last blog the semester, yo.

 Technology; the key to communication on a mass scale in a matter of seconds. Imagine the world that has become so reliant on these resources literally at its fingertips having them removed in just a few minutes. The results are unfathomable, yet they can become a reality. Electromagnetic pulse attacks are a warfare technique that targets satellites, a creation that could take warfare to a whole new level, if we let it. Many people in the United States refuse to view the threats that are out there because this nation has the greatest military in the world, now I ask those of you that are listening: what makes it the greatest? The answer is simple, our technology. What would we be without it as a military? What would we be without it as a nation? And what can we do to remove this threat? I give you a look at reality. This nation does not have the world’s  best military. 

In the 1960’s Hawaii had experienced some odd occurrences regarding their technology. It was found by researchers that an EMP had been used on the islands targeting the United States military. The U.S. military itself had not experienced problems, since most of the field equipment and ships exposed to EMP had electronic systems relying on vacuum tubes. In the 1970's, it was discovered that vacuum tubes have about 10 million times more hardness against EMP than integrated solid-state circuitry. Now here is the scary part, all of our satellites use that circuitry and are thereby vulnerable to an EMP attack. 

Iran could potentially cause havoc in the Strait of Hormuz, a strip of water separating Oman and Iran, which connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.  But its navy would be no match for the firepower of the Fifth Fleet which consists of 20-plus ships supported by combat aircraft. John Daly, Eurasian foreign affairs and defense policy expert in DC, stated last year that Iran has been testing EMP technology in the straights. They know that the fifth fleet could easily have all of its communications neutralized by this asymmetric warfare. I am not saying that this will happen, but imagine if it did. Imagine if any nation used such an attack on our satellites. The economic, social, and political havoc that would take place is chilling. The mere existence of such a weapon should be enough to implant vacuum tubes in our satellites, let alone a direct threat. 

It would cost a lot of money to do this, I won’t lie about that. It will put us further in debt, this is true. Yet what good is an economy when a nation’s security is at stake? Our nation may have a great military, but we have a huge hole that is getting bigger as we expand technological reliance. So, I propose the implant of vacuum tubes, or at least the use of them here on out. This is not the best military in the world… but it can be. 

    

Basketball community and the search for a place in the world

I began my study of the sport of basketball when I was, well, born. In fact, my father left the hospital to go sit on the fourth row of the NCAA basketball tournament final four in 1996. Basketball influences my life continuously as I watch almost every Kentucky game and live in Lexington one of the strongholds of enthusiastic fans. Basketball creates community and encourages competition for those who watch it.

People long to belong with others. As Susan Cain says in an article for the New York Times, "Collaboration is in." Many if not all of us have been to Rupp Arena, the home court of the Wildcats. However, or all have been to a ball game, and so have missed part of the incredible feeling you expirience.  The exhilarating feeling one experiences during this is incredible. I have been to many ball games and feel strongly about Kentucky winning just like almost everyone else in the arena creating a sense of belonging hard to find anywhere else, satiating my need for a place to belong. 

Kentucky and Duke hold one of the most contentious rivalries in college basketball. The entire rivalry started because of one man, a man who if I could choose one person to never be born I would choose, a man named Christian Laettner. The year: 1992, the game: NCAA regional final, the first Final Four appearance in a number of years on the line. Early in the game, Laettner purposefully stomps of a Kentucky player, warranting a ejection however not even a foul is called. Even Laettner admits, "it was a big mistake. It's worthy of a technical. I don't think it's worthy of getting kicked out of the game even though all the Kentucky fans will disagree with me on that." And rightfully so Timberlake the player stepped on was hurt by the savagery. 1.3 seconds left Kentucky is up 2 points 103-101 Duke inbounds the ball to Laettner he shoots it behind his back makes the goal and wins 104-103, the worst loss in basketball history. This game sparked books such as Duke Sucks and Kentucky vs. Duke: The Rivalry That Started It All which highlight the impact of this game upon our lives. It changed not only the lives of Kentucky fans but also the entire regulations of fouls in college basketball. If you can't tell I hate Duke with a burning passion. This rivalry creates more of a competitive urge in me than just about anything else and competition, the drive to succeed is something everyone needs.

Basketball whether you currently watch it or not has a impact on your life. Watching basketball grants a drive not many activities may. People should watch sports especially basketball for these effects and stop complaining that it's all about the money athletes deserve to be payed they preform an important job in society.

No Child Left Behind, Except the United States

            When one looks at the world OECD education rankings, it’s not only immediately evident that the United States is well below first world countries such as Canada (number three overall) and Japan (number five overall), but surprisingly, it is also below countries such as Poland (number twelve overall) and Iceland (number thirteen overall). How did we as an economic powerhouse and as such an internationally influential country fall this far academically? After all, in 2001, we established the No Child Left Behind Act in order to improve our education system. Unfortunately, contrary to its name, this act did leave one child behind: The United States of America.

             

            Let us first take a look at what the No Child Left Behind Act set out to accomplish as well as the resulting government costs. The No Child Left Behind Act states that schools will receive federal funding if schools administer state-wide administrative tests to students and if they meet the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirement, which basically means that the average test score for a certain grade-level, such as seventh grade, must be better than the previous year’s average score. Failure to meet this goal for three consecutive years results in the school being forced to provide free tutoring and other such services and five consecutive years can result in the school being shut down. Additionally, each year the AYP score is not met, the funding is reduced. Just how much money is the government pouring into this law? According to “NLCB Under a Microscope,” in the school year of 2004-2005 alone, the states were left with a surplus of at least 780 million dollars after receiving a budget of 71.47 billion dollars. It is obvious that the government has much faith in the No Child Left Behind Act, but just how successful has the act been in the last eleven years?

