Allison Bruning's Blog, page 35

Mental Health in Progressive #America: #Eugenics

Mental Health In Progressive America: Eugenics
What Do You Mean I Can't Marry Him?


        Elsa stared silently towards Juliette in shock. Can’t marry her? “Why would you forbid our union when you have welcomed me into your home and your family?”
Juliette answered, “If there were some other way I would not hesitate to support my son in his decision. I want you as my daughter. I already love you as if you were my own.”
“Then why take this from him?”
“It’s not me, Elsa. Ohio Law forbids any person who has epilepsy, is a drunkard, an imbecile, or insane from obtaining a marriage license or marrying.”
“But Franklin is none of those.”
“It doesn’t matter, Elsa. When he applies for the marriage license the county clerk will ask him, under oath, to testify he does not suffer from epilepsy, is not a drunkard, imbecile, or insane. He can’t lie to the courts about that.”



Today's topic of discussion is a touchy one and it might disturb some of my readers to know that before Nazi Germany practiced Eugenics it had long been established in the United States as the norm. What is Eugenics? Webster's Dictionary defines eugenics as "a science that deals with the improvement (as by control of human mating) of hereditary qualities of a race or breed." The term was first used in 1883 but the science had been in practiced long before that. 
Progressive Era Americans did not view eugenics as a science but instead viewed it as a means to preserving the dominant group. The American Eugenics Movement originated with noted English scientist Sir Francis Galton. After reading Charles Darwin's theory of evolution Sir Galton concluded human could direct their own evolutionary development through selective breeding. In 1883, Sir Galton named his theory Eugenics. The Eugenic Movement quickly spread throughout the world. 
Early followers of the Eugenic Movement believed Nordic, Germanic and Anglo-Saxon peoples were the superior race. They supported anti-miscegenation laws and strict immigration laws. Anti-miscegenation laws are laws that criminalize interracial marriages. They also supported the forcible sterilization of the disabled,"immoral", and poor. Laws throughout the United States were passed to enforce the eugenic beliefs. Although Ohio did pass a law forbidding epileptics, drunks and mentally handicapped people from marriage it never passed a sterilization law. The state had hoped by separating the feeble groups from the main population it would make Ohio families stronger. Indiana was the first state to pass a Sterilization Law in 1907.  Sterilization Laws were very common in the United States and are still talked about today. A Sterilization Law forces a certain population to become sterile or face imprisonment. 
An American Eugenics poster from the early 20th centuryEugenics were widely accepted by Americans and the academic community. Population groups targeted by the Eugenic Laws included the mentally disabled; alcoholics; epileptics; people who were blind, deaf or disabled; poor people on welfare; criminals; women deemed promiscuous; and child of rape victims. Thirty-three states practiced eugenics. Most of their victims came from the mental institutions and prisons. At first the eugenics only targeted the mentally ill but as the years passed their list grew to include the other sub groups I have mentioned above. Eugenics was a very popular movement that especially targeted minority groups. It was not uncommon for a poor African American woman to give birth in the hospital only to be sterilized soon after. The doctor would tell her that her appendix needed to be removed and they would have to operate. She would consent to that only to wake up to find she could no longer bear children. 
The Eugenics Movement was well established in the United States by the time Nazi Germany had established their own Eugenic laws. In fact, they were inspired by the American Eugenic Movement. During the 1930's California had created literature to promote eugenics and sterilization. They sent the material overseas to German medical doctors. The Rockfeller Foundation aided Germany in developing their eugenic programs, including the one Josef Mengele established before he was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. 
In 1934, California eugenics leader C. M. Goethe; after returning from German, where more than 5,000 people per month were being forcibly sterilized; bragged to a colleague ""You will be interested to know that your work has played a powerful part in shaping the opinions of the group of intellectuals who are behind Hitler in this epoch-making program. Everywhere I sensed that their opinions have been tremendously stimulated by American thought . . . I want you, my dear friend, to carry this thought with you for the rest of your life, that you have really jolted into action a great government of 60 million people."
It is estimated 65,000 Americans were victims of the forced sterilization. ABC News reported in 2011, of the 33 states who had sterilization programs only seven have issued a public apology to the victims or acknowledgement of the program. The suggested compensation for each sterilization crime has been established to be between $20,000 to $50,000 per living victim. Most of these victims have died but their families still face the agony and grief that was done to their family member by their state government.

#Artist of the Week - Bre Adrian

Welcome back to my blog.

