22. April 2010 by student.

            I watched a documentary called “Fog of the War” in one of my classes and decided it would suffice to be a great blog.

In this documentary, Mr. McNamara narrated as the secretary of defense for the United States. He recalls many accounts of his personal record of what it was like at this very crucial time in our history. The part of the film that I saw definitely had a strong theme. McNamara talked about lessons. Each of which were important upon recognizing and were surprisingly relatable to sociology! Woohoo!

LESSON NUMBER 2:

Rationality will not save us. This is so incredibly true. Sounds a little bit like overanalyzing. Humans are way to good at that.

            To rationalize, is to make sense of- and lets just face it, trying to make any sense of what was going on at this point in history is far from being able to understand. We had to do what we had to do in order to get the job done, and within the best interest of our people. There is no questioning or no rationalizing of that. The events that took place just had to take place, and if it weren’t for each and every one of them, who knows if I’d even be here today.

We are always looking for answers that can quickly be put into context in a way, which we better understand. We are also always looking for quick ways to do many things, eat (hence McDonald’s), do homework (hence the unfortunate temptation to cheat), sleep, really any activity worth doing, we want it done quickly.

Rationalizing is one of the ways in which we do just this. But according to McNamara its not always going to get us where we want to be in the end, which I believe is what he means when he says that it can’t save us. Its like saying if we sit down and try to pick apart every little detail of our lives, the things we do, say or think or why we do them is not going to save us in the end as to what our fate is already set out to be. I am a strong believer in knowing that what happens, honestly happens for a reason, so I have learned on many accounts to accept that, and move on.

LESSON NUMBER 4:

Maximize efficiency. It’s a nice way of putting how America is today. Wanting more than ever in the smallest amount of time possible, so we can move on and jump right into the next big thing that is going to make one better than the other (see above statements). To be able to maximize efficiency is a great skill. Get it done. Now. And get it done to the best standards.

In war, this is ideal. Being able to produce weapons, train soldiers, build an army, plot what your next move is, get in get out- is all about maximizing efficiency. It will be extremely useful to you, and will determine who is the stronger player. But it is not just war that this sheer tool of the trade can help someone with. It stretches as far as making a small business grow, and get stronger. It reaches out to help people in a hospital, or boarding a plane, even having maximized efficiency in your own personal routine is going to de-stress, and make things run smoother.

            No matter how you see it good, or bad, it’s a way of life. Making things better and more efficient - a perfect way of defining how you should maximize efficiency.

            The points in which I have decided to talk about are very important to me. When I actually got to thinking about them, they really made an impact on what I had to say. Having watched less than an hour of the documentary, I really see its true meaning. That is the most important thing at the end of the day, and its good to know it has been fulfilled.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

22. April 2010 by student.

Video game abuse and addiction is a huge deal now with children. I have played my fair share of games but now it’s to the point where children don’t have a life besides playing video games. My cousin sites inside all day everyday playing video games, I feel that this is very unhealthy for at the age that he is at like I did I went outside played multiple sports, build tree forts, went swimming, rode bikes and ext. Children who play to much video games such as Call Of Duty, Halo, and Grand Theft Auto are starting to mold their minds around the games and they are thinking that rape, murder, and drugs is ok to mess around with but in all reality those things will just ruin the rest of your life. They are thinking in the back of their mind that if the person in the video game can do it why can’t I they are just to the point that they are so sucked in to the game that they are trying to make it a reality but it will never be in reality. In one of the games that my cousin plays is Grand Theft Auto I have played that game a few times yes it is a fun game you get to walk around as a gang member and bet, rob, steal, and kill people but I know what reality is and what isn’t. With a young child this game a be very persuasive to make him think these things are ok but I had to instill in his mind that all the things that he is doing in the game is completely wrong and that he shouldn’t do any of these things to people.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

