TOW #28 - Victor Wooten's "Music is a Language"

      An infant learns language through experience. His mama does not instruct language lessons; but instead, she talks to him. He learns by communicating back. However, this process does not only occur with language, but as American bass player, Victor Wooten expresses, also with music. In a TED Talk entitled, Music is a Language, Wooten employs the comparison of a musical instrument to a speech instrument (the mouth), and a rhetorical question, in order to preach that the language of music is an unbreakable freedom. In Wooten’s childhood, his eldest brother gifted him with a guitar; that was not the beginning of Wooten’s musical instruction as he had been listening to music up to that point. As part of Wooten’s lecture, comparing the guitar he received to the human mouth, he says, "It wasn't about learning the instrument first [...] it's about what you have to say" (Wooten). Just as one learns to speak through language, he/she learns to play music through an instrument. Language and music are expressive tools that convey emotions, no matter what instrument is employed. It is about how one chooses to use these tools. Looking at a musical situation in a humorous manner, some choose to shed musical light in privacy. Justly, Wooten states a rhetorical question after recalling the story of a woman who enjoyed singing in the shower. Justifying her actions, he says, "You're singing because it feels good [...] so why does that change when someone outside starts to listen?" (Wooten). There is a freedom when it comes to singing in privacy, which becomes lost as we grow and learn, and we need to keep that freedom from falling away. The woman singing in the shower was fearful of other hearing her. If society is able to look at language and music as two freedoms, performing music will be just as simple as talking. As Wooten continues to preach, there is no measurable difference between these two freedoms.

Visual: https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Interview_Victor_Wooten_Zen_and_the_Art_of_Playing_to_Infinity

Caption: "Expressive Freedom"

TOW #27 - Sanford University Commencement Speech by Steve Jobs

            If a butterfly is stepped on in the present, it has the ability to alter the future. The present impacts the future because every event is set in place with respect to some consequence of that. This message, also known as “the butterfly effect”, is in regards to Steve Jobs’ commencement speech given to the graduating class of Stanford University on June 12^th, 2005. Throughout the speech, Job shares stories of his past experiences, and how they have played on a role on his present life. Here, he employs repetition of the word “connect”, and an analogy in order to stress to the audience of future leaders, that everything happens for a reason. Jobs, unlike his audience, did not finish college, and recalls this decision as one of the most honorable of his life. Jobs uses the repetition of the word “connect” when saying, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future” (Jobs). The repetition of “connect” symbolizes that all of life’s decisions are strung together, and impact each other; in other words, every event, good or bad, happens with a purpose behind it. The future is all us humans have, which is why trusting the future and its reasoning are vital. Jobs continues to speak of his past experiences, specifically being fired from Apple Company, and how that event led him to his present work and family. When describing this occurrence, Jobs uses an analogy for comparison. He says, “It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it” (Jobs). Jobs compares this experience to taking medicine because at first, both events seem harsh and unwanted, but they end up having pay off in the end. In Jobs’ case, he had to rely on his ambition and hope to connect the dots of his future for him. He had to trust that everything in his life happened for a reason.

Visual: http://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-commencement-speech-2005-2011-8

 

Caption: "Connecting the dots"

TOW #26 - Michael Botticelli's "Addiction is a disease. We should treat it like one."

            A disease is defined as a disorder of structure or function in a human. If this general statement is the case, then why is it that society views disease as a physical illness; a diagnosis only cured by numerous visits to the hospital? According to Michael Botticelli, an American public official and director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, disease is not only a physical illness, but also the mental hardship that comes with substance addiction. In a TED Talk entitled, Addiction is a disease. We should treat it like one, Botticelli employs polysyndeton and the comparison of addition to disease in order to preach the title of his lecture. Botticelli, after informing the audience of his sexuality, describes an AIDS awareness program he was involved in. He says, "Years ago I was a volunteer for the 'Names' project [...] to show that people who died of AIDS had names and faces and families and people who loved them" (Botticelli). The listing of “and” reflects the fact that people struggling with substance addiction can and do have all of the love and support that others do. In other words, an addict is still a human, and deserves the same respect as any other patient of a disease. In addition, Botticelli plays on the idea that patients and addicts are not different, yet they are treated different. Here, he says, "If you have cancer you get treatment. If you have diabetes you get treatment. If you have heart attack you get emergency services. [...] But somehow people with addiction have to wait for treatment" (Botticelli). It is not just; it is not fair that people suffering from addiction have to wait in the back of the line for the treatment that they deserve. Addiction is a disease because it causes disorder in one’s life, and it takes over a person physically and mentally, just as any other disease would. Botticelli makes it clear that is time to change the stigma surrounding addiction, and treat those who need to be treated.

