Etgar 36: Summer 2008

By Rachel Firestone

This morning we woke up and went to Columbine High School. When we arrived we went up a hill that overlooked the school to see the newly dedicated memorial to the horrible tragedy at Columbine. The memorial was extremely powerful, beautiful and, of course, very sad. The memorial was really set up, and we were really there, to commemorate the lives of those who were killed and not how they died. I saw a quote on one of the walls that was said by a student. It said, “The hardest part to understand was kids killing kids.” This is something that went through my mind when I was walking through the memorial. It is totally not comprehensible how two people could be so hateful that they want to kill other teenagers. The memorial was very personal to the 13 people who were killed. Under each name was a description of his or her life written by members of their families.

We then went to Boulder, Colorado where our first stop was Naropa University. We met with Steven Taylor who told us about the history of the Beatnik writers. He brought the lives of the writers and poets of the beatnik era to life for us. Our time with him got us ready for our time in San Francisco.

After the discussion we got a tour of the Naropa campus. The school is based in Buddhist principals. We saw the class and meeting rooms including a meditation room . Our tour guide taught us the basics of meditation and we got to practice for a few minutes.

Once our tour was done we walked to Pearl Street which is a shopping district for some free time and then dinner. After dinner we went to see a movie and then got ready for our overnight drive to Salt Lake City.

By Zach Ingber

Although I took over 5 pages of notes at each of the meetings we attended or issue we discussed, I am still at an uncharacteristic loss for words. Etgar, the Hebrew word for “challenge”, really does push a teenager to new extremes. It encourages psychological expansion and exploration of young and vulnerable minds. I personally believe this idea as the mission statement for the summer journey of Etgar 36. This commitment to the future of our country is the set up for an influential, inspirational and, most importantly, controversial June 8^th.

The United States of America is fueled on controversy and differences. Changes in society can only be achieved is there is someone to point out a flaw.

Our first meeting with Kaiser Permanente, a major health provider in just about every region of the country, really exposed the differences in opinion between the different participants of Etgar 36. This meeting was in response to watching Michael Moore’s “Sicko” earlier. Personally, I find that fantastic. We were escorted into a typical conference room with long tables and comfortable swivel chairs. Our speaker was a very elegant, poised and well dressed woman. While listening to her presentation, I began to think about something I saw in “Sicko”. Was she the heartless insurance agent that would turn down a dying person without blinking? Does she have regard for human life? Surprisingly, she admitted that the American health insurance system is flawed. Our speaker said, “I think there is some real unfairness when it comes to how individual health care is written.” Personally I agree with her statement but the meeting also solidified my stance that universal health care is not the response. I feel that quality will decrease, waiting time for appointments will increase, and doctor salaries will decrease which makes it harder for them to pay off the massive cost of medical school. Kaiser Permanente is a non-profit company which insures 12 million people. 96% of the billions of dollars in their revenue is used for overhead and health care. The remaining 4% is put back in the community or used for the advancement of business. Many felt that the entire 4% should be put back into the community. We discussed the policies that the two presidential candidates are putting forth and we were split over who we supported.

After leaving the office building, we went to the state Capitol which is officially located one mile above sea level. We had our group discussion on the issue of gay marriage to get us prepared for our meeting with the Colorado Family Institute. Our staff played devil’s advocate with everyone’s comments to make sure all sides were presented and understood. After all, a one sided discussion can’t take off from the ground.

We then had free time to roam around the 16^th Street pedestrian mall in downtown. It is filled with shops and restaurants. We were able to shop, get lunch and just unwind after the talks this morning.

Then we went to Colorado Springs which has a very large conservative population as well as the headquarters for Focus on the Family. They set the agenda for the Religious Right. We met with Jim Pfaff, who runs the Colorado Family Institute which is affiliated with Focus on the Family. His institute is a Christian based conservative lobbying organization. They believe that life begins at conception, marriage is the unification of one man and one woman, are against Judicial activism, believe parents should be the first educators of children, and no sphere of life should prohibit the expression of religion.

Our discussion with him focused on the issue of gay marriage. Mr. Pfaff, being a lobbyist, is a brilliant orator. Although he had many points, his main point was that men and women bring different qualities to a marriage and that makes it ideal. Although I agree with his statement, I personally believe children raised by same sex parents can turn out as beneficial to society as babies raised by a heterosexual couple. Mr. Pfaff also felt that homosexuality is a choice and the burden of proof is on showing that it is not a choice. While many of us disagreed with Mr. Pfaff on many of his points, we were able to walk away admiring his oratory skills and that he took time to meet and speak frankly with a group in which he knew many would disagree with him. In the end we learned that you can agree to disagree.

We ended the day by visiting the red rock formation appropriately called “Garden of the Gods”. It was beautiful. We had our wrap up discussion there and then had a great time bowling. It was a great day filled with controversy, emotion, downtime and fun!

By Brad Cohen

The buzzing of the alarm clock that rang through our room brought, at first, confusion as to where I was, but also a desire to start the day. Like every day, we hit the road but today’s open road was surrounded by the vastness of wide open Kansas. Being the city slicker that I am, this was a great way to look into the rural America and the vastness knocked me into perspective of what America is really all about.

After a quick rest stop we arrived at our first meeting of the day. This was with the Food Bank of the Rockies. They are affiliated with America’s Second Harvest. The Executive Director took us on a tour of the building. The warehouse was filled from floor to ceiling with cases of food and we were amazed to hear that this was only a five week supply. We learned how the food banks supply the local soup kitchens and food pantries. We also learned about the issue of hunger in America and I was shocked to learn that there were 35 million Americans unsure of how they would be eating their next meal. He also told us that for every dollar the food bank receives, or saves, they can feed 4 people. These things need to be taken into consideration and something needs to be done in this country.

Our next meeting was with Tom Mauser. Tom is the father of Daniel who was killed in the school shootings at Columbine High School in 1999. Since then he has become a gun control lobbyist. His story touched our hearts and his ideas challenged our minds. It was incredible to meet such an influential figure and our time with him was truly cherished. He spoke to us about the various loopholes he feels need to be closed on the issues of how easy it is for people to purchase guns. He also gave us many things to think about in anticipation of our meeting with the National Rifle Association on Thursday.

After such a heavy day it was nice to kick back and have some dinner at Handle Bar & Grill.

We then spent the evening at an old school amusement park. At the peak of the ferris wheel we could see the twinkle of downtown Denver as well as the beautiful Rocky Mountains.