Towards the end of the Shirley Temple version of “Heidi”, Fräulein Rottenmeier attempts to sell Heidi to the gypsies as revenge for helping her charge Clara learn to walk. When I was little this scene frightened me- I was terrified that my grandmother who didn’t like me would sell me to the gypsies. Years later I am still frightened by this image, but not because I worry about my grandmother selling me, (I can definitely out run her these days), but because human trafficking is a daily, worldwide, practice.
This past Sunday, while my hometown, Washington D.C., was a chaotic mass of political fervor- (and Halloween hangover for those Georgetown pirates and princesses), Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Cambodia visiting a rehabilitation center for child slaves. While there she promised continued funding for the Siem Reap Center which serves to teach these former child slaves practical skills that will enable them to adjust from their former lives to modern society.
For many of these childhood slaves, and victims of human trafficking, their slavery hasn’t entailed many instances picking cotton or tobacco. Rather, the majority of these slaves have been prostituted. And slavery exists in seemingly safe, urban, contemporary society- places like D.C. On December 16, Shelby S. Lewis from MD will be prosecuted for human trafficking. He isn’t the first, and sadly he won’t be the last; he’s just the one that got caught today.
When I grew up, I remember being taught that prostitutes were sinners. I thought that prostitution was like “Pretty Woman,”— it was a choice. Sinning has to be something you’ve chosen; you can’t be a sinner without agency. Things aren’t always as they seem though. And sometimes I think it’s easier for people to believe that an immoral action is a chosen one, rather than believe that ours is a world where agency isn’t an inalienable right—especially when it’s happening down the street.
My entire life I was raised in a culture (Mormon) where the rules and roles for men and women were very well defined. Often I thought they were too well defined. But as I’ve grown up, and the value of a dollar has gone down, I’ve started to realize that the roles I was brought up on…well, they just might not all apply anymore.
The roles I’m talking about are specifically who is the provider for a home. In Mormon culture this role is historically one given to men (although come to think of it our Pioneer stock women certainly did an equal share of bringing in the dough) and women have been given the role of homemakers.
Growing up I scoffed at these outlines- I thought them binding, and degrading, designed to trap women and limit their potential. And while I did swear up and down that I wouldn’t be like the rest of them, I had subconsciously accepted my fate. That said, I never took the time to discover what I liked.
While I worked on my undergrad at BYU I studied Classics- Latin emphasis (translation- I picked a major that had almost zero hope of making me a marketable individual). And, it didn’t bother me that hardly anyone anywhere was impressed by the fact that I could recite the first 20 lines of The Aeneid- scratch the hardly. I assumed that “work” wouldn’t actually ever be something I’d need to engage in.
Also, while I did plan on graduate school I had no intention of needing to put it to good use- I really just wanted extra letters in my class notes. Besides, who doesn’t want to stay in school longer and bask in the academic glories?
So here’s the problem, I’ve graduated from BYU, I’m at GWU enrolled in my master’s program and I have absolutely no idea what it is that I actually like. Oh and that fantasy of marrying the lawyer who of course would encourage my graduate work, while surprising me with a new BMW so I wouldn’t have to drive my old Acura- well that’s a laugh.
But really, this is a minor crisis. What the heck am I going to do?! I’ve tried my hand at I don’t know like 30 different internships and I am in school, and at present I am at Fleishman-Hillard which is a big deal PR firm, but I can’t help thinking that in a matter of months I’m going to wake up and think: what happened to my life. I used to have nightmares that I’d wake up next to some stranger who I’d started dating and just went along with it, wound up married, and freak out. Now the nightmares are the same but different- I’ll still wake up (except alone- at 24 I might as well be 40 by Mormon standards), but I’ll be unhealthy from going to a job everyday that I secretly hate, I’ll have no idea why I’m working at an establishment that I don’t believe in, and I’ll be stuck with a wardrobe of ugly gray suits and sensible black pumps.
Something has got to change.
I am without a doubt a true, loyal, lifelong, forever and ever Republican. And now that I’ve said that, I feel I would be doing myself a disservice if I did not follow that remark with a geez louise- what is it with the forefront GOP women?
In a recent New York Times article the author was poking fun at GOP women by commenting on how being ignorant is cool for the GOP females.
In a recent Washington Post articles the author jested about the GOP mean girls- queen bee Sarah- wannabe Christine O’Donnell.
And I get it- most people might resort to the same answer my mom does: “The New York Times and The Washington Post are liberal rags,” but I don’t think they’re missing the mark.
Christine O’Donnell only received her BA this year, she doesn’t pay her staffers, and she’s declared bankruptcy- oh and nobody will forget her ‘dabbling in witchcraft.’ Again- how on earth did she beat Castle for the Republican nomination?
Sharon Angle- yes everyone knows what she’s against (it’s kind of all she says) but does anyone know what she’s for? And- I have a personal thing against her, she thinks Mormons are ‘kooky’ uh huh, need I say more?
Sarah Palin, the queen bee, is great, fun, cute as a button, runs everyday, is married to a snowmobile king, and she probably bakes bread and milks cows. But really our GOP/tea party rep/’08 VP candidate- is having her own reality TV show and we’re supposed to take her seriously?
I am a GOP female, I interned at the NRSC, I will vote elephant almost every time, but I sincerely wish that in the near future we could find a representative we’re proud to identify with. That we could have our own Hillary Clinton- someone who doesn’t need her own show, who is actually educated, who has a set of beliefs, and wants to carry out an agenda that extend beyond the front cover of US.
I don’t feel like I’m asking for a lot- but I do seem to be asking for more than is available right now. Let’s hope a new female leader will show up and not just another starlet.
