#7: American Brutality Bib

Allen, James, and John Littlefield. "Journal E: Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America." Journal E: Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America. Twin Palms, 2005. Web. 02 Oct. 2012. <http://withoutsanctuary.org/main.html>.

Allen, James, Hilton Als, John Lewis, and Leon F. Litwack. Without Sanctuary. Santa Fe: Twin Palms, 2004. Print

Boudreau, Kristin. The Spectacle of Death: Populist Literary Responses to American Capital Cases. Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2006. Print

Ekland-Olson, Sheldon, and Danielle Dirks. How Ethical Systems Change: Lynching and Captital Punishment. New York: Routledge, 2012. Print

Pfeifer, Michael J. Rough Justice: Lynching and American Society, 1874-1947. Urbana: University of Illinois, 2004. Print

#6: test rats

As consumers, we are hazardously uninformed about how our food has been made. We don't take it upon ourselves to go out of the way to find out about the processes in which our groceries have gone through. With all of the complex scientific ingredient names, artificial flavoring and carcinogenic nitrates, by the time the food hits our taste buds we really can't be sure what we're eating. I see this as a vicious cycle. The people in charge pump our foods with chemicals, then citizens become unhealthy which leads them to the doctor or hospital where they rack up thousands of dollars in medical bills to pay off for the rest of their lives. I don't understand how food makes it to the shelves when people knowingly put harmful additives in them. As conscious individuals, why wouldn't we want to make sure our food is 100% safe for our bodies? This process would start at the seeds, the very root of food's existence, and they are now being pattened. After watching the "The Future of Food" video, I learned about how living organisms were never supposed to be pattened and once that door was opened by the Supreme Court, animals and human genes were being replicated as well. Technically, these companies with pattened seeds were claiming that where ever their genetically engineered seed grew or inhabited; they owned. The point was brought up by Dr. Kimbrell that down the line they may try to say they own the human in which the pattened gene has been consumed. Lines keep being crossed and boundaries are inched farther back to the point where we are making inhumane actions legal. It's very scary to think about what I've eaten after watching that video and makes me weary of the foods I have yet to consume. Monsanto has played a huge role in the direction that seeds have been engineered and spread in the last few decades. After hearing the stories of the life-time farmers in the video, it saddens me to think that a corporation would belittle human beings just for the pure goal of power and money. I know this response was supposed to be framed around Monsanto but the big picture of this issue has gotten me thinking bigger than that single company. The kniving nature of people to get another dollar richer bizzare and so far from equality and unity. The fact that millions went into funding genetic engineering for seeds and plants that would be sprayed with chemicals for us to eat, it's literally sickening. This is a major deal and I feel like no one really knows about it in the United States. Other countries have made it manditory that genetically modified foods are marked in grocery stores, and we should all have a right to know how our food was made. After seeing how many people had been employees of Monsanto and then went on to making decisions in higher places, it really does seem sketchy. The FDA never seemed so corrupt as it has after learning about this issue and it makes me second guess a lot more than I already did.

extra credit: sound of noise

In the movie, 'Sound of Noise' Amadeus grew up in a musical household and never fit in. His mother was a pianist, his father a conductor, and his younger brother was a violinist and grew up to become a conductor; Amadeus was a policeman. He was not accepted as successful in his profession and was even teased with musical jokes. Being tone-deaf from birth, he didn't have the ability to understand music like the rest of his family and it made him feel very inferior. Throughout the movie, music was destructive for him mentally and physically and seemed to consume his life. I could infer from his feelings towards music, that Amadeus probably never had a favorite song, and that is deep. Music brings people together and can have joyous affects of being light-hearted and whimsical. Someone would have to be quite emotionally scarred for music to have such a negative connotation in their life. The case he was assigned about the radical performances of the six drummers turned out to be very ironic to his particular relationship with music. The female of the group referred to their plan as a bomb and wanted to strike back because their city was contaminated by shitty music. The rebellious theme to this movie was entertaining and definitely kept things interesting. I also liked how creative their ideas and how unconventional the instruments were. The band considered their music making as a movement and a work of art; I couldn't agree more. Although the songs were a bit destructive, it was still a form of expression and could not easily be recreated. One line that was severely crossed was when one of the members used two air horns in close range of metal crates right in Amadeus's face, blowing his ear drums. Seeing the blood on his fingers from his ears was unnerving. When he went to the symphony he couldn't stand it, as well as everyday sounds were torturous for him. Towards the end of the movie he smashed dozens of instruments and had a mental breakdown; he had always said that all he wanted was silence. I wasn't quite sure how to interpret the way he couldn't hear the metal tray they had played on, and then he couldn't hear the patient or the one-eyed man after they had been played on as well. The end showed him peacefully in silence at his brother's symphony and it was like he had become immune to the sound of music. Overall it was a very well directed movie and I would recommend it to others.

