Moving Jason

Jason today had to move his kitchen stuff from where he used to live near Columbia to the Hunter College dormitories. Which left us with a half-torn box with pans and dishes that had to be transported by subway and carried for about two to three miles.




Jason got a little slippery from sweat, me from the oil that covered the pans. Even New Yorkers where a little confused about what was going on, especially when I began offering them Jasons utensils for one Dollar a piece. No one bought anything, though. What Jason doesn't know up to now is that his pan actually was so heavy that I just left it in the train. But I scratched his name into it, so maybe he can get it back...
Ingmar

Four speakers in one day!

Today was our second day of program and the first day of getting there by ourselves. Peter Schuck, professor at Yale Law School, opened the day with his talk on "managing diversity in America." By pointing to several aspects of American society, he showed how America is quite unique managing and regulating diversity. Among these aspects were separation of powers, federalism, and civil rights law. Many of us raised questions about the role and value of affirmative action in diversity. Talking about diversity in America naturally incorporated discussions of immigration and American values of individualism.

Our next speaker Arthur Brooks gave us a lively presentation on the joys of "giving." Brooks draws a connection between giving money and financial and personal well-being. Brooks with a background in behavioral economics provided statistical evidence giving will NOT make you poor. (For every dollar you give you will get $3.75 back) Scientific studies of the brain proves that the act of giving releases chemicals that make you feel good. Fellows questioned the extent of his claims and argued that he does not discuss the role of taxes as a contributor of social welfare such as common in most European countries.

After a short five minute break Burt Neuborne, a law professor of New York University, gave a passionate lecture on the American constitutional tradition. What followed was a two hour condensed law school education on American constitutional tradition. Neuborne said, "Add a little water to what I said and you can save three years of going to law school."

Dalton Conley concluded the day with a talk on "race, assets and the American dream." Conley highlighted major discrepancies between African American and whites in housing, assets, and education. He made an important distinction between wealth and income. Wealth of the parents is a predictor of education, unemployment rates, wealth of the children, while income is not a predictor at all. He stressed the importance of disadvantaged ethnic people becoming home owners which would contribute to their building of assets.

Nina, Diana and Ingmar

Monday, July 9th

Blog Posting, Monday July 9th

On the first day of the 2007 Humanity in Action American Program the fellows received an introduction to the organization from Judy Goldstein, after having been welcomed by Matt Hirshberg, our new Program Director. Besides advising the fellows to be cautious with the red lights and engage in a bit of investigative spying on New Yorkers and their dogs, Judy spoke about the nature of the different programs, the challenges facing Humanity in Action, as well as the upcoming plans for the establishment of HIA centres in Europe and the US respectively.
Following Judy, David Machacek spoke about the core of HIA by referring to Cass Sunstein’s article “The Thin Line”. He reflected on the natural inclination of human beings to obey authority, and posed the question “What happens when authority loses the moral compass”? David argued that what HIA sets out to do is to find young individuals with high moral thresholds, bring them together, and form a collective responsibility. In relation to the American Program, David pointed out 5 dimensions that are of particular importance in our dealings with diversity. 1. Immigration and Citizenship, 2. Race and Ethnicity, 3. Religion, 4. Economy and Law, and 5. Civil Society. He professed the hope that the fellows will leave the program not only more convinced of the moral values that we attain to, but also that they will have developed the capacity, the knowledge, and the network to react on time when authorities steer away from the moral compass, while holding each other accountable in this endeavour.
After getting to know each other on a more personal level through an introduction exercise the group watched the documentary “Four Hours at My Lai” and afterwards split into small discussion groups. Each group had to look into the psychological dynamics that caused different characters in the movie to react as they did. The aim was to identify which personal and situational mechanisms make a person a perpetrator, a bystander, or a “hero”.
We concluded with presentations by the French and Polish fellows. Alix, Halimatou, and Soraya presented an exposition of secularism in France. In the French context secularism is viewed as the primary means to ensure progress and freedom, while religion should be reserved for the private sphere. Asia, Jedrzej, and Pawel gave a presentation on the central role of religion in Poland, in this case meaning Catholicism, and its strong influence on Polish political affairs, both nationally and regionally.
The first day was productive and constructive, and holds great promises for the coming weeks.


Nailah & Julia