The Obligation to Endure

Nature is probably the most beautiful and important part of the world today.  We would be nothing without the nature that surrounds us.  In today’s society, people are becoming more concerned about technology and things to make there lives easier.  The only bad thing is that they are demanding these things at the expense of nature.  We as people have gone too far and destroyed so many more important things.  The world would be a better place if we were not always trying to improve on what we have.  Sometimes it is best to just leave things how they are.  Crops are being produced, and sprayed with pesticide which has been found to not be good for us.

I think that we will pay drastically for the things that humans have done to the environment.  We have taken so much for granted and it will come back to haunt us.  Growing and eating crops naturally is more beneficial to your body and the environment.  Pesticide kills many harmless animals due to its toxic chemicals.  Many of these animals are animals that we need to balance out our ecosystem.  Not only do animals die, but people are also exposed to pesticides and can possibly suffer from many different health related problems.  Pesticide is just one of many advanced technologies that are not necessary and we need to get rid of them before it is too late.

Life on the Global Assembly Line

            It is sad, after all women do, that they have to put up with discrimination   On top of being discriminated against, they are often taken advantage of and forced to work in sweatshops.  Women should never be forced to work against their will especially in such bad conditions.  It seems that people just do not care about others, although many of them like to think that they do.  These women and children are forced to work all day long in dangerous environments, and they make very little money.  It is sad that these people have no other option but to work in these conditions, because they have families to support.

            Companies such as Wal-Mart have been criticized for using sweatshops to make their products.  It is ironic because these same people still shop at these places because of their low prices.  It seems like people like to complain about things, but I think that if we put an end to cheap labor it would only get worse.  Anytime prices go up people become furious, and that is the price that we would have to pay to get rid of cheap labor.  I personally think that it would be well worth it to save these people, people just like the rest of the world.  According to the reading, there are two million third world female industrial workers, and the number is increasing.  Something has to be done, I know that I would never want my mother or sister to be put through work like that, and I think that nobody else deserves it either.

AIDS In Africa

There is no doubt in my mind that AIDS is one of the worst diseases ever to infect the people of this world. Americans may be afraid of getting infected with AIDS, but in a place like Africa, they are no longer afraid. The reason being that in a country like Botswana, 39 percent of adults are infected with AIDS. It has become a part of their life. Anyone can see that these people need any kind of help they can get. I also think that it is obvious that the help from organization like UNAIDS is not working and that something else needs to be done. I feel that to help these countries we must come up with a different approach and experiment with different ways to help these people, and maybe we can at least slow down this increasing disease.
I agree with many aspects of this article, one main reason for the transmission of AIDS may if fact be because of poverty. Ultimately, I feel that if more money would go towards something as simple as sanitation and health care for these people that things could really turn around. I feel that these are the root of the problem and need to be addressed if anyone intends to do anything to fix this AIDS epidemic. If these people had a clean and sanitary way of living than we could decrease the number of AIDS infections and save many lives.

My response to guest speaker

            Jordan is a small country that I honestly do not know anything about.  Learning about the country of Jordan, for me was more interesting than the other guest speaker from Iraq.  Not only do I think that the guest speaker from Jordan did a better job, but I also thought that her home country was more interesting.  I learned a lot from her, from what religion they practice to what they do in there leisure time. I was surprised to find out that they pretty much watch the same shows and movies that Americans watch, but they keep them a little more conservative.  She also knew what kind of music that we like to listen to, because they listen to the same in her country.

            A big part of her culture that I was surprised to find out about was the act that it is optional for them to wear their scarves around their face.  I always thought that it was mandatory for them and that they would be punished if they were found without wearing them.  Their religion was a surprise to me also.  Their main religion is Islam, but there are also a lot of Christians and Muslims.  She told us that they all get along very well also, which is kind of surprising to me.  The war in Iraq is not really affecting Jordan as much as I thought that it would either, which is good.  Jordan seems to be a rather peaceful country that may be kind of nice to visit someday.

My final project and a few questions

                  My final project will be on the customs of the Asian people.  I want to focus on their culture and how it is different from the American culture, and I also want to cover some similarities between the two.  Most of my information will have to be researched and I am also trying to find somebody to talk to that may be from or has visited the country that I choose.  I want to learn how the people in the country live their everyday lives such as what they do for entertainment, protection and ho they raise and support a family.

       I mainly want to compare and contrast between the two countries, America and my country and try to show how each is so different, but they both manage.  I don’t know much about my country so I am looking to learn a lot about it.  I would like to hear some music that is popular and I am looking forward to watching the movie. That is where I would like to start my paper. I am then going to bring up conflicts that have the country has had to deal with and how they were affected and compare them to some that America has dealt with.  Ultimately comparing the two so that readers can have their own opinion on each country and whether of not the conflict could have been avoided.  In my opinion, I think that it would be interesting to see which country may have handled conflict the best and how they things may have been different.

1. Do you think that your country gas changed much over the last decade?  Do you think many of the changes are due to globalization?
2. How is your government run?  What language do you speak?
3. How did you and your country react to the terrorist attacks on 911?
4. What is a common form of entertainment in Jordan?

The Next President?

It seems as though the 2008 presidential election is very close between three candidates, Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain.  I think that the results of this election may be very close.  This is one reason why I am going to make sure that I vote this year.  To me, there really are only two candidates left to vote for, Clinton and Obama.  The main reason for this is the fact that I am a Democrat, and although I think that either of these two would make a good president, I am definitely voting for Barack Obama.  Personally, I feel that Barack could be the kind of president that this country needs.  Obama says that he is ready for a change and that this country needs a change, and I think that he could be just the change that this country so desperately needs.