22. April 2010 by student.

I feel that we need to have more gun control in this day and age because there are little kids that don’t know any better bringing guns to school or showing their friends.  Also if there was more gun control there wouldn’t be killings at school because a person under the age of 18 cannot legally buy a gun for themselves.  I know of many known felons and children under the age of 18 that have a firearm in their possession and can go to their house and get it if it is needed. I personally feel that this is wrong that a young person or a felon can have a gun even though they know it’s wrong and people are just turning the other cheek because they know its wrong as well and they just don’t care. Guns don’t kill people no they don’t stupid people kill people the gun just magically isn’t going to go off. You need to squeeze the trigger for it to go off and my friends and I had a saying in high school “bullets don’t have names they can come at anyone at anytime for anyone”. Yes I have had a gun pointed at me by a teenager that was 17 because he thought he was tough behind the gun little did he know that pulling that gun out was a very bad choice by him. When he decided to pull that gun out and point it at me a Lee County Police Officer just happened to drive by and catch him in the act.  The boy ran and later was caught and sent to jail he spent 3 years in jail for something that could have been monitored and prevented if there was more gun control.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

22. April 2010 by student.

Throughout America people suffer from discrimination against culture, age, sex, religion, and race. The citizens who suffer from this discrimination are marked as people who are disadvantaged, when it is clearly not the case. Discrimination persists within the United States and serves as a marker of continuing failure to follow our policy as American citizens. Everyday people suffer from discrimination, and most of the time people do not feel that badly about it, which is even worse. Sadly, this is how society has morphed us to think and act upon; you will get the job because you young and white. Racism in the United States has been a major issue since the colonial era. Historically, the country has been dominated by whites. The heaviest racism in our country have included Native, African, Asian, Mexican, and Jewish Americans. Throughout history there has been some major racially structured institutions, such as slavery and segregation of schools (for Native Americans and whites), and internment camps (Hitler’s regime). Racial discrimination has occurred in employment, housing, education and government. “Formal racial discrimination was largely banned in the mid-20th century (blacks and whites), yet racial politics remain a major trend (the first black president)”(Racial Discrimination).  In 2008 president Barak Obama was elected president of the United States. I strongly believe that he was voted in due to his color. All of the African Americans in the US were just supporting their color and that is why they voted for him. Their race wanted to prove that blacks are just as equal to whites. I think that the president was elected just so the African Americans could finally prove their point about racial discrimination in America. ^“Discrimination against African Americans, Latin Americans, and Muslims is widely acknowledged.”(Racial Discrimination). Muslims are looked upon as American murders since 9-11 terrorist attack. Discrimination has affected our culture, norms/values, and has promoted social conflict. Within our culture people are judging each other off of race, sex gender, age, etc. This is not how our culture should look at one another, it is negative and can only bring about the worst in us. We should give everyone an equal chance at opportunities in the workforce, household, and government. Also, our norms and values will be shot out the window if we base people off of their religion and race. We have been taught to look at everyone equally not on what we see on the outside. Many instances of social conflict have risen due to these issues of discrimination, Hitler, 9-11, segregation of schools for black and whites, our first black president, etc. We should all learn from these instances and reevaluate our norms and values towards everyone knowing we are all equal in society. In turn, the world will be a better place.

“Racial Discrimination.” Racism in the United States. Ed. Walter Williams. Web. 21 Apr. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_the_United_States>.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

22. April 2010 by student.

Annually, 46 million babies die from abortion worldwide. That’s approximately one baby being aborted every two seconds.

Abortion in the United States

An estimated 48 million babies have been aborted since 1973. Approximately 24% of all U.S. pregnancies end in abortion.

Characteristics of Women Having Abortions

• Over half (56%) of all women having abortions between 15-44 are in their 20’s.
• Nearly eight in 10 U.S. women obtaining an abortion report a religious affiliation.

• 43% are Protestant

• 27% are Catholic

• 8% are other religions

• 41% of women having abortions are white, 32% are black, and 20% are hispanic.

• Black and Hispanic women have higher abortion rates than non-Hispanic white women. Black women’s abortion rates are 49 per 1,000, Hispanic women’s are 33 per 1,000 and non-Hispanic white women’s are 13 per 1,000.

• According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, the most recurrent characteristics of women having abortions over time are nonwhite, poor and unmarried.

