Points for Considering a Vulnerable Population

August means its recess time for the members of the United States Congress, when they leave Washington, DC, and spend time in their home districts.  Many hold town halls for constituents.

My Representative, Danny K. Davis (D-IL-7) held a town hall at Oak Park Village Hall back on the evening of Thursday, August 6.  When it concluded, I approached him, and said I had a burning question to ask him, which he agreed to field.  In this blog post, I relate, to the best of my memory, what happened during the course of our conversation.  It started in the Village Board Council Chambers, and proceeded through the hallways of Village Hall out into the parking lot--so we were talking as we walked along, over the course of 5 minutes or so.

I have contacted Representative Davis several times on defending one of the most vulnerable populations in our society, the unborn.  Once, when I called his office regarding legislation before Congress addressing abortion, the staff person who picked up the phone told me that Representative Davis "supports a woman's right to choose".  So when I was talking with Representative Davis himself this evening, I told repeated this sentiment, and he acknowledged that is indeed his stance on the issue of abortion.

Then I told him that I believe when a human embryo is conceived in the womb, it has its own unique DNA, and thereby is a human person with human rights, deserving protection.  I then told Representative Davis that it would appear that he would not agree that human rights begin at the moment of conception.  So then I pressed the question:  If human right don't start at the moment of conception, when do they begin?

Representative Davis responded, "I really don't know", and then continuing his answer so as to suggest that there needs to be more discussion to arrive at an answer to the question of when human rights begin.  He then reiterated his opinion in supporting a woman's right to choose what to do with her body.  He mentioned something about how he was raised to adhere to the principles of the Bible, in which God created people, and somehow, though I don't remember exactly, that led to his reiteration of his stance on abortion.  I then asked, "Does that include an unborn woman's right to choose?"  He started his reply saying that he's not really sure if there is such a thing as an unborn woman.

As we neared the door leading out to the parking lot, I then pressed the matter further, saying that the Declaration of Independence speaks of the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  If a human person is aborted, his/her life is taken away, and is thereby denied the right to life, as well as being denied the rights of liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  Representative Davis said that there would need to be more discussion to sort out the issues of when and where one person's rights stop, and where another person's rights begin.

There's a lot to consider in Representative Davis's responses.  For starters, let's go back to his response to my initial question, that if human rights don't begin at the moment of conception, when do they begin?  As I told Representative Davis, at the moment of conception, the embryo has a unique DNA, distinct from that of the mother and father, and so it's only logical to say at that moment, the embryo is a human person, and so the protection of human rights begins at the moment of conception.  If it doesn't begin at the moment of conception, there's really no other logical moment at which human rights would start.  It doesn't make sense to say human rights begin at birth, because the fetus shows signs of being a human person even before birth, signs which are staggered throughout the pregnancy.  So Representative Davis, in a way, aptly states that he doesn't know when human rights begin if not at the moment of conception, because there's no other logical moment to fix as the starting point for the protections of human rights if not at conception.

(Representative Davis's answer reminds me of the answer then-US Senator Barack Obama gave at a forum during the 2008 presidential campaign moderated by Pastor Rick Warren.  When posed with the question of when a baby has human rights, Mr. Obama said that it was a matter "above his pay grade".  In my mind, that reflects how there's no other reasonable answer to give if not at the moment of conception, as Senator McCain straightforwardly stated in his answer to that same question.)

And then there are the comments Representative Davis offered toward the end of our conversation, when, in pressing the matter, I evoked the idea of the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  The advances of modern medicine have unleashed the horrors of abortion:  The scariest part of it is that an abortion is done in the name of the rights of a woman, so as to relinquish any rights the unborn person has.

Throughout history, people have asserted power in such a way that quashes the rights of others.  In the past, people were denied rights and other opportunities based on characteristics like the color of skin, ethnicity, or religion.  And although our society has progressed to allow people the greater realization of their God-given rights, the medical ability to perform abortions has opened Pandora's box, allowing for a denial of the rights of people simply because they aren't yet born, even the basic right to live.  Abortion, therefore, is like a step backward in the progress of fuller realization of our God-given rights.  While I have many reasons to oppose abortion, this idea of the denial of a basic right is an important one, the starting point that addresses the big picture for why I am pro-life, and believe the sanctity of human life commences at the moment of conception.

