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PERSPECTIVE CONTRIBUTOR ABROAD | 9
Sensationalize This // CHandler Jordana
Beirut
The Middle East is one of the most intriguing and misunderstood regions in the world. Thanks in large part to conventional media, the very mention of the area often conjures up images of camel jockeys with AK-47s who have beards longer than Moses’. Of course they’re all shouting in Arabic so harshly it’s surprising that at least one of them hasn’t yet coughed up a lung. This image will typically be accompanied by similar ones of American flags burning, a tyrannical leader shouting furiously, or horrific desert explosions. At this point, you can’t remember if you’re watching the news or Rambo III. The truth is that the news network can’t either. This apparently decimated warzone is something that I like to simply call home. However, there are a few select aspects about my home which CNN’s Anderson Cooper forgot to mention. You see, when Y2K arrived and we said goodbye to the 20th century, we also said goodbye to what little shred of media neutrality remained from the ’80s and ’90s.
Although everyone knows in the back of their mind that BBC, CNN, and Fox News must receive funding from some place and must be associated with some political agenda, many seem to overlook this while watching their programming. Mainstream media, like every other business, wants to make money. And as everyone who has taken Professor Montes’ marketing class can tell you, detonations, radical religious beliefs, and bigotry sells newspapers, while normal, peaceful living does not. The media has one job: to sensationalize everything. I’m sure that baby North West poops himself and cries like every other child, but that doesn’t stop E! News from walking us through every crawl and burp in an attempt to make us believe that “Kimye’s” offspring is somehow more deserving of attention than our own nieces and nephews. In the same manner, Fox News attempts to make us believe that the general Middle Eastern populace doesn’t cherish and respect the same values that we do: equality, stability, love, and peace. In essence, my humble abode near the shores of the Mediterranean is close in distance to the conflict in Syria, yet it’s farremoved from the flag-burning, Americahating terrorists you see on 60 Minutes, as is the daily life of 99 percent of everyone who lives within a 2,000-mile radius. While I’ve never been to Iraq or Saudi Arabia, I have been to North Africa, the Gulf, and a town five minutes from the Syrian border.
“ For every radical terrorist shouting ‘Death to America,’ there are 999 Muslims exclaiming, ‘Peace be upon you.’ ” “Math People,” continued.
Pre-Calculus test, I had to re-evaluate the way in which I approached math. So, I worked hard. I did extra-credit problems, stayed after school, and studied three times as much as I did for any other class. Now, strangely enough, I am studying to be a high school math teacher. The study summarized by Kimball and Smith arrived at an interesting conclusion. “Psychologists Lisa Blackwell, Kali Trzesniewski, and Carol Dweck ... found that the students who agreed that ‘You can always greatly change how intelligent
you are’ got higher grades.” Talk about the powers of belief and perseverance. To me, the purpose of becoming a math person was not so I could solve equations, but it was to prove to myself that I could, to use the cliché phrase, do anything I set my mind to. So if you are struggling with school or find that you are feeling not-so-confident about your next exam, try becoming a math person. See the article at http://qz.com/139453/theresone-key-difference-between-kids-who-excel-atmath-and-those-who-dont/.
photo by chandler jordana
I can confidently assure you that for every radical terrorist shouting “Death to America,” there are 999 Muslims exclaiming, “Peace be upon you” as they welcome foreigners into their home. Many of my co-workers have never even seen a camel, and the skyline of the paradise where I reside looks more like Miami than Baghdad. This is where I find myself serving as a student missionary. “Serving as a student missionary.” I can’t even type the words without feeling a slight twinge of guilt. While my counterparts are in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa voluntarily living in undeniable poverty and caring for needy orphans, here I am working in a comfortable, air-conditioned office, staring at a computer screen all day. People often ask me what my official title is and my response is usually along the lines of, “It’s complicated.” This “complicated” role which I occupy can occasionally be marred with discouragement. I look at Facebook pictures of my peers encircled by smiling shoeless children and I think, this is me being a
Campus Ministries
missionary. My missionary life consists of waking up in the morning and going to work like everyone else. I take lunch breaks. I dress in business casual attire. I’m doing what normal people do. I’m not living in the slums of the Congo attending to the sick. I sit in board meetings and think of how to recruit more students. But you know what, maybe that’s OK. Not everyone is called to, meant to, or even supposed to serve in the ghettos of Central America. Perhaps some don’t even need to leave their own country to make a difference. To those serving in these faraway lands, I salute you. To those serving in “less-traditional” environments, I salute you as well. To all the missionaries serving everywhere around the world, from Idaho to Majuro, if you profoundly impact only one life, just that would make it all worth it.
The year, quarter, and Small Groups Ministries are all well under way. We currently have at least 17 well-known small groups taking place on and around campus, and numerous others that I don’t even know about. The list of groups is an amazing sight to behold. One would be hard pressed to not find a group suitable for oneself. If you are unable to find a small group for yourself, I encourage you to begin speaking with your peers about it. Sooner than you know, you might find yourself leading a small group. An upcoming event of Small Groups Ministries is the Small Groups Leadership Workshop, being hosted this quarter by David Richardson and myself. We would love to share the knowledge we have about leading a small group effectively, so be sure to keep your eyes open for that event. — Travis Sandidge