Extra Blog

(Extra Credit Blog, who couldn't use a little extra credit.) 

What work (literary or artistic) that we have studied during the Roman, Middle Ages, or Renaissance time periods, do you think most fully exemplifies being "virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy"? Use specific examples to support your argument.

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I believe that of all the works we studied in this second half of the summer term, Michelangelo's David would be hands down the one that most fully exemplifies these qualities.  He was a speaker of words, and a doer of deeds, and the ultimate symbol of triumph.  He shows what the power of an individual's accomplishment, and what can come from doing what you need to do, and having God on your side.  It truly is an amazing piece of work.   

The Prince... you must be a great liar and hypocrite

In reading Machiavelli's The Prince there were several interesting, and outrageous statements made.  I had a couple in mind until I came across this particular example and nothing else seemed comparable as the most disturbing piece of advise.  "Besides, a prince will never lack for legitimate excuses to explain away his breaches of faith." and then, "the man succeeded best who knew best how to play the fox... you must be a great liar and hypocrite."  What a disturbing bit of information that is, telling a man that in order to be the best prince he can be he needs to be a great liar and to play the fox, being a sly slimy liar basically.

I think that to be in a position of power one definitely needs to be a smooth talker in the sense of having a way with words and being able to keep the attention of the audience as a whole, but I don't necessarily think that entails being a liar and a sleazeball.  The sad thing is that many politicians today are the exact epitome of this.  They will say anything that they feel would get you on board with them, and then once they hook you BAM out comes the switch of hand, and their true agenda comes out.  I think that to be an effective leader, one who has a hope of leading for a long time and truly making a change/difference in your area integrity is the biggest thing that you have going for you.  Sure you can catch people's attention for a short time with empty promises, and other lies but eventually the truth comes out and hopefully the people can see that and rectify the situation.

The Kiss..... Why not?

For this blog I was assigned to argue as to why BYU should have displayed Rodin's The Kiss.

There are several reasons as to why BYU should have included The Kiss in their exhibit of Rodin's work. 

First of all, for anyone who has studied the work of Rodin you would know that the artist strived to depict the human body in a realistic manner.  This was not to create controversy nor to exploit the human body, but to appreciate it. 

Secondly, being as The Kiss was originally a part of Gates of Hell and is considered one of his most famous works it would be a very important piece to include in any collection of Rodin's works.  It is a beautiful piece that, compared to other nude sculptures, is not the least bit graphic in it's display.  It is tastefully done and shows the passion of the anticipated kiss in the small details, without throwing it in your face.  For the casual observer, it would be something that you would hardly notice walking by and easy to bypass if you wished to.  The way that the figures are facing each other, it is hardly noticeable that the figures are even unclothed.

Basically, as with any piece of artwork, if you see that there is something that you might find offensive, don't look at it, pass by it and enjoy the other pieces around you.  It's only as big of a deal as you make it.       



Blog 5, Part 2: Parallel's to Rome's Imperial Period

1. Health Care:  "Most sick people here in Rome perish for want of sleep, the illness itself having been produced by food lying undigested on a fevered stomach. For what sleep is possible in a lodging? Who but the wealthy get sleep in Rome? There lies the root of the disorder".-232  

• I don't necessarily know that this refers to Health Care, but it seems like something that happens with people here who do not have health insurance.  They can end up very sick, or die from something that if treated early on would not have been nearly as serious.

2: Gay Rights:  " 'Out you go! for very shame,' says the marshal; 'out of the Knights' stalls, all of you whose means do not satisfy the law.'"- 145

• Again, I don't think this necessarily is referring to gay rights, however in a satiric way and taken out of context in which Juvenile was referring it sort of sounds the way a lot of people (not all) refer to the LGBT community in general.    

3. Abortion :  " slaying whomsoever the mob with a turn of the thumb[5] bids them slay; from that they go back to contract for cesspools, and why not for any kind of thing, seeing that they are of the kind that Fortune raises from the gutter to the mighty places of earth whenever she wishes to enjoy a laugh?"

