Jhizn Takaya

This semester I have been takin' a graduate-level Social Stratification class from Ben Gibbs. I have been learnin' tons of stuff which is really helpful for understand the structures, etc. which cause/influence/impact who is allocated where, why, and whether or not it is all fair.

I am writing a research prospectus and arguing that stratification begins at the earliest stages of childhood even before a child enters school. I think child-raising behaviors among parents is a very crucial factor in stratification.

Anyhow, I think a LOT about these issues. So much so that I am often overwhelmed #1) by my passionate desire to alleviate the unfairness and #2) by my jadedness and lack of confidence that anything would really make a difference. I have that whole "it's-me-against-the-world" feeling. I just feel like I have the weight of the world holdin' me down. Even if child-raising behaviors among parents were standardized or leveled, a new stratifier would emerge in the system. And not even that standardizing the child-raising behaviors among parents is the universal answer, because frankly, I don't believe there is one.

However, I am deeply heartbroken by the fact that not everyone begins at the same starting line in life. So many people are disadvantaged because of their race, religion, geographical location, socioeconomic status, their parents' educational attainment, etc., etc. Our society claims to be a meritocratic system. But how can it be such when some people don't have the knowledge, access, or resources to be as skilled, etc. as his advantaged counterpart?!

One of the overarching questions of my studies has been: "who gets what and why? Who makes these constitutions?" While discussing these and other questions, we've talked about making conditions fair or equal. Ben has shared with us three different types of 'equality.' First there is the (in)equality of condition. Where does a person come from? How do you separate an individual from his/her context? Second is (in)equality of opportunity. Usually people see education as a vehicle of opportunity. Being educated or trained is a way to provide merit. Finally there is (in)equality of outcome. What is our end-goal for society?

I can see several flaws--not to mention the contention--of a society where everyone is given the same outcome/payment/etc. for varying degrees of contribution. Nevertheless, this is similar to the type of society that the Lord is establishing. Regardless of when a person comes to the Master (whether it be from birth or a conversion later down the road) all of His faithful children are promised life eternal [the same outcome]. We still live in an imperfect world, however. Therefore, Susie Mae is stormin' down to human resources when Billy Joe works the same job as her for half the hours and the same exact pay.

As I try to solve the world's problems, I've been seriously contemplating the other equality options. Concerning equality of opportunity, I have thought that this is a really great idea. It certainly has tons of potential. Nevertheless, I see several flaws in this approach to creating a utopian society. Say we did away with tuition costs and all students were allowed an opportunity to study and get an education (or insert other opportunity here). So many people do not understand or know what to do while receiving their education. They are already disadvantaged before they get there. My logic may be very confusing. But the way I see it is that there are those individuals that value education and learning and instill those values into their children. So when babies are at home before they ever go off to pre-school or university, their parents are reading stories to them and practicing the alphabet and sending them to special day-cares that cost ridiculous amounts of money each month just so their children can have that leg up before they enter school. Also, take away the advantages of education-valuing-parents and financial stability--what about children that are automatically disadvantaged because they have a learning disability or who are categorized by teachers before they are ever given the opportunity to demonstrate or grow in their educational capacities?! Therefore, I am not extremely in favor of equality of opportunity because numerous people already enter the system with advantage...so they are just adding advantage onto advantage and will beat out his/her neighbor who is disadvantaged even if they have the same training. Because this system equalizes merit (if two people have the same educational background), but something else will stratify one above the other. [Sorry this is so confusing...]

