That’s What She Said

Classification:  Tradition can be defined as the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction.  This being said, tradition is not always a good thing.  I cannot see the merit in the traditions of hatred and violence practiced by the Ku Klux Klan.

Cause/ Effect:   Watching football with my dad has made me the sports fanatic that I am today.

Argument:  If families want to be closer, they should create traditions specific to their family only.

“I am doing the most horrible thing in the world.  We are targeting kids too young with too many inappropriate things….It’s not worth the almighty buck.” 

I chose this quote because I disagree with part of it, but I can also relate to it in a way, if that makes sense.  The part I disagree with is the person stating “it’s not worth the almighty buck.”  Obviously it is, otherwise they wouldn’t be doing it.  However, I do also get the sense that even though some of the people involved in age compression realize it’s a horrible thing, they feel they can’t do anything to stop it.  That’s kind of how I feel with my seven year old daughter.  I don’t like how much older she seems for her age at times, but I feel like it’s almost inevitable.  It’s hard not to let her watch Hannah Montana or High School Musical when it’s everywhere.  I feel like she would be isolated if she didn’t know about these things.

I think this essay is important because it addresses an issue that affects nearly all children and it’s something that I see happening every day with my own daughter.  I also think it is important because some parents, myself included, don’t realize that this is happening right away.  There are some things that my daughter picks up on that I don’t even realize until she says something.  If the issue is at least addressed, people can be more aware of what their kids are watching, wearing, buying, and hopefully be more selective about it.

I think the writer is trying to show how the commercial pressures on kids today can be inappropriate, and that the companies are aware of this, but they either don’t want to do anything, or they don’t think they can.  She supports this by giving the example of how even the family-friendly Disney Channel is full of sexually suggestive outfits and dancing.  A Radio Disney employee even explained that the company keeps a careful watch on lyrics, but isn’t really mindful about the other things.

Unfortunately, the following example of my illogical behavior is a recurring theme in my life. 

I am a die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan and I take the games very seriously, perhaps too seriously.  It’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but my illogical behavior comes in while I am watching the games.  For example, while watching the Steelers play the Redskins on November 3rd, I was sitting in my usual chair with my feet up on my ottoman.  The Steelers were having kind of a slow start, so I moved up closer to the tv by actually sitting on the ottoman, I guess in hopes that they would hear me better (haha).  Anyways, once I moved to the ottoman, the Steelers took the lead.  I then rationalized that I must stay sitting on the ottoman, otherwise the Steelers would start to lose again.  In my mind this makes complete sense, but somehow when I say it out loud it sounds crazy.  Nevermind the blank stares when I try to explain this “logic” to people I know (haha). 

I think this relates to the Post-Hoc Casual Fallacy, which is the foundation of many superstitions and false beliefs.  To give an example besides my own above, sometimes people will have a dream and then the next day something similar to that dream happens.  Then they may come to the conclusion that their dream caused this to happen even though there is no proven evidence that makes this idea true.  Basically, people make casual connections between things that happen (me sitting on my ottoman with a stiff neck and the Steelers starting to win), without validated evidence for it. 

“We cannot all pick up the sword, nor should we be forced to – but we owe our support to those who do.”  I chose this quote because it pretty much echoes my sentiments exactly.  It is true that not everyone can serve in the military, and I don’t think anyone should be forced to either.  That being said, I still have great respect for those that do choose to serve, regardless of their reasons for doing so.

I think this essay is important because it explores a controversial topic like the draft, which seems very relevant now in light of what is going on with the war.  The writer’s thesis is that the draft should not be reinstated, as he believes it would hurt today’s military.  One example the author uses to support his thesis is his experience as a leader of platoons of volunteers.  He describes how they slept in holes they hacked from the rocky ground.  They carried hundred-pound packs and on top of that had to deal with their loneliness, exhaustion, and fear.  He states that they didn’t complain, and he never had to deal with any discipline problems.  The author uses this example to illustrate that all of them wanted to be there.  If any of them hadn’t, they would have been a drain on the platoon and a liability in combat, which would hurt today’s military.

It was very hard for me to pass up a chance to write about Malcolm X, who I am obsessed with, but since I already own his autobiography and have read it several times I decided to blog about the “Just Walk on By” passage. 

One quote that caught my attention was, “Over the years, I learned to smother the rage I felt at so often being taken for a criminal.”  I chose this quote because I think it’s something that needs to be heard.  Some people are either too naïve to realize that this type of racism happens, or they are in denial that it does.  I can only try to imagine how it would feel to experience what the author describes happens to him on an almost daily basis, but I’ll never truly know.  The only thing I can do is to take the unfair racial stereotypes that I experience being a minority and multiply it by maybe a thousand times or more.  It’s frustrating enough for me when someone asks if I speak English or when someone “compliments” me on having my “English down good.”  Some others go as far as to wish me a Happy Chinese New Year in the end of December when a) I am not Chinese, and b) The Chinese New Year is not on December 31^st/January 1^st. 

I think it is important that the author wrote this article to bring to light the racial stereotyping he experiences.  It is something that I don’t think some people are aware of or readily admit, and at the very least it needs to be talked about.

I think the author’s thesis is that the way black men are portrayed affect how people feel about him in real life.  The author gives countless examples of how this happens to him on a daily basis.  He describes how when he is walking at night, women will do pretty much anything to avoid him and not cross his path.  Another example was when he was assumed to be a burglar when he rushed into the office of a magazine he was working for.     

The candidate that the survey said I should support is Barack Obama, with a score of thirteen.  It showed that I agreed with his stance on nearly all of the issues listed.  This doesn’t surprise me at all, it is what I expected.  Due to the fact that I wanted to be sure to make an informed vote, I researched both Obama’s views, as well as McCain’s.  Because of this, I knew going into the survey that I shared many of the views that Obama does. 

