Although I usually am not a history buff or someone who knows a lot about war, I have found this past unit to be surprisingly interesting. I've really enjoyed the things we've read and watched about the Vietnam war, and I am actually learning quite a bit about the war as well.
After reading "Times have changed for student protesters" by Lampert Smith, I got a new perspective on what it must have been like for the protesters we watched yesterday and the day before in "Two Days in October."
The article talked about how college students today want to protest, and they care a little, but they don't care that much. I think that is definitely true. Students today want to participate, but only when it is convenient for them. Heaven forbid they should miss the new episode of "Grey's Anatomy" (to steal Smith's example) or "The Hills," "The Office," etc. These shows can all be viewed at a later date on the Internet, and I'm sure they'll be aired multiple times on TV as well. Most people have the idea that things aren't' going to change, so there is no hurry and no reason to get out and try to change things right now. This idea could be what is hurting us. How can our politicians know what the people are thinking if no one is willing to give up their favorite TV show to speak out for what they believe?
Also, since no one is willing to give up precious TV time to speak out for a cause, they have no right to bitch and moan about how horrible our politicians are and about how horrible it is that we are in Iraq, how horrible it is that taxes are going to be raised, how horrible it is that texting is illegal while driving. If you have a problem with it, do something about it! You can't expect anything to change if you aren't willing to put in the time and effort to do something about it.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Slightly delayed...
This is my slightly delayed blog post from last week. I wanted to comment on Chelsea's choice essay presentation topic, but I seemed to have forgotten until just now. Oops.
Anyway, for those of you in the other class, Chelsea's article was about the state of Texas, and how their governor is threatening to take themselves out of the United States and become their own country. How exactly would this work? It would be odd to see Texas split up into small states within itself. Not to mention, it screws up our whole "Fifty Nifty United States" song that we sang back in fifth grade.
There's also the fact that I don't think Texas is either large enough or powerful enough to survive on their own. They don't have the resources to keep themselves stocked with everything they need. And it wouldn't be a surprise to me if all of the other states in America started charging them more for anything they buy from the U.S., if they were to separate themselves from us.
An overwhelming number of Texans think it would be a good idea for them to separate from the U.S. What are they basing this idea off of? Do they realize that their resources would be incredibly small? Heaven forbid anyone tried to go to war with them, they would get absolutely demolished. There's no way a single state can turn itself into a country and be successful against a larger force such as Russia, the U.S., or any other large country in the world.
To me, this idea is simply absurd. The people of Texas need to get over themselves and learn how to get along with the rest of the country. Taxes are going to go up no matter what, and splitting off from the U.S. is not going to solve their problems, it is only going to create different ones.
Anyway, for those of you in the other class, Chelsea's article was about the state of Texas, and how their governor is threatening to take themselves out of the United States and become their own country. How exactly would this work? It would be odd to see Texas split up into small states within itself. Not to mention, it screws up our whole "Fifty Nifty United States" song that we sang back in fifth grade.
There's also the fact that I don't think Texas is either large enough or powerful enough to survive on their own. They don't have the resources to keep themselves stocked with everything they need. And it wouldn't be a surprise to me if all of the other states in America started charging them more for anything they buy from the U.S., if they were to separate themselves from us.
An overwhelming number of Texans think it would be a good idea for them to separate from the U.S. What are they basing this idea off of? Do they realize that their resources would be incredibly small? Heaven forbid anyone tried to go to war with them, they would get absolutely demolished. There's no way a single state can turn itself into a country and be successful against a larger force such as Russia, the U.S., or any other large country in the world.
To me, this idea is simply absurd. The people of Texas need to get over themselves and learn how to get along with the rest of the country. Taxes are going to go up no matter what, and splitting off from the U.S. is not going to solve their problems, it is only going to create different ones.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Sound & Fury
This is slightly delayed due to my illness last week, and the tennis sub sectional and sectional that caused me to miss 3 days of school. Anyway, I had a few thoughts on the Sound & Fury video we watched during class.
I thought the video was surprisingly good. For being a documentary revolving around the deaf person's decisions whether or not to get an implant, it was actually interesting. It was obvious that the struggles they were facing and the things the people in the video were dealing with were real.
The video made me wonder what I'd do if I were to ever be in that type of situation. That's definitely a tough thing to think about right now, considering it will be a long time before I have children and have to make that type of decision. Nonetheless, it could happen, and this video probably helped prepare me in case it ever does.
The parents in the video made some relevant points, such as how the children who got implants were thrust into the hearing world and no longer wanted anything to do with the deaf world. It took away the connection they had with the deaf world. You could see that with the little girl who didn't even realize she was deaf, because she had had the implant for so long and could hear and speak just like anyone else. I guess that makes sense why Heather's mother and father thought that an implant was a bad idea.
On the other hand, since Heather had already been taught sign language and knew how to effectively connect with the deaf world, it probably would have been ok for her to get an implant. Since she already knows how to speak sign language and her whole family is deaf, her parents wouldn't have to worry about her losing connection with the deaf world or not realizing that she was deaf. She might have some initial problems learning to speak since none of her immediate family can speak, but she could get by with the help of speech therapists and her speaking grandparents or other relatives. I think it would have been a good idea to get Heather the implant that she wanted. It would have given her the opportunity to fit in with both the hearing world and the deaf world, and she could have helped be a translator for her parents and her siblings when dealing with other hearing people.
I thought the video was surprisingly good. For being a documentary revolving around the deaf person's decisions whether or not to get an implant, it was actually interesting. It was obvious that the struggles they were facing and the things the people in the video were dealing with were real.
The video made me wonder what I'd do if I were to ever be in that type of situation. That's definitely a tough thing to think about right now, considering it will be a long time before I have children and have to make that type of decision. Nonetheless, it could happen, and this video probably helped prepare me in case it ever does.
The parents in the video made some relevant points, such as how the children who got implants were thrust into the hearing world and no longer wanted anything to do with the deaf world. It took away the connection they had with the deaf world. You could see that with the little girl who didn't even realize she was deaf, because she had had the implant for so long and could hear and speak just like anyone else. I guess that makes sense why Heather's mother and father thought that an implant was a bad idea.
On the other hand, since Heather had already been taught sign language and knew how to effectively connect with the deaf world, it probably would have been ok for her to get an implant. Since she already knows how to speak sign language and her whole family is deaf, her parents wouldn't have to worry about her losing connection with the deaf world or not realizing that she was deaf. She might have some initial problems learning to speak since none of her immediate family can speak, but she could get by with the help of speech therapists and her speaking grandparents or other relatives. I think it would have been a good idea to get Heather the implant that she wanted. It would have given her the opportunity to fit in with both the hearing world and the deaf world, and she could have helped be a translator for her parents and her siblings when dealing with other hearing people.
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