GL 350 Leisure

The Italian lifestyle has developed largely around leisure in ways that I never expected. As we discussed in earlier weeks, Italians form pessimistic view causing them to mistrust and avoid bad situations. What typically comes with pessimism is ample leisure time. If you are pessimistic you won’t want to do anything to better your situation. In earlier chapters we discussed how Italians will rejoice over having a simple job working for the city. It is a consistent pay check, but nothing so special. Francesco explains how leisure has worked in benefit for the Italians by writing about how to prosper under grueling tyranny. “I do not blame those who, enflamed by love country, defy dangers to establish liberty and popular rule, though I think that what they do is extremely risky. Few revolutions succeed, and, when they do, you often discover they did not gain you what you hoped for.” It is much easier to tough it out through the rule of a tyrannical power instead of forming a revolution to oust the dominant party, and that is exactly what Francesco encouraged. There was much less risk in painting, writing literature and magnificent sculpting than there was in revolution. These activities are ones enjoyed in leisure rather than working hard to better a bad situation.

                Americans are go getters. Competition over jobs is incredibly difficult and businesses will rigorously push to expand their influence and income faster than their competitors. I’ve seen several documentaries and read articles on powerful businessmen who will spend 20 hours every day traveling across the country or globe, meeting with other CEO’s and directors and forming business partnerships. The other 4 hours are spent sleeping. Leisure doesn’t even come into play for the most serious and hard-working Americans. Time is money, and time wasted is lost cash. Italians are different from Americans. Relaxation seems to have become part of their culture. They live a simpler life where getting a smaller, consistent job is preferred. Traveling is something of leisure for the Italians. They like to travel in silence to enjoy the free time they have on a train.

                The colossal gardens and their villas are a place where Italians can spend their time running, meeting people or walking the dog while taking in the sites. The gardens are so beautiful that it is impossible not to be impressed whether you are a native or foreigner. Edith Wharton describes the Villa d’Este as a magnificent place. “The wildly Baroque garden behind the Villa d’Este gushes with amazing fountains, the mythological statues surprising you at every step you take down the steep and beautifully cultivated plants.” These gardens are a place of leisure for not just Italians, but the foreigners too. The gardens are unlike anything else in the world, and every one of them has something different: for example, the Borgese Gardens houses the Rome Zoo. Tourists can bike these gardens while the locals can walk their dogs. There are tours through the villas showing off their impressive artwork. There is much to do in the gardens that offer incredible amounts of Leisure that are not the same as the United States. We may have the metro parks, but they aren’t as beautiful as an Italian garden.

Soc 490 Are We In Control of Our Own Health?

Are we in control of our health or not? I have swayed back and forth on this topic long before this question presented itself in class. The debate of whether we are in control over our health or not has consistently bombarded my life the past few years. As healthy as someone can live, there is too much that can go wrong that will keep him/her from being in control of their health. Unforeseen factors come into play that cannot be negated by even the healthiest lifestyles. A good diet, denying cigarettes, and exercise are no match for genetics or random chance. “The fact is that bad genes, bad luck, and the ravages of age eventually take their toll on all of us- even the most careful of us” (S. Robinson). There are too many factors out of our hands that will prevent our health from being in our control. People are born with disabilities that had no say in avoiding physical or mental limitations. Even if you live the healthiest possible lifestyle that a human being can achieve, you can still get lung cancer even if you never touched a cigarette in your life.

                “Man is not allowed to despise his bodily life, rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and honorable since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day.” According to Gaudium, although we are not in control of our own health, it is accordance with Gods will to take care of our bodies to the best of our abilities. The body is looked upon as a temple, and we cannot allow this “temple” to become spoiled by neglect and sin. Even if diabetes, cancer or paralysis befalls upon us, we are still one of God’s creations and must treat our bodies as such. Diet and exercise may not control our overall health, but it can contribute to lessening the chances or severity of certain ailments.

                Sometimes life is like a really bad game of Old Maid. You get dealt the Old Maid card and you get stuck with the loss at the end of the game without being able to do anything about it. The past six years have changed how I view my health. When a giant cell tumor was found gnawing away at my upper tibia, my life was hit with a monumental roadblock. I was one of the fastest runners in my class in high school. I ran the 400m for track and ran on the varsity team for Cross Country. I loved Basketball, I used to high jump and I was barely an inch short of being able to reach my goal on being able to dunk a basketball on a full sized hoop. All my favorite activities including Ultimate Frisbee along with any chance for athletic scholarships came to a crashing halt with by a bone eating tumor. No matter how healthy my diet was or how much exercise I got, there was no stopping two aggressive tumor from tearing my knee to shreds in back to back winters. The last surgery was December 27^th, 2013 (Merry Christmas to me) and I still won’t be able to start physical therapy until winter of this year if I’m lucky. Giant cell tumors are not caused by smoking, too little exercise, too much exercise, poor diet or genetics. They are simply caused by random chance. This experience brought to light that my control of my health was extremely limited at best. Sometimes when you get that Old Maid, you can’t get rid of it.            

