This past Friday (5-3-2013), I was over in downtown Anchorage for a class, specifically called TeenPact. TeenPact is a class/workshop that's designed to teach teenagers about government, legislature, and how it all works.
Since the class is for teenagers, and I happen to not be a teenager, I had to attend the one-day version of the class rather than the four-day version. But that was probably for the best, because the one-day version sort of eased me into it, if you know what I mean. But, anyway, on with my description of the day.
Unfortunately, the class was scheduled to take place on my father's birthday. Fortunately, he agreed to go with me, so it was sort of our little thing for the day.
Anyway, we had to stop to pick up a sack lunch for the class, so we were five or ten minutes late. We arrived during the introduction, which I didn't mind, and ended up sitting in the back of the room, which I sort of minded later on.
At the end of the introduction, we were introduced to Michael Wagner, who would be doing most the speaking during the class. He, in turn, introduced all of us to the other... erm... I really don't know what to call them. 'Teachers' doesn't sound right because they were only about nineteen or twenty years old. But they definitely weren't students... if you know the term, don't hesitate to tell me.
Anyway, moving on, after that we prayed and had a short worship time (which was also fun, but I won't go into that here). After a short explanation of the three kinds of elections, we were divided into three parties to hold our own primaries.
Each party had to elect one governor and two senators. We didn't really bother with nominations--if you wanted to run for governor or senator, you were allowed to run.
Once we had our nominees for governor, each nominee was asked questions by the... uh... helper assigned to our party. Then we voted, using the good ol' fashioned method of covering our eyes and raising our hand when we wanted to vote for the person whose name had been called.
Once that was done, we went back out into the main room with the other 'parties'. The senatorial nominees were called up and had to answer a list of questions. One of the points that was stressed was that name recognition is important. This is important because if people don't know you name, they won't vote for you. So each nominee was supposed to start and end their answer by stating their name.
Next, the gubernatorial nominees were called up. (Gubernatorial is a term used to reference nominees for governor.) They, too, had to answer questions. Then the ballots were passed out, and we voted by marking down the name of our preferred candidate. All of the ballots were turned in, and then it was time for our field trip to the governor's office!
We all collected into one large line/mass, left the building, and started walking. The governor's office was about four, five, or maybe six blocks away--not far, in any case, but a bit uncomfortable when you're not used to wearing a skirt. I'm sure we looked a bit out-of-place: thirty-plus kids in nice clothes just strolling through the city.
Out-of-place or not, we reached the correct building quickly and then rode up to the seventeenth floor in groups, since the elevators obviously weren't large enough to accommodate the whole group. Once all of us were on the right floor, we went in.
First we got to see the governor's conference room. Surprisingly, it wasn't all that much fancier than any other conference room I've seen (though the dark wood paneling on the doors did look like chocolate... yum). We also got to take free copies of the Constitution. Then we were allowed into the governor's real office.
Unfortunately, the governor wasn't there. But the office was big, big enough to accommodate thirty-plus kids without (too much) crowding. The view was amazing, though. The cars looked like matchbox cars, the view of the mountains was breathtaking. Several kids took turns sitting in the governor's chair. I didn't. After a certain amount of time for sight-seeing, each of us gathered into groups and prayed for the governor. Then we left, rode the elevators down, left the building, and walked back to our original building. And then it was time for... lunch.
Lunch ended at 1:05 p.m. Once that was over, Michael Wagner got back up to talk. It was time to learn about the legislative process--in other words, how laws are made. And fortunately for us, Mr. Wagner just happened to have a 50-minute lecture on the subject.
Fun.
So we got out note-taking materials and prepared ourselves for the boring part... only to find out that we were actually going to watch a skit put on by the helpers.
The skit was long, but that was okay because there was plenty of humor, it effectively taught us about the legislative process, and we got candy. :-D When the skit was finally over, we got to try out the process ourselves, using the bills we had written as part of our 'homework' before the class.
First off was a read-through of the bills. We all formed into one long line, and began reading our bills aloud one at a time. Usually we got about as far as the first section before Mr. Wagner banged the gavel and assigned the bill to a committee.
This wouldn't have been as fun if it weren't for some of those committee names. Our TeenPact legislature seemed to have a committee for every subject. For example:
A bill protecting innocent insects from being killed by humans? Assigned to the Bug's Life Committee.
A bill stating that all children should be kept from eating broccoli? Assigned to the Amen Committee.
