Catholics v. Christians: Is it really a competition?

Earlier today, I read a post made by an old friend of mine, an American and not a member of the Catholic Church, though he is still a Christian.

He shared a video about the Pope: start viewing at 2:15

My friend’s wife then commented about how this isn’t a new thought for Catholics. That ALL CATHOLICS believe that they can only get to heaven through the Pope, that she cannot stand the Catholic Church, and that Catholics listen only to the Church, not to Jesus.

Below is my response, and correct me if I am wrong as I do enjoy learning the views of others, whether or not I agree or they think I will agree/disagree.

Keep in mind that nothing about my post is meant to say that they are bad people, I just want to share our words in order to potentially continue the conversation:

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How I reacted:

Before reading my response to this post, and _______’s comment, anyone who reads this should keep in mind that I was raised American Catholic, and had issues with the Catholic church myself, over the years, though I have chosen to stay Catholic after seeing how the church works outside of the U.S. You should also know that I am fluent in Italian.

I would like to begin by discrediting your video. First of all, whoever translated the Pope’s Italian did not do a very good job and, in fact, made some fairly significant errors that changed the entire meaning of what the Pope was trying to communicate. For example:

1. The Pope said “C’è chi ritiene di poter aver un rapporto personale diretto, immediato con Gesù Cristo al di fuori della comunione e della meditazione”. The translator wrote “There are those who believe you can have a personal, direct and immediate relationship with Jesus Christ outside of the communion and mediation of the church”.

“Meditazione” is a direct English cognate and means “meditation” NOT “mediation”. In this sentence, the Pope is NOT describing people having relationships with Christ outside of the “control” of the Church. Nor does communion simply refer to the act of taking Communion during church. Communion is the sense of community one finds through being surrounded by believers. Meditation refers to the study of God’s word and what one does to further develop a relationship with Christ.

2. When the Pope said “Non esiste il fai da te”, what was translated as “There is no ‘do-it-yourself’”, he is using “fai da te” in a way that means “do it your way” in a “do it on your own” kind of way, which does not necessarily mean “do-it-yourself”. This is his way of referring to the fact that you, as a Christian, should follow God’s word, God’s way, not your own and not “only the parts that make you feel good”. The church is meant to study His word and share its analysis with its people, so that it can be studied and the study, further developed. As a Christian, you should listen to other believers, whether they be priests, pastors, or other Christians (because the Church is wherever Christ is and he is anywhere where two or more are gathered together in His name). Listening to each other helps you further develop your understanding of God’s word and will. Christians do it all the time, whether they call themselves Catholic or not.

3. The translator made a mistake when he said that “some brothers or sisters (in the church)…” The pope did not say “in the church” nor did he mean “in the church”. When he referred to our “brothers and sisters”, he meant everyone…as he later described as “humans, all of us, as witnesses”

4. Adding on to number 3: the translator said “and in our brothers and sisters, with their gifts and limits, who come to us and make themselves known”. What the Pope really said was that we are able to see God’s message of salvation “in our brothers and sisters, with their gifts and limits that confront you and make you recognize yourself”. This is a subtle difference, but is it not true that sometimes you are the only Bible a person will ever read? (Here, I am definitely quoting Mr. Russell, I know haha) When we follow Christ’s teachings, we act a certain way, we use our gifts and confront our limitations in a way that is noticeable to those around us. Those around us are then forced to notice themselves, to think about who and how they are (as this is something natural that humans do as they observe the lives of those around them). We are then the brother or sister that makes them recognize themselves, recognize that they are sinners and need Christ.

If one chooses the “do-it-yourself” religion, that allows them to dislike a church or change the meaning of a scripture anytime they disagree with it, without that change being contested since “what you think is all that really matters”. That is wrong, as the Pope said, very directly. The church is not simply “the Catholic church”. The church is a communion of people who follow the same faith and seek the same truth.

Saying that you “believe in God, in Jesus, but are not interested in the church”, is wrong. It is not enough. Satan believes in God, and in Jesus, does that make him Christian? Sure, you are saved when you ask Christ to be your savior, but you cannot just do that and then go on with your life as you wish. You must seek to build or join a community of believers, and to then grow that community – to be witnesses to the world. How many times did the apostles get in trouble for trying to do things their way? Christianity can’t be done, fully and to its greatest extent, on your own. Saying you have a personal, direct, and immediate relationship with Christ that is outside of a faith community, is dangerous. It can lead to misinterpretation. It can lead to false prophets.

I have a personal relationship with Christ. Though I am Catholic, I confess my sins directly through prayer, not to a priest. However, I keep in mind that I am not omniscient. I am human. All humans have their faults, but perhaps, by comparing notes with other humans who have the same faith, the same Father, the same Savior, I can come to better understand the path that I am meant to be on. Better understand how to communicate my faith to others. And Better understand what it means to be a part of the faith and the religion I call mine.

That is what the Pope’s message said to me. I may not agree with everything a figurehead of the Catholic church might say, but I most certainly don’t agree with everything a figurehead of a Protestant church might say. I did not take each word literally, I read the meaning between the lines and I would like to share that with you because I do believe they were wise words that can be followed by all branches of the Christian church.

I am sorry about the translation errors, I feel they are going to lead to a lot of confusion and misinterpretation of the Catholic church. I hope I was able to provide some clarity on a few of the mistakes and I am most certainly open to your comments/continued discussion.

As for Catholics and their faith:

A common misconception is that Catholics require a “father” or “Pope” to interpret scripture for us. Reality is that Catholics often question and study scripture in the same way that the American “Christian” does (“Christian” is in quotes because “Christians” think they are the only Christians while Catholics consider themselves to be Christian). American Catholics are known as the lazier Catholics who you described, but not all Catholics are that way in the U.S. and they are most certainly not that way overseas. I will admit I was shocked when I first experienced this difference in La iglesia de los capuchinos in Argentina. Or when my boyfriend told me about the Catholic youth group he was a part of in the UK. And even when, years later, I found a Catholic church in Italy that has a large community of university students who meet for dinner after Sunday night mass to build both a community of friendship and ask “so what do you think of what the Priest said?” “What did his words say to you?”.

The Pope, and priests in general, dedicate their lives to studying scripture. They then interpret what speaks most to them, and present it to those who will listen. Those who listen are then tasked with asking themselves what that particular scripture means to them. A good priest loves when you approach him to talk about what his homily said to you, what you understood from the scripture. It helps you both grow. Isn’t that what a Pastor does as well? Isn’t that what we, as Christians, Catholics or not, are supposed to do as we go along on our Christian journey?

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A comment then followed where I was told that my translations were just personal opinions and that most Catholics are not as I describe, though I was quickly reassured that I was okay in this person’s book because I was the exception to the usual Catholic way. I was told that most Catholics believe that what the Pope says is absolute truth and that if God chooses to reveal something to them that goes against something a Pope says, a good Catholic must ignore God to follow the Pope.