If you disagree with me, I encourage you to consider the points I have mentioned in this blog post based on how Representative Davis responded to my pressing the issue of abortion on him.  If you agree with me, I hope the points I give in this blog post help you in seeing the big picture of why we believe in the sanctity of human life.

Master of My Destiny: Installment 4

This post is part of my "Master of my Destiny" series of blog posts in which I share about my happenings in graduate school.

After having a focus during my first term on the fundamental matters of library and information science, this summer term, my second semester in the program, was an opportunity to take the next steps by delving into more specifics and do more practical work. 

Library User Instruction class was notable for its educational focus, tailored to those studying library and information science.  There were some lectures, and the content touched upon topics like learning theories, student behaviors, and human mentality, topics that undoubtedly are the focus of entire courses for those studying education, but were covered in just a few minutes in this class.  (During one lecture on human mentality and perceptions people have, I did something very dangerous that I wouldn't normally do:  I openly told others how I honestly feel about President Barack Obama, without even feeling out their political views first.  Fortunately, within the context of this part of the lecture, my strong feelings stayed contained without opening a can of worms.)

The main focus of this class was engaging in actual instruction, in the form of presentations. For the first two, which were individual, we taught how to use a tool.  The third one was a group presentation in which we taught a concept, and then, in our groups, we transferred the content of the presentation into an electronic learning object.  Not only did we have to explain the ideas, but we had to work on effectively conveying the information, and engaging the audience, involving them in the learning process, as well as assessing their understanding.

I had an adjunct professor for this class.  His regular job is working as a librarian at Moraine Valley Community College.  He was able to bring good insights from his work in instruction to enhance what we were learning in this class.

Another class I had was Collection Management.  The collection is the core part of a library, and the big take away from this class was the importance of a plan to guide the library in knowing what to include, and then how to discard items that are no longer useful in the collection, all to serve the needs of the users.  (If you're interested, here is an example of a collection policy, that of the Oak Park Public Library: http://oppl.org/about/policies/collection-strategy-statement)

In learning about managing library collections, we looked at library collection policies and discussed them in class.  We also did practical exercises to get a feel for how to manage a collection:  Our first big assignment was to create a seed collection for a library in a specific geographical area.  The second big assignment was the weeding assignment, which involved examining the books on two different sections of shelf in the Dominican University Rebecca Crown Library to determine if each was worth keeping, or should be removed from the collection.  The final big assignment was working in pairs to create a library user survey, which is a process that isn't as easy as it might seem.  It’s difficult to use just the right wording for the survey questions to get at the information needed, as well as keeping it concise to ensure high response rate.

For this class, I also had an adjunct professor, who is the director of the Berkeley Public Library, a suburb at the west edge of Cook County, just to the east of Elmhurst.  (I visited her library, and though it's quite small in comparison to what I'm used to about Oak Park's library, they have a lot available there in the items, programs, and amenities.)  All the time in class, she drew from her many job experiences, past and present, in sharing insights about library work, never afraid to share her opinions about the good, the bad, and the ugly of libraries.

I was fortunate to have another class with this same professor this semester: Government Information Resources, which met once in person, and then the rest of the work was online.  She showed much enthusiasm for the material, having once been a government documents librarian.  The focus of this class was learning about the resources produced by the US government, which is the largest producer of information in the world.  We focused mostly on resources from federal agencies, although there were some resources we looked at from state governments and even international governmental organizations.  The first resource we looked at was the US Government Manual, a 600-page book that details all the agencies of the US government.

From there, we looked at different types of resources, like law codes, and those pertaining to the environment, health, and business.  For each type, we completed exercises, searching for specific items, like President Theodore Roosevelt's personal correspondence, wild burro adoption schedules in Wyoming, recreation areas in Illinois, information on doing business in foreign markets, the president's daily schedule, information on lyme disease, and government regulations.  It could be tricky to find certain things, but in general, I enjoyed the opportunity to look around government websites, which I enjoy doing anyway on my own for fun.

