Forced to Subscribe to the Christian Science Monitor

:roll:

The Poli-Sci teacher here at Northern Michigan University requires you to have an active sub. to The Christian Science Monitor.

1) Is there any way to get out of it legally?

2) If I can't, will someone of that persuasion donate a sub. to me?

It doesn't seem fair to have to support their organization during an election year, as I strongly disagree with many of their political ideals.

Anyone who wishes to donate (I had to ask!) would not only be supporting a Christian religious and political organization, but also a poor college student.

That's outrageous!

But having said that IIRC the paper is not nearly as ideological or religious as it sounds from the name. You will not be bombarded with huzzahs about Mary Baker Eddy, or chided for taking an aspirin for a headache.

I took the paper briefly years ago, probably as part of a free introductory offer, and it was pretty balanced.

But I prefer imbalance :razz:

I had a similar requirement years ago in a class at Michigan State. The paper really had very little religion in it at all, though it could be different now. Basically it was a pretty decent newspaper with more of an international focus than the major US papers at the time.

I'd start by cornering the prof in his/her office to express your concerns in person. Nothing confrontation, just "hey, I'm kind of sensitive about right-wing Christian stuff".

Do you actuality have to have a subscription, or do you just have to read the issues as they go to print? Maybe your local public library-or even the library there at school-already gets it?

im a radical religous conservative, and i would have to say that you dont have anything to worry about in regards to that paper....pretty bland.

there's not much radical christian viewpoints there....

you know, radical stuff - like loving your neighbor, or taking care of widows and orphans in their time of need...or being a servant to the down and out, or visiting the sick and lonely...you know - that radical christian stuff....


:grin:

(just teasing ya)

good luck in your class. im sure it'll be fun.

I did a minor in political science, and all the journals we were required to "subscribe" to were avaliable at the faculty library at college. Either in paper or electronical form. Im just saying, at the slim chance you might not have considered that. Maybe you did, and its not an option..blabla..

blablablablabla

Gustav

if you have strong moral/ethical/religious grounds for not subscribing (i take it they require you to buy the paper) i cant see a problem, just tell him you will donate the money to the red cross or unicef.

as for required reading, sounds fair that its obligatory though

Iain

oh yeah, i did want to make the point (which i did a bad job of in my previous post) that christian science and christianity are two different things.

So.
My grandmother was a Christian Scientist, so I saw the CSM quite a bit as a kid. A pretty decent newspaper--at least back then.

I'm not sure what's so alarming to you, beatpoet. It's a very dated sort of belief system, & while I'm not crazy about folks who deny their kids medical care, my grandmother never judged or pushed her beliefs on anyone. & I think her beliefs helped her in her life. Further, last I checked the number of CS's had dwindled dramatically--they haven't quite gone the way of the Shakers, but perhaps in time.

And if you're wondering where I'm coming from, I'm pretty much an atheist.

Which political ideals of theirs do you disagree with? I'm a stridently liberal Dawkins-loving atheist, and I find most of their coverage to be more balanced and far less offensive than a lot of the mindless uninformed drivel that comes through the cesspool that we call the mainstream media. Go to their website and have a look around...it's not the George Bush-loving, SUV-driving, let's-bomb-the-Iraqis-till-they-accept-Jesus type of publication that you might be envisioning. Take a look through their section on the environment, and try and reconcile that coverage with the environmental depredations of Dick Cheney's "Clear Skies" initiative. Better still, read this editorial and ask yourself, would this fellow last for three seconds on Fox News?

That being said, if you don't want to give them your money, they will be available at your college or local library for sure. Besides, even if you don't agree at all with their basic premises and conclusions, it's always a good thing to listen carefully to what the 'other side' has to say. You will often find that there's a lot more common ground there than you'd think, and that's what a good college education should do: show you ways of looking at the world that you'd never see if you stay inside a small, insular community of like-minded people. Besides, do you know what you get when you only talk to people you agree with? Hint: you can find it in certain parts of Kansas.

Why should anyone even be exposed to someone
they don't agree with against their will ?

I just did a quick read on the website about the Monitor. It seems they are an independent newspaper who has won 7 Pulitzer Prize awards in the past and they claim they are not a religious periodical. They do have one religious article in the Home section only because that was the request of the founder since 1908.

> requires you to have an active sub. to The Christian Science Monitor.

Strange but harmless. The Monitor is not a religious rag, except in that they have a general morality which downplays yellow journalism, headlines for the sake of sales, if-it-bleeds-it-leads bad-news exploitation. The Monitor is not strongly political, less so than most newspapers. They can't be, because the flock is far from uniform. Also, their shared beliefs make most worldly events fairly unimportant; I've wondered why they bother to have news. Nevertheless, they give high quality news.

I do not believe Monitor sales fund the Mother Church's activities... newspapers are going broke all over and the Monitor is very light on ads. More likely it runs at a loss. By requesting copies you might even be drawing cash OUT of Mother Church coffers and depleting CS activism funding. Whatever that is.... (I think they are far less activist than Moravians.)