GL 350 Journal Post 4

No matter the culture, people love to show off their best possession in order to impress each other. Americans will often buy nice cars, houses, a new 60 inch HD T.V. or a fancy grill. Oh! Looks like my neighbor Jack just got a 70 inch HD T.V. I guess that means I have to upgrade to an 85 incher with surround sound. You get the picture. Americans love their supersized household entertainment systems and appliances to impress their neighbors, friends and family. Italians are no different when it comes to showing off very ornate possessions; however their method of making a grand impression contrasts from the ways in which I am used to seeing. Barzini hits this point by saying, “when they get their first steady job in centuries, are strictly dedicated to superfluous and gaudy purchases: wrist watches, radios, television sets, and fancy clothes. Apparently the thing they want above all are the show of prosperity and the reassurance they can read in the eyes of their envious neighbors.” Italians wear their money on their sleeve by showing off elegant clothing and watches in a public setting. The prime location for an Italian to strut their sophistication: the Piazza.

Italian homes are small. They don’t have multiple rooms each with their own distinct purpose like an American style home. One room may serve a dual purpose. The dining room could also function as the living room. Muriel Spark lived in a petit flat in Piazza Navona for a year. She described this flat as, “that dark, vaulted, cave-like apartment.” Without experiencing it for myself, many apartments could match this description. Italian residences are usually not made to wow others. Due to this lack of space within the home, Italians will typically go out to meet their neighbors. The homes are compact and close together. This literal closeness with their neighbors eliminates lawns, which every American house owns. Italians can’t invite their friends over and have an Italian style BBQ in their back yards. Instead, Italians meet each other at an open area near their homes where neighbors and families can congregate. This area is a Piazza, and Piazzas are everywhere. This is what drives an Italian to first show off clothing and accessories before flashy cars and beautiful homes. Most of the time, they are meeting neighbors at the local Piazza.

In Rome, many of these Piazzas have amassed a great wealth of history. Some of these gathering points have been present during the height of the Roman Empire. The Piazza del Popolo was the first sight of many who traveled to Rome over a thousand years ago. The Pantheon overlooks a popular Piazza, and the Spanish Steps makes up a large chunk of Piazza del Spagna. Regarding the show of Italians Barzini writes, “In Italy a man is never alone with his thoughts, always feels himself immersed in humanity, everything around him is clear and open. Such picturesque performances by natural elements, landscapes, human beings and architecture constitute a kind of perpetual entertainment. Everything tells its own pathetic story. You are anxious to hear the next instalment.” In a way, the Piazza exemplifies the Italian way of “the show”. Take for instance the Piazza del Popolo. This vast, majestic, oval shaped spectacle displays its rich history in the Italian manner. You walk through a grand archway into an expansive open area with Twin Churches, two fountains on either side, an awe inspiring church in your left, and a daunting obelisk made in Egypt during the height of their empire that is a thousand years older than Rome itself right in the center. This Piazza has dressed itself in thousands of years of history that it flaunts off to those who step through the arch of the Aurelian wall. The Piazzas of Rome pack as much history as they can in these populated areas with the intent to wow visitors all over the world. The Piazza spectacle is just like an Italian; everything has its own purpose, its own story all with the intent to wow onlookers with the display.

Soc 490 Journal 3

The American healthcare system has entered a time of turmoil. The cost of healthcare only seems to pile up over many American’s eyes as the quality they receive consistently decrease at a similar rate. Countless Americans find themselves overwhelmed by these rising prices struggling to find any sort of quality care. “The United States spent $650 billion more on health care than peer OECD countries even after adjusting for wealth,” states Furnas. He also points out, “The share of American firms offering health benefits shrank to 60% in 2009, from 66% in 1999. And the percentage of Americans covered through their employers, was 59 percent in 2007, down from 64 percent in 1999.” As millions more American are squeezed out of coverage by prices surging skyward, why is it that people from around the world to our hospitals to in search of the best care, when statistics show that our system is inadequate compared to fellow countries?  

