This is the End

Well, the long road has finally come to an end. Maybe long was an understatement, but what the heck, it’s the last blog! As I began to reflect on the past months of this class I had mostly fond thoughts. I felt challenged at almost every turn but nothing too difficult that I couldn’t handle it. I felt the work was adequately challenging and I truly did learn quite a lot, but not from places that I had expected out of a research paper class. I felt the skill I learned the most was how to critically think more efficiently. I felt this especially when it came to the required readings. Animal Farm once again tested the limits of my imagination. I really enjoyed reading it again, but this time with a more critical eye. I was able focus on the main themes and look for specifics, not just read it for fun. On Bullshit was quite interesting. Although I still don’t fully understand the essay, even after reading it multiple times. Reading Lolita in Tehran, what can I say. I know I have already stated that of the three readings it was my least favorite. I’m going to take that back. After basically finishing my research paper and really focusing on the lives of the girls, I have become quite fond of it. I really began to enjoy it after the fact, when I would be sitting around doing nothing.


Most of all I enjoyed reading all of your writings. I really feel that my writing became far better as a result of your comments and feedback. It was nice to be able to express ourselves each and every week with this blog, and I think I’ll miss it when the class is over. One thing I won’t miss, having five assignments each week! It was difficult to juggle all of those assignments along with a full load from other classes, but we made do. I’m proud to say that I only missed one assignment the entire semester. I felt this was actually quite a feat for me because as the semester hits its third month I begin to shut down and become extremely lazy!

I really hope the rest of you enjoyed the class as much as I did. I had a great time reading all of your interesting ideas and sometimes clashing with ideologies. That’s what made it fun; each one of us was able to express our individual points of view. I really felt this added a lot to the class. I hope you have a wonderful winter season and wish you all luck on your finals! I’ll be transferring after this semester so I won’t see any of you on campus, but I wish you the best of luck in continuing your studies!

V 2.0

     Well, what a long, strange road it's been since V 1.0 of this topic. I have to be completely honest; I don't think many of my goals were met, despite maintaining a B or better the entire class. I had initially wanted to learn how to organize my thoughts much better. I feel with just the sheer number of assignments that required writing, I have achieved that goal to a certain, unavoidable degree. My structure became much better as the class progressed as well. Again, I attribute that to the number of papers that required one structure or another. I had originally wanted to acquire a much better understanding of MLA style, since I will be transferring in the spring. I knew I was required to have a much broader understanding of the style. This class was the next logical step. Again, I have to say I was a little disappointed. Although each of the (6?) or so essays required MLA format, I continually made one or more errors to the style. This part is ok; I assumed I would make errors. Second part is not so good. I have no idea where I made these mistakes. Now, I know it would be very difficult for a Professor to single out every MLA gaff for each student, I understand that. I would just like to know where I made my mistake so I didn't make it time and time again. I have my handy "The Brief Handbook" which gives me the information, so, all along I assumed everything was fine. I have no idea if it was the Works Cited missing a period somewhere or if it was a major error that needs a lot of attention. I guess that would be my one major gripe is the lack of feedback, because this was not a required class for me, I took it to make myself a better writer for the next level of my education, and I honestly don't feel that I am much better than when I started.




I do think I learned to focus my critical thinking through this class though. Many of the assignments involved looking in-depth into writings and such. I still love to analyze politics, though it has become so depressing that there isn't much to analyze, unless you consider grown educated people yelling at each other material to critically think about. I have begun to look at advertising with a sharper eye as a result of the assignments of this class. I found it to be a fun and challenging class that really tested my time management skills. I was a little disappointed with the lack of feedback on the papers, which are the main point of the class. But, all in all, a B is a B I guess.

The Dreaded Research Paper

We all knew it was coming. Everything we have done was leading us to this point like a lamb to slaughter. It started easy, we were all thinking this was going to be a breeze, then bam! A comprehensive argumentative research paper, diverse sourcing, photo copies of our material and discussing my least favorite book of the entire class. Amazing. Thus is college and the things we do for a grade. I'll be honest; I've erased the notions that I'll be getting an A on this paper. I am shooting for a B and settling for a solid C. I guess that's why you do well in the beginning, on the easy stuff.




