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Religion and Racism
The Bible can be misinterpreted based on both the culture and time period in which parts of it were written.
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Children’s Missions
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Is it ethical to celebrate Thanksgiving?
While it's easy to write off as an innocent, non-religious holiday focused on wholesome values such as family togetherness and gratitude, the holiday's dark past is seldom acknowledged.
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What is Day of the Dead?
Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, is a holiday to celebrate deceased loved ones with traditions that vary in different loactions.
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How to avoid costumes with cultural appropriation this Halloween
Offensive Halloween costumes seem to be an issue every year. This ranges from vile depictions of beat-up celebrities which reference domestic violence to hurtful portrayals of disabilities which make a mockery of the people experiencing these things. In particular, costumes with cultural appropriation has been a hot topic in recent years. Most people seem to have a very vague understanding that it has something to do with stealing traditions or relics from another culture. This article does an amazing job of explaining this fiery issue in-depth, but essentially cultural appropriation is when someone from the dominant culture uses cultural elements from a minority culture in a problematic way. This includes…
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Breastfeeding in Public
The fact that feeding an infant can be controversial is ridiculous. Women deserve to be able to feed their children in clean, non-judgmental environments.
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El Paso Trip Part Two: The Justice System
Travel journal, Day 1: As I write this, I’m sitting on the plane headed from North Dakota to Texas. We had a long delay due to snow, so it’s been a somewhat stressful afternoon. It probably won’t compare to the difficulty of the upcoming week. I’m trying to emotionally prepare myself for what I’ll see. Moving to another country is always a struggle linguistically, culturally, and socially. I experienced some of these burdens when I lived in Chile last fall. However, I had the benefit of knowing I would return home in a few months, and I had a safe place to live set out for me and a visa…
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El Paso Trip Part One: The Colonias
It was a small trailer on a square piece of dirt. It certainly wasn’t what she had dreamed of when she had first come to the United States to stay with her mother, a citizen, but Soledad* owned the land and everything on it. Not ideal, but worth being proud of. Soledad had a quiet dignity that I had to admire. Serving us cookies from an old family recipe, she was insistent that she was the host and that we were her guests, reinforcing was Pastor Rosemary had told us before coming: With this service trip, we are here to learn from the people we talk to, not help them.…
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7 Reasons to Learn a New Language
There are more than 7 reasons to learn a language, but these are the top ones on my list because I feel like they cover the most important aspects. I would recommend everyone learns at least one foreign language during their life for each and every one of these reasons. 1. Culture I have written about the value of other cultures a bit in some of my other articles. Experiencing another culture on an intimate level is one of the most rewarding experiences in the world. Each one has good, bad, beautiful, and ugly characteristics. The more deeply you invest in any culture, the broader your critical understanding of the…
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Strawless Cups, LED Lights, and Other Distractions
The Earth is polluted and dwindling in resources. Scientists universally agree on that, and with the internet it's easy to find examples of things hurting the environment even if you live somewhere where nature seems healthy.
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5 Mistakes New Language Learners Make
Learning a new language is a daunting task, and takes a lot of trial and error. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes like misunderstanding or misusing language, because you are going make a lot of them. I once misunderstood what someone was asking me while I was in Mexico and accidentally convinced him I was an alcoholic, all the while oblivious to what I was saying and feeling proud that I was using such long sentences. View these mistakes as lessons and use them as tools to strengthen your memory rather than getting down on yourself. You can read more about what you should do here, but for now here…