            

            Well, to answer the question posed at the end of the previous paragraph, it has not been very successful. The evidence is clear when one looks at the Nation’s Report Card (courtesy of the National Center of Education Statistics): no change in Eighth Grade reading between 2002 and 2009, little improvement in fourth grade reading proficiency, and only slightly smaller score gaps between ethnicities. Why exactly has this happened? We poured so much money into this act, and yet, it has barely changed anything. One could easily blame the students, calling those who do below average lazy or ambitionless, but are they really to blame? No, rather than blame them, we must look at ourselves as well as the United States itself to realize the truth: we have left a child behind, a fact that will haunt all of our own children until we adopt this lost child and set it on the path that so many parents want their kids to walk as well. This child is the United States of America.

            

             In its short 236 years of being a country, the United States, being the melting pot that it is, has formed a rather unique culture. This culture, like other cultures, has preferences toward certain attributes, examples being athleticism and social communication. However, one attribute in particular that many other countries find desirable is often looked down upon in the United States. This attribute is intelligence. The evidence is clear the moment anyone of any age turns on the television. The kids watch “Jimmy Neutron” or “Dexter’s Laboratory,” both shows are about an incredibly intelligent kid who has a secret lab but is constantly picked on by the people around him. It is clear that both protagonists are unpopular in their respective schools as well because of their intelligence. In the somewhat more realistic “Drake and Josh” reality TV show, something older kids may watch, one observes stark differences between the step-brothers. The intelligent one, Josh (played by Josh Peck) is shown as being goofy, prone to accidents, and often the butt of jokes. In contrast, Drake (played by Drake Bell) is shown as being below average in intelligence, but at the same time, popular, coordinated, and adored by girls. Even as we age into our teens, shows such as “The Simpsons” give us the socially awkward, but highly intellectual Professor Frink and the intelligent but comic-book obsessed Comic Book guy, both portrayed as lonely, loveless outcasts. There are plenty of other examples besides these, and they all point to a central theme of associating intelligence with unpopularity, awkwardness, and clumsiness. Although one can simply dismiss these influences as being unimportant, looking at how young America’s culture is, one could easily equate TV shows such as these with myths that often greatly shape the culture from which they are created. Because our country is so young, its culture is still very easily molded, and if we truly want our academic achievement to increase, rather than throwing money at the problem, we must make an effort change our culture, much in the same way one would try to change their own child’s behavior to fit what we consider to be a model for a proper behavior. It’s time for the United States to grow out of its immature ways and realize that in order to compete with other nations academically, it is going to have to start working hard to change its attitude.

           

            The best way to change the United States’s current attitude is to do what we have done for the country’s lifetime: adopt an aspect of culture from another country into our own, thus staying true to our title as a melting pot. In the case of academics, it is best to turn toward Japan. Japan, for all intents and purposes, is the complete opposite of the United States, a very homogeneous country where the focus on sports and individuality is minimal compared to the focus on academics and group cohesion. Many of their values stem from things such as the bushido code, which Academic Nationalism in China and Japan: Framed in Concepts of Nature, Culture, and the Universal notes as, “justice, courage, benevolence, politeness, veracity, honour, and loyalty.” Virtues such as these and many others are still present in Japan today, as is evidenced by the country having a very low crime-rate. Such values have led the Japanese to place importance in trying one’s best in whatever they are doing, and as a result, there is often a great deal of competition among peers, especially in an academic setting, to be the best. To add further contrast between the U.S. and Japan, let us take a look at the difference in word usage between the countries. In the U.S., before a test, we often wish each other, “Good luck!” as if it is merely luck that will allow us to pass a test in the end, while the Japanese say, “Ganbatte!” literally meaning, “Do your best!” This phrase of encouragement puts the result of the test entirely into the receiver’s hands, telling them to use all of the knowledge that they have culminated in order to pass the test. This difference in attitude and values, especially toward academics, may very well contribute to why the U.S. is only number fourteen on the chart mentioned in the opening paragraph. If we adopt aspects such as this into our own culture, it will be easy to pull the United States, the world’s youngest child, out of this academic slump.

           

            The first thing we as Americans need to do in order to create a similar respect toward those that possess intelligence that is to change how our culture treats those that are academically gifted, especially the way that the media presents them. As previously stated, like a child’s mind, the U.S.’s culture, is easily molded, so such a challenge is not as daunting as it first may seem. Firstly, we need to honor our scholars just as much as we honor those who can throw around a ball made of pigskin well. Not only that, but we must encourage children and teenagers to try hard in school and instill in them that intelligence is a value that is should not result in shame. One big way that we can bring about this change is by changing the archetypical intelligent, “nerdy” character we see in today’s television shows into a character well-respected by classmates and teachers but still given a character flaw that wouldn’t be out of the ordinary on any other average character; being intelligent would likely then become associated less with clumsiness and being socially awkward, and it would instead be seen as a generally positive character trait. This way, children are much less likely to fear the prospect of being intelligent or loathe those that are. It’s simple, the more our culture comes to accept intelligent people, whether through the media or from the new attitude our elders will instill in us, students will feel a much greater motivation to do well in school. Such changes to our culture will allow us to get rid of virtually useless programs such as the No Child Left Behind Act, because at that point, no child would want to get left behind, not even our little red, white, and blue.

             

              The United States has much untapped potential, but sadly, laws such as the No Child Left Behind Law simply will not bring that potential into the open. The biggest thing that is keeping us in our academic slump is our culture, not a lack of willpower. If we wish to compete with the likes of South Korea and Canada academically, we will have to change our culture. In conclusion, if the U.S. wants to compete academically with other top countries, we need to not only get rid of the No Child Left Behind Act, but our country must change its perspective on intelligent people as a whole.

speech

 Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. In 2008, more than one third of children were overweight. About 12.5 million children in America are overweight. 37.1% of children are considered either overweight or obese in Kentucky. I believe it is safe to say that these number are ridiculous. Childhood obesity is a big problem – literally; and it is growing each year. After thoroughly researching this topic and witnessing it first hand, the causes of childhood obesity have become quite obvious. Today I will discuss the two main causes of childhood obesity: eating too much and exercising too little.

