My group and I also met up after school on Thursday to discuss our final service learning presentation. We divided up duties and discussed what we each wanted to include in the presentation. While, as I mentioned before, I am sad for the semester to end I am also excited to see the work that all the other groups did for their service learning projects. I am really looking forward to seeing what each group did and finding out if they had as much fun as we did.
In regards to how I can relate this blog and our recent work on our project to the readings on globalization I would say that there is a strong correlation. The book defines globalization as "contemporary form of cultural and economic integration facilitated by electronic media, international financial institutions, trade agreements, and national immigration policies" (Kirk, G-3) however, when I think of globalization I think of 2 things: 1.) large American corporations moving into remote foreign parts of the world (ex- a McDonald's in the middle of rual Thailand or a Walmart in the jungles of the Amazon) and/ or 2.) 9 year olds getting paid $.25 and hour to work in the Walmart in the Amazon 15 hours a day with no bathroom breaks. Now that may not sound like it has anything to do with VOX let alone Planned Parenthood, but in my opinion they are very related. Like I said before when I think of globalization I think of big business and those 2 examples I just gave are huge American corporations that do not treat their employees well here in America so I can only imagine how they treat their employees in the 3rd world. Those people who work for those companies in foreign countries are not worth giving any kind of benefits in the eyes of those companies so they are going with out proper medical care or a wage that could go to pay for medical care. That is the same way their American counter parts are treated working for those companies. They are not given benefits and paid so little that they too can not afford to go see a physician. For American women the only place for them to go to have annual check ups and testing done would be a Planned Parenthood clinic. Many people take Planned Parenthood and its existance for granted but there are those who do not and take advantage of it's ever service. People in 3rd world countries would kill to have anything like a Planned Parenthood and would not for a second think about getting rid of it because they would recognize its value.
As I write this the government is just hours away from shutting down. The reason for which is because the democrats and republicans can not agree on a number of hot button issues, one of those issues is Planned Parenthood. I don't expect much out of the right in this country because they have shown time and time again to be hateful and close-minded, but I sincerely hope that they grow hearts in the next few hours and acknowledge the importance of Planned Parenthood in the lives of thousands if not millions of women and girls in this country. Taking it away would be detrimental to so many people who depend on it regularly. I would rather see the government shut down then see some of the cuts made that they are asking for. This is a basic yet fundamentally important service and I fear we are about to see it disappear, and what is sickening is that women around the world would benefit greatly from Planned Parenthood's services and we are about to do away with it. If someone could find a women in the 3rd world and explain to her what was happening and what Planned Parenthood was she would no doubt think we were a country of mental patients.
Work Cited
Kirk, Gwyn and Margo Okazawa- Rey. "Women's Bodies, Women's Health." Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. Kirk, Gwyn and Margot Okazawa- Rey. McGraw Hill, 2010. G-3.
