Who is the individual your group picked? Why did you pick this individual? Tuesday, Mar 1 2011

After reading the historic background of the St. Louis Cemetery #2 our group decided to choose Jacques Philippe Villere. Our initial reason for choosing him was the attraction to his name. One of my group members recognized his last name as the name of one of the street in New Orleans and that it has a connection to his history. Although we weren’t sure if the name of the street was connected to him we were still interested to know more. Through our reading of “The St. Louis Cemetery” we learned that Jacques Philippe Villere was a civic leader. He was born in 1761 and died in 1830. Jacques Philippe Villere was known as a native born governor in Louisiana. Our groups choose someone that was in the 17^th century a time that was unfamiliar to us. We also wanted to know what kind of civic leader he was and his involvement in politics. The history of this man could have had an influence on the current judicial system and political views. Jacques Philippe Villere was a governor that we wanted to know more about his personal life other than his political life and what influences being a governor had on his personal life. How did his family feel about him being a governor? Did he even have a family? What were his fears? Why did he become governor? How did he die? In the article “The St. Louis Cemetery” Villere didn’t have much information about his life and his death and we wanted to know more about him. Jacques Philippe Villlere seems like an interesting man that has a story to tell and our groups to explore his life. Maybe the street in New Orleans may be named after him and the accomplishments that he had within his lifetime.

 

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From what you’ve read for this week, speculate how Save Our Cemeteries might play a role in the promotion of a just and humane society? Tuesday, Mar 1 2011

Save Our Cemeteries is an non- profit Organization that gives back to the community and maintain New Orleans landmarks like it’s  cemetery. This organization spreads most of their time restoring cemetery with a rich historic background. These cemeteries hold the historical culture of the New Orleans area. There are many stories that can be told by the background of these people’s lives. There are many generations that go far as 18^th century. In 2005 Katrina came through New Orleans and these cemeteries were damaged severely with lost records of families and tombstones being washed away and bodies unidentified. Save our cemetery help the community to dedicate their time and services towards keeping up the grave sites of our loves ones and historic figures.  It is humane to help clean up cemetery were the funds aren’t available to be taken care of because of the funds going towards other organizations. The loved one s of the ones past go through a difficult time affording to have one to clean up what is left of their families. The ones of the past should still be honored with respect and dignity of the life that they lived. Giving life to the cemetery will give people the chance to visit their loved ones without the feeling of being uncomfortable or a scared feeling. Every Community needs its foundation which comes from their historic monuments. One doesn’t understand where they are going if they don’t know where they came from. Knowing your ancestors is important and where they are should always be available. Death is a part of life and it should nit be left behind by not taking care of its historical value.

 

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Which cultural death ritual did you find the most unusual? Is there anything remarkable about our own death rituals? Sunday, Feb 27 2011

Hinduism cultural death ritual is unique in their belief of death and the afterlife as well as how they handle the deceased body. Hindus foundation of their religion is the belief in the reincarnation of the human soul. One of the main goals is going above the need to return to earth. Hindus also believe they will be reborn in another human state based upon their past thoughts and actions. Cremation is a common ritual of death among cultures around the worth but the methods and reason tend to be different. Hindus use cremation to dispose of the body and to” release the soul from its earthly existence.” Cremation is believed to be the most spiritually method rather than burial and disintegration. “This belief is based on the belief that the “astral body” will linger as long as the physical body remains visible; if the body is not cremated, the soul remains nearby for days and months.” Another interesting thing about Hindus ritual is the way the body is cremated. Most cremations ceremonies begin the same with the cleaning, dressing and adoring the body but the Hindus take other spiritually methods as well to give the proper blessings. The eldest son performs a ritual by circling the pyre where the body lays counterclockwise, where as everything is backwards at the time of death, lights the Prye and then the dead is now an offering to Agni, the fire. The fire is a representation as a offering to heaven. After the body is almost completely burned the eldest son cracks the skull with a bamboo stick, thus releasing the soul from entrapment in the body. Lastly the ashes are thrown into river. Hindus are very precise In their methods and beliefs in which they perform their rituals. My death rituals are not remarkable. Most Christian’s rituals are along the Mormonism style of burial. A difference that I do recognize is the way that we mourn. During our ceremonies we tend to celebrate the life that our loves ones lived and pray for their eternal life in heaven.