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My response to the comment:

Hmmm…I only picked out a few of the errors, mind you (meditazione being the biggest one – i did not like that they made it “mediation”, that is a big difference, and not simply a personal interpretation). Numbers 3 and 4 were also big misstranslations, not just personal interpretations.

I can see you thinking that “fai da te” is a personal interpretation, but when you study languages, you find that you cannot always interpret the full meaning of a phrase from one language to another. In fact, there are some words that just don’t translate at all or that require entire sentences or paragraphs to translate. My “personal interpretation” of that phrase, was just trying to tell you what it means in Italian.

Your response made one huge mistake: The Pope did NOT say that we cannot have personal relationships with Christ outside of the church. What he did say, is that our relationship is deeper with the church. Then he defined the church as being our fellow believers, he did not specify the Catholic church, the translator added that in, the Pope said people, humans.

We need our church, our community to grow in Christ. To grow to understand the world around us. To understand God’s creation and the beauty of the free will he gave us. Refusing that community (whether it be as small as your family, or as large as the Catholic church) means that you think you are the only one who can properly interpret God’s word, you are all-knowing and what you say is law, is law; which is a mistake because God does not speak to everyone the same way and you cannot declare that you know the truth and no one else does, that everyone else interprets it incorrectly.

Now, I am not saying that you do this, or that non-Catholics do this (and I do not think that the Pope was either). However, I will say that I do not like the turn that your response took. It seemed to come from a “Holier than thou” perspective as you seemed to know what was on the hearts of “most Catholics”. When I went through a bit of a rough patch and stopped going to church years ago (I did not like any church, Catholic nor Protestant, I wanted to “do it myself”), it was because of comments like that. I ran into so many church goers who seemed to believe they were better than anyone who didn’t think exactly the same way they did.

Catholics are not afraid of listening to Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, or God – we listen to all three as part of a trinity. I have heard some Catholics express the concern that Protestants spend so much time listening to Jesus that they actually forget to listen to the rest of the Trinity.

The Pope is not an idol or any sort of supreme being. The Pope is simply the Pastor that everyone listens to. Listening to the Pope is like listening to a pastor of a very large congregation on Sunday morning. A Catholic listens and knows that everyone else heard the same words, they then go and ask other Catholics or Christians, even Muslims and others, what they think of what the Pope said. They go home and pray on it; open their Bibles to any scripture that was quoted and see what it said.

Anyway, I tell you that your comment upset me because I know that you and _____ are looking at going into Ministry and I think it is important that you get this kind of feedback before you go out and start talking to people who view things differently than you do. It doesn’t matter how many times you say “not all ____ do this, but” or “not all____ are like this, but”, you will offend people into ignoring you if they are either 1. not interested to begin with, 2. even a little skeptical, 3. they have heard it before, or 4. they don’t agree with even the smallest part of what you are saying.

When I refer to Catholics, I am referring to them through my understanding of what the Church actually teaches, based on conversations with Catholics from around the world, Catechism courses, and the attendance of Mass in churches around the globe. (believe it or not, the university church in Perugia actually hosts Christian rock concerts every now and then and the priests and nun dance to the music. The concert then ends with everyone being asked to find a prayer partner and pray for each other, not with Our Fathers and Hail Marys, actual prayers being said by a crowd of young people, praying from the bottom of their hearts).

Judging Catholics based on a few you know, except for the few exceptions you know (meaning likely not very many actually fit into the category you are judging) is not a very Christian thing to do, and you should watch out for it. Catholic truths are not every word that comes out of the Pope’s mouth. In general, they follow the Catholic Catechism, which does not often get modified and is usually only modified to clarify things in modern dialect, and even then, only when the modern dialect is more like a completely different language. Then, of course, each Catholic has his own faith. (one last example, the Pope is usually against any form of birth control. Some Catholics are for it, others are against it. In fact, most American Catholics I have met are for birth control, despite whatever they hear from the Pope; I have even heard them state that they disagree with the Pope using specific things he said).

Catholics acknowledge that the Pope is just a man, he just tends to spend more time reviewing scriptures. There can be good popes and bad popes, the last one actually resigned because he was not up to the task.

Assuming that Catholics treat the Pope’s word as undisputed law would be the same as me assuming that you and everyone who goes to your church treat your pastor’s word as undisputed law. There may be a few who treat religion that way, but it is wrong to think that all do, or that even a majority do.

 

 

An Untitled Short Story

This short story is a creative writing experiment based on research relative to Turkey. The project began after reading a series of interesting articles in an Italian newspaper, and is designed to give an alternative perspective of a country currently scarred by bombs and political unrest. 

Chapter One

The bells chimed a rhythmic melody that the wind carried over terracotta rooftops to announce the hour to busy citizens below. It was a quarter to four and people could be seen dashing across the cobblestones below to find their way back to work after their afternoon “pausa”. Pigeons darted away from the noisy bell towers and turned toward outdoor tables that still held the remains of people’s midday meals. The hum of bustling feet and flapping wings created a special kind of silence that permeated through the soundtrack of my afternoon.

The paper beside my steaming cup of tea was dated ‘Mercoledì 24 febbraio 2016’. Despite the early date, a brisk breeze gently glided through my open window, brushing aside my curtains with a sense of spring.

I set aside the added ‘fashion’ or ‘moda’ section of the paper, surprised at not seeing ‘SPORT’ written in big red letters across the top. I then opened the main paper to page 2 – I never read the front page, repetition annoys me so i would rather skip to the full content. I skim the headlines and turn the pages in search of international news. The delicate pages ruffle between my fingertips as i gently fold them into place. It does not take long for me to find satisfying headlines on page 5: ‘Renzi: l’ok per i droni americano verrà <<caso per caso>>’, ‘Renzi: The ‘OK’ for American Drone Strikes will come “Case by Case”’.

My eyes quickly skim across the black shapes resting in four symmetrical columns across the page. The words of Fabrizio Caccia imprinting on my mind one letter at a time, each one dripping with conflict and disaster. The article is spotted with prominent names and titles like that of Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi; American Commander and Chief, Barack Obama; and the increasingly infamous ISIS. the image below presents a map of the coast of Libya, dotted with small white outlines of American F15s and French fighters that recently targeted locations such as Sabratha and Sirte, known for being home to an ISIS training camp and an armory, respectively. Satisfied with reading that the newest Italian drones are not being used to kill civilians, I turn the page…

and again…

before I find the large gray letters: T-U-R-C-H-I-A – Turkey.

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My name is Derin. My country? Türkiye. My city? Ankara.

They say every city sounds the same. That the familiar buzz of round rubber and the echo of voices found near clinking glasses is the soundtrack of global society. They say that once you have seen one, you have seen them all. They say that tarmac streets grow old and grey, wrinkled with the cracks of time and use, no matter which language they use to tell their stories. I don’t believe what they say; Turkey is unique, Ankara is unparalleled.

