After my diatribe yesterday, someone wrote and asked for further explanation. Whenever I think about the subject my blood starts boiling so I will try to keep calm while writing. If I die in the next few days due to a stress related illness, you will know why.

Writer:
Just curious as to why you are so against school uniforms and rules and so forth. I would strongly support uniforms in the schools here if it were being seriously considered. I don't buy the argument that kids should be able to "express" themselves through their clothing. Kids are free to express themselves through other means, such as writing, painting, and music. I also believe that having kids in uniforms sends a message to the kids that school is a place where they should work hard and show respect. On Sundays when we attend church we dress differently to show respect, and in the same way I think that kids wearing uniforms to school helps them to realize that school is different than play time outside of school hours. Also, once they are adults won't many of them have to wear uniforms for their jobs?

Me:
My antagonism towards uniforms has nothing to do with freedom of expression, though that is as good a reason as any other. I disagree that students are allowed to express themselves through writing, painting or music. Anybody who has seen any of my "artwork" or heard me sing will understand what I mean. Music, in particular, is already written. Students simply play what has been already been around for years, unless you have a particularly talented student who can write their own music. And as far as writing goes, students do not have an opportunity to write what they want to write so much as what they are told to write. But getting back to the freedom of expression through clothes, I do not necessarily advocate wearing anything (or what is close to nothing at times), but I will write more about that later. This is not my main argument against uniforms.

Uniforms to me are a symbol of unity. Members of the military wear uniforms. Sports teams wear uniforms. Some businesses require uniforms for safety reasons. These are all people who have made choices that involve wearing uniforms. But none of those apply to the students at a school (excepting private schools where a choice is made). Public schools get their students mostly from an arbitrarily drawn school district. The students do not choose to go to that particular school so much as they simply have no choice in the matter. They have no loyalty to that school or to the district except for what they have been brainwashed into believing is there, so I see no reason to reinforce that brainwashing by making them wear uniforms.

The writer does have a point that respect should be shown to teachers and to the institution of learning. But does that come from a uniform? I think not. It comes from teaching them and letting them come up with their own versions of respect. I can remember quite a few teachers that I had no respect for and a few for which I did. My respect (or lack thereof) was shown in the way I acted towards the teachers and their assignments, not in the way I dressed.

It may surprise you to read that I do not mind children wearing "special" clothes to school as some do for church. That is what freedom is for. It is where the concept of responsibility comes in. I must ask of those who advocate the use of school uniforms their motivation. From my eyes, it is more laziness than anything else. Perhaps not the writer to whom I am responding here, but to a lot of Japanese students and parents I talk to, laziness certainly is a factor. "What would we wear if we did not have uniforms?" is a commonly asked response to my inquiry as to why uniforms are required. "Whatever you want to wear," is my answer. I have heard of people attending college in dress shirts and ties, if not suits, for the purpose of getting used to it for after their graduation. I have no problem with those people. That is what they choose to do. But when a dress code is forced on people for no reason except to show how much power they have over the oppressed and on people who have no say in the matter, I have a big problem. Personally, I do not know why any sane male (or female for that matter) would want to wear a noose around his neck, but I know they are out there. Perhaps their motivation for forcing there choice on others is found in the axiom, "Misery loves company."

As for the final point about getting ready for uniforms in the workplace, I have never worn a uniform at work. The closest I have ever come has been a jacket (like a wind-breaker, not a suit jacket) that I put over my street clothes. I have never even worn a suit to work. And I can probably count on both hands the number of times I have worn a tie to work. Shuko has no uniform and neither do her mother or father. Certainly there are many more workplaces in Japan that require uniforms than do so in the USA, but one can choose his or her workplace. If a person likes to wear a uniform he or she can apply only at places that require uniforms. But there are plenty of companies that do not require uniforms. It is all about freedom and responsibility for oneself and one's children. How can one learn to be free or responsible if all the choices are made for you?

To get to the more specific reasons of why I hate the local school uniforms, as I mentioned previously, the girls' uniforms look like sailor outfits. These are used extensively in the Japanese porn industry. One can hardly go into a convenience store without seeing smiling young girls in their school uniforms on the covers of magazines in the adult section. I doubt very seriously that the girls on the cover are real school children, but the image is out there. The boys, on the other hand, have uniforms designed to look like Prussian uniforms, complete with Mao Tse-tung collars. Despicable. If I want Jeff to go to military school I will send him somewhere in the USA where they have a real military.

