Immigration

Coming from a Coastal city in South Carolina I have many conflicting views about this particular issue. My hometown, Hilton Head Island, has a HUGE population of Latin American's in its residence. And although I know a lot of them personally and see their stories and see them in the workforce and I know that deep down they are good people I still feel like there needs to be better regulation and stricter rules about illegal immigrants in the US. Not only do the adults cause problems in the workforce, but they cause problems in places that one wouldn't think that they would. As a teen I experienced many problems that the younger generation of immigrants have caused. My brother for example was on a club soccer team and he, being very exceptional in soccer, was one of 4 American's who made the team of 18. However, because it was a club team it cost money to join, and if they wanted the team to happen my parents and the 3 other American families were forced to pay the dues for the other 14 team members because none of them had the means to. One might say, then why pay, well- my family attended a very small school which meant virtually no competitive experience in a soccer program and soccer is probably one of the only ways my brother can go to a good college. Those weren't the only problems with the team, any time we had to travel which was 3 times a month the American's were forced to pay for all accommodations and were expected to drive. On top of it the Latino skill level in soccer is so extraordinary that the American's had to play twice as hard to get any play time. This is just a silly example of how it has effected my generation and my high school experience, however many similar and more extreme things occur in the workforce on a daily basis which really effect the American's daily life.

Impact goes up the richer you are and the more you don't care

Me, being a liberal conservative and a seemingly lone environmentalist in my family of 6, have found the past weeks conversations in class quite interesting. My sister a die hard republican seems to think that global warming is made up. No matter how hard I try to present the facts, scientific and statistical, I can't seem to sway her to think any other way. So, to her I dedicate this post. My favorite part about the lecture on Wednesday was the formula that Dr. Burkett gave us: Impact = Population X level of affluence X level of technology. The only way that I can thoroughly illustrate this is from my senior year in high school, 2007. It was right before the election year and I was taking Government in a 100% George W. Bush loving school. My brilliant teacher decided to bring in a parent of one of the students who is a huge donor to the Republican party as well as a Republican activist. He was to come and talk to us on the main differences between the Republican Party and the Democratic party. Mind you that this man is probably one of the richest and most successful buisness men in Hilton Head and the surrounding areas and also one of THE most coservative Christian parents at my high school. He got to talking about policy and budgets and so forth when he opened the floor to questions. I realized that he hadn't bothered to talk about the environment at all so I asked him about it. He looked me straight in the eye and said well, "I'm a Republican, I drive a big fat Expidition, I can afford to fill it up, and I don't see anyone dying so I will continue to do so because global warming doesn't matter to my political party. Now, does any one else have any questions about issues that matter?" I was absolutely appauled. Looking back on it now I realize that your Impact actually = level of affluence which most of the time = level of caring. In his opinion he didn't need to give anything up because he would never be affected. I generally feel that that is the overall consensus of our nation.

A Good Ole SC Edumacation

I found it very interesting when the video was turned on in class on Wednesday to find the opening remarks from Pat Conroy to be about my county's school district. I went to public schools up until I was in the sixth grade and my mother taught in the public school districts for about 20 years. The way that my family came to the lowcountry was through my father's job, when my parents were newly weds they were living in Philadelphia while my dad finished up dental school. A good way to start off in that profession is in the military and my Dad enlisted and was stationed at Paris Island which is near Beaufort, SC. This meant that they would have to move down and my mother would have to get a job teaching down here. Well, she contacted McCraken Elementary School and got a job interview. When she called to get the directions she was informed to "drive down the road go through the only stop sign and turn down the only paved road, the school will be the only thing on that road." This was about 30 years ago. Sadly, the school systems, as shown in Corridors, have not changed much since then. My mother took the job and eventually they started a family and raised my family down in Beaufort County where we still reside today. She always tells that story because she said that it was such a culture shock because she went to one of the best public schools in the north east and went to a very esteemed college. Then all of the sudden there she was on a dirt road staring the next 20 years of her life in the face. Now, we live on Hilton Head Island a very affluent town and the schools are certainly better off than most of the schools in the video, however until the past ten years the quality of them was appalling. My heart truly went out for those students because it was like the mother said of her two twins: one is very bright but she knows that he won't go to Duke just because he went to Jasper County high. I have always been opposed to having to pay taxes on education if you send your children to private schools, however after seeing the video I have changed my perspective. I now strongly feel an obligation to pay those taxes.

