Catching the Fire of Social Change

Catching Fire is a film that I’ve looked forward to for a long time. It’s by no means a perfect film, but it definitely captures a fear in the American public in an interesting and dynamic way. I believe it shows a similar fear to that which Adorno and Horkheimer described.

“Each single manifestation of the culture industry inescapably reproduces human beings as what the whole has made them. And all its agents...are on the alert to ensure that the single reproduction of mind does not lead on to the expansion of mind.” (Horkheimer, Adorno 100)

Katniss and Peeta are threatened because they must act as the Capital will have them act. They are an image of the culture industry. They must smile and be in love. At one point Haymitch points out that this will be their entire lives (being an image for the Capital) so they might as well become the image instead of just acting like it. This is a terrifying thought. They will be entertainment prostitutes for the rest of their lives. Is this what famous actors and actresses are? Are they tricked into believing they are free, when they are really being taken advantage of? It’s a scary line of thought.

            Before society was unalterably connected by phones and the internet, social movements often needed a head, a leader – Martin Luther King, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Mahatma Gandhi to list a few. Even scientists, like Galileo, had to die for what they knew to be true. Nowadays this no longer happens, at least not nearly as often. With digital technologies, leaderless movements occur based on the zeitgeist of social opinion. “The horizontality of networks supports cooperation and solidarity while undermining the need for formal leadership” (Castells 225). In an earlier post I discussed Kony 2012 and that the biggest weakness of their movement was their leader. I implied that the strongest social movements are the ones that are leaderless. The more I think about it the less sure that I am. I think that it depends on the movement and it depends on the leader. Leaders, like the ones listed at the beginning of this paragraph, can rally people in a way that cannot be done so easily with movement based on zeitgeist. In Hunger Games, the rebellion wants Katniss to be the image of the rebellion. This is similar to but not the same as leading the rebellion, the movement.

            People often need something outside of themselves to push them to action, a call to arms. Often in this modern age, call to arms are mistrusted or ignored. Society has become as cynical as Adorno and Horkheimer. This is one of the reasons that we don’t change things anymore; we’ve become cynical of the effectiveness of action, of many small voices joining to be heard. In Hunger Games it is much more obvious what the government is trying to do, how it subjugates its people and forces them to watch the murderous hunger games. It is not so easy to spot the biases and ulterior motives in our world. This makes change difficult. What do we really want? It’s obvious that the people of Panem want to have more freedoms and want to not have their children killed. What the people of the US want? We are not so united. As we fight and bicker amongst ourselves. People in power do what they want.

The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception by Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno.

Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the Internet Age by Manuel Castells.

Teaching Experience

            I was really afraid to go into a high school classroom to teach and discuss topics that are very important to me with a group of unknown teenagers. Teenagers are at an age where they are figuring out who they trust and don’t trust, who they will listen to, and how to judge what they are being told. As an outsider coming into an established class with an established rapport between the teachers and students, it’s difficult to stand up and demand their listening ear when I feel I have no right to. I remember being in high school and how I felt about outsiders like that. Occasionally it would go over well, but that was often because the person had really good people skills, or they were obviously an expert who knew everything about the topic she or he talked about. I don’t have these skills or that wealth of knowledge yet, so I did the best I could.

            Chris Workman and I did the best we could, and if I’m being less critical of myself, we did a pretty good job. We tried really hard to get them to interact and talk; we wanted to hear what they had to say. As the lesson went on, we heard more from them and that was really comforting. The problem at the beginning was that I asked the wrong question. I’m coming from the mindset of a college student. When we discuss personal matters in class it is often stuff in the past, maybe even from high school days. Regardless, when we talk about life it’s a bit ambiguous as to when it happened. In high school it’s happening here and now, and if they talk about it everyone in class will hear; this can give other students ammunition to use against the student who spoke. Anyway, I didn’t think about this. It was difficult to get in a high school mindset, and I didn’t give myself enough time. So, asking them the question, “When was a time when someone judged you incorrectly?” was asking for too much trust, it was too personal, and it was too soon. It’s possible to create a trusting atmosphere and slowly move to questions like that, but I asked it very early on in the lesson.