•  I didn't do a very good job of choosing things that went with this reading, but I suppose taken out of context this could fit well with abortion.    I suppose the mob could refer to the woman choosing the abortion where as the slayer would be the Doctor

4. Umemployment:  "Since there is no room," quoth he, "for honest callings in this city, no reward for labour; since my means are less to-day than they were yesterday, and to-morrow will rub off something from the little that is left"- 21

• I thought this one fit well with Unemployment.  When there is no work to be found, and no offers are coming in sometimes you just have to go where the work is

5. Immigration:  "The Syrian Orontes has long since poured into the Tiber, bringing with it its lingo and its manners, its flutes and its slanting harp-strings[6]; bringing too the timbrels of the breed, and the trulls who are bidden ply their trade at the Circus. Out upon you, all ye that delight in foreign strumpets with painted headdresses! Your country clown, Quirinus, now trips to dinner in Greek-fangled slippers,[7] and wears niceterian[7] ornaments upon a ceromatic[7] neck!"- 58 

• I thought this one went well with immigration, similar to the US in how is describes how new people are coming in from different lands, and with them bringing their culture, traditions and dress.    
  

Blog 5, part 1: Social Problems in the United States

Well, It's hard to pick just 5 but here are the top 5 that are of most interest to me:

1.  Health Care:  This one is the most important to me and my family, and I could not be MORE thrilled with the recent ruling by the Supreme Court to uphold the new Health Care law.  This means so much for my family (and I'm sure many many other families out there across the country).  And as the wife of someone who's workplace chooses not to provide health insurance, I am excited for this change.  As the mother of a child who's very existence, from the first tiny breath he took in this world, is one big ball of pre-existing conditions, I am very excited for this!  And as mother of this same little boy, who was on track to hit his lifetime insurance cap before he hit Elementary School, I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief for him that day.

2.  Gay Rights:  Millions and Millions of dollars are being spent on both sides of this: preventing and in hopes of allowing 2 people who love each other to get married.  I honestly don't understand how anyone has a right to decide if this should be legal.  This is one area I have to just agree to disagree.  I believe in marriage being between a man and a woman, I believe and love the Proclamation on the Family.  However I honestly do not think it is any of our business what 2 people choose to do.  It is between them and their Heavenly Father.  We did fight for the right to come to this life to make out own choices, correct?  So how is preventing people from making the choice to marry the person they love not prohibiting free agency?  This is something that is not just going to go away, and is a lot of contention in many political and religious aspects.

3.  Abortion:  This is another huge debate topic in this country and I cannot fathom how anyone can think that aborting a child is not murder?  It is something that I have always been against, but especially having had a child who was born just a couple of weeks after the limit for late term abortion and seeing how perfectly formed he already was, how capable he was of surviving and I wonder how can anyone see that as not being a human life.  It has got to be one of the most selfish and horrific things that I have seen grow and grow in occurrence in this country, and with gender selective abortion becoming more popular in the US I really am afraid to see what comes next. 

4. Unemployment:  Ahh, what a time it is to be graduating college and entering such a wonderful job market [enter sarcasm here].  It's hard out there, and while I do hope and hope that it will get better soon, it's hard to see the light at the end of that tunnel.  It's something that I've seen several family members struggle with, as they are graduating with Masters degrees and looking at zero prospects out there for them.
 

5. Immigration:  Not sure how this one is going to get better, but there has to be some better way to handle this.  Either make the process more streamlined, and easier (well I hate to say easier, but maybe more attainable) or just continue to accept the fact that the illegal immigrant population is going to continue to grow and grow.  I am all for people coming to this country, I love the diversity that our country has.  however there is a legal and correct way to do it, and by making that so unattainable it is just further continuing the illegal problem.

