Year: 2015

Firstly, I want to make it known that I realize that I personally do not have to deal with thinking about my race constantly. In America, whiteness is viewed as the default. Since I’m white, I don’t have to deal with any sort of discrimination or racism. Therefore, I may not be the best authority in this matter, but I have the opportunity to present the problems inherent in the phrase “reverse racism.”

Let me be blunt: reverse racism does not exist. It may help to begin by defining what racism is. When a race has the position of power over minority races and, purposefully or not, uses this power in a way that negatively affects these minorities — that is  racism. When anything is said or done that affects a minority race as a whole negatively — that is  racism. Racism is negative comments that further negative and harmful stereotypes about minorities. Racism is refusing to hire someone because of their race. Racism is the high incarceration rates and low graduation rates among people of color. Sometimes, sadly, racism is violence and hate crimes.

 These things are undeniable examples of racism, but comments, such as “white people can’t dance” aren’t racist . Hating someone because they are white is not racism. These things are better understood as “racial prejudice.” Racial prejudice exists purely on an individual level, unlike racism, which also operates on institutional and cultural levels. While saying “white people don’t like spicy food” might hurt an individual’s feelings, it can’t really do any cultural or institutional harm. There is no power behind statements like that.

Neither racism nor racial prejudice is acceptable. As Christians, we are called to love one another and embrace our unity in Christ. This is why the apostle Paul wrote that “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28) We should therefore criticize any kind of prejudice that is grounded in race. While on this earth, it is perfectly great for people to celebrate their racial background — however, in Christ we are the same.

White Americans must realize that we do not face racism on an institutional scale. Perhaps we occasionally face racial prejudice or insensitive jokes, but our racial background does not seriously limit our opportunities for success or impair our lives in any meaningful way. The problem with calling out “reverse racism” is that it silences and devalues those who face true racism. So please, don’t buy into the myth of “reverse racism” when what you’re actually speaking about is racial prejudice.

The transition from high school to college is full of new experiences.  It is a time to be independent, try new things and ultimately learn more about who we are and where we are going. As freshmen, students live in a new place, make new friends, and some even find a new romantic relationship. But wait, is a relationship really what we should focus our time on-especially freshman year?

In the college environment it is easy to become over dependent on another person and become completely entangled in a relationship. By dating so soon in college I believe you will make fewer friends and won’t develop as much independence.

When you date someone on campus, the urge to hang out is continuous since the opportunity is always present. When you live less than a mile apart, share the same dining room, and stay on the same campus once the school day is over, it’s hard to create separation.

I came across an article in Psychology Today entitled, “Enmeshment in Family Relationships” by Randi Kreger. It describes how reliance on a relationship can turn into enmeshment.

This can be defined as the trouble that occurs when time passes and one stops becoming an individual with separate thoughts, feelings, beliefs, opinions, hobbies, etc.  Essentially, couples become highly reliant on each other and each individual tends to lose his or her sense of self.

Although this problem can arise in any stage of life, I feel it is of high concern for first year students who are trying to navigate so many new roles in life. When they enter into a relationship so early in an already big transition a lot of key foundational elements get pushed aside.

A person becomes so highly invested in making the relationship work that they spend a smaller amount of time creating core friendships. More importantly, an individual does not take time to be one’s own person and truly understand their values, beliefs, and desires.

In discussing this topic, Nancy Murphy, a counselor at Houghton, commented, “I think the biggest reason for not dating freshman year is that there are so many more critical areas of self-development and self-discovery (managing emotions, identifying personal strengths and challenges, gaining competence and confidence socially and professionally, etc.) that could be sidelined prematurely.”

She continues, “If one gets into a “relationship” in order to find the “right person”, it is important to know oneself.”

Speaking from personal experience, my boyfriend and I met our first year, but both came to college not wanting to date our first year. Although we each had intentions of potentially dating in the future, we wanted to take the time to get to know each other and build a solid foundation of friendship first.

We didn’t want to jump into anything too quickly especially with so much change already going on in our lives. We started dating our sophomore year and found it truly beneficial to have taken the time to be friends, live separate lives, and establish our own friends.

In addition, with some space we have been able to better understand the college atmosphere and how we each fit into the big picture of Houghton. Striving for balance is really important and even as juniors, we are figuring out that it is good for us to do different things, keep some space, and not neglect our individuality.

Maria Tricarico ‘16 started dating her fiancé during the second semester of her first year. She reflected on her experience and said, “Honestly, the fact that I was dating didn’t really impact my education. Both my boyfriend and I were very committed to our education and we were good at prioritizing when it came to school. We struck up a healthy balance.”

Tricarico believes the impacts of a relationship are not determined by a person’s school year. Rather, it is based on the maturity and understanding of each couple. She said, “I think people need to decide for themselves whether or not dating is a good idea for them at that specific time, and they should understand why it is that they think that.”

As students, I believe we need to gain independence and confidence that we are okay by ourselves before we can enter into a relationship with full confidence. Ultimately, I do not recommended dating your first year of college but rather spend time getting to know yourself.