Not every Türk will speak so highly of Ankara, a political capital, the heart of independence; but it is my home. I grew up racing through Genclik Park. I learned history from the Hittites to the Romans, from the Byzantine’s to the Ottomans by simply walking from one side of the city to the other. I am accustomed to the view of the casual site of the Ankara Citadel as it sits in contrast to the modern towering landmarks of commerce and government.  I am in love with the site of traditional Anatolian houses in a neighborhood full of restaurants and cafes that grace the streets with the perfume of Turkish coffee and tea.

I study English at Ankara Üniversitesi. My dream is to become a writer, a poet, someone who’s thoughts can be heard, can be remembered. As a child I dreamed of being a journalist for Hürriyet – not the biggest news agency, by any means, but perfect for someone with my particular interest in mind. Working for Hürriyet would have given me the perfect chance to make money for my writing while simultaneously making my way into Turkish literary history. However, as I grew older, I realized that a country whose constant battle between western secularism and islamism would never go beyond conflict in my lifetime. Now, I am learning English. I may not be able to put my soul to paper in my country, but perhaps I can fly far, far from here to write for an Englishman or an American who is willing to read my mind.

Sometimes I feel like all I have is my silence. The silence of a woman.

Bejan Matur, a Turkish poet, once referenced the strength of a woman’s silent disapproval in How Abraham Abandoned Me, a powerful piece which inspires me to say: 

But if I could make life silent,
Make it only a series of looks
Create a world hellbent
On changing the books
I would escape the chaos
Escape the bombs, bullets, bigotry
The military, misogynist mystery
The destruction, dissolution, dissent
The ever evolving egomaniac extent
For which I would become famous.
A lowly women in silence
From the world exempt.

But enough about my dreams of silent acceptance, of Kurds and Turks living in peace with both a European and a Syrian border. Enough about my simple thoughts of change and secular religion. Yeterli! 

Enough pain!
Enough Sorrow!
Enough pity!
Yeterli!
Until tomorrow…

As you may be able to tell, Türkiye is held within the center of my heart. We may not have the breathtaking, luxurious churches of Rome, but we do have the Kocatepe Camii. Every chance I get, I take the hour walk from my university to stand before the beautiful entrance off of Olgunlar Cadde. It is hard to take my eyes off of the Mosque’s elegant architectural brilliance but, as I pass beside the seven stone pots whose pink and yellow ornaments always seem to find a breeze through which to dance, I cannot help but look down to catch their joy and rhythm as I prepare to climb the last small set of stairs and ascend into the avlu. From the marble courtyard, I am able to take in the beauty of the four minarets; though they were constructed less than fifty years ago, they still remain an architectural marvel.

Every time I enter and remove my shoes, I am reminded of the controversy between Islam and secularism that has sparked great descent within Turkish society since the days of Ataturk. I usually arrive just in time for the sunset, Akşam, call to prayer; as it rings through the city in Turkish, I imagine the days when it used to sound out in a flowing Arabic melody. There are women in my family who remember the closing of medrese, Muslim schools, and the banning of the veils. However, I feel relief as I feel the carpet beneath my feet, offering comfort and seemingly whispering “it is not over, but I am here to show that, one day, it will be…”

 

Why it Doesn’t Matter Who You Vote For: They are All Socialist

Important Note: Keep in mind that the definition of socialism simply defines an extended definition of its economic and sociopolitical principles. There are a number of different interpretations and levels of institutionalization of socialism stemming from more conservative to more liberal ideologies.

Also, note that Capitalism is a system of economics based on supply and demand in a preferably free-market economy; though a true free-market economy has yet to exist – a free-market economy, simply put, is one that is not restricted or regulated.

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This election cycle, people are throwing around words like Fascism, Communism, and Socialism – words that define the end of the world to many Americans. For now, I will leave Fascism and Communism alone, to avoid writing a full thesis paper; and, instead, I will simply focus on Socialism and explain why it does not matter who you vote for in November, every candidate is socialist, whether or not they are willing to admit it.

First of all, let us define socialism, according to the Merriam-Webster definition, online:

“Any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.” Also, “a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state”. I would like to add that this is also relevant to the administration and provision of services. 

Democratic Socialism is the current branch of socialism that is under fire by the public. Democratic Socialism is a mixture of democratic and socialist ideals that allow for socialist control of the economy and various elements of society through the democratic process and the institution of laws and regulations deemed appropriate, by the people, through their elected officials. In this article, Democratic Socialism will often be referred to as “American Socialism”.

Your typical 8-hour workday, the fact that minimum wage exists, laws that regulate safety in the workplace – these are all federal regulations that can be considered the beginning of what I like to call “American Socialism”.

Now, to break into the heart of the issue. How many of you remember learning about FDR’s New Deal in history class?

The New Deal was inspired after the American stock market crashed, causing the great depression. Sound familiar?

When FDR took office, unemployment rates were high and the economy was in a terrible state. To help solve the issue, FDR decided that it was no longer the Federal Government’s job to stand idly by, but rather, to step in and support American citizens and businesses. Just a few elements of the New Deal were: union protection programs, Social Security, programs targeting farmers and migrant workers, as well as infrastructure reconstruction. All of these are examples of what is now known as Democratic Socialism or government intervention in order to stir the economy, regulating, even in a minor sense, the distribution of wealth to encourage economic growth.

Though FDR was not the first to intervene, as many of the first interventions occurred during the 19th century Industrial Revolution, he set the stage for government intervention and a precedent for future initiatives of the U.S. Federal Government.

A few more American Socialist initiatives include: public transportation, highways and roads paid by the taxpayer. Public libraries, emergency services, the postal service, garbage collection and disposal, public schools, prisons, business subsidies, food stamps, medicaid, and the list goes on and on!

Now, let’s analyze the two “front-runners” who are currently in the race for U.S. Commander and Chief.

1. Donald Trump. Trump is currently the leading Republican candidate, the supposed antithesis to the Democrat’s Bernie Sanders. Let’s start with a look at his views on Gun Control.
   
   Trump is considered a huge proponent for 2nd Amendment Rights. This is all well and good, but how does he plan to enforce this right? He plans to institute and expand government programs in line with Project Exile to “get gang members off the street”. In addition, Trump would like to expand mental health programs to deal with violent mass murders. Say what you will, either for or against the 2nd Amendment, but Trump’s wish to expand government in order to enforce a public right, is, in fact, a socialist solution.
   
   When it comes to Healthcare – Trump runs on the principle of repealing Obamacare and creating his own reforms. However, Trump still wants to broaden healthcare access and make it more affordable. His own positions page on www.donaldjtrump.com states that “Any reform effort must begin with Congress”, not with the people or with a Capitalistic free-market. During the GOP ABC News Debate, he declared that he did not want to see people living on the streets, that insurance companies are getting rich off of current boundaries. To fix this issue, he wants to change regulations on  insurance companies so that they can sell insurance across state lines, as long as the policies sold follow specific requirements. An example of deregulation immediately followed by re-regulation, or American Socialism through the control of an otherwise free market.
   