The fundamentals of old-time Christian Science were radical, true. Mary Baker either saw better than the rest of us, or she was whacked-out. I'm called to the second interpretation, but I don't deny the first. Of course you don't want my beliefs any more than you want hers.

Like all religions, the faith changed over the years. It's very mellow. They use the word "Christ", but in many ways it is more New England Buddhism. Not at all like Papist or Evangelical Christian beliefs or activities.

There is the special fact that some CS followers reject medical care for their children and get in trouble with child welfare authorities. This is very rare, and IMHO disagrees with CS's common wisdom. But you didn't come here to debate that.

I'm sure Prof does not expect you to agree with every word in the Monitor. In class, the only Gospel is the text the Prof wrote himself; all else is up for debate.

And if you are going into Polly Sci, you gonna read a lot more offensive trash than the Monitor, and you gonna have to pay for much of it.

If you plead "poverty"... if Prof wants you to buy four texts and subscribe to six newsrags, you have a point. (But why pick on the Monitor?). Considered alone, a 6-month gift subscription is $82, which even at today's prices is a steep textbook. But there is a college program, 4 months for $37, and few college texts today are that cheap.

Yeah, PM me and I'll toss you the $37. But no way to avoid having your name on the mailing label.

My grandparents accepted CS after my father left home. His younger brother did accept CS and (after sailing the seven seas) was a records-system geek at the Mother Church for many years. I was not raised CS but I was exposed enough to respect it but not accept it. It does not Call me. But IMHO it is much lower BS than most organized religious groups. And the Monitor does not preach CS beyond the mandated column.

> Why should anyone even be exposed to someone they don't agree with against their will ?

beatpoet's "will" was to get educated. Paid (cash or loan) a bunch of money to Nothern Michigan; that shows real WILL. One classic way to be educated is to be treated like scum. You take whatever the Prof dishes out, you puke it back, you get a sheepskin.

The basic assumption is that the Profs know all, you know nothing, that's why YOU give THEM money. This can be acceptable: your lifetime net earnings may double. You may even become a Better Person.

This is utterly voluntary. Universities don't even advertise much, not like beer or cars. beatpoet obviously wants the education. Accept what the teachers feel is important. Not un-critically, but exposed nevertheless.

True, there are many universities a student can choose, so most are not like Marine Boot Camp. Beatpoet may complain freely to Prof, Chair, Dean, rally at the Board of Trustees. If the price of an A+ was a weekly blow-job, a substantiated word to the Chair sure would have the requirement overturned (and tenure broken). Requiring viola students to be fluent in Malaysian might (after many meetings) be revoked. But in this case, a polysci student required to read an award-winning national newspaper, beatpoet's gonna have to write a PhD-level thesis explaining why this is a bad requirement.

"Forced"? No, beatpoet can drop-out with no fuss (and no refund). The gates are not locked, the Dean does not carry a stick.

The wise student will read the crap, puke on demand, get the diploma, get a job. And then discover that 90% of what was taught is wrong or just irrelevant in the real world. Also that much of what a young person believes is subject to real world enlightenment.

Much of " it " counts on or waits for , the wayward or weak
while for some the pretense is to simply " put it out there "
There is much basic wisdom that can be assigned any label
and still work , such as " all paths lead to the same place "
or ones Mother telling you you'll figure it out whn you get older .

As Wars are fought around the world over regilion ,
not something to be ignored , nor given too , much
importance so as to fuel it ,
I suppose if you can see the good in what you're are doing ,
or how it helps [ reading csm gives me greater tolerance and
sensitivity to others , and thus myself ? ] it is forward , evolving ?

Curious reference to Buddhism prr [ don't want to subvert the titles eh ? ]

Now how do we get the spirit of electronics to guide ALL of our projects

Oh how true.

I have a book somewhere (how many times will I end up saying that even just this week) called The Professor Game. The author has some particularly interesting observations about the sexual quid pro quo-ish behaviors he'd observed---and we hope it was only observation.

That's not the main ... errr... thrust of the book, but as one friend remarked, I have a good memory but it is very selective :grin:

2 questions worth asking, I think:
1. Does beatpoet think his Polisci teacher is pushing Christian Science by having the class subscribe to the CSM?
2. Or if worried about the idea of supporting the church, would he have the same objections if a biz or econ class required him to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal? Given my druthers, I'd much rather give my money to the Church of Christ, Scientist than to Rupert Murdoch. & let's not even think about the Washington Times.

... I signed up for the sub today.

Thanks for the food for thought, why should I shelter myself from another viewpoint?

I probably won't be subscribing after my six month sub ends, but the more I think about it the more I am looking forward to actually finding out what this paper is about.

I suppose that's a good thing, as it'll probably show up on a test somewhere.

[quote author="beatpoet"]... I signed up for the sub today.

Thanks for the food for thought, why should I shelter myself from another viewpoint?

I probably won't be subscribing after my six month sub ends, but the more I think about it the more I am looking forward to actually finding out what this paper is about.[/quote]

Mostly about international relations, with some coverage of American politics. From my memory, anyway. Writing that's low-key.

Peace,
Paul