            One thing that I thought went really well was the assignment we had them do. We asked them to write a journal entry about someone they cared about (we were going to ask them to write about themselves, but we realized that not all young people are kind to themselves), but this entry had to be in the perspective of a villain. The villain could be a nameless antagonist, someone they knew, or a fictional character like Megamind or the Joker. With this activity we wanted them to think about another’s perspective. Villains are not normally thought about; they just exist to be stopped because they are evil. In reality there are few if any humans who are actually pure evil. Another thing we wanted them to notice was how they were kind to the one they cared about. Even though they were trying to be someone else, a villain, they couldn’t help but have a bias towards kindness. With this noticed, we asked the class to research before they create caricatures of people. They are much more likely to be charitable to a character the more they know about his or her race, religion, and up-bringing than if they know nothing. It’s easy to dehumanize someone you don’t know.

            One kid was willing to share his story about Snape, but most of them were hesitant to put themselves out there. It wasn’t ideal, but from looking from afar it seemed that many wrote a lot. I was really glad to have them write a story. When planning the lesson we weren’t sure at first what to have them do, but we knew we wanted them to create something – it is the second half of literacy. We knew we wouldn’t have much technology so we decided to stick with a medium we knew they would have: pencil and paper. I believe this was the correct decision and the best activity we could have them do.

One last note about something I would change. We didn’t use media examples because we want to have more of a discussion with the class, but the discussion didn’t go as well as planned. Next time I would use more pictures or YouTube clips to discuss what I’m talking about. Young people like visuals, and I should have realized that. It could have added interest and depth into our discussion. Talking about films and other extraneous examples would probably be easier to discuss than their own lives.

It was really enjoyable to try to utilize my own teaching philosophy, though it is much easier to write than to enact in a classroom. I enjoy hearing and learning from students, bringing up topics that are important to me, and having them create something by themselves. I have a lot to learn, but there is definitely ways to do it that are better than the banking method. Students are not empty, and we mustn’t treat them as if they are.

Teaching Philosophy

I don’t know much about teaching media literacy education, but I have been a student to it. My education in media arts at Brigham Young University has shaped my view of media greatly, and it has influenced how I view education and how I would teach media if I ever did.  Some of the principles I have learned and believe in are – viewing and discussing many points of view, creating an atmosphere of discussion and equality between teacher and student where the teacher gets to know the students, encouraging literacy – both viewing and creating, and having a positive but critical point of view for the future of media. I vehemently don’t believe in protectionism. Students will become functional working adults, and they need to be able to stand on their own two feet.

Viewing/reading and discussing many points of view is one of the most important principles in my opinion. For example, in this TMA 458 class we read Adorno & Horkheimer and we read Henry Jenkins. These two texts were very different and in many ways opposite, but they both have important and valid things to say about media and culture. Watching documentaries like Digital Nation and Is School Enough? is another way to get view points on media, education, and how they do and can work together. But viewing and reading all the different scholars is not enough. Even the most educated person cannot understand all the information and perspectives set forth in a text. The best way to unpackage a text is through a teacher-led discussion.  Discussion allows students to talk through what they read. Reading something and being able to verbalize it are two different skills. Another benefit to discussion is that it allows for new view points on a text that even the teacher didn’t think of. Teachers should of course lead the discussion so that it doesn’t get too off topic and so that it benefits the course as a whole. This type of learning encourages reflection in preparation for the discussion.

One thing that can facilitate a better atmosphere for discussion is if the teacher will become, as Freire calls it, “teacher-students” and allow the students to become “student-teachers”. My favorite classes growing up, were the ones where I felt most understood and appreciated as a person with a voice. Teachers who know my name and want to know what I think. This encourages engagement and learning. People cringe from learning when they are told or forced to do it. In Is School Enough? students took part in a social game to gather data for school board decision makers and to push other students to be better. They felt their voices appreciated and heard. These students were allowed to show their true colors when they were given a voice when they were allowed to become more than a student, more than an empty head ready to be filled. Media cannot be taught through the banking system (Freire). You can’t just watch a certain amount of films to become literate, though some classics can become an important part of education. Teachers must know their students.