A bill allowing children ages 10-17 to vote? The Little Big Guys Committee.
A bill giving cyclists their own bypass so they wouldn't take up a lane in traffic? The Get Off the Road! Committee.
And those were only some of the more memorable ones.
Once that over with, we were divided up into a few small committees to discuss the bills. This was fun. The helper assigned to our committee, Shelby, would read a bill, then ask if the author was present. If the author was present (and they usually were), they would get up to talk briefly about their bill, then open it up for questions. We could ask questions, but we couldn't state anything unless we were in the speaker's area (called the well). We could move to vote on the bill unless the well was empty.
We went through a few bills this way, then voted once of the rest of the stack so that we could go back out to join the other two committees. There, we did much the same thing. The bill in question would be read in its entirety by the clerk. The author of the bill would come up to talk about their bill, questions would be asked, and (in some cases), amendments would be suggested, passed, and/or rejected. In many cases, an amendment would be suggested, and then a student would move to vote. There would be an objection from some other student(s), and that would lead to us voting on whether or not we should vote! It was fun and engaging, and I even managed to get an amendment passed on a bill allowing children to vote.
Unfortunately, we only got to go through maybe five or six bills. At 4:00 p.m., one of the helpers moved to adjourn the meeting permanently until the next year's class. And, surprisingly or unsurprisingly, there was a majority vote not to adjourn. Unfortunately for us, we were out voted by the director of the class. So our committee adjourned, and that was end of the 2013 TeenPact class.
So, as I learned, government skills are not hard to learn. In fact, though it may seem daunting, the legislative process is actually simple at its core.
What are your thoughts on government?
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Monday, May 6, 2013
The Many Faces of Evil
Before I start in on this, please just note that this post probably isn't going to be as dark as the title may imply. Just bear with me for a moment and you'll find out why I called it this.
To start, has anyone heard of Jim Weiss? Anyone? (Rhetorical question.) Well, in case you haven't, Jim Weiss is a narrator, among other things (I think). He narrated The Story of the World and has a number of re-told stories on audio. During an IDEA curriculum fair here in Alaska, we had the privilege of getting to hear him speak on a topic that I was very excited about: villains, both in real life and in stories.
One of the things I liked about the talk was that Mr. Weiss made several references to Lord of the Rings. This having been said, he started off with what may be the most well-known type of villain: the Dark Lord uber-evil over-arching totally bad supervillain. And of course, he used a well-known example: Lord Sauron from LotR.
Sauron is obviously the over-arching villain of the trilogy. He created the One Ring, and the whole problem is that he now wants it back, for the purpose of destroying/enslaving/taking over the world.
[Insert totally off-topic rant about how Isildur is a complete jerk/idiot for not destroying the Ring when he had the chance here]. So we have Sauron, the supervillain.
But there is something interesting about Sauron that you will notice (at least once it's pointed out to you). J. R. R. Tolkien never actually shows us Sauron. We see Sauron's minions all the time, and we see what they're doing to Middle-Earth. We even know what Sauron looks like. So we know he's real, very real, and yet we never actually see him.
Now the movies may have ruined this effect by physically showing us Sauron more than once. But in the books, this is very well-preserved.
The Warriors equivalent to this type of villain would be Tigerstar. In the Wingfeather Saga, it's Gnag the Nameless (to a very similar extent, in fact). In Harry Potter, the main villain is obviously Voldemort. And then there's Chancellor/Emperor Palpatine of Star Wars. The point is, most stories have a general over-arching villain.
Then there is the next type of villain. The suave, smooth-talking villain that promises he'll give you whatever you want... if you'll just do x for him. The way Mr. Weiss actually illustrated this is by using the example of Satan.
Satan, Satan himself, would fall into the category of the over-arching supervillain. We all pretty much know this. But what about Satan's alter ego Lucifer?
Lucifer, to answer my own rhetorical question, would qualify as the smooth-talking villain described above. He doesn't appear blatantly threatening--far from it, in fact. But he very insidious and very dangerous.
The character Sol from Warriors definitely qualifies as this type of villain. He is very smooth-talking and is frequently forgiven by characters that he wrongs. Yet he is a villain. Actually, this deceptive tactic of his is quite frustrating. The characters frequently see him as non-threatening, when most of the time he's behaving in a way that makes you want to drop-kick him right out of the story.
