Post your final posts in here!
Remember that these posts should be about something you feel VERY strong about. It doesn't need to be a topic we discussed in class (while that would fine) but it does need to be controversial. It could even be a post about another Final Post that you read...perhaps taking the opposite point of view.
They need to be a minimum of five paragraphs long...but there is no maximum.
Have a great summer!
Sara Jade
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For my final post I would like to discuss my topic on the American History X about race. American History X has affected me by seeing how many races or cultures hated each other so bad that they wanted just destroy each other just for the power for own their race.
ReplyDeleteIn the film “American History X” the white people and the black people wouldn’t get along because they both wanted power for the own race and they will do anything and I mean anything to get the respect and power. They would even kill other person so they can have respect and power for their race. The white people would looked up to Hitler and followed what he did to the Jewish people and the white people would use that method the same way to punished the black people in the film.
Even today there are still hates for other races out there but people don’t see it because they just keep it to themselves but in their heart and soul they hate the other race or person with a passion. I think that if everyone will get along and shared and don’t be stingy then chaos wouldn’t happen. Like the ending of the movie it said, “Life is too short to be pissed off all the times, it’s just not worth it.”
I think people who are racist need love in their life they should know that love starts with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a tear. Don't cry over anyone who won't cry over you. Good Friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget. You can only go as far as you push. Actions speak louder than words. The hardest thing to do is watch the one you love, love somebody else.
Don't let the past hold you back, you're missing the good stuff. Life's too short. If you don't look around once in a while you might miss it. A best friend is like a four leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have. Some people make the world special just by being in it. Best friends are the siblings God forgot to give us. When it hurts to look back, and you're scared to look ahead, you can look beside you and your best friend will be there. True friendship never ends. Friends are forever. Good friends are like stars you don't always see them, but you know they are always there. Don't frown. You never know who is falling in love with your smile.
What do you do when the only person who can make you stop crying is the person who made you cry? Nobody is perfect until you fall in love with them. Everything is okay in the end. If it's not okay, then it's not the end. Most people walk in and out of your life, but only friends’ leave footprints in your heart.
My point being is that just don’t hate others because by hating others you hateing yourself from the inside, so give them a second chance because no one is perfect in this lifetime.
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ReplyDeleteI work for a large insurance company here in Utah and I get frustrated with the ignorance of the majority of people who have insurance, and feel that it is someone else’s job to understand their plan. That it is just the insurance companies to blame for the rising costs of care. Healthcare costs in the U.S. have gone up from about $1100 per person per year in 1980 to nearly $7900 today. Medical advances during this time deliver value but don’t match with the risings costs that push our insurance rates beyond what most of us can afford. 15% of people in Utah are un-insured and 77% of them are in families with at least one full time worker.
ReplyDeleteSo why do costs continue to rise? Personal Habits, high rate of use, technology, and mis-use by doctors and patients just to name a few. Our individual choices increase the cost of insurance for everyone. Tobacco and second hand smoke (I am not picking on anyone here I just quit smoking 4 months ago and it is a bitch) kill 450,000 people in the U.S. each year and sicken millions, costing $96 BILLION in lost productivity. Obesity and the side effects from it cost an estimated $117 billion a year! Chronic diseases (often preventable) take 75 cents of each health care dollar.
Few realize the small copayment for whatever procedure they have just received in reality can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. Most patients only pay a small portion of the actual charge. As these costs rise employers are picking up the difference in premiums , this keeps wages level, and really just makes us as consumers less aware of true cost.
People tend to think more is better, not true with getting care. According to a recent Dartmouth College study, the U.S. spends $500 BILLION dollars annually on medical care that wasn’t needed. And because most of us are lazy about getting involved in our own healthcare and educating ourselves 43% of us have a chance of undergoing a medical test at our next visit that isn’t necessary.
Technology; more costs more! Hearts, knees, and hips are replaced every day. Medical advances offer a lot of life-enhancing and saving benefits, but it all costs $$$. The U.S. has more medical equipment per person that the average in developed countries by 1/3 these machines cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. We get MRI’s when an x-ray would do, doctors are in it for the money (ok not all of them), we have to be aware of our options!
Speaking of shady doctors, did you guys know that a couple of years ago in California there were several plastic surgeons sending their nurses out to nail and hair salons to rent patients? This drove insurance costs through the roof! Their sneaky little scheme was to get a patient to agree to a colonoscopy in their office, where they would be rewarded with a free plastic surgery of their choice. What the doctors were doing was billing a procedure code for a much more expensive colonoscopy than the one they had preformed. They were paid almost $10,000 for a fairly simple outpatient procedure, giving the patient their free nose job/boob job or what have you and then pocketing a huge profit. It happens every day doctors bill for an “obstructive sleep apnea” as the diagnosis for a nose job, knowing that the insurance will only pay for it, if it is medically necessary. All of this drives premiums out of this world.
Live healthy, educate yourself about health insurance, and don’t go to the ER when you are not in an emergency!!! Out of control health care costs are threatening our entire economy we all have to take a part in understanding what we can do to help.
There is a few things that I am going to mention in this final blog regarding what has gone one this semester.
ReplyDeleteFirst thing I feel really strong about is the movie we watched about Jesus Christ. How can anyone feel or even try to understand what he went through. First of all he was prophesied about long before he came to this world. He knew what his purpose from the beginning. It just didn't all of a sudden land on him that he was the messiah.
That movie was probable the worst movie I saw this semester. I can't even begin how someone could and would want to try and understand what Jesus was going through. Most of all he has never sinned and can't and will not ever. He is the best example to follow, most of all because he is the strongest person I know that has ever lived and is living today.
Another thing that gets to me was the movie American History X. I don't know how someone can be so mean and ugly to another race. To the point of killing or even disfiguring mankind. Racism is an ugly topic and a real thing that goes on all over the world. The thing that gets me the most regarding this in our own country. Is that this country was built upon immigration of different races that wanted to get away for issues like this from their home country. People need to understand that we are all made of the same things when it comes down to it.
Also there were a few movies that depicted Mormons in a way that I felt distasteful. It seems that the TV network HBO has something against them. They are always coming out with different movies regarding the way Mormons live and think. Most of all trying to understand our Christian religion, at the same time not really knowing what we believe in. There is a real misunderstand regarding the LDS faith and what kind of people they are.
Yes we all have problems regarding sexuality if it be straight or not. It is a personal topic, which each individual has to learn what is right and what is wrong for themselves. The movie that I am mentioning was one that depicted this and was a very evil and psychotic movie. Yes it was interesting but I don’t know why they had to depict a Mormon man struggling with this problem, when they could have easily pick a strong Catholic or any other Christian religion. There were some things in the movie that shouldn’t have been in the movie regarding the LDS faith that is sacred to us that shouldn’t have been in a movie. This is one of the reasons I feel that HBO has something against the LDS faith or is trying to get a message across regarding them.
Over all this class was full of mind opening topics and views regarding life and what is going on in our world.
Religion is such heated debate. Everyone thinks their religion is true. Many wars have been fought in the name of religion. Will people ever stop thinking they are better than those who don’t believe in their religion? I don’t think so but, I have hope.
ReplyDeleteHatred is everywhere and unfortunately pushed from generation to generation. People believe things they hear instead of picking up a book to search for answers. If a religion is so true why then should it be pushed on others, wouldn’t one be drawn to its teachings?
I remember when I could not find a car pool in my neighborhood to be in simply because my family wasn’t religious. This happens far too often. Is this what some people want others to view church goers as? Will we ever remember to judge no one, even those who don’t believe what you do?
I am not saying that everyone in a religion is bad, what I am saying is watch how you treat other people. Remember a person can be good regardless of what religion they are; they can have the same goals and aspirations as you. No one should constantly have to defend their beliefs. Who is to say what religion is true?
Remember that sometimes your beliefs are based on childhood teachings. Question why you believe what you do and never stop questioning. Except others and remember that everyone has something to contribute to make you a better person.
Everyone deserves equal rights. We still treat gays, lesbians, transsexual, and even transgender different. I don’t know why we do that.
ReplyDeleteI have and uncle he’s gay, I grew up with him and I hung out with him since I was little. I never had a problem with him. He never turned me gay like some uneducated people think will happen and I didn’t turn him straight. He was gay since he was a child and he was really happy and funnier than most people. He is still funnier than most people. I feel bad for him because he hides sometimes who he is from people. The reason is because he doesn’t like to be treated different. Imagine how that makes him feel. It seems that wherever I work I seen certain people criticizing the gay community and anybody that’s different. This wasn’t an issue at all back in ancient Greece, in Caesars Rome, and other civilizations like the Inca. These civilizations didn’t mistreat any one that was different; they just gave them a task that fits them. They were able to do more stuff like kiss in public and not be judged by anyone. It was not judged upon because society considered it a normal occurrence. We may call these civilizations barbaric but they were more educated about these issues than what we are right now. Hopefully we can see each other as individuals and get over our biases.
The topic that I would like to discuss is the portrayal of the human body that society and Hollywood has created and/or depicted; in other words pornography.
ReplyDeleteIn many of the movies we have watched throughout this semester there have been several clips that I would consider some of the most distasteful and offensive scenes I have ever seen. There were many a time that I would have to just lower my head because I did not want to submit myself to view such images and actions. I call it pornography because it is practically one in the same. The way that society portrays sexual intimacy and the human body is really disgusting. I think those types of things are very personal and should be kept sacred; not displayed for the whole world to see.
Throughout history Hollywood and the major film makers have lowered the standards for movies. The boundaries have changed quite drastically and more and more are slipping through the cracks. Take for instance profanity- you would have never heard the F-bomb laid in a movie of the older days, but now there isn't a show (besides maybe rated G and PG shows) that don't have that word in it. You have to wonder what else movies will let slip by?
I feel so strongly about this topic because I have seen the way that pornography can tear a person and their life apart. I have had many friends that have chosen to submit themselves to these types of things and they get addicted to some pretty disgusting lifestyles. Families are torn apart everyday because of pornography and other related issues. It is something that is happening all around us. It is something you can't run from, but should try and avoid.
Anyways, I just think that measures should be taken in order to minimize the types of media that we are exposed to everyday. Yes, I know that everyone has a choice and I'm not trying to judge anyone but I think that when we are viewing these things all around us then it becomes a part of us- this is something I do not want a part of, however, and I hope that Hollywood will do something to higher the standards of their films and media.
Tipping
ReplyDeleteOk people tipping is not a hard concept, if you go out to eat make sure you can cover the meal and the tip. I am a server and I make really good money for only working twenty hours a week but it would be even better if I made more.
As a server I know if I have given good service or not, or if I have ignored a table or made a table mad. If you are a server and can’t tell this then you suck as a server. Serving is a fun job but it can also be extremely stressful most people don’t realize or care that they are not the only table in the restaurant, if you need something and are being a complete dumb ass I will forget it. But if you say “When you get a second….” That will probably be the first thing I do. Just remember if you are nice to me then I will be nice back.
Now on to tipping! Just for the people who didn’t know the cost of living and minimum wage has gone up 10% is not a good tip it is a shitty one. In most restaurants the server has to tip people out. I am not saying you have to tip everyone in the store but 10 % is a bad tip. I love it when I hear the classic line “I give God 10% what makes you think you deserve more?” and my response to you is I am real, I have bills, and you are not giving 10% to God you are giving to the business that you call church. Please do not write “great service” on the bill then leave 10% the verbal tip does not pay rent.
Racism, what the h---? Who in their right minds thinks its right to be racist? Who!? Because there is seriously something wrong with you if you do. Of all the things to be, being racist seriously has the least plausible reason backing it up. The only thing I can see driving this demoralizing force is hatred, nothing else! Not intelligence, not reason, not logic, nothing except straight up hatred fueled by what I like to call stupidity. Hatred for an individual leads to hatred from that individual which then leads to more and more hatred for each other and those around them that will eventually lead to this guy versus this guy and this guy killing this guy. Physics proves to us that the most effective way to stop a 500 pound boulder from rolling a hill is to simply not let it start rolling; in other words, stop it at the source. How about we just cut this racism crap off at the source, and simply, stop hating! It is our own personal opinion about something or someone that leads us to establishing hatred, and since it is our own, it should be easy to control, right? We all have control over our bodies; we choose what to say, what to do, when to eat, and when to move. It should be cake sauce (very very easy) to stop hating and being racist, but I guess some are just too incompetent to do so.