The war on Iraq is really starting to to take a toll on America and something needs to be done.  Although Hilary Clinton is stating that she wants to bring the war in Iraq to an end, I think that she may just be trying to get more votes.  I feel that Obama is more sincere in what he says and that he really will try to do what he can to help this country.  All presidential nominees will say things to try to win over peoples votes, and it seems as though most of them don’t deliver on the things that they say.  I know that Obama could turn out to be like any other president, but so far from what I have seen, he really seems to be inspirational.  Obama seems to know what he is talking about and I really feel as though he will make a difference.

Obama has also addressed another issue that I feel strongly about, and that is the problem with poverty in the United States.  Obama wants to create more jobs for Americans, which would greatly help the American people, and he also wants to increase minimum wage.  The other nominees have addressed this same problem, but since they really don’t know what it is like, I really don’t think that they will care much about it if they get elected.  Obama dealt with a lot of these problems himself and I think he knows how the people feel which is why I think he’ll so something about it.  Basically, I am voting for Obama, because I feel as though he can relate more to the average American than the others.  I also liked what he had to say about the issues that I would like to see address and feel that what he wants to do will help America get back on the right track.

Student Apathy?

I do agree with the article that this generation may in fact be more apathetic than previous ones, but I do not agree with his reasoning.  Personally I do not feel that it is our fault that we may be more apathetic I think that it is because of how we were brought up and the environment that we were brought up in.  Basically I think that it is because of how the rest of the country and world I feel that we just fall in line because previous generations did the same.  I still believe that we do get involved and try to make a difference, and that this generation isn’t as apathetic as they think.

Personally I don’t think that the way things are going is necessarily a bad thing, and I think that it could be changed but doesn’t need to be.  I feel that people are just too busy today to deal with things and it makes it even harder if it is something that may not be that interesting.  Although it may not seem as though people care about certain things, they always step up when it matters the most, and I think that as long as we continue to care everything will be fine.

I would have to say that it may be true that our generation is more concerned with athletes and celebrities that our own U.S. senators, but I don’t think that it is so bad.  The reason for this could be many things, but I feel that it is many because of the pressures in today’s society.  I know that people today just want to be able to relax and do their own thing.  I mean this is supposed to be the land of the free, and I just feel that that is what people want to be free and not have to feel forced to do thing.

There could be many reasons that there are not many voters in today’s society, the main reason being, in my opinion is lack of interest.  If it was such a big deal and concern than more things should be done to make it interesting and better for the American people.  The American people should be able to do what they please and everyone should relax and trust in the people to do the right thing.  I mean as long as things are working than we must be doing something right.  This is the people’s country and if something could hurt it, they will step in, but things are okay, so I don’t see the problem.

Personally, I do not know many congressmen or senators, and not really many things about politics.  Like what one student said that, “it doesn’t matter who wins”, because it really isn’t going to have that much effect.  Regardless of who wins, the American people know that they have to live with it and that the country will keep on running, So I don’t feel that names are important.

In response to your article, I would have to say that I completely agree, and I am not just saying that.  The points that you made were some of the same that I was trying to get across, but I was having trouble thinking of the words to say it.  Some of the stats that you use prove what I was trying to say.  I mean with the average hours a student has to work per week, its no wonder they don’t want to get involved and want to have time to their selves.  I think that if officials think that the world is apathetic than they should help us with college and money to live on.  You brought across a good point, it seems as thought they really don’t pay to much attention to us, so why should we have to do that for them? 

Some issues that I would like to have addressed.

I really hope that if the war in Iraq is still going on, that we elect a president that is all for trying to find a way out or a way to end the war that has been going on for way to long.  Hilary Clinton said “Well, the right strategy before the surge and post-escalation is the same: start bringing home America’s troops now.”  It seems as though she is all for addressing this issue of mine.  Barack Obama also has called for a phase of withdrawl for our troops and is in favor to end the war.  “I thought our priority had to be finishing the fight in Afghanistan. I spoke out against what I called ‘a rash war’ in Iraq”.  John McCain in the other hand, wants to strengthen our force in Iraq and not bring them home.  I also feel that poverty should be a big concern for our nest president and that it should definetaly be addressed.  Obama and Hilary clinton are both all for creating jobs for the American people which in a way can helps poverty.  All of the canidates want to help lower taxes which in turn provides Americans with more money in their pockets.  I also hope that our next president will look at and evaluate the laws that govern our country today and make adjustments to them and make them a little more fair to the people.  I couldn’t find much info on what these canidates want to do about this particular issue.  I know that john McCain wants to “end pork barrell spending” which would cut out government spending that was not needed.

What would I like to see in a president?

I think that I would like to see a president that is a little more open minded to today’s youth and society.  Most of the presidents are uptight and they never really seem to be real, they seem to fake to me.  I think that it would be good to have a president that would try and address some of the smaller issues in today’s society and not concentrate so much on things that may not change.  I also think that it would be good for the country if a we elected a president that would be more for the people and the changes in today’s society and not so old fashioned as they all seem to be.

America is Tuning out the World

America, the land of the free, that is what many people think of America, especially immigrants from other countries. Granitsas stated in his article that “America s Tuning Out the Rest of the World”. That is a pretty strong assumption, an one that I feel is not very accurate. First of all, I really feel that America is more involved and paying as much attention to other countries as ever. I understand what he is trying to say, but I feel he has the reason for this all wrong. It may seem as though what he says is true, but I feel that it s more that other countries pay to much attention to America and that America does not ignore them.

America is the country that everybody seems to want to live, and that is not our fault. America has simply tried to be the best country it can be for its people. It does seem as though that today there is America and then there is all the other countries, but America isn’t the one that made it that way. I mean I don’t think that America could do much more to be involved with other countries as what they do now, and ultimately the root of this problem does not come from the U.S.A.