This week I've decided to add a new topic to my blog. I've meet alot of wonderful new artists in Indianapolis. They have inspired me to spread the word about their artwork just as I do with authors. So each week I will try to spotlight an author on Sundays and a new artist on Mondays while maintaining my historical blogs on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Artist of the Week
My first artist of the week is Bre Adrian. I met Bre at the Indianapolis RAW event last month where I working as the assistant director for FilmSmith Productions. All of the pictures on my blog today were created by Bre.

Allison:
Welcome to Inside the Secret World of Allison Bruning, Bre.

Bre:
Thank you.

Allison:How long have you been creating?
Bre:If you wanna count me running around with my little yellow paint brush pretendingto paint everything I saw: 9 months old is where it all began *that is my first memory actually*
Art seems to be at the under & overbelly of my life:  
I wanted to be a Children's book illustrator,to an art teacher, to achef. I had planned on attending art school but felt a push to do more person centered work so went to school for psychology /religion.  Besides a couple of art courses and inspirational bursts, I have had a pretty lengthy dry spell until this last year in 2012. (Which is good because looking back on some of my pieces from high school…..not as good as I remember  ;] )
Allison:What is your creation process like?
Bre:I like to kind of think this reinvention of my artist self as an “Intuitive Driven/Inclusion of Misfits” About 90% of my work and materials of this last year have been constructed of repurposed items & old art supplies I’ve had lying around, found, or that have been passed down to me.
As one of my dear mentor artist friends likes to says: “Use the Canvas as your Recycle Bin”  I just take it a little step further, cause my canvas should be in the recycle bin too & as dangerous as it may be, I tend to over load my bins !
Allison: 
What inspires you?

Bre:
I like to say, “There is no scarcity of inspiration”:I believe, every occurrence in life is a message to ourselves to help us personally grow,  & to open up & set us on fire in someway.

Mywork is currently about playing around with my intuition…. So its kind of about working backwards” – as we artist do….. SO I gather what materials are in my realm, create & then I am usually am able to interpret the deeper meaning and reasoning behind the construction after…  “oh that is why I choose yellow there…& that is why my face is looking down…. Etc…”
Allison: What do you want us to know about your work?
Bre: I consider my work therapyfor myselfand my portion of creation: therefore where there are needs, my art is going to CONTINUALLY change face as I question  “What of this is depleting;what of this is life giving…?” as I peel back these layers towards what I find as the better path for myself and greater existence.
Allison:What are your aspirations?
Bre: Currently my art is a by product of the General Aspirations of my life; which are for my spiritual and personal maturation & the hope to help others in that quest too. These Growth messages woven into or discovered within my pieces,  I hope to be able to share others who are interested….
Allison:Where do you see yourself in five years?
Bre:Hah, you guys don’t know me very well yet, do you ;]
I have some Gypsy blood in my somewhere!  -- Planning is not always my fortay –
I have a couple of themes stewing in me for my next projects, series, & very individually/sentimentally tailored themes for commission work, but
I follow where I feel I need to serve my true self and others & I believe that “ creativity takes no direct form ” . Next it could be the art of tending to the needs of the dying , growing a food Forrest , or writing letters to my grandma .. .probably should work on the art of cleaning my room too :] 

In the words of Bre Adrian I've been playing with the visual arts as far back as I remember - literally; one of my first memories is of me with a paintbrush.
The arts remained a major part of my creative expression throughout high school, until my calling towards person-centered work took me towards the academic facet -- college!!

As most twenty-somethings in study do, I began to reflect on how to save my portion of the world --loving humanity, the nebulous I call God, and the planet--through conjuring reflection and simplicity (verse the materialistic wise of the west). And I began to construct a conviction, that the arts, at times, created more waste in our ever increasing disposable culture.

Shhh..I neglected to heed Confucius when he stated,
"[the arts] stimulate the mind...induce self-contemplation...teach the art of sensibility...help restrain resentment."

My tension then: How to balance no longer living by the letter of consumption, while still practicing the divine nature of being human -- Creating.

Cultivation of the soul, I have found, stands to be the most important venture in the human reality, for the benefit of all being and non-beings' thriving, no matter what face cultivating takes for the individual.  My artwork, here and hereafter, is dedicated to both standards:spiritual fertility andinclusion of the excluded. For without incorporating the neglected-- material & emotional-- personal actualization staggers in opportunities for attainment. 
My medium:  [re] purposed materials(waste formally misplaced), art supplies  passed down , art supplies I have  neglected  to utilize myself, and as few store purchased items as possible, (only when to create a more proficient finish, so it does not so readily become knighted 'waste' again). * What & how I will end up creating when those materials decrease should be exciting! *Thank you guys for your love!All of mine to you! 