Visual: http://www.rivermendhealth.com/resources/white-house-drug-czar-michael-botticelli-presents-rivermend-healths-dr-mark-gold-with-path-foundation-ny-lifetime-achievement-award/

 

Caption: "Disease Control"

TOW 25 - Margarita Engle's Enchanted Air

To children, the world is a wondrous place filled with adventure at every step. This makes the colors seem brighter, but the hardships furthermore arduous.  Margarita Engle, Cuban-American poet, addresses this idea in her memoir entitled, Enchanted Air. Here, she entails her childhood, going back and forth from Cuba to America by plane; her story takes place during the Cuban Revolution (1953-1959). In two poetry-styled chapters toward the beginning of the memoir, Engle employs personification, and the repetition of the word “two” in order to convey her dreams as a child. While viewing the sights of the Cuban environment, Engle describes the plants using personification. She says, “trumpet flowers love to move around, dancing […] maybe I will be a scientist someday, studying the dancing plants of Cuba” (Engle). Referring back to the idea of a wondrous world to the eyes of a child, Engle presumably details the flowers as dancing because her young imagination is able to view the beauty of the flowers in this unique way. Also, her interest in the personified flowers spark her dreams of becoming a scientist; Engle connects an image to her longings in life. In addition, after mentioning the fact that there are two ways of talking between the two countries which Engle are affiliated with, she employs the repetition of the word “two.” She mutters, “Two countries. Two families. Two sets of words” (Engle). The fact that Engle has two sets of (everything) is unfortunate because it represents the fact that she has no solid home. In comparison to her dream of becoming a scientist as an adult, Engle also has a dream that one day she will have that solid home. Furthermore, because Engle has “two sets of words”, it’s like she has two personalities to play in regards to her two cultures. Overall, Engle’s dreams lie within the future of her cultures. 

Visual: http://chamindra.blogspot.com/2011/07/dreams-of-child.html

Caption: "Dream of a Child"

TOW #24 - Cover from Newsweek Magazine (Is your Baby Racist?)

            Some people argue that the roots of discrimination dwell inside human nature, and others revert to the idea that discrimination is a learned process; therefore, a newborn child not yet exposed to racist beliefs, cannot be discriminatory. To take a stance on this issue, Newsweek published a controversial magazine cover, the title being “Is Your Baby Racist? Exploring the Roots of Discrimination”, on September 14^th of 2009. The cover also displays a photo of a male Caucasian infant. Due to the questioning, and emotional appeal of the photo, I feel as though the cover argues that discrimination is learned though experience and lesson, and this, I arguably agree with. The thought provoking statement “exploring the roots of discrimination” refers to human nature, this being the root of humanity. By nature, every human being is, more or less, the same. As the saying goes, “we all bleed the same blood.” Therefore, a child not yet exposed to discrimination, is unaware of the fact that humans see other humans as “different” based on external attributes. Furthermore, the abrupt question on the cover almost comes off as offensive to the viewer because it can easily be mistaken as an accusation; that Newsweek is accusing their viewers of teaching discriminatory values to an innocent child. However, the point of this questioning is to make the viewers evaluate the roots of discrimination, and how a parent’s views on discrimination could impact their child’s. For example, if a parent repetitively enforces to their child that all people of any other religion (than their own) deserves to be discriminated against, that child would logically feel uncomfortable around people of another religion. In addition to the phrasing on the cover, the photo shows a baby of a race and gender that, typically, does not face as much discrimination in society. Similar to the phrasing, the photo forces the viewer to internally argue what causes discrimination, nature or experience.

