Sunday, April 15, 2012

Dear Satan,

I’m a very competitive person.  I really can not stand losing.  So, why would I tolerate losing this battle I face every day of my life against Satan?  In my New Testament class, my professor, Brother Griffin, told us, somewhat jocosely, that “Satan hates our stinking guts… and he doesn’t have any.”  Of course Satan hates our guts.  We have everything he has ever dreamed of having, yet knows he never ever will have.  We should expect that he will want to make us absolutely miserable.  It makes sense that he does not want us to enjoy the very things that we are on this earth to find great joy in.  This just makes me that much more determined to win this battle.  There is a reason that the Gospel is based off of this incredible thing called the Plan of Happiness.  Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to be happy.  I think back to one of the talks from the most recent General Conference, which spoke on bringing inactive members back to church.  The speaker stated that these fallen away members had simply lost the joy of the Gospel and we needed to help them once again find that light.  The Gospel, even by the very definition of the word, is just that – it is good news, that we ought to shout out to all of the world, so that they too can be filled with the joy of the Gospel.  We are so incredibly blessed, my friends!! We have bodies that function and do incredible things! We live in a beautiful world, on which every creature, landmark, and moment bears testimony of the omnipotent and perfect God that created it! Make a joyful noise, and be grateful for what you have. And go ahead; rub it in Satan’s face.  That’s right, Satan: we have a body, and you never will.  We are striving to one day see again the smiling face of our older brother and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and never be separated from Him ever again. Satan, I am a blessed, strong, loved, child of God, and I will not be beaten by you. 

Most sincerely,
Rachel 

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

He is everywhere!

Walking home from my last class today, I was thinking about how stressed I was last semester, yet how much I'm looking forward to this semester.  Already it's just so different than last semester.  I'm working at a new place of the Cougareat, making pizza and sushi -- so fun! I'm actually super interested in all of the classes I'm taking! And, I've joined the Women's Cougar Rugby team (learn about us here!), a sport I'm growing to love, and it feels so incredible to once again be a part of a team and to be able to compete. But, I think the biggest change this semester is going to be something that has to do with a painting my dear roommate, Emily, hung in our living room last night...

                                            https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhygrABT2t9rX3noyj0Ro0OU4S1-UD1GrsB14JZPB5Q4-5Dd7X1WZczu3UNu8iiRLAoRuElC-bNHUXWj1zUZuEh8x58g_hjn-m3KO_zAkRI1X98tNvlhe6oVOnPOqKjpdooOsw_mRloZgg/s1600/Christ%252520-%252520The%252520Good%252520Shepherd%252520-%252520Simon%252520Dewey.jpg


This image of Christ, called "The Good Shepherd," stands as a constant reminder to me that Christ is everywhere.  Despite our crazy schedules, Jill and I are working hard to go to the temple every week, something I know will bless me so much.  I love finding Christ's hand in my every day life as I count my blessings and reflect on the things I know I would not have been able to do without His strength.  I'm so grateful for my big brother.  He truly is everywhere.  He's even in my living room.  And I plan to keep Him there.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Fam fam

It's Christmas time in the Bowe house!!!

Well, it's Christmastime in a lot of houses. But it's a special one for the Bowe's. It's been a crazy (good crazy!!) year with JennaMarie's marriage, Aunt Emmeline's marriage, Jeremy getting back from his mission, Jer getting engaged, Jonathan getting the priesthood, and Kathryn's baptism.  With 2 of these (Jer's wedding, Kathryn's baptism) happening in the next week, the time's have called for all of us kids to come home.  Soooo it's time for another one of these pictures...




Aren't we cute!?!

Clearly, it's been a while. Almost two years.  So even though our house is currently packed with people, it's a beautiful thing.

And then I come to the computer and start a-chattin' with some of the folk from school. And I realize that, sure, I'm home with my family and I'm so blessed to be here.  But when I return to Utah in a few days, it's no big deal, because I have family there too! What a blessing.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Count Your Many Blessings

College sucks. It's hard. I mean, I love it and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world at this point, but it's dang tough.  And sometimes I have no idea how I'm getting through these challenges - college and others that have decided to come into my life at this time.  But then I look around me.  And I see the wonderful girls I live with and realize how blessed I am and how silly I was to doubt how I could face my trials head on.  So, here's a tribute to one of the best of the best, my lovely roommate Kaley Thacker.  She's among my very best of friends in this world.  I've grown so much in college and made some of the best memories of my life, many thanks to this chica. Here are a few... maybe even with pictures to commemorate them.

 So last year after my first semester in freshman housing, I decided to move onto bigger and better things -- apartments.  What do I find waiting for me at my first apartment but this crazy girl for my roommate!  And of course, as the first weekend of the semester, we have to do some fun winter activity.  A snowball fight, cocoa party, or snuggle fest wouldn't suffice.  Rather, we picked up some cardboard boxes and plastic tables and went sledding. It only makes sense.

