The Great American Smokeout

One of my favorite songs is The Weepies’ Nobody Knows Me At All. Sample lyrics:

“Now I got lots of friends,
Yes, but then again,
Nobody knows me at all.
Kids and a wife,
It’s a beautiful life,
Nobody knows me at all.”

Being misunderstood sucks.

Along those lines, I think one of the most misunderstood things is addiction.  People assume that a person with an addiction isn’t taking enough personal responsibility or isn’t using enough willpower.  But few understand the cravings or withdrawal symptoms that cause one to relapse. (more…)

Underappreciated and Undervalued

There were very few times before I came to Ghana where I found myself fervently defending my gender. Here, it feels like a daily activity. In America, gender equality is generally axiomatic. Here, misogyny seems ubiquitous.

I should have known what to expect when I came to a country where marital rape was only recently made illegal. However, coming from a place where I have been told my whole life that I am equal to a man, that I have endless opportunities, and that I can be anything I want to be, it was hard for me to truly imagine what gender relations would be like in West Africa.

Gender inequality is not entirely related to class and, somewhat surprisingly, extends into academia. During a roundtable lecture that the International Programs Office set up, a male professor was discussing issues surrounding marital rape and infidelity. A group of Ghanaian men behind me snickered and joked while the professor spoke about the problems that plague so many women here.

On a number of occasions, I have heard men laugh at women for answering questions during lecture.

Many (not all, but many) males in Ghana, do not perceive the entrapment of women in social roles as a serious issue. Women are expected to marry, have children, and submit to the will of their husband.

Men often marry young women because they believe that women age faster and men do not want to be seen with an old wife.

Domestic violence and emotional abuse against women is not uncommon. Many Ghanaian women expect that their husbands will be unfaithful—a stereotype that I absolutely believe perpetrates the issue even further.

To me, I think that the worst and most inveterate problem that women in Ghana and other developing countries face is their dependency. While working with the Liberian refugees, it has become very clear to me that women rely desperately on the support of others to survive. This, obviously, poses a huge problem if a husband or provider dies or otherwise becomes unavailable because many women are left with no basis to provide for themselves. However, I think that the biggest problem with dependency is the perceived power a man gains over a woman that enables him to believe that he can abuse her emotionally or physically.

If a woman has no means of financial independence, she often feels as though she has no options but to remain in an undesirable situation. If her husband behaves poorly, for example if he squanders what little money the family makes on alcohol, the woman can’t speak up for fear that her husband will take away the little financial support that he does give her.

This isn’t solely a problem with Ghanaian men. I have heard of a few cases of West African women who are married to Americans who hold their financial prowess over their wives heads while they cheated and behaved incredibly disrespectfully.

Is gender inequality immutable in Ghana? I personally have faith in the new options that are being presented to women here. So, what are women supposed to do to advance their position? The more I hear about microlending the more I believe that it is truly a huge step for both women and the key to advancement in the developing world. Microlending is basically a system where small loans are made to individuals, very often women, so that they can start a small business operation. Some microfinance organizations—such as Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank—make back nearly the entire amount of money that they lend out. And, best of all, the women that they loan to almost always begin to take the first steps towards achieving financial independence.

I’ve informed quite a large number of women I’ve encountered about microlending and have decided to make it one of my goals to provide as many women as I can with the contact information they need to begin the process of filing for a loan.

There are also a number of counseling groups and women’s centers. Many of these programs offer free services. I think it’s a great option for women who are unable to afford private services but could benefit from therapy, a sense of empowerment, and information about the options available to them so that they can move towards independence.

Although I’ve talked a lot about the limits of women in West Africa, there are a few females who are excellent role models. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a woman who beat out a well-known male soccer player to seize presidency of Liberia, is just one example.

Unfortunately, women like Johnson Sirleaf are few and far between. I have always had my mother, a driven and resolute woman, as my role model. I know that there are many other Americans who have strong female figure in their lives and it saddens me to realize that there is a serious lack of that here.

With the empowerment of women, especially the young women that will make up the future generations, and the gradual end of intense male chauvinism, I think that Ghana could advance in leaps and bounds. Although it has already begun to make progress, there is much to work towards. I do not want to be naïve, overstep my bounds, or insinuate that American beliefs about the role of the female must be universal. It is very likely that Ghanaians and Americans may never see eye to eye on gender issues, and that’s ok. These two places are wonderful in their own rights, although they have extremely different cultural views in a number of areas. I just hope that, despite traditional West African culture, women can soon begin to experience some of the freedoms and independence that I take for granted every day.

