A Lesson on the First Amendment

I came across this blog post by Michael Shermer today on Skepticblog.  He explains how it is incorrect to claim that building a mosque near ground zero and Dr Laura receiving criticism for using the N-word are not violations of the First Amendment, as many are claiming that they are.  I think it ties in well with my recent posts.  I also think we should remember it the next time someone cries foul about their First Amendment rights.

This Is Why I Blog

I’m pretty excited that I’ve been able to rekindle my blogging fire a bit.  And I’m even more excited that people are reading and commenting on it!  I typically blog about issues that are pretty important to me and I like the feeling of starting a bit of a dialogue with my readers (all 10 of you) on these subjects.  Speaking of which, I want to address some of the comments about my Politics and Cola post.  Really it’s just Brittney’s and my Dad’s comments, because they were the ones who disagreed with me.  And honestly, I have to agree with them on the points they made.

Democrats are different than Republicans in some fundamentally important ways.  In my post I said that they were too similar, but I also admitted to exaggerating the extent of their similarities.  I think I was reacting to the tendency for the media and the public to seem equally dissatisfied no matter who is in charge.  And to the castrated policy making that occurs when one side is forced to play to the middle.  And also to the fact that people don’t even seem to know the differences between the parties, except when it comes to topics with religious undertones.  So, I think there are political phenomenon that occur across the board to both parties and at times this gives me the impression that not much is different from when the others guys are at bat.  But, Dad and Brittney, you’re right that the ideological aspect of each party is much more important than I gave it credit for in my post.  It is the most important distinction between the parties and it is what motivates the actions they do take.

Thanks for being involved in my blog!  Let’s keep the discussions coming.

Mosque = Muslim = Terrorism? Really, America?

It’s on the news every day lately and I decided it’s time for me to weigh in on it.  To recap, there are plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero in New York.  The plans have met with opposition because many think it is insensitive and inappropriate to build an Islamic monument of sorts so close to the site of what is considered to be a Muslim-perpetrated act of terrorism.  I’m not going to talk about whether or not the mosque should be built in this post.  But this story has sparked a lot of discussion about Muslims in America and people have been sharing their opinions of Muslims.  I have been very disappointed to see how many people have negative opinions about Muslims in general.  That is what I want to address here.

Several months ago, I wrote a post about how overprotective Americans are becoming and that it’s getting out of hand.  I explained that people overreact to statistically very unlikely events and hyperinflate the probability and dangerousness of those events.  And they ignore how common it is for those same events NOT to happen.  (The Base Rate Fallacy, for anyone who wants to read about it.)  Well, that same phenomenon appears to be at work when it comes to Americans’ opinions of Muslims.

Why do people think poorly of Muslims?  I imagine it mostly has to do with Islam’s connection to the September 11th tragedy and to other widely publicized terrorist groups and the actions of these groups.  I don’t think anyone would argue with the claim that the 9/11 terrorists were Muslims.  Now, let’s look at some numbers:

Muslims in the world: about 1.5 billion

Fundamentalist Muslims with Jihadist tendencies (according to this website that seems to think poorly of Muslims): about 1.8 million or 0.12% of all Muslims.  Keep in mind that this statistic is an estimation of the number of Muslims who have a mindset likely to lead to acts of terrorism, not necessarily actual terrorists.

Proportion of Terrorist acts in the last 30 years perpetrated by Muslims: 6%  (from FBI report on terrorism; and this site graphs the info)

So let’s get this straight, many Americans base their opinion of all Muslims on the actions of less than 1% of all Muslims.  They are allowing a statistical improbability to get in the way of seeing what is far more likely, ie. that the Muslim next door is completely harmless.

If you look at the graph I linked to above, you’ll see that the majority of terrorist acts in the US were perpetrated by Latinos.  Why aren’t we afraid of them in the way that we seem to be afraid of Muslims?  Is it because Latinos are usually Christian?  Is it a case of preferring the devil we know to the devil we don’t?  I don’t have the answers, I just know it’s foolish.

