Truth

I read the chapter, “Good Form,” in The Things They Carried this weekend. It answered some of my questions but left others still gaping open. I guess I’ll begin by breaking it down into pieces. The first sentence I though was ironic. He said, “Its time to be blunt.” Hadn’t he already been blunt for the last 178 pages? But put that aside and lets move on. I felt a little hurt that he had lied to us all about the event with the soldier he, apparently, didn't kill. But when I read further I at least realized why he lied. As far as I can tell, O’Brien wants us to be able to feel the way he did. And, to a certain extent, I think he does just that. But at the same time, how can we know we feel as he did when he lied about everything?

I also didn't understand how, “the story truth is truer sometimes than the happening-truth.” How can a lie be truer than truth? What can be truer than truth? I guess he’s not talking about truth and lies; he’s talking about two kinds of truth. But how can you subdivide truth? Is there a gray area between truths and lies? Can there be an almost truth? I think those are things we all need to answer before we continue our reading in the book.

On the last page, I became frustrated. If he saw bodies, but didn't look at them, why is he describing them to us? If he really doesn’t know what they looked like, then he’s just pretty much making it up. Sure, this can help him make sense of the things he didn't see, but can’t he just keep that to himself? Why does he have to lead us down that road? Even though I was mostly frustrated, I did understand the last couple sentences. I understand that while he didn't actually kill anyone, just being in the war is almost like killing someone. Moreover, there are different kinds of killing. War can kill people, yet they still have a pulse. They’re ‘alive’ but not really.

So, I suppose, in the end I’m not sure how I feel. I a little hurt, a little angry, and a little sympathetic. At least I understand things a little more, I think, or maybe I’m just even more confused now. Either way, I’m glad he wrote that chapter. But wait…was that chapter honest? What if the whole book is true except that chapter? This crazy thought reminds me of a quote: “Oh what a tangled web we weave.” Right on, Sir Walter.

Music

I just wanted to saying that I love the music project so far. I’m finding it fascinating how the war has influenced music so much. It’s nice once in a while (or more often!) to take the time to really break down a song and think about it. I wish I had more time so I could look at more songs and see if they connect to a war in any way; I think a lot of stuff would.

I’m willing to bet that everyone in the world has been influenced by war, even those who don’t think so. We think about war from a mostly political or ethical standpoint, almost never from a musical one. This project we're doing really goes to show that war creeps in and infiltrates each potion of our lives, leaving nothing untouched. Music is more than humming in the car, it’s more than a tune, it’s more than poetry; it’s a part of life. As much as breathing and sleeping and eating, music is there. So it makes sense that if war is in life and music is in life, then music and war will go hand-in-hand. It’s only a matter of time.

Still, even though it makes sense in that way, it doesn’t make sense completely. How could you sing about something that had been so painful? For some it might be that they have to sing about it, but for others I think it would be really hard. It’s like the dancing girl in The Things They Carried, she was able to dance even when life was basically awful. In those times, it’s possible to dance, just as it’s possible to sing, but not everyone can do it. Realizing this makes me have even more respect for the musicians who put their hearts to music. We will always be indebted to them.

I can’t wait to see everyone’s presentations, they should be awesome!

Food, Glorious Food

I’m hoping you all have seen the movie Ice Age 2, otherwise my title will not make sense. It wasn’t the best movie ever, but that’s beside the point. I’m not here to write a movie review, I’d actually rather talk about the essay “XXXL,” which was Taylor’s choice essay. I loved the title and the sub-title; they were just plain funny, but the rest of the essay really wasn’t. Granted, it was written with a somewhat funny tone at times, but the content was no laughing matter.

Our addiction to food has reached colossal proportions (literally). We just seem to NEVER stop eating. It’s more of a habit than anything else, really. We just tend to keep doing it without thinking at all. That’s probably our biggest mistake. We eat and eat and eat but don’t always keep track of how much we are consuming or what’s in the foods. It would be so easy to completely ruin your health without even fully knowing what’s happening. I’m guilty of being a nervous eater, and a bored eater. It’s sometimes more of an activity than a necessity. That’s not how we were designed to live. My mom once said that there are two kinds of people, “those who eat to live, and those who live to eat.” More and more, we are becoming the second type of person.

There are lots of kids’ movies where they talk about our obsession with food. (I know because for some reason, my dad loves for animated movies, thus I watch a few more than I care to.) There is Ice Age, like mentioned above. The song those irritating little vultures sing is actually quite true of humans today. We just love food and can’t stop thinking about it. Another movie I think was called Over the Hedge. When one of the little critters was showing the other little critters around “Suburbia,” all of his descriptions centered on food. He described front doors and “the portal for the passing of the food,” and tables were, “the altar where they worship food.” Of course, it was simply a scene with a pizza delivery guy and one with a family praying, but the whole thing packed a punch. To those on the outside watching us, it does seem like our lives revolve solely around food. We may think our lives are centered around sports, or facebook, or even homework, but is that really the case? Maybe we should all examine what we spend our time doing and thinking about.

October Musings

I was amazed at how well Susan Lampert Smith hit our society on the head in so few words. We are plagued with “semi-apathy” maybe even full-on apathy. More and more I’m noticing that people, including myself, just don’t seem to care. It’s not like that all the time, but it seems to be occurring more often. I think a lot of what’s different between now and the 60’s is that people value different things. In the 60’s, they had just come off of the civil rights movement and being politically active and forming opinions was important. Today it seems like technology is the most important thing, thus putting TV shows above politics. Now, I’m not saying that politics should be the most important thing for all of us, but I am saying that TV definitely should not be the dominant thing in our lives today. There is so much more we can do that would actually be worth the time we spend on it.

