Article Wednesday: How Slavery Really Ended in America

So I decided that I would make a regular segment where I talk briefly about a good article I read over the past week (maybe sometimes multiple) and share that with everybody. I often share articles on Facebook as I know most of you are aware, but this one will only be found in my blog. I probably won't divulge a ton about the article since I would love to have you read it, but I might talk about it a bit, especially if it brings forth particular thoughts or ideas.

The article I'm sharing this week is entitled "How Slavery Really Ended in America" by Adam Goodheart. I liked this article because it taught me something about the history of the Civil War and the ending of slavery I never really knew. Basically a number of slaves escaped to a fort in the north where they could be held as "contraband" to avoid having returning to their masters. This was a very difficult political subject due to the current laws of the land and many of the current policies even. These circumstances were something that President Lincoln was even aware of and had to deal with.

It really is interesting to see how much of a role this seems to have had in the abolition of slavery. I'm fascinated by the fact that the moral and just concept of abolition came about due to one man's understanding of the law and his desire to exploit the enemies of the Union rather than necessarily try to do what was right.

Overall it's a wonderful look into a bit of history long forgotten by most that quite possibly had a significant influence on the abolition of slavery in America.

Five and Dime Store

If you wanna be happy
For the rest of your life,
Never make a pretty woman your wife,
So from my personal point of view,
Get an ugly girl to marry you.

- "If You Wanna Be Happy" by Jimmy Soul

What's up my nickels? (Hat tip: Daniel Tosh)

So my dating life is often a popular topic around many of my former coworkers. Most of them are female and most of them are married, so they look for the drama and excitement in the lives of others. So of course girls have to know exactly what is going on in your dating life, which means they're usually pretty bored by my dating life.

During this conversation I met a new girl in my old department. She was a rather attractive young lady, intelligent, and witty (and single). So of course she could not hold back on offering her opinion on my dating life. She told me that I needed to start setting my sights lower and stop chasing dimes. I couldn't help but laugh because I know I've never been accused of chasing dimes, but I have occasionally been accused of shooting a little too low (or not chasing at all). I did find it funny as well because she was a lot closer to a dime than a nickel.

Kind of a depressing thought to intentionally aim lower though. Especially because when I think of aiming lower, I think more of aiming lower on standards than looks. Maybe I am too hard on girls in other ways though. I often have a pretty high intellectual and maturity status that I look for in a woman (which is kind of ridiculous because I typically act like a five year old). But I guess I'm just too content to kick it with Professor Henry Higgins.

Surprise, Insecurity, and the Mormon Experience*

We all have a weakness
But some of ours are easy to identify.
Look me in the eye
and ask for forgiveness;
We'll make a pact to never speak that word again.
Yes, you are my friend.

We all have something that digs at us.
At least we dig each other.
So when weakness turns my ego up
I know you'll count on the me from yesterday.

- "Dig" by Incubus

So it's been forever since I've written. And I know the whole two of you that might actually read this might be disappointed that it's been so long. I'll try to be back for real this time, we'll see how it all goes.

I guess I'm hitting an interesting point in my life where everything is closing and opening all at once so it's gotten me thinking about a lot of things. I always put off the tough guy, nothing bothers me vibe but I guess it's finally catching up with me.

I want to say first of all, I have wonderful friends. The people that I've really been able to count on in my life and are always there for me, I'm blessed to have you in my life and I know I'm a better person for merely having your association. I get by with a little help from my friends. Of course I look at where I'm at with my life and I kind of think I probably should be relying a bit heavier on my oldest friend. I know for a fact that I've let my testimony in the Gospel of Jesus Christ slip a bit in recent months and that hurts and it's a realization that I need to take some corrective maneuvers. However, I don't want this to feel completely like some religious self-loathing piece so I won't focus on this too heavily. I know that I have a Father in Heaven that loves me dearly and I'm grateful for that. I also know I am a son of Deity and because of that I know I am an amazing person and have a great potential. Every day of my life is fantastic because I get to spend it with me and I'm fantastic.