   When it comes to Trade Policy, Trump wishes to practice protectionism – using federal regulation on tariffs and other trade laws to tilt the market in favour of American companies. When it comes to the economy and taxes, Trump will increase individual family income not by raising the minimum wage but by manipulating the tax code to charge lower taxes overall and eliminate deductions available to the very rich.
   
   I would consider everything listed above to be socialist policies because they demand that the Federal Government, in contrast to the Capitalist supply and demand system, regulate the distribution of income, goods and services.  
2. Hillary Clinton. The explanation of Clinton’s relationship to socialism got a whole lot easier after Hillary started copying Sander’s statements in her political debates and speeches. Though she does not call herself a socialist, she copies the stances of a proclaimed Democratic Socialist (though her debate statements do not entirely match her formally stated stances on hillaryclinton.com/issues). However, to be fair, let’s highlight just a few of her socialist tendencies.
   
   Clinton has a large number of issues listed on her website. Just a few include:
   1. her dedication to eliminate campus sexual assault by instituting government funded education initiatives in both secondary schools and universities; as well as support programs for survivors.
   2. her push for green energy that will involve additional regulation on pollution and efficiency standards, infrastructure investments, and her Clean Energy Challenge.
   3. her promise to intervene in making college tuition affordable and student loans less costly.

In conclusion, all current American citizens depend on socialism, on one level or another (remember, even garbage day can be construed as a socialist event since garbage disposal is regulated by the government). All American politicians are familiar with the practice of “American Socialism”; though they will not admit it because of the current negative connotation associated with the name.

Even the more conservative Ted Cruz, who claims he wishes to downsize American government, is dependent on maintaining certain elements of government control, when it is convenient for him. By that I mean, he is willing to create and impose government regulation in defense of his personal religious beliefs or faith-based organizations. In the end, though other politicians won’t admit it, they are all subject to socialist tendencies; but words and titles mean everything these days.

So don’t be afraid of Sanders simply because he says he is a socialist. Being “socialist” does not make one “evil”. Socialism is simply a philosophical approach to economic and political sciences that can be applied across a wide range of practice.  

Before voting, review every candidate’s stance on every issue. Review their voting record and experience. Forget whether or not they are socialist, Republican, Democrat, or associated with any other ideology or political party.

Get rid of the out-dated Cold War mentality. The U.S. is not a socialism-free country. Stop pretending that it is and start paying attention to where the country is going – not based on a single issue, not based on past foreign ideological threats. Trust fundamental American values to interpret an appropriate level of socialism and focus on all of the issues combined.

Trust that “We the people of the United States” will ultimately do what is right for our country “in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity…” Now I will let you ultimately decide just how socialist you think our Constitution’s Preamble is, and how socialist our Federal government is…but, in the meantime:

Stop living and voting as a slave to a party, single opinion, or ideology. Start voting as an American and in the best interest of a strong American future.

America’s Refugee Crisis is not a Crisis

Everything stated below is my opinion based upon what I have read regarding recent events in Syria, Europe and the United States.

I would like to start by saying, America does not have a refugee crisis. Each year, the President is in charge of setting a number for how many refugees are allowed in the United States, according to relative events occurring at the time, internationally, and current U.S. capacities. For the current fiscal year, we are willing to except a maximum of 85,000 refugees. We are considering raising the number to 100,000 for the next fiscal year, but, even so, we are estimated to have a population of 318,857,056 (according to the U.S. Census Bureau); our overwhelming influx of refugees isn’t even close to 1% of our population.

Now, to discuss the refugee process:

In Europe, people often arrive by boat or by foot in such large numbers that local NGOs and even Government run organizations have a hard time keeping up. These people arrive with absolutely nothing, after having experienced absolute terror at its worst, and the number one priority upon their arrival is ensuring their health. The Greek government is well behind on its processing of refugees, as are many other countries within the EU; that is why they have a crisis. They don’t get to pick and choose as the U.S. does (we fly our hand-picked, heavily interviewed refugees into the states and then refugees are told to find a job and begin repaying their travel expenses within 6 months of their arrival).

American media has picked up on the European crisis (which is truly concerned about ISIS cooperatives entering through Refugee routes yet it is far more concerned with the fact that those who commit acts of terror in Europe are actually European, not refugees, not Syrians, not Iraqis). American media is pretending that the U.S. is in the same situation as Europe when, in reality, we are much more secure. Another issue in Europe is that EU countries do not have common foreign policy but they do have a law demanding Freedom of Movement. The idea behind Freedom of Movement allows that someone may be processed in Greece or Italy, where governments are known to not be thorough and to not have the funds to improve any element of their process. That same person who was not properly screened, can then freely move to Germany or a number of other countries (where they would have never been allowed had they started the process there). This is the true European concern which has led to Germany suspending the Shengen Agreement that allows for Freedom of Movement.

Now, as for the U.S., in order for a refugee to begin the U.S. vetting process, according to the USCIS.gov article on refugee admissions, refugees must receive a referral from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, a US Embassy, or a trusted NGO. Refugees may also start the process if they are referred by a special humanitarian group already identified by the U.S. refugee program or if a family member, already legal in the U.S., files to begin the reunification process (however, this is only relevant to certain nationalities).

In the end, the process can take years to complete so it is likely that current incoming refugees from Syria have been waiting for placement since ISIS first began to officially stir up trouble (torture, murder, rape, burn, kill, bomb, etc.)  in 2013. Keep in mind, these people are currently fleeing ISIS, but ISIS is only the newest name and set of faces associated with terror organizations that have been ravaging the region for well over a decade.

Let’s also take a moment to reflect on the accusation that neighboring countries (to Syria) are not doing anything.

First of all, not all countries speak the same language in that region. Farsi-Dari and Arabic have a similar alphabet, and many words that seem to come from each other, but they are still different languages. Someone speaking Arabic in Morocco is not likely to understand a Syrian who speaks Arabic—the dialects are completely different. (Yes, Morocco is not a neighbor to Syria, but the idea of varying dialect is still the same if I use the UAE as an example instead).

Second, these countries are not all friends just because they are primarily Muslim; I mean, did you read the Middle Eastern reaction to the proposed deal with Iran this summer? Don’t forget that ISIS kills Muslims and Christians alike because neither group believes what ISIS claims to believe.

Third, these countries are taking in Syrian refugees. Lebanon currently houses more than a million Syrian refugees, Turkey hosts nearly 2 million, Jordan is home to approximately 630,000,  Iraq is home to 250,000, and even Egypt hosts more than the U.S. is willing to accept since, as of July, it was home to 132,000 Syrian refugees. Note, these numbers are only relevant to Syrian refugees. This year, refugees have also fled Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, and Yemen (according to the UNHCR). Syrians may go to their neighbors for help but Syria is in its 4th year of civil war and there are only so many refugees an already struggling country, or region, can take.