I also don't see equality of condition as being quite fair either. Though for a long time I felt that this was the way to go. I thought that it would be an excellent idea to just make sure that everyone had the same background (neighborhood, house, vehicle, etc.) and resources (access to scholarships, employment opportunities, etc.). But as we read a few articles on studies which relocated some families from inner city ghettos into predominantly white, suburban areas with wonderful schools and great jobs I came to realize that there is so much that is unethical in these scenarios. #1) How can we, thinking that relocation will be a benefit to these families, only relocate a few and leave the others to continue struggling along?! And on top of that, we make comparisons between those that we've "benefited" with those that we didn't! Isn't that absurd?!?! I cannot even believe that someone thought conducting such a study was a good idea: "Here, we are going to make your life an infinite times better. However, you...I'm sorry...you have to sit here in the dump and figure out your life for yourself. Oh, by the way, can we contact you every other week so that we can publish your failures and rub your struggles in your face...not that you'd understand us anyway because we are arrogant and like to speak with a vocabulary that no one expect he with a Ph.D can comprehend?" And #2) for those that we are supposedly "benefiting"...who says that forcing someone to live within and conform to a white, middle-class, suburban lifestyle is a benefit? Or equality? Is this ethical?!?! Holy cow! [Now my thoughts have turned into a rant...] How ashamed we ought to be for our ethnocentricity and self-centeredness!

So sometimes I have these really liberal ideas. Actually, I don't think that they are that liberal at all...that is just in comparison to my environment of extreme conservatives. Since I've taken Lance Erickson's Sociology of Family Issues class and we've discussed taxes, insurance, employment, and risk-pooling...I have been super gungho about risk pooling. I think I would be more than content to live in a society where money did not even exist. For example, say that I needed some gas in my car. So I go to the gas station and the pumper man fills my car up because I am a teacher and I teach his children at the local school. And his kids have a newspaper route which delivers to the local doctor who delivers my sister's baby because she's the veterinarian of his dog. Etc., etc. Wouldn't that be a great society? Where we all do what we love doing and have the talent of doing and just served each other?! That's my idea of utopia. Well, it doesn't currently exist and we are still living in a society that LOVES money. Anyhow, back to the idea of risk pooling: I think it would be super great if I (and we in general) were to just work and work and the government (or someone probably more competent in finances) took my money and distributed it to where it needed to go in society. (This implying that the needs of me and my family would also be met.) Now this is a very liberal and extreme idea of risk-pooling. Most risk pooling ideas are as simple as health insurance or any other type of insurance. Yeah, there are a few who take advantage of the system and suck it up for the rest of everyone else who is honest and hard-working...but all in all, it's a great deal because everyone is a winner. However, not everyone has the knowledge, access, or ability to join in the risk-pooling fun. And so they are solely and completely responsible for their health, life, vehicle, etc. without any help from a group that is pooling together (as insurance does...or is suppose to do). And that just breaks my heart.

We were having a discussion a little while back at the dinner table about these issues. I shared a lot of the same feelings and ideas that I have above. I brought up the example of little children who for whatever reason do not have medical or dental insurance (which happened to be me most of my childhood...except when my dad was active duty in the military...I first visited a dentist when I was 18 years old...and we NEVER went to the doctor when we were sick because we couldn't afford it...and my dad was a medic so he could usually inspect us and suggest solutions/cures/etc.). I do not think that little children should have to suffer not having food, insurance, education, whatever because their parents either can't, won't, or don't know how to supply these things. I was rebutted with a very conservative answer: "that's what they get!" WHAT?!?! According to these commentators, the sins of the parents (and even transgressions) should be and will be answers on the heads of the children! In other words, if a single mother working part-time to make ends meet is not employed with someone who provides a decent medical insurance package...then the kids just have to suck it up and be sick when the flu bug (or whatever else) comes around. They have to deal with abscessed teeth and exposed nerves because they can't afford the $88.00 it costs to get the tooth pulled...much less get the tooth fixed (which costs substantially more if you don't have dental insurance).

Is this fair?!?! Is life supposed to be this way? Do people deserve to be discriminated against because of their skin color, bank account, or education level? Do children deserve to go hungry for a week because they were born to parents who do not have the skills necessary to get such-and-such a job because no one ever invested in them either? ...The list of fairness questions goes on and on and on.

