Microcosm-Macrocosm; School-World

The day after Christmas and all through the house, Breanna and Alyssa were stirring, so was a beagle-pitbull-catahoula pup named Jack. I don't know Jack's official birthday, but I know that I got him around the first or second week of February when he was already six weeks old. So I am declaring today, Jack is one year old (or seven in dog years)! Last night I enjoyed a wonderful dinner with the Iannone family, the wonderful people I've been staying with. We had a beautiful array of salad, meatballs, eggplant parm, lasagna, orange cold drinks, and pumpkin pie for dessert. After dinner, Jon, Mr. Cici, and I engaged in a fairly intense intellectual discussion spanning religion and politics. Breanna and Alyssa were desperately wrestling for our attention. They already had the pretty princess board game set up. Jon kept saying how this was the first adult conversation he had had in the house for months and they needed to be patient. We were a regular multicultural melting pot, the three of us. Jon is a Christian from Connecticut, Mr. Cici is a Muslim from Mali, Africa, and I am the Jew from Dirty Jersey. Too often, when the big discussions of faith and politics arise, people want to run for the hills. So I always appreciate when people of different cultures and faiths can get down to it. Throughout the discussion, Jon would preempt his comments with "I don't want to offend you, but..." then he would throw out an honest question. He's very endearing in that way. He demerits his own intelligence, and doesn't allow himself enough credit for his own thinking. The most fascinating part of the conversation revolved around the Iraq war. Mr.Cici and I banded around our belief that the war was not necessary. We realized that our main point of contention with Jon was the claim of the existence of WMD in the desert. We all understood that we did not know for sure one way or the other, but my inclination was that there were not WMDs, and he believed that they were possibly buried somewhere before we could find them. We skittered around the United States involvement in forgein affairs. I explained how I thought that we should stop meddling and acting as the world police. I think that should be the responsibility of the United Nations. Then Jon alluded to a brilliant analogy between world politics and a regular school. I jumped on his analogy and used it to iron out my own view of how world politics should be run. Let me try to articulate:

Imagine a public school as a microchosm of the world. The United Nations would serve as the Principal. Their responsibility would be to make sure that the world run smoothly facilitating in "classrooms" where problems were arising that effected the entire "school." They would intervene and provide support, and if necessary provide a blue print for successful management. Each country could be seen as a teacher and their citizens be students. The teachers would manage their students and if a few bad students were found to be negatively effecting the entire school and it was beyond the teacher's control, the principal would aid in reprimanding and handling the student. Now, in terms of the Iraqi war, imagine that I am a the teacher representing Iraq, and I choose to run my classroom in a way that other teachers frown upon. I use corporal punishment on my students excessively. I am having difficulty managing my students, so another teacherfrom the other side of the school, we'll call him "Mr. Sam" decides that it is his responsibility to enter my classroom without my permission and tell me how to run my class. Not only am I offended by his presumptuous actions, but I feel that the Principal should be the one to help me, whether or not I ask for her help, not another teacher...especially one that I hate. Now, I realize the analogy has holes in it. But I feel that it still works fundamentally. One of the breakdowns is that the "principal" or United Nations needs to gain more power over the school with the support of all the teachers. Countries need to restrain their own infringement and rely of the judgement of the principal. Now the United States has too much pride to accept the judgements of the United Nations. We have to accept that there will be times when we disagree with their judgements. But that's part of democracy. I disagree with the President Bush, but I understand that the majority of my country voted for him and so I must accept the public's and the president's decisions. I won't necessarily silence my opinions, but that is how democracy works. Until our country accepts the decisions of the United Nations we will not be truly serving democracy. Looking back on my argument I am aware that it is full of errors based on my lack of knowledge in the realm of political science. I'd appreciate any help in understanding the faults of the argument. And I have plenty more to say that was discussed, but for now I will say that the conversation I had last night was quite enjoyable and I will now return to my preparations for the second half of the school year.

With the free time I have...I will probably revisit the blog again today.

Comments

[Anne]

that is a very helpful analogy. of course, the US neocons will say that the US IS the principal -- that's the basis of its argument. it's the lone superpower, it's responsible. and in reality, the UN is underfunded and has very little power, relatively speaking. there's some movement afoot for something more like the EU for the world. but that would freak the premillenial Left Behind christians out like nobody's business.

but it's a useful, functional metaphor.

sorry to be brief here -- days of much family, etc. i got super ill last night, i think from some crabs that my aunt and uncle served. crazy misery ill. i think i'm becoming allergic, because this has been happening each year they serve them, only worse each time. didn't have time to respond to your comment, or even a clear mind to think about it. went around my friend's house i'm housesitting for, looking for all the relevant drugs i could find and combining them. the tylenol pm was the crown prince!

[Anne]

a ps tonight -- i went to al-anon tonight, which is my primary interaction with the 12-step world. (it's for family and friends of alcoholics. i come from a hardcore alcoholic family, and though i resented for a long time the implication that i might have to give my family's issues any more time in the future, i have to say it's a beautiful, wonderful place. i love it.)

anyway. i was supposed to be leading this meeting and it was supposed to be a 'tradition and concept' meeting, which means discussing, mostly, that 'anonymity is the spiritual foundation of our program, ever reminding us to put principles above personalities.' but i'd already been a tradition meeting this month, and i figured maybe people would want to discuss christmas, since it was yesterday. turns out it was only 3 people there, and i looked up a story to read that dealt with the themes i had in mind. the story ended up being called 'never too late to change.' i mention this because i ended up talking about your blog post in the meeting, the part about your mom and change, and relating it to this story. and saying i am getting the feeling that my higher power is telling me that change is imminent (and *immanent*) if i will seize and wish it. and then i come home tonight and see, after laura and nick watch a globalization video with me and go home, this hbo special about intersexed people, which i find fascinating generally, but which also relates to dramatic, seize the day type of change. and then i flip back to vanilla sky on bravo, and it's some part where penelope cruz is telling tom cruise how every moment that passes is a moment where he can remake his world and life and priorities. etc. my head, and life, and mind, are full tonight of messges of change and seizing the moment. it's a beautiful thing.

and tomorrow i'm tagging along with a friend who does the kind of work i am exploring doing in the future. it could be an amazing few days.

[LOU kRiSanTenE]

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