I am not a political science major, nor a political strategist. I read books and poems in my college classes. My knowledge is limited with respect to American politics and governmental policy, but there are some things I feel confident about criticizing, and one of them is the ridiculous amount of euphemism involved in politics. I was reading an article written by Meghan McCain, which was very eloquent and she seems to be a very well spoken young woman, despite that weird picture of her on her twitter. Whatevs, so she was writing this article in response to George Washington University's College Republicans organization rescinding their support of her on the basis that she's not a "pure" republican. Famously, Ms. McCain differs from her party on the issue of marriage equality. Among other Republican tenets, she claims she is, in fact "pro-life".
As a college student with a decent exposure to critical analysis of language, every kind of red flag goes off when I hear a euphemism as asinine and misleading as that one. Instead of brushing it off as political jargon, and shoving it under the umbrella of politico-speak that people tend to unilaterally accept, it’s worth approaching this problem through both a critical literary and psychological lens.
When any ol' Joe/Joanne says they are "pro-life", no one interprets that as a blanket policy on their lives. I know it, you know it, the Pope and Dalai Lama know it, Joe/Joanne is anti-abortion. When someone says they are "pro-choice", they mean they support a woman's right to choose to have a baby or not. This is again one of those stupid political jargon backwards ways of saying things that seems so slight but is actually wholly detrimental. By dancing around the touchy subject of abortion, we run the risk of not fully grasping the implications of the actually issue. Call it what it is, people.
People vastly underestimate language and I’m damn sick of it. Every single word you say reveals something about yourself, and when you are dealing with societal and governmental issues that have significant weight with people you can’t afford to throw around the world’s most vague and arbitrary terms, in hope that constituents will forget what you are actually implying and just go along with your perfectly pressed suit and combed hair. Honestly, I don't care how white your teeth are or what kind of font adorns your campaign posters, you are a politician and thus inherently self-serving and unreliable. No textbook or lobbyist or well written essay in defense of bullshitting can do anything that would make me think any differently. Politicians have been the same for literally thousands of years, beginning with the Roman Republic and Empire. Rhetoric is a key persuasive device. The hard part is finding a population educated enough to digest this rhetoric as opposed to swallowing it whole.
The "pro-life" euphemism is an interesting beast, because it doesn't directly imply anything negative. Identifying yourself as "pro-life" connotes a benevolent spirit of morality. Where it does the damage, however, is in the subtle implication that people who don't identify themselves as "pro-life", are, in fact, "pro-death". (While one could argue that the term "pro-choice" functions similarly to "pro-life" by implying some people are against choices altogether, I still feel as though "pro-choice" is significantly more germane to the actual issue, and thus an acceptable, direct way of expressing one's opinion on abortion).
Some might say this is "looking too far into it" or "over-analyzing". I firmly believe there is no such thing as over-analyzing, except in one's personal relationships pertaining to deeply rooted insecurities (obviously I've never experienced this and know my mature and intellectual readers haven't either...).
I cannot stress enough how strongly I believe one needs to cultivate their language like a garden, weeding out the unnecessary and usurping words and nourishing those that directly express one's desired intent. Little literary and oratorical issues that are ubiquitous in politics go unnoticed by many, who inadvertently make themselves susceptible to sheep-dom. Unfortunately for us, propaganda is aimed to swindle/convince the public into supporting something based off of any number of things; tag lines, bright colors, font style and size, etc, and it's quite an undertaking to challenge the conventions of language that people blindly accept.
Obviously, no one is an orator all the time. I myself employ my fair share of profanity and "awesome"s, "like"s, and "sweet!!"s. This is my colloquial speech, which everyone is entitled to. The key here is that I'm not a public figure, let alone a political figure with any kind of mass influence. However, language is still important. It can be subtle and beautiful and confrontational, but in a field as important as politics it should never be subversive, indirect, ambiguous, or meaningless.
Honestly thought, pro-life? “I am for living, the one thing that unequivocally ties all people together. I support the only thing I’ve ever known”. Seriously??
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
anniversary in the greatest city in the world
Now, I'm not one to over-romanticize relationships, and I don't want to be too sappy, but Italy and I have been together for a little over one month now and I want to shout it from the rooftops! I'm in love and I don't care who knows it! I've only known Italy for a little over thirty days, but as they say, when you meet the right one it feels like you've known them forever. I also don't want to be the kind of girl who drops everything and everyone for their new lover, but you might not be seeing me for awhile. We are far too caught up in each other.