I've been thinking about how to make it all more fair. How to make a contribution so that society will be a better place not only for the advantaged but especially for those that are sorely disadvantaged. I'm actually consumed by this. I tear up just thinking about whether any effort really matters, would it make a difference? Does anyone else even care at all? I lie in bed at night thinking about these things when I can't sleep. It is a guidance as I determine what career path I will choose and how I will live out the rest of my days upon this earth.

These are a Few of My Favorite Things: Currently

As I departed my ASL practice session with one of the TA's named Charity, I was feelin' super awesome. I had already spent an hour that morning scanning through the 1914-1916 Emery County Progress searching for any signs that John Davis actually existed in the social world of said county (no success. I did however, discover an article about the Church being the social center of the lives/communities of the people which seemed applicable to my friend, Michael's thesis and research).

I find myself spending almost every spare moment at school in the Family History Library looking at censuses, searching passenger arrival lists, skimming through microfilm, updating PAF, etc. I just can't get enough genealogy and family history. I'm taking a U.S. and Canada Family History class this semester with Brother Kip Sperry. We are learning all the technicalities of Probate Records, Vital Records/Civil Registrations, etc. However, our assignments aren't very personal. Nevertheless, I enjoy using my own time [and almost every spare moment of it] to scavenger for those that have gone before in my ancestral line.

The more research I do, the better I understand these people. That's how I felt about Joseph Smith, his family and associates when I went on the Church History Field Study with Bro. Dick Bennett--these were real people. It's not just names or a nice story, but it was reality. They walked this land, worked, played, and lived. So when I read the 1913 Emery County Progress County Correspondence from Huntington and the writer says that the D. T. Davis welcomed a daughter into their household, etc., I feel connected to D. T. Davis and his family because they start to become alive to me--they become real, instead of names in some program or on some internet site.

For my birthday I really just wanted to visit the Manti Temple and go to the Huntington Cemetery to find the grave of John Davis. I've been doing research on this line for a long time now. And it turns out that John...my several great(s) grandfather was a member of the LDS Church. He was proselyted by some missionaries in Louisiana and joined the Church in 1899. When his second wife died in 1909, he headed out to Huntington, UT where his brother (Thomas William Davis)'s family resided [who were also members of the Church]. In 1911, John went through the Salt Lake Temple to receive his own endowments while also having the work performed for his deceased wives by proxy. He was sealed to both of his wives for time and all eternity by the power of the Holy Priesthood. Later, in 1914, he went to the Manti Temple and was sealed to his deceased parents.

After Caitlin and I went to the Manti Temple we headed over to Huntington via UT-31 Scenic Byway from Fairview. Huntington is FAR away from Manti. It looks so close on the map...haha. I probably should have planned better because when we got to the Cemetery...most of the gravestones were covered in snow. I figured they would have kept the graveyard cleared, but apparently rural areas such as No-Stop-Light-In-Town Huntington have no such concerns. Anyhow, Caitlin and I (who, by the way, was not even wearing pantyhose or boots...just a skirt and yellow slip-ons) found ourselves tromping through 2-3 feet of snow in the entire cemetery using a car scraper and a bowl to shovel snow to dig up headstones. We were having a hard time finding John Davis (I wonder why?!?!) and were having to run back to the car to thaw out every fifteen minutes or so.