And Fourth: neighboring countries are actually allies to the U.S. in their coalition against ISIS. Countries officially involved in anti-ISIS airstrikes include Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to the U.S. D.O.D.

Another argument seems to be that neighboring countries are rich:

No they are not. Lebanon has over 20% of its population below the poverty line, Turkey has been struggling for stability and has been fending off its own civil war for years now and has at least 28% of its population below the poverty line. Jordan has 16% of its citizens below the poverty line. Iraq is known for at least 25% of its population below the poverty line and we all know that this country has been ravaged by war,  we bombarded them for years!  These are all 2010 statistics from the CIA World Factbook and, due to war and instability in the region, I am sure things have only gotten worse. I also assume that the “rich neighbors” being discussed include Saudi Arabia and Iran? Looking at a map shows that these countries are actually far away from a pedestrian refugee and involve crossing through desert and wild lands. Going north is the safest bet for a refugee with the will to live.

Or are we suggesting that Israel take care of some of these refugees? Israel shares part of its border with Syria but has declared its refusal to accept a single refugee because it is “too close to get involved” and “any acceptance of non-Jews is a threat to the country’s security”.

Lastly, many Americans are screaming: “We owe our illegals nothing, we owe our veterans everything”.

What exactly are we giving to illegals that we are not giving to our veterans? If this is in reference to refugees, keep in mind that they are, in fact, legal immigrants who must immediately apply for a green card and seek employment. I have watched veterans take in more than $1000 per month in benefits only to blow it on alcohol and cigarettes. There are a number of places already established in the U.S. that our veterans may go to to seek assistance. The problem is not that we do not try to help them, the problem is that they do not try to help themselves (many of those who are homeless). If we need anything else to help our veterans, we need better PTSD assistance programs, but beyond that, I feel the grand majority of our veterans return home and are looking to become as civilian as possible, not to accept handouts from the government that allow them not to work for the rest of their lives. Veterans and their dependents can obtain free higher education, they get paid a number of different grants and are offered additional scholarship opportunities to help them get on their feet and stay standing tall. Also, veterans are paid while they are in the service having their basic needs provided for them, and they are allowed to have all loan payments, etc. put on hold while they are deployed. However, listing veteran benefits would be a whole other article, so I am going to move on.

Refugees, on the other hand, spend every last penny they have in order to escape their country with as much of their family as possible. The things they have seen also give them PTSD. There are health programs for refugees, but they are not nearly as strong as those provided to veterans. Once refugees enter the United states, according to U.S. Refugee Health guidelines, they have 8 months to receive added assistance for medical care paid for by the U.S. government. However, after 8 months they are expected to have found employment and are eligible for the same health care and insurance options as any American; in other words, they pay just like the rest of us and even if they are put on government aid, they want to get their life back and I highly doubt that any of them want to remain supported by the government, for pride reasons as well as for the intrinsic desire to succeed and leave their terrifying past behind them.

In closing:

I have talked to a number of refugees from the Middle East, here in Italy. These people have engineering degrees, architecture degrees, medical degrees, etc. They speak multiple languages (their problem in Europe is that the only European language they speak is often English but it is difficult to get into the UK so they have to learn Italian or Greek or German with no prior knowledge of the language or culture). They are extremely intelligent and capable, if we give them the chance. They are dedicated and thankful for the help they receive.

America has always been a home for those with hope. For those seeking a childhood for their children and freedom from oppression.

What makes these people different from our own ancestors who gave us the privileges we now have? The only significant difference is timing and the fact that so many Americans are now paranoid and self-entitled to their privileges and wealth which they so selfishly enjoy.

 

 

Dear America,

I would like to talk to you about guns. For those of you who are now worrying “she wants to take my guns away”! I would like you to understand that I can shoot, and I enjoy shooting. For me, target practice is an occasional hobby that I might someday use to hunt (animals, not humans). I believe that a respectable, cautious citizen should be allowed to practice the same hobby and should be allowed to use their skill to bring food home to their family. However, I have noticed a problem in America. A problem that makes me feel unsafe. A problem that needs to be resolved without delay and is only getting worse.

First and foremost, I would like you to understand that you are not in a war zone. Most living Americans have never known what it truly means to carry a weapon for protection. They have not watched their sister be raped or received a package with their brother’s head inside. They have never had to shoot or be shot and they don’t know what it is like. If they ask an American service member who has, they will receive a solemn response and likely be told, simply “you don’t want to know”. As Americans, those fears are not real to us. Many are numb to violence because they don’t understand what it means beyond video games and Hollywood; which is a problem because you can always restart the game or the film if you die, but, in reality, there is no restart button.

Some Background:

The American government was given the charge of protecting the American people. This means, that when American citizens are threatened, the US Military is deployed to eliminate that threat. In recent years, the “biggest threat” to American safety has been Terrorism. According to the FBI’s Definitions of Terrorism in the U.S. Code, Terrorism is partially defined as when actions “Appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population”. This threat has lead to the deaths (in action) of 1,369 US military personnel, as of December of 2014, according to The Congressional Research Service.

In comparison to this information, the FBI released a report declaring that 1,043 were victims during 160 domestic mass shootings between 2000 and 2013, 486 were killed; the report also stated that mass shooting frequency and death tolls were increasingly exponential. No recent government report has been published, but multiple news sources, including BBC, report that these statistics have worsened as 994 domestic mass shootings have occurred since Obama’s reelection in 2012; in the same time period, more than 20,000 have been injured by gun violence and 9,956 have been killed.  Note that the FBI only counts active shooter incidents (occasions when the shooting is still in progress upon arrival of law enforcement) and BBC counts mass shootings (occasions when a shooter successfully targets 3 or more victims).

So what does all of this mean to me?

It means that I don’t want to hear any more of the following arguments:

1. They don’t talk about our soldiers, they cannot talk about my right to bear arms. 

I would like to counteract Mr. Reichert’s statement with the following:

In reference to Mr. Reichert’s points: Perhaps the first is such a big deal because innocent lives where traumatically taken by a mad man while the second is the loss of a group of men who volunteered to sacrifice their lives to keep those same innocents safe at home. The true tragedy is that the loss of the soldiers’ lives was in vain because we are still not safe in our homes and schools. Those soldiers were deployed to stop individuals in foreign countries who were using weapons to intimidate and kill civilians – even though, domestically, it is on a much smaller scale, why are we experiencing the same problem here in America that we are trying to fix over seas? 

2. If you take away my guns, only criminals will have guns!

First of all, no one is demanding that you lose your right to gun ownership, as long as you are a responsible, mentally healthy individual. What is being said is that guns should not be as easy to purchase nor should they be left around carelessly to be used by unqualified individuals. However, here is the thing about most criminals, in most cases, criminals like to commit their crimes without being caught. Those who make crime a way of life do not want to attract unnecessary attention and, therefore, will not harm you unless you cross them. Crossing them does NOT mean that you saw them on a walk or even that you saw them exchange drugs or cash in a park – I have known people to be asked to leave a park before they saw something they shouldn’t see and I regularly pass known criminals who don’t even acknowledge me. Crossing them means that you purchase drugs or services from them, that you are actively participating in their community and you broke their rules. Where guns are not easy to come by, black market weapon prices sore as organized crime organizations take advantage of the market and the average criminal typically carries a knife, if anything, and is left gun-less.