To be honest, I'm not too thrilled about our topics. They seem dull if you ask me. RLiT was a boring book in my opinion and it was very hard for me to connect to it, then asking me to compare it to another piece of classic literature is pouring salt in my gaping wounds! But, I'll survive. I have 1 page down, a few sources out of the way and I think I'm moving at a decent pace, although other classes' finals and papers will start to bog my progress quite a bit.



I understand the purpose of the assignment. It's to get us ready for a more in-depth look at classic literature and how to analyze it. Not my favorite topic, but like I said, getting A's and B's is a good thing. I guess I wish we had a choice of which book we wanted to do our paper on. Personally, I totally had a connection with Animal Farm. On the contrary, RLiT was like torture, I just couldn't get into it for the life of me! Nothing against the book, I'm sure some people absolutely loved it; maybe it changed their lives for all I know.



The largest obstacle for me was getting my thesis down. Now, this is usually my problem. Once I start the rest seems to flow. As of today, I do have a thesis and an accompanying page. The sourcing is going slowly I have to say and it isn't from lack of looking. Maybe it's because I have never had to write a paper such as this or I'm just really not that into it, but I'm having a heck of a time! Luckily we still have plenty of time to scratch some semblance of a college level work out!



I guess we’ll just have to see how it progresses from here. Like I said before, I’ve done pretty darn well since the beginning; missing less than 70 points all together (I was lazy and missed an entire group assignment). So getting a C on this paper is something that I have come to peace with. It isn’t because I’m lazy or because I don’t have the drive to push on when the assignments get tough. Honestly, the topic is horribly boring to me and I would rather watch 1,000 episodes of The Glen Beck Show (I’m very liberal, see the irony?) than argue for these two works.

My Online Style

Quite an interesting prompt if you ask me. What is my online style? Before I begin on the main point this topic immediately made me think of texting and the new language it has created. One of my biggest annoyances is this idea of shortening words which came about with texting it seems. It's like shorthand for journalists but for people who feel the need to save half a second by typing "ttyl" instead of "talk to you later." Anyway, back to the main point, I feel my style is as though I'm writing on paper. I never use "internet speak", I find it repulsive. If I see any sort of document that has "omg, brb, ttyl" and the likes I immediately disregard the writing and move on. I feel the internet is a forum to show off your abilities and you will severely limit your willing audience by catering to one class of people. I tend to compose in much more detail than most people. It may be because I enjoy writing and creating sentences. It may be because I actually have something to say. When I read works done by teenagers and early twenties' students I sense a lack of passion when it comes to the important things. When I say important I mean world events not who's having who's baby.




I will be the first one to say "Twitter" is the worst idea ever thought. It teaches you to leave detail out and write in a pseudo language that only kids understand. As I have stated before, who cares about your life? What have you done that is so special that it warrants you sitting on your computer telling everyone? Why would I handicap myself with 140 characters?



I do have different styles for different occasions. I know I tend to write like someone who is in total disgust with his generation. It's true; this blog experiment has allowed me to vent my anger. This blog allows me pretty liberal amount creativity when it comes to the topics. I'm able to go off topic and back on topic, but I always feel I answer the question at hand. Obviously I wouldn't take this approach if I was writing for a prestigious online journal, but for this blog it works.



I feel my writing is still old school with a new school forum. There will never be, at least I hope, an acceptance for incorrect spelling and punctuation in the professional world. An employer will no accept papers or reports with “Omg r nmbrs r off.” The way I feel, why practice bad habits? Yes, the internet is a place where everyone has an opinion. Yes, they have a chance to be heard. Too bad you have to eventually get a job or start a career. I highly doubt your boss will accept your internet lingo in a report. Maybe the professional world will change eventually, but for now it hasn’t so either am I.

Improvement.

