Sunday, June 1, 2014

Affirmative Action

Throughout America's history, we have experienced problems through discrimination. Although as a government, we have overcome legal boundaries into ensuring equality in our country. Slowly but surely, we are securing equality for minorities, for female, and for those who have grown up in a lesser environment. As we have struggled to form equality, different laws and restrictions have acquired an argument of one of today's norms; the affirmative process.

Affirmative process has stirred controversy in America over the last few years. Colleges search for diversity during admissions processes. Many colleges use the affirmative process to accommodate and provide relief for the less fortunate, ethnically diverse, and even those with poorer hometown locations. Although this has provided America to help educate people from different experiences, it is now becoming controversial because we have began to accept more people as equals. An article done by the Huffington Post, suggests that overall, approximately 63% of Americans still believe in this process.

An author educated on this cause, Sheryll Cashin published the book Place, Not Race which discusses the problems in our current affirmative action process but then goes on to suggest that we should focus on the applicants background rather than their ethnicity. Personally, I agree with her very much. I believe that if we are offering special consideration to students, they should be students who have overcome challenges that many others have not needed to face.

Affirmative action is something that will remain controversial. As our country changes, viewpoints on it will change along with the opinions of the time.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Difficulty of the Public Eye

Presidents, Senators, Representatives, corporate business owners, professional athletes, musicians, and actors are almost always in the public eye. They are idols of young children, and they make decisions for our country. Despite the fact that most younger children aspire to become any of these things, a job in the public eye can pose major difficulties when it comes to withholding a private life.

The owner of the basketball team the Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling, is a current example of how people in the public eye need to be extremely cautious of decisions they are make whether it be just, or unjust. Sterling said something that was considered to be racist to his current girlfriend which soon became public. When news reporters got a hold of this story, it soon became a ‘scandal’. Sterling, alike politicians was told to sell the team that he owned to better the situation.

Media has a way of dispersing information fairly quickly and sometimes it may not be truthful or beneficial to the public. We have seen this in presidencies such as when President Nixon was in office during the Watergate break-ins, but we are also seeing it today with the basketball issue, and the unveiling of two years ago in Benghazi. In today’s day and age, it has become apparent that it is very difficult to maintain both a public and a private life if you are a public idol.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Indian Heritage

When Englishmen settled in America, indigenous natives referred to as Indian's, already ruled the land. Slowly but surely, we gained control of their land. We tell our children stories such as The Great Thanksgiving and although we may completely alter the truth of the story, they have become important to the story of our country.

As soon as we gained control over the natives, our ancestors grouped these people into special places of land known as reservations. The United States government has granted each of the reservations the right to have a government of their own choice. Many of the governments are run similarly to the 3-group system (Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branch) that the United States have. Others, may run it completely differently by having committees for control, or even the tribal government that most television shows would portray an traditional Indian tribe to have.

In America, we hold stigmas against our native people when we may not even know the real story behind this culture. Many people believe that they have extremely low high school completion rates, high unemployment rates, and high poverty rates. Although Native Americans may follow a more traditional way of life, we look down upon them in our current society because they follow different systems than the way that we live.

In a TED Talk done by a woman with Native American heritage, they discussed the different problems that are holding Indians back from becoming an accepted part of our society.


The lady then further explained how native Americans truly live and who they are. To be completely honest, nearly all of the history teachers that I have had portrayed any Indian tribe similar to the way the video described how a citizen without the whole Indian understanding, would describe an Indian.

Whether you live on an Indian reservation or 1,000 miles away from one, it is important to know what truly happens in their lines. Based upon the information I have come across in class and other peoples responses on the importance of our natives, I have come to realize how little our society knows about Indian Reservations. I believe that in order for us to resolve current stereotypes, we need to further educate American citizens.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Evolution of Society

There has never been a perfect government. A perfect government is nearly impossible because there would not be room for misinterpretation. Nearly every human that walks the earth, has agreed to be a part of a government whether the government is perfect, unjust, or simply led by one person. Protection, safety, and government-run assistance programs are some examples of why people would join a government.

Society as we know it is constantly changing. Because society evolves, it is very difficult to maintain one strict set of rules to follow. In America, The Constitution was written to accommodate for changing times yet, the accommodations are hard to come by. It's very difficult to change an amendment because we have based our country on happiness. By this, I mean happiness in a majority. In order for a change in an amendment or law, the majority vote must be in favor of the changes.

Happiness in a society is hard to come by because not everyone is accepting over new or old things. As society changes, the way that we communicate and interpret different phrases also change. These differences cause many problems when it comes to misinterpretation. Laws, freedoms, and certain expectations that are misinterpreted can cause life long problems including loss of jobs, economic issues, or a simple dent in your reputation. As a police officer, there are certain procedures that you are required to follow in order for arresting someone. These procedures include receiving a search warrant. Search warrants are necessary as we are protected from unreasonable searches and seizures. Certain exceptions to the procedures are evident, but the exceptions can cause confusion in just one work force.