In America, we think pretty highly of Christians.  The different Christians do not always agree but, generally speaking, Christians are good.  But not all.  For example: the Ku Klux Klan is a Christian organization; the Army of God was responsible for attacks on abortion clinics; the Hutaree Christian militia group that made the news earlier this year didn’t practice the kind of Christianity most of us do.  Do we judge all Christians by the actions of these small groups?  Of course not.  We know that would be foolish.

So why do we do it with Islam?  Are there bad Muslims out there?  Sure, there are groups like Hamas and Al-Qaeda and others that I don’t know about.  But we need to be smart enough not to let our fear get in the way of reason.  Statistically speaking, it is very, very unlikely that the Muslim you meet at the store is any threat to you at all.  And we should not act as though they are.

To conclude my little rant, I would like to refer you to an episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Aug 19).  While addressing this same topic (although much more humorously than I) Jon eats some humble pie and plays part of a speech given by Charlton Heston after the Columbine shootings.  I encourage you to watch it thoughtfully.  The relevant part of the video begins at about 7:40 and goes to 9:55.

APA Convention 2010

So it’s been over a week but I’m finally blogging about my experience at the APA (American Psychological Association) Convention last Friday.  It was my first time attending and I was very pleased with the whole event.  Before the convention the childish psychology nerd inside me got all excited because of the all the psych celebrities I might see.  And the mature psychology nerd in me got all excited about everything there was to learn: about grad school, about the APA, about everything psychology.

So let me break it down real quick.  There was the main exhibition hall where all the vendors and exhibitors were.  That stuff was very clinical career oriented so it wasn’t the most interesting part for me.  There were lots of people hawking therapy books and psychology journals.  But among all those exhibits there was a booth for the Society for History of Psychology (or something like that) and they had one of Albert Bandura’s Bobo dolls on display.  Apparently he used several similar dolls in his experiments on social learning.  I thought that was kind of cool.

By the way, Albert Bandura was born in Mundare, Alberta, CA which is just east of Edmonton.  And he is considered one of the most influential psychologists ever.  He is the fourth most cited psychologist of all time.  A famous Canadian you may not have known about.  Read about him here.

At either end of the exhibitors were the poster presentations.  This is where researchers, usually grad students, showcase some of their recent research in poster form for all to see.  There were some interesting studies.  I’ll tell you about some of them later if you ask.

There was the APA Bookstore.  There were way more APA books than I could ever need and a ton of therapy videos, too.  I later met the therapist who stars in those videos.  I guess you could consider him a celebrity of sorts.  I almost got myself a Stroop Test T-shirt.  That would have been nerdy.

And then, a ten minute walk from all the other stuff were the lecture halls.  There I attended lectures on getting into grad school, advances in media psychology, the psychology of choice, Phil Zimbardo’s Heroic Imagination Project, neuropsychology and phantom limbs, and a discussion of PTSD following a screening of The Hurt Locker.

Earlier I mentioned my excitement at possibly seeing some psychology celebrities.  When I say that, I refer to psychologists who are well known among psychology students.  Their research is often part of psychology lore and they frequently show up in text books.  The ones that I saw were: Hazel Markus, known for her research on possible selves; Phil Zimbardo, who is best known for the Stanford Prison Experiment, was supposed to be there but was recovering from hip surgery instead; V. S. Ramachandran, known for his research on phantom limbs, plus I likely saw many others who I simply didn’t recognize.

In all, it was a great experience.  I learned a lot and I’m very glad I went.  I’m very glad it was in San Diego this year.

Gold!

