Category Archives: Social Science

Simply Good

I sit on my couch with a spritely glass of Pinot Grigio from Sonoma beside me, infused with feelings of contentment. Today was the type of day that made me feel gloriously alive.

I left the South Bay at 8 a.m. with my colleague to pick up my other colleagues in San Francisco. As AmeriCorps members, one task we have is to get together twice a month to develop skills and our connection in the community. This month we decided on an outing to St. Anthony Farm. This farm, located 15 miles west of Petaluma, provides free residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation services. The farm is 315 acres and operates an organic commercial dairy and an organic garden. Residents work in these or on other facilities jobs.

The day dawned cool and foggy. The two hour drive zoomed by while we all talked. When we arrived, we were given a tour of the center and the farm. I got to commune with newly born calves who adored a gentle head scratch. Many of them were hungry. They sucked my fingers eagerly. They also sucked my elbows and attempted to nurse off my t-shirt!

We were scheduled to work in the organic garden. The woman who manages it was earthy (what else would one expect?) and friendly. Our task was to dig ditches. Rather than double-dig to plant pumpkins, the dirt we dug up was tossed to one side or the other. Then we raked that dirt smooth, and it is in this that she will plant. At one point we all took a break. The air was light; the fog had burned off, leaving a blue sky with malleable clouds. I lay down, nestled into the grass, and felt my muscles relax.

The garden manager had left and when she returned she brought her two dogs. They bounded over to and on top of me, licking my face and arms and goosing my ears with their noses. I sat up laughing, and the gardener called them off with an apology. None was needed, of course. I haven’t been greeted that exuberantly in a long time! The reason she had gone was to pick us some carrots and rinse them. They were sweet, crisp, and delectable. The dogs buddied up to me and begged for a taste, which they of course received.

We left after that to eat lunch in Petaluma. There I gave a small presentation on Keirsey-Bates and Myers-Briggs personality theory. We meandered through the town and browsed a few shops, then headed home around 4:00.

Once home, I cooked up some fresh organic vegetables that my colleague had given me, added pink salmon and rice, and sat down with Husband for supper. Since she’ll be on vacation next week, she offered me the chance to pick up her share of organic produce they purchase from Live Earth Farm.

Oh, and we received happy news that the Austin friends whose wedding we attended will be relocating to the Bay Area this summer! It’s a big change for them — we just went through it two years ago. (Amazing, that it’s already been that long!)

The dishwasher churns through its task. The cats lounge nearby. A rented movie awaits. I finished a knitting project and have new ones to start (with just-bought yarn). I’m engrossed in a fascinating novel. Tomorrow is Art Day — I will make some. The air is cool, and I am pleased.

Volunteering Data

Here are some results from the first-ever federal report released today by the Corporation for National and Community Service, which finds that states vary widely in how, when, and what percent of their citizens volunteer (emphasis in italics added):

Females volunteer at significantly higher rates than do males in every state; nationwide, women with children under age 18 volunteer at a significantly higher rate (39.9%) than do women without young children (29%), and women who work volunteer at a significantly higher rate (36.1%) than women who do not work (27.2%).
The greatest percentage of volunteers serve primarily through religious organizations (34.8%).
The highest regional volunteer rate last year was in the Midwest, at 33.3%. The largest growth in volunteering since 2002 has come from the South (2.4 million) and the West (2 million).
The top volunteer activities by category are mentoring, tutoring, coaching, and refereeing (35%), fundraising (29.7%) and collecting, preparing, distributing, or serving food (26.3%).
Adult volunteering generally follows a life cycle, with people age 35-54 volunteering at the highest rate, and rates subsequently declining as people age, particularly for individuals over 65.
One state â€“ Utah â€“ led the nation in virtually all categories of volunteering, including highest volunteer rate (48%), annual hours donated by a typical volunteer (96), and overall volunteer rates by seniors (51.8%), college students (62.9%), and young adults (45.4%).
The volunteer rate in the Midwest is 29% higher than the rate in the Northeast, 21.5% higher than the rate in the South, and 14% higher than the rate in the West.
The states with the highest volunteering rates are Utah (48%), Nebraska (42.8), Minnesota (40.7), Iowa (39.2), and Alaska (38.9) â€“ all well above the national average of 28.8 percent.
The states with the highest number of hours contributed by the typical volunteer are Utah (96), Idaho (64), and Arizona, Maryland and Montana (60) â€“ all above the national median of 50 hours.
In general, volunteer rates for minorities (race and ethnicity) are substantially lower than non-Hispanic whites in most states.
While the influence of religion and the size of a stateâ€™s rural population appear to have an overall positive influence on volunteer rates, some states with lower religious activity or substantial urban populations (such as Vermont and Michigan, respectively) have very strong volunteer rates. Meanwhile, Bible Belt states have a lower volunteer rate than most Midwest and West states.

