OpEdNews » "The Seventeen Traditions" In My Life (Continued)

Support OEN
With Your
Tax-Deductible Donation

Tags for This Article:

Populum Tag Cloud Control Panel
	Fine tune your search to access content

Articles	Links
Diaries	Products
Events	All

All time
Last 6 mos
Last month
Last week
Last 24 hrs

From:
Month Day Year

To:
Month Day Year

Alphabet Popularity	Count ON Count OFF
This Level	Sub-levels

Tag(s): Artists; Books; Charity; Civics; Family; Future; Life-Home-Family; Lifestyle; Parents; School; (more...) Thinking; Voting; Work; Writing (less...)
Add to My Group

March 10, 2008 at 16:01:43

"The Seventeen Traditions" In My Life (Continued)

by Kevin Gosztola Page 1 of 4 page(s)

www.opednews.com

SAVE FAVORITES

VIEW FAVORITES

View Ratings | Rate It

CONTINUED from this article.

X. The Tradition of Reciprocity

This tradition is detailed as being one that is “second-generation.” Ralph, being much older than I, has enjoyed this tradition by being able to give back to his mother and father and siblings for what they did for him when he was growing. He has enjoyed it not just because he owes something for what his parents and sibling gave but because he was taught to care for others and help them because you would value their help too if you needed it.

I have not fully engaged in this tradition yet but certainly elements of it exist in my life. The reciprocity in my life has come from parents and grandparents asking my opinion of politics and life and showing interest in helping me succeed. This has shown me that my family believes in me and deeply wants me to be able to live the way I want to live.

My parents have taught and raised me and turned around and asked me to educate them. I have not been able to help them succeed in their daily life at work or at home. Yet, when I am home from college, I do everything I can to help my mother because she is helping finance my college education right now and without her, my dream in life would be stagnant.

XI. The Tradition of Independent Thinking

This tradition in my life is far different from the way it manifested itself in Ralph’s life. I always valued independent thinking and enjoyed being different. But I did not derive this from an ethnic background or from my parents.

My parents encouraged me to be different and I was rewarded for going above and beyond the call when it came to doing projects and work succesfully. I used to create comedy shorts with a video camera and later with LEGOS for a camera that came with Lego moviemaking software. I spent hours improvising for family and friends. But my being different was not limited to laughs and lately has grown to pursuing a political future that leads one down the road less traveled.

Ralph recounts how he witnessed bullying for being different. I was never really bullied but I was teased. And I played along with it and sometimes tried to turn it around just because I figured that if this is the only joy one can find in life, well, he/she must lead sad pathetic lives.

Ralph also describes witnessing other students being bullied or teased. I witnessed that too but in contrast to other students, I would often talk to the people who were teased instead of bullying them if those were made fun of ended up talking to me. I do not enjoy teasing people or being mean. I would rather work out the problems a person has through talking to them then spit words of belittlement at them.

My thinking has evolved and given me the confidence to live today. Knowing that I was given the privilege to learn how to think and get to a place where I feel I can make an honest contribution to the future of society after twenty years of living is fulfilling. It makes me prideful of the choices I have made in life.

XII. The Tradition of Charity

Charity did not take on as big of a role in my life as I would have liked it to have. However, I learned at a young age through programs created in my hometown’s school system that it was important to give back to those who had very little to live off of.

The tradition of charity drew me to the story of Robin Hood in my childhood years. I loved the idea of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. And today, I still enjoy it.

I grew up in a family that gave away anything we could to Goodwill Stores, a popular consignment shop chain in our area similar to Salvation Army. Clothing, toys, stuffed animals, dishes, pieces of furniture, etc. were often dropped off so people could buy these items.

In school, a canned food program was held during my years in elementary and junior high school every Christmas. By high school, I was conditioned to believe that Christmas time was a time for charity. Our school was never much for charity at any other time of the year.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Kevin Gosztola goes to Columbia College in Chicago where he is studying film. He hopes to become a documentary filmmaker. He is currently working as a production assistant on a documentary called "Seriously Green" which traces the development of the Green Party throughout the 2008 election. He has a passion for journalism and writes articles or press releases in his spare time. Kevin Gosztola is also a student activist who believes in questioning the way America's systems work(its electoral system, its military-industrial complex, its foreign policy of American exceptionalism, its media which has become the Fourth Branch of government,etc.)
His ambitions have him currently organizing and raising money for a Chicago Conference for Media Reform in April or May of 2009. It will be organized by college students to promote youth involvement in media reform and justice. Those interested in attending or helping with the organization of the program should contact him.

	Contact Author
	Contact Editor
	View Other Articles by Author

Bookmark this page: (what's this?)

(More...)