 After any long day, I always know I can go home and have a snuggle buddy waiting for me.  My day just isn't complete if I'm not woken in the middle of the night to Kaley crawling in my bed to curl up under my blankets and talk about our days.  Of course, at that time of the day, we don't get much talking done before we're out...

 My first time crowdsurfing... spent with this girl.  And who gave me the new bangs style of the day? This girl.  Who unintentionally wears matching outfits with me at least once a week? This girl.  I think that says something about the way we think.

 There is probably about 20 pictures just like this from this season alone.  Just about every social activity I go to, this girl is by my side.  She could ditch us and hang out with just her boy, but she still spends time with all of us crazy kids.  Such an example to me to never forget who I am no matter where I am in life or who I'm around.

 
Whether it's playing in massive fields of blue foam, being late to class because you were riding a ferris wheel on the middle of campus, or shopping for hours to find some ballin Halloween costumes, Kay is always up for my crazy ideas and bringing crazy ideas of her own to the plate.  Sure, people look at us funny sometimes and it's rare that they actually have any idea why we're laughing.  But in our heads, we're having the time of our lives and living without a single regret. Ray and Kay. Better than best friends. Roommate.  Never do we leave the door without being reminded to "remember who we are" and "make good choices." Our facebook fights ("you don't have to remind me of..." for about 40 comments) probably have all of our friends judging us.  Our wardrobes are each others.  Our worries are each others.  Our home is each others.  Love you, rooms!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Tips for Journalists


For this week’s class, we had a substitute professor, Professor Walton.  I really enjoyed this class, as Professor Walton seemed to summarize everything we had learned and gave us advice pertaining to real-life application.  First, we discussed the rights and responsibilities that citizens have in relation to journalism, as outlined in our book.  They are as follows:
1) Truthfulness
2) Loyalty to citizens
3) Independence
4) Monitoring of power
5) A public forum, and
6) Proportionality and engagement
Walton discussed some issues that we will face as journalists.  For example, there may  be a difference in our view of what is important to cover as a journalist, and what the audience feels is important for us to cover.  Events such as social occurrences with celebrities may seem pertinent to a large portion of the audience, but less important to the journalist community.  I found more about this at this website: http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=CBA5B462B837E8A6A0EA16F91B66A47D.inst1_3a?docId=5002500348.    To be good journalists, we have to balance this difference in perception – giving the audience the information they desire, while maintaining the respect and dignity we hold as journalists.
Finally, Professor Walton gave us a few tips on how to be a good journalist.  First, we need to care about our audience.  We will be able to work hard and work well most efficiently for an audience we care for.   Going along with this point, we need to understand the gap between ourselves and our audience and listen.  I found some really good insight on this point at http://www.audiencescapes.org/development-organizations-and-journalists-tips-getting-along-women-deliver-media-development-population-reference-bureau.  Finally, like all things in life, Walton told us to rely on inspiration of the Spirit in the work force.  I think that these three tips can help members of many professions. 

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Reaction to "Most Dangerous Man in America"

For this weeks class, we were assigned to watch "The Most Dangerous Man in America," a movie exploring the release of the Pentagon Papers and the man who released them.  I actually really liked this movie.  It was interesting to see the public's reaction versus the reaction of the government, and what led to Daniel Ellsberg deciding to leak the papers... I would highly recommend this movie if you have about an hour and a half on your hands!! Here's my thoughts on a few questions we were asked to respond to:


*      In your view, what is the legacy of the government actions documented in the Pentagon Papers?  How have such actions influenced democracy and trust of government in the United States?
o       I think that the legacy in the Pentagon Papers was a legacy of secrecy.  Granted, the government may have had perfectly valid reasons for keeping these documents secret. With the leak of the papers, however, the public learned that there were things that were being kept from them, decisions that the government, head of a democratic republic – which focuses on people having a hand in the government – were making behind closed doors.  This led to a general mistrust of government.  I think it has, for the most part, simmered down now and people typically find themselves able to trust the government, but there is always that stigma with politics that politicians are deceptive and sometimes lie to the public to achieve the image they desire.

*      While being interviewed by television journalist Walter Cronkite, Ellsberg says the lesson he took away from his experience with the Pentagon Papers was that “the people of this country can’t afford to let the president run the country by himself without the help of Congress, without the help of the public.”  How would you define the lesson or lessons of the Pentagon Papers and the events surrounding their release to the public?
o       I would agree with Ellsberg in that the lesson to be learned from the Pentagon Papers is that the government often needs the public’s help to run the country.  The government would tell the public that the war was going well, better than expected, even.  Yet, in private meetings, they would say that there was no way they could see the U.S. winning the war.  This indicates to me that they should not have been keeping this secret from the public, as this is a situation that severely demanded the help and support of the public.  Another lesson I learned from this occurrence, mainly from the public’s reaction to the release of the Papers, was that the public respects truth, even when it isn’t good news.  I was impressed with the part of the movie that showed the public protecting Ellsberg from getting arrested at the time that he made the announcement that he leaked the papers.  The public was so glad to have this news that they were willing to protect the deliverer.

