Baggage!

The moment I know you all have been waiting for...

I'm just going to write a few lines that will try to illustrate my own personal bias.  My reasoning behind this madness is that everyone has a bias.  Therefore, if we are going to have scholarly fun with one of the most controversial topics (Jerusalem!), then I think we should be transparent with our own biases in order to maximize mutual understandings and to minimize cross-cultural conflict whose origins are in miscommunication.

Media sources, for example, are charged with presenting a story accurately to the public.  They gain journalistic integrity and credibility on the basis of being "fair and balanced" (Fox) or "the most reliable name in news" (CNN).  But we all know it's a bad joke.  And in this class, some of us might be Foxes and others CNNs.  So I for these reasons I think to be upfront and transparent with our baggage will help us to capitalize on the enthusiasm for cross-cultural exchange by deliberately bringing together clashing perspectives on Jerusalem for the purpose of developing an all-encompassing perspective and identity which exists alongside everyone's "rooted" perspectives and identity (of culture, nationality, ethnicity, religion, etc.).

With that said, you should know the following about me:

• I was raised as an Italian/Sicilian Roman Catholic.  Meaning my brand of Catholicism is blended with pagan beliefs rooted in Sicily since before the Pre-Christian times. 
• I use to be very devout, but my involvement with the Church has fallen off the cliff in recent years. 
• I was born and lived in Miami, Florida for 15 years.  There, my best friends were Jewish, Muslim, and Catholic (I met my first Protestant when I moved to Columbus 7 years ago).
• I think the British mandate system (and Winston Churchill) is responsible for the modern-day political hardships in the Middle East.
• I have some pretty strong criticisms of the Israeli government and the Palestinian factions who choose violence over peace.
• I'm just an American university student who studies Portuguese and International Studies.