WorldView Magazine - Fall 2009 - (Page 6)
Your Turn READERS WRITE US Is American free speech worth South African blood? THE MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL PEACE CORPS ASSOCIATION WORLDVIEW Winter 2008 $4.95 worldviewmagazine.com Vol. 21, No. 4 ArtisAns And sustAinAble Communities esse Scaccia’s commentary, printed in the 2008 winter edition of WorldView, provides us with excellent food for thought regarding the responsibilities (if any) of artistic expression in America and its impact on foreign communities. As a former secondary school teacher of deaf students in the public schools of Los Angeles and a current Peace Corps Volunteer teaching in Kenya, I can empathize with Scaccia’s observation of hip-hop’s pervasive international influence. I, too, have witnessed the proliferation of the “bling-bling gangsta” culture, as exemplified in J © I know you’ll like what we came up with. music videos and fashion (whether via deification of slain hip-hop artists on t-shirts in L.A. or as plastered on the sides of matatus in Nairobi) on contemporary American and Kenyan youth. However, for Scaccia to posit “American free speech” as being responsible for “South African blood” is a disingenuous red herring and skirts the true issue at hand. If he wishes to examine the ramifications of 50 Cent’s “violence-celebrating” music on the communities of South Africa, he should instead direct his sights away from the First Amendment (too convenient a target) to the machinations of Interscope/Universal Music Group, itself a subsidiary of Vivendi, the multinational conglomerate behemoth that distributes and sells his music and, in the process, rakes in hundreds of millions of dollars in profits. Only by identifying all the players profiting from this artistic enterprise can we begin a fair and rational discussion on the impact of popular American culture upon impressionable youth, whether in the streets of South-Central Los Angeles or the townships of Cape Town. Allen Neece Peace Corps/Kenya Get your best GEICO rate on auto insurance as a NPCA member. Visit geico.com for your FREE, no-obligation rate quote. Be sure to select NPCA when asked for your affiliation. New customers report average annual savings of $500 when they switch. Go to geico.com, call 1-800-368-2734, or contact your local office. Have something to say to the Peace Corps community? Your letters and submissions to WorldView are welcome at news@peacecorpsconnect.org. Some discounts, coverages, payment plans, and features are not available in all states or in all GEICO companies. Discount amount varies in some states. Discount is not available in all states or in all GEICO companies. One group discount applicable per policy. In New York a premium reduction is available. NPCA is compensated for allowing GEICO to offer this auto insurance program to NPCA members. Average savings amount based on national GEICO New Policyholder survey data through Casualty Co. These companies are subsidiaries of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. GEICO: Washington, DC 20076. GEICO Gecko image © 1999 – 2009. © 2009 GEICO Fall 2009
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of WorldView Magazine - Fall 2009
WorldView Magazine - Fall 2009
Contents
President's Letter
Your Turn
Are You Connected Yet? Join Africa Rural Connect
Group News Highlights
Why Investment in Health Is Critical Now
New Hope and Lessons from Rwanda
Turning a Blind Eye
A Question of Capacity
CN U HLP ME? I HAVE A ??
When Water and Sanitation Are a Priority
Could “Peace Care” Lessen the Global Burden of Disease?
One, Two, Three
Translating International Health to Health Care at Home
Turning Tragedy to Opportunity
Costa Rica: Finding My Religion
St. Lucia: Learning about Hunger
Seven Dusty Notebooks
Peace Corps Service 2.0
The Peace Corps Community Making a Difference
Community News
Advertiser Index
WorldView Magazine - Fall 2009
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