*      What role or roles did media play in Ellsberg’s success and/ or lack of success in stopping the bombing and, ultimately, the war in Vietnam?  How do media actions then compare to media war coverage now?  How did the Pentagon Papers change the role of the media in the United States?
o       I think that the media coverage helped significantly in stopping the bombing and the war.  In all of the histories of our country’s wars, we find that one of the main tools used is propaganda – both to raise support and to lessen it.  The media placed a huge spotlight on Ellsberg, which quickly spread his views, rallied support in them, and raised the action necessary to give his views action.  I find the media coverage on war now to be very similar.  The way the media portrays things like the war in Iraq today has a great influence on public opinion, whether for the better, or for the worse.  The Pentagon Papers developed the role that the media has to keep a closer eye on the media, to ensure that they aren’t keeping secrets from the public or doing things that the public would protest (although sometimes, this isn’t as successful as one might like).

*      Max Frankel (New York Times Washington bureau chief during the Pentagon Papers era) reflects on his newspaper’s Supreme Court victory, saying, “The cry of national security does not justify censorship in advance.”  In your view, under what circumstances do journalists have the right or responsibility to reveal classified information and under what circumstances do journalists have the right or responsibility to reveal classified information and under what circumstances should they refrain from doing so?  Under what circumstances, if any, should they be prohibited from doing so by the government or by law?
o       When the issue has a large impact on the way the public would/ should lead their lives, journalists have a right to reveal this information.  They should refrain from revealing classified information if they are only doing it to gain popularity, readership, or other personal or company benefits.  The government should be able to prohibit the press from publishing if the situation puts another in harm – for example, if the release of classified information would endanger members of the government or keep them from doing their job, there is greater harm than benefit in the release of these papers.  

*      In your view, what would the effect on a free press have been if the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of the Nixon administration and prohibited newspapers from publishing the Pentagon Papers, or if after publication The New York Times had been prosecuted under the Espionage Act?
o       It would not have lasted.  We saw how passionate the press was about protecting Ellsberg because of his leakage of the Pentagon Papers.  Clearly, the press was pleased with Ellsberg’s actions and upset with the government.  If the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of Nixon and against the Pentagon Papers, there would have been enough of a public uproar to demand a change.  If The New York Times had been prosecuted, there would have likewise been enough of an outrage in the public to either repeal the ruling punishing the Times or at least keep any other paper from getting punished as well.  

*      In your view, would today’s major news media outlets be likely to make public the type of classified documents that The New York Times and other newspapers were handed in 1971?  Why or why not?
o       We have a perfect example demonstrating this with the new WikiLeaks.  If classified documents are released, the newspapers will jump on this – it will both increase their readers and get the information out to the public.  I do believe, however, that the papers would filter the leaks they receive.  Using the WikiLeaks example, there were hundreds of leaks posted.  But, the Times, and other papers publishing them, I would assume, have filtered through them and are only publishing the ones with great significance to the public or current events.  

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Tough Decisions


Sometimes, particularly when it comes to your occupation, it is tough to do what is right.  Oft times, it’s easier to just take the easy way out.  But, it doesn’t pay.  Take, for example, the story of Jayson Blair.  A young journalist working for the New York Times, Blair immediately began producing front-page stories.  His stories were captivating and had incredible details.  Other journalists, however, were cautious of his work and in the end, it was found out that Blair was making up details or taking them from other stories and using them in his pieces.  Needless to say, he lost his job along with the credibility of his name.  For the time, it certainly was simple for Blair to produce these “brilliant” stories with the hope that no one would figure out his secret.  Taking the unethical path was nice at the time, but ended up hurting Blair.
                Now, let’s look at some journalists who went about things the ethical and sometimes difficult way.  When Natalee Holloway disappeared in 2005, it was all over the news.  Then, Bob Costas producers informed him that they wanted him to cover it.  Costas said he did not want to because the case was already being widely covered and there was no need for him to do this story.   (Read more about Costas opinions at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/24/arts/television/24cost.html?_r=1&ref=natalee_holloway ) When his producers insisted, Costas respectfully declined to do the show.   In 1997, WMAQ-TV anchors Carol Marin and Ron Magers were informed that Jerry Springer would be joining them as another anchor.  Concerned for the prospect of broadcast journalism and realizing that this was just being done for popularity, the two decided that if Springer was to be hired, they would leave the team.  So, when their producers insisted on hiring Springer, the two soon aired their last show.  (Read more about this situation at http://www.richsamuels.com/nbcmm/era.html) With both the case of Costas and the case of Marin and Magers, the decisions were very hard to make and threatened their careers.  Yet, both of the stories ended with supporters lauding them online.  It’s true – sometimes it’s tough to make the correct and ethical decision in your job; but, in most cases, you will in the end be rewarded.  The world wants an honest and ethical media, so making the honest and ethical choices will in the end bring support from the public.