Sadly, we must part for about ten days. It's gonna be really hard, and I hope the new boys of Berlin and Dublin don't steal my heart, because I'm very committed to Italy (and extended metaphors).
Anyways, I just returned from my weekend trip to Rome. I kind of forgot about Rome, whether it is the over-exposure or the fact that every cool picture of art and factoid desensitized me to it, but Rome is literally the coolest city I've ever been. I love Florence, and I love living in Tuscany, but Rome is Rome, and thus on a different scale entirely. Most places you go, including large cities, a tourist site consists of just one popular landmark. Not so in Rome. There is actually too much to look at. I was thinking on the bus ride down there, man, everything is in Rome, this will be so awesome, etc. But then I got off the bus and was like, wait, EVERYTHING is here. Literally, everything. The ancient Roman fora, the innumerable triumphal arches of Roman emperors, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, Trevi fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Piazza di Fiori, the Vatican.
The first thing we saw was the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius. I love seeing things I studied in art history in person. It's like meeting a movie star and I did it all day long in Rome. The Colosseum was magnificent. It's crazy to see/be in and even crazier to imagine it in its original context. Now, it's just a skeleton of it's former self. Maybe it was the fact that we watched Ridley Scott's Gladiator on the ride down there, but as I stood in the Colosseum I saw the enormous amphitheater rebuild itself, watched sand cover the base and animals and men sprout from the now-mossy ground floor, and heard the cheers and jeers of the ravenous crowded.
By the time we reached the Pantheon, I was utterly exhausted, and kind of asleep on my feet. But really, the majesty and perfection of that building blew me away and woke me right up. I seriously have absolutely no idea how anyone could build that, let alone the ancients. It's a perfect dome with a nine meter wide oculus at the top. How do you build a dome and also incorporate a nine meter wide perfect circle at the absolute apex????? Seriously, people. I don't care who you are, that is damn impressive.
Sometimes when I look at landmarks like that, really big, almost intimidatingly impressive buildings, I get that feeling you get on roller coasters- like your eyes and your brain can't handle the implications of the dimensions you're staring at and it kind of blows your mind so much so that you get physically a bit uncomfortable. That's how I feel staring up at the Duomo in Florence and the Pantheon, let alone everything St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
My two favorite things had to have been the Trevi fountain and the Vatican. Trevi is just basically the shit- it's so much bigger than I expected, and I'm pretty sure it's the coolest fountain ever made, ever seen, and ever to exist, ever. Did I mention ever? A couple friends and I decided to spend the first night drinking wine on the steps and just staring at the Trevi. The way the artists sculpted the fountain is so exemplary of the baroque style, the marble looks like it's moving and the figures are interacting with each other in a way that's so palpable you expect them to move. If you just stare at them, you'll swear they are slightly adjusting themselves every couple seconds. Pictures don't do it justice; its cerulean blue (esp. at night) and gorgeous and I love the sound of the water rushing, there's so much of it that it actually gives off a light, really refreshing breeze. Amazing. Three boxes (yes, boxes. I'm a lady.) of wine turned into another two bottles of wine and a bottle of champagne, which we popped on the steps to the confused looks of all the other fountain-goers. Anyway, all that alcohol turned into four really drunk American tourists, so duh, we hopped in the fountain. Apparently it's a hundred euro fine but we saw a woman go in before us. Cops are always around the Trevi and they didn't stop us. Tourism WIN.
Vatican City is ridiculous. The city is basically the Pope's city. The Vatican museums are like the Smithsonian- they have EVERYTHING. One of my friends made the comment that apparently the Vatican has a history of stealing artifacts and I really don't doubt it. They have an Egypt room with tons of sarcophagi and an actual mummy! I really geeked out when I got to see the ancient Assyrian art. The reliefs of Sennacherib, Assurbanipal, and Assurnasirpal were amazingggggg. The Vatican museums have pretty cool little courtyards too, one has a random pine cone sculpture, another is surrounded by ancient marble sculptures. Right before the Sistine Chapel is Raphael's fresco room- The School of Athens was awesome to see in person. Nothing can beat that damn Sistine though (sidenote: totally thought of that moment in Good Will Hunting when Robin Williams yells at Matt Damon, telling him he couldn't tell him what the Sistine Chapel smells like. I could! But it was just a general old-room smell. Damn.). I could spend hours in there just staring, especially at Michaelangelo Bounarroti's The Last Judgment. Ghirlandaio's side panel of the Preachings of Jesus is amazing too, especially in it's vibrant colors and perspectival prowess.
