8. Howard Zinn

After watching the video on Howard Zinn I though he was inspirational. He stood up for what he believed in and protested against the law and other people for what he believed was right. Not many people would stand in front of a crowd and talk about such controversial issues like racial segregation when so many people would not have agreed with him, but that never stopped him putting himself in possible danger just to make other people see his point of view. Howard did things like challenge his class of all African American students to protest against segregation and challenge it to make others see it was wrong. Some of his students got arrested standing up to the authorities, because he was so involved in such a controversial issue of that time he was fired from his teaching job. However that did not stop Howard he continued to protest and fight for what was right. I think more people should be like Howard and have the courage to stand up for what they believe even if other people don’t agree with them. Everyone has different ideals and should be able to share them with the world no matter the consequences. We should all inspire to be more like Howard.

Double extra credit: The Master

In the master Freddie is a navel veteran who has come back from the war and the navy with war trauma. He relies on alcohol or mixed chemicals to get through the day with crazy erratic behavior. He lands himself on a boat of Lancaster Dodd or otherwise known as the master. The master runs a thing called the Couse, he pretends to cure people and heal them by hypnosis. Where they believe they can recall past lives. Freddie and the master work together to gather people and travel to new places to teach their cause to people dumb enough to believe anything they say. After only a few scenes I believed them both to be mentally ill, maybe that’s why they were drawn together to be friends. Freddie clearly is not in his right mind after the war even finding comfort in a 16 year old girl should let everyone watching know he is not in his right mind. Then Lancaster Dodd is so clearly spitting lies and making everything up as he goes is either madness or genius because he had a large following of fools hanging on every word. There where scenes when the master would be talking to everyone preaching what he wants them to believe and the next scene all the woman are naked, I believe this was powerful representation of what a cult following would do for their leader, he could talk them into anything even stripping naked and dancing around like fools. I think that’s exactly what the Couse was a cult, based on scientology.  The Couse and scientology have the same beliefs, multiple lives, counseling that’s based on reliving painful memories so you can free yourself, and having to buy things like books or tapes to excel in the religion or cult. 

6. Monsanto madness

After watching the world according to Monsanto, I was floored. I had no idea things like this where going on with our food today. I knew that some farmers used pesticides to kill the weeds around their plants and that may have gotten near the plants we eat, But I had no idea they were being directly used on the food we eat every day. I was disgusted to watch the video and find out that the most popular brand of pest decides was Monsanto’s brand one of the most harmful brands we know of today. This company that uses Chemicals created oils used as a coolants and lubricants for electrical power transfers is one of the links to many deceases the worst being cancer. Products like dioxin are known cancer causers and can Couse many birth defects.  Why are products like this being allowed to be anywhere near our food, How can they get away with this why is no one banning there products. I was shocked to know Canada was the only place to started to ban there products after Monsanto got caught trying to bribe the FDA.  In my Opinion Monsanto’s company should be shut down immediately.  We should have all pesticide companies tested and use the company that has kept us stay healthy without putting us in danger, but in order for things to change people have to be informed about Monsanto and his company and make a change about what kind of food they put in their mouth. I myself had no idea what was going on. I had not even heard of Monsanto before watching this video. This needs to be common knowledge for all people. We should all stand together and ban any food touched by Monsanto products till they are shut down completely. 

4. political values

If you had asked me what my Political views where 2 years ago I would have given you a completely different answer, and honestly I didn't believe in any of the things I believe now. Growing up in a very religious, well off family, with a father who was the head of a health care company. I thought if I believed in free health care or Obama's health care plan I was going against my family and, I thought my dad would lose his job in affect from Obama being elected. As of a month ago I am a registered Democrat. I am now in full sport of free health care. Living on my own since I was 18 and seeing the other side of finances. Working full time and hardly being able to make ends meet, I understand that many people could not afford health care. Me being one of those people.  Another reason I changed my views from republican to democrat is, I am a passionate believer in Gay rights I believe everyone should have the same chances to fall in love and get married, and who are we to decide who can and can’t get married?  Democrats also help with grants for school they believe in helping giving more grants for school then republicans. I am in complete support on every issue that democrats support with one exception abortion. I do not believe abortion is moral unless you were raped. I changed my political views because I believe that Democrats help people on a bigger scale. They make it easier to go to school and to be able to see a doctor if you can’t afford it. These are some of the reasons I changed my political views to democrat.