You can learn more about Bre Adrian and her artwork on her website:

breadrian.weebly.comThere you can see her portfolio and a huge amalgam of her interests!
She can also be found on Facebook under Bre A. Domescik

I'm a #CampNaNoWriMo Winner!

It's been awhile since I've written a blog post and many of my readers are probably wondering what's up with Allison?
Well my husband and I have decided to move back to my hometown of Marion, Ohio. I have been writing about the area for years. With each passing day my heart yearns for my hometown even more. We will be leaving Thursday to start our new life in the North Central Ohio Region. My husband has only been to my neck of the woods a few times. We are both excited to be back in the area. 
My Camp NaNoWriMo novel will be released this month. Elsa (The Secret Heritage Series: Book 1) is loosely based on the life of my great great grandmother Elva Russell. The series will trace her life as she tries to hold together her family through the turbulent times caused by many factors. I hold this book near and dear to my heart more so than Calico because the characters and circumstances are based on my own family heritage. 



Next month I will have another novel release. I am currently working on it in true CampNaNoWriMo fashion. I challenge myself to write a chapter a day with no less than 2,000 words every morning. I woke up at 5am this morning and typed my little heart out so much I forgot to eat breakfast. Passions Awakenings (Draconian Corazon: Book 1) is something different for me. It's a high fantasy erotica series. So that should be very interesting to write and edit. I can't wait to see what my readers think about it. 
Well until next time. Keep chasing your dreams and never let them go. 
Allison

It's #Goodbye But Not Gone Forever #IAmWriting #author #blogger

Tis the End, My Friend

Today's the last day of the 10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge. It's been a fun. I have always enjoyed sharing my writing experiences with others. I hope you have enjoyed it as well.

Another writing adventure has ended for me as well. I have been participating in the July 2013 Camp NaNoWriMo session. I finished my manuscript, Elsa, last week and turned it in to my editor.

 Two endings yet these are only beginnings. I will continue to blog and write. With projects behind me I have more in front of me. I'm currently working on Passions Awakening (Draconian Corazon: Book 1) as it is to be published in September. I have many other books to write as well so stay tuned.



So as my farewell to the Day 10 Writing Challenge Blogger Challenge I was asked to write the following:

I decided to donate money to a worthy cause for my last post. My husband and I normally donate money and items through out local church, Crestwood Baptist Church. Crestwood Baptist Church, located in Crestwood, Kentucky supports local, national and international missions. We have participated in several local missions and look forward to someday spending time and money on national and international missions. You can learn more about what the church does from their website at http://www.crestwoodbaptist.org

#Love, #Magic, #Dragons, O My.

Welcome back to the 10 Day Writer's Challenge.

Today's prompt is:


Hmm a setting from my latest fiction project. Well I finished Elsa (The Secret Heritage: Book 1) and have already begun to talk about the Progressive Era on my blog. Elsa will be released next month by Mountain Springs House. 
I think today I will introduce you to the setting of my next book, Passions Awakenings (Draconian Corazon: Book 1). Passions Awakening is a high fantasy erotica book. That is something very different for my regular readers since I tend to write historical fiction. Passions Awakening takes place in a mystical land that contains the kingdoms of Fath'more and Kil'adar. The two kingdoms use to be together but were town apart when the one God religion spread through the lands. The priest who lead the movement was able to overthrow the queen of Kil'adar's reign and claim the throne as his own by his marriage to the queen. He chased the dragons out of the kingdom, massacred anyone who practiced magic and forbid any magic to be practiced. 
Almost twenty years have passed since the Great Cleansing seperated Kil'adar and Fath'more.  With the Dragon Lord missing his queen, there is a great unbalance in the kingdom. Unless a Dragon Lady arises to take the place of Kil'adar's queen all magic will be lost forever in Fath'more.  Dragons, magic, prophecies and mystery await for anyone who reads my Draconian Corazon series. 

My #writing routine #author #IAmWriting #bestseller

 Welcome back to my blog. Today is the eighth day in my 10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge and I was given the following challenge.

So what is my writing ritual?

Wow that's a great question. As most of my readers know I own Mountain Springs House, a publishing company in Louisville, Kentucky. I am also a writer. I use the term writer because I am not only a novelist but also write poems, short stories, screenplays, TV scripts, graphic novels, webseries, music videos and more. Basically, I write in all styles of writing for both the media and literary worlds. With so much to do I need a daily routine.

