Gas Prices!

Since I am so behind on my posting and commenting I thought I would write a little something about the gas prices (Thanks to Dale for getting my mind going on the issue).  I can't even believe that gas is at almost $4!! This seriously ridiculous! Hopefully once Bush gets out of office the country will get back on its feet.  We really need a president that is going to get in there and pretty much do the opposite of what Bush has done during his term.  Our economy is struggling and who else is their to blame? :)

so behind!

Okay, I haven't posted in a really long time.. but this has been the most stressful semester ever (Thank you Capstone)  Anyways, I thought I would talk a little bit about the topic that my group is presenting on next Monday, wire tapping.  I did a huge research paper for Cooperative Argumentation on the Patriot Act, so going into this issue I had a good understanding.  From what I can gather about the Patriot Act it directly affects our rights to privacy, including wire tapping.  Obviously we were given these rights by the Constitution and the Patriot Act is dismissing that and taking active steps towards taking away those rights.  Which in my mind, as an American, unethical.  I also do not feel that they have caught a substantial amount of criminals (which is not the point), and definitely haven't incriminated terrorist that may reside in the US.  I just think that congress was given this 1,500 page document (which most probably didn't read) and passed it without realizing how much power it gave law enforcement and the government.  Time to start realizing what our rights are, and hold on to them for dear life.

The topic of porn is a bit confusing for me.  I feel that people that watch it obviously enjoy it, but I realize that some porn passes the point of merely appropriate.  Students in class brought up the fact that brutality in porn has become more popular and to be honest I'm a bit uncomfortable with the idea that some watch this and further more enjoy it.  Brutality to the point of rape in porn, in my opinion, only gives pleasure to rapists and those who enjoy beating on woman.

3/10/08

I've been a little behind in posting, due to health issues, but I would like to touch on the Scopes and Dover trials.  Since I would like to become a high school teacher these trials made me think about some restrictions I might face in the classroom.  The constitution states that no kind of religion can be taught at public schools, including evolution/creationism/intelligent design.  I very much agree that it is not a good idea to bring religion or evolution to a classroom in high school.  It would cause more problems than it is worth.  The problem with this is that student only learn what their families beliefs are, though church, conversation and so on.  I feel that most students who come to college have a very tunneled view of the world.  I know that I thought the way my parents do before I came to college, then I realized how many different ways of thinking there are.  Maybe this (college) is the time to learn these things, but I can't help but think how much better off young adults would be if they had a broader knowledge of different perspectives.  

2/20/08

What wound we be willing to really stand up for in our lives? 

I go to thinking about this question and what I think is worth making a stance on.  I would say that my opinions on hot political issues (abortion, gay marriage, ect..) would be examples of things that I obviously feel strongly about, but wouldn't necessarily be something that I would advocate my free speech rights about.  I feel that my opinions are my own and I don't think that voicing them is not a priority on the basis of things that I would stand up for.  I feel that issue that affect me or my family directly would make me more willing to voice my opinion.  For example feminist actions like women making as much money as men and making society aware that women's roles are changing in society and in family.  I feel that my emotions drive me more than my political beliefs, therefore I would need to have a high emotional opinion on an issue beforestanding up and defending or rejecting it.

Seminars

I thought that our seminars went very well this week.  Our group did a great job of communicating cooperatively and I felt that we were able to learn from each other well.  I think that the seminars offer a great way for everyone to feel comfortable and get involved.  I am the type of person that gets a bit intimidated by classroom discussion, so seminars are a way to help me feel more comfortable expressing myself.  I think the seminars are going to get a bit more interesting once we dive into more controversial articles.  I felt the readings this week were more informative than controversial so I found our conversation leading a bit off topic.  I'm excited to learn and interact with my group on the issues of free speech and responsibility.

2/6/08 reading!

The reading for tonight's class: Introduction to the Free Speech Clause and The First Amendment in the Colonial Newspaper Press I realized how much I did not know about the First Amendment.  I feel that many people my age know about the Constitution and The Bill of Rights, but have not looked in to the history of them.  As stated in the article, "Introduction of the Free Speech Clause" and from our discussion last week on the historical origin of free speech we learned that free speech was an act that started far before the 20th, 19th, and even 18th centuries.  Examples like "the trial of printer John Peter Zenger in 1735 was a landmark development of common law protection for free speech" (Introduction to the Free Speech Clause).  Taking a look into the freedoms that we have can be a great way to not take advantage as most do now.  Off the topic of free speech, I read James' blog for last weeks post and he brought up a great point that many of our peers do not vote, and are not even registered.  In order to be aware of the freedoms we have and use them to their full potential it is vital that we do the research in order to obtain a greater knowledge of our rights as Americans.

tryin not to preach :)