Mia Fioritto’s Weblog
Archive for Personal reflection
February 4, 2008 at 4:55 pm · Filed under General, Personal reflection
Ryan posted recently on the heavy handed and pervasive criticism a good number of people seem to have of subjectivity, specifically when it stems from personal faith. One of the main goals of a liberal arts education is to give students the information and reasoning skills they need to recognize the impact society has on our interpretation of ‘the facts’. The goal being to empower us to think, to create, and to live independently–intentionally choosing how we see and react to the world . If people cannot separate what is real from what they are told is real, they have no autonomy. Indeed, this is why a genuinely free press is so important to a functioning democracy. In order for the government to be truly representative, its constituents must be given the opportunity and the means to decide for themselves what is good and right and just.
Unfortunately, many times in the past, religion has been leveraged to manipulate the masses, so to speak, and the gospel has been used as propaganda to promote unspeakable acts. And so, people are afraid of religion. I say that what we should be afraid of is not religion, but the selfish and sometimes hateful desires and impulses we discover in ourselves and in others when we feel un-reproachable–unstoppable. For some, violence creates a sense of control, for others, religion provides this sense of power. This is why people are abused. This how genocide begins.
Some might say that if religion is used to justify these acts, than it should be simply be done away with. They’re wrong. If it isn’t religion, it’s politics. If it isn’t politics, it’s race. If it isn’t race, it’s gender. People will always find a way to justify their actions and to come out on top. Yes, religion causes people to put their belief in and obedience to God before others, but the result of this is not mindlessness or selfishness. Religion has been successfully used to manipulate people because they were already mindless or selfish; it does not create these qualities.
You don’t stop thinking just because you believe in God–you just start thinking differently. Asking someone to leave their faith at the door, whether that faith is in Christ or Buddah or capitalism, is an impossible request with dubious motivations. I have learned that the more adamant a person is about cultural tolerance, the more likely it is that they fear cultural difference.
It’s time that Christians stopped apologizing for the state of man and started showing the world the transforming power of Christ.
December 19, 2007 at 2:53 am · Filed under General, Personal reflection, Social Justice
On Architecture and the Law
Standing in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House for the first time in years, I realized that architecture and law can and perhaps should occupy a strikingly similar place between expediency and innovation. Each of these fields greatly influences the environment we live in, and so must seek to achieve the greatest practicality while remaining innovatively responsive to the human condition.
Wright’s prairie aesthetic did just this. He knew that his future as an architect relied on the relevancy of his designs, yet at a time when people primarily valued homes that offered protection and warmth, he designed rooms like the one in the Robie House–90 feet long, lined with glass doors to the world outside. Wright took a risk in order to show his clients that intimate, protective environments can be created without secluding the occupants. His ‘open plans’ eliminated artificial boundaries, yet respected the human scale.
Similarly, by re-defining political boundaries, the Bill of Rights greatly impacted American society. The Founding Fathers could have considered their task complete when they had successfully achieved independence from the British. Instead, they envisioned a system that would protect Americans from future abuse at the hands of their government. They created the Bill of Rights, and in doing so, revolutionized the relationship between government and citizen.
Law, like architecture, can contract or expand the world in which we live and relate to one another. As such, greater social responsibility and positive change can be achieved.
November 24, 2007 at 6:58 pm · Filed under General, Personal reflection, Social Justice
Standing in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House for the first time in years, I realized that architecture and law can and perhaps should occupy a strikingly similar place between expediency and innovation. Each of these fields greatly influences the environment we live in, and so must seek to achieve the greatest practicality while remaining innovatively responsive to the human condition.
Wright’s prairie aesthetic did just this. He knew that his future as an architect relied on the relevancy his designs, yet at a time when people primarily valued homes that offered protection and warmth, he designed rooms like the one in the Robie House–90 feet long, lined with glass doors to the world outside. Wright took a risk in order to show his clients that intimate, protective environments can be created without secluding the occupants from the outdoors. His ‘open plans’ eliminated artificial boundaries, yet respected the human scale.
Similarly, by re-defining political boundaries, the Bill of Rights greatly impacted American society. The Founding Fathers could have considered their task complete when they had successfully achieved independence from the British. Instead, they envisioned a system that would protect the new Americans from future abuse at the hands of their government. They created the Bill of Rights, and in doing so, revolutionized the relationship between government and citizen.
Legislators and judges who are both committed to idealism and confident in their understanding of humanity can effect social change—a new aesthetic can be achieved.
November 13, 2007 at 10:59 pm · Filed under General, Personal reflection, Social Justice
I’ve made some revisions to this essay, which I will use for one of my law school applications. Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback–it really helped! I’m still working on my last couple sentences. I’m not sure how to end it without moving beyond the scope of the argument.
