacy percentage of Indian Christians was 4 times that of Hindus

ii.      “Evil” practices, such as sati and child sacrifice, were abolished by Christian governors.

iii.      The untouchables at the bottom of the caste were given new hope

1. In Christianity, everyone was equal so they were given an equal chance for a better future.
2. Untouchables had grown dissatisfied with Hinduism where they were treated harshly by the other castes, so Christian missionary work helped them convert.
3. After Indian independence, there have been increased Anti-Christian movements by Hindu nationalists in India.

i.      The percentage of Christians in India has never reached over 3% while the percentage of Hindus was greater than 80% and continues to increase.

1. The police is controlled by Hindus, so they do not bring Hindu criminals like Singh to justice.

ii.      Christian missionaries seen as political/religious threat and foreign menace

iii.      Conflict of Hindu parents, Christian children

1. In 1877, Balakrishan asked his father, a Brahman leader for permission for baptism; he was beaten, confined, then sent away

iv.      Hindu nationalists do anti-Christian violence

1. Greatest violence in places where BJP, Hindu nationalist groups, are in control
2. Intimidation of Christians—arson, threatening literature, Bible burning, bombing churches, ransacking churches, desecrating church graves, murder/rape of nuns, priest, and missionaries

v.      Reconversion of Christians to Hinduism

1. Pressure from neighbors, family, Hindu partners in marriage
2. Try to reconvert Christian untouchables
3. New motive to rediscover, revive the fundamentals of Hindu faith
4. Established Hindu Missionary Society to disrupt Christian missionaries
5. Hindu newspaper writers falsely claim that the Christian population is rising and that the missionaries are increasing to inspire hatred for the foreigners in India.
6. Conclusion
   1. During the time of British occupation, Christian missionaries provided services and resources to the people of India in hopes that they would convert. Christianity, the religion of the British, was supported and favored over Hinduism by the Europeans. However, when India gained its independence, the Hindu majority reasserted control. Some extreme groups of Hindu nationalists began violent and brutal persecutions of the minority: Christians and their missionaries. The consequences for Christianity resulting from religious differences and Indian independence are far-reaching and extend to modern times.

Defense Bill

An analysis on an article from the Washington Post:

A controversial defense bill was approved by the Senate and moves to the President’s signature, after weeks of debate and revision. The measure would cut funding for the military, triggered by the debt super committee’s talks, and allow for indefinite detention of US citizens. Earlier, the White House threatened to veto because it feared that the controversial detainee provisions would be an infringement of executive powers. In addition, human rights and civil liberties groups have urged Obama to veto the bill, fearing excessive government control and a broad justification for abuse of interrogation powers. However, the proponents for the bill argue that it provides the president with enough flexibility to effectively address and enforce laws regarding Al-Qaeda activities.

The central fear expressed in the article was that the public policy of indefinite detainment for interrogation could infringe on civil liberties. This is because the measure is a vague one and can be interpreted broadly. In addition, as history, the vague measures in history can lead to a “justified” abuse of power because of the wide room for interpretation. Thus, even the director of the FBI expressed his reservations towards the unclear measure. Thus, it is good that there is such wide debate and discussion in Congress that delays and lengthens the amount of time required to pass a measure. This debate helps to make sure that any provisions that could cause government tyranny over the people do not pass, as a check to the authority of the Executive Branch. Finally, it is the public interest groups that advocate for human rights and civil liberties that help represent and push for views against abuse of powers in government.

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