31. October 2010 by student.

Indeed, we all know drinking under aged is “bad”. And if you ask anyone their responses would be as such: “It’s illegal”or “You aren’t old enough to drink responsibly”. Yes, these are true and one can suffer the consequences of legal action against them when you drink under-aged. But what is the reason behind the 21 year old legal drinking age? Is it just a random number? Why can’t it be 18? We can run our young boys off to war but they can’t drink?! Heck, Europe does it so how bout we join in the “if you can see over the bar, you can have one” concept! Sorry kids, but there is a lot of data and science behind the number 21. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

28. October 2010 by student.

Yes, I consider euthanasia to be a social problem. It concerns all of people and it doesnt, it should. Our society always has people who are dependent on others. Children, teens, the elderly or the sick all depend on others. But put yourself in the shoes of the last one. You’re very sick, perhaps old, you know you aren’t going to make it and all you want to do is die peacefully. Battling your illness is no longer your priority. You are dependent on your family members (who in this economy might not have that much money) and your money is running low. You are in pain every day, you can’t go out, and you can’t even go to the bathroom without help. Do you want to drag your situation out any longer? Do you want to cause your family emotional and financial distress?

 Or

As a family member of someone in that situation. You know your relative is too sick to make it, and they are only suffering. Feeling guilty about everyone having to take care of them and not being able to do simple things by themselves. If there was a solution, would you consider it? Would you want to help them have a peaceful death?

If it was up to me, if I was in that painful situation I would want an option, a way out. Euthanasia in theory is not that different that pulling the plug at the hospital (and I know it sounds a little cold), putting down your loved family pet when they are just way too sick. Euthanasia is defined as “the practice of ending a life in a manner which relieves pain and suffering”. Oh yea, that sounds like a really really bad thing. Of course, involuntary euthanasia isn’t a good thing, but…isn’t that just murder? The problem would occur this is when people start abusing it, like anything else. I honestly see no problem with euthanasia as long as it is controlled and legal. Those people who have moral issues with it because after all, it’s one person ending another person’s life. DONT DO IT. Euthanasia doesn’t have to be for everyone. It shouldn’t be there for people who are depressed and want to die. It should be there for those who are terminally ill and wont live anyway and will probably die after a lot of suffering, it should be an option for those who want it and NEED it.  

Posted in Social Problems | 2 Comments »

27. October 2010 by student.

 This weekend I was watching home movies with my brother. In the video we were in our back yard playing on our little jungle gym. Jumping off of it, walking across our monkey bars that were 10 feet from the ground and being that we were only 5 and 7 years old this looked like an extreme hazard. Then we began to laugh as our mom was videotaping and cheering us on like what we were doing was safe. After the video ended we began to talk about how now a day’s parents would never allow this to happen and we realized that if we had kids that we would rather let them sit inside and play Xbox than let them play outside and do injury provoking activities, and same goes for the kids they don’t feel the need to play outside when they can play video games. However, if you look at it from another view by not letting children play outside they are becoming unhealthier. Some of the proven benefits that come with playing outside are strong muscles and bones, weight control, and a better outlook on life. I believe that if parents don’t go back to the way it was only a few years ago it is going to have a big affect on the children’s lives in the long run.

Parents now a day are also setting their children up with a lot of planned activities. Which is a good thing, but it changes the children are growing up because you cannot replace going outside to your neighbor’s house to get your other friends and playing a game of manhunt, or a game of capture the flag or just causing mayhem throughout your neighborhood. Because this is when children learn most of the valuable life lessons that will characterize who they will become. If they stay inside and play video games or watch t.v. they are becoming what the world wants them to be and not who they were created to be.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

27. October 2010 by student.

I got this in an email the other day from my grandmother. I was raised a christian and since about the age of thirteen  I have trailed from christianity and become agnostic(a person who holds that the existence of the ultimate cause, as god, and the essential nature of things are unknown and unknowable, or that human knowledge is limited to experience.)  I found this to be a very interesting concept to think about.