When I started this class I thought I was a pretty good writer. I knew I had flaws. Most notably the fact that I tend to write extremely long sentences and have pretty bad structure. I knew I had great ideas and much to say, I just didn't know how to format my ideas into a neat package. On a side note, I also had a very negative view on blogging in general. Back to the main point =) through the assignments that I have done in this class, I feel as though my writing has greatly improved. Even thought the Rhetorical Analysis wasn't my finest hour I felt it helped me with my MLA. Through blogging I am able to speak my mind about a certain topic each week. I very much enjoy this assignment each week. Through reading all of your blogs I have acquired a better ability to understand others points of view more clearly. By answering the critical thinking questions in our text, well, it forced me to actually read a text book for once. Though, the book wasn't that bad, some of the essays we're actually quite enjoyable and informative. Animal farm was probably my favorite part of the class. This is the third time I had read the novel and each time I keep getting more and more out of it! I felt it helped me understand what is going on during this in our world. Although written about communism it is extremely relevant to our current times, which is why I enjoy it so much. Although RLiT wasn't the most enjoyable reading experience for me, I did learn quite a bit. I'm not saying I disliked the novel but, it's not the typical genera that I gravitate towards.




To more current topics, our final paper. I would be lying if I said I was confident. Although I feel as if I have learned much and made huge leaps in my writing skill, I'm not looking forward to this paper. It looks a bit daunting to be honest. It will be challenging but much more satisfying when I do well on it! I do wish that I would have utilized the writing center quite a bit more, well, used it at all. I think since this was an online class it might have been helpful to have someone look at my work, just to make sure it was top notch. Mostly I should have probably gone over there to have my works cited page proofread. I’m most defiantly going to utilize that resource with this up coming paper!



All in all I would have to say everything I have done thus far in this course has greatly helped my writing skill. I knew I had major flaws that needed to be worked on and I’m fairly confident that much of my writing has improved, which is what I set out to do with this class.

My RLiT Take-Away

I have to start by saying of all the reading material that was required for this course this was the one I was least excited about. I gave it a try and become a little addicted to it. Started reading it every chance that I could. I liked the fact that this is a first person account of how another part of the world lives, especially in the Middle East. We seem to receive a lot of information that is speculative on this region and it was refreshing to hear a few stories from the source. The main thing that I took away from reading this novel was the theme of basic freedoms. I look at the differences between those who don't have their freedoms and how they will fight to the death for them and how we, the people of the United States have become complacent with theirs. I think we can all take a lesson from the Iran situation. You know when people say, "You never know what you've got til it's gone?" I think this sum the topic up nicely. All they wanted to do was read books, classics, they wanted to learn. They weren't allowed, so they did it in hiding, in secret. That's how badly they thirsted for knowledge, here; we ban books for much of the same reasons. I encourage you to look at the banned book list for the last 10 years or so. Then look at the reasons why they were banned, I think it may be a shocker to you. This is just an example of how we take what we have for granted and have become increasingly less vigilant in our defense of these rights. It wasn't too terribly long ago that our country went through much bloodshed to acquire these rights that we take for granted today. Millions of people died, lives were destroyed, but what came from all that was wonderful. We are now faced with a challenge; we are in the age of information. Every kid, teenager, and adult has their face glued to a glowing screen of some kind or tweeting about their unimportant lives while there are important changes going on in our world. It makes me sick to see people who are totally uninformed about rights that they will readily take away because they were too busy on their favorite news source, TMZ. I am being syndical, but it comes from a real place and a real fear. Reading this book should be a wake-up call to everyone, take part in your democracy or lose it. It's real simple, I feel we're riding the coattails of those before us; we have to power to do great things, let's not waste it tweeting about what we had for lunch or facebooking. 