However, whether you are a freshman or a senior, if you do decide to enter into a committed relationship I would encourage you to take time to establish strong friendships and to understand yourself first. Without a relationship do you feel like you have time to invest in yourself? Will you be able to invest in another person without taking away that personal time?

Additionally, within a relationship continue to assess your level of enmeshment as a couple. Are you neglecting your individuality? Do you feel like you constantly have to be involved in aspects of each other’ lives?

According to Psychology Today, in healthy relationships with a strong connection each person can pay attention to the other without losing or compromising their sense of self. You should be able to be separate without falling apart and be together without losing your individuality.

Your freshman year is going to be filled with new experiences as well as people. Take time to develop friendships and save the serious dating for later. Do not forget to be yourself in every relationship.  Responsibly set aside time to reflect on your emotions and continue to be aware of your involvement in each others lives.

There has been a stirring debate on campus about the LGBTQ issue involving how members of that community and supporters of the individuals involved feel as though they should be more supported and more accepted on Houghton’s campus.  Boldly, I here admit that, yes, I have a problem with this movement.

Many of you are probably thinking; “Oh boy, here it comes: the hate preaching and gay-condemning conservative Christian”.  Well I’m here to tell everyone that is not the case.  Yes, I am a conservative and I was raised in a Christian home with the view that being gay is wrong. However, I was not raised in a home filled with hate toward people who do not agree with my opinions.

Despite not agreeing with the views of the LGBTQ community, you are all still my brothers and sisters in Christ and I will love you as Jesus has commanded all Christians to love their neighbors.

But I will not support you in your actions to embrace the LGBTQ life.

There is a difference between the two. This distinction is where Houghton, in general, has a hard time distinguishing between acceptance and love. Therefore, let me give an example to show everyone what I mean.

Say I am addicted to pornography as well as drinking alcohol and I asked everyone I knew to accept and support my decision to do those things on a daily basis. Would many of you, knowing I am committing a sin, continue to support me and tell me what I am doing is okay? Thus accepting the fact that I will continue to do those things that you may think are wrong? I would tend to assume that no, most Christians would say what I am doing is not okay. Although they  would not condone my actions, they would, for most part, love me anyway and do whatever they could to help me.

Just because people don’t accept the views of the LGBTQ community does not mean they do not love them for who they are inside. And so, if a member of the LGBTQ community asked me to support them in their decision, I would feel obligated to say no, even though I still love them. Furthermore, I would most likely receive some backlash for my difference of opinion.

There is a double standard for the LGBTQ community that no one likes to talk about; one that, although it may not sit well with many people, still needs to be brought to light.

In a nutshell, the present dialogue at Houghton says, “Christians need to support and accept the LGBTQ community more.” By making this claim, the LGBTQ community denies us our choice as Christians to stand up and say, “No, we do not want to support something we do not believe is right”.  

If the LGBTQ community has the right to stand up for themselves and say, “support my choices,” I have the right to stand up and say, “no, I do not support your choices” without being ridiculed. But as I sit here writing this article, I know that many people would ridicule me.

I am tired of all the double standards being thrown around in today’s society. One is praised when supporting the LGBTQ community, but one is ridiculed and called names like “gay hater”, “too conservative”, or an “unloving” Christian when in opposition. I am tired of the way our society has deemed it “not okay’ to stand up for your faith. I am tired of the hate being preached from both sides of the spectrum. And lastly, I am tired of the continuous talks of acceptance.

Why can we not just live with the fact that people have different lifestyles? Not everyone will agree with each other and support each other’s decisions. There is such a strong desire to be accepted and loved by everyone. Yet, the world is a cruel place and, I hate to break it to you, not everybody will like everything you do. I have come to grips with that, but I think many other people still need to.

Talking about accepting one another is all well and good. If that is something you feel you want to do, then go ahead, it’s not my right to stop you. But in the end, the opinions of others don’t matter. The acceptance of a community of peers will not matter. The only person you should seek true approval and true acceptance from is God. If you feel that God has accepted you and loves you for who you are, then, in the end, that is all that matters.

I am always reminded of cultural appropriation around this time of the year. Many of you may not know what that even means or looks like but for my Native Americans friends it looks like “sexy Indian” Halloween costumes and hipster headdresses that ridicule their rich heritage and I feel for their pain. Cultural appropriation is a hurtful phenomenon that occurs when people of power and privilege take things from minority cultures and disrespectfully use them. Usually this happens in the sexualization of traditional wear (such as when Lady Gaga wore a pink see-through burqa), but it can happen in many other ways depending on what the minority culture believes is offensive. Obviously, it is then hard to pin down when something is appropriation and when it is not. Therefore, I also feel for the little child who just wants to be an “Indian” for Halloween because they think feathers are pretty. It is not about choosing sides; we need to find a peaceful middle ground. Living in community is a spiritual discipline.

