On marrying young

Mark Regnerus -- "Freedom to Marry Young" -- The Washington Post

As interesting as it is insulting (not Regnerus being the insulter, but the assumption that people are choosing to push people away as opposed to just not having met anyone yet). That said, I agree with the basic four-word thesis and enjoyed the sociological analysis (I do regret not double-majoring in Sociology instead of just minoring in it), although I'd add that in granting one freedom, we must not revoke or condemn others.

Although, while the data generally supports the thesis of younger does not equal worse for long-lasting marriages, the data mentioned takes the analysis beyond that original question and into questioning of changing norms re. gender values and worth.

For example, the idea that for women, age is a debit, not a credit. Well sure, if a woman's worth is measured like the value of your bank account and value as a spouse hinges solely on how long your biological clock keeps ticking. Granted, that's a big factor for many people, but is that the only thing that has been studied re. women's worth in a marriage? I think the argument/analysis still could've been made without the tying of worth to reproductive ability.

Feminism aside, though, as one of my colleagues, Kate Schwab, notes, "it doesn't change the fact that men are hardwired to desire young, sexy, and yup, fertile beauties. Sucks, but it's the truth."

To which I'd respond with the following irreverent and playful rant:

Men have fought their supposed biological predisposition to sow their wild oats and with as many fertile and shapely women trotting out pheromones and eyeliner for a long time in order to settle down into generally monogamous relationships which are the foundation of marriages and all the lovely economic and human affection advantages brought about thereof. Given enough incentive, whether in the form of financial stability, numerous shags, societal pressure, or, hey, affection/love!, men can fight their supposed hardwiring as they choose. Otherwise, more dimwitted women would be knocked up than smart ones. Oh wait... !

On another note, men will "eventually" mature enough to catch up to their long-lasting sperm count, and their age is a credit?! Um, so women are as unsuperficial as they are super-fast to mature?

But moving on, according to Schwab, the biggest trend missing here regarding gender issues is the cougar phenomenon.

Are these women of middle age and decent wealth so rare as to make them statistical outliers? Or is it that young men tend to enjoy, um, playng with them for awhile but show little inclination toward marital commitment in that department? (In which case, a woman's age would appear to outweigh even the benefits of wealth, social advancement and intellectual knowledge.)

Then there is the human factor. Affection, love, religion, social pressures that lean in either direction. And as Sheila C., 24, of A Gift Universe, notes, reverse age-hesitance.

Many people actually do delay marriage, even when they've found a person they believe to be "the one," simply because they think they're too young. Men write off the idea -- "I'm only 28; I'm only 30" -- while the women go along with it be...cause *everyone* tells them they are too young to get married. I have seen that.

Certainly getting married young shouldn't be a goal. But if you've found the right person, waiting for some magical age or achievement isn't going to get you anywhere, in my opinion.

Of course, it isn't all just about fertility. Since men reach their sexual peak at 17 and women don't hit theirs till about 30, perhaps it's less about sperm count and more about money. Or, instinct, as Sheila adds.

We are shaped by our instincts, for better or worse. From an evolutionary perspective, 50-year-old husbands with half a dozen 14-year-old wives would be fine, whereas our culture has (thank goodness) progressed past that!

Often more conservative/religious people tend to get married younger, and their divorce rate can be predicted to be lower. On the other hand, marriages decided hastily because of pregnancy obviously aren't likely to last long. One thing I never see discussed when people play the divorce-statistics game is what it takes for a couple to get divorced. I mean to say, a very conservative, religious couple might be miserable and choose not to divorce, but a couple that's played the field a lot before marriage and is looking for "the perfect mate" might get divorced even if their problems are solvable, simply because they're expecting something closer to perfection. A big factor in whether a couple gets divorced is whether they believe in divorce in the first place. Another is whether they have kids.

Reaction: Medical Team Murdered in Afghanistan

The Associated Press is reporting that a medical team of six Americans, one German, one Briton and two Afghans, were killed in Afghanistan after completion of a two week mission to provide health care to rural villagers. The Taliban claimed responsibility, stating that the murder were justified because the group consisted of American spies and Christian missionaries.

It's sad when a valid concern, like foreigners attempting to degrade your culture and history through conversion, is twisted so horribly into warped justification for any and all murders, power grabs, and other violent acts that are just as if not more detrimental to a community than that which is being fought against.

RIP to the medical team killed.

Is American Sign Language a "foreign language?"

The Chicago Tribune reported today that while some universities allow students to count American Sign Language classes towards foreign language credit, some do not, citing their belief that ASL is either not "foreign" or not a "language." This is absurd.