Writer:
I don't know what kind of "anachronistic rules" you have concerns about in the schools. I certainly don't agree with teachers demeaning students in any way, but following rules is part of life, and it's better to learn it starting in school than waiting until they are adults.

Me:
Shuko is very smart. She has hidden the pamphlet she received so that I do not have it in front of me. Thus, I cannot write verbatim everything that is written. Some of the rules are things that I would not want my child doing anyway. For example, I do not plan on getting a cell phone for Rebecca anytime soon, but the simple fact that the pamphlet says that students should not have one makes me want to rush out and buy her one.

Other rules, such as those that govern one's hairstyle are also beyond my comprehension. Dyeing one's hair and putting in a perm are two things that are forbidden. I asked Rebecca if she was willing to dye her hair black and get a straight perm. She would look more Japanese than she does now, but she would be able to break both rules. By this act, the ridiculousness of the rule is shown. Not that I want Rebecca to do such, but again, the rule itself is without reason and I want to show how ridiculous it is. I heard of a group one time that wanted to protest speed limit laws by going the speed limit down the interstate. Can you imagine how much traffic would be backed up if everyone went the speed limit. Fifty-five mph is a joke. Just like these hair rules.

I will not even get into the specifics of the section titled "Off Campus Conduct." Suffice it to say that Rebecca is not the school's child, she is mine. What my child does outside of school is of absolutely no concern of the school. Certainly if she got into any kind of trouble I would be held liable, not the school. If they have a problem with the school getting a bad image because of a child in their uniform doing something bad off campus, get rid of the uniforms.

I hope this has somewhat clarified why I feel the way I do.

It is getting to be more and more official. Rebecca is getting closer and closer to junior high school. Perhaps some people may think that I am simply focusing anxiety concerning my children growing older (or even myself getting older) into anxiety concerning Japanese public schools.

That could not be further from the case. I am so ready for my children to grow up and move out. I especially look forward to them paying for my wife and myself in our old age. And I am not even waiting until we are all that old. As soon as they get a paying job, I hope to capitalize on the situation. I did have one snag the other day. Rebecca said that she planned on marrying someone who was good looking, kind, a church member, had lots of money and would buy her yearly passes to Disney Land. So it looks like Shuko and I will not be able to rely on a spouse's income, but if Rebecca becomes a pharmacist and has no children to take care of, she should have more than enough for her mother and me.

But I digress. My point is that my anxiety is completely at putting my daughter (and future children) through the rigors of Japanese junior high schools. (Poignantly, I am listening to Pink Floyd music as I write this. Somehow, Another Brick in the Wall (Part II) seems quite appropriate right now.) Shuko went to a meeting concerning Rebecca's entering the junior high school. It was as fraught with ridiculousness as I thought it would be. As Shuko entered the door coming home I implored her to hurry up and tell me something good about the school so that I could be placated in some way. Shuko did not have anything to say. I suppose the question was kind of loaded. To Shuko and all the other Japanese compliant parents, there is nothing wrong with what happened. They do not think to question the outdated hair styles, the anachronistic rules, the militaristic uniforms. Shuko has agreed that it probably would not be a good idea for me to go to the entrance ceremony next month. Unfortunately she has to work that day (the principal at the kindergarten where she works, in his infinite wisdom, decided to schedule the entrance ceremony at the kindergarten for the same day) and so Shuko's mom will probably go in our places. After all there is "a very important talk" (in bold letters, no less) that the principal and others have after the ceremony is completed.

But Rebecca is excited. Shuko took her to buy her uniform and gym clothes (picked out by the school, of course) today. In an attempt to try to be accepting of this inevitable farce, I asked her to model her uniform. Now Rebecca is quite a skinny rail with long, skinny, white legs. I did not realize quite how white they were until I saw her in contrast with the long (half-way down the shins), pleated, dark navy blue skirt on. She happened to have her hair up at the time and she looked just like Olive Oyl. That is, if Olive Oyl was wearing a navy blue sailor uniform. Her gym wear is a dark green which I remember made me think of Sprout, the Jolly Green Giant's little sidekick in those commercials from my youth, when I first saw them seventeen years ago when I first came to Japan. Rebecca is a little tall to be Sprout. Maybe she could be the Giant's wife.