Literacy is made up of two parts, taking in text and putting out text. Reading and watching things is crucial to becoming more rounded in critiques and theories, but then making media is the next step in processing what you know and then utilizing it. Earlier I stated that reading an idea and verbalizing an idea are two completely different things. It’s the same here. Knowing lots of theories, how they interconnect, and which ones you agree with is different from actually trying to create something in the spirit of those theories. While reading the texts and watching the documentaries, teachers can also show projects done by previous students, and they can discuss how well they used the theories and how they could’ve done better. This will give them a more realistic perspective, and ambition to make their own projects. In their essay on critical media literacy, Steinberg & Macedo stated:

“While not everyone has the tools to create sophisticated media productions, we strongly recommend a pedagogy of teaching critical media literacy through project-based media production (even if it is as simple as rewriting a text or drawing a picture) for making analyses more meaningful and empowering as students gain tools for responding and taking action on the social conditions and texts they are critiquing.”

Any school can allow students to create; there is no barrier to entry these days. Getting technology into the hands of students is easier and easier. Now we just have to know how to use it best. Creating and producing projects can expand on knowledge and theory in beautiful ways.

                And that’s just it, I think media and media education have a bright and beautiful future.  I believe that having a positive outlook is really important while working with students. Creating a mood or mindset of cynicism is damaging and debilitating. So while Adorno and Horkheimer have important things to say, make sure that they aren’t the only source used in a media class. I don’t want to be like the people in Digital Nation; I don’t think grouchiness and pessimism helps anything. Yes, some young people have destructive habits with technology, but this is a place where they can learn new ideas and decide for themselves what habits they will make for themselves.

                A last note on protectionism, I do believe that some material is in appropriate for young audiences. They must learn and grow before they can choose for themselves what is and isn’t appropriate to read or watch. The kind of protectionism I dislike so much is the kind sees media and popular culture as an enemy. Media and popular culture has its fair share of problems, but it also contains a lot of material that is valuable. “The protectionist stance leads to an instructor-focused classroom, where the teacher tells the student the “facts”…and the student listens quietly and takes notes for the test,” (Hobbs, The Seven Great Debates). This is everything I stand against. I want the classroom to be an open environment where students learn from teachers and teachers learn from students, where many perspectives are analyzed and discussed, where students are encouraged to be literate, and where an atmosphere of optimism can go hand in hand with well researched critique. This is my ideal classroom.

I Don't Know About India

                The questions brought up this week seem to be, should media be incorporated in to school more? And, is the current education system the best we can do? I believe the answer to both of these is yes. The follow up question would be – how? The film Is This Enough tries to tackle this question by exploring four situations of different educational attempts. One was in a big inner city school, one in a smaller country school, one after school activity, and one self-driven education. It gave a really great look at a lot of different perspectives.

                In Giroux and Simon’s article it asks a question that all teachers should ponder, “What relationship do my students see between the work we do in class and the lives they live outside of class?” There is often a disconnect here, which is very obvious to see when students graduate college and struggle to get into the work force. The educational sphere and the working sphere are very different, but I don’t think we should focus more on careerism. Focusing on careerism is so ambiguous and causes many of the problems I think. Giroux and Simon don’t say career though; they are talking about life. This is where the focus of school is wrong. It is also why I think that the film making after school activity should stay an after school activity. If students only focus on one skill to make money with that would be a real disservice to them. School is about educating for life. It is about teaching a multitude of topics even if you don’t like them all. You should learn about math, science, English, and history if you want to be a upstanding and qualified citizen. There was a girl in the video that didn’t want to do the normal education system because she didn’t care about that; she cares about natural healing, yoga, and India. This type of education would not work for most people. There aren’t enough people for each student to be taught one on one, most students don’t know what they want so young or have enough drive to do it, and I worry that there will be areas of her education that will come up short of other students her age. Even if you don’t like math, it is very useful if you want to do any kind of finances, whether for yourself or for a business. I think that there is a way to make information more useful in daily life, but sometimes the base principles for higher learning are not useful in daily life (that doesn’t mean that they are unimportant).