ReplyDeleteRacism, as far as I can tell, has been infecting human intellect ever since the first human that lost some competition felt offended because he was getting beat at something. That self-impose feeling of offense led him to hatred, and then that hatred led him to seek retaliation and so on until some fight broke out. Then each side brought their peeps, and ever since that confrontation, each side had this little knack for the other side. Notice that the origin I think attributed to racism didn’t specifically start because of color or race, the racial part I feel was an added agent to the growth of racism; an added agent that sparked a LOT of hatred, so much that the color became a dominant reason behind that stupid mentality. It’s just an idea, however, nothing proven or real, but with it perhaps those ignorant racist can better understand their mental illness. I say that because some are so hardwired into hating that they just hate not really knowing why or caring why. This brings me to my next point (the first being what I believe the origin of racism to be), racism today.
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Humans have become less and less humble today than say, 150 years ago. This is easy to see by the way we take running water, paved roads, electricity, and Wal-Mart for granted. Yeah, good old Wal-Mart… I’m serious though, we often forget that in the old days you couldn’t go to Jimmy’s Store and get gas, food, toys, nail clippers, electronics, and clothes all at the same time. We are all greatly benefited by this massive company. I’m not saying it’s bad, oh no, I love Wal-Mart! I mention it simply to prove how we take so many things for granted. I say that to then show that because of it, more and more people start feeling empowered to defend themselves over menial things. Take road rage for example. Some guy cuts you off and all of sudden you feel like you have to punish him for jumping into YOUR lane. So you speed off chasing this supposed delinquent. You catch him, flip him off, he flips you off, you notice he’s not of the same race, you get caught in traffic, lose him, and then feel that him, or rather his race, is all stupid and crazy. Now you tell me who is the crazy one, the guy that was trying to what, catch a light and accidentally cutting some guy off, or the guy that sped down the highway going 100 simply wanting to do something to the guy that cut him off? It’s all stupid because they think they own the highway and have a right to driving in their lane. Heaven forbid some you just so wander off into that guy’s lane and ignite some heated flame in him that’ll make you feel like cattle in a rodeo. It’s just stupid how today some people get mad over the simplest of things, and it’s from those things that racism often start. That small little incident leads to hatred on multiple levels. Say the guy that was doing the cutting-off was Mexican, that guy getting cutting off now thinks of Mexican’s as crazy punk drivers. Then that leads to more and more assumption, and bam, the guy is a racist.
ReplyDeleteNow for my final point, the future of racism. It should be eradicated and destroyed (at least I feel that it should), but we all know that won’t happen. People are too stubborn to change, too stubborn to learn from the past and see how evil and depressing racism was. It’s plaguing our society today, and if we don’t learn to accept each other’s differences, the future is not going to change from what it is today. As humans, I feel we can improve ten-fold as a society if we simply learn to stop hating and learn to appreciate each other. Yeah, it sounds cheesy, but hey, tell me it’s wrong. A loving society beats a ravaging, ran-sacking society any day. I’m not saying we should all sit down and sing kumbaya, no, but we should at least stop this resentment and learn to understand other’s opinions and view on life. It can only help.
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Organized religion is a crutch. It's a way for people to feel what their doing is the right by going to a place where everyone else believes the same thing. I don't need a building to worship my God. He is in my heart and actions everyday by the way I treat others and myself. I don't need to have someone else telling me what to believe.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that almost every church has in common is that they believe their's is right and everyone else's is wrong. I just don't understand how people think it's logical that God would say "sorry I know you were a good person and did many great things for the world but you didn't join the right church." Come on, seriously? If that were the case then by LDS standards Mother Theresa wouldn't go to the "highest level of heaven", And then Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley wouldn't go to heaven because he wasn't Catholic. I just think it's ridiculous.
Religion is a way to control the masses. They say it's ok if you're gay but you just can't practice it. I was always taught that God knows what is in our hearts so if that's the case wouldn't it be pointless to try and pretend you're not gay when God knows it anyway? I just have a hard time believing that a God that made such a beautiful and miraculous world would turn away a good and kind person just because they're gay. I think God created certain people to be gay to try and teach the ignorant assholes of the world how to accept differences. I know people that have never been a part of the LDS religion at all and smoke and drink and are also gay and they are still better people than the majority of the people I know that practice organized religion. For some reason people seem to think that because they are part of "the one true church" it gives them the right to be ignorant self-righteous jerks and yet they will still get a one way ticket into heaven because of the church they joined.
All organized religion does is separate people. Forces people to judge others and segregate each other based on their belief system without even knowing them. I can't even say how many times my parents "advised me" not to see certain people because they weren't LDS. They used to say you need to date and be friends with people you would want to marry. In my mind that's exactly what I did by deciding not to care about religion at all. I would be missing out on so many good people and experiences if I told myself someone else wasn't as good as me because they belong to a different religion. After all this ranting though I do have to say that I know there are those few people who don't let organized religion and their family brainwash them. They use religion to help focus their faith and give them something specific to believe in. I think it's great for those people. But I'm tired of being judged because I have tattoos and piercings and I smoke, drink, and swear. It's like they think I'm spitting at God. What it means is that I don't need organized religion to have faith in something or to worship God. I can be myself without anyone dictating what I should be and I can still be spiritual and have faith in my God and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He doesn't think ill of me or judge me because I've chosen a different lifestyle other than all the cattle of the world.
To sum everything up I just think everyone should find their own God and their own faith. God isn't any one person or thing, he is whoever or whatever you want Him to be. People need to take off their blindfolds and look at the world and make their own choices. Even if it's hard and it hurts and it takes a long time. To me that's better than wasting my whole life believing something that someone else told me. Grow up and decide for yourself, make your own choice instead of relying on someone else to do it.
I do want to start by saying that there was sex, violence, profanity and other stuff in the films that we watched that I did not want to view and try my hardest always to stay away from.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that was mentioned at the beginning of class was we need to see or educate ourselves about the past so history does not repeat itself. I think that is true to an extent. I have learned alot from history, but one thing I do now is I don't need to see a guy get curbed to know whether it is right or wrong, I don't need to see a person have sex with an angel who has 7 vaginas or whatever, and hear terrible language over and over to know whether that is right or wrong.I think Hollywood gets so in to having there films being realistic that is just gets ridiculos sometimes.
Now, in defense of the class we were told at the start of the class that we were going to be watching films that may be against our moral beliefs, so it is my fault for taking part in the class.
Now that I got that off my chest, I want to talk about American History X. There was stuff in this film that I did not approve of and actually I had seen this on tv numerous times before the class and I never watched it cause all I saw were the white supremisists and I saw Nazi symbols and just instantly chnaged the channel.
I have to tell you though, I loved this movie. It was so good. The change and transformation that Edward Norton experiences in the film is amazing. I love his relationship with his African American friend in prison, and how he hears that he got 6 years just for stealing a tv and dropping it on a cops foot. That really was an eye opener to him of how everything that he had believed was BS. I also thought the part when he and his brother were in their room and they took down the swastika flag and all their other crap was such a moving scene.
Above all though the last line in the movie that " hate is baggage" was just fantastic. That line has been resonating in my head since I watched this. There were just so many great messages in this film. As I said I did not like alot of stuff in the film and all the films we watched, but the message of American History X will stick with me. It is something that I already knew and believe in and try always to apply that in my life, but it was presented in such a unique way.
I’ll be discussing my thoughts on sheep citizens. What exactly are sheep citizens? It’s a man, woman or group of people that allow crimes to occur in their presence. These people have been programmed to stay out of the way, avoid danger and call for help either after the incident has occurred or during the incident. Sheep citizens make up the majority of our society. In 1963 a female, whose name escapes me at the moment, was walking through Queens, NY. She was attacked, stabbed and killed. The assault continued for approximately 30 mins. Nearby 18 residents in a local apt complex acknowledged they had heard the screams for help. One by one each individual had decided they did not want to get involved. It was not there responsibility, they chose not to put themselves in danger to save this young lady. Each resident stated the screams lasted for about 30 min. but not one phone call was made until after the screams had stopped and the young lady was dead. This incident occurred in 1963, so lets discuss some modern incidences of sheep citizens. Lets take a look at Trolley Square shooting in 2007. Five citizens were killed and four more injured. The shooter was only stopped when an off duty police officer confronted him. One man broke through the hysteria and chose not to comply with our societies standard reaction of calling 911, our hero hotline. This officer saved many lives, but could we have saved the other lives if our citizens were not programmed to hide and wait for help to arrive. Should we confront trouble when we see it or wait for it to confront us? The Columbine High School incident resulted in 12 deaths and 21 injured. Our students, junior citizens were frantically trying to escape and call 911 while two shooters continued to kill. Its not that hard to shake or confuse an unexperienced shooter. If we learn to react, deprogram our minds to confront trouble before it gets out of hand, the we can be ready for these terrorist incidences before they occur. But as long as our citizens our content with running, hiding and waiting for help to arrive, we will continue to see mass casualties when these incidences do occur.
ReplyDeleteIts not an easy cycle to break. For years we have been taught to respect the privacy of others. This place into the fact we are uncomfortable confronting others when they are in the wrong. However if we can train our soldiers, officers and a few civilians then we can turn the tide and begin training the rest of America. It has been predicted by 2011 we will begin having wide spread terrorist activity in our country. Targets will include but not be limited to our infrastructures, power plants, water and sewage plants, communications and our children. If we are not mentally prepared to live with ciaos, then we will fail.
Just a side note, we already have large groups of our society to include a few prominent figures (Chuck Norris) cursing our government and threatening succession from the Union. If your thinking the same thing I’m initially thought. Chuck Norris? Oh I’m scared, lol. But then I did think about it. He is a figure head, and millions of Americans love him. If we could paint a better picture of a future, tie that in with terrorist activity and we would have an unstable environment. We would need our citizens to act like wolves (keen, alert and ready to attack) instead of the current behavior we have, where we sit back and listen as our neighbors our killed.
I support a America that is mentally prepared for a prosperous future. But the road may be a tough one.
We are becoming too selfish. I took a class this semester that required that we do service hours. I didn’t know what to do and like everyone else I only have so many hours in a day to get everything done. I could have just made up my service hours to get the grade (and I thought about it), but I don’t like to cheat. So, I took one of the suggestions form the Professor and visited some one who was sick. It had been a really long time since I had helped some one for non-selfish reasons. Some how, I forgot how great it can feel to help someone else.
ReplyDeleteMy grandpa is terminally ill and has less than 3 months to live. I need to tell you that my relationship consists of seeing him once a year at a Christmas party where he calls me Alyssa instead of Alisa. He lives near by, but neither of us has taken the opportunity to get to know each other. I was intimidated to call him. He has always been friendly to me, but I felt like a schmuck. I have never called him up before and now that he is going to die I call. The worst part of the phone call was dialing the number, but it was up hill from there.
When I told him who I was and that I would like to come visit him he sounded the happiest I have heard him. When I heard his voice the awkward feeling that was there vanished, his attitude was contagious. I was excited to go see him. When I visited him he was glad see me and I was glad to be there. It was nice, for the first time, I felt close to him like he was my grandpa not a stranger. It was a refreshing experience
Visiting my grandpa for a few hours made me realize how self centered I have become and I know that I am not alone in my self centeredness. I think most of people in our society are like me in the way that we don’t take the time to help other people like we should. I think it sucks that many of us have the attitudes that we do. The only reason I made a connection with my grandpa was because it was an assignment for school. To me that is pathetic. I can’t believe it took that much for me to call my grandpa who is basically alone and dying. We could make our own lives and the people around us happier and all it takes is something as simple as a phone call. We all make excuses for ourselves. It is easy to make excuses, but really, we can do it. It is not that hard to do a little favor for a stranger and it goes a long way.
I know that helping people is not always as warm visiting my grandpa was, but it can be. I think we are freaked out in our society to help other people. We make up reasons why they don’t need our help. I know I did before I called my grandpa. There have been many times that I know some one is going through a rough time, but I don’t make any effort to help. I don’t make an effort not because I don’t care, but because I feel awkward and I don’t know what to do. Not knowing what to do isn’t an excuse for me any more. How will I know if I don’t ask? You may argue that visiting my grandpa was not a big deal, and it may not be to you, but I think it was for him and I know it was for me. I know I have underestimated the value of making someone’s day a little bit better. The runner who is dedicated to him self wins the race, but his victory is small. He finished first, but he only took himself.