My favorite landmark, ever ever ever, is St. Peter's Basilica. I had always heard how impressive it is, but no picture nor description could ever do it justice. I seriously have no words for how amazing and stunning it is. It's the biggest church in the world and absolutely magnificent. It has tons of Bernini-style baroque sculptures that are like twenty feet tall and amazing.
I'm exhausted and in love with all of the above.
Sadly, we must part for about ten days. It's gonna be really hard, and I hope the new boys of Berlin and Dublin don't steal my heart, because I'm very committed to Italy (and extended metaphors).
Anyways, I just returned from my weekend trip to Rome. I kind of forgot about Rome, whether it is the over-exposure or the fact that every cool picture of art and factoid desensitized me to it, but Rome is literally the coolest city I've ever been. I love Florence, and I love living in Tuscany, but Rome is Rome, and thus on a different scale entirely. Most places you go, including large cities, a tourist site consists of just one popular landmark. Not so in Rome. There is actually too much to look at. I was thinking on the bus ride down there, man, everything is in Rome, this will be so awesome, etc. But then I got off the bus and was like, wait, EVERYTHING is here. Literally, everything. The ancient Roman fora, the innumerable triumphal arches of Roman emperors, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, Trevi fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Piazza di Fiori, the Vatican.
The first thing we saw was the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius. I love seeing things I studied in art history in person. It's like meeting a movie star and I did it all day long in Rome. The Colosseum was magnificent. It's crazy to see/be in and even crazier to imagine it in its original context. Now, it's just a skeleton of it's former self. Maybe it was the fact that we watched Ridley Scott's Gladiator on the ride down there, but as I stood in the Colosseum I saw the enormous amphitheater rebuild itself, watched sand cover the base and animals and men sprout from the now-mossy ground floor, and heard the cheers and jeers of the ravenous crowded.
By the time we reached the Pantheon, I was utterly exhausted, and kind of asleep on my feet. But really, the majesty and perfection of that building blew me away and woke me right up. I seriously have absolutely no idea how anyone could build that, let alone the ancients. It's a perfect dome with a nine meter wide oculus at the top. How do you build a dome and also incorporate a nine meter wide perfect circle at the absolute apex????? Seriously, people. I don't care who you are, that is damn impressive.
Sometimes when I look at landmarks like that, really big, almost intimidatingly impressive buildings, I get that feeling you get on roller coasters- like your eyes and your brain can't handle the implications of the dimensions you're staring at and it kind of blows your mind so much so that you get physically a bit uncomfortable. That's how I feel staring up at the Duomo in Florence and the Pantheon, let alone everything St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
My two favorite things had to have been the Trevi fountain and the Vatican. Trevi is just basically the shit- it's so much bigger than I expected, and I'm pretty sure it's the coolest fountain ever made, ever seen, and ever to exist, ever. Did I mention ever? A couple friends and I decided to spend the first night drinking wine on the steps and just staring at the Trevi. The way the artists sculpted the fountain is so exemplary of the baroque style, the marble looks like it's moving and the figures are interacting with each other in a way that's so palpable you expect them to move. If you just stare at them, you'll swear they are slightly adjusting themselves every couple seconds. Pictures don't do it justice; its cerulean blue (esp. at night) and gorgeous and I love the sound of the water rushing, there's so much of it that it actually gives off a light, really refreshing breeze. Amazing. Three boxes (yes, boxes. I'm a lady.) of wine turned into another two bottles of wine and a bottle of champagne, which we popped on the steps to the confused looks of all the other fountain-goers. Anyway, all that alcohol turned into four really drunk American tourists, so duh, we hopped in the fountain. Apparently it's a hundred euro fine but we saw a woman go in before us. Cops are always around the Trevi and they didn't stop us. Tourism WIN.
Vatican City is ridiculous. The city is basically the Pope's city. The Vatican museums are like the Smithsonian- they have EVERYTHING. One of my friends made the comment that apparently the Vatican has a history of stealing artifacts and I really don't doubt it. They have an Egypt room with tons of sarcophagi and an actual mummy! I really geeked out when I got to see the ancient Assyrian art. The reliefs of Sennacherib, Assurbanipal, and Assurnasirpal were amazingggggg. The Vatican museums have pretty cool little courtyards too, one has a random pine cone sculpture, another is surrounded by ancient marble sculptures. Right before the Sistine Chapel is Raphael's fresco room- The School of Athens was awesome to see in person. Nothing can beat that damn Sistine though (sidenote: totally thought of that moment in Good Will Hunting when Robin Williams yells at Matt Damon, telling him he couldn't tell him what the Sistine Chapel smells like. I could! But it was just a general old-room smell. Damn.). I could spend hours in there just staring, especially at Michaelangelo Bounarroti's The Last Judgment. Ghirlandaio's side panel of the Preachings of Jesus is amazing too, especially in it's vibrant colors and perspectival prowess.