Crime

It is really interesting that we chose to discuss crime this week because as of Saturday night I am a victim of street crime. I had my house broken into and my roommates and my own money stolen while we were in the house. This has all been really tough for me since I live on campus and was just downstairs. It has all been really tough for me as well to see first hand how the criminal justice system works. We didn't figure out that we had been robbed until about 8:00 the next morning but figured out that it happened around 1:00 am. When we called Public Safety hysterically crying they were very textbook not comforting at all. Shortly afterwards they came over and basically told me that a) it was my own fault for having that much money undeposited in the house and b) that they would do their best but they were all ready telling me that it was a lost cause and all of our stuff was basically gone. They weren't very sympathetic to the fact that I had just worked a 14 hour shift in which I made 300 dollars and it in one hour had just all gotten stolen.
All of this kept making me think about crime. It has all made me so angry that there is nothing they can do and really no evidence that they would be able to come up with to prove that if they were to catch him that it was him. So, why wouldn't they steal. They probably had a heyday with the money and they know they can't get caught.
I also found myself coming up with an image for my criminal and even caught myself in this blog referring to it as a he. In my head I have a picture of "him" when in reality I live with 11 people it could more likely be one of them or their friends, but of course none of them even close to fit the picture in my head. It's really awful how subconsciously prejudice we all turn out to be even when we don't admit it to ourselves.

Reaction to When the Levees Broke

I was a junior in high school when Katrina hit the New Orleans area. At the time I was sad but had no connection to the state of Louisiana or knew anyone from there. However, since coming to the College of Charleston and joining the Chi Omega Fraternity which is primarily made up of girls from the gulf coast and particularly New Orleans I have grown a greater knowledge of the culture there and the effect of Katrina. I have also visited the city and now feel a connection there as well because of the time that I spent there. So, seeing When the Levees Broke and knowing so much more about it I felt such a more severe reaction than I ever expected.
Sitting in class yesterday I was really emotional and kind of angry. I just never thought about some of the things that they were pointing out and I got pretty shaken up. I live with two girls from Baton Rouge and we sat down and discussed the documentary after class yesterday because they, being from that area, had also seen it.
When I visited New Orleans my roommates mother drove us in to the city and as we went under an overpass, she pointed out that that was the overpass that people were standing on and helicopters were lifting them of off because the water got so high. So remembering this, I asked the girls if there was any animosity towards the people that stayed, since in the video there is the clip of the girl saying, "they told me if I don't listen and get out of there, they won't help me." They said that of course there were people who said its their own fault they should have left but most people felt such connection to the city that they just wanted to help and rebuild it to what it once was. They also pointed out that no one could have predicted it to be this bad and that once again the city was not underwater because the hurricane was so strong, the hurricane was under water because the levees could not hold- this they said, is the most common misconception about the situation.
We haven't gotten to the other acts in the documentary but I am very curious to see the governments reaction and people's perspective to FEMA. Because I was in New Orleans with all Louisiana locals and we saw the mayor eating breakfast at our hotel. Every single one of those girls wanted to run over and scream at him. He was so hated I literally had to hold him back. I vaguely remember the press from my local area not giving him criticism, however I didn't realize how much they didn't like him.
In conclusion, I am so excited to see the rest of this because I really feel like I have a closer interest and connection than I would have years before.

Poverty

When I saw the budget calculations through the EPI and the poverty line I was truly humbled. Coming from a family of 6 in a town such as the one that I grew up in I never really understood how easy I really had it. This lesson comes at an interesting time in my life because in the past couple of weeks I have been in tears just about every other day over money because my parents are trying to teach me about financial responsibility and are making sure that they are giving me complete financial freedom by making me pay for everything food, gas, clothes, and part of my other bills. This has been a particularly tough year to learn this due to the current economic status of the country. With all of that being said I am still dependent on my parents for most things and they do claim me as so, therefore I used the budget calculations for a family of 4 kids with 2 parents. I am still at a shock and cannot imagine if my family was in actuality impoverished.
According to the HHS poverty guidelines my family would have to live off of $548.00 per week. Obviously our standard of living would have to go down significantly. I was embarrassed when I saw this calculation because I realized how selfish I have been in the past with my parents. I had the nerve to complain to my parents about the fact that when I graduated from high school my car was two years old.... obviously if I lived on this budget my family would probably not have a car, let alone one that is two years old. I can hardly imagine how my family would afford to eat under those financial constraints and it gives me a whole lot of respect for those that work hard for their family. Seeing these calculations and the video today in class also really angered me. This summer I got into a heated debate with my brother over government programming. He thinks that people that are in these situations have brought it on themselves and that it isn't the governments problem to deal with them... I am under the impression that the government needs to help these people. If a family is in this much financial turmoil I am sure that they aren't just sitting back waiting for the government check to come, because frankly that government check will come, but it won't make them rich and no one WANTS to be impoverished. I highly doubt that there is someone out there that wants to be poor.
When I took a look at the EPI calculator I was still humbled. It put a family with 2 parents and 3 children (because they didn't have a four child option) at a grand total of roughly $1,148 per week. It finally hit me when I realized that my rent for two months this summer was the equivalence of two weeks for an entire family. I don't think that me or anyone in my family could live comfortably on this budget at all. Gas alone for the 6 cars that we have would probably kill us. We would definitely have to make some changes and really get in touch with reality. It would be interesting if my family would try it out for just one week on this budget. That would mean that my parents would have to distribute $191 to every person in my family and tell them to survive with nothing more for a whole week including rent.
As I said earlier it gave me severe respect and sympathy for the families and persons shown in the video today it particularly gave me respect for the family with the girl who has cancer. It really broke my heart when it said that over 18,000 people a year die because they don't have health insurance. I know that these people are working and the cards have just been poorly dealt to them. They are trying as hard as they can to get out of their situation but they can't. But the video really changed my perspective on my education and it really makes me value it a whole lot more because it really is the only way that I can have the opportunity to make sure that I don't become like those people. Because in almost all of those situations their way out was a higher level of education.
I really don't know what I would say to the future president about this issue. I wish that college could be free to everyone and I wish that everyone could be brought up in the environment that I did, one that set me up for a life of success. However, I know that that is not possible. So, the only solution is government programs and the situation will only get harder with the current financial situation the economy is in. I would though, tell him to recalculate the poverty rates, and make at least something available to those who really do need it.