Imagine a country that has no national pride or patriotism from its inhabitants, do you think that country will have a good chance at surviving when the times get rough and it’s hard to get by? I don’t think the populous of that country will prosper without having a sense of understanding about how their country came to be what it is today. The youth of the United States have lost their way and as the days pass into months and the months into years the ground will become harder and they won’t be able root themselves in a patriotic manner. Such as standing up for their country and proudly singing the national anthem or saying the pledge of allegiance whether it has a reference to God in it or not. Also to fight for our country that our forefathers fought to keep free, without patriotism no one will want to stand up for their country and fight to keep its inhabitants free of oppression.
ReplyDeleteWhere does all of that lead? Well the Pledge of Allegiance is a very patriotic and very symbolic group of words strewn together to create something that will make you happy and sad at the same time. It can give you goose bumps and make your hairs stand on end if you truly mean and understand what your saying when you pledge your allegiance to this nation. Involving God in the pledge is something that our ancestors did without a second thought because there wasn’t a notion of God not existing in any sense back then. Everyone believed in God because at one point or another in their lives it was bred into them that there was a God ruling over heaven and earth and there was Satan ruling over hell. In modern times people have had the right to choose in what they believe in and not be ridiculed for their beliefs. The pledge can keep the reference to god or it can throw it out, but either way it’s a gigantic sign of disrespect to everyone who says the pledge with meaning. When an individual that uses the freedoms of our great country and doesn’t honor where they came from decides that they don’t have to say the pledge because it has a reference to god it pisses off a lot of people. I feel that it’s a word and they need to get
Today’s youth have come into life with all of the freedoms handed to them in a wrapped box with a bow on top, they never had to fight to keep these freedoms, they never had to go through the hard times that our fathers and forefathers had to endure. Current times offer a very relaxed way of life where one can choose what he or she believes in and our youth are taking advantage of this which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but when coupled with the fact that they think they can and should rebel against anything resembling authority or religion. It is their choice on whether or not they want to say the pledge, but I believe that it is a huge disrespect when someone doesn’t even make an attempt to hold op one of our nations oldest traditions, this pledge was created to instill into the people that they believe in the United States and that they are apart of the nation. What kind of example is our youth setting forth for their children and their children’s children? This question will bring about many different answers, but the majority of them will lead back to the same answer, “something needs to be done about it.”
The fact that god is reference in the pledge brings about a lot of controversy, but as I see it people are putting faith in their country and not god. Perhaps god could be removed from the pledge, but it shouldn’t have to be and it shouldn't be controversial like it is today.
For my final post I would also like to talk about religion. Religion has been around for hundreds of thousands of years; Weather it was a god, person or an object that people worship. Along with that came the evolution of religion, and different people believed different things so thet branched of into their own religion. now we have so many different religions out there it is kind of intimadating to people so they want nothing to do with any religion. In this post i would like to talk about specifically the LDS religion.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in the LDS church my entire childhood. I believe they have great standards and can make a family very close to one another, which is great for children. Like any other religon, there are positives and negatives to the church. Lds members are very trust-worthey, honest, hard working people even throught the world. Living in Utah and being Lds is a whole new story. I think people in Utah take their religion and beliefs to a whole new level, and its not a good one. Well, maybe it is to them. Growing up I wasn't allowed to play with none LDS kids. I dont know why but for some reason my parents thought i would probably go to hell or something? I think parents should be able to explain to their kids why they have set rules and regulations for their children, and if they can't explain why then they should let them find out themselves.
People in Utah are quick to judge others. Its getting to the point that LDS members are starting to think they are better thab others because they are members. As if being a member gives you a free ticket straight to heaven no matter what! I have met some great LDS members who are some of the nicest people I know, but I think the negative ones are stating to drown out the positve ones. I bet some LDS members think they are better than LDS members from California just because they are from Utah, the capital for Mormons.
When I was nineteen i had the oppertunity to go to Australia with my Mom and Dad to pick up my brother who had just got done serving a mission. I honestly think the only reason they brought me along is to try to convince me to go on a mission. Any ways while we were there we attended a church and It was then when i realized that the LDS religion is much better outside of Utah. I met a Man during that church meeting covered with tattos and he also had long hair. I thought to my self, I bet if this dude walked into a church in Utah people would be grabbing their children and running for the doors. But in the Australian ward people welcomed him with open arms and he felt right at home, no one was judging him by the way he looked or the mistakes he has made in his life.
I have made a lot of bad decisions myself, I have been to jail, I have used drugs before. I have been clean for almost two years now. Does that make me a bad person? I believe if you have a good heart and do what you know is right and your going down the right path to try to change your self and be successful, that that's enough for any god or a higher power to love you and accept you for who you are and what you believe in. ~Seth K.
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ReplyDeleteThe income tax is an unethical and self gaining way to make the federal government and federal government officials larger and more powerful. Our founding fathers did not want an income tax; they knew limiting the federal government’s power to tax the people will preserve liberty and freedom. Our Constitution made the income tax illegal. Thomas Jefferson said “American Citizens wouldn’t have to worry about a tax collector showing up making demands”. This is the reason why we broke away from England. We were being unfairly taxed.
ReplyDeleteIn 1776 our country was claimed, the income tax was illegal. In 1913, only 126 years later the constitution was amended and the income tax was made legal. Congress promised in the bill that only the top 1% of American Citizens would be taxed. In 1939 it was changed to the top 5% and after World War II it leaped to make the top 75% of American Citizens were taxed with the income tax.
The income tax system and all other tax systems are intentionally made confusing; the original tax code was 13 pages long, the current tax code, and several thousand. Last year alone over 500 changes were made to the tax code. It is made that way to make it so American Citizens have no idea why they have to pay this ridiculous tax and to make it so we make mistakes. If a politically connected person makes a mistake filing taxes it is deemed an honest mistake, the average American Citizen is not given that same leisure. We are fined and possibly sent to prison.
The tax code is so confusing the congressmen that write the tax code can’t even do their own taxes. They have accountants that do them for them. How are American Citizens supposed to be able to properly file taxes when the people who write them, the so called experts have accountants to do theirs for them? For instance, Congressman Charlie Rangel, chairman of House Ways and Means committee who is responsible for writing tax code failed to follow the tax code which he wrote. He didn’t pay taxes on $75,000 of rental income. He wrote the tax code and failed how are the rest of us supposed to file taxes correctly.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue changed its name to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to make it sound like it is more of a service to American Citizens then a burden. It would be more realistic if they didn’t change their name because it is a burden to file taxes. The IRS chooses to audit people not necessarily for money but who they can make an example of and inspire fear. Both Democrats and Republicans have used the IRS this way. For example, Bill Clinton used the IRS to audit firearm companies. That was a selfish way to increase political power, not to follow some code. The IRS punishes enemies and rewards friends. Whenever someone is critical of the government that person is audited by the IRS, for example Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesse Owens.
The current tax system is made to punish people who work hard to earn and produce and reward people who don’t, such as the overused American Welfare System. This is not how our founding fathers intended this country to be. They put in the constitution that the income tax was illegal but we 126 years later we made it legal. It is believed that we need the income tax to support our government but that is a lie. We became the richest and most powerful country in our first 126 years without the income tax and we don’t need it now.
I want to make a comment about the American economy. As a recent immigrant to this country, it amazes me to see people who have so much. Poor people in the United States drive cars, have big screen televisions, watch premium cable TV networks, wear clothes with designer labels, hundred dollar sneakers, and "can't afford" to pay for healthcare or their electric bill. When people discuss the economy it is common for Democrats to blame Republicans, and for Republicans to blame Democrats for the problems in this country. People should take a look in the mirror when complaining about the economy. Americans have become so comfortable with buying everything on credit, that it is estimated that 43% of American families spend more than they make each year. The average family has $8000 in credit card debt. Many Americans live under the assumption that they can have anything they want, right now, and pay for it later. Later is NOW. The American government prints green pieces of paper that you can exchange for consumer goods and services. It is called CASH. When my husband and I use these green pieces of paper to buy things, we don't find ourselves drowning in debt. If our combined paychecks equal $2000, we try to spend less than $1500. Then there is money left over in the bank. We're going to use some of it to go on vacation, help our families, and eventually buy a new car, and pay cash for it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, what is wrong with the American education system? People who have lived here their whole lives are in college and are unable to write a paragraph with the proper grammar. Critical thinking skills are completely undeveloped. Simple algebra is something most high school graduates are not able to perform.. Someday in the not-so-distant future, American children will show up on the shores of China looking for landscaping jobs. At least they will be able to play Grand Theft Auto..
People are imperfect, but today we live in a society that scorns imperfections, frowns at every minor flaw, and pressures women to look like models. This is an unreasonable quest, but, nevertheless, women strive to look more like they “should” everyday. The media puts unrealistic images for women to attempt to become. Magazines scream from their covers diets and workouts to enhance appearance. This is completely ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteGirls all over the country get up hours before school and work to put on their faces, and this is no walk in the park. Hair must be soft, smooth, and nice-smelling. Skin should be flawlessly smooth and tan. Women spend so much time waxing and shaving unwanted hair. And, what is the reward from this? As soon as you step into the shower, get rained on, or lie down, all of the hard work is ruined. Tomorrow you are just going to have to get up and do it all over again. Now I’m not saying that women shouldn’t look nice, but it shouldn’t be the end of the world if it’s a bad hair day or you have a zit. Real women don’t look like the models in magazines, and it’s about time society accepts that.
There are so many surgeries to make ourselves look better. Hate your nose? Get a nose job, it’s no big deal. Breasts are the big issue. In a magazine I read it said the average size was a 36c. Women are crazy about this and breast augmentations are very common. Nobody wants to be looked at as flat-chested. I mean, being an A or even a B is not acceptable. I mean, that’s fine if you want to die alone, but if you want an attractive man and live happily ever after, you better step it up a notch. What kind of world do we live in? People aren’t all the same.
Being thin is the new craze. As said in a recent movie, “four is the new six and two is the new four.” In past history, women were expected to be a little plumper due to the fact that they have to have children. So you wouldn’t think that a little fat was a big deal. Wrong. Girls are developing eating disorders like crazy. They feel inadequate if they are larger than the other girls. I have a friend who refuses to go out in a swimsuit with us because she hates her body. She thinks that people are staring. Really, why do people do that? What gives them the right to look and mock someone else? It is simply because that is what we have been brainwashed with. It has got to stop.
Women don’t all look the same. Why do we have this ideal women then? She’s a fictitious model whom girls aspire to look like. Not only is she beautiful, but she has the perfect clothes and perfect boyfriend. Everyone wants to be her. But that’s not at all as it should be. Each women in unique and should embrace that, not try to change herself to look like someone else thinks she should. Society has put so much pressure on appearance, and we have forgotten that that is not the most important thing.
SB-81 Law in Utah
ReplyDeleteThis law started on July 1, 2009. I think the most terrifying text in SB81 that made me really upset is the following: “(2) It is unlawful for a person to: (a) transport, move, or attempt to transport in this state an alien, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that the alien is in the United States in violation of federal law, in furtherance of the illegal presence of the alien in the United States; or (b) conceal, harbor, or shelter from detection an alien in a place within this state, including a building or means of transportation, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that the alien is in the United States in violation of federal law.” I fear the day when we will be obligated to report on our neighbors; this provision comes dangerously close by criminalizing associations with undocumented people. So what will “reckless disregard” be defined as? I fear that simply knowing a person is from Mexico, for example, will be considered “reckless disregard.”This provision crosses the line. It will turn certain classes of people into “outcasts”. This is really “un-American” and frightening. Now don’t get the wrong idea that I want all immigrants to stay here. I do agree that the illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes and are not legally here in the United States should be taken out of the country. The fact is there are just as many good families who are illegal immigrants in this state that are good law abiding and taxpaying citizens who will be punished by this law. This will separate families and create more chaos. Now that the head of household will be gone now they will go ask for government help and “steal” welfare benefits from an “American” family that needs it. But let’s remember that kids that are born here are citizens and they have the right to use those benefits if they have no other source of income. The only way I see to address the illegal immigration problem is to have an effective guest worker program. One that is more user friendly for workers and employers. Without something like that this problem will ebb and flow with the economy. When there is a worker shortage, like there was a few years ago, the need is going to be filled somehow. When you have a corrupt third world country on our border, people desperate to support their families will come across whatever way they have to and as we saw in class it doesn’t take much time to cross over. With an effective guest worker program you can at least know who is here. Then we can more effectively address the illegal immigrant problem and the incentive to smuggle people into the country would be less. This combined with better border control will save lives. This will also save the government 60 million dollars that could be spent on something more important like better healthcare for American citizens and especially the elderly. But that is another long subject matter. I think that this law is a waste of taxpayer money and time for law enforcement officers because there are more important things for an officer to do than to hunt down illegal immigrants instead of trying to catch violent criminals that are putting a risk on our society that could hurt a lot of people by being out in the open without being punished.