3. growing as a country

After watching Changing Education Paradigms and 21 century enlightenment I believe that Matthew Taylor's  point was we need to do better as a nation, we need to raise standards and lift the bar higher. In the 21 century enlightenment he talks about how he believes people have the ability to adapt. He states that we are not very good at making long term decisions and these are the kind of things that get us into trouble not only as people but as a nation. We need to plan for our futures like it says in Changing Education Paradigm less and less people are deciding to get a higher education because they believe there is no point. If we stop believing in high education that will affect so much of our future as people and as a nation. As people it will defiantly effect our job opportunity, there will be fewer doctors and lawyers because no one would take the time to go to school and better themselves. Then as a nation we will have fewer people that are employed. Unemployment will get higher and higher with every passing year. He goes on to say that he does believe we have the ability to change we have come so far since our cave man days and technology has advanced with every passing year. So we are intelligent we are capable of making this world better with each passing day but we are also capable of destroying it. This is what he was trying to make us think about we are a country and a world with such great potential how we use it determines everything.

2. Public enfluence

"I have been studying the what marketers, politicians, religious leaders and coercive forces of all kinds influence everyday decisions." this is the quote from the article that really got me thinking I had never considered that decisions could be influenced by what "they say." Being a strong willed very opinionated person I be leaved my decisions and opinions where things I changed as a developed on my own. After reading the article I started to ponder what influences me, friends, family, my husband, The media, but what kind of things are we not aware of that influence us? "It's not always easy to determine when we have surrendered our judgment to someone else. The better and more sophisticated the manipulation, the less aware of it we are." I tried to think when could I have been talked into changing my mind about something without being aware of surrendering my opinion. I came to the realization that it happens all the time, for example last week me and my Husband where shopping for a new computer, and the sails man was describing different programs and things we could get with out new computer, But they way he said it made it sound like these where all things we had to have if we wanted our computer to last a long time, expensive virus protection, cooling pads, 24 hour calling with best buy. We ended up buying a few of his suggestions thinking at the time we needed all of them. A few hours after we left we realized we had been sweet talked into something. After reading this article It really changed my opinion of when The media and sails employees are using there knowledge to influence you. I realized I'm unknowingly Influenced everyday.

1.View points

Brittany Howard

8/19/2012

Eng 102

Viewpoints

            Personally I believe our viewpoints are altered, even in the slightest notion every day; however some views remain strong for various reasons such as upbringing, general daily attitude, religion etc.  Personally my views have drastically changed since attending college, and I agree with the article as it states on page 172, “We may think our preferences are our “own” but many of them replicate those of our fellow in a particular social circle and economic class location”.  For me growing up in an upper-middle class, strict, religious, conservative household, without much freedom to explore my own viewpoints, I garnered my parents every word as fact.  Since branching out on my own, being in college and now as of June 1^st being married, marking 3 years since I left the nest, I find my views more liberal and secular than I could have ever imagined.  This certainly makes me a strong candidate now to have my views changed with anything that provides sufficient evidence I should do so.

            Before I began college and somewhat before reading the article it was easy for me to stereotype “terrorists” as Middle Eastern men.  The article makes you broaden your thinking as to what terrorism really is.  I was struck by a line on page 163. “Terrorism is a general category rather than a specific thing”.   After September 11^th, it was easy to believe our government and other sources practically telling us terrorism only came from specific countries.  And this was easy to digest at the time because at my age the only real act of terrorism I could ever remember would be September 11^th.  I agree that terrorism is not always justified by anger; some people are just plain crazy.  Quoting one of my favorite movies, In the Dark Knight when someone asks Alfred what makes the joker tick he just says “Some people just want to watch the world burn”.  It doesn’t have to be political or religious, or any other rational anger it can just be someone who has snapped.  This article helped exercise the parts of my brain on terrorism and connect some dots that I had already started on.