Although it is sometimes attributed to genetics, eating too much has been recognized as the leading cause of childhood obesity. This is not all the children's fault, yes they are the ones putting the food in their mouth, but parents also play a huge role in this. Children learn their eating habits from their parents. All of us probably remember being rewarded for cleaning our plates at dinner with what? More food in the form of a sugary desserts. However we all must take into consideration what we were being fed, in my case it was always a balanced meal full of vegetables, grains, and protein so the sugary desert didn't really make a difference. But this is not the case with most families today. Everyday, 1/3 of children in America eat fast food. Let's take a moment to picture what the average kids meal entails. A greasy burger, maybe “chicken” nuggets, French fries, and a soda. With this is mind it is no surprise that kids that eat fast food will intake on average 200 more calories a day than children who do not. But fast food restaurants are not the only problem, every year portion sizes at all restaurants become larger and larger and consequently, Americans have developed a “more is better” mentality. Jennifer Fisher, an assistant professor at Baylor College, conducted a six-month study, in which two series of meals were served to thirty preschool children. The first series offered the children an appropriate portion of macaroni and cheese, while the second series offered the children double the portion. The researchers found that the children ate 25% more when they were served the larger portion. If parents would take the time to make meals at home with correct portion sizes the number of children in America who are overweight could be cut in half.

But overeating is not the only cause of childhood obesity. Not getting enough exercise is also a huge factor. Children ages 8-18 spend on average 4.5 hours a day watching television. In the past decade TV viewing has become large contributing factor to childhood obesity because it takes away from the time children spend in physical activities. Children are supposed to spend at least an hour a day in physical activity but in 2008 only 20% of children met those requirements. Schools have contributed to this by eliminating recess for middle schoolers and high schoolers. This time of an individuals life can be very stressful and difficult as this is a time full of change. A new school, puberty, figuring out who you are, temptation peer pressure, you name it. When people are stressed they eat more and by eliminating maybe the only physical activity some may have it is very detrimental. But just because your school doesn't have recess is not an excuse not to be active. Going to the gym after school, playing basketball with your friends, or even just taking a walk are all quality forms of exercise. Not only does physical activity prevent childhood obesity but it also can prevent strokes, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, depression, certain types of cancer, arthritis, and high blood pressure as well as improving your mood.

Childhood obesity becomes a vicious cycle as 70% of children who are overweight become obese adults who inevitably pass on those eating habits to their children. Being overweight during childhood increases the risk of developing high cholesterol, hypertension, respiratory ailments, orthopedic problems, depression and type 2 diabetes as a youth. One disease of particular concern is Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to overweight and obesity and has increased dramatically in children over the past 20 years. Obesity is 100% preventable. With eating the right amount of nutritious foods, and exercising daily this epidemic can be cured and the best place to start is with children.

It Starts With Us

America. A free, independent country.  A country with a dream. And, a country with a failing public school system. We spend the most on education than any other country but one, and yet results aren't being shown. For example, in the most recent PISA test, our country was one of 65 tested in three categories (math, reading, and science), and for one of the categories, we ranked 31^st place in our scores (with Shanghai, China being first in every test category). While our education isn't the worst in the world, we aren't the best; we are just mediocre. If we are a country full of rights, privileges, and money, why are we behind when it comes to education? The flaws of the educational system in America stem from lazy teachers /tenure, and a lack of successful schools.

          Poor teacher performance is one of the flaws of the educational system. Lazy teachers, in my opinion, become lazy because of tenure. Tenure basically ensures a teacher’s position until they retire, making it hard to fire them. This extremely flaws the public school system in America because it gives teachers the opportunity to not care as much as to whether students learn what they teach or not, since they just have a permanent job. While this is not true with every teacher, some will take advantage of the fact that they cannot get fired unless they do something horrible or drastic. If we as a nation could find a way to motivate teachers to teach students (for example, salary increases for teachers with student improvement or regular examinations of teachers with tenure to ensure their job is still being done), then we would be one step closer to improving our educational status in the world.

          Built upon the foundation of the lazy teachers, there is a lack of successful schools in all of America, which is another one of our flaws. There are only so many good and hard-working teachers to teach, so not every school can be successful. This is especially true in less fortunate neighborhoods and cities, where students often enter in lottery-like drawings to be admitted to a well-performing school that has a student population limit. The students who don’t get in often end up in unsuccessful schools nicknamed “dropout factories”, which are schools where more than 40% of the students dropout (according to the documentary Waiting for Superman). It is a heart-wrenching process as one’s possible future is held in the hands of luck. All that these students want is to be able to create a future for themselves, and it is not fair to deny these students of a chance of knowledge. If even one part of our nation does not have full access to decent education, then the entire nation’s educational level is lacking when compared to other countries. When the amount of successful public schools is increased in our country, fewer students will be denied the chance to learn and education in America will be even closer to improved.

          The American public school system has many flaws, caused by teachers and educational institutions, and it needs to be fixed. All of the federal provisions thought up to fix our system (for example, No Child Left Behind) are not working. When it comes down to it, reform begins with us, the students. Sure, there are always going to be those teachers with no drive to teach or care to what a student learns, and there will probably always be kids who don’t get to have the top notch education that they want. But, we are the next generation. We need to be able to become competitive with the rest of the world for jobs, etc. This starts with us simply paying attention in class and actually trying. If the problem is with the teacher, we can inform the principal and superintendent, and if needed, to an even higher authority. When the teachers are motivated to teach better (with changes in tenure, for example), then our country will have more successful schools. And with more successful schools, our educational level as a nation will ultimately improve. You can say that it is like a positive domino effect. Once we as students are inspired to learn, we can better navigate our future and improve our country’s education. 