Another example I can think of is Grima Wormtongue from LotR. It's obvious--especially in the movie--that Grima is a lying creep, but the only person who tries to address this is banished, and no one else tries to resolve the matter until Gandalf shows up.
Another example is Semiramis from the series Dragons in Our Midst. Semiramis is the mother of a one of the villains, and she is a villain... I think. Seriously, half the reason I hate her so much is because it's been literally impossible for me to figure out which side Semiramis is on. First, she's helping her son take over the world... but then he's brutally mutilated by the other bad guy, so she goes over to the good side and helps save a young girl's life. She even tells the good guys how to get around the bad guys' scheme... but wait, her 'solution' was really just part of the plan all along! Hah! She's a bad guy! Wait, hang on, no, she still hates the real bad guy, she's just trying to get what she can out of it too. No, she's a bad guy, she's trying to kidnap Bonnie. Oh wait, no, she's only helping her son, and now she's helping out the protagonist... Wait! She just kidnapped someone! Oh, wait, no... ARGH. See what I mean?
I'm sure there are many other villains who fall into this category, but I can't currently think of any, so I'll leave it at that and move on to the next category.
This third type of villain is perhaps the worst of them all. Mostly due to the fact that he is rarely recognized as a true villain. This is the villain who is evil, unfalteringly evil, and yet he looks just like one of us. He could be one of us. He was one of us. But he chose to be evil.
This type of villain is very insidious, because they are so easy to pass up. They look normal, and usually act normal. There's nothing to suspect.
Or is there?
In other cases, this villain was originally a good guy/on the good guys' side/neutral. But he became a villain, and now he's in prime position to betray the good guys as soon as their backs are turned...
Do you now see why I occasionally yell at my books?
I'll use Lord of the Rings as an example for this one. Take Boromir. He begins lusting after the One Ring early on, and we see this when he suggests that the Ring be used for good (which is completely impossible, btw). From that point on, we slowly begin seeing Boromir's lust as it grows, up until the point where he threatens Frodo in an attempt to get the Ring. My point here, however, is that originally, Boromir's excuse for wanting the Ring was more or less "I'm going to use the Ring for good. I'm going to use it to save my people." The same with Denethor, in fact. But neither of these characters lived to see the end of the war.
Coincidence? I think NOT!
Ahem...
A fourth category of villain, which seems to be fairly new, is demonstrated in the popular series The Hunger Games. What is this type of villain, you ask?
The system.
In Hunger Games, the system is the spider that sits at the center of the web. The system is what's brought about everything: Panem, the Districts, the Hunger Games, and the vicious cycle everyone lives in. To triumph, the rebels have to defeat the system and start from scratch. It's the same (at least I think it is) in 1984 (I say I think so because I've never actually read it).
As Mr. Weiss pointed out in his talk, this new villain known as 'the system' may stem from the growing amount of conspiracy theories today, which it turn may come from our desire to know why things happen. Why was President Kennedy assassinated? Who did it? Was it just one person, or were there more?
We may never know the answers...
In conclusion, there is more than one type of villain to be seen--both in stories and in life. There is more than one road to evil... which is why it pays to read stories. :-D
So what are your thoughts on villains in stories? What about villains in real life? Please tell me!
To start, has anyone heard of Jim Weiss? Anyone? (Rhetorical question.) Well, in case you haven't, Jim Weiss is a narrator, among other things (I think). He narrated The Story of the World and has a number of re-told stories on audio. During an IDEA curriculum fair here in Alaska, we had the privilege of getting to hear him speak on a topic that I was very excited about: villains, both in real life and in stories.
One of the things I liked about the talk was that Mr. Weiss made several references to Lord of the Rings. This having been said, he started off with what may be the most well-known type of villain: the Dark Lord uber-evil over-arching totally bad supervillain. And of course, he used a well-known example: Lord Sauron from LotR.
Sauron is obviously the over-arching villain of the trilogy. He created the One Ring, and the whole problem is that he now wants it back, for the purpose of destroying/enslaving/taking over the world.
But there is something interesting about Sauron that you will notice (at least once it's pointed out to you). J. R. R. Tolkien never actually shows us Sauron. We see Sauron's minions all the time, and we see what they're doing to Middle-Earth. We even know what Sauron looks like. So we know he's real, very real, and yet we never actually see him.
Now the movies may have ruined this effect by physically showing us Sauron more than once. But in the books, this is very well-preserved.
