Weekly Blog Posting 2

For years homosexuals have been forced to keep silent on this aspect of their life upon entering, and serving in the military. There may be some who say that this is not a First Amendment issue, and that it is not censorship. All they have to do is “don’t ask,” and all you have to do is “don’t tell,” right? However, as we have all read, silencing someone’s voice is clearly censorship; and complying with silence is self-censorship.

Perhaps I’m naïve, but it’s still difficult for me to understand why this was ever such a problem. There have always been homosexuals in the military. Here, in the modern U.S., however, I suppose a lot of the homophobia stems from religious fears. Then, of course, homosexual soldiers were subject to more than the already brutal hazing that apparently goes on (or did go on) in some military sectors.

It seems that society in general may be taking steps toward becoming more tolerant of people who live different lifestyles, and simply are different from themselves (although, unfortunately, there will always be at least some voice of hateful ignorance). There has been some recent news about states allowing same-sex marriages. Most recently (and you have probably read about this) the House of Representatives voted to end the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy by the U.S. military. It doesn’t look like this is the end of it; it still needs to travel a bit through the system, but it’s on the right track. Not allowing homosexuals to serve freely in the military is just as bad as dismissing a soldier based on the color of his/her skin.

Weekly Blog Posting 1

Texas. If anyone did not already know, many have recently discovered how much power the Texas Board of Education has over the education of young people across the entire nation. This is in large part because of the population of Texas; quite simply, the state is responsible for purchasing a great number of textbooks. Money talks, and the publishers are going to listen to them; even regarding desired changes to the information contained in the books.

Anytime changes like this are being requested, there is an apparent attack on the freedom to read. The Board seems to be rewriting history in some cases. One item that gets a lot of attention in articles on this subject is the fact that they have decided that Thomas Jefferson will not be studied as a political philosopher. Some of the changes, however, do not really seem to be all that bad. They want it taught that the words “separation of church and state” are not in the Constitution (which is true) so that students will compare and contrast the actual words of the First Amendment with the judicial interpretations. They also want the government of the United States to be referred to not as a democracy, but as a constitutional form of government (this is also true).

The idea of changing the history books is truly frightening (especially to one’s own agenda). This certainly could be a case of restricting the freedom to read, and an attack on free access of information. It really depends on if other points of view will be made available by teachers, and in the library for students to access on their own.

Introduction

Hey there... I'm Joseph Skeen... "Joseph" is cool, but you can feel free to call me "Joe"... most people do...

As of now, I am 7/12 of the way through the program... after the summer, I'll be 10/12 through... so, I should be graduating in December. I'm hoping to find an internship for the fall semester, but if that doesn't work out, I'll take another class. I am most interested in working in an academic library. I worked in a university library as an undergraduate student, and I really enjoyed it. I like helping the students, and I generally like the university environment.

Intellectual freedom is important to me, as I'm sure it is to all of you as well... I'm looking forward to digging into it a bit more this session. (...still waiting for my book from Amazon though... should be here Tuesday, I think.)

I'm generally pretty laid-back, and I can get along with most people. I am invested in the arts... music is a big part of my life... I love film... and I have been involved with community theatre for the last 5-6 years... mostly acting, but I help out when I can in other areas. I've had less time for this in the last several months, but I fully intend to get back into it when I finish school and get a steady job.

I may edit this and add more later... but that's all for now... Whatever you have, make it a good one!