Reasons For Abortion

• 98% Personal Choice (unwanted or inconvenient)
• 1.7% Life/Health of Mother or Child
• .3% Rape/Incest

Abortion by Gestational Age

African American Community

• According to the CDC, each year 616,074 African Americans are born.
• 458,500 babies will have died from abortion.
• 284,877 blacks will have died that same year through anything from natural causes to heart disease.
• There are 743,377 Africans Americans dying yearly. This number is 127,303 more than those that are born.
• From 1973 to 2004, nearly 30% of the black population were erased through abortion. Out of the average 4,400 babies dying daily that are reported abortions, an estimated 1,300 are African American. They account for 32% of women having abortions yearly, yet make up only 13% of the American population. African American women are 3 times as likely to have an abortion than other women.

http://voiceofrevolution.askdrbrown.org/2009/01/18/abortion-statistics/

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

22. April 2010 by student.

A crutch is used in aid of something that needs help to get around. After awhile, the crutch would no longer be needed when the problem heals. This concept can be compared with the topic that has produced much public controversy known as affirmative action. Affirmative action is used throughout the entire world, sometimes on purpose and sometimes undetected because of prejudices and stereotypes people set. Minorities have a large advantage in being accepted to college nowadays, and I feel that if America is aiming for equality, this serves as a “crutch” to people. However, the real aspect is when the “healing” will take place, when the aiding will no longer be needed, and when equality will really mean equality.Affirmative action affects the lives of everyone to this day. Every single person, especially in the United States, is affected in some way by affirmative action.  From personal experiences, I have seen fellow students been denied from a college because they were just not as good as their fellow African-American classmate. I have seen fellow students denied from a college because they were just not as good as their fellow female classmate. I have seen plenty of students get into their colleges because of what I would like to classify as unfair advantages they have over other students, when the United States has been fighting the equality war since the beginning of time.The U.S. strives for equality between everyone.  The affirmative action has changed many people’s lives; mine as well, for better and for worse. For me, I am not born into a Hispanic culture, an African-American culture, and I am not a female either. If I had any of those characteristic traits, I might have been going to a different university. I could possibly be going to a college that was my first choice. It’s upsetting to me because I had moderate grades, and some of my best friends with the same grades as me were of an African-American descent, which all got into the colleges I were praying to get into that I unfortunately got denied from. To them, it was just another college acceptance letter, but to me it would have been a life changing experience. It’s disappointing for sure and I wouldn’t want anyone else being taken advantage like I was in the affirmative action debacle. One may say, “The minorities may have had a horrible experience before hand, which should grant them the opportunity they can achieve”. More simply put, their ancestors had a tough life before so they should have it a little easier now. Those days are over with. If we are trying to get equality throughout the United States, we can’t keep helping people because it will in turn create inequality. If Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, I believe he would have the same views as I do. He wouldn’t want to be seen as in need of a crutch. If he had equality, a fair attempt in everything, he would be completely satisfied. The fact of the matter is he definitely would have all of those chances. He would be able to have complete equality in today’s society. African Americans during slavery went through so much pain and sorrow.  I would like to commend every African-American who made huge, positive impacts towards the world today. African-Americans, Hispanics, and women in particular have an upper hand in college acceptances and I feel that the affirmative action law needs to be done away with. Every race and gender should have an equal opportunity at things they would want to work for and I feel that having affirmative action takes away from the equality issue big time. Affirmative action is something that was used to aid people in need of assistance or advantage. However, nowadays everyone is considered equal and should be treated as equals.  If the affirmative action law is still in effect, there is still going to be inequality between race and gender. It’s serving as a form of distraction to the peoples real potential. Universities and colleges should do away with making judgments due to the color of an applicant’s skin or gender so equality can change our world for the better. 