American Christians can learn tremendous amounts of spiritual wisdom from being mindful of appropriation. This is not political correctness gone overboard, this is a spiritual discipline. In American culture we think very highly of freedom, and this sometimes causes us to be egocentric. But we can more fully be the body of Christ when we are aware of all the other members of that body and what they think about how we are treating them. If some minority group says something hurts, we have nothing to lose by listening; in fact, if we do listen we are much more likely to die to ourselves which is all for gain in the kingdom of God. When we listen to a people that we have hurt we start to let go of the hero complex we are all guilty of.  

We can learn to work together as a body of Christ much better when we listen to the neglected parts of the body We can evangelize much better when the people we are trying to reach know we care deeply for them.

Jesus prayed for unity amongst his believers. Unity is hard. It requires becoming open to the other and letting the other become open to you. And when we appropriate instead of truly respecting and loving each other, we lie to ourselves and deface the sacred ground between the members of the body. To truly love one another and care for each other burdens we must be welcomed in and we must listen to what is asked of us. We must not burst through doors with disruptive, self-confident enthusiasm. We must be patient and kind. And on the other side of the table, we must be welcoming. We must be willing to answer naïve questions. We must be willing to share stories of our pain without the sting of bitterness and accusation. We must love our neighbor even if they are not as easy to love as the kids you see on child sponsorship commercials. We must love our neighbor even if they say we cannot wear anything we want to. We must love our neighbor even if they made afro jokes in middle school. We must love our neighbor. So go in peace and speak the truth in love.

Let’s face it, Apple is cool, Starbucks is cool and Uber is cool. So is being a young hipster.  When we think of conservatives, we think of old-fashioned people clinging to dated ideas. When we think of liberal progressives, we think of forward thinking idealists who embrace the future. Yet it is becoming apparent the technology revolution is exposing progressive ideology as antiquated and unfit for today’s economy.

The progressive top down economic approach might have been cool during the 1930s when our great grandparents listened to fireside chats on their Zenith Stratosphere, a “compact” radio the size of a small book shelf.  Yet this sort of New Deal economic scheme is obsolete since it is unable to adjust to our flexible and dynamic economy that is now at our finger tips with our iPhones. This progressivism of impeding economic progress could not be more blatantly observed then through the attack on Uber and our generation’s “sharing economy.” The new sharing economy represents the democratizing of capitalism where we all have power to be entrepreneurs with little or no capital and without government licensing to stop our God given right of entry into the market place.      

It is clear to Hillary Clinton; the frontrunner of the progressives, that Uber and the sharing economy is a real threat to their political power.  In the sharing economy, the government loses control over collecting licensing fees and the power to regulate commerce in order to pick their own winners and losers.  In order to mask their power grab and revenue loss, the Progressive playbook is to issue concerns over public safety. However most industries the government regulates are subject to superficial audits for filings of registrations and payment of licenses fees. Rather most safety audits are self-administered by the company itself. Only when there is gross negligence in safety does the government shutdown operators.Companies like Uber ensure safety through interaction and rating of their customers of which driver is good or not. This system self corrects itself by punishing the bad drivers and rewarding the good drivers. Government does not do this.

Clinton feels Uber is not likely to “go away” but the general public should be “worried” because our new sharing economy is polarizing and creates disruption by “displacing or downgrading blue-collar jobs.”   Jobs would not disappear, but the progressive’s constituency might as these blue collar jobs would become jobs for entrepreneurs who may turn to the conservative party.    

The current regulated system benefits the rich taxicab owners and workers who are mostly older male drivers. The Uber sharing system is employing over 13 times more female workers and tends to hire many unemployed people and millennials with little job experience. Uber jobs are also great for those who like the flexibility in work hours. 

This summer Progressive New York Mayor, Bill DeBlasio, started a war with Uber but immediately called a temporary cease fire when Uber shot back by releasing a successful advertisement campaign. Two years ago when the mayor was running for office, the city taxicab associations poured money into his coffers for the promise to keep competition out of New York City.  The city had lost millions of dollars in medallion fees as Uber gained more market share. Although Uber is cheaper, some say provides a better service, and is more efficient than the current taxi system; the progressives have fought to keep Uber out. The irony is DeBlasio ran on a platform against income inequality. Uber can help win this war of income inequality by finding good paying jobs and providing cheaper means of transportation for the city’s diminishing middle class.  DeBlasio also ran a campaign against racism, yet the taxi businesses he supports has a long history of not picking up minorities in Manhattan and not servicing poor areas of the outer boroughs. Uber and sharing economy is filling these voids and picking up where many Yellow cabs will not. 

The progressive’s reactionary position on Uber and the sharing economy demonstrates how out of touch they are with our generation who want independence and economic freedom. Clinton noted the “so-called ‘gig’ economy” is “raising hard questions about workplace protections and what a good job will look like in the future.”  Technological advances, Clinton concluded, must not “determine our destiny.” Does our generation want to vote for a progressive that sounds more like an Amish elder? Do we want our destiny in the hands of government?

Thomas Jefferson once wrote that “Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.” I challenge all millennials to determine our destiny and not concede our sharing economy to the will and power of the Progressives in Washington.