One issue on the survey that I’ll share my opinion on is abortion.  I am pro-choice and believe that Roe v. Wade needs to be upheld.  If I were to become pregnant now, I would not personally choose to have an abortion, but that being said, I believe everyone should still have the right to choose.  Of course, there have to be regulations, such as the current ban on partial birth abortions.  I agree with this aspect, because at a certain point in the second trimester of pregnancy, the fetus becomes viable.  Although some argue that the fetus is viable at the moment of conception, scientifically, this is not true.  Scientifically, a fetus is only viable if it is developed enough to be normally capable of living outside the mother’s womb.  Since there is a clear separation of church and state, any argument in court as to when a fetus is viable would have to be scientific, and not religious.

One issue that I learned about from this survey was the proposed revision of the G.I. Bill to provide tuition for soldiers after 9/11.  I think that this is much needed and well-deserved.  I think that all too often these young men and women are sent off to war and are too quickly forgotten when they come home.  They need to know that there is more than just the military and that they can go on to succeed in other areas.

One thing I would like to bring up would be the disparities in drug sentencing laws.  This may not be an issue in the forefront, but this is something that has been ongoing and needs to be addressed, and I respect Barack Obama for taking a stand on it.  Specifically, the differential treatment of crack cocaine as opposed to powder cocaine.  These laws are unfair and need to be eliminated.

I have decided to interview my Dad, Bill, for Essay 4.  At first I didn’t know if this would be challenging enough, but I’ve realized that there are probably many interesting things that I don’t know about my dad.  I look at this as a unique opportunity to get to know him more on an adult level.  

My dad spent his younger years in the very small town of Glidden.  To give you an idea, they still have an annual picnic for the entire town.  Yes, the entire town is invited.  He has six brothers and two sisters, how my grandma did it, I don’t know.  He was voted most likely to succeed in high school, as well as most infectious laugh.  I learned this by confiscating his high school yearbooks.  And yes, his laugh is infectious.  He graduated from UWS and has been in Superior ever since, working at Catholic Charities. 

I kind of wanted to do an overview of my dad’s life for this essay, but maybe focusing on the aspect of how he grew up with such a large family.  Although I may change my mind as we talk more. 

Some questions I thought about asking:

1.  What was it like before electricity?  I kid, I kid.

2.  Did you fight a lot with your brothers and sisters?  If so, about what? Did you fight with any of them more often than others?  ( I figure these questions could yield some good stories) 

3.  Did you feel like you got enough attention?

4.  What did you get your degree in?  ( I can’t believe I don’t know this)

5.  Do you think you would ever leave Superior?

6.  If you and your brothers and sisters were stranded on an island, who would you eat first?

I obviously have to come up with some more, but it’s a start!     

I thought of my Grandma Mae immediately when I read this blog assignment.  Looking back, I wish I would have been able to spend more time with her, but I’ve always had a special spot for her.  I remember her knitting me mittens for Christmas and putting a dollar in them, or she would always give my sister and me M&Ms when we went over to her house.  She was an awesome piano player and was always willing to give me lessons, even if I wasn’t always the best student.  To this day, I still regret that I didn’t stick with the lessons.  When I was a kid, the lessons seemed like a chore, but now I wish I could have even a little bit of the talent my grandma had. 

I wanted to think of something positive that my grandma experienced that I probably never will, rather than a hardship she had.  Since the piano was such a large part of what I remember about my grandma, I thought of how my aunt told me my grandma played the piano in some silent movies.  This is something I can say I will probably never experience.  One, I can’t play the piano that well, and even if I did learn, there doesn’t seem to be a high demand for the silent movie genre these days.  All kidding aside, I don’t know how the direction I went in on choosing this particular experience will tie into our upcoming assignment, but I wanted to pick a fun experience my grandma had.  She was fun-loving and I think its super cool that she did something that I could never do.

“But I have noticed in surveys – in fact, just last week – that Asian students, as a whole, always do significantly better on math achievement tests than in English.”  I chose this quote because  being Asian American myself, I have always scored higher in English, rather than in math.  I find this interesting because I was not raised in a traditional Asian household, but I was adopted.  I can’t help but think there is a link here.  This wasn’t the author’s main point, but it was definitely something that grabbed my attention.

I think this essay is important because it talks about the different “forms” of English the author uses, with each having their own purpose.  And although some people may see the English she uses with her mother, or the English her mother uses as “simple” or “broken,” it does not mean there is no passion there.  This ties into the thesis that there are many forms of English she uses, and though they are not perfect, she feels she can use it to capture what her mother’s “broken” English can’t convey at times: her intent, her passion, her imagery, the rhythms of her speech, and the nature of her thoughts.  One great example of this is when the author pretended to be her mother to talk to her stockbroker.  In this situation, she was literally doing for her mother what she does now through her writing.

“Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”  I chose this quote because it really rings true to me.  Someone can have all the knowledge in the world, but if they don’t use it or if they use it in the wrong way, it doesn’t serve a purpose. 

This essay is important because it points out that it is not enough to just learn, we have to apply our knowledge to determine right from wrong.  I think Martin Luther King Jr.’s thesis was to express that intelligence alone is not enough.  We need to use it to develop values to judge our own actions.  He showed this by giving the example of Eugene Talmadge.  In Mr. King’s opinion, Mr. Talmadge possessed one of the better minds of Georgia, he wore the Phi Beta Kappa key.  That being said, Mr. Talmadge still contended that Mr. King was an inferior being and opposed the civil rights movement.  This is a perfect example of someone who definitely has the ability to think critically and intensively, but cannot apply that to his own life.