Defined By the Everyday

Sitting on Beltway traffic in Washington DC is the worst part of my day. Usually I listen to music which, for me, helps pass the two hour commute. However, on this particular day I was not in the mood to re-listen to the same five tunes that every DJ had been playing all week. So I hesitantly changed the station to talk radio and was captivated by a soft spoken older gentleman with a British accent.

He said, "The human consciousness cannot interpret stimuli that is constant."

It took me a minute to fully contemplate what he meant. He went on to exemplify his theory by explaining that our heart pumps blood through us constantly; we breathe oxygen in and out; and we are continually digesting our food. But we never recognize any of this. We don't have to ponder it or try to interpret it because it just is--just as a tree grows in our backyard. We do not sit and think, "How is that tree growing? How many leaves does it have compared to last year or when will new buds bloom? How is it chemically altering the carbon dioxide and sunlight it pulls from the environment to sustain itself?"

We only truly recognize those things that disrupt the constant, which is why we may fear or be more affected by change. We never have to work at accepting that which always is, but we continually have a need to interpret change. It is only when something restricts our breathing that we recognize we were ever breathing in the first place; and it is only when a fire destroys a tree that we understand how long it has actually been growing.

The moral of his thesis was that we should entertain the idea of thinking differently. Instead of only recognizing the disruption or the change, we should strive to recognize the constant. Recognize that your family is healthy, before someone falls ill. Understand your lover's idiosyncrasies, before you part ways. Enjoy your two hour commute, before you have no job to drive to.

We are individuals who are often defined by experiences that fall outside the constant. Instead let us be individuals that are defined by the everyday. A butterfly that lands on a magnolia may seem as insignificant as some of our choices or routines, but in reality these constants are just as important as that which disrupts them.

Do Your FingerTips Have Healing Powers

Aids, mental illness, erectile dysfunction, Leprosy–all of these diagnoses along with many others are still extremely stigmatized; and amidst the lack of universal support our community continues to suffer from their ailments. Even cancer, though activism is highly visible in the United States, remains stigmatized in many other countries.

Neighbors and friends believe the illnesses were brought on by the patients themselves. Misguidance and a lack of information cause fear and disregard among the general population. We tend to avoid the problem because we don’t understand it or we disassociate ourselves because we are afraid of what others may think if we support those who have been diagnosed. The patients themselves refuse to seek or ask for the help they need because they are afraid of the consequences. Many go untreated, ailments get worse, and some die as a result of insufficient treatment and ultimately a lack of friendly consideration or encouragement.

Through today’s technology—social media included—we have the ability to feed communities the truth, inform patients that the disease is not their fault, and help neighbors and friends realize that with greater support we may be able to find solutions. Ironically, the existing stigma impedes our desire to read articles about dysfunction or “like” a mental health campaign on Facebook.

In today’s social media revolution we are able to assist the most vulnerable populations. But how are we to utilize this new media to change existing behavior, reduce stigma, and disseminate accurate and useful health information around the world?

On Tuesday, February 19th, Population Services In International PSA will host a workshop dedicated to the usefulness of social media in global health programming. Remember there are ways in which we can all help. Don’t be afraid to use the technology you have at your fingertips to be a part of a global change.

This Blog was originally posted at Social Media Week--A professional conference in Washington DC. Please visit there website for additional blogs concerning the power of media networking. http://socialmediaweek.org/washingtondc/ 

Do We Need Something To Believe?

It seems amiss that we shield our children from reality while filling their senses with make-believe characters and lands only found in fairy tales. As much as I think I should be, I have never been mad at my parents from lying to me about Santa Clause or letting me believe that someday my prince would come. But I can't help but question the motive for urging our children to believe in a kind of false hope.

If I told you that when I have children I wouldn't let them watch Cinderella or wouldn't play tooth fairy a few nights a year, I would be lying to you. I will participate in those traditions as much as my parents, but I have no idea why. Why would I give my children something to believe in when I know that those tales are only stories.

Is it because we are so accustom to tradition that it pains us to change the future? Is it because as adults--deep down-- we still really want to believe that the fairytale could come true? Does it give us some kind of joy to think that maybe wishing on a star or a passing hay wagon will help our dreams transpire? Or, do we believe that maybe, just maybe, those stories aren't stories after all and somewhere someday they will come true ?

