blog#8

I chose the book "When Dinosaurs Die: A Guide to Understanding Death" for my paper. I think everyone can relate to losing a loved one, making the topic especially accessible. The book is very informative and has appealing, brightly colored photographs that offset the seriousness and somber of death; however, I will explore in my paper how some of them can be considered controversial. Overall, I think this book could be very helpful to children who have lost a loved one or those who are just curious about death in general.

Johnny- First Impressions

An adjective I would use to describe my first impression of "What Johnny Shouldn't Read" is frustrating. It annoys me that some people are so narrow-minded and too stubborn to be open to the idea of change. A quote I found almost laughable on page 6 reads:
"Conservation is an act of human pride and an offense against God. Humans have no business worrying about the distinction of whales; if God wants whales to exist, they will exist. If not, then preserving them is an act of rebellion against God."
To my knowledge, I have never met someone who thinks this way, and to me, the idea is quite absurd. Aren't we supposed to respect and protect all living things? It concerns me that people with such narrow-minded beliefs have been able to gain the power to impact our society.

A Free Marketplace of Ideas

I agree with Milton that knowledge and ideas must be openly passed around and debated in order to make progress. Without fresh information society becomes stagnant and stuck in its ways. I also believe that it is the responsibility of the people to think creatively and pursue knowledge, but as we know this is not always the case. As a whole we have become lazy and dependent upon everything being "instant," along with our news. I believe our media does have a responsibility to contribute objective information for people to form their own ideas and opinions, whatever they may be, because disagreements can be healthy and aid in the progression of society. Clearly it would be difficult to regulate objectivity and not all news is, and this is when people have to be active in deciding what they will listen to or believe in, and not sit back allowing themselves to be brainwashed.

3 things

Three Things that Scare Me:
1. feeling trapped
2. failure
3. losing people i love

Three People Who Make Me Laugh:
1. Chelsea Handler
2. my brother
3. my best friend

Three Things I Love:
1. my family
2. my friends
3. ice cream

Three Things I Hate:
1. flakey people
2. traffic
3. feeling lonely

Three Things I Don't Understand:
1. if everything really happens for a reason
2. hateful strangers
3. my own life sometimes

Three Things On My Desk:
1. laptop
2. pictures
3. sticky notes

Three Things I'm Doing Right Now:
1. watching tv
2. drinking diet pepsi
3. blogging

Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die:
1. Travel to Italy
2. Travel to South America
3. Find my purpose

Three Things I Can Do:
1. Listen
2. Learn
3. Love

Three Things I Can't Do:
1. Ski
2. Sing
3. Skateboard

Three Things or People I Think You Should Listen To:
1. your own heart
2. Jack Johnson
3. whoever inspires you most

Three Things or People You Should Never Listen To:
1. people who doubt your dreams
2. people who make you feel worthless
3. liars

Three Things I'd Like To Learn:
1. to speak another language
2. the secret to success and happiness
3. to surf

Three Shows I Watched As A Kid:
1. Seasame Street
2. Rugrats
3. Full House

Three Things I Regret:
1. taking certain situations for granted
2. not using my full potential
3. not taking chances

On Liberty

John Stuart Mill believes that "the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised...is to prevent harm to others." I agree with this statement, that while action must be taken against such abuse, liberty must still be maintained. Liberty is what our founding fathers have formed our country on, and why people from all over the world have immigrated to America, the chance for a better life in a free country. However, Mill's statement, like most laws, is left a bit to interpretation. Out of anger or spite, I am confident that people could get out of hand and argue a good case as to the harm they have been caused, when perhaps it has nothing to do with the law the way Mill intended. I believe in protection from the government against people harming each other, but also in the freedom that many of us take for granted here in America.

Milton

According to Milton, truth becomes heresy as a result of censorship. If people are not allowed the freedom to explore ideas on their own, the actual truth will become obsolete and be replaced with what the government wants people to believe. This is dangerous because it creates a culture of helpless, brainwashed individuals who become unable to think or decide for themselves, and as a result no progress can be made. It allows the people in power to remain in power without question, which is very dangerous in itself. These ideas remind me of Big Brother in the book 1984, where the government is watching at all times to be sure that everyone is acting the way the government deems they are supposed to and that there is no chance for rebellion. It also reminds me of the movie V for Vendetta where parliament is able to control the people through fear and knowledge, since they own every newspaper and television channel. These two examples confirm Milton's belief that when too much control or censorship is issued by the government, truth becomes hersey and people loose the ability to reason and act for themselves.

#1

1. If I were an animal, I would be a bear so I could sleep through the winter.

2. Five non-living things I can't live without are my cell phone, my car, carmex, diet pepsi, and a hot shower.

3. I would have to say that first, i'm a listener.

4. Harry Potter, to take me to a different world.

5. Sometimes I like to follow and sometimes I like to lead.

6. Anything But Mine- Kenny Chensey, Sober- Kelly Clarkson, Big Girls Don't Cry- Fergie, Hope- Jack Johnson, Stay Young- We the Kings.

7. My best personality trait is that i'm easy to get along with. My worst is that i'm shy.

8. If I was given $1000, I would travel to Peru.

9. I've seen Mean Girls countless times because it makes me laugh!

10. A quote that my friend gave me; "face your fears, live your dreams."