A science professor begins his school year with a lecture to the students, “Let me explain the problem science has with religion.” The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.  
“You’re a Christian, aren’t you, son?”
“Yes sir,” the student says.   
“So you believe in God?”
“Absolutely.”   
“Is God good?”
“Sure! God’s good.”   
“Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?”
“Yes.”   
“Are you good or evil?”
“The Bible says I’m evil.”   
The professor grins knowingly. “Aha! The Bible!” He considers for a moment.. “Here’s one for you. Let’s say there’s a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?”
  ”Yes sir, I would.”
  ”So you’re good…!”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
  ”But why not say that? You’d help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn’t.”
  The student does not answer, so the professor continues. “He doesn’t, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?”
  The student remains silent.
  ”No, you can’t, can you?” the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.
  ”Let’s start again, young fella. Is God good?” “Er…yes,” the student says.  
“Is Satan good?” The student doesn’t hesitate on this one. “No.”
 ”Then where does Satan come from?”
The student falters. “From God”
 ”That’s right… God made Satan, didn’t he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?” “Yes, sir.”
 ”Evil’s everywhere, isn’t it? And God did make everything, correct?”
  ”Yes.”
  ”So who created evil?” The professor continued, “If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.”
  Again, the student has no answer. “Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?”
 The student squirms on his feet. “Yes.”
  ”So who created them?”
  The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. “Who created them?” There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized. “Tell me,” he continues onto another student. “Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?”
The student’s voice betrays him and cracks. “Yes, professor, I do.”
The old man stops pacing. “Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?”
  ”No sir. I’ve never seen Him.”
 ”Then tell us if you’ve ever heard your Jesus?”
“No, sir, I have not.”
  ”Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?”
“No, sir, I’m afraid I haven’t.”
“Yet you still believe in him?”
“Yes.”
  ”According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?”
 ”Nothing,” the student replies. “I only have my faith.”
“Yes, faith,” the professor repeats. “And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.” 
  At the back of the room another student stands quietly for a moment before asking a question of His own. “Professor, is there such thing as heat?”
 ”Yes,” the professor replies. “There’s heat.”
  ”And is there such a thing as cold?”
“Yes, son, there’s cold too.”
“No sir, there isn’t.”
  The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain. “You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don’t have anything called ‘cold’. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees.”
 ”Everybody or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.”
  Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.
  ”What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?”
  ”Yes,” the professor replies without hesitation. “What is night if it isn’t darkness?”
  ”You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it’s called darkness, isn’t it? That’s the meaning we use to define the word.”
  ”In reality, darkness isn’t. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?”
  The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. “So what point are you making, young man?”
  ”Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.”
  
The professor’s face cannot hide his surprise this time. “Flawed? Can you explain how?”
  ”You are working on the premise of duality,” the student explains. “You argue that there is life and then there’s death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can’t even explain a thought.”
  ”It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.”
  ”Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?”
  ”If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do.”
  ”Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?”
  The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.
  ”Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?”
  The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided..
  ”To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean.”
  The student looks around the room. “Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor’s brain?” The class breaks out into laughter.
  ”Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor’s brain, felt the professor’s brain, touched or smelt the professor’s brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir.”
  ”So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?”
  Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable.
  Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. “I guess you’ll have to take them on faith.”
  ”Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life,” the student continues. “Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?”
  Now uncertain, the professor responds, “Of course, there is. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man’s inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.”
  To this the student replied, “Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God’s love present in his heart. It’s like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.”
  The professor sat down.  

Posted in Social Problems | 2 Comments »

27. October 2010 by student.

TO PEE OR NOT TO PEE…                 
I  have a job.  I work, they pay me. 
I  pay my taxes & the government 
distributes my taxes as it sees fit. 

    In order to get that paycheck,  
I am required to pass a random urine test 
(with which I have no problem). 
 What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my 
taxes to people who don’t have to pass a urine test. 
 
So, here is my question: 
Shouldn’t one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check 
because I have to pass one to earn it for them?  
Please understand, I  have no problem with 
helping people get back on their feet.  
I do, on the other hand, have a problem with helping 
someone sitting on their butt - doing drugs while I work.  
Can you imagine how much money each state 
would save if people had to pass a urine test 
to get a public assistance check? 
  I guess we could call  the  program 
“URINE  OR YOU’RE OUT”! 

 Just a thought, but all politicians 
should have to pass a urine test too!