 

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Why does the author argue that we fear death? Do you fear death? Saturday, Feb 19 2011

When one thinks of death the first emotion is fear to most humans. Kubler- Ross sees death from a psychological view in which humans unconsciously can’t accept death of themselves. “It is inconceivable for our unconscious to imagine an actual ending of our own life.” Humans are not ready for death, death is a hard concept to grasp and understand. Because one is not definite of what comes after death we tend to fear it because we wonder if it is the end of our existence. Our conscious mind can’t accept the thought of not living. “In simple terms, in our unconscious mind we can only be killed.” Death is usually associated with negative thoughts, terms, and actions. Death is usually caused by sickness, old age, or a tragic event. “Therefore death in itself is associated with a bad act, a frightening happening, something in itself cause for a retribution and punishment. Death seems to be more of a punishment more than anything. Most deaths in the world are caused by bad events instead of dying in a peaceful way. With death also comes guilt. Humans usually fear guilt when words or thoughts have been exchanged in a hurtful way or from not being able to express themselves to the love one that died.  The emnotion of fear of death can cause other negative related emotions such as shame, guilt, anger, rage and depression. Why do we have these negative emotions? Because humans do not have control of their death or other love ones which they tend to have these negative emotions because they are dealing with regret. Regret of not changing of making life better, having control of their ending of living and of not being able to express their emotions towards love ones. Honestly, I do fear death but for different reasons. I have faith in my religion in the belief of an afterlife in Heaven and Hell. I don’t fear death itself but conscious I fear where I belong in my afterlife and desire my existence in Heaven.

 

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Who is the individual your group picked? Why did you pick this individual? Sunday, Feb 13 2011

After reading the historic background of the St. Louis Cemetery #2 our group decided to choose Jacques Philippe Villere. Our initial reason for choosing him was the attraction to his name. One of my group members recognized his last name as the name of one of the street in New Orleans and that it has a connection to his history. Although we weren’t sure if the name of the street was connected to him we were still interested to know more. Through our reading of “The St. Louis Cemetery” we learned that Jacques Philippe Villere was a civic leader. He was born in 1761 and died in 1830. Jacques Philippe Villere was known as a native born governor in Louisiana. Our groups choose someone that was in the 17^th century a time that was unfamiliar to us. We also wanted to know what kind of civic leader he was and his involvement in politics. The history of this man could have had an influence on the current judicial system and political views. Jacques Philippe Villere was a governor that we wanted to know more about his personal life other than his political life and what influences being a governor had on his personal life. How did his family feel about him being a governor? Did he even have a family? What were his fears? Why did he become governor? How did he die? In the article “The St. Louis Cemetery” Villere didn’t have much information about his life and his death and we wanted to know more about him. Jacques Philippe Villlere seems like an interesting man that has a story to tell and our groups to explore his life. Maybe the street in New Orleans may be named after him and the accomplishments that he had within his lifetime.

 

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From what you’ve read for this week, speculate how Save Our Cemeteries might play a role in the promotion of a just and humane society? Sunday, Jan 30 2011

Save Our Cemeteries is an non- profit Organization that gives back to the community and maintain New Orleans landmarks like it’s  cemetery. This organization spreads most of their time restoring cemetery with a rich historic background. These cemeteries hold the historical culture of the New Orleans area. There are many stories that can be told by the background of these people’s lives. There are many generations that go far as 18^th century. In 2005 Katrina came through New Orleans and these cemeteries were damaged severely with lost records of families and tombstones being washed away and bodies unidentified. Save our cemetery help the community to dedicate their time and services towards keeping up the grave sites of our loves ones and historic figures.  It is humane to help clean up cemetery were the funds aren’t available to be taken care of because of the funds going towards other organizations. The loved one s of the ones past go through a difficult time affording to have one to clean up what is left of their families. The ones of the past should still be honored with respect and dignity of the life that they lived. Giving life to the cemetery will give people the chance to visit their loved ones without the feeling of being uncomfortable or a scared feeling. Every Community needs its foundation which comes from their historic monuments. One doesn’t understand where they are going if they don’t know where they came from. Knowing your ancestors is important and where they are should always be available. Death is a part of life and it should nit be left behind by not taking care of its historical value.