After a series of calls back and forth with Mrs. Nancy (who couldn't find the graveyard lay-out online and tell us which plot John resided in)--I called my buddy, Ramon and he was helpin' us out big time. We had originally been looking by Owen W. Guymon and his family because he married one of the daughters of Thomas William Davis. I mean...sounds logical...look around relatives, right? WRONG! John was buried across the way in the smack-dab middle of the cemetery next to NO ONE! Well, that's a small lie. He is buried next to people...Booth, Meeks. But no one I know. And no one that I think he's related to! Anyhow, Ramon was explaining to us the coordinates of John Davis when I'm about ready to throw my hands in the air and give up. My legs hurt because the crunchy snow was cutting them, my feet were numb, and I was heartbroken that we had driven all this way and we couldn't find John Davis. Caitlin is about ready to kill John Davis had he not already been dead. I've got Ramon on the line tellin' me names of people he's buried next to--so I'm yellin' out, "Booth....Meeks..." all of whose graves are covered by several feet of snow so we can't see these headstones. Caitlin is out yonder diggin' up any place she thinks there might be a grave...when SHE FOUND JOHN DAVIS!! Handel's Hallelujah Chorus of the "Messiah" starts playing. I couldn't have been happier. We had found John Davis.

I couldn't have been happier on my birthday. Strangely, I did get happier. After we snapped a few photos of good ol' John Davis, we jumped in the Suzuki to defrost before making our way to Benjamin. Benjamin was difficult to find... Luckily, we speak English and so does mostly everyone else. So stopping to ask for directions benefited us twice that day. (Google obviously doesn't understand that there is more than one Fourth North...) So we found Benjamin and the pinata lady with the barn full of pinatas. I really wanted this Zebra Pinata for my birthday party, and I had met this lady at the Latinoamericano Festival back in September who had given me her card. $16 later I was putting a Great Dane sized Zebra Pinata into the back of the car! Yippee!

After we managed to get out of Benjamin, we stumbled upon Cracker Barrel to cap off the day. I needed to reward Caitlin for being so diligent in finding John Davis. So we got a table for two and pigged out on meatloaf and catfish. Then we had this apple struesel (sp?) pecan praline cinnaminy-goodness with BLUE BELL HOMEMADE VANILLA ICE CREAM! (You can't get this stuff up north in Yankee Land...this is a southern ice cream that is far superior to anything else in the world.) But, Cracker Barrel apparently has this contract with Blue Bell...which I whole-heartedly support.

So my birthday was a day filled with family history and fun times. All my wishes come true. But I also wanted to share another of my favorite things...ASL!!! I am havin' a blast in my class this semester. My teacher, Nanette is a trip. She always has us crackin' up. I didn't know ASL jokes could be so funny, but it really is. Our teacher is wonderful! She's such a good teacher. She's deaf, and has not verbally spoken one word to us since day one. Nevertheless, we have somehow managed to learn and communicate back with her. It's quite incredible and I wish I would have started taking ASL classes sooner.

My favorite TA is Charity Harding. She's super awesome. I've visited with her three times (we have to visit a TA at least five times in the semester). Even though I don't think fluidly in ASL yet (I still think in English...which is often a barrier while communicating), but Charity makes me feel so comfortable and it is so much easier to 'talk' to her. We've been able to share mission stories...I told her about a sign language dream I had where I was trapped in a basement and Janna Mistrzak was tryin' to kill me and I was yellin' in sign language to the people outside. haha. Sometimes I 'read' her stories. We have an assignment in class where we have to 'tell' a story to the class through sign language. So I go and practice with Charity. It's great to have someone understand you. And I love being able to semi-communicate to a population I couldn't speak to earlier.

I felt prompted to learn sign language because of this one experience I had on my mission. It was the day when Sister Pilipchak and I had gotten lost from each other. After I had called the District Leader and the Mission President, I was sittin' in McDonald's waiting for the Elders to come and escort me home when across the way there was a couple speaking to each other in Russian sign language. I was mesmerized. I wanted to talk to them SO bad! (I mean, after all, on the mission that's what we did 24/7 was talk to people.) And here were two people that I couldn't say anything to, not even "Bog jhiv!" ("God lives!"...that's just some MTC humor, and it's the truth.)

So now I'm learning ASL, and I find myself wanting to sign ALL the time. To myself. To my hearing friends. To my classmates. I think next week when I visit with Charity, I want her to teach me how to testify about Jesus Christ is sign language.