Here’s the thing, overseas, I feel safe. The US has a military presence that comforts me, even though it has never been needed; and even if I enter bad neighborhoods, criminals won’t bother me because they don’t want to attract unnecessary attention. However, when I am in the U.S. I am often uneasy because I don’t know which passerby is going to go crazy next or what weapons he has on him. This feeling was fairly new to me this summer, when I returned home after a year in Italy, as I felt wary in every public place I entered (although, I never felt unsafe in a supermarket, no one knows when that could change).

I am a civilian, not a soldier. Contrary to popular belief, I should not have to be armed to feel safe.

3.My rights are being violated. 

Which is more important? The right to life or the right to bear arms?

Second Amendment supporters are also supporters of Life – they are anti-abortion and fight for the rights and freedoms of the living. In my view, abortion is an abomination and a sad display of the degradation of modern society. However, with that in mind, someone who has an abortion, deliberately kills a human being, correct? They kill that human being in its home, in its safe place, correct? And how do we react to this? We demand that the US government create laws against abortion, making it illegal in all of its forms.

Now, when an individual enters a school, a movie theater, or any other location with the intent to kill, they intend to kill human beings, correct? They kill human beings in a location that had previously been a safe place, perhaps even close to home, correct? And how do we react to this? Why do we not demand that the US government create and enforce laws against mass shootings and eliminating gun violence events in all of their forms?

As you can see, I could easily continue to present argument after argument, question after question.

I suppose my conclusion is the following:

America, when are we going to fix this problem? When are we going to recognize that the shedding of innocent blood within our borders is something that needs to end immediately? When are we going to focus on mental health and competency before giving someone opportunities to make life and death decisions?

For every pro-gun response, there is an anti-gun rebuttal and both sides believe that they have a reasonable base argument; my personal opinion is that steeper and more heavily enforced gun restriction (though I do not agree with gun elimination) currently has the more solid leg to stand on – it is based on quantitative data collected over extended periods of history. Therefore, if you don’t want gun laws to change, I suggest you start doing your research and developing real responses; be as active about gun violence as you are about abortion or any other cause you hold dear.

A real response is NOT: “but I like my guns and the Constitution says I can have them” – That’s like saying “but I like my candy and mom said I could have it (until she realized I had not finished my dinner)”; “only criminals will have guns” – practiced criminals with contacts in illegal weapon trading are not the ones committing mass murder; or even “they are taking away my freedom!” – if that is the case, then we are taking away the freedoms of thousands as we seek to take (gun) violence out of the Middle East.

A real response IS: “Let’s work together to solve this problem”; “Who commits these crimes and how can we aid their mental health?”; or any number of responses that involve putting an end to the problem rather than insisting that it isn’t as bad as it could be.

Sincerely,

An American who is sick of watching her country rot itself from within.

Equality is not “I can be you if I want to be you”

We are trying to convince girls to grow up and be who they are; that “image” doesn’t make you, your “being” (essere / ser) makes you. However, when men change themselves into women, we preach a whole other story. Why?

Earlier today, I read an article about the new “Jenner experience” that sparked thoughts about transgenderism killing feminism and one of the things I find most wrong about the whole “I can be whatever gender I want to be” movement:

At one point, the article stated: “By the words of every liberal who has ever said anything on the subject of women’s rights in the past four decades, how you dress, look, think, and feel have nothing to do with your womanhood. Usually it would be offensive and sexist to accuse a woman of acting like, thinking like, or feeling like a woman.”
Do you remember the “run like a girl” commercial?

Now, you can try to argue that this is a huge movement towards equality and the expression of personal freedom, but with what gain? When men change themselves, they do not become real women in any sense of the word – in fact, they often change themselves into what they view as an attractive woman, into what they view as a sex idol, based on Hollywood inspired images. The men who are idolized as courageous and brilliant for making a sex change, are adjusting themselves to have curves, voluptuous breasts and refined facial structure. Is that how women are seen? Is that all we are? Are you trying to tell me that a woman is a woman because of her appearance? Honestly, I think the transgender movement is one of the most sexist movements there may have ever been. Men are not making themselves equal to women, nor are they making women equal to men; society is backtracking to define men and women by physical characteristics instead of who and how they truly are.
I will however agree that this can be taken as an expression of personal freedom, but again, I must ask, with what gain? You live in a free world, but all forms of freedom have consequences and you are never “free from” experiencing those consequences. If you choose to change your gender, what are you freeing yourself from? Are you really so unhappy with yourself that you cannot handle being the way you were born? To the LGBT community that is constantly begging for attention and “acceptance”, if you cannot accept yourself as you are, how is society supposed to accept you?

I have never claimed to be a feminist, but the sexism displayed by modern society’s portrayal of women is truly offensive to me. I think it is placing even more pressure on young girls to act a certain way that we have, previously, condemned. If a 65 year old man can look like a young, sexy, female model, why can’t I? Why am I too fat or too skinny? Why am I too short or too tall? What is wrong with my hair? Are my boobs not big enough? Maybe if I get hormone injections and plastic surgery, I can be pretty too? My hip to waist ratio must not be acceptable! – I can guarantee that these are all thoughts running through teenage minds after seeing this photo. If girls were insecure before, they are even more insecure now! Does society realize the damage it is doing? Not only to women, but also to men?

I am a woman. I think like a woman and I act like a woman – not because women are meant to think or act a specific way, but because I was born a woman. I bleed like a woman, I run like a woman, I fight like a woman and I sing like a woman and none of those things are negative, they simply state that I am who I am and I act like it.
If you are a man, I expect you to be one; whether you like fashion or you like boxing, you are a man; whether you know the names of colours or you know the names of sports teams, you are a man; whether you think scientifically or you think artistically, you are a man. Do you see what I am getting at here?
Femininity and Masculinity should not be defined by what you look like or whether or not you enjoy jewelry or cats, they go much deeper than that.

This world is too involved in the “me” and “now”. Individuals need to understand who, how and what they are. Children need to be raised to know the meaning of R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Men and Women need to stop viewing each other as rivals and to instead view each other as teammates. The “educated” need to accept that they don’t know it all and the “uneducated” need to be given a chance. Equality is not “I can be you if I want to be you”; equality is “I accept and support you for who you are”.

Society needs to get a grip on reality and acceptance. Until then, we can just pray that we do not cause so much damage to ourselves that we are not able to turn back to who we were meant to be.

Society needs to get a grip on reality and acceptance. Until then, we can just pray that we do not cause so much damage to ourselves that we are not able to turn back to who we were meant to be.