.Sources

“Waiting for ‘Superman’.” Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Paramount Vantage. Sep. 2010. Documentary.

Hood, John. “The Failure of the American Public Education.” The

            Freeman| Ideas on Liberty. N.p., Feb. 1993. Web.

Jason, Gary. “The Continuing Disgrace of U.S. Education.”  American Thinker.

            N.p., 2011. Article.

Keep Moving Forward

 Society is constantly moving forward, attempting to keep up with the technology and advances made within the population. Sometimes it'll hit a snag and the advancing isn't quite caught up with the technology that we have. At this point television plays a major role in our culture, and therefore affects what we think, while also being affected by the norms of our culture. As the years have gone by, more effort has been put into representing a larger group of people on the tv, rather than the typical blonde white female and her white jock boyfriend. Flipping on the tv, you can see a bit more variety than you could at other points in time. All of this is good and all, but sometimes this representation has not actually caught up with society, which happens to be the case of homosexuals in today. The abundance of gay stereotypes on tv is a detriment to this attempted advance of society.

Don't get me wrong, tv is filled with stereotypes, it's like their bread and butter. And as annoying as that can get at times, that won't change any time soon. The problem that arises is exactly what stereotype each character falls under. A character can fall into several stereotypes, at least, if they're heterosexual. If a character is gay, that is their stereotype. Being gay isn't just a part of who that character is; it's who they are, the only thing they are and likely the only thing they will be. In a world of such variety, this random snag is a bit anachronistic. It's a good thing that homosexuals are being portrayed on tv now, but at times one might question whether not having any representation might be better than a negative portrayal. And even if they don't seem terribly negative at first, they can still do some damage with negative stereotypes.

Glee is sometimes called the gayest show on air; or at least, my sister swears it is. And it's true that Glee has more gay characters than most shows. But we still have a problem: they're all horrible stereotypes. Starting with Kurt, the first one revealed (in the third episode, nonetheless), the show has depicted its gay character as simply that: gay. Kurt's personality traits involve a love of theater and fashion, and when he comes out to his dad in the fourth episode, he's hardly surprised. One hardly has to explain how this is stereotypical, as Kurt fills the token gay spot on the show throughout the first season. One rather egregious stereotype that Kurt fills is that gay men actually want to be women: in an episode where the glee club has to split into the separate genders, Mr. Shue has to make Kurt go with the guys. This is besides the fact that Kurt is most certainly assured of his gender, and most of the time he groups himself with the ladies over the guys, for no apparent reason since he certainly identifies as a male.

In season two Kurt gets a boyfriend, Blaine, who goes to an all boy's private school and would be seen as a much more obvious gay stereotype if not for the fact that he's being compared to Kurt. He's very obviously not as much of a stereotype because he likes to watch football (which seems to be the curve ball producers use to prove that the character is not a gay stereotype because “look, they like a sport, that's manly, right?”) Other than that, he also loves fashion and theater, but has a tendency to be only a bit more subtle than Kurt about it.

Just to prove that they could also include a female stereotype, they made sure to include Brittany and Santana. These two had originally just been the background cheerleaders to stand behind the queen bee, but thanks to the fans, they managed to morph into what they are today. Now, they manage to fulfill the “hot lesbians” quota, as they are the typical “lipstick lesbian” stereotype. Another stereotype that they manage to fill is that of Brittany's bisexuality, which manifests itself in her being that girl who has dated everyone in the school, another stereotype (that of bisexuality equaling promiscuity.)

Glee is not the only show on the air with gay people on it. One of the popular shows recently is Modern Family, and one of the couples featured on this show is that of Cam and Mitchell. Less egregious than the Glee examples, they play to one major stereotype: the idea that one of the members of a gay couple must be the female in the relationship. In this couple, that role falls to Cam, who enjoys theater and fashion, has flamboyant mannerisms and is also the stay at home dad. While neither of them are particularly manly, they do have a couple of supposedly non gay traits (Cam likes football), this only perpetuates the stereotype further.

And a great many people are probably thinking at this point, so what? Why does it matter, what harm does it do? Gay people like this exist, but they also aren't the only way that a gay person can act. And therein lies the problem. Yes, some gay people act like this. The keyword is some. Stereotypes effect both parties in this: both the ones being stereotyped and the ones viewing the stereotyping. These shows perpetuate the stereotypes, and that reinforces them in the minds of the viewers. Not everyone who watches these shows are going to know a gay person in real life; they won't be able to make the connection that not all homosexuals are what they see on tv. Not only that, but for those being stereotyped, it can cause problems for their well being. People who feel stereotyped are more likely to be irritable, aggressive, and over-eat, according to a study by Science Daily. Not only that, but members of minority groups are more likely to stereotype themselves according to the norm when they are faced with such discrimination, as seen in a study done by Simon and Hamilton, both psychologists.

How do we fix this, though? One can hardly complain about something without an idea of how to fix the problem. Being proud of one's sexuality is not the problem; having gay characters on tv who acknowledge their sexuality isn't either. The problem is that their gayness is their only trait. The way that tv should start going is to make it so that this one part of a character is not their only trait. Rather, our characters could just happen to be gay, with other traits aside from that, which are more focused on. An example of this on tv would be the character of Oscar from The Office. He is gay, but that is not his only trait. People know that he is gay and they do not skirt around the issue, but he also happens to be a know-it-all, a bit uptight, which would more be the stereotype of an accountant than that of a gay man. This way the characters traits are not nearly as trivialized, and being gay does not define the character.

