You see this tree trunk…

It’s got this on the bottom…

And this on the top…

The reason this fungus is now so important to me is because when my kids noticed it at the last trip to the park, I was able to summon 7th grade natural science lessons to explain what it was doing there. Not only was I able to tell them in detail (I’m sure my three year-old caught all of it) why it was growing out of the tree, I even told them what happens when fungus and algae come together – they make lichen (Alice Algae and Freddy Fungi took a lichen to each other)! So the lesson went like this: I came off really excited about this information, my daughter was grossed out and my son kept trying to poke at it. Considering that I’m a product of under-appreciated US public schools, I think I owe many thanks to the teacher who got drilled that information into a very unscientific student.

Here’s to you, Mr. Allen!

That’s what a friend of mine said about the recent burqa ban passed in France. As a social liberal, my immediate reaction to this mandate is that it’s not right. But fine, if the French government wants to eliminate religious paraphernalia in public places, then the Star of David and religious crosses should be banned, as well. However, the rationale behind the law is that the French government considers the burqa to be a display of gender inequality as opposed to religious and looks at this as a way of helping to promote gender equality amongst Muslim immigrants. I can agree with the gender inequality aspect, but what religion doesn’t have oppressive practices for females?

The way I see it is that these types of laws are audacious. If government is now intervening to ensure that immigrant women have more of even playing field, it should first make sure that French citizens are leading by example, right? Well, the 2010 Gender Gap study published by the World Economic Forum shows that France has gone from 18th to 46th place, mostly because of the lack of women in high-ranking government positions. So, I think the Sarkozy administration should start promoting gender equality in-house before trying to fix other communities. What’s also tricky about this type of legislation is it can be a slippery slope. Will it stop at the burqa, or will it continue into other aspects of the Muslim religion? Moreover, will the government also look to expand into non-Muslim religions?

What I also find interesting is that while this law has overwhelming support by the French public, a Pew poll found that 2 out of 3 Americans are against it. I think that’s a reflection of Americans’ aversion to letting government dictate too much of their personal lives. Even with all the anti-Muslim rhetoric that’s getting a lot of media time these days, Americans have their limits when it comes to government involvement.

While I can understand where my friend is coming from, until there is more consistency and clarity in France’s decisions regarding religious freedoms, I can’t get behind this. What are your thoughts on the burqa ban?