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Describe a memorable funeral you’ve attended. How did this make you reflect on your own place in the world? Remember this is a public blog. Saturday, Jan 29 2011

Last year the most tragic even took place in my life. It changed who I was and my love ones. My brother ran in the house with blood on his shirt in a panic. We all looked at him wondering what had happen. Several questions ran through my head in a matter of second. Running out of breathe my brother proceeded to tell us how he can got in a head on collision up the road and one of his friends, Ben, was not responding. We had asked him how did he get here and he responded “I ran”. We rushed to the car to go to the scene and there were so many people and ambulances. The crash was really bad. My brother was in the car with five other guys and two other cars were involved which contained a mother and daughter and a family of three. One lady died instantly while Ben head was smashed against the window and left him unconscious. Ben was one of my brother close childhood friends that I considered him as a brother. That afternoon they decided to go to the movies in celebration of their hard work in the baseball tournament. We were all scared and worried all at once. Praying for his recovery and feeling unbearable pain. Ben died the next afternoon. He had became brain dead and they unplugged his life support. Ben death was a tragedy. A growing man was ended in an unexpected car accident. The funeral was beautiful. Although it was an open casket I felt comfortable because I realized Ben was in the same place spiritually. Ben was a loving, silly, active, smart young man that many people were drawn to. He was loved by many. The funeral was more of a celebration than sad or depressing. We celebrated his life and his accomplishments and the afterlife of eternal happiness. This was my first funeral and the atmosphere was warming and loving. Although Ben is gone away from his physical being, we all hold a piece of him in our hearts. This event made me realize that life is short and our end is unexpected. I know that I don’t know when my time for death will come but I do know that I must become right spiritually and mentally and when ever that day comes I will be ready. I have learned to make the best out of my life and keep pushing forward to become and do great things while I am on earth.

-R.I.P Benjamin Bynum (I love you)

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. Farmer tries to balance his desire to treat individual patients with the need for his attendance at high profile meetings (p. 260). Which of these two is ultimately more important Sunday, Dec 12 2010

Ultimately the most important choice depends on the individual. Being the type of person that Farmer is the best choice for him is treating the individual’s patients in Haiti. Treating the patients in Haiti is a direct situation while sitting in a room trying to “concentrate on the big issues of world health” is an indirect approach.  Farmer is a man that has to be directly involved. Change as to be seen rather than a couple of numbers of statistics to justify the corporate doctor’s process. Farmer hearing voices of people in Haiti saying “My child is dying” is a struggle because he is passionate about helping ones in desperate time of need. The corporate meetings cannot satisfy his need of looking on someone’s face of delight because he personally helped them feel better. Farmer likes to be in close contact with people. Farmer went off his way to learn something about the individuals that he treated by knowing the one thing they wanted. Farmer treated and cured people beyond diseases but treated them as humans by caring about their lives and emotions. I can understand why Farmer always end up back in Haiti while being unstable in other areas. Farmer finds fulfillment in Haiti and the accomplishments that he achieves there. Living in Haiti isn’t an easy life but its Farmer’s life and where he finds true happiness. Farmer is a wonderful man in regards to other people. He is a positive, determined, caring man that deserves to be happy where ever he chooses to reside. In conclusion the corporate world is not for him; Famer needs hand on experiences so therefore he should choose Haiti over the meetings. I believe the reason he continues to work as a doctor in Boston is so that he can have funds to take care of those in Haiti as well as himself.

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What are your thoughts about Xavier and its mission after your first asemester? Sunday, Dec 12 2010

Xavier has taught me a lot of new things in this new type of life. I have experienced bad and good situations. The most important thing is that I learned for my mistakes and also my experiences. Academically I expected what was to be expected, had work and dedication. The hard work was beyond the work that I had done in high school. Therefore I had to adjust to the new study habits of Xavier University. Part of Xavier mission is to learn outside of the classroom as well. The Psychology Club is an extension to the class of in learning but also gives more hand on work by helping others. While in the club we have meeting discussing interesting topics in psychology from different views of classification types and finding different ways into helping the community. The Psychology Club has volunteered with shelters for people as well as animals. Xavier also taught me how to interact with people from different backgrounds and how to compromise. In my work field I would have to learn how to interact with a variety of different people and learn how to work with them. Xavier has also taught me how to make wise independent choices. While in college one has to become more independent and Xavier has helped me through this transition. These influences helped establish leadership by taking initiation in making a difference in the community and in my academics. Leadership begins with learning, following, independence and patience. These qualities are the base of a well rounded leader. I have gained these qualities over this first semester and hope that they continue to  get stronger as I grow into a successful student. Xavier University has high expectations for their students and therefore sets high standards that I am influenced to meet. These standards pushes me to and beyond the bar making me into a better leader.

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Pick three other students in your section and leave detailed comments on their blog for weeks 6, 7, or 11. Comments need to demonstrate engagement with the text. For your entry just post the names of the students and the number representing which week’s blog on which you commented (6, 7, or 11). Sunday, Dec 12 2010

#7 dannixula

# 6 antonioroberts

#6 alonnareece

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