Immigration and Assimilation
ReplyDeleteImmigrants in the United States number almost 40 million. They are taking large part of American population, currently 11.5%. Many immigrants come to the U.S. with the hope of new life with more opportunities. Given the America’s geography, tolerant culture and strongest economy, immigrants. Illegal and legal will always be with us. It is controversial issue at the many debates over immigration reform and border enforcement. Tracking how well immigrants blend in and from learning the language is a key part of the controversy. Some people say, “The nation’s capacity to assimilate new immigrants is not too bad because Today’s immigrants begin at such a low starting point, it’s easier to make progress to the next level up.” So measuring assimilation difficult to define. For some, it’s a person’s ability to speak English or their willingness to become U.S. citizens. To others, it may be their appearance. There are a couple of major aspects that can distinguish the level of immigration assimilation. Economic, educational and cultural successes are important factors that distinguish immigrants from others and also play an important role in determining the desire and need for assimilation among immigrants and U.S. citizens.
Nowadays, immigrants are assimilating faster than past generations, even though they tend to arrive with fewer English skills. Currently the U.S government tried to find a way to help immigrants find a place in American society. President Bush also put out an executive order to form a “Task Force on New Americans” with the intention of helping “legal immigrants embrace the common core of American civic culture, learn our common language, and fully become Americans.” The Department of Homeland Security intends to support immigrant in learning English by passing a bill called “Strengthening Communities Through Education and Integration Act”. Even with the effort from Congress to help immigrants, many still find the dream of thriving in America, challenging. Also Barak Obama pointed out the problem that legal immigrants have generally been barred from Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program for five years after they enter the United States. And he said States will now be able to cover those immigrants without the five-year delay. The government tries to make the environment better.
The long-term question is education and how do the children and grandchildren do? Concerns about children of immigrants have arisen because if the parents cannot economically assimilate, then they also cannot. The children of today’s immigrants are tomorrow’s workers and investors. They live with two different cultures coming from parent’s nation and America. Those two cultural level are mixed up and it confounds them. One-third of immigrants are classified as high school dropouts, high school dropout rates are increasing. Unfortunately, no policies exist for sense of their difference. So we will have to implement policies to help immigrants succeed serve to reinforce the sense of difference. They really need to be educated in common identity and shared experiences. Educational outcomes can be impacted. Take look at your classroom, almost 20% of school children today are the children of immigrants. People don’t have to say their crime rates or the problem from maladjusted child.
Many schools are now adopting dual-language programs. School districts have also done much more to accommodate immigrant students’ needs by translating information to parents. That way parents are informed and educated, too.
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There are, however, large differences among groups of immigrants especially Mexicans, they assimilate better culturally than Vietnamese but rank lower economically. Mexican immigrants are the largest group of Hispanic immigrants and the least educated. They are making slower progress than others, but also improve the most if they are educated. They make the biggest gains after coming the United States, but lack in economically and in education because they assimilate not to the national average but to the Hispanic average. The slow rates of assimilation set Mexicans apart from other immigrants, and may reflect the fact that the large numbers of Mexican immigrants residing in the United States illegally have few opportunities to advance themselves. So the U.S government should provide them education as many as they can. Also same opportunity should be provided.
ReplyDeleteMarriage is like a fine cut diamond; many dream of having the perfect one, but few will ever turn such a dream into a reality. Walking down the isle on one’s wedding day can be the most fulfilling moment in one’s life. Sealing the deal and starting a life as a joint couple, with regarded benefits, offers something new and exciting: commitment and partnership.
ReplyDeleteIt is the dream of many to marry someone they love, buy a house, and begin a healthy and loving family. Many people go throughout their lives looking for that special someone to settle down with, but once they find the one: the one that makes them smile from the simple sight of his or her face, the one that redefines the phrase “I love you,” the one that gives them constant, fluttering butterflies in the pit of their stomach, they know that they want to spend the rest of their life with that person.
Such a desired moment in one’s life is not limited to just anyone. Like the average heterosexual male or female, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community (LGBT) longs for the rights that many seemingly take acute advantage of. When it comes to health, tax, property, compensation, insurance, adoption, and testimonial issues, the LGBT simply lack the same standards, which heterosexuals contain. On the outside, looking in, the LGBT prays for the same specific rights that will dissolve their struggles and actually allow them to live their lives. Granting these rights harms no one physically, so what is stopping the average American from establishing equality throughout? The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, an advocate for separation of church and state, states that “all men are created equal,” but does this statement harbor the advantages, which is portrays, or is it merely a superficial statement with an overextended warrant of use? What is hindering such a divine, all encompassing statement, from touching ground and proliferating truth and prosperity? Although some people and different religious organizations may believe otherwise, the LGBT community deserves equal and thorough rights: in regards to healthcare, discrimination, taxes, property, compensation, insurance, adoption, and testimonial issues, many of which are provided to the average married couple, just as many throughout history have received.
Allowing same-sex couples to gain the rights that they are supposedly constitutionally guaranteed does not harm anyone and should be granted altogether. Simply by allowing the LGBT community to marry whom they want, the concerns involving many rights would be eliminated indefinitely. According to SpeakOut.com, a movement for LGBT rights, same-sex couples cannot inherit the their spouse’s benefits upon death, make “medical decisions for incapacitated couples” (“Gay Rights”), file a joint entitlement for landownership, or refuse to testify against each other.
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The phrase “in the closet” has taken a new meaning in our modern age. More people are becoming accepting of their own needs and drives, but society is becoming more and more oppressive. No longer is the LGBT community suffering with feelings of imposed grief, inadequacy, and denial like they used to. The closet doors are not there by choice. They are there by force, acting as a new symbol of inequality and segregation thrust on the conscience of every gay citizen by the neighbors around them.
ReplyDeleteOppressors and tyrannical leaders argue that the frivolous lifestyle known in the gay community disrupts family values and morals. Besides spreading diseases, “gays” are “corrupting” the minds of the younger generations and advocating such activities that go against the foundations of specific religions. What anti-gay activists do not realize, though, is that the activities described are the exception, not the rule. Every single LGBT citizen is not leading a life of drugs, alcohol, frivolous sex, and overall debauchery. They certainly are not committing to a life of sin more so than the heterosexual community. In the end, regardless of the lifestyle many LGBT citizens live, what arguable cause is there for such negligence and unfairness?
In a recent article written by Michael Jones, a leading LGBT rights activist, entitled “Of Gay Penguins and Lesbian Fruit Flies,” Jones explains that the University of California has found that virtually all recorded species practice a degree of homosexuality. From this finding, it is safe to presume “that sexual orientation is likely biological, at least in some capacity” (Jones par. 4). If dolphins, penguins, fruit flies, fish, etc. are practicing same-sex relationships regularly, what makes many people doubt that this is not a biological factor? Are the penguins and dolphins choosing to be gay? The later question is highly unlikely; leaving many to speculate that the findings prove that sexual orientation is a factor that many are simply born with. As Jones puts it, “sexual orientation is no different than race, eye color, or shoe size” (par. 4). With such findings, it is unsettling to believe that many still blame the LGBT community for their resulting sexual preferences. Regardless of the proven science, some people still believe sexual orientation is a “choice” that can be taken back if needed. In a recent interview with Laura Crosetti, a Psychologist in the last stages of her Ph.D., Crosetti explained that such a belief was completely false. “If you look at a heterosexual’s brain and a homosexual’s brain, the differences are distinct. Some areas are smaller and some are larger in the homosexual brain, resulting in a proven change between the two sexual oriented individuals,” said Crosetti. It appears that although the different shaped and formed brains cannot be proven to account for sexual orientation with current technologies, one can clearly make an overall safe presumption. With such a damning argument, it is inhumane to prevent a people suffering from something against their will from receiving natural rights.
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Many religions believe that sexual orientation is specifically a choice. This choice is wrong and frowned upon, increasingly. It is a common belief that the LGBT community can simply “pray the gay away.” Followers of an array of religions feel conflicted with the thoughts and ideas expressed within their practices. America’s 44th President, Barack Obama, had this to say about the topic:
ReplyDeleteFor the gay and lesbian community in this country, I think it's clear that they feel victimized in fairly powerful ways and they're often hurt by not just certain teachings of the Catholic Church, but the Christian faith generally. And as a Christian, I'm constantly wrestling with my faith and my solicitude and regard and concern for gays and lesbians. (qtd. in Jones)
Even the current president of the United States is not free from the moral conflicting debacle this topic exudes. With America mostly made up of Christians, and other respective branches, the LGBT community feels at loss when it comes to the fight for rights and marriage. As stated in the Bible, in Leviticus 20.13, “If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.” Such an ensuing statement leaves little to no room for interpretation. It is clear that the Bible does not advocate such practices of the LGBT community. Being a follower with such beliefs forces many to find the LGBT community as a sacrilegious, disgusting abomination.
What many fail to acknowledge though is that the Bible also states that slavery is in all reality acceptable and even advocated:
However, you may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you. You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your relatives, must never be treated this way. (“Bible” Leviticus 25.44)
This quote, copied straight from the holy, religious Bible, portrays a life of inequality. Certain lives are given greater importance in this given, archaic paradigm. America has seemed to give up on that little trait, so what makes such a modern age susceptible to the continual argument of the Bible not supporting homosexuality? If everyone took everything the Bible says with equal seriousness, then, in all reality, the African-Americans of today would not be living with the rights that they do at the moment. Our world would still contain an overwhelming black market of legal human slavery.
Religious beliefs pose another hurtle in the course of LGBT rights when it comes to other’s beliefs being forced upon society as a whole. It appears that America believes in separation of church and state, in fact, America constitutionally guarantees it, but the separating barrier is more of a chain-link fence than a stronghold. Beliefs and religious values tend to crossover form time to time. Religious beliefs concerning LGBT rights are infringed upon when it comes to these mere crossovers. What gives anyone the right to force their own beliefs on someone else? Had the anti-gay religious activists ever thought that maybe many LGBT citizens do not believe in the same impending religions? A strong religious Catholic would no sooner like to have a Protestant advocate divorce in the same manner that multiple religions damn homosexuality. The balance of equality seems to be tipped in favor for one side, but why so?
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It is a little no fact that history favors minorities. “The core tenet of our democracy is that fundamental rights of historically disadvantaged minorities are not dependent on the whim of the majority” (qtd. in “California Prop. 8”). Colonists fought for freedom from their British oppressors, African-Americans staged sit-ins and marched for their eventual freedom, and now thousands of LGBT Americans are taking up the same battle to establish their own constitutional rights. What makes their experiences any different? Will we glorify their struggles in the near future?
ReplyDeletePeople came to America to utilize the intended freedoms that are supposedly spread throughout. Blacks are not oppressed, women can vote, and illegal aliens are on the verge of obtaining social security numbers. Yet, in the midst of this all, the growing movement for equal LGBT rights is suffering a tremendous blow as the right to marry is expended altogether.
In the end, it is ridiculous to call America the land of the free when LGBT citizens all around lack their own constitutional rights and guarantees. Looking around, viewing the upcoming generations, messages of hope and expressed thoughts of optimism are not uncommon in our everyday lives. The younger LGBT community only hopes that soon they will have the rights that they believe should circumvent their everyday lives. The exhausting fight to marry their respective partners fuels a fire inside their own souls. It is evident that a fight for rights is on the horizon. It would not be heretical to say that the fight for LGBT rights is the modern civil rights movement, like that of the black community in the 50’s and 60’s. Sectional strife and barriers among all citizens because of race, gender, class, or orientation is an unfortunate result of intolerance. As a gay teenager, growing up in an intolerable society, I only hope one day that I and all other LGBT citizens will achieve in the greatest struggle of our time. Hopefully, in the near future, all LGBT citizens will be able to cherish the privilege of marriage like the fine-cut diamond it is.
