July 4th

On this July fourh, I pray for the day to come when we will turn our swords in for plowshares, and beat our spears into pruning hooks. I pray that, even as we are thankful for what freedoms we do have, we will remember those who’s freedoms have been and continue to be trampled upon, so that we can enjoy the luxury of privelage. That even in thankful humility, we will not forget this deep injustice. I pray too, that rather than looking back, to some supposed time in the past when “freedom was gained,” we will instead realize that freedom has yet to come. I pray that we continue to look to Christ, and to his return, and to the coming of his kingdom. And also that we will not abondon the hard work of paving a path to freedom in which everyone can participate, not through waging wars in third world countries but through sharing our own peace and abundance.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow

…I will go to work in the morning on too little sleep. It’s my own fault.

I will also begin a study of John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice, to be posted for discussion on the blog. Reading Rawls’ book will serve as the necessary preliminary to understanding G.A. Cohen’s Rescuing Justice and Equality which is largely a critique of Rawls’ book. Sounds fun! Pray that God gives me the time to dedicate to this study.

Going to Bed Defeated

Today was the first day of Spring quarter at school. What seemed to be shaping up to be a pretty kick-ass start to the quarter, quickly plummetted into a giant bureaucratic fist-f@#$. Since I enrolled at Clark College I have been entirely dependent upon financial aid for my continued academic existence. If it wasn’t for my pell grant, I would have never been able to take a single college course. This is why, when I decided I would be transfering to Portland State University to finish my undergraduate studies, my projected academic timeline was set back by a year: Though Portland is literally a five or ten minute drive from any point in Vancouver, these cities exist in different states, and I can’t even remotely begin to think of how I could ever pay triple the ammount in tuition costs for out-of-state residency. So I had to move to Portland to begin the 12-month long process of setting up residency in Oregon (even though every universtiy in Oregon, Washington, and even most in Idaho reciprocate in-state tuition prices among transfer students. Every university that is, except PSU). I bit the bullet and have (reluctantly) adjusted my academic plan: I will be 30 when I recive my B.A.

Today I was informed that because I moved out of state (into Oregon) I would have to pay Clark more than twice the ammount I had been as a Washington state resident. My pell grant would still leave me with a $1,678.50 bill to pay out-of-pocket. I spent four hours in various lines in the administrative offices today trying desperately to squeeze-out vital information, one drop at a time, from the student workers in the financial aid office and in registration and even admissions. Eventually, after exhausting all the possible options available to me, after coming to the realization that, best case scenario, I’d have to fork out $750, I was forced to drop all of my classes this quarter.

I’m going to bed now. Reluctantly, though I have to be up at 5am for work, because I feel like today was such a waste of time. I know I’m just screwing myself for sleep for tomorrow, but I can’t help it. I really don’t want to go to bed.