2 comments

Sherwin Steffin is a retired educator, and research analyst. His working career ranged from classroom teacher, university administrator, founder and CEO of two software companies, independent consultant, ending as a research statistician for a large Internet Service Provider. Although he has some mobility problems, his life continues to be productive and enjoyable. He spends his time doing online tutoring, reading writing entries in his blog, operating an online store, and dabbling a bit in ...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Sherwin SteffinSherwin Steffin is a retired educator, and research analyst. His working career ranged from classroom teacher, university administrator, founder and CEO of two software companies, independent consultant, ending as a research statistician for a large Internet Service Provider. Although he has some mobility problems, his life continues to be productive and enjoyable. He spends his time doing online tutoring, reading writing entries in his blog, operating an online store, and dabbling a bit in ...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Who holds these traditions

In a response you made to a comment written about Part I, you asked readers to assess how much of the 17 Traditions was a part of the daily lives of real people in America.

“I also am wondering about these traditions. What do people think of them? Have these traditions manifested themselves in your life?”

While these are clearly traditions and values that guide and direct your personal attitudes and behavior, your implication that these represent the values held by the majority of Americans, suggests a view of American life much as presented by Norman Rockwell. His art captures an idealized view of America, that never was, and is unlikely to ever be.

You opened yourself sufficiently for your readers to understand that your family life was much like that of majority of American families, with a period of time when a single parent served as the primary care giver to the children. Compare this to the television portrayal of family life in the 1950s, when the families shown in Leave it to Beaver, and Father Knows Best, were prototypical representations of what we wished for, but was seldom present. (Then again, the comedy series, Married with Children, seems far closer to the families I have known.) You do not even speak of the millions of out-of-wedlock children, teen pregnancies, and the millions who are in foster or institutional care.

You talk about a “Tradition of History.” Yet, at another point in part I of this series, you describe your younger brother, who in your words:

“…he is not political. He is apolitical. He digs the filth of reality television and rap/hip-hop music and YouTube videos. He’s into the IPods, the designer cell phones …. and the Guitar Hero”

I would submit for your consideration, that your brother is far more the typical American Caucasian teen, than were you at the same age as he is. It seems safe to say that American or World History, are very low on his list of priorities. Without having met either of you, I feel comfortable in suggesting that Chomsky, Moore, or Franken are far from his list of favorite reading materials.

Then there is the Tradition of Thrift. How quickly you discard the sub-prime real estate crisis, or the billions that the credit card industry is taking in write-downs, as American consumers live their lives in debt, so impossibly deep that, for most, it will be inextricable, except through bankruptcy.

Little would be served in rebutting the prevalence of each of the 17 traditions you identify in this series. If these are the standards you have set for yourself, you will be among, what I believe the data will show, very much in the minority.

You have expressed your appreciation for the questions I ask, which you say motivate you to consider the issues raised. With tat in mind, I have three for you today:

In all of our dialog, there has been a fundamental theme of disagreement, which you have expressed in your biographic statement:

“…and while some will tell him what can be done, he is only concerned about what should be done.”

So the question is, what is your strategy for changing the position of those in power, who currently oppose that which you believe, “…should be done?”

As but one example, you desire the impeachment of Bush and Cheney, as do many Americans. It’s been talked about for years, yet not happening. What do you plan on doing that will bring it to reality?

Last, but far from least, is a question which you may well find to be too personal and private to address. It is safe to say that you are very much in the minority with respect to priority you give to political issues. (I can give you a number of reliable citations which will bear out this position.)

Thus, my question to you is one that I have wondered about since first reading your articles. What events, or experiences have motivated you to the activist position, so much a part of your life? (It clearly precedes your trip to Africa, which may well have reinforced your goals, but does not appear to be a primary trigger.)

by Sherwin Steffin (15 articles, 25 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 99 comments) on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 12:22:07 PM

Kevin Gosztola goes to Columbia College in Chicago where he is studying film. He hopes to become a documentary filmmaker. He is currently working as a production assistant on a documentary called "Seriously Green" which traces the development of the Green Party throughout the 2008 election. He has a passion for journalism and writes articles or press releases in his spare time. Kevin Gosztola is also a student activist who believes in questioning the way America's systems work(its electoral sys...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Kevin GosztolaKevin Gosztola goes to Columbia College in Chicago where he is studying film. He hopes to become a documentary filmmaker. He is currently working as a production assistant on a documentary called "Seriously Green" which traces the development of the Green Party throughout the 2008 election. He has a passion for journalism and writes articles or press releases in his spare time. Kevin Gosztola is also a student activist who believes in questioning the way America's systems work(its electoral sys...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Sherwin

Your questions warrant an op-ed article for each. So, in the next week, you will get your answers. Those questions are very good ones---ones I encounter often in my life.

by Kevin Gosztola (235 articles, 127 quicklinks, 72 diaries, 907 comments) on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 1:32:23 PM