#5: babies

There are two sides to abortion: pro-life and pro-choice. I am pro-choice. Most pro-life activists would criticize my view as being insensitive towards the life of a baby. In Linda Greenhouse and Reva Siegel's Before Roe v. Wade: Voices that Shaped the Abortion Debate Before the Supreme Court's Ruling, an excerpt included the Catholic's view for the right to life for the unborn. First of all, I do not believe religious groups have any right to impose on the decision for a woman to have a child or not. Rights for an unborn is almost an oxymoron to me because I see a fetus as not being a real live person. It hasn't taken a breath yet, so how can it have rights? You can't pop a balloon before it's been blown up can you? Yes it may be harsh, but when the population of the United States alone has tripled during the 20th century, it doesn't hurt to cut back on a few unborn people. I don't understand why people care more about an unborn child than the person that is carrying it and the future of their lives. People have dreams and aspirations, once you begin a family you have to put your wants aside for the good of the child, and not everyone is ready or mature enought to do so.

Involuntary servtiude was not seen as a substantial reason in the case of Roe vs. Wade which I highly disagree with. Although everyone knows that sex conceives babies, doesn't mean that every girl that consents to sex means that she wants to have a child with that person. Parenthood is infinitely more long-term and expensive than an abortion procedure and should be taken more seriously than a decision to terminate a pregnancy. It really should not be anyone's business than the mother's if she wants to keep a child or not because she would know if she was ready to make such a life-long commitment. It's very unfortunate when the mother realizes after the child is born that she isn't ready because then the child becomes another orphan case. According to UNICEF (United Nations International Childern's Emergency Fund) statistics, there are 143 million orphans worldwide and everyday there are over 5,000 more children that become orphans. Would people really rather a child consciously suffer from inadequate care, than eradicate the fetus before it has the fate a poor life?

#4: politics and trees

When I took the Political Compass Test, I scored in the left-libertarian range. I found it interesting but was not suprised when Gandhi was in the general area that I was. Back in sixth grade, our teacher showed us the "Gandhi" movie and ever since then I have admired him and his pacifistic story. Non-violence is a moral of mine and he was, and still is, an idol of pure peace. One of my favorite quotes from him is, "Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well." I wish this idea could be spread across the world and everyone realize how beautiful of a concept it is. It could bring about an equalistic perspective and maybe even end of war. Mother Teresa said that she would never attend an anti-war rally only a pro-peace one, and that is the way to think.

Politics on the other hand would be at the other end of the spectum, or so I had thought. In class on Tuesday, you changed my rigid view of what I thought politics was, you said it is the way we live our lives, treat other people and how society should be. That took me a few moments to process. I viewed politics as the politicians, the conservative suits, the bashing of each other during elections, the dishonesty and knowing that they were making decisions for me. How can I trust them to do a good job at being in charge of decision making if I really don't know who these people are? I couldn't agree more with the statement you wrote in your understanding of anarchism, "We believe democracy doesn't come from a small group of people at the top of society, instead, democratic processes depend on the full involvement of informed/engaged citizens from all sections of a society." I suppose I may have discovered an anarchist side of my beliefs. Really though, who wouldn't want to have a say in what goes on in the big picture? If everyone could actually get to know their neighbors, have discussions, and get the ball rolling then maybe we could get a foot in the door to open up a new worldview.

I've given some thought to my political philosophy and there are two main concerns of mine, environmentalism and overpopulation, which ultimately leads back to the environment. I wouldn't care to be called a "tree hugger" or a "greenie weenie" because we wouldn't be alive if it weren't for the trees. Also, most people don't realize that every party can be recycled; the plastic cups, two liters, beer cans and bottles, and even the cardboard boxes they come in. There's nothing wrong with trying to reduce your carbon footprint. I've had a strong ideology for the environment for a while now, which lead me to see another side of abortion. It really irked me in high school when girls that weren't even 18 were pregnant, let alone the over-publicized MTV show "16 and pregnant." I strongly believe there should be requirements to bringing another life onto our planet, but free condoms would be a good start. Not to mention the millions of orphans all over the world. Why don't we take care of the people we already have instead of worrying about a fetus that hasn't even taken a breath? Think of all the resources we are continuing to suck out of the ground like it's going to last forever. We dump all of our garbage in landfills and some of it ends up in the ocean, mangling innocent sea creatures. If I were going to chose a politician to be in office, I would look at their environmental and abortion views. We can't continue to pollute this Earth and expect it to be kind in return.