For the longest time America was seen as the cream of the crop with technology, medicine, and medical care. However we fall short when it comes to providing the essentials for a secure healthcare system. The United States mortality rate is ranked 23^rd in the world behind Canada, Italy, Sweden, and most other developed nations. Once ahead of the world with the best technology at our fingertips, many nations like Japan, South Korea, and China have caught up. There is a possibility that among the worldwide masses most still see us as ahead of the curve when we really aren’t. America is home to some of the most world renowned hospitals and medical universities in the world. People from all over the globe seek education at many prestigious universities in American soil. Thousands will come to seek the necessary schooling in all sorts of medical fields every year. On top of those who come for educational reasons, millions flock to Cuyahoga country to receive treatment at the Cleveland Clinic.

Since we have a good number of the most prestigious schools for medical education, people who can afford the best will come to receive the best. Those who come to the States a foreign country to get treatment are likely the ones who can afford to pay the hefty bills. Millions of Americans may not be able to pay to have knee replacement surgery or a colonoscopy, so they will let the issue persist instead of facing a financially pressing situation. Another factor is that Americans are not the healthiest bunch. Many live a lifestyle gluttonous of unhealthy choices that can lead to the increase in mortality. Unhealthy choices can lead to more health problems that can become more severe. Often times when these problems occur, it is too late for healthier choices to have any impact. The answer boils down to lifestyle. The American lifestyle is vastly different from the way Italians or Germans live which plays a considerable role into the overall life expectancy. If you ask most of my classmates on this Global Learning excursion, most may agree that Americans aren’t as healthy as Italian.

GL 350 Journal 3. Past Bolster or Limit Faith?

All three of the major religions of the west are undeniably linked by a common origin. We share the same God, the same father, Abraham, but all differ in ways we practice and interpret faith. Despite which denomination one follows, they all lead to the same ending; Salvation. These prominent religions in the western world rely on longstanding beliefs that have dominated ideas followed today. As time progresses on a headword march, some ideas get lost or are skewed in the process. This can cause the past to limit faith by causing groups to take religion in a malicious direction, which each faith has a history with. Despite the issues that have plagued past actions of religious leaders of all beliefs, history has a way of bolstering faith.

The basilicas of Rome are without a doubt remarkable structures build for the purpose of worship. As a Catholic tourist who has never seen a church as impressive as the ones on our trip, I find myself in awe at the very sight of the silhouette of St. Peter’s Basilica. For a pilgrim from a small village centuries ago to see the colossal square from a distance would be an awe inspiring experience. The impressive craftsmanship on a grand scale would leave the traveler feeling so small and in shock that man can accomplish such an amazing feat. I can say for myself that I wonder the same question as to how men could build such an imposing structure.  The interior layout consisting of sculptures and religious paintings easily impress its admirers. For those who are strong in their faith, any Church in Rome would have a spiritual effect on them that could reassure their faith.

The longstanding beliefs of the Catholic faith have been guided by teachings that can be traced back more than 2,000 years. These traditions have built a sense of morality look to guide people on how we should live our daily lives. Saint Paul tells us, “Let us live decently as people do in the daytime: no drunken orgies, no promiscuity or licentiousness, and no wrangling or jealousy. Let your armour be the Lord Jesus Christ.” These past teachings of Saint Paul in his letters are seen as guidelines on how we should live our lives today. However, mankind is not perfect and we will often sin and forget ourselves. The way we should live our lives in a morally just manner have been taught by our faith for many centuries before us. Seeing them carried out today in a world riddled with injustice and sin can certainly strengthen ones faith in God.

Despite all the good the past can do for faith, mankind has made countless grave mistakes that can harm faith. The Crusades were Holy Wars fought between Catholic Europe and the Islamic people in the Middle East starting in 1095. Pope Urban II ordered the First Crusade to take the Holy Land through a military campaign to control Jerusalem. This conflict caused hundreds of thousands of European Roman Catholics to fight wars and establish strongholds so the Christians can have access to the Holy Land. The Crusades were a failure that often resulted in Rival kings engaging in political battles to gain advantages over their competition rather than working together in. The Byzantines lost much of their territory to the Muslims and Crusader armies that pillaged their land so they can resupply on the long journey to the Middle East. These battles became riddled with extreme turmoil that ended up causing countless people to die. A possible spark for the Crusades was the Muslim invasion of Spain that occurred in sometime in 700 A.D. They managed to conquer half the Mediterranean aside from Europe, eventually expanding into Spain. Such aggressive conquest is believed to be one of the reasons The Crusades even happened.

The animosity that occurred between western religions was a result of a few corrupt people only interested in their own gain. The Popes that waged the Holy Wars along with the kings that squabbled over domination cannot be the ones to judge how the past dictates faith. The teachings we believe come from a higher power, God, which greatly outweigh the limits place on faith by human nature. Too many good people have carried faith through teachings, tradition, architecture, and love to let it be spoiled by human mistakes. Everyone sins, it’s in our nature. We cannot allow past follies to spoil faith for a society that relies on it.