My favorite landmark, ever ever ever, is St. Peter's Basilica. I had always heard how impressive it is, but no picture nor description could ever do it justice. I seriously have no words for how amazing and stunning it is. It's the biggest church in the world and absolutely magnificent. It has tons of Bernini-style baroque sculptures that are like twenty feet tall and amazing.
I'm exhausted and in love with all of the above.
Monday, February 1, 2010
on the other side of the world
Once again, I feel the need to preface the recanting of the events from this past weekend with a disclaimer: none of this is real. I'm on the other side of the earth with no responsibilities aside from trying to budget as efficiently as possible (and oops? going to class?). This is fantasyland, in which things that used to matter, petty things, don't even remotely cross your mind, let alone have any gravity. My life revolves around doing things I've only barely dared to admit could be possible and eating probably the best food anyone has ever eaten, ever. In the gastronomical history of our race's existence, I have won the jackpot, I humbly invite you all to let the jealousy devour you.
This weekend, myself and eight others from the program went to Bologna. Known as the grassa (fat) and dotta (learned) city, Bologna feels as if someone took the coolest, most chill college town and morphed it with some of the most impressive Romanesque architecture, and put God's Chef in charge to run the whole thing. Being largely ignorant of geography and its implications, I failed to take into account the altitude change from the Florence to Bologna. We left Florence at it's usual; about 50 degrees, sunny, and green. The train ride to Bologna took us under the Appenines, and after emerging from a tunnel we were in for about five minutes, we saw everything was blanketed in snow. As my roommate Becca aptly put it, it was like we just got out of the closet and were now in Narnia. I was really confused and kind of panicky seeing as I clearly wasn't dressed appropriately. Luckily, Maria sent me like eight silk long sleeved undershirts (along with a book light, travel clock, hostess cupcakes, and two utensils that are a spoon on one side and a fork on another. My mother thinks I'm camping).
Our Villa RA had given us a really good recommendation for a hotel in Bologna and it turned out to be really nice and fairly priced. AND they gave us breakfast in the mornings, complete with to-go packets of Nutella, I had a field day with that. The only thing was that the toilet flushed selectively, but the bathroom was redeemed by the towel-warmer, yum! I just used "toilet" and "yum" in the same sentence.
The city of Bologna is incredibly vibrant and vivacious. There were tons and tons of colonnades along the streets, with great shopping as well. Our first stop was the University of Bologna section of the city, near the OTHER less famous leaning tower in Italy, the leaning tower of Bologna. Random. The university part of the city was really fun, there were college kids everywhere and it definitely reflected in the energy of the city. The University was founded in 1088, so everything has been built in conversation with this feature of the city. The nightlife was fantastic, there are a ton of university bars, our favorite shot bar was called "Bar College History". I think I get where they were going with that one but the execution wasn't too smooth. I think mostly all the Bologna U kids made fun of us for being a group of 9 obnoxious Americans who don't know where they were going, but whatevs. As I've already learned, there is no escaping Italian's disgust and ridicule. We went to this "Irish Pub" (every bar that isn't a discoteca is an "Irish pub" in Italy) that we ended up really liking.
I am rapidly running out of ways to describe food, both Villa food and the food we ate in Bologna. Instead of trying to encapsulate the gravity of the deliciousness of the individual meals, suffice it to say that more often than not, the sight of the composition of the plate combined with the smell emanating from it makes most of us go silent with reverence. Upon actually tasting the food (my friend Kate is the best at this), out of amazement, we put down whatever utensil we were holding, catch each other's eyes to affirm it's actually real, and then put our heads down for a couple seconds, trying to grasp the enormity of it all. I am not exaggerating, this happens almost every meal. Then commences the instinct to scarf everything down in a blink of an eye, which we painfully resist, trying to savor every moment. Lastly comes the Torture of the Last Bite, in which one realizes this is the last time (in the near future) we will get to taste whatever it is we were eating. It's a horribly vexing moment, in which your taste buds are immersed in bliss but your mind is in agony, grappling with the undeniable truth that the meal, is in fact, over.