It’s a modern day gold rush out there!  Or at least that’s what they want you to think.  I don’t know about you but I get a little suspicious of all those “gold for sale” ads on TV.  I’m no expert on precious metals and economics but it seems a little fishy when people with a lot of gold suddenly begin trying to unload it on the masses.  If gold is really as profitable as they say it is they are either very altruistic in their efforts to help out the American consumer during a recession (ha!) or they are your garden variety snake oil salesmen.  Based on my limited understanding of the subject I would say one of two things could be happening: gold isn’t doing as great as they say it is on the markets, so it’s time to get rid of it OR they’re simply buying loads of gold and selling it at a markup to make a buck or two.  In both cases it is capitalism at its finest and the average consumer is being misled and getting the short end of the deal.  And then the paradox of capitalism is that I should applaud the gold hawkers for turning a dollar and scold the consumer for being foolish.  Oh, America…

Politics and Cola

Sometimes I feel like the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are the same party.  Call me ignorant if you want but think about it.  Both parties, when in power, receive the same criticisms: they’re spending too much, they’re accomplishing too little, they’re too corrupt, they don’t have their priorities straight, they raised taxes even though they said they wouldn’t, they lowered taxes even though it’s irresponsible, they’re un-American and trying to sabotage the country, and so on.  The policies they enact always tend to be the feeble step-cousins of what was promised in campaign time.  Unilateral decisions are condemned as tyrannical.  Supporters always complain that their party is leaning too far in the other direction.  The good stuff is always the same, too: they gave a good speech, they created some good will with somebody, they created policy to help the poor, they’re committed to peace, etc.

I think what all this means is that when you boil down these political parties to what they can actually accomplish while in office you have essentially the same party.  Sure, their ideological starting points are different to start with but come time to make policy it all dissolves into some sort of moderate political cocktail anyway.  And when policy is made, each party justifies it with their own ideology giving us the illusion that they did something the other side couldn’t or wouldn’t do.  What we have with both major parties is the same product, marketed differently, repackaged and sold as ‘new and improved’ and better than the other guy.  Democrats and Republicans are the Pepsi and Coke of politics: huge competitors, each with a loyal following, and each tastes about the same.

Am I exaggerating?  Yes.  And I’m doing so on purpose.  I don’t know if my point is that we need more viable options when it comes to political parties so that when we vote we’re actually getting a change and so that we can base our votes on something other than a candidate’s position on abortion or the second amendment.  Or maybe my point is that we need to grow up a little and realize that our goals are more common than we think so that we can eliminate some of the counterproductive mud-slinging and name-calling that constantly thwarts good politicians in America.

Final thought:

Liberal ≠ Conservative, but

Democrat ≈ Republican

Think about it.  Next election, vote Green! (or Libertarian!)  Or whatever. :)

Canada Trip

After an unintentional hiatus, I’m back to blogging.  I have some good ideas for the blog and hopefully I can follow through with them all.  For today, I think it is appropriate to recount my recent journey to Canada with Maren (we got back two weeks ago after all).  We’re thinking of putting together a slide show of sorts for the trip (maybe) so my entry today will be relatively brief and simple.

Day 1 (July 10, 2010)

• Work till 3:00pm
• Maren’s recital till 4:00pm
• Depart San Diego approx. 6:00pm
• Arrive at Randy and Theresa’s in Mountain View 1:00am

Day 2 (July 11)

• Depart Mountain View 9:00am
• Arrive at Eugene, OR 6:00pm for dinner with Maren’s cousin Tom MacArthur and his family
• Dinner was delicious.
• Depart Eugene 7:00pm
• Arrive Everett, WA 11:00pm at my mom and sister’s place

Day 3 (July 12)

• Tour Seattle with Mom and Flora
• See Space Needle, musical fountain, monorail, Pike Place Market, first Starbucks store and more
• Back to Everett for couple’s massage at Mom’s workplace
• Massage = Awesome
• Dinner with cousins Brian and Eric and Eric’s wife, who live nearby

Day 4 (July 13)

• See Chittenden Locks in morning
• We split up; Maren goes to see an old friend, Jes Erickson, while Mom, Ruth and I did the Underground Seattle tour
• I try on a kilt at the world’s only Utilikilt store.  Not convinced.
• See first UPS location.
• Have Taco Bell for dinner.  Yum.
• Depart Everett; Arrive in Abbotsford at Bobby Hinman’s place at about 9:00pm
• Border guard quote: “Has your American half corrupted your Canadian half?”  My response: “Definitely not.”

