Knispel and Winkle This...

Knispel and Winkle

This past week was a really great week as an intern.  I have no idea what the first and second years are up to, I only hope they’re having as enriching of an experience as we are.  I think this is the greatest job ever.  I’ve learned so much, and all I have done is show up every day.  It has been such a privilege to listen to the people we have gotten to meet with.  So I’m constantly learning, and I never have any homework – nor will I be tested on any of this! I love it!

This morning at College Hill Presbyterian Church the preacher told a story relating to his sermon about two influential politicians who were debating the role of the media.  One was arguing that the media was absolutely essential in keeping the government accountable.  The other argued as to whose role it was to keep the media and journalists accountable.  This story sounded all too familiar and obviously brought me back to Sandra Knispel’s talk on Tuesday.  So whose job is it?  We talked about how the large media conglomerates exert pressure over journalists reporting for any program that falls within their ownership, so how does the truth ever get told… especially the unpopular truth?  Sure, journalists love to shed light on the stories that people want to hear – the scandals, affairs, scams, and of course celebrity gossip always make the news.  But what about the news that policy makers in Washington choose to ignore?  Not just the news that the media conglomerates don’t want their viewers to see, but the news that elected officials ignore?  I couldn’t help think about Darfur when we were having this conversation, I guess just because I’ve been learning so much about it lately.  But it does seem that there is some gap in communication when it comes to American citizens being aware of the conflict and when we talked about media conglomerates cutting back on international news coverage, I wondered if this could possibly explain why Darfur is not on our radar.  But then again I wondered if there is some censorship originating in Washington on the subject as well.  I asked Sandra what she thought and while she didn’t think that policy makers were demanding censorship, she blamed America’s unawareness of this terrible conflict on our own apathy.  She said that European countries are much more informed and involved in Darfur… and well, her answer isn’t so surprising is it?

OH and during Sandra’s talk, The Listening Project Documentary popped into my head.  For a fascinating glimpse at what the world thinks about America this is a great film to check out… the website has tons of great stuff on it too – www.Americalistening.com - I think?

And for an interesting listen, on the topic of America, North American Scum by LCD Soundsystem is the way to go. 

On to Dr. Winkle.  I was amazed to hear of the measures white citizens took to in order to preserve the “Southern way” of life.  I almost shuddered at the fact that in 1967, FIFTEEN YEARS after Brown 1 that a school in Holmes county was still segregated.  Appalled, yes; but shocked? No, not really.  Well at least not in the light of what I have been learning in the past week.  The evidence is right there on the walls in Holly Springs High School.  Every senior composite lining the walls is almost entirely comprised of black students – some are entirely.  The facts Dr. Winkle shared about some of the wording in the cases I found interesting as well: “inherently unequal” and “ with all deliberate speed.”

On a different note – good weekend.  July 5 must be an outing of the interns to Big Truck Theater in Taylor, MS. Truly a unique Mississippi experience… if I can figure out how to upload pictures on here you can get a small glimpse of what some might call old fashioned entertainment.