Reading the articles "The Great Lawsuit" and "If Men Could Menstruate" brought two very similar viewpoints to the table in two very different ways. Gloria Steinem who wrote the second article seemed to rant. Once she brought up the point about men menstruating, she went on about how it would suddenly be enviable and a precious event. Her rant, although taken into very unlikely extremes at times held much substance. What men do is often looked on as the most glorious right. Men have a certain power in our society which can date back to basically the earth's existence.
Margaret Fuller, the author of "The Great Lawsuit", talked about how the only way we could reach true equality is with a full spiritual awakening. This goes not only for Man vs. Woman, but for Black vs. White, Rich vs. Poor, and Western World vs. Eastern World. I have often said on my blogs that people act this way and treat each other these ways because that is how it has always been. Many people won't even stand up for themselves because they know no other way. When the events of society unfold, people may question why we do something a certain way. When your only answer is, "I don't know, that's just how it has always been." You know that it's time for a change. Things don't need to stay the same just to make us feel comfortable. Stooping down to levels of intolerance and inequality is nothing to envy.
Although these articles revolved around women, it is relatable to all points of our life. It is obvious that men have oppressed women for years. It is still going on today with the equal pay problems. Women with very similiar jobs to men make significantly less than them. We obviously haven't moved on as a society from the 1960's. We can still change though. There is no sense in dwelling on our wrongdoings when we can still move on and do what we know we have to do.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
This blooming of technology in the past 10 years has been incredible. The magnitude of what society has done with it is remarkable. Sometimes, I find myself wishing it had all never happened though. Trust me, I enjoy my usage of Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook. At the same time, I miss the simplicity of life that I knew for only a few short years. I would simply play outside all day without a worry in the world. I hope for my kids' sake, technology stays stagnant, even though I know it will keep moving forward. I want my kids to have their first toy be a baseball glove or a football, not a cell phone. I want them to be active and have the type of childhood I once enjoyed. These are my fears of what society could become.
I have been affected by this epidemic that these modern day conveniences have caused. The author talked about how reading an in depth prose used to be easy and he would breeze right through it, but now, he drifts after a mere couple pages. The internet is right at our fingertips with the answers to nearly all of our questions. It is scary that we may be losing our ability to think on our own. He says that Google sees information as a commodity, a resource. He said Google is trying to build an artificial intelligence. People's intelligence may be lacking, because why learn when all this information is a few seconds away.
I enjoy all the conveniences the internet has to offer. Having always lived in an era of technology though, I haven't realized how much it may have affected my ability to think on my own.
I have been affected by this epidemic that these modern day conveniences have caused. The author talked about how reading an in depth prose used to be easy and he would breeze right through it, but now, he drifts after a mere couple pages. The internet is right at our fingertips with the answers to nearly all of our questions. It is scary that we may be losing our ability to think on our own. He says that Google sees information as a commodity, a resource. He said Google is trying to build an artificial intelligence. People's intelligence may be lacking, because why learn when all this information is a few seconds away.
I enjoy all the conveniences the internet has to offer. Having always lived in an era of technology though, I haven't realized how much it may have affected my ability to think on my own.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
The Ethics of Living Jim Crow
The first line of this piece was in a way, sickening. The fact that Richard felt he needed to learn how to "live as a Negro." Growing up as a white kid in a white town, I only ever had to learn how to be a kid. As ignorant as that sounds, it's the truth for about 90 percent of the kids in AP Composition. We all just fit in where we grew up and we never really looked past that. This article opened the eyes of all of us and there is no denying it.
Throughout this story, it was apparent how much black people tolerated in these Jim Crow days. They tried to thrive and better themselves so they could be like the white people. When Richard was at his first job, he was treated pretty well for a black teenager. Once he felt comfortable in his job, he wanted to learn more and climb the ladder that has become called the "American Dream." People are denied their rights to climb the ladder day in, and day out, for various reasons. Nobody deserved to be denied this right the way Richard was. He was beaten and scarred for life after this incident. He never fully recovered from this traumatic event and never fully tried leaping up the ladder again. Richard continued to test boundaries when he hopped from job to job, but he either would get ran out of the job, or he would run away from it out of fear for his own safety. It's a tragedy that he couldn't follow some sort of dream.
When Richard was given a ride with the group of white boys on the outside of their car, he was hit in the face with that empty whiskey bottle. His elbows and shins were bleeding, and he was clearly dazed. It was clear that the white boys felt pity for him and felt that what they had done was wrong.
The problem with that was that everybody kept acting this way because that is the way it had always been. They knew no other way because that's how they were raised. These actions seems so primitive to us as we sit here looking back on some of the darkest times in our history. Just as we are being raised to be plugged into a wall at all times, they were raised to feel superior to black people. Obviously these are of two very different levels of severity, but they have the same concept. As wrong as it was, it took some major courage for people to stand up and end this misjustices. Though it took time, people came to their senses as best as they could, and things started changing.
Throughout this story, it was apparent how much black people tolerated in these Jim Crow days. They tried to thrive and better themselves so they could be like the white people. When Richard was at his first job, he was treated pretty well for a black teenager. Once he felt comfortable in his job, he wanted to learn more and climb the ladder that has become called the "American Dream." People are denied their rights to climb the ladder day in, and day out, for various reasons. Nobody deserved to be denied this right the way Richard was. He was beaten and scarred for life after this incident. He never fully recovered from this traumatic event and never fully tried leaping up the ladder again. Richard continued to test boundaries when he hopped from job to job, but he either would get ran out of the job, or he would run away from it out of fear for his own safety. It's a tragedy that he couldn't follow some sort of dream.
When Richard was given a ride with the group of white boys on the outside of their car, he was hit in the face with that empty whiskey bottle. His elbows and shins were bleeding, and he was clearly dazed. It was clear that the white boys felt pity for him and felt that what they had done was wrong.
The problem with that was that everybody kept acting this way because that is the way it had always been. They knew no other way because that's how they were raised. These actions seems so primitive to us as we sit here looking back on some of the darkest times in our history. Just as we are being raised to be plugged into a wall at all times, they were raised to feel superior to black people. Obviously these are of two very different levels of severity, but they have the same concept. As wrong as it was, it took some major courage for people to stand up and end this misjustices. Though it took time, people came to their senses as best as they could, and things started changing.
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