Day 5 (July 14)

• Embarked on tour of downtown Vancouver
• Started at Stanley Park
• Saw Inukshuk
• Granville Island
• Robson Street, bought some shirts
• Chinatown, including some dirty, inedible Chinese food
• Gastown and dinner with Bobby and Jovi

Day 6 (July 15)

• Embarked on tour of my childhood in Mission
• Visited each of the four houses I lived in
• Swam and cliff jumped at Cascade Falls (brrrrr)
• Then to Chilliwack
• Went to Cultus Lake, climbed Teapot Hill and swam
• Visited the Irwins
• Saw the Vancouver temple

Day 7 (July 16)

• Depart Abbotsford early to reach Banff before dark
• Encountered delays between Golden and Banff
• Distance from Golden to Banff = 139 km,  Time it should take = 1.5 hours, Time it took = 3 hours = sucky
• Arrive in Banff
• Explore
• Slept in tent in crappy sleeping bag (brrrr)

Day 8 (July 17)

• Break camp early, head to Calgary
• Meet Darren and Sarah and Andrew and Paige at Peters’ Drive-In
• Act like children at nearby playground
• Calgary Stampede!
• Arrive late at cousin Kira’s

Day 9 (July 18)

• Sleep
• Go to church
• Sleep
• Eat and visit with Kira and Justin
• Sleep

Day 10 (July 19)

• Sleep
• Hang out/babysit
• Go row a boat in a lake; it was too windy, we didn’t go anywhere
• Go out for Polish food with Kira and Justin (Maren was excited)
• Saw movie Inception

Day 11 (July 20)

• Leave early for Edmonton
• Arrive midday
• Show Maren my college apartment
• Visit with old institute instructors
• Walking tour of University of Alberta
• Driving tour of Hawrelak Park
• Walking tour of Legislature grounds
• Watch part of an environmental rally, with live music, hippie jugglers and hula hoopers
• Arrive at Makea and Melina Lowry’s house at about 9:00pm
• Watch movie Son of Rambow (suprisingly good)

Day 12 (July 21)

• Slow start to day; get car problem diagnosed
• West Edmonton Mall tour
• Dinner at Spaghetti Factory
• West Ed Waterpark!
• Back to the Lowry’s to hang out

Day 13 (July 22)

• Drive to Southern Alberta
• Stop in Lethbridge to see Liz Ehlert
• Then to Magrath
• Stop to see Liz’s parents
• Go to Harker cabin where we’re staying (which is amazing!)
• Stay up talking with Harkers

Day 14 (July 23)

• Breakfast with the Harkers
• Depart to Cardston
• Attend temple
• Go to Waterton
• See Cameron Lake, Cameron Falls and Prince of Wales Hotel
• Get pulled over for speeding on the Cameron Lake road
• Back to Magrath to go to 10 year high school reunion dinner (great steaks)
• Saw Justin and Alana Holladay among others
• Went to Lowry’s to hang out; saw many fun people there (Maikal, Jesse, Melissa, Brandon, Anthony, and more)
• Back to cabin before it gets too late

Day 15 (July 24)

• Breakfast at Brandon’s
• I leave to get on my hs reunion float in the Magrath Days parade and Maren goes to find a place to watch
• Parade is fun.
• After parade, we go cliff jumping at Kimball River
• Then back to town for night time events
• We miss beef on a bun
• We listen to some live music, watch some fire spinning people and then the fireworks
• Through all this, we see many cool people (Scott, Nima, Amy W., Melissa G., Cristy, Amy E., Kimm)
• Good times had by all

Day 16 (July 25)

• Leave first thing in the morning
• Drive
• Eat at Cafe Rio
• Drive
• Stop in Salt Lake City at Annie Larson’s place
• Maren goes for a walk, I sleep

Day 17 (July 26)

• Up early
• Drive
• Eat at Cafe Rio
• Drive
• Arrive in San Diego tired but fulfilled.

End.