For a long time I comforted myself in the fact that the only people my age who were getting married were Mormons. That lasted for a few years. Then I got older, and the non-Mormons started getting married.
Once the non-Mormons started getting married I comforted myself in the fact that the these non-Mormons were the type to marry young. That they were religious, or marrying their high school boyfriends, or that they were just more mature than I was- ready to raise children, deal with health insurance, maintain pristine schedules, and plan meals that extended beyond cereal and take out.
Now I am 24. And the non-Mormons who are getting married are these beautiful women, who are educated and ambitious, and manage to fit an hour of cardio into their daily lives. And they’re marrying attractive, on-the-path-to-being-successful men. The kind who take out the trash, and help do chores, and wash your car on Saturday mornings.
What happened to the universal commitment to be the Peter Pan generation? Who decided to boycott the whole thing and instead be successful and independent and give your parents things to brag about?! I thought the economic disaster excused us from responsibility and bought us extra time to find that special person.
Because holy crap just thinking about the financial aspect of marriage means that I won’t be getting married for decades- I mean isn’t being broke part of being in graduate school? I’m still on my parents health insurance, I drive a car from high school, and I empty my piggy bank to find change for vending machines. None of these characteristics scream ‘ready to get married.’
However, they do culminate and leave me in shock and awe when I read that another attractive young couple is getting married and ‘settling down.’ AND they’re happy about it- and they seem qualified. They bake pies, and host couples game night, and the thought of having to regularly feed a child doesn’t induce a panic attack.
These people are impressive- they don’t take up excuses- they don’t accept putting off their life because of the economy. I seriously want to join their club.
A code of ethics? Yes, that was the title of the next document to be signed. It was my first day at my 3rd internship of 2010 and although unpaid, certain to be treated poorly, and the newly designated “go fetch girl,” I was promising to endorse and abide by their code of ethics.
Maybe if I weren’t 24, if I weren’t in graduate school, if I hadn’t done my very best to follow the straight and narrow path towards success I wouldn’t feel such resentment towards having to sign another code of ethics where I was agreeing to act however they deemed appropriate while knowing that no reciprocation would be taken. They weren’t promising anything. But in a town where students willingly work for pennies a day, stomping the Hill with blister ridden feet, and fight for unpaid internships—I guess I was actually one of the lucky ones. Or maybe I was just a glutton for misery.
Either way, they had me: my social security #, my contact information and they had my signature.
In reality, I think a code of ethics is justifiable, necessary and important to maintain. In theory I believe that codes of ethics set a standard for the image a company wants to portray, requiring a level of integrity from every level of staff. Historically, I believe they even provided a level of protection for their employees. I just wish that there were some something in it for me right now.
It’s hard to maintain any sort of devotion or loyalty to an office when your time, your effort and you energy don’t mean anything to your employer. It’s hard to endorse a code of ethics when the very people who hand you the document, treat you badly within the first 20 minutes after you’ve arrived.
On Oct. 3 Washington Post Ombudsman Andy Alexander commented on how former employees- now contract writers- are beginning to disregard the code of ethics the Post has established. I think I can understand why.
“We live in a dirty and dangerous world…There are some things the general public does not need to know and shouldn’t. I believe democracy flourishes when the government can take legitimate steps to keep its secrets and when the press can decide whether to print what it knows.” — Katherine Graham
So while I am still choosing what picture I should attach to this blog as “the picture” I thought I’d post this one form a trip with my best friend. I’m the brunette.
For sometime now I have felt the debt I owe to humanity weighing heavily on my shoulders. I know, ridiculous. I’m 24, healthy, without debt, and I haven’t had anything hard- in fact I’ve kind of been given everything. Which means, for anyone who is familiar with the parable of the talents, I owe a lot.
And it seems that the time to pay up is quickly approaching. I would guess that most people my age feel similarly, they’ve been given time to “flourish” and opportunity and have had somebody else footing the bill. I wish it weren’t so daunting, the fear of failure and inadequacy so present.
But it is. And the bill needs to be paid, let’s hope that I’ll be able to.
Everyone, I would assume, is familiar with the reference to “HR” or at least to it’s mention in “The Office.” And while I have never been quite certain what an HR person does (I’ve actuallty always pictured them as elementary school counselors “sexual harassment- Jimmy don’t do that”), I was even less familiar with the role of the ethics officer. And just the title, seriously?
So, last night we had an ethics officer come speak to our class- GW strategic PR- about business ethics. (According to Christi Harlan (my instructor and former reporter) PR people are just lying obstructionists). She was pretty good. Interesting even. And while I’m not sure what pearls of wisdom she was relaying to our class full of tired, overworked, young professionals, I did glean the “be honest and obvious” message.
Now in retrospect my initial thought was, shouldn’ that have been a no-brainer? was it really necessary that a ‘professional’ come and discuss that? But- she is a former attorney, she is successful, and she did have a sunny disposition- so maybe ethics officers are good. (?)
Maybe, it’s necessary to remind someone when they’re about to make an illegal decission, maybe they didn’t know they were about to lie, or slander, or deceive their audience. But- I would think that by the time you actually have an ‘audience’ you should already know that those practices aren’t good ones. Maybe these CEO’s are actually at a disadvantage though, they were raised in an era that didn’t have the ‘internet’ that didn’t have a ‘blogosphere’ that didn’t have ‘twitter.’ Maybe they were taught that everything is okay as long as no one finds out.
It’s too bad that these unethical individuals didn’t talk to their college applying children before thinking they could e sneaky and nobody would notice. Because then their kids would remind them “Dad, everything comes out. It’s all on the internet.”
For anyone feeling blue- and by that I mean stuck at work and wishing you were on your way home.