                I really liked the two examples given that were set in school systems. I thought they fought against some of the stigmas of public school teaching. Leistyna stated, “the education system – obsessed with standardization, high stakes assessment, and careerism – often do little to help students or teachers understand how media influence our ideas and values and informs public opinion and debate.” I forget where the school was, but in the film they showed students in a large city school using a gaming platform to gather data on what changes students want in schools. I thought this was the perfect way to engage students, inform rule makers, and teach students how influential media can be. I really loved this idea, and I think it could be implemented in schools nation-wide. Not all students will get excited about it, but it gives them the chance to be heard if the school boards are willing to listen. I like to think that they would listen, that they would want to know, but you never know until you try.

                I don’t think that letting you kids do their own thing and travel to India is a good option, and I would never let my child do that, not that young! It’s drastic in my opinion. I think that have after school programs that teach sports or skills are great options. But I think that getting a general education is a good thing, and I think that students should have the option to help shape their education or at the very least shape how they are assessed.

Magic, Mystification, and Speed Reading

As John Dewey stated in Democracy and Education, “Society not only continues to exist by transmission… it may fairly be said to exist in transmission, in communication” (italics added for effect). I believe that debate is a wonderful example of this. Before watching Resolved, I knew nothing about debate clubs and competitions; I just had a few assumptions about what it must be. I thought debate was a simple argument contest where two kids fought with words. I thought it was more like the presidential debates on television. It is so much more than that. It’s a mesmerizing avalanche of words coming from mountains of paperwork collected into numerous hefty tubs. I was so impressed. Dewey also states that, “communication is educative.” I have never seen such dedicated students before. They go to camps to collect research. They read scholar after scholar, collecting more and more data, analysis, and opinions. They’ve probably read more scholarly literature than many in the US would have ever dreamed existed. Later in the film, they interview politicians, broadcasters, and other successful people that all have a background in debate. They all revel in its usefulness and education, how they grew from it. It seems like the perfect educational club right? One that you would want your kid to join so that they could be smart and successful too. Maybe not.

            Watching Sam Iola and Matt Andrews debate was captivating and enthralling certainly. Whenever they skipped the debate and just stated the results (to save time for the film) I was disappointed because I wanted to continue watching them; they definitely had a magic to their process and presentation. But then the filmmakers juxtaposed Sam and Matt – who are very traditional competitors – against Richard and Louis who desire to change the status quo. Richard and Louis are black kids from Long Island, and definitely not the kind of kids who are typically seen at debating events. These two are good debaters, but they think that the current system of debate is racist in its fundamentals. Minorities are often poorer than their white counterparts; they can’t afford to go to summer camps and other processes to get the research necessary to compete effectively. Richard and Louis decide to no longer debate like everyone else debates. Instead, as Freire would say, they “problem pose” in this educational discourse. They try to “perceive critically the way they exist in the world with which and in which they find themselves.” They could debate like everyone else, but that would change nothing; they would be approving a system that bars entry to so many of their peers. It is not educational if nothing is gained from it. Why make a game of politics, when real answers could possibly be reached? That is the question they pose. They want to talk about the problems in their streets and neighborhoods and not play a game that always ends in nuclear fall out, that’s childish. Sadly, not everyone will listen. It’s hard to talk about the real world and real problems when people assume that you are playing along like everyone else. It’s even harder when they can see what you are doing but disagree. In the interviews of various people, everyone seemed very defensive of debate and didn’t want it to ever change because then “it wouldn’t be debate”. I hate that excuse.  I understand that change can be hard and sometimes painful, but sometimes you have to break walls down to let the trapped people out. I think debate could be a great form of society and education, but I think that Richard and Louis are on to something. Systems need to be questioned, nothing is perfect.

Classroom Observation

I haven’t been to high school in a few years, so honestly it felt like walking through a movie when I stepped through those doors. The kids gave me piercing curious looks, there were cliques and groups everywhere, and the school felt like a maze of course. When we, Chris and I, finally found Mrs. Nelson’s room, we peaked our heads in her office door to say hello. She was cordial if not slightly cold with the tiredness that is not uncommon to public high school teachers. We let her be, we didn’t need anymore attention than that, and she had enough on her hands with her next class coming in.

