Month: February 2017

Week 3

Journal

This week gave us a lot to think about.

The main issue being the excessive absurdity being coming from the white house. From the misguided attempts at national security to the appointment of the totally under qualified Betty Devos to the office of secretary of education. It was heart-warming, despite the fairly frigid temperatures, to see the support everybody showed towards our immigrant friends. Every time I hear that people immigrants are a problem I think that I should say something like “how do you think the Native Americans felt?”

I even see a thin vein of this in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. Both the Church and Hank thought that what they were doing was for the best. The Church worked its way into “the Factory” so that they could take control when Hank left. They thought that they were restoring order. Of course if this Church was really historically accurate, they would probably have more selfish reasons than that. Hank saw the people of the 6^th century as less because they did not have the advancements and motivation to work that he did. He thought that he was helping them realize their potential as humans. The connection to our current situation, is that the people in charge think that what they are doing is for the best. And it’s never the best for everyone. Though Hank brought the 6^th century’s technology into the realm of his modern age, he had to re-in doctrine the people living there. He changed social dynamics so radically, that it probably threw many of the people for a loop and if they didn’t follow his ideals, they were left out. Hank also killed like 30 people for no reason. Because of the Church’s scheming, they caused the atmosphere that lead to Hank’s eventual belief that everything had to be destroyed before it could be rebuilt. This caused the needless deaths of basically every knight in the kingdom.

This has been a hot topic for a long time now, but Donald Trump is in office and has now made an executive order that affects the lives of millions in a negative way. It is un-American to take an isolationist stand and block entry of citizens, of any country, that want a chance at a better life. I do agree that there is much going on in the Middle East and Africa, and it is not exactly our duty to directly get involved, but if people want to legally come to our country we should let them. Trump is attempting to use islamophobia and harness our fear to make the American people turn on other nationalities.   I have looked at the stats, and if you do not include 9/11, less than 75 Americans have died from terrorist attacks on US soil. While I agree that 1 death is too many, I do not think this executive order will reduce this already relatively small number. If he really wants to reduce deaths in the United States, invest in pharmaceutical research and attack big tobacco companies, which cause exponentially more deaths than Muslim terrorists.

This was one of Trump’s decisions that I did not agree with, but the main one that bothers me is appointing someone head of the EPA that does not believe in climate change. Take one college biology course and you will understand the truth. It is happening, and it is happening fast. I am a biologist, and am very passionate about this issue. A change in the oceans temperature by a few degrees could be catastrophic to marine life, which would send a rippling effect through our economy. There are so many areas of our environment that are teetering on the edge of catastrophe. Donald Trump is a smart man. It may not seem like it, but if you are as rich as he is, and manipulated your way into being the leader of the free world, you have to be doing something right. He should definitely have the brainpower to comprehend that changes to the environment are hard to reverse, and take unbelievably loner to fix than they are to induce. If he wants to bring power back to the people, the first thing he should be doing is cleaning up the environment in which we live in, not eliminating strides we have made in the right direction. Lets hope we have enough checks and balances in place to keep this man under control, and hope that we can look back in 4 years and say that he decisions for the betterment of the American people.

I find the cause of some of our countries major issues quite depressing and perplexing. Women are losing rights because of religion. People are labeled terrorists because of religion. People are being banned from America because of religion. Six million people were killed in the holocaust because of religion. The Middle East is a pretty big mess because of religion. People cannot get married to those of the same sex because of religion. People (The LGBTQ community) are hated and disrespected because of religion. People blow themselves up because of religion. And yet, it is stuck as a huge part of life. It is truly and utterly heartbreaking.