This is a problem that doesn't just affect homosexuals; this same thing happens to all different minority groups. Whether it be based on sexuality, ethnicity, gender, what have you, this can hurt many people aside from just this one group. And we the viewers shouldn't put up with it, or let the producers go back to their tired old stereotypes. Society is moving forward, and so too should what we see on the television screen. That's why we need to make that fact known to those who produce our tv shows: make sure they know that we don't want to put up with their stereotyping of minorities. We shouldn't let them put their hand in a bag and pull out a stereotype for their characters. Make them put more thought and depth into their characters; try writing to the producers of these shows in order to make these characters more realistic and less harmful. If that doesn't work, and very well might not, maybe even boycott the shows! A person just needs to show that something matters to them before other people start to do anything about it. If we don't show them we care, they'll keep this up for who knows how much longer; we can help drag them forward, into the future.

Final Speech

“Homosexuality is a sin.”
“Being gay is an abomination in the eyes of God.”
“The Bible says that that homosexuals should be killed.”
When I first came out my parents the summer before my freshman year of high school, the first thing they did was look me in the eyes and they asked me if it was something they did wrong. And of course, I said no. They stopped for a second and then my dad said to me, “I wish you’d told us earlier that you were feeling this way. That way, we could’ve helped you earlier.” And I just sat there. The next morning, I had an appointment with a psychologist. And then later in the afternoon, with a religious counselor. The day after, with another. That’s how my summer went. All in an effort to cure me. And always it came back to, “God doesn’t approve of that lifestyle” and “you’re a girl, God meant for you to like boys.”
But I never really understood that. Why would God say something like that? I'd always been told God loved his children unconditionally. That’s what I’d always believed.
The Bible says this and the Bible says that. Throughout history, the Bible has been used to discriminate against African Americans, women, and now, homosexuals.
The most common passage used to argue against homosexuality is the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah were two cities that sat along the Jordan River. These cities were extremely wealthy and were well off. At this time, if someone were to come to your house, you would, without questioning it, welcome them and make them feel at home. However, Sodom and Gomorrah essentially “cancelled” these laws in their land. They felt that this wasn’t necessary, they wanted to keep their wealth to themselves. The case was, though, that two angels had appeared to Abraham. Abraham had then led the angels to Lot’s house in Sodom. Once they were at the door, Lot insisted that they come in. Townsmen arrived at Lot’s house and insisted that they “bring [the guests] out unto [them], so that we may know them” or as put in other translations of the Bible “so that we can have sex with them.” (Genesis 19:5)
In the previous chapter, Genesis 18, God says that because the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are so “exceedingly wicked”, that they will be destroyed. So even before the two angels showed up to Lot’s house in the form of man alongside Abraham in Genesis 19:1, the cities were doomed. This comes to show that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is not homosexuality but rather inhospitality to strangers and visitors.
In the documentary, For The Bible Tells Me So, several people who study the Bible take a closer look at this story and explain the common misconception that most people have about the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. Some say that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because there was homosexuality among them, after Genesis 19:5. However, when taken into context, this specific verse is not referring to homosexuality. In this verse, the townsmen are wanting to gang rape Lot and his guests as an act of humiliation for breaking the law of Sodom.
It is the same way with other Bible verses, that when taken out of context certain verses in the Bible can be easily misunderstood. Let’s take a look at yet another Bible verse that is commonly misinterpreted: Romans 1:26-27. “God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way men also abandoned natural relationship with women and were inflamed with lust for one another.” In Genesis, God tells Adam and Eve to go “be fruitful and multiply” and at this time, nations were still trying to grow, procreation was essential. In Genesis 38, God strikes Onan dead because he ejaculated outside of his partner as to not impregnate her. It was “unnatural” for two men or two women to be together, for their purpose was to procreate. So in this verse from Paul’s letter to the Romans, Paul exclaims that these same-sex relations are “unnatural” , or in other words not customary, and are worthy of death. Paul declares this as evidence that the Romans are worshipping the wrong god.
It is easy to go through and read the Bible or even snippets of it. The difficult part often comes along when we try to understand what the Bible is actually saying.

Adventures of a Shoe

I have been places you could never imagine. I have flown across the ocean, driven across the country, seen everything anyone has ever wanted to see. One of my greatest aventures would have to be going to New York City to run in the New York Marathon. As I rested in the closet the night before, I could hardly sleep as I awaited the excitement. I woke up in the morning to the feeling of my owner slipping me onto his foot. We began driving to the airport, and the feeling of driving the car was sure to wake me up all the way. The wonderful feeling of the engine pulsed through my rubber sole. Whne we got to the airport, I had to go through a series of security scans and being taken off and put back on. Have you ever been inside the x-ray machine in an airport? I felt so exposed... But anyway, we finally got to New York. By the time the marathon started I was so pumped up! I gripped the asphalt, ready to take off and fly like the wind. I carried My owner to first place and I, nor he, will ever forget it. I now sit on a shelf next to the trophy that we won, always remembered as the shoe that carried him to victory.

Democracy for the Non-Human

Democracy for the Non-Human

As a nation, we have become entirely too dependent on animals as profit. Yet, those who protest against cruelty to animals seem to focus on the emotional, “animal loving” aspect while excluding the entire issue of our treatment towards nonhumans from both serious political and moral standpoints. To protest against animal inequality is to support the prevention of suffering and misery of all animals, not just to make the lives of “cute pets” more comfortable. What we as a country are allowing to take place is the tyranny of human over nonhuman animals. Humans view all animals, and subsequently their flesh, as purely sustenance – not as the independent sentient beings they in fact are. Further, not only are animals being tortured in order to be skinned alive for their meat, they are being abused and maltreated as they are used for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research. What is unbelievable is how our human morality can be so easily pushed aside and replaced by ease and comfort. Laws of the Earth essentially intertwine Nature, Animals, and Mankind - thus it is our responsibility to make the mental switch in our attitudes and practices towards a large group of nonhumans that in essence, we share many similarities with. Do animals not feel? Do they not have basic biological functioning? Does their heart not beat and does blood not flow through their veins? It is our responsibility to speak on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves. “Animal Liberation is Human Liberation”.