ASL is a foreign language in that it is both different from the standard language – English – used in American public schools, and is a formal means of communication between a large section of the populace. Languages do not require a formal written component to be valid, although ASL does include it's own form of translation from English, called a "gloss."

Kate, a Montana resident who has studied ASL off and on for over a decade, notes that ASL has markedly different syntax from standard English.

"Signing or finger-spelling to English syntax is often called "pidgin" and frequently seen in drama productions. The grammar difference is especially noticeable with things like adjectives, for example, when and English speaker says I am glad, an ASL user would be much more likely to sign "Me +Happy +Me."

As in English, ASL also has homonyms but they can be surprising. You would use different signs for "deliver" depending on whether you mean "to rip something off," "rescue" or "to give birth", and some signs are easily confused - the grinding motion for "coffee," done wrong, suddenly means "will you make out with me?" and the sign for "pregnant" becomes "log cabin" depending on finger movements."

Also, "foreign" is not defined based only on geographic distinctions. It is defined as something that differs from a particular subject or group's norm. Similarly, "language" does not require spoken words to be relevant. It merely requires a standard and recognizable set of signs of symbols, such as written characters, drawn glyphs, or finger movements. Technically, ASL does also has an oral component, except the it uses fingers and gestures.

Sheila, a former high school and grade school teacher in Virginia and Pennsylvania, agrees, stating the following:

"It is a very special case, but I would agree that it is a foreign language. After all, Latin is a foreign language whose spoken form has virtually no practical application. It's still useful for communicating (so to speak) with the ancient Romans. ASL allows you to communicate with another special group -- not people from a different country, perhaps, but people from another culture. And it has MORE applications than many foreign languages. You could study Russian and never meet a Russian person who didn't speak English, but the chances of meeting a deaf person are pretty high."

On another note, ASL does have a cultural component, as it is used by members of the deaf community as well as their family and friends. To treat people as if their widely used method of communication is somehow irrelevant is like telling them that they are irrelevant. It is an arrogant stance to take and a close-minded slap in the face.

What do you think, reader? Does American Sign Language count as a foreign language?

Not Just TV: CW's Potentially Deadly Faux-Pas

With spring comes green-light new TV pilots season. I mostly don't give a hoot about this unless one of them features an admired actor/actress or is tackling an issue of interest to me. But I do read EW.com (Entertainment Weekly). And this announcement caught my eye:

"Pilot Intel: CW Develops Six New Dramas; Fate of 'Melrose Place' Unknown"

After emitting a pleased cackle at the fact that the idiocy known as 'Melrose Place' 2.0 might go under, I noticed the thing about this item about something called "Nomads." Then my mind just hit the floor (not literally, of course). Here is my problem with it.

"Nomads" is basically about backpackers performing odd jobs for the CIA abroad in the hopes that they'll get formally recruited and trained. Problem is, assuming the show does well and gets high visibility, it will alter a sizable portion of the public's perception about (1) backpackers and (2) the ulterior motives of young idealists. This public will probably include at least some people abroad. So this is totally going to put actual real-life backpackers - most of whom are not in fact working for the CIA as spies and minimally trained covert operatives - in danger. We already have teens and 20-somethings being kidnapped and held abroad for months and years on end. Seriously, I know this is "just TV," but you know, most of the time, it really isn't.

Health Care Hoopla: A Primer from the AP

The AP published a pretty good breakdown yesterday of how the proposed health care reform bill in its current incarnation would affect Americans.

It looks to me like the main problems/areas of instability or unease would lie in:
(1) the Employers section, where large employers would be fined if they don't figure out a way to monitor whether employees receive federal assistance -- monitor without violating privacy laws.
(2) the fact that it's going to take three to four years for the exchange and insurers not being allowed to kick people to the curb.
(3) the changes to how medicine is practiced, as PCPs and other general practitioners and surgeons will all have to shift how they treat patients (bc while doctors should already be working to keep patients healthy, the system really is a pay-as-you-go, non-holistic setup). I think this would be viewed as a good change, but a rocky one.

Lost in Translation: The Line Between Journalism and Espionage

NY Times article: "Contracts Tied To Efforts to Kill Militants"

Let me get this straight. So the "benign gov't info-gathering program" was a website known as Afpak, proposed by a former CIA guy and a former TV exec., set up to operate as what looks like a local news service focusing on cultural conflict issues in the context of wartime. And the intermediary - the accused Mr. Furlong - between the military and Afpak told Afpak that the military wasn't interested while also telling the military that Afpak was worthwhile? And when the rug got solidly pulled out from under Afpak, Furlong reallocated some of the leftover funding into one military program while shoving the rest - $15 mill. - into thin air?