One very nice thing about her class, Film History, is that she leaves the stacks of chairs in the corner instead of putting them out and lining them up. She lets her students get their own chairs and sit wherever they want. Remembering my high school days, it was always such a relief to be able to have that small amount of control. The class began with a review of what they had learned in the last class. I was impressed with the involvement of the students; they seemed to remember the terms fairly well. Then the teacher handed out empty work sheets and pulled up a super dull high school style power point – one that has no style, a few pictures, and mostly just text written in Times New Roman. This was the end to any class discussion, and the beginning of feeding students facts that are not fleshed with commentary or history. She went through a few interesting terms that are definitely important in film, like, diegetic music, but the majority of the time was going through the last hundred years through lists of the most famous musicals. You have to remember two from this decade for the test and two from this decade for the test. You must know that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers was an extremely famous onscreen pair in many musicals for the test. Write this down on your worksheet/outline, it’s on the test.  Every other sentence she said, “this is on the test” like a threat if they don’t pay attention. It made me really sad that this tone had to be used in the classroom. I understand that high school is hard, and at this age, teenagers aren’t too interested in paying attention, but I wish there was a better way.

What I did like about the class was the emphasis on viewing things. It felt like they were going through all the necessary material for the test as fast as possible, so that they could get to watching films, in this case The Wizard of Oz.  I think this emphasis is important, but I wish there had been more context into the importance of the film and how it fits into history. I’m very glad that this class is offered in high school, and I wish it had been offered at mine. Even though it is test centered, I believe that students will pick up on something that they hadn’t before. Maybe they’ll be more willing to watch an old Astaire movie because now they’ve heard of him. I don’t know what all the results are for classes like these, but I’m hopeful for sure.  It introduces the idea that there is more to films than just going to the movies, and I like that.

Artist Statement:

Gulliver’s Travels is about a man who has a lot to learn. He travels around to fantastical lands where he learns about people, humanity, and politics. He learns about who he is and who he wants to become by viewing these different people. Some of the people are kind and others are not; some of the people are smart and intellectual, other people are ignorant and dumb. All of these factors affect how they act, interact, and create a law system. I wanted to do something like that, but on a much smaller scale. I also want to replace politics with religion, so that it becomes about the interaction of people, humanity, and religion.

To do this I have my character explore three different lands: one of Christianity, one of Jewry, and one of Islam. These are not all religions; there are thousands and thousands of those.  But what I would claim is that these are the religions that struggle the most with each other in the United States right now. That is what I’ve seen at least, and it bothers me to no end.  I am a proponent of learning, of asking before assuming, and of knowledge over ignorance. I want to tell a story of a man who knows nothing and comes to realize he’s missing everything.

That is the story I tried to tell. I am Christian, and I don’t know everything, but I tried to be as fair as I can. I love other religions and I am always eager to know more. I want to share my eagerness with everyone around me. There is no need for all the fighting between us. We should be reveling in all of the beauty and devotion to God instead. I used my character as an example of who the reader could be. The reader could talk to more people, they could ask more questions. The world of apathy and coldness that I referenced is how I see this world of technology we live in. I can walk around and make eye contact with no one. Either they are on their phone or tablet, or listening to their ipods. They have their own cold world with no need for interaction. How much are they missing by shutting everyone off. I, myself, try to not do this to myself. It’s hard to reach out, but it is worth it in the end.

My story needs work, so if you would like to comment with critiques, I would really appreciate it. I don’t want to write anything that unintentionally offends someone. The point here is to be welcoming to join together under the banner of humanity. Will you join me?

Aaron Gulliver and his Religious Travels

By Abby Grout

Aaron lives in a gray, bland land. The people there don’t believe in much of anything outside of their own heads and experiences. They are rough and rowdy, giving little thought to others since they are just figments of their self-created perception. A few are prone to a nice act or a gentle tone, but they are few and far between and often called loonies.

Aaron is the same as the rest of them: selfish, angst ridden, and often filled with distraction and dismay.