In both of my in-person classes, we had many opportunities to critique each other’s work, and I welcomed the chance to have such discussions in a respectful, collaborative environment.  It was certainly helpful for the second presentation in Library User Instruction for the feedback I received and offered, and it got pretty involved when discussing the user surveys in Collection Management.

Indeed, I kept active during these summer months, delving into specifics of library and information science, and having a good dose of fun along the way.  And now, I am halfway through obtaining my degree--kind of like getting the "M" and "L" of my MLIS.  There's much I've been enjoying about this program, and it's great that I enhance it now that I've started an actual library job.

I’ve also been able to see how my participation in LIS connects with the higher purposes of life.  Nothing could have better underscored this than the discussions in the first session of Library User Instruction class.  Instruction is a process, especially in how we constantly work to improve our abilities, a major take-away from the entire class.  Part of this process is assessing where we are in the liminal space moving from where we are to our ultimate goal.  In the midst of this process, there are Kairos moments, a sense of time when something critical happens--different from the sense of chronological time.

The ideas my professor was talking about during the first session made me think about my own experiences teaching Religious Education at my home parish.  I knew this summer class would be valuable not just for my possible career goals, but also to enhance my ability to teach in that capacity, too, as teaching is part of many aspects of life.  So I felt challenged to really work at enhancing my abilities, while I also also felt excited at the opportunity to do so.

Indeed, through such lofty insights, I can see how this degree program is driving me toward a career that fits in with the larger picture of my life’s overall vocation, which I feel I have been led to by the One Who is really the Master of my Destiny.

Celebrating a Special Friendship

This day, Friday, August 7, six years ago was a very memorable day indeed.

In just over 2 weeks from this date, I would be off to move in at Valparaiso University (ValpU).

But this day, around 9 AM, I was at Chicago Union Station, to start a friendship with the remarkable Zachary (Zach) Mashburn.  We were assigned as roommates, to share a space together for our first year.  We decided to meet ahead of time, and so we spent this day ambling around in Chicago, in the downtown area, and then getting out to some neighborhoods on the near Southwest Side.

We began a great relationship that day, getting along so well that we ended up spending nearly three years together as roommates during our shared time at ValpU.  We would enjoy many other moments together, from Lankenau Hall to Wehrenberg Hall, and then some, especially as we shared the experience of the meteorology major.  And there were some less than savory experiences that we would commiserate over together.

There are only a few people in my life who I would consider very close friends--many of which started in college, in fact--and Zach is among them.  From the start of our time together, he would demonstrate himself to be a friend like no other--true "kindred spirit" as my Grandma might say.

When being more or less randomly assigned a college roommate can certainly open up a range of possibilities, some of them not so good, to put it lightly, I was incredibly fortunate to be placed with Zach.  It certainly helped that we shared similar perspectives on the often controversial topics of politics and religion.  We certainly shared a number of laughs cracking jokes on certain politicians--who, for the purpose of this blog, shall remain unnamed.  I also appreciate the godliness Zach has shown, which was an encouragement to me during my college years, when many positive influences bolstered my faith.

I would also always be amazed at how Zach is so accommodating, as he sought to ensure I was comfortable in the space we shared.  And he's polite, drawing from his Southern upbringing, addressing other adults as "ma'am" and "sir", even the waitress at the restaurant we went to once, who we found out was younger than both of us.

I've furthermore appreciated the support Zach has shown me.  He's helped me really open up by being present with a listening ear whenever I have a problem or some other issue I'm facing.  It was a big help throughout our time in college, with all the stresses, both academic and personal, even after the time we ceased being roommates.  Plus, he's a great person just to spend time with, and I've been glad to have opportunities since graduation to do just that.  He also has an interesting sense of humor, with phrases like, "Sleep is for the weak", and "Pencils are for people who make mistakes", always spoken with a smirk.

We certainly forged a special bond, and it's one I still feel to this day, as it transcends time and space.  And that's why I'm celebrating the gift of friendship this day with Zach.