Obama as Bad as Bush?

“I emphasized that this has to be a point in time in which we begin to write a new chapter based on improved governance, a much more serious effort to eradicate corruption, joint efforts to accelerate the training of Afghan security forces so that the Afghan people can provide for their own security.”
-President Barrack Hussein Obama

You just have to love how Obama stands by his principles! Ahmadinejad steals an election in Iran, and the most “the greatest orator of our time” can manage is a tepid wag of his finger. The people of Honduras peacefully (and by legal means) expel a Castro-Chavez-wannabe for trying to illegally alter the constitution, and Obama cries bloody murder. And now the Afghanistan re-vote, called because of rampant fraud in the first one, is cancelled, giving Karzai the presidency once more (and less democratic legitimacy than George W. during his first time), and Obama is all smiles and praises. Finally, when a Muslim Army Major kills a dozen people, rather than focusing his whole speech on it, he gives it a passing mention, after an off-script “shout out” to a man he claimed had won the Congressional Medal of honor, but who had, in fact, actually won the Medal of Freedom; it’s surprising mistake for Obama to make, especially seeing as he was the one who presented him with the medal. [1]I tell you, this guy is already as disgraceful as George Bush, and it’s only his first year! (more…)

Plan a Gratitude Visit

I met a hero named “Shig” at my dad’s church on Sunday. He was a small, maybe 5’2”, 92 year-old Japanese-American man. He shook my hand with a firm grip as my dad said, “This is Shig. He was part of the 442^nd.” Shig responded to my dad’s words with a modest smile and shook his head as if to say, it was no big deal. Shig turned to greet others and I quickly said “Thank you, for what you did for me, for us.”

I can’t imagine myself as Shig, in his early 20’s, making the choice to fight for a country that had imprisoned his family because of their race. President Roosevelt and America said even though you were born here, you are not American and can’t be trusted. Young men like Shig said, “I’ll prove to you that my race and ancestry does not stop me from being an American.”

The Japanese-American 442^nd infantry went on to be the most decorated military unit in the history of United States Armed Forces.

We, as a nation, honor our women and men veterans this Wednesday. It is a public way of showing our gratitude for those who give and gave their lives for our country and our freedom. (more…)

Siena’s Claim to Fame

Most people that visit Siena may find it too low key for their taste. It is definitely not Florence, where there are two story clubs that keep you dancing until 3 am; its for sure not Rome, where you have to dodge cabs as you try and make it to your next destination on the “Spanish Steps Pub Crawl”; and yes the average age in Siena is somewhere between fifty and sixty years old. Yet, unlike any other Italian city, Siena’s claim to fame is its historic “Palio”, celebrated twice a year once in July and once in August, and with such large celebration that it puts Florence’s clubs and Rome’s pub crawls to shame.

The Sienese Palio is the historical horse race that takes place twice a year between the contrade (neighborhoods) of Siena in the main piazza, Piazza Del Campo. Originally these contradas were set up as small militias that were used to compose “The Army of the Republic” used as the defense military for the city, but now the seventeen contradas, which have their own affiliated animal, ranging from a porcupine to a unicorn, are mainly the differing neighborhoods with strong localized patriotism to each of their historical pasts. (more…)

The Lynch Mob

On Halloween day, I was sitting at an outdoor restaurant on campus with a friend when our conversation was interrupted by a strange commotion. We heard some shouts followed by a small stampede of Ghanaians running out of the nearby dorms, through the restaurant area, and towards the fields behind the building. I would have gone back to my business if the kitchen staff hadn’t followed the mob in hot pursuit. I was, obviously, curious about what was going on and suggested that we go outside to investigate what was going on. Upon leaving the café, I noticed a man watching the swarm of Ghanaians running.

“What’s happening?” I asked him.

“There was a thief,” he responded.

“Oh my God,” my friend said in disbelief. “It’s a lynch mob.” (more…)

The Science of Happiness

I like to read obituaries. I like seeing the snapshot of their major life accomplishments, mistakes, and passions and why people loved or hated them. Spending a few minutes examining how they lived, I look for an example of how to live or not live my life today.

I also like finding examples in the living. In our ED191 series classes, I ask college students to give me snapshot of what they want from life. Their answers are about having a successful career, being with that special someone, raising a family, or doing something meaningful to impact their world.

Sometimes they say, “I don’t know yet. But I know I want to be happy.” (more…)

An I.V. Halloween

While just 25,000 people celebrated Halloween in I.V. this year, those that descended on DP made the most of it. Check out more photos from UCSB’s most debaucherous weekend after the cut. (more…)

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