Common Day Slavery

The Slave was/is a great simple read. I think I read it in three sittings and enjoyed it thoroughly. As I reflect after reading it about a month ago? I am still in awe of how Singer makes Jacob committed to God to the nth degree. Even after his family is taken from him and he is sold into slavery Jacob tests his knowledge of the Bible by writing as many commandments as he can remember. In the first five minutes he writes down more than I could write down in five years but I don't know if this is because I am a bad person (religiously). I feel Jacob is on a whole other level, he is like the present day (whenever the story took place) of Mother Theresa. No matter what happens to him he will make it through because of his outlook.

This outlook is a special thing, especially when dealing with tragedy. With a positive outlook a person is able to overcome anything, as a person who just learned of a family "tragedy" I wish I was able to have this outlook because I have become enclosed on thoughts of the past instead of looking forward to what moments I may have in the future with this person while I will have plenty of time to look to the past when this person has passed on. It is stories like The Slave and authors like Singer who give people hope. It is no wonder certain people make it to a "celebrity" status because of their power of to heal. In a Dexter episode I saw recently Dexter talks of a co-worker who was saved from his personal problems because of an episode of Oprah, Dexter continues to say how he wishes his life was simple enough to be solved by something like a television show. As I thought/think about this statement, I believe any problem can be saved by something simple. Yet, this simple action to save a person must have a significant meaning and it is solved like David Blaine's tricks. For me, it was going into the mountains and taking time to connect with my feelings and find a peace of mind where I can accept what is happening to my family member and move on to enjoy the rest of their life...together.

My term paper...

For my term paper I have thought for a while and haven't really been able to think of something. I decided to go for a pop culture topic and look into songs influenced by the Bible in our current society. We have classics like, "The Man Comes Around" by Johnny Cash, to whole albums by U2 (whom I well not go into because I would probably be in an insane asylum after listening to a whole album by them), and singers like Jessica Simpson who come from a strict Baptist family (her father was a minister). After researching a few singers I will look into whether a religious background helped them become a Christian pop star or what as well as looking into how Bible verses can be used to get powerful/beefy points across.