Works Cited
Bible: The Old Testament. Trans. King James. 1999.
“California Supreme Court ponders whether to overturn Prop. 8.” Contemporary Sexuality 43.4 (Apri. 2009): 11-11. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Redwood Markosian Library, Taylorsville, UT. 1 July 2009 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=37595087&site=ehost-live.
Crosetti, Laura. Personal Interview. 26 June 2009.
“Gay Rights.” SpeakOut. 2006. 9 July 2009 http://www.speakout.com/activism/gayrights /.
Jones, Michael. “Obama’s ‘Faith Wrestling’ When it Comes to LGBT Rights.” GayRights.Change. 2009. 9 July 2009 http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/obamas_faith_wrestling_when_it_comes_to_lgbt_rights.
Jones, Michael. “Of Gay Penguins and Lesbian Fruit Flies.” GayRight.Change. 2009. 9 July 2009 http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/of_gay_penguins_and_lesbian_fruit_flies.
Jones, Michael. “The Stars and Stripes of Marriage Equality.” GayRight.Change. 2009. 9 July 2009 http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/the_stars_and_stripes_of_marriage_equality.
Jones, Michael. “State of Massachusetts Sues Government Over DOMA.” GayRight.Change. 2009. 12 July 2009 http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/state_of_massachusetts_sues_federal_government_over_doma.
Religion is a controversial subject no where you live and who you are. The only reason why religion is so controversial is because every religion thinks they are right and everyone else is wrong. It doesn’t make much sense to me why it is such a big deal if people have a different beliefs, that is our human right and that shouldn’t be criticized or taken away.
ReplyDeleteI believe that religion brings great morals out of people, it brings great family values and unites people who have a common cause. Religion offers a lot different benefits, I believe it comforts people for death and also life, by giving people explanation of where we came from and where we will go when we pass away, it explains the unexplainable. Religions provides people with a sense of belonging and acceptance.
There have been wars since the beginning time about religion. Jesus was murdered because of his religion; the holocaust was over people’s religion. There will always be extremists out there who take things to the max. With religion everyone has views of other cultures beliefs; after the 9/11 tragedy everyone viewed Muslims as terrorist and that their main goal in life is kill Americans. I talked to people all day , all across America, and when I tell them I am from Utah they always ask me if have seven wives and they all the think that all Mormons are polygamist . So it just shows you how other religions and beliefs view different religions. Even after thousands of years we still judge people for their religions and beliefs.
Immigration; a topic many consider to be very controversial. Everyone talks about it from your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers ,news , and the list keeps going. Many are against immigration stating all they do is take over jobs,state funded programs, being free loaders. Question.. Do they or have they lived in an immigrants life? My parents came to this country 20 years ago. They as many others entered illegally and worked them selves under the scorching sun day in and day out. All they wanted is a better life to provide for our family. Working picking fruit from the floor,picking it off trees. traveling long roads to provide a better life. Years later my parents were able to become legalized but that didn't stop them from working where they did. My parents as many others lived in very small homes with leaky roofs and were happy to say they now had a roof over their heads.
ReplyDeleteTo this day I still know illegal immigrants who pay taxes and receive nothing in return. Many who can't buy a home because they don"t have a social security number thats required. Last I checked America needed a better economy to survive in our present time,yet I still hear many complaining about undocumented workers who "don't pay taxes" yet I see otherwise. I have yet to understand how our economy is suppose to rise when the government is trying to get people out. People who are here earning a living. Yes, I know their are may who commit crimes and those I couldn't agree more on getting them out. What happens to those who earn a n honest living? should they be punished for what other do? I don't think believe theirs a person who would like to go to jail for what others did.
Karla mentioned the SB-81 law that began to prevent from anyone to help in any way an un documented worker that would need for ex;transportation. Seriously? In my perspective; I'm not going to be asking people if they have papers or not. I may have been born here, but I still feel proud of where I've come come from and will always march next to those who come for better and honest life.
Global warming is definitely something we all should be concerned with. Over the last decade or so, it has become more and more apparent that something bad is happening to our world. Global warming is a profound treat to the earth and all living on it. It is one of the most serious challenges mankind has faced. The affect of it is everywhere. There was a horrible Tsunami in India, a very destructive hurricane on the coast of Florida, and the worst Hurricane and natural disaster in U.S. history on the banks of Louisiana. Animals are dying and are facing endangerment cause of the disasters and climate change. We need to put a stop to this and solve the problem it is our responsibility to the earth and future generations, to protect this planet and make it a great place to live our lives.
ReplyDeleteThe atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has reached levels the planet has not experienced for thousands of years, and the global temperature has risen steadily for over a century as a result. Ice caps are melting, sea levels are rising, islands are being devoured by the rising water levels, temperatures are rising, forests are becoming deserts, and natural disasters are occurring more and are becoming more severe and are happening more frequently than ever before. We have had more disasters than ever. Greenland is melting and being devoured by the rising water levels. Animals are dying due to the disasters and climate change. Most countries have had record high temperatures. Scientist believes if the water levels continue to rise we will have to make new world maps. It’s time we all take a serious look at the effects of global warming, before it is too late.
Scientists have done studies that have proven the link between rising carbon dioxide in te atmosphere and the rise in temperature. The studies show when the carbon dioxide concentration goes up, so does the temperature. Many nations and countries have stated that human activity, especially the burning of fossil fuels is a major cause of global warming. Studies have concluded that avoiding dangerous climate change will require that the United States and other industrialized nations need to reduce their emissions to about 20 percent of current levels before 2050.
About two decades ago, in the 1980’s. 72 billion tons of carbon dioxide was released into the atmosphere some of this was cleaned up or taken up by other sources but 3.2 billion tons of it went into the atmosphere. Since the 80’s, many undeveloped countries have developed and industrialized and are now burning fossil fuels and other greenhouse gasses. This has made fossil fuel emissions increase with each and every passing year. If these issues continue to increase in the way they are now, then it is estimated by 2035 that there will be 12 billion tons of carbon in the atmosphere
If these issues and problems are not taken care of or taken into consideration, there will be some serious consequences. Temperatures will continue to rise, ice caps will continue to melt, sea levels will continue to rise, island will eventually be devoured by rising water levels and millions or even maybe billions of lives will be affected. They will probably be forced to leave their homes. Human health will be affected and at risk by the pollution and the rising temperatures. Forest will continue to die, animals species will die out due to the change in the climate. Food production will decrease cause they will be hard to get cause of the pollution and the rising temperatures and the flooding. This is a very serious issue and we need to take care of it very soon.
I am going to talk about “terrorism” for my final comment. This would be far from we watched in class but when I watched “Penn & Teller’s” about 9/11, I felt something about terrorism.
ReplyDeleteSince September 11, 2001, Americans and other people all over the world have now realized what a threat to humanity terrorism can be.
Terrorism is defined in the dictionary as the unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons. Terrorism involves activities such as bombing, hijackings, skyjacking, assassinations and random killings. Terrorism is not used for military reasons but for political reasons or religious reasons. To me terrorism is a terrible way of getting a point across. Killing innocent people and halting the progress of the human race is not a great way to do things. Terrorism is hard to define really. The old adage, "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" is still alive and well today as it was in the past. Personally, I believe it is the most evil means of a resolution. It does just what it is meant to put terror into others. Terrorists are the evil people who commit these crimes. These terrorists can come in all different nationalities, religions, and colors.
Today, terrorism occurs everywhere in the world; most recently home in the U.S. and also in Israel and Palestine.
A problem with terrorism has existed for quite some time. No attention was being paid to it because nothing big was happening until recently when America was attacked and the world trade center was destroyed. Terrorism reaches back to ancient Greece. In the 20th century acts of terrorism have been associated with the Italian Red Brigades, the Irish Republican Army, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the weathermen among many groups.
I agree wholeheartedly that terrorism is a danger that must be addressed. Seek revenge if you must, but only on those responsible; wide measures and actions can only hurt us. In the war on terrorism we must not sacrifice those very rights and freedom we seek to protect.
Americans have become the most “sue happy” people in the world. We sue over EVERYTHING! It’s become so ridiculous, and I’m so sick of hearing about the stupidest, most frivolous lawsuit (Although they are quite entertaining.) I am all for a legal system that allows us to seek justice in things that we find unfair, but it seems as if we should be able to know what kind of things should really be allowed into the courtroom.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, I remember saying to the other little kids in my neighborhood “if you step on my property, I’m gonna sue you” or something to that effect. I have no idea where I learned this, but obviously I heard it somewhere and it sunk in. People have become so worried about being sued that it dictates a lot of the actions that we take. It feels like we’ve taught our children that it’s okay to sue just because you didn’t get your way, or something bad happened to you, and you don’t want to blame yourself. I wish that people could just take responsibility for their own actions, instead of blaming someone else. A frivolous lawsuit that goes along with this is a woman who had just purchased a RV went on a road trip, and she set her cruise control and walked away from the steering wheel. She obviously crashed, because cruise control doesn’t work that way, but she was able to successfully sue the company for damages and was able to get a new RV out of it! It just amazes me that instead of telling this woman that she was a dumbass for walking away from the wheel, we reward her for who stupidity.
The worst lawsuits out there are the ones that are made against innocent people, who really did nothing wrong. They’re the people that get sued by people who break into there houses and trip on a child’s toy and break their arms. There was a man in the UK that was asked to take down his barbed wire fence because if someone tried to get on to his property they would get hurt. Isn’t that the whole point of putting up the barbed wire fence? Then if someone tries to get on the property they get hurt, and hopefully learn there lesson. These stupid things that people sue over when it is there own effing fault and no one elses, just piss me off.
I know that we all have a right to use the legal system however we may see fit, and I guess lawyers need there pay checks too, but if we got rid of the stupid lawsuits, our courtrooms wouldn’t be nearly as crowded as they are. I’m just so sick of having our public facilities used for such stupid purposes. It bugs me so much, that I really feel like I can’t put it into words how much I am annoyed. I hope that it is something that we can change in the future, because if it doesn’t change, I might have to SCREAM!!!
The death penalty.
ReplyDeleteOn April 8 2009 Hosoon kang was sentenced to death by a court of justice in Korea. He killed 8 women for no reason and also killed his wife and her mother in order to collect insurance money. Seunghun Han, a public prosecutor for this case, said “we should think about 8 victims and their families, so we have to divide this cruel murderer from our society forever”. Most Korean people agree with this decision after they are informed on what he did. However, the death penalty is a very big issue in Korea. Actually, it is not only an issue in Korea but throughout the world. Like these Korea public opinions, there are many people insisting on the necessity of the death penalty. However, there are still other people saying it is unnecessary. As the number of people fighting for human rights is increasing, the public opinion about abolishment of the death penalty is also increasing. The pros and cons of this argument are still heavily debated.
First of all, people disagree with the death penalty are supports of human rights. They usually think murders are also valuable human being in their families and our society. These supporters are basing their argument on religious views. They think every human being has a right to live in our society with happiness and freedom. They usually like to quote Confucius saying “Hate a crime, and do not hate a human being”. In fact one American lawyer, Charles Darrow, used this quotation in his defense and made jurymen change their mind; people have defined a human being’s dignity and worth since the French Revolution in 1792. In Korea, one article in their constitution states that “all citizens shall be assured of human dignity and worth and have the right to pursue happiness. It is the duty of the State to confirm and guarantee the fundamental and inviolable human rights of individuals”. Most democratic countries have similar articles in their constitutions. The reason why people acknowledge a human being’s dignity and worth is that they see human beings as having the ability to live with their rational reason. Therefore, they believe human beings also have an ability to control their instinct and responsibility in regard to their behavior. This means we should respect everyone’s human rights and we do not have any right to make a decision about their life, even though they did something that was criminal.