When he lies in his bed late at night, his mind fills with questions that he is normally able to push aside and ignore during the day. Is this all there is? Do I matter? Are we right to act the way we do? The next morning he shakes off these thoughts like a dog shakes off water, an ingrained reaction, no thought needed. One impulse that he can never shake is his desire to travel.

The thing is, where Aaron lives, people don’t really travel, there is no good reason to do it. They can live adequately where they are and there are rumors about what it is like outside, and from what I’ve heard it’s full of crazy people. Cuckoos freely walk through the streets.

The best Aaron can do is change apartments every few months, but he’s getting antsy. Aaron is the grandson of Lemuel Gulliver, a world-renowned traveler, so it is no surprise that he suffers from this inane desire.

We pick up in his story, the day that Aaron Gulliver can take it no longer, the day that started his journey into lands that believe.

            He starts out of town with little more than a pack on his back and walking stick in hand. No one notices his departure or misses his presence. He hikes through the woods for a few days. He has never wandered this far before and quickly becomes weary of traveling by foot. He continues on. He hears a creaking behind him as he walks and a mule pulled cart wobbles up the path. Aaron stops the cart and asks for a ride. To his astonishment, the driver readily agrees and scoots over to give him room.

            As soon as he sits down, his cramped weary body over-whelms him, and he falls to sleep regardless of the creaking cart. When he wakes up, he stretches hitting the driver next to him in the process. He slumps back down in his seat. The driver, a cute old man with a mustache and a grin, turns to him.

“Have you been saved?” he asks in a bubbly voice.

Jerking his back in shock, Aaron replies, “What are you talking about? By who? What do I need to be saved from?”

“Hmmm, you’re not from around here are you?”

“No I’m not. Where am I by the way?”

“You are in the outskirts of a Christian country. When I ask you if you’ve been saved, I’m asking if you have taken Jesus Christ as your Savior.”

            Aaron sits silently. He doesn’t like to talk very much, and could go for days without talking back home. This place seems to be different, and he doesn’t know how to feel about it.

“You look confused stranger. Oh and I’m David, by the way.”

“My name’s Aaron.”

“Aaron! That’s a great name; that’s the name of Moses’ older brother.”

“Who is Moses?”

“Moses is one of the greatest prophets of God described in the holy book – the Bible.” He paused. “You do know who God is don’t you?”

“Heard of him, but I’ve never known anyone who actually believed in him.”

“Well, now you have. Come on, it’s Sunday, the Sabbath, I’ll take you to the church service later tonight. Then you will know more.”

            Aaron sat silently in the cart for the last few miles. There is something sincere about this man that made him seem somewhat less than crazy, but how could that be? He hadn’t talked that much in such a long time, and somehow it felt right. Weird. There must be something in the air.

            They pull up to a little cottage, and a cute plump little lady came bustling out the door twittering about Jenny and Clark and the mischief they’d caused. Then she sees the visitor and rushs back inside to put another place at the table. Jenny and Clark chase after the dog in the yard. Aaron smiles to himself a little. Then he catches himself, and rearranges his face to a more emotionless expression.

            Mother Susan finishes the last preparations for dinner, and everyone sits down. Aaron jerks his hand back when he feels someone touch it.

“We hold hands when we pray, dear.” Said Susan.

“Oh, right.”

            He looks at little Jenny next to him, and takes her small hand in his. He sits stiffly and listens to the family’s humble prayer. He had never heard someone say such kind words.

            Later that night he gets into the cart with the entire family. It creaks and groans from the load but continues down the path. Soon, they reach a city. All around, people leave their homes and walk together towards the center of the city. The cart stops and everyone gets out. David drives it away to park it, and the rest of the family continues this pilgrimage. Eventually they reach a large chapel and walk in.

            They find a seat in the middle, and save some space for David. Aaron looks forward and sees an altar. Behind this altar is a statue of a man nailed to cross and looking up as if there was someone there. Aaron turned to Jenny.

“Who is he?”

“That’s Jesus.”

“Who is Jesus?”

“Jesus is the savior. He died for us.”

“Why did he have to die for us?”

“Because we are imperfect. Because we trip our brothers and step on the dog’s tail.”