Out of all this, aside from the outrageousness of his actions, if verified, it strikes me how apparently this Afpak endeavor was never clearly defined as either news-gathering versus covert intelligence gathering. If the boundary between the two is not recognized by the editors, not to mention our own military, contractors and the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan - two countries where the USA has unstable relations, to say the least - then it's no wonder why journalism is regarded with suspicion and contempt by leaders on both sides (despite what they may say in public about the importance of a free press) and why the work journalists produce – and risk their lives for – are regarded as little more than spying.

It’s no wonder why what we do is lost in translation in countries where there is no free press. It’s no wonder why our own gov’t leaders make such pitiful efforts to defend our work and our lives when it comes to that.

Legal Bites: "Chelsea's Law" Wants GPS Tracking of Sex Offenders in California

The state of California is facing public support for a potential "Chelsea's Law," legislation that would require convicted sex offenders returning to society to wear GPS monitors that would track their movements to ensure that they stay away from the places - schools, playgrounds, child care centers - where children and youth congregate. The proposed law is named after 17-year-old Chelsea King, who disappeared in late February and was found raped and murdered a week later. Convicted sex-offender, John Robert Gardner III is charged with the crime, as well as the murder of a 14-year-old girl in a neighboring community. He was on parole at the time of the crime and his arrest.

I'm for such a new law and policy. 'Twould be nice if it were adopted by more states, too. As for this excerpt, I'm glad it's been noted now, but why it existed, what the hell:

"On Tuesday it was revealed that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation last year destroyed records pertaining to Gardner's 2005 to 2008 parole as part of a routine annual documents dump.
The Associated Press and Fletcher's office both requested the documents, prompting the department to reveal that they had been destroyed.
Upon learning of the department's policy, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered all parole records for convicted sex offenders held indefinitely."

What Irony: PepsiCo Funds Yale Nutritional Science Fellowship

As announced in a press release from Yale Medical School, PepsiCo is funding a new fellowship in Nutritional Science.

Okay, what kind of Orwellian world has Yale Med decided to create in the name of a little wad of green inked paper? Taking funds from the corporate giant that stands to lose good PR, if not millions of dollars, as a result of your Rudd Center and other med, health and nutrition program's research into childhood obesity, diabetes, and the negative health effects of sugared soft drinks - and the positive preventative results of soda taxes?
And USING SAID FUNDS TO HIRE A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL WHOSE TASK IT IS TO RESEARCH NUTRITION AND PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY?!?!
And having this whole thing guided at least in part by the former WHO tobacco control guru?
I'm with Michele Simon (of AppetiteForProfit.blogspot.com) on this one. This instance of industry influence and selling out really hurts. And yes, it truly is shocking.

Revenge: Child Health Group Evicted By Harvard After Alleged Disney Interference

VS.


After successfully publicizing the dangers and lack of educational benefits to babies from Disney's Baby Einstein brand of TV videos, the nonprofit Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has been evicted from its offices in the Harvard-affiliated Judge Baker Children's Health Center. This, after Disney representatives repeatedly called health center officials and allegedly threatened to sue unless the Campaign ended all communications with the press and advocacy work against Disney products.

Conflict of interest should apply.

That Judge Baker and Harvard even thought that this would be acceptable is surprising, but also not so, since as the NY Times article notes, Baker is run with a corporate board of directors, not a community one. So it is subject to a more corporate management than many in the public might expect.

But in the end, I still say this:
Shame on Disney. Shame on Harvard. And shame on us, the American people, for allowing ourselves to create and nurture and continue to stand by and nurture corporations and their ruthless, immoral, careless, evil mindset - which has permeated our own - that operate outside ethics and the law.

Buy the Book?: Texas Conservatives Seek to Rewrite History Textbooks

And the battle continues, both over what points-of-view get play in history textbooks and over whether a handful of people in one state with a large student population - Texas - should be allowed to decide the textbook foundation for the majority of public school curricula throughout the country.

It's a fascinating debate and conflict with valid points on all sides. But education really should not be at the whim of changing political tides, as idealistic as that may sound to some. This is a goal and point that really should be reached for as much as possible.

As for the debate going on in Texas right now, it's one thing to advocate a certain measure of balance to textbook curriculum (i.e. the quoted proposal to add info on conservative organizations and public figures, or even comparing Jefferson Davis' ideas with those of Lincoln's, for context), but it's quite another to eliminate and replace existing historical events and context (i.e. American imperialism in its early and middle development, the neutral description of the different political and economic systems at play, and the goals, however idealistic, of minorities during the Civil Rights Movement).