The Trauma of Studying Abroad

I am not your average Social Media user. I use my Media, generally, to follow government and educational agencies/communities so that, even when I am bored, I may learn. That is why a simple afternoon with a coffee in one hand and my keyboard below the other, ended with me reading an article published by the American Councils for International Education, Study Abroad Could Be So Much Better. 

An excerpt from the ACIE that really caught my attention was the following: “Many students reported feeling frustrated in their relationships with friends and family, often feeling isolated and alone.”

I am glad I am not the only one! I have never had an issue with integrating into a foreign society and learning general mannerisms, languages and thought processes within days/weeks of arriving to a new country. However, I have had issues going home.

I don’t believe that increasing the “steps” to go abroad through various programs is necessary (it might help some students, but part of the joy of the experience is diving into a culture face first and learning the subtle cultural differences on your own!). However, I think that better networking tools need to be provided to students upon their return to the U.S.

After I spend an extended period of time abroad, I feel like I have to share my exciting experience with everyone I see; yet, no one seems to care about it. They don’t care about the things that surprised me, like sugarless bread or walking everywhere I go, they don’t care about the music or the films, they only barely care about the food (they want to try my new recipes but don’t understand why I complain that American food makes me sick for my first 2 months back home)! This “not caring”, as I have come to understand it, doesn’t mean that they don’t care about me, it just means that they don’t understand what I experienced in the way that I do and they have never had a comparable experience to assimilate with mine.

All this being said, to those of you who wish to Study Abroad, my key advice is this: Find out who has studied abroad or plans to study abroad with you (either in the same country or just during the same semester). Get in contact with your fellow travelers and

Imagine Walking through this every day!

make sure you meet up post-Study Abroad. This way, you serve as a sort of support group for each other. When you miss the Florence skyline, they can tell you about how they miss Tokyo’s gardens or sipping coffee beside the Louvre. Not only will the support from your fellow travelers help you process your trip and adjust to your old life (without forgetting the adventure that changed you forever); but those same people will help you continue your education as you learn about the greater world around you and choose your next travel destination!

Happy Travels!

School V. Education

Yesterday, I read an article about laws being instituted to regulate homeschooling and ensure that children are registered with the state for their safety. The article, however, was not written to state a fact, it was written to strongly suggest that homeschooling is inappropriate, unnecessary and unsafe. Now, I was never homeschooled but most of my cousins were and, in a way, I homeschooled myself with my after school engineering/technology studies, language studies and writing. These are my thoughts on the matter:

In regard to safety, how many kids die in public and private school’s every year? I mean, schools have been given security guards and fancy entrances to prohibit the entrance of murderers; however, when kids are the murderers, that security doesn’t really help.

In regard to education: How many students “graduate” but cannot read, write or add above an elementary level? Even at the college level, an individual can acquire a degree in Spanish or any other language and not ACTUALLY have learned the language above an A2 level (this means that they don’t always understand fluent speakers and they barely speak the basics of the language themselves)!

Its all about passing the test and forgetting the information in order to make room in your mind for what you need for the next test.

The reforms that have been instituted over the years are almost entirely ridiculous. Instead of encouraging the educators and the educated to take responsibility for the actions (pride for their successes and learn from their failures), Kindergartners are told not to learn to read because it would put them inconveniently ahead of their class and teachers are told that grading with red ink lowers a child’s self esteem (the kid is going to notice that purple, orange, green and blue also mean that they are wrong, lets not be ridiculous!).

If a child misbehaves, the teacher is expected to simply accept it as a phase and not instruct the child on what is right or wrong (that would upset the parent). When children bully, it is said that “kids will be kids”. Instead of playing ball and tag or colouring, elementary and middle schoolers are now discussing sex, drugs and alcohol (and in most, if not all, public schools, the grand majority of middle schoolers has tried at least 1 of those) while joking around between profanity about the late night shows their parents let them watch; and yes, even many Christian school kids are exposed to these things during their early middle school years.

Kids are no longer kids – they are mindless button pressing and emoji writing machines who, when offended, will declare their “rights” and attempt to scare parents and other adults because the law has now infiltrated family life.

So, so much is wrong with modern education in America that all I have said has only barely scratched the surface because I do not wish to get into the details of individual education practices, regulations, etc. However, schools are trying to parent children through their extra curricular activities, sex education, family living and cooking courses, etc. because parents are either not involved or don’t have time – yet, if a school were to truly parent a child, parents would get upset and children’s “rights” would be violated (God forbid we ever offend someone in the 21st century!).

When I ask about education abroad, I realize that American education is a joke, at best. For example: things an American learns about art, history and science in college are things an Italian has known since Middle school or, in some cases, since elementary school – and they remember it!

In my opinion, many homeschool families (and even certain small private schools) should be used as a guide for education reformers. If a kid wants to be a writer, turn their English class into a writers course and incorporate grammar lessons into your correction of their short stories. If a kid enjoys math or science, let them study quantum physics or participate in an online university level mathmatics course. If a student likes languages, take them on mission trips to various countries and expose them to sites like duolingo or rosetta stone. If a student does not know what he/she wants to do, offer them the chance to study every subject and don’t treat them like they are stupid as they do it (study the details of WW2, of agriculture and of psychology case studies – don’t just declare that WW2 happened, agriculture feeds people and that mental diseases exist). Opportunities are endless when someone is taught to be both open to learning and open to correction.

Sure, a homeschool family messed up, but public schools mess up far more often and if a State is going to quickly push a law through after a homeschool household made a mistake, there should be public school related laws/reforms pushing through on a daily basis until they are fixed! Or, better yet, laws and regulations can be taken away so that teachers are allowed to teach once more.

Until then, I feel that American Education and Government is on a downhill slope and their only possibility for improvement is that people get their heads screwed on straight, take responsibility and educate themselves.

We Built This City

This city stands in ashes

It barely stands at all

but all I see are buildings, high

That seem too big to fall.

We built this grand ole’ city

Its class, its fame, its plight.

Its flashes, glitter, and merriment

Yet now, there is no light.

This city stands in ashes

It barely stands at all

Each and every face is lost

every heart and every soul.

We painted this ole’ city

In blue and grey and black

Each wall, tree, flower, pearl

To hide what spirits lack.

This city stands in ashes

It barely stands at all.

Man built this city

from ground to sky

And the city soon will fall.

Feliz día de la mujer: Happy Woman’s Day

March 8^th, 2013

It was a sunny summer day in Argentina; the heat of early March filled Plaza San Martin. After perusing through the stands of weekend sales folk in the heart of the plaza, I found myself wandering down a footpath by the name of San Martin, heading north from the Plaza. This area is almost constantly packed with Argentine’s searching for new shoes, shirts, CD’s, etc.; its proximity to Patio Olmos, the chief shopping center, and Avenida Colon, one of the tarmac arteries that allows the city to fill with people, makes it a prime shopping center. Weaving through the streets of this busy corridor of Córdoba Capital requires almost as many steps as dancing to Astor Piazzolla’s Otoño Porteño.