Historical Resonance

I have begun to read a fascinating book, Lies My Teacher Told Me : Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. I’m only in the first chapter, which examines the process of “heroification” of public figures. The book has photos and captions, one of which floored me. Since the book was published in 1995, long before 9/11 and subsequent events, it was eerie to encounter this.

What I’m referring to is an ad published by the Creel Committee on Public Information, which was established by Woodrow Wilson at the time of WW I. The ad appeared in the “Saturday Evening Post.” I am providing the entire text here. If you substitute Muslim or more specifically Al Qaeda, as well as the location (Middle East instead of Germany), you may be startled at how apt a reflection of our culture it is now. We haven’t quite reached this point of surveillance (where the public is encouraged to turn people in). Or have we? With the news revealing clandestine governmental phone-tapping, I wonder if a message like this isn’t far behind.

Spies and Lies

German agents are everywhere, eager to gather scraps of news about our men, our ships, our munitions. It is still possible to get such information through to Germany, where thousands of these fragments — often individually harmless — are patiently pieced together into a whole which spells death to American soldiers and danger to American homes.

But while the enemy is most industrious in trying to collect information, and his systems elaborate, he is not superhuman — indeed he is very often stupid, and would fail to get what he wants were it not deliberately handed to him by the carelessness of loyal Americans.

Do not discuss in public, or with strangers, any news of troop and transport movements, or bits of gossip as to our military preparations, which come into your possession.

Do not permit your friends in service to tell you — or write you — “inside” facts about where they are, what they are doing and seeing.

Do not become a tool of the Hun by passing on the malicious, disheartening rumors which he so eagerly sows. Remember he asks no better service than to have you spread his lies of disasters to our soldiers and sailors, gross scandals in the Red Cross, cruelties, neglect and wholesale executions in our camps, drunkenness and vice in the Expeditionary Force, and other tales certain to disturb American patriots and to bring anxiety and grief to American parents.

And do not wait until you catch someone putting a bomb under a factory. Report the man who spreads pessimistic stories, divulges — or seeks — confidential military information, cries for peace, or belittles our efforts to win the war.

Send the names of such persons, even if they are in uniform, to the Department of Justice, Washington. Give all the details you can, with names of witnesses if possible — show the Hun that we can beat him at his own game of collecting scattered information and putting it to work. The fact that you made the report will not become public.

You are in contact with the enemy today, just as truly as if you faced him across No Man’s Land. In your hands are two powerful weapons with which to meet him — discretion and vigilance. Use them.

All In A Day’s Work

Despite its length, this was a really good day. First I drove to Oakland to meet with the Executive Director of the Center for Community Benefit Organizations. The purpose of our meeting was to discuss how they might revive the Hank Rosso Library, a resource collection providing information to help non-profits thrive and fulfill their missions. The library has existed for quite awhile, but due to staff changes, use of the library lapsed, and the newcomers don’t really know what was done before. My task is to do a little research on what software programs might be useful for a small library like this. I also talked about Library Thing as a possibility. She is going to develop the budget for next year soon. If you have a recommendation for a library management system (for a PC), do let me know.

Then I spent the afternoon as a panel speaker for the Northern California Youth Leadership Seminar. The theme of the panel was “Jump Into Action”, and four of us talked about the work we do, how we got into it, and why we pursue non-profit work. The room was packed with 120 high school sophomores, and they had a lot of energy. After speaking, the panel took general questions, and then the kids broke into small groups, and we speakers rotated through each group to answer additional questions. So I felt good about all this. I had a chance to convey my message about service and what it means.

What happened after all that, however, made a greater impact on me (I’ve left out details that would give identifying information). I’d mentioned I was a counselor in my presentation. A young woman approached me after to ask if she could get some advice. I asked what was on her mind, and she revealed to me a recent experience of sexual assault by an acquaintance (classmate), and mentioned subsequent behavior that indicates a stalker’s mentality. She hadn’t wanted to talk to a school counselor because she’s afraid of “ruining” the guy’s life, and also she’s fearful of backlash. She assumed if she told it would automatically set legal wheels rolling.

Wow. I hadn’t expected this. At all. So we talked about 15 minutes, and I hope I helped. I listened, I validated her experience, I encouraged her to call the rape crisis hotline to get advice, and I suggested she talk to her mother. She was reluctant to tell her mother because she thought her mother would cry. I encouraged her to approach her mother anyway and reminded her that mom would want to know and help, even if the news was upsetting. And I also reminded her that the perpetrator chose to do what he did, and if his life ends up “ruined,” then it’s the consequence he brought upon himself.

Despite advances in social dynamics, many females are socialized to be victims in that we focus on taking care of others, even when they do things that hurt us. I couldn’t do much in the short time we had, but she looked relieved to be understood. She hugged me. I hope she gets the help she needs. The encounter made me realize the I’m still a counselor at heart too, and I rather miss that work.