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

22. April 2010 by student.

“Guns don’t kill people, people do.” This infamous quote can easily be described as a pro-weapon side of a debate on gun control, but that statement can be used to signify the unimportance of guns in the United States for ordinary citizens. The only valid reason for a citizen to own a gun would be for hunting specifically and should be banned otherwise. Guns can be classified into many different categories, such as pistols, shotguns, sniper rifles, light machine guns, assault rifles, sub machine guns, and so on. With all of these weapon categories, only a few of them are really necessary. Most of them are needed for the U.S. Army, which is understandable because they know what they are doing with the weapons, and it won’t be used in the wrong hands. For hunting purposes, no experienced hunter will be going around trying to shoot an animal with a pistol, which goes to show that certain weapons aren’t needed and should be banned throughout the United States.If there were to be a weapon ban in the United States, there would be much controversy.  The hunters need their guns to hunt, which is understandable. We could deter this issue in many ways. For example, we could have a postponement type treaty that would just make you have to wait a given amount of time in order to purchase a weapon, which can only be used for hunting. Handguns would have to be banned unless it is a handed down from family, which would be a very tough issue to deal with. There would need to be some way to regulate it, like a safety deposit box, but for weapons. If weapons were banned, there would be many fewer casualties through the United States. Children finding their parents guns, accidents with guns, suicidal attempts, and other random incidences would be a thing of the past. The 2^nd Amendment to the United States Constitution describes having the right keep and bear arms, which was enacted by December 15^th, 1791. The 2^nd Amendment was written to accommodate laws and regulations of that time, and they did not foresee the country using it more than 200 years in the future. A big issue that would stir up some controversy would be the act of self-defense. Since Americans have the right to defend their homes, we need to take this into consideration. There are recent occurrences where a burglar attempts to invade a home and the homeowner pulls a gun. These are the times where guns can be helpful, but death definitely is a harsh ending.  An awesome idea would be to use non-lethal bullets, like rubber bullets or “bean bag” bullets. Rubber bullets or “bean bag” bullets are often used in riots to control the crowds. These types of bullets are powerful enough to pierce skin, but in most cases non-lethal. If we can get these bullets to replace a lead bullet, it would definitely fend off burglars and other such scenarios yet avoiding the inevitable dreaded word: death. Gun control is a huge controversial topic that has been enormous in the United States. The war against gun control is becoming increasingly popular that will hopefully be resolved within a few decades. If the government can limit the abilities to own a gun to strictly hunters or the United States Army many wrongful deaths will be limited. The Constitution could also be revised to conform to today’s modern society. There are many different methods on how we can resolve such conflicts and hopefully we can put these possibilities to in the near future.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

22. April 2010 by student.

As we all know, alcohol is only legal to citizens who are the age of 21 and older. However, I believe that this law is unlawful. I think that the drinking age should be lowered to 18. If we are considered adults we at age 18, then we should be allowed to do whatever citizens that are 21 years old can do. At the age of 18, I can only legally buy cigarettes. Cigarettes are just as bad as alcohol. So why is it that 18 year olds do not have the choice of buying alcohol?  When we are 18 we are can be considered as adults and independent from our legal guardians.  At 18, I moved 23 hours away from my parents, live in my own apartment, and have a job. Also, at 18, we can enlist in the army and fight for our country. At 18, we also have the right to vote for the President of the United States and yet we do not have the right to sit down at a bar and order an alcoholic drink.

Most people agree with my belief that the drinking age should be lowered to 18. Three years of being an adult is a long time before you can legally consume alcohol. Most 18 year olds go to college after they graduate high school. Drinking alcohol is everywhere you go in college. There are many different party schools around where drinking alcohol is taking place every night. Most people in college who are under 21 years old have friends that are older.  They aren’t going to confine themselves to being friends who cannot legally drink.

As being a new resident in Lee County, I have seen more cops than I have ever seen before. Mostly because this is a college town and the police know that alcohol is distributed among younger adults. The police have arrested many underage people for drinking or a dui. This could be prevented if the legal drinking age was lowered to 18. Then there wouldn’t be as much problems with underage drinking and fake identification cards.

Posted in Social Problems, Uncategorized | 7 Comments »

22. April 2010 by student.

               Environmentalism has become one of the most horrendous things that humans have conceived.  Its foundation is cemented in deception and disregard, but for some reason is portrayed as true and necessary.  After all, who would want to ‘kill the animals, or pollute the Earth?  The American people are wrapped under the guise that we are ‘raping and pillaging the Earth’ by the teachings of schools and what see in the media.  We, as American people, are only shown the good things that it has done, like clean up our rivers and lakes, but are rarely exposed to the other side: the truth.

                After the collapse of the Soviet Union, and countless other socialist countries, it became common knowledge that socialism doesn’t work.  However, the left needed somewhere to go; they still wanted to see their ideas expressed.  The area that they best saw fit was environmentalism, and they succeeded.  They were able to push through the cap and trade law in Europe under the idea that we are making the world warmer by emitting CO2.  If you do not know cap and trade works here, is a brief summary:  Any industry that buys power from a ‘dirty’ plant and/or emits CO2 emissions of their own, must buy enough carbon credits, from the Government, to cover their usage.  The credits are then used to offset their emissions by building ‘clean’ power plants and go to third world countries to plant more trees.  That is a redistribution of wealth because it takes from the rich and gives to the poor, thus socialism.  Now there is talk of bringing that system to the US, and in fact, the House of Representatives have already passed a cap and trade bill.  However, this proposal will do little or nothing to the increase in temperatures, if CO2 is really to blame.  President Obama admitted that energy rates would skyrocket, and consumers will bear the brunt:

“When I was asked earlier about the issue of coal…under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.  Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad, because I’m capping greenhouse gasses, coal power plants, natural gas, you name it.  Whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retro-fit their operations. That will cost money; they will pass that money on to the consumers.”           