Free Speech

So, I'm in charge when a known hate group is invited to speak at my school, what would I do? Do I allow them or deny them the right to speak? I know they are going to speak inflammatory words which are half-truths at best. I know there will be no educational value what so ever, and on that ground I would have denied them. Yes, this would be revoking their freedom of speech or their First Amendment. I have long been a believer that you give your right to speak freely the second you abuse that right to spew hate and fear mongering. At the least, you have to have some semblance of truth to your words. I do not think hate speech should be protected under our first amendment. As I stated prior, there is rarely any educational value to their words and are only used to incite fear of the differences we have. I feel there is no place for this kind of speech, especially in the hot climate this country is in. You have to take into account the history of this country and the wound that racisms and slavery have left. We are attempting to move past that, to truly become a "colorblind" country. I think when we allow this hate speech to be spoken it only deepens the wound which would be moving backwards, and that isn’t the direction we want to go.




There would probably be a lawsuit. It would be ironic because the ACLU would probably be called on to defend a racist, which I find amusing. I think we need to stop being so giving with the right to free speech. There is no place in our society for false and inflammatory speech; there is simply no reason to even acknowledge it. We must get out of this age of disinformation. There are so many outlets for unverified information out there and people do not take the time to decipher it for themselves, they just take what they hear as the truth. This is why we have people walking around talking about all these crazy things regarding President Obama. It just boggles my mind that in a supposed advanced society we still fall for these tricks.



Now, I’m not sure I want free speech restricted thought. There would have to be some pretty stringent guidelines that defined a hate group or hate speech. It would have to be devoid of any and all educational content. It would also have to be verified that it indeed was false information and the only reason for it was to incite fear or violence. These are fairly basic ideas but I think you’ll get the point. We must defend this right that has been fought over for hundreds of years, we should not let it be compromised without fully exploring the ramifications. But, I do think the damage that hate speech does is very sever and is slowing the progress of this country out of the racial quagmire it is in.

Happiness

When I first read this prompt, I quickly began writing. I sat and looked over my work and deleted all of it. I'm going to take a different approach on this essay. I'm going to talk about Abraham Maslow. Maybe you know who he is by his "Hierarchy of Needs". In it he describes what motivates individuals, from base needs to self-actualization. It starts with the most basic of all needs, breathing, sleeping, sex, eating and the sort. Next tier is safety. Employment, self, family, morals all fall under the safety tier. Third tier is love and belonging. Forth tier is one of the important ones for the sake of this essay, esteem. In other words, self-respect. We'll get back to this after the fifth tier, which is self-actualization. This means, morality, creativity, acceptance of facts among others. We're interested in the last two. From this we can surmise that self-respect comes before happiness. Happiness is a relatively new phenomenon. It is also very subjective, as everyone has their own opinion on what makes them happy. Before one can be happy, one must have self-respect, according to Maslow. Happiness on the other hand comes only after one has figured out how to survive, become secure, become loved and feel like they belong, have self-respect, then and only then can they become truly happy.




As I stated before, happiness is an individual act. For the vast majority of you happiness will revolve around some external item. Be it money, material items, or the phrase "I'll be happy once I......Insert random thing that will make you "happy". For the most part, those of you whose happiness revolves around something external, well, it will always elude you. Your happiness will last about as long as it takes your neighbor to get a new car or a pool. Once your friend goes on a more extravagant vacation, the happiness you once had will fade, and the journey to find happiness will start once again. This is why, as some philosophers say, happiness is internal. Someone who is happy will have peace of mind, or have solace in the fact that “God” loves them. These are examples of the vast minorities view on happiness. Most of you will think money will make you happy. It’s easy to think that, we’re brainwashed into thinking that, but do some thinking of your own. Realize that we are insatiable and that if you bank your happiness on external items such as cars and houses, you’re only fooling yourself. So, to summarize, you must have self-respect to become truly "happy". Happiness is a new phenomenon and is an individual feeling that can only be described by that particular individual. An attempt to homogenize the word is doing a disservice to what a wonderful feeling true happiness can be.