Peter Singer’s novel Animal Liberation proved to be a magnanimous source of information in forming the basis of the equality argument. He calls upon the masses to disregard their prejudices and provides them with his new ethics for our treatment of animals. He states that our habits of thought lead to our clouded judgment and inability to see that the interests of animals should not be disregarded and can in fact be challenged successfully. His argument is deeply rooted in solid logic and factual information thus making his case as strong as possible. One of he aspects of the maltreatment of nonhumans he challenges is the field of scientific research. He states that, “There are extensive federally financed programs in which animals are poisoned, starved, and tortured, and ultimately after going through such extensive abuse, authorities are saying that such experiments are not worth doing and yield results not worth publishing.” So my question is this, “Why do they keep occurring?” If the pain undergone by the animals is not sufficient enough to dissuade us to terminate such experiments, shouldn’t the factual and unsatisfactory results do the job? Apparently, it seems the answer is an ignorant “no.” One particularly powerful image comes to mind when speaking on the subject of scientific research – the strapping down of chimps by force with rope and restraints – the fear evident in its eyes – after which to his head is attached a mechanical head encasing of some sort with metal probes protruding out of the sides. The countdown begins…three…two…one! An electrical surge loud enough to be heard through the video leaves the chimp lifeless as his head is snapped back and his body convulses and contorts up as if in a back bend. And what did the study prove for the results of electrical simulation of the brain? Insufficient results to be determined. The old chimp is discarded. A new test subject is brought in. The cruelty of laboratories, although decreased in previous years by animal rights activists such as PETA and IDA, still bears an overwhelming influence in our nation. So next time you apply makeup or swallow that pill, take a second to consider how many innocent animals were tortured to provide you with the luxury.

Besides scientific research, the use of animals in entertainment and for clothing has recently surged tremendously. Annually, millions of animals are killed for their wool, their leather, their exotic skins or their fur and even more subjected to abuse and maltreatment in the field of entertainment. A world-renowned example is the famous “Running of The Bulls” in Pamplona, Spain. There, bulls are pitted against one another in competition after men speed up the process of transporting them through tactics of fear and excitement. This tradition is protested against severely by animal rights groups seeing as how in their race to reach the pens, the bulls proceed to trample each other fearing the men herding them. What they are unaware of is that they are racing towards their death because as soon as they are “safely” locked inside their pens, they are transported to their slaughter. Another similar example is bullfighting, again more popular in Hispanic cultures, during which bulls are tortured for entertainment by angering and teasing them and finally slowly killing them by sword. Such depictions of humanity leave much to be said about our actions. The same can be said of those who sport animal skin as fashion. In most cases, animals that are sentenced to live their life in order to supply the fashion industry with material live miserable lives. Observing cows destined to be leather goods, the calves are usually separated from their mothers 7 days after birth and are transported to isolated facilities where they are so malnourished that their bones are so fragile that they lack the strength to hold up their emaciated and frail bodies. Farmers claim that this is the only way to raise leather because if they are fed on the diet they deserve but are so selfishly denied, “their coats will become tainted and thus unusable. No cow should be wasted”. No cow should be wasted… the phrase lingers as the cows that are “ready” and “sufficiently abused” are skinned alive for their hides, their cries echoing. Once again, farmers claim the practice to be the only way and thus justifiable. Humanity’s absolute dependence on animals, especially in cases such as these, deserves to be questioned and abhorred. If we as a people feel no sympathy for the animals we subjugate in order to be entertained for an hour or two, or look “fashionable” for an evening out, I hate to imagine what will become of us if our practices are not changed. 

Animal Rights has always been a topic I have demonstrated interest in and being able to present my claims in such a way finally has provided me with an outlet. A documentary that has had tremendous impact on me has been the feature length documentary, Earthlings, narrated by Joaquin Phoenix. His booming narratorial voice, deep and full emotion, not only transcends the argument but injects it with claims illustrating our complete disrespect for these so-called "non-human providers." Earthlings, uses hidden cameras to depict footage and chronicle the day-to-day practices of some of the largest industries in the world. While the entire film was a phenomenal look into the human psyche and towards animal cruelty (I highly recommend the film), the animals-as-food argument was the strongest and most emotionally empowering. “Hundreds of millions of animals living in spaces so cramped that they barely experience their bodies, and these are the livestock that bring premium prices at the market. Thus, the practice continues.” A particularly influential scene in the documentary was one in a pig-raising factory where the animals were being fattened up for products such as steak and bacon. The slaughter of animals is the most gruesome aspect and the standard most needing regulation. The video displayed the herding of pigs, so closely packed together that they were unable to move, to their slaughter. An unseen man was in command of the herding with an electrical probe in his hand. He explained that it was just precautionary because if he were to kill the pigs with it, their meat would get tainted with blood, yet when they weren’t moving fast enough to his satisfaction, he seemed to have no problem killing them instantaneously whilst yelling, “Go mother fucker! Don’t fuckin’ stop! Let’s go, let’s go!!! Come on, bitch!” All the while, his cruel and sadistic laugh permeated the slaughterhouse, but not loud enough to drown out the helpless whining of the dying pigs. The scene ends as he proceeds to murder another pig, laughing hysterically, and immediately flashes from black to another area in the slaughterhouse where the rest of the pigs are now hanging upside down, their throats slit, a steady trickle of crimson blood flowing and ebbing from their cut. Many were still convulsing, not yet dead, but not completely alive – somewhere in limbo where even their guttural cries will not bring them aid. Michael Pollan’s quote, “Surely, if slaughterhouses had glass walls, would not all of us be vegetarians?” rings true and close to the heart in this particular instance. But slaughterhouses do not have glass walls. “The architecture of slaughter is opaque, designed in the interest of denial, to ensure that we will not see even if we wanted to look. And who wants to look?”