#3: light bulb

The Age of Enlightenment was a movement over two hundred years ago, to restructure society through reason and science rather than tradition and religion. The introduction of the encyclopedia in the 18th century inspired people and made them think about the world in a new light. As Wikipedia quoted Imanuel Kant, it was the "empancipation of the human consciousness from an immature state of ignorance and error." Facts had now been spread for the common citizens to learn and create their own train of thought and people could be more independent thinkers. I'm glad that tradition began to be questioned. In definition it means inherited patterns of thought and the recent generations are becoming less traditional because the concepts of the previous cultures are fading. This idea is depicted in the RSA Animate: 21st Century Enlightenment as thinking differently. The video discussed the model of self-aware autonomy which refers to personal independence and being able to make moral decisions and act on them. It may not be of morals, but I can relate to being untraditional in a sense that I never attended any high school dances. Everyone at school would be talking about prom and it really didn't phase me; I had no interest in getting dressed up to go stand around in the gym and listen to music from the radio. I'm sure plenty of girls were crushed because either no one asked them to a dance or who they wanted to go with went with someone else. How petty is that? I feel enlightened, or at least unconventional, in a way that I don't feel the need to conform with popular thought or what the Bible says is right. Wikipedia stated how philosophers in France used to be "imprisoned and hounded into exile" just for believing in something unconventional. The people had been ignorant for so long that these new concepts were hard for some to open their minds to. Conformity is an issue that the RSA Animate: Changing Education Paradigms addressed in the issue of standarized testing. This form of testing I see as an insult, not everyone has the same skills yet they are judged with a rubric that bases all students on the same level. The video even showed a study that the number of students with ADHD has risen with the increase of standardized tests. School were portrayed as factories with a production line mentality but kids now have the ability of divergent thinking. New generations, according to the RSA video, don't see the point in traditional schooling anymore and I believe I am a part of that group. I breezed through high school but once I got to college I had a futile view of life and didn't want to waste my precious moments stressing over assignments and exams. My mom was so desperate for me to be in school that she bribed me with paying the next six months of my rent. Most people don't even get jobs in the field of their degree but apparently you can't be well off without one. The 21st Century Enlightenment video brought up the question of what makes up happy and I'd like to find out for myself.

#2: Out Of Our Minds

Marketing and advertising has come to consume the majority of our everyday lives. You can't even walk down the street without being bombarded with different brands and companies promoting their product. Whether it is a coke can on the ground, a logo on someone's t-shirt, or the giant yellow M that seems to be on every street corner in America. Companies are desperate for our attention and our dollar and they go to extreme measures to make sure they advertise in clever ways. The Cheerios you see in the background of a tv show were purposefully put there by General Mills for more money than most of us make in a year. I like how the author portrays this concept as the population being coerced and manipulated into our buying tendencies. When I read that psychologists design malls in certain ways to confuse us and keep us shopping, I was taken aback. I know that I enjoy shopping but I didn't realize that it was purposefully made to make me feel entranced and spend more than I intended. There are hundreds of advertisements that some group of marketers worked for months preparing and tweaking to make sure that they catch our eye and subconsciously draw us to their product. So as the author explained, once we get to where we buy the product, there is a sales person with a fake smile telling you what you want to hear so you'll open your wallet and buy it. This happens 24/7 all over the world and that is what keeps our economy chugging along. To make sure everything runs smoothly and that a profit is being made, the author reveals "Our movements through department stores are videotaped and analyzed so that shelves and displays can be rearranged to steer us toward an optimum volume of more expensive purchases." I realize that I have been recorded on security cameras everywhere, but that people actually studied them to determine shopping patterns was shocking to me. It is like we are lab rats under observation, being tested on which way through the maze was most beneficial for the scientist. On another note, I thought it was clever the way he asked if his words were more valid that they were bound in a book than heard from a stranger on the bus. We are obviously a very vulnerable species and the way the author ended the piece with talk of guided visualizations and hypnotists, it got me wondering what people would do if they could hypnotize the masses. Then I think of how we are basically robots in our own world, just puppets compared to the top of the pyramid billionaires. So overall I'm not sure how I feel after obsorbing the perspective of Mr. Rushkoff, but I respect the points he made and agree with his general theory of technology consuming our planet.


This is just something I had seen and thought you would appreciate.
iwastesomuchtime.com

#1: Be Nice

I remember learning "The Golden Rule" in elementary school: treat others the way you want to be treated. It seems simple enough, yet once we grow up and see the way things really work, that concept becomes more difficult to apply to everyday life. This idea goes along with how Americans view Islamics as terrorists. Although the people that crashed the planes in to the World Trade Centers were of that religion, it does not mean it should reflect that community negatively as a whole. I'm sure most nations view the United States as greedy but not all of us are money-hungry hounds. We are all a part of the human race and each individual on this planet desereves respect and happiness. Clearly not everyone receives respect, but we're all here trying to get by through life, so why not make it a pleasant experience and work together to build unity with other nations?

I agree with the author's statement about how "we see and know what the world needs us to see and know." If we hear of something we don't know about, it makes us second guess what we previously felt was true. Once we realize we may have been wrong about one thing, it leads us down a path of uncertainty. Being wrong is difficult for our ego, which makes us defensive and put up walls toward foreign concepts. I've heard before that ignorance causes fear. We are kept in the dark and that is exactly what the people in charge want. I've realized lately that we literally drive between the yellow lines that the government has painted on the ground for us, and we don't go unless that light turns green. So much for all of this freedom we have.

The author wrote that "workers can never become wealthy working." Though that may be true, the idea is quite bothersome. What is the point of going to school for years to get a degree so you can have a better paying job if working can't make you wealthy? If that statement were broadcasted to Americans in the workforce, there would be millions of people lining up to protest because everyone wants to be rich. We have been trained to believe that the more we have then the happier we will be, and that is pretty sad to me. There is so much more to life than constantly working to make another dollar. No one appreciates what they have anymore, just always looking for the next best thing. Wealth should not be measured with money, it's only paper in the end.