Feb. 18th: Response to Day

I haven't really talked much about Day in my blogs and i want to go back to her journey to find God. I feel like many people can relate to the early Dorothy Day when it comes to faith in God. While she was in jail for the first time she asked for the Bible. The saying goes: "you can never find an atheist in a bunker". Meaning, when people are cornered and there is no turning back people will ask for a Bible or pray for the first time. Even though Dorothy had that Bible it seemed that once her hunger strike was done and they went back to county she rejected God once again. Those stories made me question Day's motives. While she fought for equal rights and against poverty she always seemed to relate everything back to God, however at that time God was not in her mind. I wonder what the first part of her book would be like if she wrote it at the time?

Another thing I want to talk about is her babies daddy: Forster. I would love to hear other people's opinions on him. It confused me so much that she just married this man out of the blue. I'm sure she knew him for a long time, but while I was reading it didn't seem like that. I don't understand how she could love someone who is so anti-religion. Even though he was a communist and hated structure like Day it really didn't seem like they got along. "Forster did not believe in bringing children into such a world as we lived in." What in the world is that statement? I really hope that she wasn't serious, but it doesn't seem like Day is a jokester. If you are not proud of the present, our only hope is the future. Even though Day ended up leaving him she still acted like she loved him. I really didn't like that part of the book. I would of never thought that Dorothy would fall in love with someone like that. I know this part of the book is only bio, but it still really bothered me. 

As I read about her learning about catholicism and coming closer to God I started to think about my own life. I grew up in a very Catholic family and there were rules upon rules upon rules. It seems like Day enjoys this structure and all these rules, however her being an activist goes against the whole structure thing? I feel like Catholicism brought me away from God in the beginning, because it was too much of a leap from not believing. It seems like Day doesn't think that at all, and this second half of the book I think doesn't really fit well with the first part. But thats my opinion...

I am sad that I missed Charles Strobel, but from what I have read and heard from other people he had a lot a powerful things to say. Poverty is never ending issue and it seems that we will never truly get it as a whole. Throughout history, the poor has always been a problem that the rich do not want to deal with. As I hear more and more about these things it makes me want to really step up and help, but I'm not sure if that would even help. In the beginning of the year I was hopeful for the poor, however I really didn't understand our global issues. Bono would be telling me on T.V. but reading Claiborne and Day it seems that nothing has changed at all in a century. Also, reading about the Bible there has been the same problem since the beginning of time. The only way it will stop is if governments step in and stop World Hunger, or it will be too late. There is only so much people can do, but governments control these people. They spend Trillions of dollars on wars and oil, but they can't even get together thirty or forty Billion. That is nothing when you think in terms of Trillions. But maybe we are passed the point of no return, and it is already too late to help the hungry? I really hope that's not true, but how long will it take till that horrible statement is reality?