Here’s the new version:
Standing in the Robie House for the first time in years, I realized that architecture and law occupy a strikingly similar place between innovation and expediency.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s prairie aesthetic revolutionized architecture. Wright knew that his future as an architect relied on the relevancy his designs, yet at a time when people valued homes that offered protection and warmth he designed rooms like the one in the Robie House–90 feet long, lined with glass doors to the world outside. Wright took a risk in order to show his clients and the world that intimate, protective environments can be created without secluding the occupants for the outdoors. His ‘open plans’ eliminated artificial boundaries, yet respected the human scale.
Similarly, effective legislators must have the courage to be idealists. I am reminded of the Bill of Rights and the impact its creators had on the course of American society. The American Revolution was ultimately fought to wrest power from the British, not to re-create the political structure. It’s impact on history could have ended with the shift in power. However, the Founding Fathers recognized that at that moment in time they could do much more for the American people–they could revolutionize the relationship between government and citizen. They created the Bill of Rights, acknowledging the centrality of human dignity in the new American government.
Law, like architecture, defines the environment we live in.
November 8, 2007 at 2:21 pm · Filed under General, Personal reflection, Social Justice
As I stood in the main room of the Robie house on Friday I had the realization that Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs exemplify the relationship I believe the law should have to society. I know this seems like a bit of a stretch, but hear me out.
In order for Wright to develop his prairie aesthetic he had to courageously step away from previous, familiar forms. I describe this decision as courageous because Wright knew that his future as an artist relied on the relevancy of his designs and on the existence of a sympathetic audience. At a time when buildings were designed with closed floor plans and small-scale spaces, it is natural to question who Wright was designing for when he created rooms like the one I stood in at the Robie House–90ft long and lined with glass doors to the world outside. However, despite their potential for ‘cold modernity’ every detail of Wright’s Prairie Homes contributed to an environment that extended the existence of its occupants while creating a sense of intimacy.
Similarly, legal theory has in the past played the role of the visionary–presenting to people the potential of the future. I am reminded of the Bill of Rights and the impact the courage and vision of its creators had on the course of American society.
Rather than seeing the social structures of the day as a matter of fact, they chose to create a new structure. In doing so, however, they easily could have placed something other than citizens at the heart of their new government, such as the economy. Instead, they chose to create the Bill of Rights, acknowledging the role of the government as a servant to its citizens.
I believe that law, like art, should not be bound by previous forms and that each must respond to the people who receive them.
September 26, 2007 at 10:00 am · Filed under General, Personal reflection, Social Justice
I was raised with a firm sense of individual responsibility. Being provoked, no matter the circumstances, was never accepted as an excuse for bad behavior. “You need to worry about you–not about them,” we were told over and over again. “You can make good choices.” I really do believe this. Our circumstances certainly impact how difficult those choices are, but in the end we are responsible for how we move through life.
I recently read an article in the New York Times about a town that made it illegal for any business to hire an illegal immigrant or to rent property to them. In the end, most of the immigrants left town leaving the economy in shambles. Now I have my opinions about legislation like this. I’m not sure it’s wise to place the burden of enforcing immigration law on citizens, nor do I think it makes a ton of sense economically; however, what really horrified me about this particular circumstance had little to do with any of that.
When asked to reflect on his decision to push for the ordinance, the town’s former mayor said, “The business district is fairly vacant now, but it’s not the legitimate businesses that are gone. It’s all the ones that were supporting the illegal immigrants, or, as I like to call them, the criminal aliens.†Later in the article, the mayor comments on the slow return of illegal immigrants saying, “It’s not the Wild West like it was,†he said, “but it may return to that.â€
Criminal aliens. Wild Wild West.
Mr. Hilton made a choice. In his mind, he seems to envision illegal immigrants as a threat to civilized society, akin to the outlaws or Indians of the Wild Wild West. He could have chosen differently. He could have chosen to see them as people, as families, as neighbors, as workers. He could have chosen to do that, without forgetting or ignoring that they broke the law. You can uphold the law without demonizing the people who break it. People are people and we all make choices–good and bad.
When you look at the big picture, Mr. Hilton’s attitude might seem a little dramatic, but it doesn’t necessarily seem extreme. However, when you apply that attitude to day to day circumstances, say an elementary school classroom, how does it play out? Let’s say the teacher believes, like Mr. Hilton, that illegal immigrants are a threat to society and sees their ‘unwillingness’ to learn English as justification for this belief. The logic goes, if you wanted to be a part of this society you would learn English, so if you don’t learn English you are against this society.