How easy would our lives be, and how drastically would they improve, if we were to rid ourselves of these subjugating habits and terminate the cruelty we force upon animals. I began watching the documentary not completely sure of what to expect. Within five minutes, I was in tears. The entire film lasted a total of an hour and a half and I cried for the entire time. As they say, “seeing is believing”, and seeing the abuse animals go through is no exception. In fact, it should be placed above all else. The logic represented is undeniable when witnessing what one living creature is doing to another, living, breathing creature. Arguments have been made that books such as Singer’s and films such as Phoenix’s display the extremes of the issue and that in reality, the situation is not as bad. While not entirely accurate, why refuse to change the situation if not all slaughterhouses, and not all forms of entertainment are as cruel as others. What will it take to persuade humanity that what we are doing is irrational and downright immoral? Do all the slaughterhouses have to mercilessly kill their pigs while simultaneously insulting them and degrading them by yelling? How many experimental chimps and animals have to die before we come to the realization that testing is inhuman? Not only do such films and novels and statistics make me want to reject all meat products, animal fashion, and forms of entertainment, the argument supporting said rejection provides logic alternatives. Pleather, Tofurkey, and Faux Fur are just several of the many available alternatives. I am not embarrassed to say that I eat meat. On several occasions I attempted to become a vegetarian with no luck. Due to health reasons, I was not allowed to continue by my parents. Yet, when I do eat meat, I make sure to check that the animals were allowed to graze, were fed grass and no animal by-products or genetically modified hormones. While that may pale in comparison to a life without meat whatsoever, it is the best I am able to do at the moment. Slowly, I am building up information providing reasons on how a vegetarian diet is sufficient sustenance for the human body and how in some cases, a vegetarian is able to consume more protein and vitamins from beans, cheese, or yogurt, than they would ever have been able to had they maintained eating meat.

To persuade such an overwhelming population to put an end to actions on which they were reared proves to be a challenge. This factor brings to light that “habit” is the final barrier of which we must free ourselves of in order to free nonhumans as well. Animal Liberation should be viewed in the same light as Black Liberation because the discrimination and prejudice witnessed is essentially the same. There are so few who can say with confidence that none of their actions or attitudes can legitimately be questioned. We need to become prepared to question our most fundamental attitudes and we need to consider our thoughts from the point of view of those who suffer by them. If we are able to do that, not only will our lives benefit, but we will also provide a substantial bettering on the lives of animals - the creatures that our essentially our brothers. The difference between chimpanzee and oyster in our eyes is minimal; the challenge that stands before us now is to minimize the gulf between chimpanzee and human.

We are the same. “Animal Liberation is Human Liberation.” “Make the Connection.”

Speech Final

Obesity: Our Nation’s Biggest Threat

                In 2004 Morgan Spurlock released a documentary called “Supersize Me” in which he only ate at the popular fast food chain, McDonalds, for a thirty day period. Spurlock tracked the progressive deterioration of his body through this time, and the results were appalling. This is exactly what is happening to Americans who spend to much time consuming the unhealthy food that they serve at places like McDonalds. And, because of that, an obesity epidemic is sweeping through our Nation. To stop this harmful trend, people need to stop eating a fast-food restaurants and help change the culinary culture of the United States back to what is was before McDonalds.

                After Spurlock’s thirty day diet of strictly Mcdonalds, he gained almost 25 pounds, not to mention the plethora of internal health problems that the fat covered up. Obviously, it is terribly unhealthy to eat at a fast-food restaurant, but people still do it anyways. About a fourth of American adults eat fast food every single day, even though over 800 people die each day from obesity related problems. See, what McDonalds has done to us is change our culture when it comes to food. It used to be a family would sit down at dinner each night for a meal at the dinner table. But now, people are spending much of their time eating fast food on the road because it is quicker and easier, and if you do not think past the convenience of it, you might think it was better. And, because of this change in culture, people are eating themselves to death every day, America has picked its poison, and if something doesn’t change, it will destroy us.

                At the moment, about two thirds of American adults are overweight or obese. This massive amount of people was much slimmer before Fast-food took over the culture of American dining. In fact, since 1950, obesity rates have risen 214 percent, coincidentally the first McDonalds opened its doors in 1948. It is clear that fast food is harmful to our Nation’s health, and the problem is only getting worse, so the question is how to stop it. And the answer is to find the American dining culture that we have lost beneath the grease and fat from fast food. What I mean by this is people need to cut way back on the amount of fast food that they consume.  They don’t need to cut it out completely, although that would be ideal, but for most people, fast food has become their culture, almost a habit to them. However, people should be eating at home with the family, and people will say they don’t have time, but families did it happily for years before fast food came along to change everything we know about eating, especially back in the 1950’s, when obesity rates were 214% lower than what they are now. These family meals will be much healthier than the greasy fatty nightmare that is crafted behind the scenes in the McDonalds kitchen. So, if people were to limit their fast food to maybe once a week instead of five times a week and then twice a month instead of once a week, and so on, that massive amount of people who are overweight will become slimmer again.

                As you’ve seen, America’s biggest threat is obesity, and obesities biggest helper is fast food. People have adopted fast food into the culinary culture of the country, and because if it obesity is killing us. People need to cut back on the fast food if they wish to halt the progress of obesity, because the only way to fight obesity is to cut fast food out of the diet, and the culture.  