Father and Son

In the beginning the relationship I had with my father was in a sense nonexistent. You see, my father had a very high profile position at Warner Brothers in Burbank. This required him to leave home very early in the morning. When he would come home the last thing he wanted to do was talk about the problems the rest of the family was having. This made our relationship more of a business type instead of a classic father son type. You also have to understand my dad is extremely intellectual. He had an answer for everything but followed his answer with a though provoking question. Growing up, this was a very daunting task, knowing that this is the standard that I would be measured by. This made communication very rare, even thought he never gave me reason, I feared communication with him. Maybe it was the prospect of asking a less than academic question or maybe it was not having an answer to a question that he would pose. This was obviously while he was working. My dad retired at age fifty. Our communication instantly changed. When I woke up he was always in the kitchen drinking his cup of coffee and reading the L.A. Times. He was accessible and suddenly interested. He wanted to know how baseball was going for me. He had only seen a handful of games over my twenty year career. Maybe he was guilty for time lost, maybe he was just finally stress free. All I know is through communication our relationship became solid. Granted, things like baseball games or even movies together were rare, we have something more. Through communication he became the professor of life for me. Now I look forward to waking up to discuss recent political events or just ponder life with him. Though we had our communication barriers when I was younger, they are now no where in sight and have no hint of ever returning. This is how I feel communication took a potentially disastrous relationship between a father and a son and turned it into one of the most positive learning environments one could ever hope for. I hope everyone can experience a great relationship with a family member like I have. I encourage everyone to open the lines of communication up, do not be shy or bashful, you will regret it in the end, I know I would have.

Not So Foreign Language, Understanding.

Should colleges and universities require students to have completed some study of a foreign language as a graduation requirement? I think they should. I feel this is a wonderful idea, although it is already employed, and should be kept. Taking a foreign language isn't about learning the language as much as it is learning about other cultures and other people. How their society works and what the societal norms are. Don't get me wrong; knowing the language can help you in many ways. It's an extra credential potential employers will look at. It can help you communicate more efficiently with the ever diversifying demographic of the United States. I know some people have the mindset of "This is America, speak... well English!", we all know people like this, and let me be the first one to say, these people probably do not have the benefit of a high school education, so what they say really holds no water. Yes, this is America, and we have all run into situations where we had a language barrier. Instead of getting angry and ethnocentric about it, learn from the situation. Use it as a spring board to get to know the other people of this world, believe it or not, the United States isn't the center of the universe, there are other people out there! Shocking for some I know, but those who have realized this and adjusted to it are more successful because of it. To remain an isolationist in this day in age is not only detrimental to your possibilities of earning an income, but it just makes you sound so uneducated and disrespectful. By requiring college students to finish a course of a foreign language we will begin to churn out people who have respect for the rest of the world. You see, we fear what we do not know. So why not learn? Who wants to fear everything? Why not live a happy life, carefree? It truly isn’t that difficult if you think about it. It's funny that those who are the most fearful are also the most undedicated and unadjusted to the "new world" for lack of a better term. We could solve a lot of our problems by taking the time to learn about our neighbors, familiarize ourselves with their culture as they do ours. Then, maybe, the next time you have a language barrier come up at work or at a restaurant; you won't lash out and say "This is America, why don't they speak our language!" Instead, first, you may know the language which may lead to better deals and perks for showing respect, second if you do not know the language you can at least make an effort to try and understand. That's the moral of the story, try and understand where others are coming from, like I said, the world doesn't revolve around the United States; there are other people out there. So, to tie this all together, yes, I do think the current requirement for graduating students to take a foreign language course is appropriate. I think it challenges you in more ways than just academically and actually does make you a more well rounded and understanding person.

#1 Shoes.

Alright, I am going to give this my best attempt here. I will be giving a positive and a negative response to shoes. This is to answer question number one on page 140. This is a fake analysis by the way.