So if I actually have any readers out there that don't realize where I'm at in life, I've recently started a new job doing IT work for Vivint. It's been a really great experience and I've learned a ton. It was tough at first and it was hard for me because it was the first time in quite some time that I felt really lost when I was trying to do my work. It was a whole new world to learn and experience. Go figure though, it's been a couple of months and I already feel like I've learned how to handle it pretty well. There's always something new to learn every day which is awesome. Also, I officially have been accepted to law school and I will be starting at Creighton in the fall. I'm really excited for this opportunity.

This puts me in an interesting circumstance currently. The Brethren have put a renewed emphasis on marriage recently and I've typically had more of a Wayne Campbell attitude. Three months. That's roughly the amount of time I have between now and when I go out to Creighton. Six and a half years. That's roughly the amount of time I've been home from my mission and back at BYU. Seven years. I'd say that's about the average difference in age between me and most girls I'm around at BYU. I don't care for those statistics much but unfortunately the math does add up.

Now what's really brought this on was a realization while I was on a date this weekend that I felt really inadequate because I didn't feel like I could carry a conversation much. I don't know how many of you know me pretty well, but I have a lot to say about a lot of things. That scares me when I have a hard time finding stuff to stay. And unfortunately it hasn't just been during the date that I've struggled. I've been finding it difficult in life to go out of my bubble and make new friends and associations and to find common ground to talk about. This used to be second nature for me. I don't understand.

[Note: So I know if anybody does actually care enough to go out of their way to read this, they probably want to know about my date. I had a wonderful time. She's a really awesome girl, I plan on there being at least one more and we'll see where it goes from there.]

During my date we decided to make a wish. Since I was half concerned the date wasn't going well and I was feeling rather reticent through most of the date, I wished that I could stop being such. K pestered me quite a bit to know what I wished for but I definitely did not give it up. Of course with that experience of a date and with all of the conversations I've tried to have since the change of the semester in this ward I've struggled to really say much. If anybody has any good pointers on what I can do to get myself out of this funk I'm all ears.

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves." I'm hoping to find some of the faults in me and dig them out, I think I'm counting on the me from yesterday.

*This title is a play off of a book from a political scientist. I figured I wanted people to at least somewhat appreciate this allusion so I'd let them into my inside joke.

Hat Tippin

Today I read an interesting article from the New York Times about plagiarism. Basically the youth of our society (the new generation of college students) doesn't see anything wrong with plagiarism anymore. Most internet media is perceived to be fair game. The removal of books in our lives has convinced the youth of today that ideas don't really belong to anybody, but rather our a collective property of society.

One thing I often consider is the way I share information on Facebook. All the time I am posting articles or videos that interest me or make me laugh. And of course I notice plenty of my friends repost things I've posted. Can I always say with absolute certainty they got it from me? No, certainly not. But it's rare to see a "hat tip" given out even though there is a chain of information passing. I realize these hat tips are small gestures to somebody who doesn't even own the idea, but there's something in the discovery and giving credit for that discovery.

In the article they quote a Ms. Wilensky for her ideas on what is creativity. She states, “You’re not coming up with new ideas if you’re grabbing and mixing and matching... It may be increasingly accepted, but there are still plenty of creative people — authors and artists and scholars — who are doing original work. It’s kind of an insult that that ideal is gone, and now we’re left only to make collages of the work of previous generations."

I think Ms. Wilensky has a jaded definition of what new ideas are. Everything we draw upon to create is based upon previous experience. Even when we develop the new or original it is because of past lessons learned. Now, I don't think this is necessarily the same as what she describes as "grabbing and mixing and matching." I think mashups are a good example of that. Something mildly creative, but not really taking ideas to a new level. However, as a student of political science, I often wrote papers that I'm sure were not completely new or groundbreaking ideas. However, their was an originality to it because of my route of discovery that lead to it. My experiences helped to unfold these ideas in a different light than many who came before me. And in turn I presented it to the world anew.

This communal property idea of knowledge and ideas destroys a lot of individuality. It decreases the incentive to produce and create more. I think the real problem with this plagiarism and communal knowledge comes from the desire to simply use it for personal gain rather than help return it to something greater for society. The availability of knowledge is a wonderful gift, but if we simply steal it, claim it as our own, and return nothing for it we are simple thieves. However, if we grow from these tidbits of knowledge and find a way to return something greater to society we will see immense progression from society.