Be that as it may, I try my best to keep these ponderings away from my wife and child as I am sure they need more support than I feel like giving them. I do not always succeed. Maybe by the time Sarah enters junior high I will have been sufficiently numbed into quiet submissiveness like everyone else here in the Land of the Rising Sun. If not numbed, too tired to fight about it.

I don't have much to report today. Just that I have some new Star Trek quotes up today, so take a look.

Today has been unreal. For the first time in forever, I have watched all my videos, read all my e-mail and actually have time to read my book. That is a good thing because the book I am currently reading is in Japanese. It takes me about three times as long to read a book in Japanese compared with one in English, and I only understand about a third of what I read, so I do not know if it is a good use of my reading time, but the subject is one that interests me, so I am somehow muddling through.

Speaking of reading, it is one of those pleasures that I have never gotten tired of. Even when I was a little boy, I remember always having a book to read. I used to say that I couldn't go to sleep at night without having read something, even if it was just a paragraph or two. Nowadays I do not have a problem with going asleep. At the ripe old age of 36 I have a worse problem with getting up in the morning.

Since I decided to cut out newspapers and spend more time reading books this year, I have so far read eight books. One of those was in Japanese and took me a while to get through like the one I am reading now. If it was not for those two, I would probably have more done. But with reading, like most other activities, it is not quantity but quality that counts. I have so many books to read and so little time to read them.

I remember one time watching C-SPAN or some such network and they were introducing the British Parliament. I do not remember all the details, but during part of their debate the members are supposed to speak from the heart. If a member is caught reading his speech the others (or perhaps just those opposed to his ideas) will call out a chorus of "READING!" in an attempt to shame the member.

I can think of worse ways to spend my time.

It has been far too long since the last chronicle of my life made its way into cyberspace.

The school year is winding down. Rebecca is getting ready to graduate from elementary school. That means I will have to wear a suit. I hate having to wear suits. And then a little while later there will be an entrance ceremony (Japanese people have way too many ceremonies) and I will have to wear my suit again. I hate having to wear suits. I asked Rebecca if she would mind me coming in shorts and she emphatically said, "YES!" I am dreading this coming Monday. The junior high school she will attend is having a "setsumei-kai" where we get to learn all the stupid rules that the children are supposed to obey. I do not think I will attend. Shuko took time off from work so that she could go, but if I go I will most likely be interrupting quite a bit with "Why do you have such a stupid rule?" or "Who was the idiot who came up with that?" and the like. Shuko does not want me to do that, I am sure, so I will probably just skip it. The one part I really hate is that the kids have to wear the silly school uniforms. But I found out that it is even sillier than I originally thought because the children have to wear the uniforms to school, but are then required to change into undogi (clothes for PE) at the end of second period, and then they are not allowed to put their uniforms back on. Apparently it is against the rules for the children to wear their uniforms home. My understanding is that the uniforms get stuffed into school bags for the trip home. I do not know. Perhaps what I heard was mistaken or my understanding of what was being told me is not up to par. After all, my Japanese is not perfect. But if even a tenth of what I "know" is true, I will have plenty to get outraged over. And I really hate having to wear a suit.

All that about Rebecca and it only seems fair that I write something about Jeff and Sarah, but try as I might, I cannot think of anything that exciting about them right now.

I am still working on two new projects for the web site: a photo album and a haiku page. Keep tuning in.

The biggest (and saddest) news I have is that Star Trek: Enterprise has been canceled by UPN. As I do not live in the US, I do not know all the inner workings of which network would be best for Enterprise, but from what I read, UPN is not it now, if it ever was. I know many people out there may not care for Star Trek the way I do, but if you do, or even if you do not, but you care about me, I would ask that you do only one thing to help the cause, I would ask that you write a letter to the Sci-Fi channel and ask them to pick up Enterprise from where UPN left it. I used the following address:

Just a simple note on a postcard would be GREAT!

Then if you have any further interest in the subject you can take a look at the following websites:

SaveEnterprise.com

The Enterprise Project

Trek United

Perhaps it is a lost cause, but we will not give up!

QAPLA'!

It has been about a month since I wrote anything about my life. I am not going to write much now. But I do have some new stuff on my website like Star Trek quotes. And I am also working on putting up a lot more, like a photo album and perhaps a haiku page. Stuff to look forward to, if you look forward to that kind of stuff, and stuff to not look forward to, if you do not look forward to that kind of stuff.

Hopefully someday soon I will get back to posting regularly. Until then, enjoy the breather.