                      The environmentalists have proven time and time again that they do not care about us, humans.  This can be seen in the CAFÉ standards that have been put into place, which was enacted to increase the mpg cars, so we would decrease our emissions.  This has resulted in thousands of more deaths, and more severe injuries, just to comply with the law.  According to a 2003 NHTSA study, to reduce vehicle weight by 100 pounds in cars weighing under 2,950 pounds, it will increase the fatality rate by 5.63 percent.  In cars weighing over 2,950 pounds it will increase fatalities by 4.70 percent, and has been estimated that the caused cars to become lighter by 500 pounds.  To add to that, in a study done in 1998 by USA Today, 46,000 more people died in crashes where they would have survived had the standards not been enacted.  One can only imagine how many tens of thousands of people have died if a study was released today about it.  It has also made cars become much more costly.  For example, by 2011, cars must go from an average of 22.2 mpg to 24 mpg.  This less than 2 mpg increase will result in an extra 6.71 billion in added vehicle expense, and only a .44 billion reduction in fuel costs.  To comply with Obama’s newly enacted standards it will raise the car price by a thousand dollars in 2016.   

                In California, there is a region around the San Joaquin River delta, which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, with it being over 20%.  The region, which was once a farming Mecca, has become practically an arid wasteland.  Why?  Back in 2003, environmentalists sued to protect a minnow, which is a fish 2 inches long.  This crippled the economy because farmers could no longer use water from that river and divert it to their farms. It destroyed families, lifestyles, values, and the will and pride of people.  It is estimated that it eliminated 80,000 jobs, all to save a fish. 

                Those things that I mentioned above were only a few things.  There are countless other examples that you can find that just show how evil they are.  They disregard humans, communities, and economy just to save a couple animals.  While I agree that we should not go around destroying animal’s habitats to make a few dollars, the movement has gotten out of control.  There are proposals to build solar power plants in southwest United States, which is what the environmentalists claim to want.  However they have sued to stop the power plant proposals because they would be built on an endangered species habitat, and/or the power lines go through an area where an endangered species lives.  They are unacceptable group of people who are trying to bring the US and all other developed nations down so we would we emit less pollutants.  How pathetic!    

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

22. April 2010 by student.

The importance of a father-daughter relationship is something that not everyone takes so seriously.  In fact, the relationship between a father and daughter can make an extreme impact of a growing girl.  I have thought of this for quite sometime and I have been hearing more and more about the whole thing lately.   Father’s play an essential role in their daughters lives, especially the teenage daughter.  Yet it is very sad to say that many men do not always stick around to raise their daughters.

A daughters relationship with her father is usually the first male-female relationship they have.  As little girls they gain their first reflection of themselves as a female.  They develop a sense of value, acceptance, or nonthing at all.  They begin to form their self-concept as a female as well.  They learn how to be affectionate, relax and feeel safe with certain males.  They learn that they are not to be looked at as sex objects.

A daughter will gain self-confidence and pride in making her own opinions if her father is fair and listens to his daughters thoughts.  Yes in many cases a daughter  may be wrong about things, but it is always important for him to at least listen rather than to just yell and scream at his daughter.   Fathers who are active participants of the early years are also setting up expectations within the family unit, and when the child sees that they grow up to expect it.

Sometimes with the absence of a father or father-figure a teenage girl will have a desire to seek approval or affection from a man, sometimes in a sexual manner.  In the cases there is abuse from the father, the relationship may be seriously wounded and the daughter may express these unresolved issues by seeking poor relationships or have abusive partners as well.  In many cases these teenage girls seek out a father figure and seek out something that cannot be filled by the man.  With these facts many of our teenage girls are having a very hard time growing up in the world today and they are having all kinds of problems as a result. 

Daughters who continue to build a relationship with their fathers have a higher self-esteem, and better relationships with authority figures, such as teachers and bosses. 

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »