Tuesday, March 20, 2007
What is Patriotism to you?
What do you think would be considered "patriotism"? Patriotism is a love for one's country. Everybody has a different opinion about this particular subject. I think that it is a matter of opinion and therefore everybody is entitled to that opinion. If you go out to a July 4th celebration and you do not wave a flag, some people will think that you are being patriotic. To others that does not matter, they just show how they show their support for their country. Whether it be enlisting in the military, navy, air force, national guard, and other branches of the government.To those who do not think that everyone has to wave a flag, there are other ways to being patriotic. You could volunteer to go around to soldiers, talk and get to know them, and let know that they will always be in your prayers. They know the risks and the sacrifices it takes to fight for their country, just knowing that they are not forgotten goes a long way.I have known people who have served this country. One of them being my father. For most of the eighties, he was in the civil services. I also have other friends who have served and who still serve. Then are my friends who are just starting to serve our country. It takes bravery, courage, determination to persevere. Being able to know these people, these patriots, is a blessing to me. My grandfather served during WWII, and then during the nineties my brother-in-law also served. These people are very special to me, not only because they are my friends, but because they have a part of my life. When i think about what the families go through, i can't imagine it because i did not have to go through that. Hearing about it is one thing, but when you have a friend or loved one somewhere out in the middle of nowhere, that is whole different experience altogether. It just depends on what your definition of patriotism is.
Why is it that now we are at war, everybody is either being more patriotic or becoming more patriotic? Or why is it that we think this way when something life-changing like this happens? We should just live our lives the way that we think is right, help others and just leave people to show their own patriotism the way they think they should. Why do play around with patriotism like it is musical chairs? We should not play with our patriotism like this, but we should embrace and show it. WE NEED TO BE PROUD TO BE AMERICANS!!! Be proud of all our freedoms and not take it for granted.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Why Are We At War...
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Why Are We At War...
http://addy-woodsteach.blogspot.comI agree with what Norman Mailer said in his essay, but there are points that I don't agree with. My perspective on all of this news about the war was limited because I don't really watch the news at all.Before I read this book, I had never heard a description about the day of 9/11. When I read Dotson Rader's description of that day, I was speechless. I didn't realize how it had affected every single person in New York City. When we, as Americans, saw what was happening on television, we couldn't believe it. It is one thing to see it on tv, but a whole another matter to actuallyu witness it or to be a part of it. Knowing about it is one thing, but expriencing it is another.One of Mailer's points is "We do no evil." How can we say that, if we do do evil? When anybody commits a murder, or kidnaps someone, we do evil. No matter what anyone says, these are acts of evil. How can we not do evil, if we go to war?Why are we hated so much? I think that it is because we don't let anything get in our way. Now, that's not to say say that other countries let things get in their way. We stand for freedom, liberty, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of choice. We also stand for equal rights to every individual who wants to come to America, who dream of one day becoming someone special. There are places out there that keep a very short leash on their people. Now, why do they do that? I don't know. But I know this, that in one country it has gotten out of hand. I know someone who is from South Korea. Her parents sent her here to America to get a good education. They sent her here knowing the consequences. That they may never be able to see her again, that she might convert from their family religion of Buddhism, that she might want to stay and not return home. After knowing all of this, they loved her and still sent her here. Since then, as far as I know, she has seen her parents once, and that was the summer before she started her sophmore year of high school.Everything about this war does create nightmares. Just think about all of our troops over in Iraq and Baghdad, they are risking their lives for us, but they are also seeing the cruelties of war. Today, I saw a report on CNN about a mother whose son had served in Iraq. She said that when he came home, he was never the same. Shortly after coming home, her son had commited suicide. Another part of the report gave the common top five wounds of War Veterans. The one with the highest percentage rate was post tramatic syndrom (13%).
Posted by Addy at 9:55 AM
Labels: Why Are We At War...http://addy-woodsteach.blogspot.com
0 comments:
Why Are We At War...
http://addy-woodsteach.blogspot.comI agree with what Norman Mailer said in his essay, but there are points that I don't agree with. My perspective on all of this news about the war was limited because I don't really watch the news at all.Before I read this book, I had never heard a description about the day of 9/11. When I read Dotson Rader's description of that day, I was speechless. I didn't realize how it had affected every single person in New York City. When we, as Americans, saw what was happening on television, we couldn't believe it. It is one thing to see it on tv, but a whole another matter to actuallyu witness it or to be a part of it. Knowing about it is one thing, but expriencing it is another.One of Mailer's points is "We do no evil." How can we say that, if we do do evil? When anybody commits a murder, or kidnaps someone, we do evil. No matter what anyone says, these are acts of evil. How can we not do evil, if we go to war?Why are we hated so much? I think that it is because we don't let anything get in our way. Now, that's not to say say that other countries let things get in their way. We stand for freedom, liberty, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of choice. We also stand for equal rights to every individual who wants to come to America, who dream of one day becoming someone special. There are places out there that keep a very short leash on their people. Now, why do they do that? I don't know. But I know this, that in one country it has gotten out of hand. I know someone who is from South Korea. Her parents sent her here to America to get a good education. They sent her here knowing the consequences. That they may never be able to see her again, that she might convert from their family religion of Buddhism, that she might want to stay and not return home. After knowing all of this, they loved her and still sent her here. Since then, as far as I know, she has seen her parents once, and that was the summer before she started her sophmore year of high school.Everything about this war does create nightmares. Just think about all of our troops over in Iraq and Baghdad, they are risking their lives for us, but they are also seeing the cruelties of war. Today, I saw a report on CNN about a mother whose son had served in Iraq. She said that when he came home, he was never the same. Shortly after coming home, her son had commited suicide. Another part of the report gave the common top five wounds of War Veterans. The one with the highest percentage rate was post tramatic syndrom (13%).
Posted by Addy at 9:55 AM
Labels: Why Are We At War...http://addy-woodsteach.blogspot.com
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The River Story
Monday, February 26, 2007
The River Story
I would rate Abagail with a 4, becuase of how she handled this. She could have driven those 50 miles to the next bridge and crossed the river that way, but she did not because of her job. I understand how much she wanted to be with Gregory, but evidently not enough to ahve committed adultery. I think that if she had driven to Gregory's, she would be happy, instead of upset and laughing her head off because he was getting beat up.
Ivan I would rate with a 3, because of his refusal to help her across the river. He could have said okay, and taken her over but he did not. He said, "that i do not want to get caught in the middle of this." Well, if she was his friend,then why be that way towards her? I do not understand that.I do not understand him.
Sinbad, the river captain, i would most definitely rate him with a 5. He knew that Abagail really wanted to get across that river, and he used his sexual desires to get her across. Now that is one of the lowest things that Sinbad could have done, and he still did it. He could have left her alone, but did not.
Gregory, is rated with a 2. I also understand where he is coming from when I put myself in shoes. But, he could have handled Abagail's confession a differently. He could have broken up with her, or told her to make a choice between him or her own wants. Had he considered her reason for this intercourse, and talked to her and explained to her what he did not like about it, Abagail probably would have been able to handle his reaction better.
Now Slug, him I would rate with a 3 as well. The fact that he felt compassion for Abagail is nice, but he did not have to go and brutally beat up Gregory for any reason. He could have gone and talked, yelled, something besides beating him up, but beat him up he did. And the fact that that made Abagail laugh so hard, that alone tells you that it was completely unnecessary. Yet it still happened.
Fail. You only wrote 168 words and you did not rate the characters
The River Story
I would rate Abagail with a 4, becuase of how she handled this. She could have driven those 50 miles to the next bridge and crossed the river that way, but she did not because of her job. I understand how much she wanted to be with Gregory, but evidently not enough to ahve committed adultery. I think that if she had driven to Gregory's, she would be happy, instead of upset and laughing her head off because he was getting beat up.
Ivan I would rate with a 3, because of his refusal to help her across the river. He could have said okay, and taken her over but he did not. He said, "that i do not want to get caught in the middle of this." Well, if she was his friend,then why be that way towards her? I do not understand that.I do not understand him.
Sinbad, the river captain, i would most definitely rate him with a 5. He knew that Abagail really wanted to get across that river, and he used his sexual desires to get her across. Now that is one of the lowest things that Sinbad could have done, and he still did it. He could have left her alone, but did not.
Gregory, is rated with a 2. I also understand where he is coming from when I put myself in shoes. But, he could have handled Abagail's confession a differently. He could have broken up with her, or told her to make a choice between him or her own wants. Had he considered her reason for this intercourse, and talked to her and explained to her what he did not like about it, Abagail probably would have been able to handle his reaction better.
Now Slug, him I would rate with a 3 as well. The fact that he felt compassion for Abagail is nice, but he did not have to go and brutally beat up Gregory for any reason. He could have gone and talked, yelled, something besides beating him up, but beat him up he did. And the fact that that made Abagail laugh so hard, that alone tells you that it was completely unnecessary. Yet it still happened.
Fail. You only wrote 168 words and you did not rate the characters
What's human rights and majority rule?
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
http://addy-woodsteacher.blogspot.com/">http://addy-woodsteacher.blogspot.com
What is the difference between human rights and majority rule? Well, majority rule means an governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority, and this is a basic rule of democracy. When the candidate of a paticular party receives more than half of the vote, then he will be in charge of the government until the next election comes around. There are times when we(as Americans) don't agree with the majority vote, but there's not much we can do about it. Except expressing our feelings about it and move on.
The framers did not want any faction of the wrong people acting unjustly towards any other faction of people. This allowed for the Constitution to reflect their tyranny about majority rule, especially temporary majorities. This is how they insulated cerain rights(such as freedom of speech) and institutions(such as the Supreme Courts) from the popular vote or choice. The framers, for effective representation of the people, insisted that the majority rule should not be solely rely on the interests or the shifting thoughts of opinion.
Now, everybody may have a defferent view, idea, or opinion about the human rights. In my opinion, our human rights are the rights that we have here in the United States. Those rights that are listed in the Constitution: Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Peaceful assembly, etc. These are only a few of the rights that we have. Yet we sometimes take these rights for granted.We also have the right to keep and bear arms and the right to vote. In statement of these two amendments, Congress can not pass a law against it. But Congress does have the right to lay and collect taxes. Which no one ever likes to pay. To be able to vote here in the United States, you must be eighteen years old, and you must also be an citizen of the U.S.
There are many other rights that i could get into, but for the sake of not being too boring i will not do that. We have these rights for a reason, and the founding fathers had a good solid reason for this. If one person is able to al,ost unlimited power over one thing, then that person will want more of it. Having this kind of power can go to one's head, impairing his judgement and thoughts. Eventually he would become so violent that he would anything to obtain that power he "so wants." That is the reason for the Constitution. To prevent something like that from happening. That's a good enough reason for me though, i do not know about you.
Posted by Addy at 10:02 AM
0 comments:
http://addy-woodsteacher.blogspot.com/">http://addy-woodsteacher.blogspot.com
What is the difference between human rights and majority rule? Well, majority rule means an governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority, and this is a basic rule of democracy. When the candidate of a paticular party receives more than half of the vote, then he will be in charge of the government until the next election comes around. There are times when we(as Americans) don't agree with the majority vote, but there's not much we can do about it. Except expressing our feelings about it and move on.
The framers did not want any faction of the wrong people acting unjustly towards any other faction of people. This allowed for the Constitution to reflect their tyranny about majority rule, especially temporary majorities. This is how they insulated cerain rights(such as freedom of speech) and institutions(such as the Supreme Courts) from the popular vote or choice. The framers, for effective representation of the people, insisted that the majority rule should not be solely rely on the interests or the shifting thoughts of opinion.
Now, everybody may have a defferent view, idea, or opinion about the human rights. In my opinion, our human rights are the rights that we have here in the United States. Those rights that are listed in the Constitution: Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Peaceful assembly, etc. These are only a few of the rights that we have. Yet we sometimes take these rights for granted.We also have the right to keep and bear arms and the right to vote. In statement of these two amendments, Congress can not pass a law against it. But Congress does have the right to lay and collect taxes. Which no one ever likes to pay. To be able to vote here in the United States, you must be eighteen years old, and you must also be an citizen of the U.S.
There are many other rights that i could get into, but for the sake of not being too boring i will not do that. We have these rights for a reason, and the founding fathers had a good solid reason for this. If one person is able to al,ost unlimited power over one thing, then that person will want more of it. Having this kind of power can go to one's head, impairing his judgement and thoughts. Eventually he would become so violent that he would anything to obtain that power he "so wants." That is the reason for the Constitution. To prevent something like that from happening. That's a good enough reason for me though, i do not know about you.