This would be my positive section.
My shoes are so comfortable. I must have had these shoes for ages now. I’ve had them so long that they are nice and broken in; you don’t even need to tie them if you don’t want to. You just slip them on and you can't even feel a thing it’s like walking on air! They are so stylish too. Heck, today people pay big bucks for holes in their clothing, mine, well they’re free. I think they look quite vintage. It's funny, I actually bought these shoes from Ross, they were only ten dollars, what a steal right?! Anyway, they actually have very good ankle support since they have so many holes for your laces to go through. Since they have all those lace loops and all that ankle support they are idea when I go to my local park to shoot some hoops with my friends. You can’t beat the color either, I’ve actually never seen another pair of shoes like them, they’re colored a totally unique color of purple. People defiantly notice me when I wear these shoes! I think I’ll have these shoes the rest of my life they’re that comfortable!

This would be the negative section to my shoes.
These shoes are awful. I’ve had them so long I can’t even remember where I bought them. I went to put them on the other day and they had no arch support, they were just so floppy, like a wet noodle. Oh and don’t even get me started on lacing them up. I might as well dedicate an hour to lacing my shoes up. They have holes from the bottom to the very top, which gets quite annoying doing it every day. I went to play some basketball the other day with a few friends, when I got there I went to change my shoes. It took me about 10 minutes to put the darn things on. My friends looked at me like it was time to get a new pair of shoes. It’s not like they’re nice shoes anyway, I bought them for ten dollars and they weren’t even on sale. No one sells quality things that cheap. They’re so worn out too. They have holes all over them, if I was to walk in the rain, my feet would be soaked! Don’t even get me started on the Barney purple, it’s horrid. I don’t know what possessed me to buy these things; the deep purple should have warded me off. When I put these things on people just stop and stare at me like I am a crazy person for going out in public like this. These are the worst shoes I have ever had and I can not wait to get another pair!

That was my attempt. Hope it makes sense and is correct!

Status-Quo

This will be a response to question #3 on Pg. 555.

The current even that I chose to use it actually quite current. I’m sure most of you are aware that President Obama gave a speech to congress last night. In the speech he discussed healthcare. As you know we are in the middle of shaking up the status-quo. Let me first answer the question posed by the text. I believe this fits in with theme of the section because like most of the other pieces, this too is a call to action. This is a chance for average people to stand up and be heard. Like Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was a call to action by those sitting in silence as the atrocities of the civil rights movement raged on. Like Elie Weisel's speech denouncing indifference. Condemning it as thought it was as if you had personally pulled the trigger. I feel this was the same sentiment as in President Obama's speech last night.

Obama's speech last night was a call to throw out the status-quo and make a change. We all know that there is a problem with our healthcare system, though many Americans turn a blind eye. We have upwards of 47 million people living in the United States. The status-quo says just leave it. Let these people suffer without the ability to get quality medical care. Let them go bankrupt because their medical bills drown them. Let them be denied because of their "pre-existing" condition. What then is healthcare for? The healthy? The status-quo must be changed according to President Obama.

The long term effects of this speech will hopefully be a healthcare system with a public option. We will no longer be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. We will hold healthcare companies responsible for their actions. Out of pocket expenses will go down. Hopefully healthcare will be for everyone, not just for the healthy or the wealthy.

I have personally been a victim of the horrendous "healthcare" system that the United States has. I will give you a synopsis of my story. I had just turned 22 years old; I was going to be dropped from my parent’s coverage. It was time for me to get my own healthcare plan. So I did what most people would do, re apply with the insurer that you had previously. I applied with Kaiser. I went through all their questions. Then came the dreaded "BMI". For those who don't know BMI stands for Body Mass Index. What it basically does lumps everyone in to categories decided by how their weight and height match up. I lift weights, I eat very well, I do not smoke, and only vary rarely have a drink. I was denied stating that I was far too over weight and had a pre existing condition, high blood pressure. I am five foot eight and one-hundred and ninety pounds. I am 8% body fat, but, yet by their standards I am obese. I was denied coverage. So, when it comes to the healthcare debate I am very passionate. I am not indifferent and I will not remain on the sidelines. This will affect everyone, and we should all have a say. Albeit something factual and educated please no town hall outbursts.

Indifference.

