Gender Inequality - It's a Thing

We just got home from a pinning ceremony for the Collegiate Academy at our son's high school.  It's a program where students take advanced courses, complete additional projects, and perform community service. In exchange, the students can take dual enrollment courses (get college credit in high school FOR FREE ***HOLLA!!***) and have access to our local university's resources (MTSU).  

My wife and I noticed that the student population being pinned were overwhelmingly female - 112 to 53 to be precise.  And we thought back to awards ceremonies at the kids' middle school and noticing that the award winners were mostly female.  So why is it that females seem to achieve more in school?  And why do they get to the workplace and be paid less than their male counterparts?

Dude be like, "psst, what's the answer to #7?"

An article in The Economist suggests a few possible reasons for the disparity in school performance. 

1. Girls read more than boys, and reading and comprehension are key to everything educational.
2. Girls spend more time on their homework.  They simply care more about school, while the "too cool for school" attitude is still pervasive in boys.
3. Boys spend much of their spare time in front of a screen, watching TV or playing video games. No mom, it turns out those games aren't educational...and your hand eye coordination from playing video games means jack in the real world.

I put a lot of credence in the "too cool for school" reasoning.  It seems like it always has been and always will be.  I remember being called "school boy" in elementary school just for making good grades, like it's a bad thing.

It's funny though, and sad I guess, that the stuff above makes me want to be encouraging to boys to work hard and care more...but then I think about what happens in the workplace and take a step back.

I work for a large computer company and from what I know we have a good reputation for being inclusive and for promoting equality.  But facts are facts, and the facts are that women are paid less than men for equal work.  I'm wracking my brain about what to do about this and one answer keeps popping into my head - JUST FIX IT! 

Obviously, there's more to fixing it than what my man Keenan is saying, but the disparity is something that everyone knows about and no one seems to have a handle on. 

Really, all I wanted to do here was point out how many more girls than boys are killing it at school.  Good for them!  Their work ethic and perseverance will serve them well later in life, and hopefully one day soon they'll get paid dollar for dollar for the same work as their male counterparts.

Don't do it Alan...Don't...

As I've gotten older I've developed more of an interest in politics.  I guess that's pretty normal, right?  I still don't like or trust most politicians - and I generally think they don't work to enact the changes they said they'd make.  On top of that the amount of money spent and ultimately wasted by losing candidates is sickening. 

I DON'T want to steer folks toward a candidate.  That's your decision.  We're still super early in this process and a lot will change between now and NEXT November.  Yeah, a candidate has peaked my interest and I did some binge posting about said candidate a little while back. Maybe I'll stick with him, maybe not.

But here's what I want to say....

In my view, the political world would be a better place if folks would pay more attention to the individual candidates and not their parties.  Maybe you're a lifelong Democrat - but you don't HAVE to choose between Hillary or Bernie...or random other guy no one has ever heard of.  Maybe you've always voted Republican. You don't HAVE to choose among anyone in the plethora of candidates running.

Personally, there are 3 candidates I feel I could vote for with a clean conscience.  I don't agree with everything they say, including on some moral issues - but for me, they're the few in the pack that seem qualified to lead the country, which is a pretty big job, right?

OK - one last thing, and this is directed at Christians. Some of the candidates touting their faith publicly are the same ones advocating for Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (torture), consider war before diplomacy, claim Pro-Life, but won't fund programs to help the poor, etc.  

Christians - let's seriously see how our candidates stand up to our Lord's command to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves.

A Word on Politics

BLECH!!!

Now, here's what I really meant to say.

I have a pretty serious disdain for politics and elections and all the waste and dishonesty that are present in the process/system. However I am starting to pay attention to candidates and trying to sort out what they're really like (as if that's even possible). There are a million ways to criticize politicians, but there's one that I think is unfair: 

Flip-flopper

Politicians are criticized and written off because they changed their minds about something. 

Really? (said Seth and Amy)

Granted, there are folks that will change their position to one that's more in line with what the electorate wants, but what about the folks that change their position because they legitimately learned something and had a real change of thinking? I know I've done it. We all have. No one is the same as they were a few years ago - at least I hope not.  We're all learning, and growing, and changing, and hopefully getting better.  