Is this true? Could all of the apathy he had known his entire life be wrong, so wrong that a man had to die solely for those mistakes? He knows little about this Jesus, but he feels ashamed at the implications and possibilities. He bows his head in his guilt.

Then everyone begins to sing. It sweeps through the entire group, the entire congregation. Aaron listens to the words, and feels the companionship of his fellow human family. He has never felt so many feelings before, like a fire inside his chest. These people aren’t crazy. They had found love and built a beautiful community with it.

Later that night he bids the family farewell.

“Where will you go?” asks Jenny.

He points the direction with which he began his journey. “On.”

Susan quickly responds, “You can’t go that way. Those are not our lands; those people do not have Christian values. And I’ve heard they are quite greedy and manipulative.”

“I must.”

            And with that, he’s off. He walks through valleys and fields, through hills and streams, until he meets an injured man hobbling down the road almost a week later. Normally he would’ve walked by this man with no second glance, but after recent events he decides to stop. He takes the man’s arm and puts it around his neck.

“I’m Aaron.”

“Thank God.  I knew he would send someone to aid me, and it seems he has sent Moses’ brother. Quick we must hurry to my home. It is nearly Shabbat and we must not be late.”

“Is it Sunday already? I must’ve miscounted the days.”

“No it’s not Sunday. It’s Friday.”

“Wait. Aren’t you Christian? You know Moses and you have a Sabbath day.”

“No, I am Jewish. We also believe in Moses and many of the same ancient prophets, but we are very different. We have Shabbat, not Sabbath, from Friday night to Saturday night. Come and you’ll learn.”

            They arrive at a small town and wander through until they reach the man’s, Zachary’s house. Aliya, his wife, comes rushing out to help him in.

“I thought you were going to be late for sure. What happened to you!?”

“Please, Aliya. Let’s not bore our guest. We must finish preparing for Shabbat.”

            With that they set to work. Aliya had already cleaned the home, so they bath themselves and have Aaron take a bath. Aliya baths baby Reuben, and they all dress in their finest clothes. Aliya lights two candles and recites a blessing.

“What are the candles for,’ asks Aaron.

“They represent two commandments: zakhor and shamor. That is to remember and to observe. We must remember and commemorate the creation of this world and commemorate our families being freed from slavery in Egypt. The great Moses was the one who lead our people to freedom.”

“You make it sound like it wasn’t that long ago, but wasn’t it ages ago?”

“It was a long time ago, but we try to remind ourselves frequently. This helps us to be truly grateful for the blessing that it was. To observe Shabbat, the other commandment, we refrain from work of any kind.”

“What does that do?”

“It sanctifies the day as a day for God.”

            The three of them and the baby go to the evening services, Kabbalat Shabbat. The Rabbi reads 6 beautiful Psalms corresponding to the 6 days of creation and then a special psalm of the Shabbat. Then the people begin to sing. Aaron can’t understand much of anything because they are speaking a different language, Aliya called it Hebrew. Regardless, it is peaceful and beautiful.

            Once they arrive back home, they eat dinner. Aaron waits with more questions to ask.

“Tradition and the history of your people are important aren’t they?”

“They are the most important.” Replies Zachary. “We would be nothing without our ancestors and without God’s blessings to them and to us.”

“Why do the Christians call you greedy?”

“We care not only about our ancestors but about future generations. We often push our children towards lucrative careers in medicine and banking. Sometimes we are misjudged because of this. But like any principle, sometimes we take it too far, creating people who care about money far more than they should.”

“Where I’m from, people care little for each other, and there is not history or tradition.”

“How do they know who they are if they don’t know where they come from?” wonders Zachary.

“They don’t.” replies Aaron.

            Aaron stays through the rest of Shabbat and leaves the next day.

            Zachary warns him before he leaves. “Make sure to watch your back. I’ve heard the people in those lands can be quite violent to people who don’t believe the same as they do.”

            Aaron keeps that in mind, and wanders through the wilderness. At times it is lush and green with many streams and animals, but then there would be long stretches of rocky dry desert. Aaron fills up on water as much as he can to survive the stretches of desert. One is too long for him, and he falls to the ground. He looks up and sees a hooded figure coming towards him. At first he assumes it is a hallucinogen, but as it comes closer he realizes it is a man. He cringes away in fear, thinking of his friend’s words. The man stops to speak.