Visual: https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.digication.com/M9426704b5b5063dd1659a4cb984cde35.jpg

 

Caption: "Discrimination Draws Upon Experience" 

TOW #23 - Zak Ebrahim's "I am the son of a terrorist. Here’s how I chose peace"

            In modern society, islamophobia, has undoubtedly become a growing issue. This factor connects to the stereotype that a person of the Islamic faith must practice terrorism, or justly, that terrorism in a trend in certain families. Due to the repercussions of these issues, peace campaigner and author, Zak Ebrahim, gave a TED Talk entitled, I am the son of a terrorist. Here’s how I chose peace. In the lecture, Ebrahim argues that a son does not have to be like his father, in order to break the stigma surrounding peace in the Islamic faith. A societal belief is that Muslims and Jews are enemies, and therefore cannot be friends; fortunately, Ebrahim did not let this false hood impact his childhood friendships. He describes, "I had never had a Jewish friend before. And frankly, I felt a sense of pride in having to overcome a barrier, that for most of my life, I had been led to believe was insurmountable" (Ebrahim). The fact that Ebrahim was willing to overlook the difference of religion, and the beliefs his father instilled in him, proves that acceptance is more powerful than family trend (of hatred). In other words, the history does not matter; the ability to forget that history is what matters. In addition, to wrap-up his argument, Ebrahim shares the inspirational tale his mother told him. He says, "She looked at me with the weary eyes of someone who had experienced enough dogmatism to last a life time, and said "I'm tired of hating people."" Her weary eyes represent the hatred that had been placed in her mind for years on end. Hatred is not natural, it is only a concept that is taught, which is what Ebrahim stresses is possible to overcome. The saying “like father, like son” can apply in some cases, but not all, and Ebrahim is proof of this, and that stereotypes do not define a person.

Visual: http://www.halalinthefamily.tv/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/take-on-hate.jpg 

Caption: "Take on Hate"

TOW #22 - Margarita Engle's "Enchanted Air"

Imagine spending your days trapped in a place that does not feel like home; present is a strong longing to be somewhere else. In the memoir, Enchanted Air, Newberry-honor winning author, Margarita Engle, tells her tale of living in Los Angles but longing for her home country, Cuba. The memoir is styled similar to poetry through the use of stanzas, and takes place during the Cuban Revolution (1953-1959). In the first section of the memoir, Engle describes the beauty and benefit of Cuba – why it means so much to her – by employing a simile of innocence, and imagery in order to captivate what home represents. Engle looks back in time, and embellishes, though the use of a simile, on the first time that her parents took her to visit family and Cuba. She writes, “Already this Island is beginning to seem like a fairy-tale kingdom, where ordinary people do impossible things” (Engle 7). As an innocent child, as Engle is when experiencing Cuba’s air for the first time, the world seems like a magical place; a place filled with color and wonder. Similarly, that is the magical aspect to innocence, that a country has the ability to seem like a “fairy-tale kingdom.” Engle has hope for Cuba because she recognizes that everyone there strives for the impossible, one reason why she feels so comfortable with those people. Presumably, she admires them. In addition, Engle employs imagery when describing the memories of a house in Cuba. She writes, “Cool ceramic floor tiles on a hot day, and an open-air kitchen with roll up walls that are only needed during hurricanes” (Engle 10). The fact that Engle describes the specifics of the house, shows that she has paid close attention, that she cares about the little aspects. She cares because she feels at home in Cuba, and wants to experience all that there is about it, even the floor tiles or walls of a house.

Visual: http://www.esenciaexperiences.com/cuba-travel-ideas-luxury-cuban-holidays/bespoke-1950s-style-havana-holiday/

Caption: "1950s Cuban Home Style"