idealism?
Annie and I were talking this morning about our papers and projects that are due, as the end of the semester comes up. All of mine deal with economic problems, problems with media relations, and race relations. She mentioned that she could study political science, or international relations, because all it talks about is problems and issues. Her definition of idealism comes from writing English papers, which have happy endings and are focused on individuals, so that the big picture is often left out. Is idealism being able to ignore that other things or happening, in the way that assumes that everything is okay?
I guess my idealism is the idea that if issues are addressed, and you work hard enough, they can be overcome. That's kind of why I study Latin America... they get screwed over so much, but have such a fascinating history, that I want to work towards helping them. I want to go into the peace corp, go into diplomacy... work towards making a difference. That's my idea of being an idealist, thinking that individuals can change things for the better.
I've been particularly enamored with idealist.org, which is a job/volunteer directory. Aside from Teach for America, AmeriCore, Peace Corps, etc... they also have awesome internships/volunteer positions with non-profit groups. There was an awesome one based in Central America that was organizing fair trade items to be sold to the United States, and organizing the artisans and making sure they were paid for their work. I think that would be so amazing! Unfortunately, it's unpaid, and a year long, so i'll probably never have the opportunity, but that would be the best thing ever. *sigh*
I guess my idealism is the idea that if issues are addressed, and you work hard enough, they can be overcome. That's kind of why I study Latin America... they get screwed over so much, but have such a fascinating history, that I want to work towards helping them. I want to go into the peace corp, go into diplomacy... work towards making a difference. That's my idea of being an idealist, thinking that individuals can change things for the better.
I've been particularly enamored with idealist.org, which is a job/volunteer directory. Aside from Teach for America, AmeriCore, Peace Corps, etc... they also have awesome internships/volunteer positions with non-profit groups. There was an awesome one based in Central America that was organizing fair trade items to be sold to the United States, and organizing the artisans and making sure they were paid for their work. I think that would be so amazing! Unfortunately, it's unpaid, and a year long, so i'll probably never have the opportunity, but that would be the best thing ever. *sigh*