I'd think the last thing we'd want in leadership is the person who is so solidly entrenched in their positions and opinions that they're not open to change. Liiiike maybe the folks still denying climate change, for instance.

In the last presidential election Mitt Romney wasn't my guy, but it wasn't because he was branded a "flip-flopper." I just didn't trust him. But I think he would have stood a much better shot at winning if people took a change of mind as a potential postitive instead of a negative.

All of this is just to implore folks to be open to a candidate's changed positions...and probably have to overlook some skeletons in closets too. It's hard to believe people put themselves through major elections. I watched the "Mitt" documentary about the last election cycle and it really drags the candidates and their families through hell. 

Oh, and #AnyoneButTrump. For real.  

Random Start: Straight For The Sun by Lamb of God

The most legit of metal bands. In more legalistic times I had a problem with them, but I'm over it. These are some older dudes from Richmond VA (also home to GWAR) who've been doing this for a LONG time. D. Randall Blythe (vocals) is a super interesting dude and a great follow on Instagram. He's an accomplished photographer and a very thoughtful writer. I looked around for info on what the song is about but couldn't really find anything. It's kind of a two-parter with the next song on the record, but they're individual tracks so I'm just posting up this one.

Lamb of God on Spotify

Lyrics:
Gone
Gone
Shoot me straight for the sun
I wanna be the only one left
Misdiagnosed condition
Burnt beyond recognition
Sink her straight through the floor
She's not breathing anymore
Choke in this atmosphere
Nothing will be left here
Gone.

Random Start: Focus by The Crucified

This one is a heavy hitter for me. The Crucified was my #1 favorite band all through high school and they're still one of my favorites today. Teenage me was crushed when they broke up right before I was going to see them for the first time at Atlantafest in 1993. Fun fact - I came to that festival from Albuquerque, NM and my future wife who lived in Smyrna, TN was also there at the same time. We saw all the same shows. I wish we could go back now and watch it over again and see if we ever saw each other, rode a ride together, etc. Small world.

Years later I had the privilege of being a booking agent for Mark's and Jeff's band Stavesacre, who became a new favorite of mine before I started working with them. I came to Nashville to work in the music business and I was over the moon to get to work with Stavesacre and some of my other favorite bands. I started the job out of college and didn't know what I was doing right off. I know we booked some rough tours, but I also know there were some good ones. 

For some good conversation I highly recommend Mark's podcast, Never Was.

Lyrics: 
The deficit, environment, a government corrupt
So many things to worry us and tangle our minds up
We know we're being taken, we know it all too well
We know that something must be done but there's more to tell

Where are you going? What's your focus?
Losing your reason? For a... Lie

Caught up in the cause, the fight, caught up in the roar
You know that your intentions are right in what you're fighting for
But in the midst, the heat of it all, don't forget your drive
We're hear to do the father's will our reason to survive

There's so much going on around us and we must be aware
It's important that they see our love and that we truly care

Our time for lying dormant while the world is so in need
Is over now but don't forget the purpose of your doing

Where are you going? What's your focus?
Losing your reason? For a... Lie

Random Start: Unopposed by MxPx

Yeah, there's a trend here. A BUNCH of my saved songs in Spotify are gonna be nostalgic. I still like MxPx, and I LOVED their Slowly Going The Way Of The Buffalo record. I didn't love this record, but I probably like it more now than when I first got it back in the mid 90s. Looking forward to hearing the Urban Achiever episode with Mike Herrera that's sitting in my podcast queue.

Lyrics: 

We're all walkin' down a dusty road
I wouldn't care to bear the load
I know my limits but you won't leave me alone

It's a system unopposed
For those of us who won't say no
Your time is your own now, face the facts are real
'Cause they are real

Establishing lines always comes first
So many don't realize the pain they cause

We're all walkin' down a dusty road
I wouldn't care to bear the load
I know my limits but you won't leave me alone

It's a system unopposed
For those of us who won't say no
Your time is your own now, face the facts are real
'Cause they are real, yeah

Establishing lines always comes first
So many don't realize the pain they cause

Random Start: Council of Perfection by Strongarm

More heaviness - this could happen a lot. This is from Strongarm's 2nd/last Tooth and Nail record. I really liked the turn they took with this record. I can't even describe the new sound, but it left behind the straightforward speedy hardcore sound of their first record. I think I find this record interesting because there are so many movements in the songs without much repetition. 