Matrimony

The South Carolina State laws for Divorce say:

The Complaint for Divorce is the initial document filed with the South Carolina court. It is in this document that the filing spouse will request the court to terminate the marriage under certain specified grounds.

No divorce from the bonds of matrimony shall be granted except upon one or more of the following grounds:

No-Fault Based Grounds: (1) Living separate and apart for at least 1 year without cohabitation.

Fault Based Grounds: (1) Adultery; (2) Desertion for at least one year; (3) Physical cruelty; (4) Habitual drunkenness or Drug abuse. (Code of Laws for South Carolina - Chapter 3; Sections 20-3-10)

I think that South Carolina's laws divorce laws are perfect the way that they are. I think that a year's separation is the perfect amount of time to ensure that a divorce is the appropriate course of action. I do not have any direct experience with my immediate family and divorce, but I do know that a divorce should not be a immediate reaction. The dissolution of a marriage is something can tear down individuals who are not directly involved (children, cousins, grandparents, friends, etc.) so a couple needs to take this years time to ensue that they are making the correct decision.

But another part of me says, "Why can they get married at the drop of a hat but divorced in a minimum time a year?" I just keep picturing past relationships of mine and at the time of some of these relationships we would find ourselves blinded by "love" and saying things like, "Let's run away tonight and get married!" Looking back on these relationships I was obviously too stupid and inexperienced to even be able to handle an engagement, but we were also of the legal age to get married. What if we made that impulse decision? I would still by South Carolina State laws be married to that boy, and we are very much not together anymore. This is a common mistake that so many young people make not only in South Carolina, but across the nation

So this raises an interesting argument: Should there be a law for the time before one can consider marriage? If they did this maybe they could fend off some of those "blinded by love" or impulse-quickie marriages that seem to be so glorified and excited by today's pop culture. If every couple who planned to wed was bound by law to wait 1 year before they did so I would put money down and say that a lot of these weddings would never happen. That one year would allow for time to go to premarital counseling, set up a prenuptial agreement, and even just relieve stress from these modern brides to plan a fantastic and over-the-top wedding in just 4 months. It would also probably allow some, not all of these, people to see that they were really not meant to be together, because honestly if they are going to be together for the rest of their lives, then what is one year of waiting? Most of these couples are all ready living together, so it wouldn't affect leases and financial situations as much as it might have 30 years ago.

According to the census bureau the average marriage lasts 7.2 years these days. Personally I would have to say that this is most likely due to the fact that marriage is no longer considered something sacred and holy. I remember when Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston split. Pitt was quoted saying something along the lines of "we didn't think that marriage was going to be an eternal thing, you can have multiple soul mates" My question to Mr. Pitt is then why get married, why make those vows that clearly state they are for eternity "till DEATH do us part" if you do not mean them? It is examples like this that turn divorce into something hot and full of gossip and trendy and hide what it really is... something painful that tears people's worlds upside down and destroys families as well as friends.

On the other end of the spectrum marriage has turned into something "hot" and "trendy." My mother and I were recently having a conversation and in that conversation about marriage because she met my father very young and they recently celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. In fact, she met my dad when she was exactly my age. I often talk to her about my relationships and I was telling her that I couldn't imagine that I knew who my husband was yet and that I kind of always pictured myself married by the age of 25. And she gave me a word of advice that I think young America should listen to she said, "I would be sad if you married someone at the 'correct' age to get married just because you were at that age but it later ended in divorce because you were more caught up in the wedding than the marriage, and I would also be sad if you got married when you were older because you felt like time was running out and that ended in divorce, I would only be happy if you got married because you were head over heals in love with this man and it didn't matter how old you guys were, it didn't matter if you wedding had 2 people or 200 hundred people, because thats what matters. It's not about how old you are, or how big your wedding is it's about picking your spouse, someone who is the big picture and who makes the beautiful wedding and the house and the car just fall in around him not him falling into them." That advice has stuck with me and will make me think about who I choose to marry. I think that America should listen to that advice as well and I could guarantee you that we would have less divorces on our hands.

*as a side note I would like to add that my opinions on these issues are not for fault based grounds, but simply for no-fault based grounds.