I usually wake up around 6am and head straight to the kitchen table where I spend time with God, work through the section of The Artist Way that I'm on, write my morning pages and then write a chapter of whatever book I happen to be writing on. It usually takes anywhere between 1 1/2 hrs to 2 hrs to get through it all. But this is my ME time. I rarely have personal writing time in the day since I am usually busy running the day to day operations of Mountain Springs House.

I spent most of my morning and early afternoon with the day to day operations. On a normal day, after lunch I'll take off my publisher hat and put on my screenwriter hat while I'm doing dishes and the laundry. I have several projects I am working on with two production companies. I used to use this time for my studies when I was in grad school but since I graduated with my MFA in Creative Writing on June 28 I devoted this time to continue with my screenwriting endeavors. It has paid off. I've been able to complete a few projects already by keeping my daily routine.

At the end of the day, if I was able to get to the bottom of my routine, I try to push out one or two more chapters of my next novel.

The weekend is a bit different for me routine wise. On Saturdays, if I'm not working an event, I wake up early and do what I normally do except instead of writing after my morning pages I spend that time on an Artist Date. I do not work on Saturday mornings but take this time to pamper my muse who loves to paint, color, draw, and other artistic ventures. Sometimes she'll give me story and other times she just enjoys the pampering. After my Artist Date is through I return to my regular routine.

Sunday's I go to church and when I come home I spend the rest of the time writing.

Well there you have it, Allison's writing routine. I hope you enjoyed learning about my writing habits. See you tomorrow.

Progressive Era: In the beginning...the American #Civil War

Progressive Era:
The First Reforms







Welcome back to our in depth look at the American Progressive Era. The Progressive Era is also know as the Second Reform Movement. In order to understand the progressive movement we need to look back to the first reforms that occurred before, during and after the American Civil War.

The debate to end slavery did not begin in the American Civil War nor did it start a war. Abolitionism, those who supported the end of slavery, had started a reformation movement during the late 18th century to free the slaves and make them members of the American society. Abolitionist sometimes would illegally grant slaves an education. The abolitionist movement gained wider attention with the release of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin.



The American Civil War lasted from April 12, 1861 – May 10, 1865 and is known as the Bloodiest War the United States has ever fought. Although it occurred in the beginning of the 19th century it has caused the most American lives in any war we have ever fought. The Civil War cost 1,030,000 casualties, including about 620,000 soldier deaths—two-thirds by disease, and 50,000 civilians. According to a September 2011 New York Times article, "Binghamton University historian J. David Hacker believes the number of soldier deaths was approximately 750,000, 20% higher than traditionally estimated, and possibly as high as 850,000." 56,000 soldiers died in prison camps while approximately 60,000 men lost a limb.

The Emancipation Proclamation, signed by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, changed everything for the Civil War. At the beginning of the war slavery had been only one issue that the states were fighting against. With Abraham Lincoln's signature the war now became about only one thing - slavery. Abraham Lincoln had reformed the United States by stripping away one of the south's precious commodities, slavery. It wasn't an unheard of move at the time. The United Kingdom had outlawed slavery with the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. Before  the war, many slaves had tried to escape from their masters via the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a secret, safe route from the south to Canada that was manned by abolitionists. Harriet Tubman, former slave and Union spy during the American Civil War, helped many former slaves navigate through the Underground Railroad. The Emancipation Proclamation was a major reform for African Americans but it was only a stepping stone towards complete freedom. After the proclamation was signed the United States government knew it would have to do something to ensure these newly freed slaves would have a place in our society. During the war, groups of Northern soldiers would experiment with localized reform efforts by granting the former slaves an education and teaching them how to manage their own farms.

After the civil war, the United States had a new problem on their hands along with the integration of the former slaves into society. Entire cities, towns and personal property throughout the North and South lay in ruins with the Southern states receiving most of the damages. Most of the war was fought in the south. It was a common characteristic of the Union soldiers to burn any Southern farm and home they came across plus rob the locals. Images such as the picture above were common place after the war. Life after the war had become an emotional, mental and physical ordeal for most people, especially for the Southern states.

The #Host and #HungerGames: The #books were great. The #movies, eh not so much.

Welcome back. I know you are expecting the Progressive Era America post to be here. But I am in the mist of playing catch up after taking the day off yesterday. This post will be my 10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge post for today. The next one will have the Progressive Era posting you are looking for.


