Final Assignment May 9th

 

Have you ever seen those commercials on television about starving children in Africa? I have, and it’s a very to see children in other countries trying to live from day to day with no food. However, before you get to heart felt, did you ever think about the children here at home in the U.S.? There are sixteen million U.S. children struggling with hunger every day. In the video Hunger Hits Home, it shows some families here in the U.S. that struggle to feed their children every day. It really shows that we overlook one of the most basic needs for one of our future generations. I also, really believe it shows where our economy is right now and how we really need to improve what were doing as a nation.

 

The fact that there are sixteen million children who struggle with hunger everyday, shows our identity as a nation. In our nation today, we have companies burning products so they don’t get sold at a discount price, we have people worried about the newest computer or car, but we can’t feed every child. Personally I think that is very sad, if a big CEO or two would take a pay cut, or something of that nature we could help feed all the deserving children of our nation. I just think that not being able to feed children, who can’t help but be at the mercy of their parents, is so wrong.

 

In class we’ve had many discussions about the economy; I think that this video really shows how bad our economy really is. With people losing jobs at an alarming rate, nobody really thinks about the children those people have to feed. I believe we need to make changes to both the economy and the way we handle child hunger in our country, so that we can have a better nation for all who call themselves Americans.  We must always look to keep our future strong, and if we do not take care of our children, there will be a very questionable future for our great nation.

 

This type of video is definitely something I can relate too. I have a really close friend of mine, who for her respect we will call her “Jane,” who is in a similar situation as the families in the video. Jane (age 18) lives at home with her two brothers (ages 13 and 22), and her mother. Jane’s mother makes nine dollars an hour at her job, and she also has severe brain problems due to a long history of alcohol abuse. Jane’s family is able to eat because the family is given food stamps by the government to somewhat help with food, but for 3 growing children, it’s never enough. Jane is a very sweet girl that doesn’t deserve to be put in the situation her mother has put her in. Therefore, me being her very close friend I get to see the daily activities of this household and it really rips me apart just seeing her in this type of situation. People really need to make a push to help out our children, so great children like Jane can live a somewhat normal life and not have to struggle for food.

 

 

Culture. April 8th.

Culture is something that can describe many different things. It can refer too heritage, what neighborhood you’re from, what holidays you celebrate, or even just what you do in your spare time. Culture allows the world we live in to be different, no matter where you go. Although culture can cause problems, I think culture today makes the world the unique place that it should be.

When it comes to the culture and social interaction I experience, it’s pretty much what you consider your typical American teenager. Almost every day, my life is wrapped around sports. I tend to schedule my days and weeks around certain sports games, so I can sit down and cheer on my favorite teams. Sports like football and baseball exemplify American culture perfectly. They show America’s competitiveness, and shows how America will compete to no end to be the best. It also shows what Americans look up too. If you ask a lot of little kids what they want to be when they grow up, a large number will say professional athlete. This is because we have allowed these athletes that we watch on TV become our idols and what we want to be.

However, where sports show American culture as a whole, they also can show individuality. For example, as a sports fan, you have your favorite sports and your favorite teams within those sports. This team or combination of teams, and the reason you like those teams shows something about who you are as a person. Do you like the team for one player, is that player flashy or is he a down to earth guy. Maybe you like the team because of their tradition of winning or how they play the game. These are all factors that show who you as an individual are. Personally, I’m a huge Steelers fan because of their tradition of not putting up with problem players, as well as their tradition of winning. The Steelers are just one of the teams I enjoy watching, but it is an example of my individuality.

February 12th 2012

1. A catastrophic incident like that in the text is definitely  a futuristic possibility. Everyday computers and technology become more and more apart of our daily lives. From entering our homes, transportation and many other sources of technology have made our daily lives more advanced than ever before. However, I don’t believe it will occur in my life time because I don’t think the world’s population will allow it to get that far, at least not yet. If a situation such as that were too occur, I’m not sure that the human population would be able to handle it due to the fact that it’s all we’ve ever known.
2. I think one day the creatation of such intelligence could be a possibility. However the human creators would have to be very careful in creation. We would have to make sure that not to many were made and that they would ultimately be under human control.
3. A couple positives of the creation of the artificial intelligence would include the machines ability to go into situations that a normal human would not be able to withstand. Examples of this could be the ability to withstand extreme heat or cold, this could be useful in gathering new information about the world around us. On the other hand, the negatives could include the overuse of these machines that could potentially take jobs away from humans that would be capable of doing them.
4. In my life as it is right now I’ve had plenty of computers fail on me, which at the time really made me angry. Examples include the computer I was using not saving documents, and on a few occasions just totally shutting off on me while I was in the middle of something important. Also, in the way of entertainment, my Xbox 360 deciding it was going to freeze while I’m playing a game, or just to decide it wasn’t going to turn on that day when I decided I wanted to play it.

The Moral Instinct

1. My original response to the question was Mother Teresa, but after the author supplied little known facts about the three individuals my opinion was altered. Based on what the author said, my answer changed to Mr. Borlaug because of the many lives he saved without being put in the spotlight. As well as the fact that Mother Teresa was only able to supply spiritual help with poor medical aid to the starving and ill people instead of help that the people really may have needed.
2. Two of the most admirable people that come to mind are Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Albert Einstein. Dr. King’s courage to stand up for the civil and equal rights for all American’s was unmatchable and truly some of the most admirable behavior displayed by any human being in United States history. Mr. Einstein displayed admirable behavior as well, by spending many days working to help develop a lot of the science we use today.
3. Based on the information given I would say that there is a good chance that universal morals do exist. This is actually shown every day when people use and perform moral acts just like they are acts that are almost automatically done without a second thought.
4. The five elements of morality given are harm, fairness, community, authority and purity. You would believe that Americans would rank harm as the top element, but I truly believe American’s display community more than any other. Especially in today’s would where people stand by the groups they associate with very often, weather that be the political party in which they stand by or the sports team they root for on game day. In today’s United States people like to be backed when having an opinion which makes them feel more comfortable, there for allowing them to voice their opinion better.