The sounds of Plaza San Martin form an orchestra piece played by the most unusual instruments. The flutter of pigeon wings can be heard from every corner as the percussion of the bustle of busy feet reflects off of the surrounding walls and the musicality of Argentine Spanish rises and falls as though each voice represents a violin. The rest of the orchestra is quick to add its part. The bass section is represented by a man whose deep voice booms “lapiceras, lapiceras”, in a lengthy attempt to sell pens to the casual passerby, all while the woodwinds timidly declare “una moneda por favor” [a coin please].

The small, yet high pitched, voices asking for a coin are the ones that beg the most attention. According to Peter Bosch, a writer for the Miami Herald, as of 2006, more than 3,000 children wander the streets of Argentina begging for spare change. Some of these children are truly homeless but most of them have a place to return to at the end of the day. The larger percentage of these children are often taught to beg by their parents. In 2013, I witnessed a woman angrily command her daughter to rub her eyes until tears were produced before approaching strangers in a restaurant to beg for dinner money that, in reality, would be handed to the mother and not necessarily used for the child’s needs. Such a scenario is a common sight in major Argentine cities and is the reason why most Argentines simply turn their backs to begging children; by doing so, in their minds, they are refusing to fuel an irresponsible parent’s drug or drinking habits.

On the day on which this particular story takes place, I was shopping, in celebration of Woman’s Day, with a couple of friends.  While walking along San Martin, I noticed two small children bouncing from one adult to another, asking for a spare coin. Knowing the two scenarios to which these children likely belonged, it was difficult for me to look at them and my mind begged them not to approach me as they searched for their daily pesos. As they worked their way down my side of the street, my friends and I stepped into a local Grido, an heladeria [ice-cream shop], and each requested a cone with two flavors. By the time we returned to the street with our ice-cream, the children were out of sight. Relieved, but feeling slightly guilty, I suggested that we sit on a nearby bench to finish our ice-cream before continuing our walk.

As we ate, a man approached us with a spool of metal twine; he wanted to make us a small flower in exchange for a few pesos. We insisted that we did not need the small trinket but he continued to design a small metal bookmark, trying to impress us with his talent. Eventually, he recognized that we may not be from Argentina but we were habituated enough to her customs that we were not interested in purchasing his product on a whim. As he left, I once again saw a small girl making her way back down San Martin with her right hand extended as she whispered “¿Una moneda? ¿Una moneda, por favor?”

In conversations, both in Argentina and in the United States, I had always bragged about how I would never give money to someone who begged me for it but that I would give them food if that was what they needed. I had never been given the opportunity to act on my statement in the United States because such beggars are usually seen on the side of a highway, where it is difficult to stop and walk them to a gas station for a loaf of bread and some sandwich meat. In Argentina, things were different. I decided that it was time to act on my “good Samaritan” ideals. As I made this decision I had been looking down at my ice-cream and, when I looked up, I was eye to eye with a young girl. She seemed to be about six to eight years old. Her skin was darkened from the summer sun and her light brown hair hung raggedly to her shoulders. Her face gave the impression of a level of maturity that I had never seen on a child of her size and her deep, dark eyes wavered to the side as she asked “¿Una moneda, por favor?”

I did not have any money with me the day before, when I had walked past a young shirtless boy whose pants were dirty and far too small, who cried as he cursed God and those who passed, who declared misery and hunger. The image of him on a street corner still tore at my soul but I was determined to not be scarred by another similar image. Without changing my expression, I responded to her question with a question of my own. ¿Te gusta el helado? [Do you like ice-cream?]. The girl blinked in surprise; I had caught her with a response she had likely never heard during her typical work day. I repeated my question, this time with a small smile and added, gesturing toward the heladeria that I had just left, “I don’t have a coin to give you but, if you would like to come with me to Grido, I would love to buy you an ice-cream”. She seemed hesitant at first but I slowly stood up and insisted that she follow me.

The girl stayed behind me as we walked into Grido. The man behind the counter was surprised to see me again and, upon seeing the young girl cowering behind me who was looking, in awe, at the inside of the shop, he looked slightly confused. I approached the counter and informed the man that I would like to purchase a cone with two flavors of ice-cream for the young lady. A smile came over his face as he recognized what I was doing. I turned to the girl and insisted that she step to the counter and choose her ice-cream. She looked over the flavors and whispered something to me in a nervous voice. I smiled down at her and informed her that the man behind the counter was the one with the ice-cream so she should ask him for the flavors. At this point, she gathered her courage and told the man what she wanted. He kindly handed her the ice-cream, accepted my 8 pesos, and wished us both a lovely day, adding an extra smile for the young girl as she and I left his heladeria.

Once we left the ice-cream shop, she thanked me. Her smile was genuine and the look in her eyes is one that I will never forget. The fact that she did not truly believe I would buy her an ice-cream until she held a cone in her hands told me that she may never have been treated with such a simple act of kindness. At this moment, I wanted to give ice-cream to every child beggar in Cordoba but I settled with saying “De nada y Feliz día de la mujer.” [You are welcome and happy Woman’s Day]. The girl’s face lit up in a smile before she walked away with her ice-cream. I had given her a moment of love and respect and there was no way to know which of us had valued it more.

Lost in thought, I returned to my friends who were still finishing their ice-cream. This whole event had only taken a matter of minutes to unfold. I rejoined their conversation about our lives in Argentina for the past month.

When we were about to go on with our shopping, I noticed the little girl coming back down the road. She was with a young boy; his face told me that the two were related. This time, when she approached me, she did not hesitate. Her voice had a new tone to it as she thanked me again for her ice-cream and told me that her brother wanted to thank me too. This small child, clad in tattered, old clothing, who, moments before, had been begging for money, had received a treat and the first thing she had thought to do was share it with her brother.

When the two young Argentine’s skipped off, all I could think of was the notorious first-world. How many American children would be given a special ice-cream cone and, before doing anything else, run off in search of someone to share it with? It is difficult enough to get a child to say “thank you” after receiving candy on a door-step on Halloween; I cannot imagine asking a child to share that candy and then return to the door-step to say “thank you” a second time. This young girl had a beautiful heart that deserved much more than the life of a street-beggar. The difficulties she had experienced within so few years had shaped her into a compassionate person and I hope with all my heart that her situation will not one day force her to be as calloused as the mothers that send their children to do what she had been employed to do.

More than a year ago, that small girl in her innocence and gratefulness blessed me and marked my soul. This girl has given me a new appreciation for that which I have, a new level of gratefulness for what I receive and what I am able to give. I have shared this story not to be congratulated on a deed well done, but rather, to share that it is always worth it to think of someone else; not only for your benefit or for theirs, but for the combined outcome. It does not matter if you buy food for that person or if you simply share a smile, it is not difficult to show love, dignity and respect no matter where in the world you are.