               

                

My Neighbor

I came into 4th hour English on the first day of school this year without knowing Gates or Dominik at all. I had chemistry with Dominik last year, but we never really talked, and I had never had a class or even said a word to Gates before this year. I'll start out with Gates. Gates is hilarious and always has something funny to say about what's going on in class. The only instance of tension that has come between the two of us was when I showed up to school with an Obama pin on my backpack, and he was wearing a Romney pin. On the other side of me, Dominik is no shy student either, he has no problem voicing his views to the class even if they are unpopular. I know by sitting next to him that he has an affinity for Russian literature and recognizes the importance of being literate. In 5 years from now I could see both of my neighbors working on some sort of prestigious graduate program.

Pencil

Pencil: Today has been a good day! I woke up still in a dark area where I was left, and haven't been stuck in a grinder where I lose my body yet! Nor have I even been pushed onto a white sheet that slowly prepares me for the grinder! Oh no! my place of safety has been opened, and I'm moving towards the light! I go through what feels a lifetime of being prepared and shoved into the grinder, I hate "in class writings" or whatever they are. It seems I am in a new place of hiding, under a large black sky with these weird colored clouds. I sleep for several hours until I am kicked! I get kicked to the other side of the room, picked up and shoved into a grinder! After I endure this pain I am only used for several minutes until my body is split in two. The life of a pencil was a short and horrible one. RIP pencil.

Assignment 15: Speech

Post your speech!

Last blog of the year! Huzzah!

Full text of speech - due Sunday, December 16 at 11:59 pm.

Brave Little Toasters (Blog #14)

Oh, hello, Jacob. Ready to play through some more New Super Mario Bros. U? Nintendo Land? Oh, you want to go to the Internet Browser? That's fine with me; you're probably just going to make your daily checks of Cracked and Zelda Informer. Alright, now that that's done, it's time to- hey, wait, why are you switching the TV display (using my controller no less)? Why are you switching on your old Playstation 2?! Hello! I'm right here, next generation of gaming and all. That piece of junk is older than the Wii! What can it possibly have that I don't? Oh, Persona 4? Sure, whatever, not like I won't have better Japanese Role Playing Games a few months from now.

Oh come on! You mean to tell me that you're ignoring me in favor of grinding (leveling up by killing many enemies for a long period of time)? Oh, no, I see, you're using my controller's screen to watch Youtube videos on the side. Great, I've been relegated to a video player in favor of a console from two generations ago. Don't you have a laptop for this anyway? You could use that inste- Wait, really? You're reading articles online with your laptop, using me as a video player, and grinding in Persona 4?! If grinding in Persona 4 was really that mindless and boring to you, why didn't you just play Nintendo Land?!

Oh, man, it's been almost ten hours. Sure, there were a couple of cool story moments that popped up, but I swear to God if I have to play one more College Humor or Dorkly video that you just saw yesterday, I'm going to find my own way to "Red Ring." Please, just let me rest. You have a laptop that's already open, just rely on that for now; I'm begging you. How much time have you invested into this game anyway? Sixty hours?! Jeez, these kinds of games really suck you in, huh? Well, at this point, the game should almost be done, right? And you'll be back to playing me in one or two days... right?

(Note: the game actually took me a little over one hundred hours in total to beat)

My good friend John

My toilet, John, is a track star.  He loves to run.  We've never actually seen how fast he is, but we sure have heard him.  We know he sees life as a race, and he's determined to take first place.  He likes to see what speed he can reach, or how long he can go.  Sometimes he just wants to build up his endurance to run all day.  Bill, the guy who keeps up with how much water we use, loves to give us huge numbers on those days.  But John is dependable.  When he's not running, we know he isn't going anywhere.  He wants to get close to us, or my cat when we aren't home.  He likes taking on other people's troubles, if you know what I mean.  He wants to help.  Unless he wants to cause trouble.  He loves scaring the cat, just randomly running around.  She jumps.  He thinks it's hilarious.  I can't blame him, though, because it is.  She gets over it eventually.  He also likes to cause trouble by making a mess, but he hasn't done that in a while.  We also have to take care of his little sister, Loo.  She's the true problem child.  Just last week she decided to make a fuss and cry all over the floor.  Thankfully John was able to talk to her while we all slept and worked out her problem; she was better by morning.

Brave Little Toasters

I used to have a favorite stuff animal, it was a white seal giant beanie baby named misty. I would have it everywhere with me.
 "Where is this kid taking me?" I thought, as Jacob dragged me on the floor through his daycare. He still wasn't big enough to pick me up and carry me, so as a result my white fur was brown on my back. I didn't care unless he forgot me somewhere. I was excited though, because tonight was the night he was sleeping over at Tanner's house, so I got to spend time with my bat buddy that lived with Tanner. Whenever they fell asleep we would go on great adventures throughout Tanner's house, since Jacob would take me with him to Tanner's.
The goal was to get into the attic tonight, it would be a hard task because I had no legs and Bat had no hands, so we couldn't open the door. We had heard that there were evil beanie babies up there plotting to take us down, so we couldn't let that happen. At 1:00 a.m. when Tanner and Jacob were asleep we made our move. We got to the door and could not open it; so Bat picked me up and flew to the ceiling then flung me against the door, yet it didnt open. Our plans were foiled. The next morning when Jacob and Tanner took us up there, it turned out there were no evil beanie babies.

Brave Little Toasters

I don't know why I put up with all of my owner's crap. He bites me multiple times throughout the day. He drains me of everything I have. At the end of each day, he leaves me empty and dry. And what do I do to deserve it? I'm always there for him. Sure, I may make a mess sometimes, but it's not my fault. I'm old and slightly broken. I guess I am thankful that he still keeps me around. I've seen my good friends get thrown away after a short amount of time. And he always keeps me with him. I am always just a zip away. Yeah, I may be squished by his lunch, but the apples he carries always make good conversation. Now that I think about it, he may leave me empty at the end of the day, but he never fails to fill me back up again. I guess my life isn't too bad, for a water bottle.