Although there has not been an everlasting government to this date, that does not mean there will never be one. The perfect government must overcome barriers such as confusion, misinterpretation, and unhappiness. It will adapt old laws to better fit the country's present and future needs in a just way. The perfect government is yet to come.  



Thursday, January 30, 2014

Freedom.


Freedom is the sole reason why human beings are allowed to live in a way that suits who they are. It is what allows us to make personal decisions. The concept of freedom is what the United States is based off of. Freedom is probably the most clear description of the American Dream. Currently, one of the biggest controversies of our country is about whether our populations freedom is still eminent.

When the Bill of Rights was written, our founding fathers believed that the amendments they had created would build a strong basis for our country; an everlasting strong basis. Evidently, amendments would be added and adapted to suit modern times to come but they are very difficult to change. Government officials who take part in the evolution of laws, take into consideration their own ethics and morals. The problem with ethics and morals is that they're hard to change. It is very difficult to convince a stubborn person that opposes you to believe the way that you do.

In America, government is essentially a two-party system. On one side there are the democrats. On other, are republicans. As people, we're all very stubborn no matter how hard we try to avoid showing it. This is where politics becomes difficult; nobody likes compromise. There are always two or more sides to each story. That is why we have a court system. When a compromise takes place, nobody wins. When nobody wins, everybody settles. If a compromise occurs, it is very unlikely that the solution will remain resolved.

When policy and government become inadequate to a population, things will fall apart. One of the ultimate goals of every type government is for structure that prevents things from breaking down. In the book Lord of the Flies, a stranded group of children believe that having a government is vital to their survival. By establishing a ruling system, there were certain rules that each member was to follow in order for the system to run smoothly. Each child was granted certain freedoms including the right to arm themselves; a current controversy in America is over our second amendment which grants American citizens the right to carry a weapon. Looking back on worldwide history, it has shown us that disarming a population grants government too much power.

Is getting rid of or rewriting our second amendment worth the possible negative outcomes? The answer to this question is different to everyone. It could be yes if you are directly related to the person that is harmed by weapons but if you were stand on the other side of the argument, the answer is most likely a no. Tradition takes a big part in our morals and ethics. Like I mentioned earlier, they are parts of us that very difficult to change. Each are formed from experiences, the way that we were raised, and many other factors. Traditions cause us to be opinionated over certain topics. For say, if you grew up hunting, you would probably feel as though gun laws should not be added. On the other side, if someone that you have loved is deceased by somebody holding a weapon, you would probably feel as though more laws or bans should be added.

Freedom or lack of freedom is different to everyone and to every location. Determining what freedoms we should be given is even harder. Freedoms do have their consequences. Whether being granted a freedom is worth it, depends on the populations opinion; do the benefits outweigh the costs?

Monday, January 13, 2014

Quest

Learning is about elevating your thoughts, building upon your experiences, and discovering new perspectives. Quest English taught me how to think. As a student, I was challenged to change my opinions and to look at the world in a way that I had never discovered. As a class, we made broad inferences that became conclusions with evidence beyond the textbook. That is what Quest is; thinking, opinions, and conclusions.

Whether we were reading books based on different cultures such as Things Fall Apart, or a the classic book the Lord of the Flies (which looked in on not taking anything for granted: even blueberries) we had deep discussions not on what the author was meaning or on comprehension, but on what we liked, how it relates to life. I guess Quest is life too.

I have identified so much about myself and about what I want in my life in Quest English. I have been surrounded by people who even if they do not want to, support me and have my back in anything that I want to accomplish. The people in this class have pushed me in the right direction. I was out of my comfort zone the majority of time. Especially when I first started as an eighth grader. I walked into my first class of the day overwhelmed and nervous to be with this group of people. I sat down and waited for class to start. We began discussing fear. The majority of class, I had NO idea what was going on. I walked out of class wondering "does everybody feel like this too?" After the first quarter, I was ecstatic the moment that I walked into English. The people understood me. I soon learned how to look at things in a way that I could almost perfectly express my thoughts. I thought deeper. This class wasn't a class about grammar or about "what does the author mean?" it was about making us better people, students, and thinkers.

I am so grateful that I was invited to experience Quest. Honestly, I can say that I will miss this class and the people that are in it. I will miss my test free classes led by McCallum. But, because of determinism, I am here to write a semi-formal blog that I would have had no idea how to write if I would not have been in this class. I started blogging in fourth grade but I don't think that really counts. From my first blog that I wrote on Fear, to my 20th which I am writing about Quest, I have come so far as a writer. I think deeper now and I know how to look at something from a different perspective. After Quest, I am changed. Changed in a good way that is.

Thank you for helping me discover who I am, what I am, and the difference that I make in the world. I have become more of myself the past two years. Quest has given me opportunities I wouldn't have been given if I was still an Enriched English student. I probably wouldn't be an editor for The Hoofprint, and quite frankly, I probably wouldn't be apart of newspaper. Because of Quest, I have met people that I can trust with nearly anything. So thank you for all of the experiences that Quest has given me, and taught me.