Hmmm, just two books? Really? Ok, ok, I'll chose just two books. I am that type of girl who can't watch a movie before I read a book. It just ruins if for me BUT I did just that a few months ago. I had picked up The Host by Stephanie Meyers when the movie came out and against my better judgement I went to see the movie first.
 I should have known better. Really, I should have. I started the book before we went to the movies but I wasn't far enough into it to really know the plot. 
Well the one reason it took me so long to get into the book is that the book is written in first person. I hate reading in first person because it doesn't dig deep enough into the characters' psyche for me. But, like The Hunger Games, I chewed through for awhile and then began to love it. 
It was ingenious of the author to have written in 1st person. It totally works for The Host because the conflict is in the head of the main character. I loved the way the author was able to distinguish Melanie and Wanda's personalities by using italics to differentiate between the two beings. Yet what impressed me more was the way, through the use of dialogue, she was able to bring out distinct personalities each with their own wants and needs. I can see how this book became a bestseller yet as for the movie I felt the story had too much internal conflicts to become a success. To me it had the same problem as The Hunger Games. Yet like The Hunger Games, Hollywood was able to pull it off by changing parts of the story. I still felt like you had to have read the book in order to understand both movies.  I am currently working my way through The Host.


Since I have already mentioned it I would have to say the other book that I recently and loved reading was The Hunger Games. I've read the entire series. I love to read serials instead of stand alone books. There's just something about reading alot of books about characters I have grown to love that interests me. I mainly picked up The Hunger Games because everyone was talking about. I wanted to know what all the hype was about. Like I mentioned before it took me awhile to get into it but when I did it proved to me a really good book. I love stories that have to do with the future. Not so much sci-fi but something about the near future. Hunger Games was great because it also hit home with me. My family was from the Appalachian Mountains. I live in Kentucky. The area Katniss was from was in my backyard. I could relate to her. But like, the Host, the movie left alot to be desired. 

#Genealogy showed me the way. #author #history #family

Yesterday was Thursday and I didn't have a chance to blog so I'm a little behind. I was supposed to write about the Progressive Era on my blog. I will do that two posts from now. This blog post will be for yesterday's 10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge. So here it goes. Day #6

Today I'm going to chose the alternative assignment. Share a personal interest of hobby that I have aside from writing and how it has inspired or impacted my writing. This one is easy for me to write about because my interest in genealogy sparked the story behind my current series, The Secret Heritage. You can read how genealogy inspired The Secret Heritage by reading this post. http://allisonbruning.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-secret-heritage-revealed-inspires.html

 I have had an interest in genealogy since I was child. I first learned about genealogy through 4H. I began our family tree when I was nine years old and have been compiling it ever since. What I love the most about genealogy is the family stories that you learn while conducting research. There is so much fodder in family stories for any historical writer that they could write for the rest of their lives. One thing to remember while conducting research is that no matter how important a person was in society that person was human. When we humanize our heroes and leaders that's when we get to know them better than most people do without ever meeting them. Also, when dealing with a group of people who have been greatly known about in history, such as the Shawnee, it is generally best for the author not to take everything they read about that culture as fact. They should look at every situation from both side of the conflict.

My Top 3 #Blog Posts

My Top Three Blog Posts







Welcome back to my 10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge. Can you believe today is the half way through mark for the writing challenge? It seems to have flown by so fast.


Wow, this is a hard one for me because I use to have some pretty interesting historical blog postings on this blog about Daniel Boone, the Shawnee, George Washington, Sequoyah  and more but I took them off and converted them into a book. Reflections: Poems and Essays have poems and blog posting that use to be on this blog that cover faith, life's journey and interesting historical essays. The  most interesting posting in that book would have to be the Shawnee's version of Noah's Flood. Their legend predates when Europeans first contacted them. 

You can find my book on Amazon by clicking the title in the previous paragraph or clicking this cover on the right hand side. Keep scrolling down if you don't see it.

Ok, back to the topic at hand. Oh, there are so many. How can I chose just three? Hmm.

I think I have it.

1)  The first one that is of most interest is the blog posting titled "A secret heritage revealed inspires author." This blog posting was about my current release and how the genealogical discoveries I made inspired me to write The Secret Heritage series. http://allisonbruning.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-secret-heritage-revealed-inspires.html

2) I really loved this next one. I had been asked to participate in a summer blog feast where I was to take my readers on a feast that was related to my book. I couldn't use any portion of my book to write this. I had just returned from a book signing at the Oldham County Colonial Fair where one of the women was portraying a Shawnee woman. I took her picture, gave her a fictitious name and wrote the piece with her as the host. http://allisonbruning.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-shawnee-feast-nativeamerican-feast.html

3) The last of my favorite blog post is a memorial to my late mother-in-law, Elida Espinosa. http://allisonbruning.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-little-house-memory.html

Well there you have my favorite three blog postings so far this year. I hope you enjoy reading all of them.