(photo credit: Darren Heater - http://morguefile.com/archive/display/625322)

On Social Media and News Sharing Over the Internet

John Tierney wrote this column over at the Times today, in their Happiness section: "Will You Be E-Mailing This Column? It's Awesome." Seeing as how I make a daily habit out of posting links on Facebook and here, I feel like I'd be remiss if I didn't post my thoughts on this one as well.

First, a few things:
(1) love the mention of "the optics of deer vision."
(2) the sample was solely from the NYT. That skews a bit, but could also be safe bc of the mainstreamness of it.
(3)
the Times' tracking system works when tracking the clicks on their
page. What about when people like me use a separate "Share on Facebook"
button I've installed in my browser? I'm not sure if it counts that
too. And what about when I re-share articles already shared, like I just did with this one? I guess if it tracks the # of times an
article's URL is spit out into the web of social networks, then their
stats are fine. But if it only tracks NYT-specific page hits, then eh.

That said, why do I post things with such regularity? What types of articles catch my attention enough that I decide they warrant sharing and blasting out into cyberspace, like a spam message to all my Facebook friends?

Well, the process goes something like this:
What I share is the byproduct of what I read. And I only read what I am surprised/shocked/stunned by, scared by, have something to say about, think might be well-written, is written by someone whose work and thoughts I respect, that I think specific friends might enjoy hearing about, or that I think might elicit a fun debate/discourse.
So this includes anything politic, cultural, health-related, science-related, food-related, tv or entertainment-related and NYC-related.

So far, it's worked fine and lets me figure out my stance on issues and how to structure those thoughts while having engaging and constructive conversations with friends and colleagues.

COMMENTARY: Cuban Students Expelled For Appying To U.S. Scholarships

U.S. Scholarships get Cuban College Students Expelled

"A sample of the actions taken by the current U.S. administration in its efforts to ideologically permeate university students is to offer them scholarships through the Interests Section to train them in the area of leadership," reads an internal document of the Ministry of Higher Education obtained by El Nuevo Herald.

"Applying for such scholarships reveals, at least, an unacceptable ideological inconsistency. More serious yet is the case of students selected by the Interests Section who upheld their decisions even after a political discussion with them."

The document, released in July, acknowledges that students and professors longed "to obtain personal benefits" and suffered "a confusion and poor understanding of the basic pillars that sustain the ideology of our revolution."

--> So if I understand this correctly, the "ideological inconsistency" is one of seeking personal benefit through education, versus faith in the Cuban Communist Party's ability to provide an education that would benefit the people over the individual. ... Okay, I recognize the pride issue, but ideologically, wouldn't the creation of a widely educated populace potentially benefit the people they would grow up to serve? Or is my reasoning tainted by its support of a global education versus a tightly controlled national education?

This issue makes me wonder: is the reluctance and resistance by some U.S. citizens to consider the idea of our students - and leaders - going abroad for part of their education or career experience as a good thing.... is this a sign of "ideological inconsistency" with our own nation's ideals? Or is this a sign of the rigidity of thought that is so clearly displayed by the Cuban government here?

Fun Food Talk: Road Chow

In this lifestyle article in USA Today, registered dietician and nutrition blogger Elizabeth Ward advocates for high-sodium, processed fast food as healthy food options. For breakfast, a McDonald's Egg McMuffin or french toast sticks at Burger King? For dinner, a cheeseburger and salad with dressing or, whoa, Beefaroni? I'm all for convenience and practicality, but when you're labeling something "healthy," there's a line that shouldn't be crossed.

This is appalling. Healthy isn't just about calories and a balanced meal doesn't mean balanced between the levels of fat and sodium content. Being on the road doesn't mean being checked out of the sanity department when it comes to feeding you and your family a healthy - and cost-effective - diet.

On the contrary, it's a prime chance to get the whole family - kids of all ages, too - to collaborate on their meals, making it a fun project. Bring the cooler, people, and pack your own fresh snacks, something like sandwiches, fruit, water, 100% juice, veggie and cookies. I'm not a registered dietician, but I do know I'd rather feed my family food with ingredients that I can actually read and identify.

Speaking of family, Ward is apparently the author of several books on nutrition, including Expect the Best: Your Guide to Healthy Eating Before, During and After Pregnancy. If her suggestions for "healthy" road food is any indication, I shudder to think about what she's recommending moms-to-be introduce their impressionable, unbrand-loyaltyed children. Parents are role models, including when it comes to our eating habits, and teaching toddlers and kids that it's okay to stuff yourself with edible "food" items just because it's low in calories is not a lesson we should be presenting.