Council of Perfection of Spotify

Lyrics: truth and justice belong to You behold the power of His undying sacrifice as a sanctuary for the wounded in the council of perfection all creation stands as a witness all creation stands as a mark of Your will all creation stands on the breath of God wisdom hides behind Your eyes darkness divided by Your fallen tear there the wicked cease from turmoil and the weary are at rest all sacrifice and all suffering is redemption formed in the palm of God's mighty hand shaped by the work of His will and alive from the breath of His heart man's inspiration is God's touch on the quickened nerves of the spirit enflamed by Your unquenchable fire i stand in the spirit of conquest through You i am created to conquer fleeting living a life of calamity forces unseen are controlling your destiny we're not at the mercy of fate fears born of this world are groundless lord teach me and i will be silent word made flesh we long to hear You You are my advocate my mediator with complete power and perfect love You alone hold the scales of judgment

Random Start: Twisted Reality by Circle of Dust

This goes back to my high school days when I'd listen to just about anything that was aggressive and Christian. Yup - I was that guy. Funny how ALL the stuff I listened to back then still shapes my tastes now, and how much I still like all of that old stuff.  So much, that I have MASSIVE Spotify playlists for my 90's Christian Rock and another dedicated to just Tooth and Nail (and related labels) artists. I was never an industrial kid, but I loved both the Circle of Dust and Brainchild records. 

Circle of Dust on Spotify

Random End - Solder & Child by Anything Box

I really liked the Random Starts I posted a few years ago. I'm still an audiophile and still searching each week to find new jams. I probably quit posting right around the time the Zune service was killed off and replaced with the atrocity that is XBox Music. The Zune devices didn't go over in the marketplace, but the software was a stroke of genius. SO SO SO much simpler than iTunes and very easy to manage. I'm a Spotify boy now, and I've cultivated my presence there enough that I can use my "Saved Songs" to create these posts. I'll try to post about the first jam that comes up when I start playing on shuffle. It'll be a mess and probably embarrassing sometimes, but that's part of the fun of it. 

Today's entry is Soldier & Child by Anything Box. There aren't ANY videos on YouTube for it so I only have Spotify links. I ONLY know this band because I used to hang out with Joey Belville of The Echoing Green in Albuquerque in my high school days (back when they were called Ocean Chorus) and he introduced me to them. This song is a deep cut, but their record Hope is a pop/dance masterpiece of catchiness. Listening to them again reminded me of a more current band that is probably also influenced by them, Bad Veins.

Rising From The Ashes?

I haven't written anything here since 2012 - wow, that's a LOT longer than I thought it had been. I'm trying to decide if I want to start writing stuff here again. I used to post a song a day with my thoughts on it...and most other posts were Disney Parks or soccer related.  

I chose the name Burn It, Build It because I wanted to have a decent sounding name and the theme of it was from a Thrice song, The Arsonist. Now, the name makes all the sense in the world as I've truly gone through a burn down and rebuild process with regard to my faith. I think about God related things all the time and sometimes drive myself crazy with it, but I'm SO glad I've gone through the burn it/build it process because I feel like I have something more sustainable now. My house of cards can withstand some wind. 

So maybe I'll fire this guy up again and post up about faith and how I see things...and do some music, footie, and Disney stuff too - although we haven't been to the World since 2012 and who knows when we'll go again since the kids are so tied up with dance, cross country, and track. Time FLIES now...too fast.  I'm about to turn 39 and my kids are going to be in 10th and 7th grades. WHAT?!? Speaking of....here are my young adults with a random photo-bomber at the beach. Good times. Talk at you later! Or sooner? Whatever.