As a result, the child of Spanish speaking parents (legal or illegal) is criminalized, looked down on, neglected, isolated. Their teacher makes a choice. They make the choice to see the student as a threat to their way of life rather than as a vulnerable child who needs to learn how to read. I’ve generalized the scenario, but it’s real and it’s common.
We all make choices.
I can only hope that in making those choices we can remember that the most important thing in life–more important than a flourishing economy, secure borders, or comprehensive immigration reform–is to love our neighbors. If in the day to day, I find that the debates I’m having in my head over this policy or that is distracting me from fulfilling this commandment, then I need to make better choices.
September 20, 2007 at 1:09 am · Filed under General, Middle East, Personal reflection, Travel
So, the joke goes that if Jesus came back to earth today and showed up in Yemen he wouldn’t think any time had passed since he was last here. It’s kind of true. Between the camel-powered flour mills and ancient mud-brick buildings, Yemen does seem to be a remnant of another time. The recent invasion of locusts in the country, which appears to be of Biblical proportions, only serves to confirm Yemen’s ‘old world’ existence in my mind.
Seriously though, this is worrisome. Yemen already struggles to produce enough food to feed it’s people, in large part due to the conversion of agricultural fields to qat production, or so I was told when I was there. I’ll be looking to see how they weather the storm, so to speak.
Reading about this made me want to go back to Yemen. It wasn’t always easy being a foreigner in Yemen, or more specifically a foreign woman, but there was something about the place that captivated me. If you’re interested, you can check out the pictures I took while I was there. While none of them have cute puppies in them like all of Daniel’s pictures seem to these days, there are some interesting shots. Enjoy!
September 4, 2007 at 11:49 pm · Filed under General, Personal reflection
I’m visiting my brother in Arizona this week for a much needed, yet poorly timed vacation. I am trying hard to enjoy my time here even though I have so much to do at home, namely finding a job.
We had a lazy day today and I spent much of my time inside applying for jobs and catching up with my email. I still had some loose ends to wrap up at work even after the crazy hours we put in the past few weeks.
All of that to say that at some point this afternoon I just had to get out of the house. So I put on my shoes and went for a walk around the block, which was a little silly given how hot it was today. As I was walking I had the amazing experience of actually feeling my body cool itself. You learn about the whole ‘evaporative cooling’ system when you’re a kid, but if you go for a walk in the middle of a September afternoon in Arizona you can actually feel it happen.
It was such a familiar feeling. It made me feel so ‘in place’ like you do when you return to school in the fall and everything settles back into the normal rhythm. Yet I don’t feel at home here. In fact I feel very transient at this moment, for a number of reasons. I left school, said goodbye to Sarah and Ryan as they head off on their own adventures, walked away from two jobs that I have been devoted to for years, and moved to a brand new neighborhood.
None of this bothers me really, but I just felt oddly aware of it all today. Change is good, but it’s always hard.
August 30, 2007 at 8:58 pm · Filed under General, Personal reflection, Social Justice
Early on this summer I had the opportunity to speak with Jaime Kalven, a journalist and activist who I admire very much. He challenged us to live a life of “active confusion” and I took this charge very seriously. I am wary of people who find a conspiracy behind everything, but I do believe that the only way to live a loving life is to live intentionally. This summer has reminded me that what has been and will continue to be the driving force in my life is my basic commitment to loving all people. This is a truly difficult decision to live out daily largely because in the course of our lives many of the people we impact will be strangers to us. In many ways, the justice system brings these connections to light and clearly establishes that we are social beings and we are responsible to one another. I hope to live in “active confusion” always knowing what is right and good and Godly, but being acutely aware of my own lack of understanding and compassion.
August 14, 2007 at 12:44 am · Filed under General, Personal reflection, Social Justice
Whirling around in the back of my mind pretty much 24/7 right now are questions about life after graduation. For the past several years I have been convinced that law school was my next step. I am an advocate at heart and law seemed like the right place to live that out. Recently, I’ve been thinking more about this decision.
In my experience, people in the legal world tend to assume the centrality of the justice system and of the government in general to the existence of a respectable, modern society. You don’t have to think it’s a perfect system, but you have to believe in the fundamental value of the principles of law and their importance to society.
On one hand, I believe that this attitude is entirely well-founded–the Bill of Rights is as amazing to me now as it was when I was a kid first learning about it. On the other hand, why did we have to legislate those principles in the first place? I see the system as a necessity–as a symptom of the fact that the principles protected by law aren’t held by individuals themselves. I believe that making the system as just and as consistent as possible is a necessary part of advocating for vulnerable individuals and population.
However, I do not see even a perfect justice system as the solution to life’s injustices. What I am questioning now, is what place is there for me in an environment where the system, once perfected, is seen as the ideal, rather than as one solution to a problem that can and should be addressed in many ways.
