SLU 201

I'm back. Well I've been back almost a week but oh well.

201 was amazing! There wasn't one subject or one speaker that made it so, it was the experience as a whole. Though just about everything was wonderful.

Here's the main things I came away with.

Political Issues-

I've never been one to like or want to be involved with politics. There's always (at least it seems to me) a black or white side to the issue and you just have to pick which one you stand for. I never felt the need to get involved or saw how doing so would change anything for myself or others. But that's where I was wrong. Everything I want to do or do now (go to college, get a job, homeschool, drive) is politics because it's politics that make it possible. This doesn't mean I or you have to storm the state capitol and become big political figure heads, it just means that we should know the issues, know our stand on them, and find out who shares our stands and vote for them or help them get votes.

Another thing they stressed about politics and life in general is to know what and why you believe.. Whether you believe it's right or wrong, good or bad, worth it or useless, you should be able to say why you believe the way you do. It's not enough to just "It's wrong," or "You shouldn't do that." You need to be able to explain why.

Striving for Excellence-

Today it's all about success. We want the best car. The best house. The best cloths. The best of everything. Or at least better than everyone else around us. Being successful is never enough though. You will always find someone you think is better than you and as long you're trying to be better than you will always find that person.

Striving to be excellent is different. When you strive for excellence you're striving to be better than yourself not others. It reminds me of a Bible verse (I can't recall the reference at the moment) but it say "Pay attention to your own work. Then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done and won't need to compare yourself to anyone else."

The Sites-

We went site seeing of course and got to see pretty much all the memorials and monuments. Washington D.C. is a BEAUTIFUL city though I don't think I'd ever want to live there. The traffic was and is terrible. I'll probably do another post with just pictures from the trip.

The Holocaust Museum-

If I had to choose the place that effected me the most I'd have to say it was the Holocaust Museum. It was a complete shock in ways to walk through the exhibits and see all the pictures and artifacts of people who lived during this awful time. I can't begin to explain or write out exactly how I felt as I walked through that museum. It's just one of those experiences that you have to go through for yourself. I'd like to share though a poem by Martin Niemoler that hung in the Holocaust museum.

"THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

THEN THEY CAME for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

THEN THEY CAME for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

THEN THEY CAME for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up."

Will you be known for making a difference?-

They asked us this question over the course of the week and I find it to be a good question to ask yourself. Did you make a difference in that person's day? Did you change the way those people see that issue? Did you make a difference? Did you speak or did you stay silent because you "weren't a Jew?"