For some other road or picnic food ideas, check out these links. There's the snacks and the main food. And for the family full of kids, there's always this list of tips from Disney Family and Road Trip America.

On the vegan front, there's Jennifer McCann's day trip lunch for her and her preteen son, as seen on Vegan Lunch Box. McCann also has a suggestion for a large vegetarian picnic spread.

International: Asylum for the Domestic and Sexually Abused?

This post is in response to this NYTimes article, which reports on an issue that reveals the indignance presented by the Bush administration and the walking-on-eggshells hesitation by the Obama administration as regards setting asylum criteria that would consider sexual abuse and physical abuse as eligible instances to would trigger asylum.

The reservation is understandable, but one can be protective without being cold and hard and hypocritical. What, ultimately, makes political or religious asylum any different than asylum based on sexual abuse? Perhaps it reflects our existing willingness and even desire to ignore physical and sexual abuse in domestic situations even of our own citizens.

Eureka!? - Job Networking Is Mutually Beneficial-

Today, the New York Times has a piece on job networking social gatherings. The whole nut of the article hinges on the fact that these groups are proliferating in small and large sizes around the country. And that successful networking requires helping others while they help you.

That this still strikes some as novel saddens me. I wonder if more people are more giving now that many are all in the same boat. Or if it's just a more cutthroat environment.

COMMENTARY: Link between HRT and breast cancer rates?

After reading this news article about research touting a link between hormone-replacement therapy and increased breast cancer rates, I can't help but doubt the veracity of this study (not uncommon with research studies. Always read with caution.) Before jumping on the blame-HRT bandwagon, why don't the researchers account for the possibility that the severe menopause symptoms could be linked to the increased risk and rates of breast cancer? This, rather than HRT being the cause of the cancer? The two issues - severe menopause symptoms and breast cancer rates - may not have separate factors.

Strength of Conviction: Does Understanding HAVE to Versus Creeds?

I remember my high-school years as being, among other things, a time of openness, new explorations and infinite tolerance and curiosity about new things. Everything was open to discussion and questioning; beliefs and creeds were something a bit vague to me. I didn't consider myself racist, sexist, or really any other socially categorical identifying rhetoric, although I was big on questioning the inherent wisdom of experience and authority. I learned about these things through classes and lessons, social relationships and interactions, watching/reading the news, and simply living through the times. These convictions of all-encompassing openness, even to the seemingly most abhorrent of actions, behavior or thought, made me particularly suited to empathize - I truly wanted to understand above all else. My mind was eager to sponge up and contribute to the fascinating, ever-fluctuating world around it.

This perspective continued through my freshman and early sophomore years at college, displayed by my overwhelming and overarching tendency to put my mind in what I sensed to be another person's proverbial shoes. I was often proud of this, defending it to skeptics like my mother as a necessary given to understanding people and getting along with them. In retrospect, I think that even then I knew that much of this urge came from wanting to have friends and make sure they continued to like me. However, although this wasn't quite a bad thing on its own, it also meant that I was putting my own opinions and beliefs aside in favor of trying to grasp those of others. In sophomore year, with the help of interesting social circumstances and lessons, I quickly began reversing this trend.

Today, I am a college graduate, a world traveler (albeit not yet beyond Europe!), a speaker and hearer of tongues (not of language, rather, of confusions), and a young woman full of potential. Cynicism, jadedness, witty banter, reckless actions, foresight, balance, deep disappointments, resistance and hopes have come, gone and changed much about the lens - and eyes - through which I observe. But then, many things have simply become more ingrained or manifested more strongly and noticeably. My convictions have become more pronounced. They have also become more rigid, threatening the openness and willingness to follow-up on all the questions and points-of-view I am inquisitive about. I am still not yet confident in either tendency (open to a fault Vs. convictions with openness on a personal microsocial level). However, I do know that I don't want to "follow the fold", whatever fold that may be, unless I truly believe in it and only a few things fall in that category (i.e. stopping violence against women and children, protecting the envi. and national parks, and certain aspects and degrees of liberty).

And now, the article that sparked the inspiration for this commentary: NYT article on "The Creation Museum", a new natural history museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. The museum's concept, as well as the news article, are fasciniating and thought-provoking. Contemplating how and what I feel about the potential validity of this museum endeavor, I began to realize just how closed my mind had become to certain topics and just what I've begun to take as an educational given. I appreciate the opportunity for genuine, quality self-reflection and general analysis/observation. All the good, worthy news pieces spark thought and discussion.