“Please don’t be afraid my friend. My name is Hamzah Mansoura, and you need help. What is your name?”

“Aaron.”

“Come Aaron, let’s leave this wasteland.”

            Aaron has no choice. Hamzah helps Aaron, like Aaron helped Zachary. They walk together and escape death and dehydration. They arrive at a home very similar in build and simplicity to David’s cottage. Once inside, Aaron collapses into a bed and blacks out.

            He awakes to a cold towel being pressed to his forehead by gentle hands. He isn’t sure where he was.

“Where am I?” He asks as he tries to sit up quickly.

            The other gentle, but now firm hand pushes him back down.

“I’m Reem, Hamzah’s wife. He brought you here yesterday after finding you in the desert.”

“Oh.”

“Hamzah will be coming in soon. If you feel strong enough, you may get up.”

            Aaron lays there and collects his wits about him. He looks around and sees a beautiful drawing on the wall.

“What is that?”

“That is a quote from the Quran. It says: ‘Allah is all in all. Allah sees you, and is with you, wherever you are, whatever you do.” Reem replied.

“Who is Allah, and what is the Quran?”

“Allah is the only God, and the Quran is a collection of revelations received by his prophet Muhammad.”

“Is that the same God as the Christian or Jewish God?”

“Depends on who you ask. Some say He is one and the same, others disagree.”

            Then the door opens, and Hamzah walks in, sweaty from the mornings work. He goes to the sink and fills a basin. He washes his hands, face, arms and feet in the water. His wife follows after him. Then they pull out small rugs and lay them on the ground. They begin to pray with repetitious and rhythmic motions. Aaron watches on eagerly. When they are finished he speaks again.

“Is today your Sabbath or Shabbat? When I stayed with a Jewish family they washed before their holy day.”

“No it is not the Sabbath or Shabbat.” Answers Hamzah, “We, Muslims, are neither Christian nor Jew. Today is a normal day. We pray 5 times a day and wash before we do so. We must be purified before praying to Allah.”

            Aaron suddenly realizes he hasn’t eaten in days as his stomach loudly grumbles. He looks up sheepishly.

“Don’t worry, it will be sunset soon.” Says Reem.

“Why sunset?”

“There are five pillars to Islam. You’ve already discovered one of them: Salat or daily prayer. Another is Sawm. This means fasting. During one month every year, the month of Ramadan, we refrain from eating from dawn until dusk.”

“What are the others?”

“Shahadah is declaring that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet. Zakat is giving a percent of your yearling increase as charity to the poor and needy, and last is Hajj. Hajj is a pilgrimage to Mecca, the holy land, that Muslims are advised to do at least once in their life if they are able.”

            Aaron thinks to himself. These people seem to have many traditions just like the Jews, they have a holy book, and they must declare their allegiance just like the Christians who accept Jesus as their Savior.

Aaron speaks up again. “You don’t seem that different from the Christians and the Jews. I mean there is different terminology between the different beliefs, but all of you build these religious communities that strive together to serve each other and your God. “

“Yes, I suppose that’s true.”

“Then why are you all so separated. Why do they think you are dangerous?”

“Even though the differences are small, some people are very talented at making them appear as great chasms of differences. This separates the different peoples until they no long see the others as people. Instead, they are heretics or infidels. It is shaytan’s greatest weapon. You may know him by another name, Satan the great deceiver.”

            By that time, night has fallen and they conclude their conversation. They eat dinner hungrily and quietly. Aaron has never had so much to think about in his entire life. He was once empty and life was easy to understand. Now he is full, full of joy and complexities, knowledge and confusion. He thinks of home. He thinks of those he knew, and all they didn’t know.

            He would go back. He’d tell them of his journey and what he had learned. They would be stubborn, but he would tell them about community, tradition, and devotion. He would tell them of Moses, Jesus, and Allah. They may not listen right away, but he would be persistent; he’s one of them and as stubborn as they are. He could not let these truths lie dormant. Truths are meant to be sought after from every possible source. Once they are found, they must be shared.