There is More that Unites Us than Divides Us

I have a friend that lives in the U.S. on a student visa. She is from Pakistan. The other day she told me how much she loves America. She loves it because no matter what titles each individual may have, he identifies himself as an American above all else. He may be Lutheran or Mormon, African American or Hispanic, republican or democrat, but despite all of those titles he is an American first and foremost. Despite all our differences, there is at least one thing that unites us. And that one thing--that one title--we share reminds us that we are in this together.

After our conversation, I wondered why we don't feel the same about our membership in humanity. Why are we not able to transcend all our titles and realize that we are human. Why are we unable to see that despite being gay or straight, black or white, poor or rich, American or Iranian, we are human above all else? Why do our differences keep us from acknowledging our similarities?

Just Something to Ponder

Why should the man who inherits the capacity to learn to steer rockets through space earn a higher income than the man who is born with the capacity to drive buses? Are justice and equity any better served when rewards are distributed according to inherited genes rather than inherited dollars?

Are Todays Better than Yesterdays?

In an era when we are obsessed with technology and instant gratification, are we setting ourselves up for greater disappointment? Our advancement and innovative progress has been the topic of discussion before. It can be debated both ways...that this progress is both a gift and a detriment to our society.

I hear my parents and grandparents complain all the time about how crazy kids are these days and how nobody has morals anymore. I tell people that I would have loved to grow up and live in the 1950's or 60's because times were better, easier, simpler. All of this I believe to be true; it was simpler. However, the more I think about it, the more I realize they weren't any different at all. Just like today, they made mistakes; they disappointed people they loved and hurt those they didn't.

It only seems that today is worse than yesterday because all our misgivings are out there in the open for everyone to see. It is highly likely that Presidents have been cheating on their wives since the days of Washington and Martha. It just happens that our increased dependency on media, and therefore scandal, exposed Bill Clinton. The ability to be satisfied through one partner for an entire lifetime was just as difficult one hundred years ago as it is today. Unfortunately, the web of connections through Facebook, Twitter, and text messages makes it almost impossible for your wife to hide her passionate connection with someone else. Your boss knows you had an interview last week with your firm's biggest competition. Your mother knows you lied to her about sneaking out after your curfew. It is easier to find the betrayal and unfaithfulness, discovering your fear is more than misplaced intuition.

Over the centuries, we haven't devolved. We're still as human as we ever were. The only difference is that people now know the truth. Do think this is better or worse? I believe ignorance IS bliss. A century ago, we may have been living falsehoods and facades, but people were happy.

Romans 15:7

Before church on Sunday I engaged in a brief discussion with a woman whom I hadn't met previously. Our conversation was very ordinary. I asked all the usual questions, "Where are you from? What brought you here? Early service or late?" And She asked me all the usual questions, "How long have you been here? What are you studying? Where do you work?" When I responded, "I work in Governor O'Malley's Press Office," she grimaced and said, "Oh we want Ehrlich to win don't we?" (For those of you who do not live in Maryland, Ehrlich is O'Malley's Republican challenger.)

I said no and she peered at me and said so judgmentally, "Well your a conservative aren't you?" as if I wasn't, I somehow didn't belong in the church, or any house of God for that matter. She looked at me as if I was helping the enemy. In this case--in this particular house of God--the enemy simply wasn't a man with opposing ideals or different solutions...he was the devil and depending on how I answered her question, I was his little minion of American destruction.

Usually I pride myself in my beliefs and strong stances on issues, but this lady looked at me with such disdain that it took a good amount of courage to tell her that no, I was in fact not a Conservative and yes, I was still sitting in what seemed apparently to be HER house of God.

She walked away without saying anything more to me. She never got the opportunity to know that I'm conservative on several issues. She will never know that I also have worked for a Republican Governor in Utah. She will never know that I am working in politics not to accumulate power, but to distribute it to those that have none. I'm working in politics not to implement my rules and customs, but to find the solutions to our largest problems whether they come from a Republican or Democratic ideal.

We may be a predominately Christian society but that does not mean that we must force our customs onto those who don't believe in their sanctity. If our country was predominantly Jewish would it be alright to construct a law outlawing the consumption of Pork? If we were a predominantly Muslim country would we be forced to fast during Ramadan?

I am a Democratic Lutheran and as part of the Christian population of America, I wish I could say with confidence that we are an accepting majority. Until we can learn to accept our differences--Liberal or conservative, Baptist or Catholic, Man or Woman, Latino or Native American--we will never be able to harness the strength of our diversity, the strength that the forefathers foresaw in creating a free and accepting nation.

Romans 15:7 Accept One Another, then, just as Christ has accepted you...