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

26. October 2010 by Mr. Andoscia.

Posted in Mr. Andoscia | 1 Comment »

26. October 2010 by student.

Why do women want plastic surgery? Why can’t a woman be happy with who she is or be accepted for who she is. If a woman wants to do surgery to correct some flaws that she thinks she might have, then she has every right to do so. But the women who take it over the top and spends thousands and thousands of dollars each year may not be necessary. I feel though as if society or men has been molding women to think what the perfect image of a women should be. Magazines put women on the cover that even the woman in the cover doesn’t even look like that. Many of these women are airbrushed to look flawless. Many women on the cover are a size 2 or less. A women that is size 4 is considered obese in the modeling world.  In the United States our population is obese, so why not put full figure women on the cover of a magazine, they are just as beauitful than a skinner woman. Woman think they are not good enough to be on magazines or on tv shows because the fashion society defines as a perfect image. So what do these women do to make them think they have to be the perfect image, these women get plastic surgery done or even start having eating disorders to make them lose weight. Many young girls wants to be the women on the billboard or magazine so they will start purging or even starving themselves. According to the South Carolina Department of Mental Health, 95% of people with eating disorders t are between the ages of 12 and 25. I feel the culture of the United States is what brings this upon these young women and encouraging them to be unhealthy. I’m sure no one wants a woman to be unhealthy to achieve the perfect body but I think society should have a different approach from a healthy body to an unhealthy body. Also this can be influenced within relationships how a man want their ideal woman to look like, most men not all, want a big chested woman with an hour glass shape, so woman will slice and dice their body to get this way. In 2008, there have been about 10.2 million procedures done alone, of all sorts, from boob implants to botex in the face to create a younger look. I just feel that women should not be sucked in to what a woman’s body should look like and know that all women are beautiful in all shapes and sizes. There is nothing wrong to change yourself if you want to, but do it the right way and be happy with what you got.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

26. October 2010 by student.

In today’s society the typical normal family is completely different from how it was in the 1950’s. In today’s day and age families don’t normally sit down and a have a nice dinner at the dinner table together, it’s more of a grab and go or tv dinner. In the older days families would have a home cooked meal and everyone of that family would sit down and eat together everyday. I think that if we all ate at home with our families like we use to not only would we save money but we would have a better bond with our family. With the new age we really don’t socialize with our parents and relatives like we use to and i think that it is very important to have a good, close relationship with them. I know that when i go home and have a family dinner we talk about everything going on in our lives and it brings us closer together since i no longer live at home. Parents were closer to their children in the 1950’s because they got to talk to them and share a special family meal with them. Today parents might not have that much time to cook dinner everyday for their family but a nice home cooked meal once a week would make a difference in there relationship. Your typical family spends more time with work than trying to spend time with the ones they love.

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26. October 2010 by student.

Just this month a mom has reported to Spring Creek Elementary School not once, not twice, and not even three times but several times about her daughter being bullied at school. Everyday when she picks her daughter up at school her daughter is crying and saying she hates going to school. Schools have been forced to establish rules prohibiting bullying however, still many kids are being bullied so how strictly are these rules being enforced? When we all think of bullying what do we think of? Maybe someone continually saying hurtful things to another person, repeated physical harm like pinching or hitting, even theft and stalking. The person that was bullying this mom’s daughter even went to the extent of giving the daughter a cookie that caused a horrible allergic reaction. It is coming to the point where not only are the students afraid to go to school and hate being there but also the parents can’t even go throughout the day worrying about their child being there. Another problem with this issue is when the adults that parents and kids got to about it don’t take action and don’t take it seriously or they don’t take enough action to make a difference. In the 2007-2008 reports for Lee County Public Schools there were over 200 reports of bullying. Everyone knows what bullying is and everyone agrees it is wrong so why do bullies do it and why non-bullies just sit back and watch it happen?

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25. October 2010 by student.

I have noticed that the showing of LGBT related films depend on zoning regulations from city to city. A movie that I am dying to see ” The Four-Faced Liar” is only being shown in select theaters, same happened to “The Kids Are Alright” who stared Julianne Moore and actually got good reviews. But I’ve noticed some theaters are condoned to show this films and some are not. This of course is reflective of the general population who attend each theater. Theaters who are more know for showing independent films or foreign films are more inclined to show LGBT films as well. While main stream movie theaters are very selective on what films they show. You would expect to see this divided up by more liberal vs. more conservative towns… which is understandable, profit does depend on surrounding public. Why is it still so taboo to have LGBT films to be shown in all theaters? I feel today the film industry has touched upon almost everything taboo, that nothing is off limits anymore.  But really when you think about it, it’s just a movie. Why don’t we show them on a nation wide scale if it’s a main stream movie? Who knows it could totally be the next box office hit!

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