Checking Out What's Around

Dan: http://keepitonthedl.wordpress.com/

Dan posted a great comment on a Spike TV program that pitted a gladiator against an Apache warrior. I think it shows just how absurd Western culture sometimes is that this was both aired and avidly watched. In the end, it represents to me some of the deepest and most abiding difficulties that Westerners have when interacting with other cultures.

Haley: http://nativelit.motime.com/

Haley had some great things to say about The Truth About Stories. I found I agreed with much of what she said, especially her comments about how King ends his chapters. We need to think about how stories affect our lives. After all, everything we have ever known is a story that tells us how our world works. If we're believing stories that lead to injustice, hate, and pain, why do we continue to listen to them?

http://english266ailac.blogspot.com/

Jennifer talked about one of Joy Harjo's poems, and what she said about a purpose for everything really struck me. I think this is at the heart of many American Indian traditions, which value life and seek to protect and preserve it as much as possible. We all have a purpose, although what it is may often seem unclear. More often that not, we need to sit back a moment and just listen to the world speak to us to hear what that purpose is.