First off I would like to say that this letter was very moving. This is the first time that I had read it and I am better for reading it. I felt as if I was standing at some massive rally with thousands of people as I read it. He wrote it with such passion and vision. It is quite an amazing work if you ask me. When Dr. King talks about the "good people" passively watching as atrocities are being committed it reminded me of Benjamin from "Animal Farm". He was a classic example of someone who was "indifferent" to what was happening. Although he could read and was among the smartest of the working class animals, he neglected to assist his peers in their struggles with an oppressive government. This would be the same for what Dr. King calls "white moderates". They sat in silence or said that the timing is wrong, just wait a little longer. They made remarks about how African Americans would get civil rights soon enough, it's inevitable. These are forms of indifference. They had a chance to make a difference but chose to follow the status-quo. In my eyes these people are as bad as those committing the crimes. Would you tell your child to watch as the bully beat up on of his/her classmates? I don't think so. You would tell them to help that person. You would say that by standing there and watching, you may as well be throwing the punches. History does not look kindly upon those who were faced with a challenge to overcome and chose inaction or silence. Dr. King recognized this and played to the hearts and minds of the "white moderate".

As in Elie Weisel's speech, he too discusses indifference at great lengths. Again this was a very moving speech. He basically elaborated on indifference. I found it interesting that he used the United States as an example. He discussed the St. Louis and how its Jewish passengers were turned back to Europe and had their fates sealed. He discussed how American businessmen continued to do business with Germany until 1942. He discusses how the Nazi war machine could not have survived was it not for American oil. These are amazing displays of indifference. Only until the United States interests were in jeopardy did we decide that it was time to take action. What does this say about us? That we were so isolationist during this time that we did not enter a major conflict where millions were dying because it had not affected us yet; this is a prime case of indifference. This history of indifference will continue into the civil rights movement. This is where Dr. King discusses those who see the murder, the haltered, and the racism every day but chose to stand idly by. The American history of indifference continues even today with "illegal immigrants" and the healthcare debate. Hopefully we can look past our own self interest and finally become human.

Power of Language

I believe that language is a crucial part of freedom of anyone who has lived and not been free. Language is a building block of Democracy. To many around the world a democracy is synonymous with freedom. In the United States we have a democracy and we also posses many freedoms that others do not have. Another key to democracy is literacy, and to become literate one must be fluent in their language. Without language and literacy we are doomed like the poor Animals in "Animal Farm". They lacked what was needed most, literacy. They were like puppets on a string, able to be pulled any which way the wind blew them because they had no way to know they were being used. Why do despot governments burn books and fear the scholars. Not because they have bullets or tanks. Not because they command a large air force or nuclear bombs. They posses something much stronger, the ability to communicate an ideal through language.

When I read the topic of the question I immediately thought of Gandhi and the British Empire. Gandhi did not posses an army of large numbers. Quite the contrary, Gandhi used his words and his actions to help India gain its independence. This is a perfect example of how language as a form of diplomacy can save lives and get accomplished what needed to be without firing a bullet. On the other hand, we look at the build up to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The language used by our former president Bush had the opposite effect. It enflamed our enemy, uniting them against a common enemy, America. I believe this is a perfect example of how language can also be detrimental to peace efforts. A few words out of context or said in anger can leave a lasting impression on a group of people and forever change their opinion.

We must take heed in these lessons of the past. Language is a powerful tool for freedom, but it can also be the chains that bind us if not used properly. Many of us have lived through situations where we had wished we used our language in a different way. Maybe our tone was a little too demanding; maybe we said nothing at all when all that was needed were a few kind words. We must respect language for it has been a driving force for much good in the world, but it has also been the reason for much of the divide in our country. We have an opportunity for our voice to reach every person on this planet, let us make sure we are thinking before we speak, because it may be a few ill fated words that will become our manacles for the key will be lost in translation.