5 Parallels... Blog 3

The 5 parallels between Ancient Roman Society and The United States are:

1.  Assimilation of other Cultures into our own society
            As was presented in the Livy slide show for today's readings, "As Rome expanded, she both
absorbed elements of the cultures she conquered and in turn brought Roman institutions, including 
Roman citizenship, to the conquered."  In the United States there is a very diverse population, with people coming here from all over the world and in doing so bringing along their cultures and traditions.

2.  Road Travel:
              Also from the Livy slide show, "A good road system was crucial for movement of the Roman armies, conveying goods across the Roman Republic, and for maintaining good communication."  Though in the United States today we don't use the roads as much for the movement of armies, or maintaining communication, we still do use the roads for conveying goods across our great country.  Whether it's UPS, a grocery truck full of great food's or even just moving of general goods the roads are constantly used for the transportation of goods!

3. City Planning:
                  There are many things that go into planning the layout of a city, I would imagine.  There are all sorts of zoning areas where you are and not permitted to build certain buildings.  Housing zones, schooling zones and business zones to name a few.  This sounds an awful lot like the Romans city planning where, "There were certain areas for eating, for sewage, for training, and for housing according to rank."  Granted we do not have an exact housing according to rank, but there are definitely areas in each city where the most expensive houses are located.

4. Marble facing:
                    In the Livy slide, we read that many of the Marble buildings in Rome were found to have been made of brick but on top of that they had a thin layer of Marble facing.  This can be found in many placed in the United States today, and the main instance that I thought of was in houses.  Many people are tiling the floors and walls of kitchens, and bathrooms with Marble tiles.

5. Busts
                    The Roman busts that were created in remembrance of those who had died, and were made incredibly lifelike.  As I am married to a huge football fan it immediately reminded me of the Football Hall of Fame.  How they have a bust created for everyone who is inducted into the Hall of Fame.

http://photos.igougo.com/pictures-photos-p316877-NFL_Hall_of_Fame.html

The Roles of Women in Ancient Greece... and now!

The roles of Women in Ancient Greece were shown, in the reading that we have done, that they were the ones to stay at home and be the ones to raise and nurture the children, to pray for their husbands, and to be completely faithful to them.  As we read The Essential Iliad, we saw Hector return home during the War so that he could have the Wives and other women pray for the God's to pity Troy.  "He told them all, Each woman in turn, to pray to the gods." (Book 6, lines 249-250).  Later in Homer's The Odyssey, we see that Odysseus' wife Penelope and how she waited, faithfully, for twenty years for Odysseus' return only to not believe it was him when he finally did return.  She feared it was a test from the God's, and in wanting to be faithful to Odysseus she could not let herself run immediately to this man no matter how much she wanted to believe it was him.   "...Penelope started down from herlofty room, her heart in turmoil, torn... should she keep her distance, probe her husband?  Or rush up to the man at once and kiss his head and cling to both his hands?" (Book 23, lines 96-99). 

In the 5th Cenntury Athenian times, women were still seen as the ones in the home, and were the caregivers of the family.  As we read in the writings of Thucydides, when he spoke of the funeral procession he says, "Any citizen or stranger who pleases joins in the procession, and the female relatives are there to wail at the burial." (Book II, pg 265).  I think that this shows that as the women are the caregivers, they are the ones who can acceptably show emotion in regards to their husbands and sons. 

In the arts as we discussed in class, women were not permitted to participate in the theatre presentations.  The men dressed as women, used women's masks and did their best to not include them. 

Women today share some similarities to those in Ancient Greece.  While not as commonplace as it once was, there are still many women who stay at home with their children, and are the ones to parent the children.  Also, though it is not as common but it is more culturally accepted in today's world for men to be the ones to stay home while the women work.  In today's society women hold more responsibilities in the day to day lives then they did in Ancient Greece.  Many are successful business-women, with extensive educational backrounds.  It is not uncommon for a woman to be included in the decision making processes regarding their families and homes.  I am thankful to be one of those women who has been able to stay home and raise my children, though I am also thankful that it was by choice and that I have the rights and abilities that those women of Ancient Greece didn't.