Posted by Addy at 10:02 AM
0 comments:
How We Define "Hijacking"
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
How We Define "Hijacking"
http://addy-woodsteacher.blogspot.comAll over the world today, there are people who hijack things. The word hijacking means to steal something of value. There are jewelry, money, cars, and other things like that. There are things that don't have any value at all, like pencils, pens, other school supplies. Almost everyday there is something either stolen or hijacked.For example, 9/11. The passengers aboard those two planes were just like us. They were citizens, worked a full-time job, had families, friends, yet alot of them were killed when the planes flew into the twin towers. We never know when things are going to happen.When the hijackers revealed who they were, we were all scared and shocked. What did we (as Americans) do to deserve this? I can't tell you the answer to that, because I don't know that answer. There were several other reasons for this.Now businesses all over the nation have tightened their security, and have taken measures to prevent anymore attacks anywhere. We, as Americans, have moved on from that, but we will always remember that day. Some things about this example are down right devastating. We need to be more cautious about the things we do, and always remember 9/11.
Posted by Addy at 11:48 AM
Labels: hijack
How We Define "Hijacking"
http://addy-woodsteacher.blogspot.comAll over the world today, there are people who hijack things. The word hijacking means to steal something of value. There are jewelry, money, cars, and other things like that. There are things that don't have any value at all, like pencils, pens, other school supplies. Almost everyday there is something either stolen or hijacked.For example, 9/11. The passengers aboard those two planes were just like us. They were citizens, worked a full-time job, had families, friends, yet alot of them were killed when the planes flew into the twin towers. We never know when things are going to happen.When the hijackers revealed who they were, we were all scared and shocked. What did we (as Americans) do to deserve this? I can't tell you the answer to that, because I don't know that answer. There were several other reasons for this.Now businesses all over the nation have tightened their security, and have taken measures to prevent anymore attacks anywhere. We, as Americans, have moved on from that, but we will always remember that day. Some things about this example are down right devastating. We need to be more cautious about the things we do, and always remember 9/11.
Posted by Addy at 11:48 AM
Labels: hijack
Who decides what is right or wrong?
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Who decides what is right or wrong?
The Scriptures say to "obey the law of the Land". But there are still people who violate that. They go around, do what ever they want to do, and think they can get away with it, and some have gotten away with things they have done that were morally wrong. The Scriptures also say "thou shalt not lie", "thou shalt not steal", "thou shalt honor thy father and mother", "thou shalt not kill". Yet people back then, and even today they are doing the exact opposite.No matter who you are, no matter what you do for a living, you have to decide what is right and what is wrong. Everybody has a different opinion about the laws. Helping others is a good thing to do. For instance, tutoring someone who is having a difficult time with a particular subject, is a start. Whether it be that or anything else, do it with your heart. I help my mom around the house, like cook supper, run the vacuum cleaner, do a load or two of laundry. Those small tasks mean a lot for my mom, and she really appreciates it too.It does not matter how old you are, how short or tall you are, because when you volunteer to help, you have a good feeling inside your heart, and that alone can make you feel good about yourself. You could be helping your grandparents, friends, or even your parents, Every little thing you do to help people, goes a long way.
Posted by Addy at 8:26 AM
Who decides what is right or wrong?
The Scriptures say to "obey the law of the Land". But there are still people who violate that. They go around, do what ever they want to do, and think they can get away with it, and some have gotten away with things they have done that were morally wrong. The Scriptures also say "thou shalt not lie", "thou shalt not steal", "thou shalt honor thy father and mother", "thou shalt not kill". Yet people back then, and even today they are doing the exact opposite.No matter who you are, no matter what you do for a living, you have to decide what is right and what is wrong. Everybody has a different opinion about the laws. Helping others is a good thing to do. For instance, tutoring someone who is having a difficult time with a particular subject, is a start. Whether it be that or anything else, do it with your heart. I help my mom around the house, like cook supper, run the vacuum cleaner, do a load or two of laundry. Those small tasks mean a lot for my mom, and she really appreciates it too.It does not matter how old you are, how short or tall you are, because when you volunteer to help, you have a good feeling inside your heart, and that alone can make you feel good about yourself. You could be helping your grandparents, friends, or even your parents, Every little thing you do to help people, goes a long way.
Posted by Addy at 8:26 AM
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