The Warriors equivalent to this type of villain would be Tigerstar. In the Wingfeather Saga, it's Gnag the Nameless (to a very similar extent, in fact). In Harry Potter, the main villain is obviously Voldemort. And then there's Chancellor/Emperor Palpatine of Star Wars. The point is, most stories have a general over-arching villain.
Then there is the next type of villain. The suave, smooth-talking villain that promises he'll give you whatever you want... if you'll just do x for him. The way Mr. Weiss actually illustrated this is by using the example of Satan.
Satan, Satan himself, would fall into the category of the over-arching supervillain. We all pretty much know this. But what about Satan's alter ego Lucifer?
Lucifer, to answer my own rhetorical question, would qualify as the smooth-talking villain described above. He doesn't appear blatantly threatening--far from it, in fact. But he very insidious and very dangerous.
The character Sol from Warriors definitely qualifies as this type of villain. He is very smooth-talking and is frequently forgiven by characters that he wrongs. Yet he is a villain. Actually, this deceptive tactic of his is quite frustrating. The characters frequently see him as non-threatening, when most of the time he's behaving in a way that makes you want to drop-kick him right out of the story.
Another example I can think of is Grima Wormtongue from LotR. It's obvious--especially in the movie--that Grima is a lying creep, but the only person who tries to address this is banished, and no one else tries to resolve the matter until Gandalf shows up.
Another example is Semiramis from the series Dragons in Our Midst. Semiramis is the mother of a one of the villains, and she is a villain... I think. Seriously, half the reason I hate her so much is because it's been literally impossible for me to figure out which side Semiramis is on. First, she's helping her son take over the world... but then he's brutally mutilated by the other bad guy, so she goes over to the good side and helps save a young girl's life. She even tells the good guys how to get around the bad guys' scheme... but wait, her 'solution' was really just part of the plan all along! Hah! She's a bad guy! Wait, hang on, no, she still hates the real bad guy, she's just trying to get what she can out of it too. No, she's a bad guy, she's trying to kidnap Bonnie. Oh wait, no, she's only helping her son, and now she's helping out the protagonist... Wait! She just kidnapped someone! Oh, wait, no... ARGH. See what I mean?
I'm sure there are many other villains who fall into this category, but I can't currently think of any, so I'll leave it at that and move on to the next category.
This third type of villain is perhaps the worst of them all. Mostly due to the fact that he is rarely recognized as a true villain. This is the villain who is evil, unfalteringly evil, and yet he looks just like one of us. He could be one of us. He was one of us. But he chose to be evil.
This type of villain is very insidious, because they are so easy to pass up. They look normal, and usually act normal. There's nothing to suspect.
Or is there?
In other cases, this villain was originally a good guy/on the good guys' side/neutral. But he became a villain, and now he's in prime position to betray the good guys as soon as their backs are turned...
Do you now see why I occasionally yell at my books?
I'll use Lord of the Rings as an example for this one. Take Boromir. He begins lusting after the One Ring early on, and we see this when he suggests that the Ring be used for good (which is completely impossible, btw). From that point on, we slowly begin seeing Boromir's lust as it grows, up until the point where he threatens Frodo in an attempt to get the Ring. My point here, however, is that originally, Boromir's excuse for wanting the Ring was more or less "I'm going to use the Ring for good. I'm going to use it to save my people." The same with Denethor, in fact. But neither of these characters lived to see the end of the war.
Coincidence? I think NOT!
Ahem...
A fourth category of villain, which seems to be fairly new, is demonstrated in the popular series The Hunger Games. What is this type of villain, you ask?
The system.
In Hunger Games, the system is the spider that sits at the center of the web. The system is what's brought about everything: Panem, the Districts, the Hunger Games, and the vicious cycle everyone lives in. To triumph, the rebels have to defeat the system and start from scratch. It's the same (at least I think it is) in 1984 (I say I think so because I've never actually read it).
As Mr. Weiss pointed out in his talk, this new villain known as 'the system' may stem from the growing amount of conspiracy theories today, which it turn may come from our desire to know why things happen. Why was President Kennedy assassinated? Who did it? Was it just one person, or were there more?
We may never know the answers...
In conclusion, there is more than one type of villain to be seen--both in stories and in life. There is more than one road to evil... which is why it pays to read stories. :-D
So what are your thoughts on villains in stories? What about villains in real life? Please tell me!
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