I know that sounds insane, but it's honestly how most of us feel.
Back to Bologna, the second day we went to find the main piazza, Piazza Maggiore, which was enormous and awesome. An art group from Milan was rolling out these gigantic sheets of white paper and opening buckets of paint, asking any passersby to paint on it for them, for some kind of country-wide social art contest. We took this and ran with it, had so much fun, took tons of pictures, et cetera. I think we were all kind of high off that experience, and we spent the rest of the day walking around basically goofing off and enjoying the sights.
Three days, two nights, immeasurable bus and cab rides later, I find myself pleasantly exhausted. A day or two of homework catch-up and repose, and then off to Rome with the entire Villa!! Ciao for now!
This weekend, myself and eight others from the program went to Bologna. Known as the grassa (fat) and dotta (learned) city, Bologna feels as if someone took the coolest, most chill college town and morphed it with some of the most impressive Romanesque architecture, and put God's Chef in charge to run the whole thing. Being largely ignorant of geography and its implications, I failed to take into account the altitude change from the Florence to Bologna. We left Florence at it's usual; about 50 degrees, sunny, and green. The train ride to Bologna took us under the Appenines, and after emerging from a tunnel we were in for about five minutes, we saw everything was blanketed in snow. As my roommate Becca aptly put it, it was like we just got out of the closet and were now in Narnia. I was really confused and kind of panicky seeing as I clearly wasn't dressed appropriately. Luckily, Maria sent me like eight silk long sleeved undershirts (along with a book light, travel clock, hostess cupcakes, and two utensils that are a spoon on one side and a fork on another. My mother thinks I'm camping).
Our Villa RA had given us a really good recommendation for a hotel in Bologna and it turned out to be really nice and fairly priced. AND they gave us breakfast in the mornings, complete with to-go packets of Nutella, I had a field day with that. The only thing was that the toilet flushed selectively, but the bathroom was redeemed by the towel-warmer, yum! I just used "toilet" and "yum" in the same sentence.
The city of Bologna is incredibly vibrant and vivacious. There were tons and tons of colonnades along the streets, with great shopping as well. Our first stop was the University of Bologna section of the city, near the OTHER less famous leaning tower in Italy, the leaning tower of Bologna. Random. The university part of the city was really fun, there were college kids everywhere and it definitely reflected in the energy of the city. The University was founded in 1088, so everything has been built in conversation with this feature of the city. The nightlife was fantastic, there are a ton of university bars, our favorite shot bar was called "Bar College History". I think I get where they were going with that one but the execution wasn't too smooth. I think mostly all the Bologna U kids made fun of us for being a group of 9 obnoxious Americans who don't know where they were going, but whatevs. As I've already learned, there is no escaping Italian's disgust and ridicule. We went to this "Irish Pub" (every bar that isn't a discoteca is an "Irish pub" in Italy) that we ended up really liking.
I am rapidly running out of ways to describe food, both Villa food and the food we ate in Bologna. Instead of trying to encapsulate the gravity of the deliciousness of the individual meals, suffice it to say that more often than not, the sight of the composition of the plate combined with the smell emanating from it makes most of us go silent with reverence. Upon actually tasting the food (my friend Kate is the best at this), out of amazement, we put down whatever utensil we were holding, catch each other's eyes to affirm it's actually real, and then put our heads down for a couple seconds, trying to grasp the enormity of it all. I am not exaggerating, this happens almost every meal. Then commences the instinct to scarf everything down in a blink of an eye, which we painfully resist, trying to savor every moment. Lastly comes the Torture of the Last Bite, in which one realizes this is the last time (in the near future) we will get to taste whatever it is we were eating. It's a horribly vexing moment, in which your taste buds are immersed in bliss but your mind is in agony, grappling with the undeniable truth that the meal, is in fact, over.
I know that sounds insane, but it's honestly how most of us feel.
Back to Bologna, the second day we went to find the main piazza, Piazza Maggiore, which was enormous and awesome. An art group from Milan was rolling out these gigantic sheets of white paper and opening buckets of paint, asking any passersby to paint on it for them, for some kind of country-wide social art contest. We took this and ran with it, had so much fun, took tons of pictures, et cetera. I think we were all kind of high off that experience, and we spent the rest of the day walking around basically goofing off and enjoying the sights.
Three days, two nights, immeasurable bus and cab rides later, I find myself pleasantly exhausted. A day or two of homework catch-up and repose, and then off to Rome with the entire Villa!! Ciao for now!
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