Those who agree with the abolishment of the death penalty worry about the problem of errors in a judicial decision. If such an error occurs, we can never correct it. Like the crime is committed by human beings, the judicial decision is also decided by human beings. Therefore, if we can tell that a crime happened by a mistake or flaw in the human beings. Human beings are not flawless. Another problem with the death penalty is that is also possible to be abused by the strong. As a matter of fact, the death penalty has been misused against members of minority races and those with certain religious affiliations. We can especially see this abuse in the way that whites in United States punished, discriminated, and even in some circumstances executed blacks. The number of blacks who were executed is much higher than for white people. For example, since 1930, an almost equal number of white and black defendants has been executed for the crime of murder, although blacks constituted only about a tenth of the nation’s population during this period ( Ethics, Barbara, M, 2009, pg 328).
On the other hand, the supporters who agree with the death penalty are retorting an argument
to the people who insist on the abolishment of the death penalty. They argue that people should think about victims and their families rather than think about the murderer’s human rights. Even though some people focus on the murder’s human rights, others think the human rights of victims and their families are much more important than the murder’s. These activists are on the retributivist side. On the retributivist view, legal punishment is justified as a means of making those who are responsible for a crime or harm to another, it is only just or fair that he suffer similarly or proportionately to the harm or pain (Ethics, Barbara, M 2009 pg317). In this view, we can say the death penalty is an important one of legal punishment. Therefore, if someone killed other, we have to kill them. The punishment must be equal to the crime.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, these people insisting on keeping the death penalty system are saying this punishment can be a strong threat to criminals. It means it has the role of a deterrent for crime in our society. According to Barbare, M, society’s law has many possible purposes. One of those is to protect members of society from harming others. Because laws presumably are directed to achieving some good, having penalties as sanctions attached to breaking these laws helps to ensure that the good, intended by the laws will be achieved. Therefore, we want to have them enforced in ways that make them effective. Legal punishment including the death penalty is for the purpose protecting members of community from breaking the law, deterring them from doing so, or both. It means they believe they can prevent crime by detaining would be or actual criminals that is, by simply holding them somewhere so that they cannot do social damage. In short, the death penalty can be a very strong law of legal punishments so we can deter crime by holding out a punishment as a threat to persuade those who contemplate breaking the law not to do so (Ethics, Barbara, M, 2009, pg 315)
In conclusion, the argument on the death penalty is very big issue in our society nowadays. Most countries have still argument about its maintenance and abolishment. We must view the biggest reasons from both opinions about the death penalty in order to understand it. Even though it can be a very argument to resolve, the important thing is we must choose to go the right way. The right way means it has to be good for every member of our society, not only for some special people who have power and authority. It must fulfill the law.
Before I start my final post I just wanted to say I have read a lot of great posts by some of our classmates, others not so much. For my final post I would like to discuss childhood obesity and how type II diabetes is affecting our nation. How many of you have seen more than one child in a day that was overweight? If you were to go to the pool over the summer I can almost guarantee 1/3 of those children swimming there are overweight. I have seen first hand the destructive hand of diabetes, whether it is type I or II. I get so irritated when I see parents with their children giving in to them because they want something unhealthy to eat. These days children feel that they are entitled to whatever the hell they want. As a parent it is our job to teach them about healthy living. I blame the parents of these children for the habits they have made into a life style. I have 3 children myself so I can say that if my children were obese I would only have myself to blame. Children do not usually do the grocery shopping or cook their own food. I have the resposibility as a parent to teach my children skills that will help them succeed in life, that includes teaching them about exercise and eating a well balanced diet. I am not a tyrant, I will let my children have sugar, I just limit the amount that they can have. I watched an episode of The View the other day, about a woman's 14 year old son who reached the weight of 555 LBS, she was sent to jail. I am not saying that she should or shouldn't go to jail, but it should have never got to that point.
ReplyDeleteTimes have changed so much, parents aren't allowed to spank their children anymore, children can call the cops on their parents.
Kids these days are spoiled rotten and should get put in their place to show them they are not entitled to anything and everything. They should respect their elders and obey their parents. I am not about abuse but if a child is acting up a spank on the butt will not injure them but let them no the behavior is inappropriate. If people are going to have children they need to make sure they are ready to be parents and not friends, children make friends. What they need is someone that can give them tough love and let them fall down and learn to pick themselves up and move forward. I hear way too often "I just hate to seen them hurting" what parent enjoys watching their child suffer? Giving in with candy and food doesn't teach them anything, all they learn is that food will comfort you. Childhood obesity and diabetes in this nation is at an all time high. I don't see it getting better unless we as consumers do something about it. Maybe just not buying the products they are selling isn't good enough. There are more than enough processed foods on the grocery store shelves to kill our nation. I think that video games are to blame for obesity too. Kids aren't active anymore and parents don't make them get off the coach and do an honest days work around the house. Waiting on children hand and foot is not helping them in anyway. ---Part 1---
If this problem doesn't stop or at least slow down, the healthcare costs of our country are going to be even worse than they already are. It costs millions upon millions of dollars to treat the type I and type II diabetics in this country. The type I have no choice in this matter, and I am sure if you asked a type I if they could prevent from becoming a diabetic would they do anything in the power to do so, they would. It is as far as I know the only disease that can be prevented unless you count STD's. Who would want to have to check their sugar before they eat, inject themselves with insulin, make frequent trips to the doctor, spend money that you don't have. Doesn't sound like anything I would want for myself or my children. That to me, would be like watching them suffer. ---Part 2---
ReplyDeleteReligion has always been a controversial issue and always will be. It has cost many lives throughout the centuries and has torn families, couples, friends and countries apart. Although it can strengthen some relationships, it usually causes more damage than good. I have seen through experience how a difference in religion can separate a family. I don’t understand how anything could be that important that it can separate people like that or cause wars. Religious wars have killed so many people throughout the years which seems extremely hypocritical to me. If someone feels strongly about a religion they should be drawn towards it, but especially in our culture, it is crammed down children’s throats since they were babies. It makes a lot more sense to rely on yourself to create a happy, successful life rather than pray and hope that a higher power will do it for you. Organized religion from an outside perspective seems so bizarre but the people involved usually close their minds and refuse to question anything they are told. It isn’t worth all the chaos it creates. And although religion creates a sense of values, it’s out of fear rather than the values you create for yourself that you can be more likely to stand by because it is what you believe rather than what you have been ordered to do your entire life.
ReplyDeleteWatching Last Temptation, I was struck by something I had never noticed before, that this is a love story. This is the story of Jesus’ love for Man, of Judas’ love for Jesus, and of God’s love for Jesus. Judas is not a villain here, he is a man that is doing as he was asked, as he was begged. No one here is without flaw or sin, and each person struggles to follow the path that God has set before them, as hard as it may become. He is serving the higher purpose. And the greatest achievement of the film, to me, is also the most controversial thing, it portrays Jesus not as a god but as a man. Jesus lusts, he wants, he hates, he regrets, he is a man like anyone else, and when he is asked by God to become a martyr, to become the messiah, he refuses. How can he, who has sinned, who is not perfect, become the leader of the nations of the world? How can he become the messiah? But in following the path to the cross Jesus realizes that he is meant to become the messiah because he is human, not in spite of that fact. Who better to love Man, to serve Man, and to sacrifice for Man than one that has been one?
ReplyDeleteThoughts in ulimate matters
ReplyDeleteEpistemology comes from the Greek and means. Knowledge. It is the branch of philosophy that asks questions about knowledge, nature and origins and weather or not it is even possible. These types of questions involve standards of evidence, truth, belief , sources of knowledge, gradations of knowledge, memory and perception. There are three aspects of it:
1. Is there objective truth in ultimate matters.
2. If there is, can we know truth in ultimate maters.
3. If we can, How can we know truth in ultimate matters.
I think objective truth in ultimate questions does exist. If someone makes a claim about reality, does god exist for example, this claim can be true or false. It cannot be in any other state but true or false. Ether way at least one of the sides will ultimately be the one that is true about the reality, which proofs to me that objective truth does exist. For example if a person puts jelly beans in a jar, a question can be asked: How many jelly beans are there? There is a true answer to this question. For the sake of this discussion the true answer does not really matter, only the fact that there is a true answer to this question. We can know that there is a true answer even if no one knows the answer.
If truth in ultimate maters exists the next question is can we know it? My answer is Yes, we can know or claim that we know what truth is. The truth that we know is what we believe. We believe what seems rational to us at this moment. An example of this is a person named Jack counts seventy two jelly beans from a jar and believes this to be true based on his direct observation. Then ten other people count the same jar of jelly beans and claim there is seventy one jelly beans. This means Jack's claim about the truth is false and the truth is there are seventy one jelly beans in the jar. Jack's claim was false because his collection of evidence was inaccurate.
In order to seek the truth we must collect accurate evidence supporting the truth. This brings us to the third question and that is how we know the truth. This question is the question that creates much controversy because evidence is usually interpreted and weighted differently. People may say they know something to be true because they give high credibility to the evidence they have that supports their claim. On the other hand, another person may consider this evidence bias because they have different values and experiences that may not give this evidence much support. Thus the challenge in this is gathering a criteria for credible objective evidence. It is very difficult and close to impossible to reach an objective criteria for questions in the ultimate matter.
----cont----
ReplyDeleteAn example of this is one of the most pondered questions in the history of human kind: Does God exist? In order to answer this question many other questions must be answered first. The first question is: What is God? How can this question be answered without a bias answer. There are so many personal opinions that come together in an attempt to answer this question. There are many religions around the world. All their opinions must be considered in order to gather a completely truthful answer to this question. With all the war in the world right now caused by religion I do not see all the people in the world coming to a consensus on that any time soon.
Another question to ask is: What is the origin of God's existence? If God exists then how was he created and how long did he exist before he started creating all things? How can anything create itself? If God exists and something else created he/she/it can what we know to be God really be the God we say we know. Perhaps the simple explanation is of time so long ago that it is difficult for us to comprehend combined the process of evolution is the answer. Maybe evolution created God. Maybe evolution is our real God and Religion was created to help tame human beings just as Santa was created to encourage young children to be good.
In order to know the answer to the questions of ultimate matter we must have categorical knowledge and priori knowledge. This type of knowledge is impossible to gain when searching for the answer to questions like: Does God exist? We only have "Empirical knowledge" to answer this question therefore we have many different answers with evidence that is not definite because it is not supported by all the people that think they have the right to answer. The only way to know how to know the answer to the questions of ultimate matter, is to gain categorical knowledge. I do not believe it is possible for us to have this kind of knowledge. We know truth can exist about ultimate matters, we can know the truth about ultimate matters, however, I do not believe we know how to know.
Eminem, a lot of people hate him. why? because he curses? because he sings about taking a crap on people? people only listen to what they want to hear. no one ever goes into anything deeper, they only look at what's on the surface. eminem is, in my mind, the greatest rapper to ever walk the face of this earth, and in all honesty he is one of the best no matter what anyone else has to say. when he comes up with rhymes like, "ya'll steady tryin to drowned a shark, aint gonna do nothin but piss me off, lid to the can of whoop ass just twist me off.." everyone can listen and hear music, most people only listen to the beat and the chorus, thats why you hear a lot of people singing the chorus of a song then a different verse comes on and they just shut up cause they don't know it. there's more to music than a catchy bass line and chorus. which by the way is all soulja boy is. you ever hear that song turn my swag on by soulja boy? next time you hear it listen to the words, he doesnt talk about anything, all that song is is a catchy beat and chorus and he makes money off of it because more than half of america is retarded. and if you're wondering, yes i am calling you retared if you think soulja boy is a good rapper.
ReplyDeleteMy final post is most likely going to be an incoherent ramble about whatever comes to mind. So I went to a movie last night The Ugly Truth funniest movie I have seen all year, anyways there was this group of kids there and I swear that it was impossible for this group of ignorant kids to shut the heck up like you are not the only one in the theater and clapping really loud during a funny part in a movie is something that you do in your house or somewhere else other then the theater. How hard is it to actually sit there and watch a movie without making some obnoxious noise or pulling your cell phone out and texting that is another thing people who answer there cell phones during the movie come on have the decency to get your lazy but out of your chair and walk out of the theater if it is that important once again you are not the only one in the theater.