On Tuesday of this past week, a walk was conducted by Prof. Drexler in protest of the immigration ban President Trump had ordered on 7 Middle Eastern nations. The effects of this executive order had global ripple effects; people around the world marching, gathering in groups, coming together in a moment of solidarity in the face of yet another widely questionable Trump act. I am once again, immensely grateful to have been able to have access to a college education and the many benefits that come with it both inside and outside the classroom. What is happening in the highest of political positions in our country right now is not normal, and in a large majority of the decisions made by Trump’s cabinet, just not right. After almost a decade of remarkable social and economic progress, we seem to have reverted back to old, conservative ways. Forward thinking and empathy are the two main components I hope to always see in men that hold high power and position in this world. Currently, one of the most powerful men on the earth possesses no neither quality, but perhaps Trump’s election was a sort of awakening snap to the people of the United States. It was shocking to see on November 8th, 2016, just how many people could be swayed by fear-mongering, unjustified blame, and hate rhetoric; all of a sudden, there were more people around us that shared the same views as Trump than we would have ever guessed. But perhaps, in the face of darkness, we can use Trump and his supporters’ rise as a sort of measuring device. Back when most of us were kids, if we wanted to be president, we would often be told to have certain values such as righteousness, good judgment and strong leadership. We would often look to the current president and emulate his values, as he was the man elected by the majority of a country. Now, we have someone in office that most us can agree we should not emulate in nearly every way. Perhaps we can use this presidency and the actions that occur as a self-check system on ourselves. Every day more and more depressing news is released from the White House, but each day I learn more about my own character and morals in comparison. I know these things that are happening are wrong, I know what is the right thing to do. It forces me to search for facts, the truth. These events make me seek conversation, even with others whose political ideals differ form mine completely. Because in my opinion, being close-minded is the most damaging thing you can do to your mind. Closing oneself off from certain inputs would only make one more stunted in growth and less understanding. To go out into the world and to converse with others, have new experiences, empathize with those that are different, is the best way to combat close-mindedness. It is the most effective way we can distance ourselves from being someone like Trump or any of his blind supporters. We can help each other grow, we can better ourselves and listen to others, including everyone, even those that have thoughts conflicting with ours. The walk organized this past Tuesday was a very brave step in the right direction conducted by a professor I am proud to have a class under. In the face of a new president, for the first time, we must do everything in our power to be what he is not.

This weeks class and what has been going on in our society has really made me think about leadership and power. Hank Morgan in the novel somehow was able to gain power over the people of the 6^th century in which he changed everything they once knew. Hank was able to use technology and his knowledge to gain control over a large group and get them to do what he asked of them. This idea is something I may look to explore in my paper, in which I want to analyze how a person or group gains power and controls others. While our bodies are motors, there is always something that controls the motor. We like to think that we ourselves control our own bodies and minds, but when it comes down to it, who is determining what fuel we put into our motors? How often are we “allowed” to refuel our motors and why do we allow a person or group to change the way our motors run.

Another discussion we had during that class that sparked my thoughts was the discussion on the different “technologies” introduced to the 6^th century people and how it affected them. What if Hank introduced technologies that are taken advantage of in todays society, but introduced them in a more effective, nature friendly, and non-violent way. For example, when he created the school and education system, it should have been open to everyone and anyone to actually learn and should not have been kept hidden. If everyone had the opportunity to learn and if Hank taught positive topics, maybe the education inequality we see today would not have been born. Another example was the creation of the factory. The 6^th century people already had the community aspect in that they all only had their community to help each other survive. If that mental aspect was what drove factories, worker estrangement may not have been born. If the people working in the factories were able to make things that are useful and meaningful to them, and were something they needed then the factory work would be seen as less painful. Factories allow for people to specialize in the making of a certain aspect of a good in order to create a whole good. Reinforcing the ideas of community to help the greater good could have made the outcome of the story a more positive one. What prevented a good outcome was the way Hank used his power over the people and how he ran their motors. Instead of running the peoples motors to benefit the entire community, Hank used his power to manipulate the people. He let the power he had get to him and ended up killing many people. Today, we see similarities to Hanks power when we look at big corporations and factories who are abusing the human motor and running workers into the ground.