The Ever Classy Large Benjamin

To say that Ben Roethlisberger has been in the news a bit lately is a bit of an understatement. Frankly, I don't even want to get into all of the garbage he's been accused of lately. If you want to know anything about that, read his Wikipedia entry. But if you've heard anything about the guy I think it's quickly become apparent that he is not a classy guy.

Well, Roethlisberger decided to give the media another doozie recently. A couple of the Pittsburgh area TV stations interviewed him and he decided to make some statements to his fans about his recent behavior. When I saw the headline on ESPN, I figured that was a smart PR move and something long overdue. However, when I actually read what they had to say I was even more appalled.

The lede from ESPN:

A contrite Ben Roethlisberger said he got caught up in being a caricature called Big Ben, not the grounded player and person he once was, leading to his off-field problems and affecting his play as the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback.

Now referring to Ben as contrite is only appropriate. He took an opportunity to apologize, which in some cases can be laudable; in his case I would say it was necessary. However, when I think of contrition I think of deep sorrow and remorse for actions and I don't think that's what came from Mr. Roethlisberger. The whole idea of getting caught up in the "caricature" of "Big Ben" seems to be him looking for an opportunity to escape his guilt. This man is hardly at all removed from his terrible behaviors and it seems like more of his foolish "caricature" is popping up all the time. To simply write off these mistakes so simply does not seem like the heart of a changed man. To me, it seems like Ben isn't willing to own up to his mistakes.

As you read in the article further, you see more and more it was this awful "Big Ben" person that caused all the problems, but really Ben Roethlisberger is a good guy. I say that's a bunch of baloney. Big Ben and Ben Roethlisberger are one in the same. Own up to your actions and accept the stupid decisions you made and apologize for them. I don't want to see some straw man strung up that is an alter ego of yourself. Who do you think you are? Bruce Wayne?

Another sign that clearly he's still going about things wrong is his admission that he "wanted to apologize to them for so many things." With what he says of it, it's clear that his "desire to apologize" has been something that he chose to wait on. That doesn't sound like contrition to me. Why wait to make these statements until now? Ben, I'm glad you've decided to change but I really hope it's for real.

For how much Roethlisberger gets discussed in the sporting news, I'm surprised this one flew under the radar so much. Maybe others were more convinced of his turning a new leaf. I'm not so optimistic. I think he understands a lot of things need to change if he's going to keep playing football, but I don't feel like he's going to mystically become a good guy. He has a long way to go and I hope a lot of other sports figures learn from his dumb mistake so we see fewer people making these kinds of mistakes.

By the Power of Greyskull

So I went to my roommates' basketball game this evening and it was a blowout. I came back to go on a run. As I started to get ready, I went out in the front room to chat with my roommates Matty Cakes and Squints. I started putting on my socks and lacing up my sneakers as Nancy Drew opened the front door. He was standing there with his girlfriend and I said "Hi" to them both. Of course she sat there with an absolutely terrified look on her face because I hadn't put on my shirt quite yet.

She acted like she was about ready to run away and really did not want to come into the apartment. I just kept going, I wasn't going to let it phase me. It wasn't the end of the world. Besides I make a pretty good living on the weekend like this guy.

Nancy Drew made the comment it was just like I was going swimming so it wasn't that big of a deal, but she wasn't biting. She came inside with incredible hesitancy and continued to ignore me even after I put a shirt on.

I'm kind of surprised about it, she went hot tubbing the other night with Nancy Drew and so she clearly saw him with his shirt off. Nancy Drew kind of looks like this without a shirt on:

And I, without a shirt on, look a lot like this:

Domino's Finally Decides to Make Pizza

I really wish I had a lot to say about this, but I'll let Mr. Colbert speak for me instead:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Alpha Dog of the Week - Domino's Pizza
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Economy

I remember seeing the ad for the new pizza and being like "Huh, maybe I should check that out." It didn't even cross my mind that they basically were suggesting that they've been giving people the most worthless garbage possible for who knows how long. Good for the Domino's CEO to admit, "The weakness in our value chain with the customer was really in our core product." Interesting that he made that quote on the same day he bailed to be the new AD for Michigan.

This whole thing is crazy enough to make you say Ay Caramba!