ReplyDeleteSo I was going through reading peoples blogs and I saw one that was on tipping and it is a good point tipping is really not a hard thing to do like what are you out a whole 5 bucks or so depending on where you go but really these people make most of there money off of your tips. It reminds me of a scene from Reservoir Dogs where they all pitch in a dollar except for Mr. Pink who goes off on this rant about how he does not believe in tipping and they all go off on him about how waitresses make there living off of tips. And then I remembered this sign I saw when I went to go get a tattoo and it said “tip-ping is not a city in china” and it make me laugh.
I read another one that was about Eminem and why people hate him and it’s not because he curses cause really who doesn’t these days honestly? The only reason he ever went anywhere was because he had Dr. Dre making beats for him and telling people that he was great and what not now I am not going to say that he is a bad rapper or whatever but the best that walked come on dude without Dre or 2Pac I will even go as far as to say Biggy Smalls there would be no Eminem for you to be standing up for, I mean the guy became famous by talking about killing is wife and all this stupid sh** and kids thought that was the coolest thing that they had ever heard. What a great person to look up to good job.Well all and all I thought that this was a really fun class to take .
Some people grow up to be doctors and lawyers. Also some people grow up to be nothing at all. There is a very big difference between someone being very successful and someone holding up a slow sign on a construction site the rest of their lives. I believe that it all comes down to the environment they grow up in, and the families which they are apart of.
ReplyDeleteI have looked at both sides of this and I have seen when people grow up where their family isn't supportive or there for them and pushes them to be better, then they aren't very successful in life. I know that there is the exception where someone grew up in a poor family and became a multi millionaire. But were talking about the majority. The fact is, is that people that grow up in these situations don't become their potential.
For myself I went to school and I didn't care very much. I graduated high school without thinking too much of my future. My parents didn't push me too much to achieve anything very high, so I didn't achieve anything high.
Then I started dating this girl. They were a pretty wealthy family and they would what I would call successful. I met all their family and there was something very different in that family than there was in my family. All of their kids were aiming for something high in their life. They wanted to be successful even from when they were in Jr. High and also High School. They all took college classes in high school and had their associates degree even before graduating high school. Then I looked at myself at age 23 and I didn't even have my bachelors. My parents or siblings never told me I could take college classes in high school. No one ever pushed me to be successful and to do good in school. I just went through the motions just like I thought everyone else was.
After this moment when I took a look at this family I devoted myself that when I have kids I will push them to be the best they can be. I want them to be successful in life and I don't want them to think that they missed the opportunity or didn't know.
It doesn't matter if your family is poor or rich. It just matters that you help your kid become the best he can be. Families today are not doing a good enough job and are withholding their child from being great. I am just greatful I eventually saw what I could achieve in life. It was better late than never. But it could have been so much sooner and I would have been better prepared.
Don't with hold your child from being successful in life. Let him have every opportunity he should. Let every person out there have his own opportunity to be successful so that he or she isn't working fast food or some other mediocure job the rest of their life!
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ReplyDeleteAdvertisement corporations spend more than $12 billion per year on advertisements aimed at children and adolescents, resulting in the average child to be exposed to approximately 40,000 commercials a year – this not including radio, billboard, or any other type of advertisements (Willenz, par. 2). Not only are children exposed to this many advertisements annually, but think about how such companies impact children and their developmental stages, in addition to their sociological issues with parents and peers, and their struggles against childhood obesity. Therefore, advertising agencies should only go so far when it comes to where they aim their products, and to whom they aim such products at. Parents do not have the ability to hold back everything their children see, so it’s only fair that these companies put forth the effort to help create a stable and healthy childhood for their targeted youth groups.
ReplyDeleteChannel One, a news network dedicated to “enriching” the lives of teenagers all over the nation, was established in 1989 and only targeted youth groups at schools, thus only airing at schools. Still popular today, it is one way parents can definitely have no control when it comes to how many advertisements their children are exposed to; statistics show that more than 8 million students nationally in 41% of schools – public and private – are being targeted with ads. Channel One manipulates the viewers into thinking that their lives aren’t worthwhile unless they have the most updated technological devices, or unless they are able to acquire a McDonalds Big Mac meal every time they go out to lunch with their friends. Channel One does a lot of “echo chambering,” or replaying advertisements to subconsciously get the youth groups hooked on their products. One advertising executive stated, “You’ve got to teach kids throughout the day – in school, as they’re shopping in the mall…or at the movies. You’ve got to become a part of the fabric of their lives.” (Fox, 2006.)
Although it would seem logical to take such a manipulative television broadcast out of public and private schools, Channel One does hold its benefits. It gives schools satellites, entire computer labs, faster Internet connections, and even training for teachers and administrators. However, all of these wondrous technologies and services come with one price: the allowing of advertising in and on them. That’s right; the schools get everything free as long as company logos are exposed all over the equipment. Well, about 9,000 schools signed up, so they must be doing something right…Right? (Fox, 2006.)
Channel One gives every school free televisions and installation for the devices as well, but there’s always a catch with free stuff, isn’t there? Two minutes of every twelve-minute Channel One program are devoted to commercials. Now, not only does the company require students to watch Channel One, but they require 80% of the classrooms to watch it 90% of schooldays, thus resulting in food, clothing, and other teen-targeting companies to expand their ads throughout schools without parents – or even the viewers, for that matter – even knowing it, and they can’t do anything about it either. The price corporations pay is about $200,000 for a 30-second spot, profiting Channel One $1.8 billion per year. The insanity doesn’t stop there: not only are the parents not allowed to do anything about Channel One – or preview what will be on the upcoming broadcast – but the administrators and teachers aren’t either! Nobody can preview the upcoming daily show that will be delivered to students because the signals of the show are obtained in a locked metal box, to which only Channel One personnel hold the key. (Fox and Nestle, 2005-06.) If that isn’t unfair, what is? Talk about indecent exposure.
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Another way advertisements tend to cross the line is when it comes to the raising target in childhood obesity. They don’t care what their ads contain as long as their products get sold, and targeting younger children has certainly become a hobby of fast and junk food companies. The reasons are understandable though, children control what most of their parents consume; once they see what is on television, they see at the store, so when Mom refuses to buy it, tantrums spring out. Wanting those things but not getting them results in a struggling bond between parent and child, who wouldn’t get mad at Mom, “That was like the best gum ever, why couldn’t I have it?” According to Marion Nestle, Chairman of New York University’s Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, children aged 7-12 have been showed to control $8.9 billion – teenagers $119 billion – of their parents’ spending.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the American Psychological Association (APA), research shows that children under the age of eight are unable to accept advertisements as anything but the truth, which can lead to unhealthy eating habits among children, thus resulting in a childhood obesity epidemic. Particularly alarming to the APA is commercial corporations that use psychological research to make their ads more influential: advertisers use famous cartoon characters such as Spongebob Squarepants and Blue’s Clues to hold in front of sugary cereal boxes, and include toys inside to wind the kids into thinking they must have the cereal with their favorite character on it, regardless of how unhealthy it is. (Not to mention the insanely colorful boxes the companies include – it’s no wonder the children are so attracted.) (Dittmann, Pg. 58.)
Childhood obesity is spreading, and uncontrolled advertisements are getting children more hooked on unhealthy products than ever. Nestle’s study showed that children attained 50% of their calories from added fats and sugars, and only 1% actually followed anything close to the Food Pyramid. (Nestle, 2005.)
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Recently, researchers from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University conducted a new study which proves that seeing food advertisements can persuade people to eat more while watching them. The researchers performed a psychological experiment with children and food to observe how much television affects the average child and how much he/she eats while watching. They placed 118 children, ages 7-11, into two separate rooms to watch a 14-minute cartoon and gave them bowls of Goldfish crackers to munch on while watching. During the commercial breaks, one room of children saw advertisements for games and entertainment, and the other room watched four junk food commercials, which included fruit roll-ups and potato chips. The children in the latter room ate 45% more Goldfish than those who just watched the game commercials. The researchers’ experiment concludes that it is a, “direct casual link between food advertising and greater snack consumption.” (Mindlin, pg. B.3.)
ReplyDeleteWhen interrogated, food companies defended their targeting of children in many ways, saying that expression of their advertisements was freedom of speech, that their commercials made children eat breakfast, which is healthy, and that no foods contribute to childhood obesity, “exercise – not diet – is the key to weight control.” (Collins, 2005.) One thing is certain, childhood obesity is rising by the year, and obviously diets can’t be the only answer – youth targeting advertisement companies are hugely at fault.
Childhood materialism is a big factor when it comes to advertisements geared toward children as well. According to reasonable statistics, each week the typical American child intakes a full work week of advertisements just from television alone. Parents are struggling to fight for what their children are exposed to because it’s everywhere; ad companies even hire the best psychologists and market researchers to help lure children into buying their products. (Lankford, 2006.) Corporations are alienating children from their parents, thus causing the parents to be scared of separation from their kids unless they give them what they want. And what do they want? Everything that’s on television, of course, resulting in a large amount of “spoiled” kids. Advertising agencies today are targeting children younger than ever before, especially those who cannot distinguish the difference between the actual program and the commercial, therefore making the children think that either is unbiased and true. According to the APA, studies of children indicated that those below age 4 cannot distinguish the show or movie from the commercial and that those below the age of 8 don’t understand the persuasiveness and biased intent of commercials. What’s even more frightening is how young ad agencies are really influencing these children. James U. McNeal is a marketing professor at Texas A&M University, and is very dedicated at targeting children advertisement-wise. He states, “The consumer embryo begins to develop the first year of existence. Children begin their consumer journey in infancy and certainly deserve consideration as consumers all that time.”
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Many corporations and companies, including the APA, are very committed to providing restrictions among advertising executives. The Psychological Association wants to regulate laws in such a way that no agencies target children under eight years old, as they cannot distinguish biased and unbiased commercial behavior. This is the most strict yet most appealing standard to set upon corporations. The agencies can still target their children and make their money, just not to those who cannot even tell what a commercial is, as this is completely unfair to the children and parents. Hopefully companies take this into consideration in the United States, because other countries are already on top; Australia bans food advertisements aimed at children fourteen and younger, the Netherlands have a strict law that asks companies not to advertise junk food to kids younger than twelve, and Sweden prohibits the use of cartoon characters to advertise junk food to kids. These countries have already taken action…So why haven’t we? It’s about time something is done about all the advertising aimed at children, because it’s causing corrupted lives for them as well as everyone involved with raising them. (Fox, 2006.)
ReplyDeleteSOURCES
http://student.britannica.com/comptons/art-101384/Colorful-billboard-advertisements-and-illuminated-signs-line-the-streets-of
http://www.apa.org/releases/childrenads_summary.pdf
http://libweb.slcc.edu:2885/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010388217&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=slcc&version=1.0
http://libweb.slcc.edu:2885/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010413206&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=slcc&version=1.0
http://www.apa.org/releases/childrenads.html
http://www.apa.org/monitor/jun04/protecting.html
http://libweb.slcc.edu:2885/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010311204&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=slcc&version=1.0
http://libweb.slcc.edu:2885/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010388213&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=slcc&version=1.0.
We are now living in the 20th century, everyone are so busy with their life at work, at school, and family. Those several things are good enough to create all the stress. People have to work and have to deal with their family’s life; sometimes it’s really hard for people to keep balancing on both of those jobs.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many things can cause stress, family’s problem, work, school, money, and relationship…etc, for example one of my friend she work at the Smith’s and you know market are the biggest place to engaged the stress. She have to deal with so many customer per day, sometimes the customer are really hard to deal with, being unreasonable is one of the problem. Customer like to create a problem so they could get discount, and think about this how many customer she have to please per day to keep her job? Sometimes she told me that she can’t deal with that anymore but she still has to keep the job just to pay the bills. That’s life.
If we can’t find the balancing in life stress will get worse and create other problems, even small amount of stress can affect your health. Short periods of stress can also compromise your immune system, elevating your risk of illness such as hair loss, changing attitude, and emotional stress can lead to psychosomatic illness.
Sometimes I think that being a human is really hard, I rather be a fish so I don’t have to care about anything, just kidding. This summer I having a really cool class which is this class, at least I don’t have to do homework and test and presentation. I didn’t know that I could enjoy this class because when I look at the schedule it said 5 hours class and I was like Oh My God, this must be kidding, however, this class was really good I felt like I was in the theater and having popcorn while watching movie. The entire movies that we watched had the controversy issues, and it’s real, it’s not just the movie. It’s something we people should care about.