#5

The power of writing. My initial thought when I heard the topic of this blog entry was the quote "The pen is mightier than the sword". So, I think I’ll write a little story about how this became true in my life. When I was younger, around the age of 15 or so, I wasn't very big. I was probably a solid 125 pounds and a compact five foot five. Not very big for your average high school freshman. Aside from the fact that I was on the smaller side of the students in my class, I didn't look intimidating. I had braces, didn't wear very cool clothing, just an all around dork I guess you could say. You can probably see where this is going. Just like in an after school special, yes, I too was picked on ferociously by not just upper classmen but students in my own grade as well. They would call me names; push me around, just the normal high school bully routine. This just wasn't going to work. I had just started school, life was already hell and I hadn't been there for more than a few months. I knew I couldn't compete with these bigger guys on a physical level; they were just too overpowering, and often congregated in large groups! I chose to use the only advantage I had, my speaking ability.

I started talking to my aggressors. I would ask them questions about why they would torture me, what I had done to them to make them act like they were towards me. Surprisingly, they would just lose their steam, eventually, after a long enough stall with my questions, it seems as if they had lost their interest in picking on me and walked away. From this point on I became more of a nuisance and a drag to beat up than an enjoyment for these kids. They would hate hearing my lectures and questions so much that I would be left alone for the most part. This is when I knew that the pen really is mightier than the sword. I was able to diffuse many situations, some not even directed at me by using language. I was able to calm friends when they became angry at one another. I was able to make two parties see the others point of view without having to raise a fist. With my use of language to calm hostile situations I have to this day never been in a physical altercation. I have been able to talk my way out of countless situations, where another person who is less skilled in speaking would have given in and thrown a punch.

Through this exploration in the giant benefits of language I have also found a profession that I love. One of my dreams is to become a journalist. I believe that through language and a common dialogue we can solve many of the problems that we face today. I believe that much of the hatred in this world comes from a lack of understanding, a lack of a common language. The way I see it, if I was able to escape high school without ever having to have thrown a punch, we can surely have a far less aggressive stance towards other people.

Critical Thinking and You!

My relationship with critical thinking has recently been on the rocks. Every day I read the L.A. Times. As I sat and read one morning not two weeks ago I began to wonder. I wondered if life would be easier if I just didn't care what was going on. Would I be less stressed out, would I enjoy life more? Would I agree with people who say the a National Health Care System will "pull the plug" on my aging grandmother, and not go crazy and call these people every expletive under the sun. Life became more and more stressful for me, especially during the presidential election of 2008. One would think that since we are in the "information" age (A.K.A. The Dis-Information Age) that we would be able to sift through the crazy talk and get to the bottom the issue or debate. Seems this isn't the case. I mean, if people took 20 minutes away from watching their "American Idol", or "Dancing with the Stars" I truly believe that we would be in a far better situation than we are now. To have a working, successful democracy people need to be informed and at least have a general idea of what the ramifications are if they vote either way. This is why I believe critical thinking should be a skill that everyone should learn and master early on in life.

I began to critically think around the election of 2000. I asked my dad how people can just believe someone without asking any questions when it is so blatant that he/she is lying through their teeth! He told me they aren't critical thinkers, they are sheep. Their lives consist of waking up, going to work, eating dinner, going to bed. The news they do get is from "shock jocks" trying to get the best ratings by dividing people on the most basic levels. Now, this is just a generalization, but I understood the example he was giving. From then on I began to question everything. I questioned what I read in textbooks, what I heard from politicians, and especially what cable news said. I began a personal quest to become as critical a thinker as I possibly could. This leads us to current time. A time when I believe that critical thinking is at an all time low. Unfortunately from what I see and read, people are willing to believe anyone who promises them the moon. This is quite a scary outlook if you ask me, but, that's just the critical thinker in me. Anyway, on to what I believe this class can and will do for me and my passion for writing.

I believe this class will help me organize my many thoughts and put them down on paper as one cohesive idea that flows from beginning to end. I truly hope this class will heighten my ability to be a critical thinker. Most of all, I want this class to teach me to refine my writing skill so that when I write people will listen. That is, if people still read in the future.