Many people in the United States think immigration in America is a major problem. It can be a problem when too many immigrants come to a small town and basically overwhelm the petite community. However, in most cases immigration actually benefits the community as a whole.
ReplyDeleteThe United States of America has only been about country 160 years. Most of the people living in this country had family immigrate here within the last three generations. So why are you so great that your family was able to come to this country less than 200 years ago to make a better life for future generations and these new immigrants are not. The first argument I hear is that they taking American citizens’ jobs. They are taking jobs but usually they are jobs the average American would not do. They take these low level jobs such as cleaners, landscapers, any hard labor, and most of the time for minimum wages. Not only that, many take on two or three of these jobs, because they are so low paying one job would not provide enough money to live in this country.
Another argument I hear is that they are sending most of their money out of the United States which hurts our economy. It is true many send money back to their home country to help support their family and other loved ones in their home country. However, their wages are so low it is mainly just a drop in the bucket. On the contrary, the labor they provide is making hefty amounts of money for the upper level management and owners of the companies they work for. This totally negates the small amount of money they are able to send to help their families.
The last argument I’m going to talk about is the problems immigrants bring to America. Yes, some immigrants do cause trouble and break the laws of America. There are always going to be a few bad people in a large mass. However, this is not the norm, and therefore a whole group of people should not be excluded from America due to a few bad seeds. The people that break laws should be dealt with on an individual basis. This is a problem created by the government. Each immigrant that comes to America should be able to apply and quickly receive a work permit and identification. This will allow the government to easily keep track of each individual immigrant as they will be documented. If an immigrant breaks the law he should have his work permit taken away and be barred from re-entering this country. If the immigrant does re-enter the government will have documentation on this person which will make identifying them easier.
There are other problems mass immigration does create such as large amounts of people living in one dwelling, or so many immigrants descending on a small town that it overwhelms the community. These problems should be addressed accordingly but immigration should not be banned as a whole.
Remember the next time you eat at a restaurant, the prices would be about three times larger if they had to pay an American Citizen higher wages to run the restaurant. Also remember the next time you have a house built or landscaped you will pay much more money for the hard labor that is required for these projects. You will have less money to pay for everything else which in turn hurts the economy.
Alrighty…I’ve gone back and forth about what I wanted to “rant and rave” about. I’ve finally narrowed it down to three. Two that pertain to the class and one that doesn’t. I’ll start with the one that doesn’t and get that out of the way…
ReplyDeletePregnancy –
Seriously, people, I think that MOST people know not to ask a woman if she’s pregnant, when she’s due, etc. unless you ABSOLUTELY KNOW that she is. Otherwise, you’re risking offending her and making yourself look like an idiot! However, there are a few things that are maybe NOT so common knowledge about it and I’d like to share those now.
Don’t come up to a pregnant woman (even if you are CERTAIN she’s expecting) and rub her belly. Some women (a VERY small percentage) don’t care. The rest of us do. I don’t know what it is that makes people think it’s ok to do so. Even when my son is kicking, only my hubby, kids, mom, and best friend have felt it and even then, by invitation only. Now, I’m not anti-touching. If I see something stuck in someone’s hair, I’ll pull it out for them…but before I do so, I ASK! A simple, “Hey, there’s something in your hair, can I get it out for you?” is simple enough. Most people appreciate you helping them out, but appreciate even more that you ASKED first! I just don’t see what it is in our culture that makes people think it’s ok to come up and touch my belly! I know it’s GINORMOUS and it sticks way out there. I’ve even bumped into a few people with it because I’m not used to so little space in front of me, but that just doesn’t make it ok.
My other BIG pregnancy peeve is stories…For some reason, as soon as people find out I’m pregnant, they feel the need to tell me about all the women they know who have lost babies either before they were born, while delivering, or just after and tell me how it happened, or was was suspected to have been the cause. Now, I appreciate that people don’t want me to go through the same thing but I don’t need to hear all the horror stories about women losing their babies! When you meet someone who has cancer, do you immediately pull out your laundry list of all the people you know who have DIED from Cancer? Heck no! (At least, I certainly HOPE not!) I just don’t see how this is any different. Now, if I were doing something that was BLATANTLY bad for the baby like smoking or drinking alcohol…or even sitting in a hot tub, fine, speak up. There are always bits of advice that I appreciate receiving. For instance, I didn’t know that I shouldn’t take Pepto Bismol. Apparently it’s Aspirin based and I didn’t have a clue. I LIVE on Pepto as part of my daily routine ever since I had my gallbladder removed and I was horrified to find this out as I didn’t know I was pregnant until I was 4 ½ months along this time. But that’s just different. When I was told that, the person who told me didn’t tell me about all the babies she knew who died or have birth defects from their mothers taking Pepto!
Okay, pregnancy rant over. Moving on…
For my other two posts I’m going to counter what someone said on a couple of the movie posts…By coincidence, it was the same person who wrote both posts. Actually, I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, it’s not too surprising that with he and I disagreeing on one thing, we would disagree on another. I wouldn’t name names, except that in case you have an interest to go back and read what it is that I’m countering, this will make it easier. So, Spencer Ward, here goes! (And I apologize, this is NOT personal!)
ReplyDeleteI’ll start with the post about PETA from Penn & Teller.
You paraphrased the Bible in your defense of eating animals. YOU even stated that we are to do so “in times of famine”. I could tell by some of what you posted that you are LDS, then I clicked on your name (I was trying to see if I could see everything you’ve posted on here by doing so…it didn’t work) and was taken to your blog. This confirmed my assumption about your religion as I saw the beautiful pictures of you and your lovely wife standing outside the Salt Lake Temple on your recent wedding day. I will tell you that I, too am LDS and therefore know scripture not only from the Bible, but also the exclusively LDS scriptures including the Doctrine and Covenants. If you were to read the Word of Wisdom which is contained within this book…specifically in section 89, you will find that statement about famine backed up.
D&C 89:12 Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly;
13 And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.
14 All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth;
15 And athese hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.
Now, I don’t know how ANYONE can say that in the year 2009 in the United States of America that we are in a time of famine. And anyone who tries to say that we are is full of it! Now, this, of course, is only relevant if you believe in and follow the Word of Wisdom. It’s very important to me to do so because I try to be as healthy as possible, and follow the teaching of the Gospel. I’m not perfect at it by ANY stretch of the imagination, but I try. The Word of Wisdom is one part that I have NO issue with!
So, after de-bunking your religious claim to the right to eat animals, I will move on to your hunting. How is it that you can POSSIBLY say: “I agree that people should always treat animals humanely, but I will always love hunting and will do my best to hunt responsibly.” Seriously? What on God’s green Earth makes you think that you can POSSIBLY hunt in a humane manner? What is humane about that????
(Oh, and for anyone who may be interested, you can find the Word of Wisdom online at http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/89 It really is incredible that in the year 1833 an uneducated man could have known about all of these things that the rest of the world didn’t know were bad for us until a hundred or so years later! Makes you think that, just MAYBE, there was a higher power involved!)
Alright, enough about that. Moving right along, again…
Transgenderism:
ReplyDeleteSpencer, you said: “I believe that gender is a very important part of who we were even before we were created and will last with us forever. I think that no matter how good the medical field becomes, it will never be good enough to really change someone’s gender. Males will always deep down continue to be males and females respectively.”
I agree with you 100%!!! However, we just seem to have different ways of looking at it. The woman in the movie, along with most all women in her position, was female before she got to earth. Something got mixed up along the way. I agree that no matter HOW GOOD the medical field becomes, they can’t change that. She was supposed to be a woman and when we get to the next life (Heaven, Celestial Kingdom, whatever anyone wants to call it…) that she will STILL be a woman because that is what our creator intended.
I cannot be convinced of the whole “God doesn’t make mistakes” thing in defense of what you said. He doesn't make mistakes. I don’t believe that He made a mistake. Just as I don’t believe it’s a mistake when someone is born without a limb, or has an extra finger, or is blind, deaf, Homosexual or has Multiple Sclerosis! These were not mistakes. These people were born this way on purpose. They are one of the trials that this person has to endure and overcome in this life. We all have them. I’m very glad that my trials have nothing to do with my gender and I’m sure you are, too.
I happen to know that the LDS Church backs this up. I know a woman who is pre-op M-F Transgendered and is LDS. She’s been told by her church leaders that once she has the surgery, she will initially be ex-communicated because her records are in the name she was given at birth and listed as a man. She will then be able to be re-baptised as a woman and will have her records reflect her new name. Then, after the usual one-year post-baptism time frame, she will be able to go through the Temple, either on her own or with her fiance or husband and they can be sealed.
Knowing our church, I don’t believe that they would support this woman, or any of the other people who have gone through this, in doing so if they didn’t understand that it was God’s will and part of His plan.
I hope that taking this class will open your eyes, mind, and heart to be accepting and loving to all without judgement. Just as Christ was and is and has commanded us to be.
John 13: 34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
God loves us all...Transgered, Homosexual, Heterosexual, etc. The scripture didn't say "I love you all EXCEPT..." for anyone!
I am going to write my final post on the Utah Jazz and why the team is going to have a successful year in the 09-10 N.B.A season. There has been a lot of question as to whether the Jazz are doing the right thing by keeping Carlos Boozer on their team and not dishing him off for salary cap space before the season begins. There has also been a lot of heat that Carlos Boozer has taken because of comments he has made off the court 1st of all pertaining to his intentions on what he was going to do when it came to opting in or out of the final year of his current contract and 2ndly where he would like to play next season. To touch on the first point the Jazz are absolutley doing the right thing by keeping Carlos Boozer on their team for the upcoming N.B.A season. He is a player that is going to give you 20 points and 10 rebounds every night that he steps onto the floor without question. This is something the Jazz haven’t had since Karl Malone left the team to play with the Los Angeles Lakers. Even though keeping Carlos does mean that the Jazz have the same team thay had last year but are paying more for it this year because they decided to keep Paul Milsap. The fact of the matter is that the Jazz are a better team when they have Boozer starting with Deron Williams and Paul Milsap backing Carlos up off the bench.
ReplyDeleteI have no question in my mind that eventually Paul Milsap will be an all-star in the N.B.A but right now he still needs time to develop as a player and the Jazz need a strong power forward in Boozer that can get the team rolling at the start of a game and a quality back up in Milsap that can step in when Boozer is tired so the team doesn’t miss a beat. Right now if the Jazz were to let Carlos go for salary cap space or just trade him away for very little to nothing in return it would ruin any shot they have at being a contender for a title this year because it would signifigantly take depth away from their bench and line up overall because they would have to put Milsap into that starting role and while he is an excellent player he does have limitations. When he stepped in for an injured Carlos Boozer last year he was amazing up until mid way through the season as it got closer to the playoffs teams started scouting him better because initially they just weren’t prepared for him.
The comments that Boozer has made off the court about his intention to opt out of the final year of his current contract was not a good decision and definatlet didn’t and still doesn’t sit well with a lot of fans. The fact of the matter is that the N.B.A just like any other sports league is a busniess and the players in that league are going to do what’s best for their bottom line and I believe that this is what he was trying to do when he said that he was definatley going to opt out and get a raise coming into this season. I do think that saying that comment while he was injured and an ESPN reporter mid way through the season was probably not the wisest of times to let that be known but their was also a man a few years back that played for the Jazz as well by the name of Karl Malone who also made comments that upset fans and media alike. The biggest diffence between the two though is that Karl only missed 8 games through his 18 year career here in Utah and Carlos to this point has missed about 1 in every 3. So maybe in some peoples eyes Karl earned the right to say what he wanted when he wanted.
Carlos Boozer, con't:
ReplyDeleteAs far as whether or not the Jazz will keep Carlos all the way through the year this year well only time will tell. It definatley will take a lot of time for him to earn back the trust and respect of the fans if he does stay and you can bet that there will be a lot of booing at Energy Solutions Arena if he does indeed start the season here. However it will be intersting to see what happens at the end of the year with a healthy Jazz team which last year had people thinking that they were a contender to win the champinship but were serverley bitten by the injury bug and coinsidentaly slipped lower in the playoff positioning than they would have otherwise. If the Jazz were to go deep into the playoffs this year and have that successful season which in all honesty could happen potentially could lead to many more years down the line with Carlos on the team.