I’m not saying that technology is bad, in most cases it’s extremely helpful and enjoyable, but only in moderation. When it blinds us from the rest of the world and the things taking place all around us, it is detrimental, not useful. So in that point I agree with Smith.

During class, as we’ve watched “Two Days in October,” and read this article, I’ve found myself almost wishing I could have been there that day. Obviously, I wouldn’t enjoy being hit over the head with a club, but I wish I could know what was going through the minds of the students. I want to know what their motivations were and how they reacted and why. The movie did a great job and covered some of it, but like the man also said in the film, history gets corrupted. They only way we can truly know is by being there. That’s why I would love to go back to that time, so I could understand and know for sure how it all went down. It was an important day and I’m really glad we took the time to learn about it because the effects are still being felt and talked about even 40 years later. It is not something we can or should, ever forget.

Too Many Questions, Not Enough Answers!

I obviously don’t know what it’s like to be deaf; there’s no way I could. I don’t even know anyone on a personal level who is. Therefore, my judgment may be a little lacking in perspective. However, I’ll try to be as unbiased as possible.

The man in the story, Peter, I believe it is, was talking about how he had been successful even though he was deaf. While he was talking about this, he mentioned that it had been harder for him because of his deafness. Then he went on to say that he didn’t want the cochlear implant for his daughter because he succeeded and knew she could succeed too. My only question is: why wouldn’t you want to make it easier for her? I do believe that she can be successful, but he already admitted that it was harder for him than it presumably would’ve been for a hearing person. I don’t understand why he wouldn’t want to help smooth the road for his daughter. Isn’t that what every parent wants? I know hardship builds character, but isn’t it still a good thing to help out your child any way you can? Maybe not, but its something to think about, especially when the problem is as serious as deafness.

I also don’t understand why they would move to the deaf community. I see how it’s a good thing that the people accept them more than in the hearing world, but if their children are brought up in a place so far removed from the hearing world, then they won’t know how to function when they move away. It’s a temporary solution, but it won’t help in the long run. To me, it seems that they’re running away from a difficult situation. I understand their response to the problem, but I don’t agree with it. Or perhaps I just don’t understand it well enough.

If you can shed any light on my many questions, please comment! (But you can comment even if you don’t have any answers!)

Thoughts on the First Half of AP Comp

It’s been pretty interesting so far…..

I’ve been loving all the writing assignments. My favorite was definitely the personal narrative. I love storytelling in general and I’m always looking for ways to become better at it, so this was a really fun assignment for me. I also really enjoying editing other people’s narratives, they were all very interesting to read (in a good way!) Aside from the narratives, the rest of the writing has been great as well. The critical analysis was different from anything I’ve ever written before, which was excellent. And the College Admission Essay, although I’m only a junior, was a good way to practice. Now I just need to make the corrections…

As far as the discussions in class, well, they’ve been interesting too. At least, that’s one word for it. Don’t get me wrong, opposing viewpoints are a good thing. Even arguing is acceptable to a certain extent. The only thing is, these heated discussions make the environment a little tense and make it difficult for others to jump in the conversation without fear of being ridiculed. I think maybe we all just need to take a nice deep breath.

The reading assignments have all been fascinating for the most part. I have to admit, Frederick Douglass lost me somewhere along the way, but the part I understood was definitely worthwhile. Actually, all our reading assignments have been worthwhile. They’ve been different and some are more interesting than others, but all have had at least one redeeming quality.

So the verdict is a good one. Parts of AP Comp are better than anticipated; some are just different from what I’d been expecting. But it’s going well and I’m enjoying it.

Thoughts from Thursday...

We had a rather heated discussion in class on Thursday about the use of the “n” word. I just wanted to throw my two cents into the heaping pile.

While we were arguing about who can use the word and whether or not it was ok to say it, things were somewhat chaotic. It seemed like everyone had an opinion, and most people were very strongly grounded in whatever theirs was. It wasn’t until after class that I was really able to take a step back and form my own opinion. The only thing I could really come up with was one question. Why would you want to call someone that? Regardless of whether you’re someone who “can” or whether its “ok,” why would you want to? It’s kind of like in kindergarten, when they would tell you, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Well, I think that still holds true now.

I do know that’s not the way most people think. Just take a walk down any hallway in our school and you’ll hear people swearing constantly. This probably won’t stop anytime soon. I’m just saying, though, that we should take a look at why we say the things we do, because they do have an effect on people. You shouldn’t say something unless you have a solid reason for it, and if it’s something cruel and insensitive, you just shouldn’t say it at all. Call me naïve and old fashioned, but it’s true. Just because something happens all the time doesn’t mean it should.

Why Math Tests are out to Get Me

It’s a Monday. There is no world in which a math test on a Monday is a good thing. Nevertheless, I studied all weekend and the time has come. Right before the test starts I run to the bathroom. Not thinking about anything except the dreaded upcoming exam, I open the door. And smack it right into my forehead. At first and can’t even contemplate what just happened. Then the blood rushes into my head and my eyes fill with tears. I can’t believe what I just did. How am I supposed to take this test with such a headache?

At this point I feel it necessary to state that I’ve never really enjoyed math tests, headache or no headache. Honestly, I don’t know many people who do. As the years progressed and the math grew more and more difficult, my dislike for them grew into more of a trepidation. This apprehension gets a jump start as soon as the teacher announces when the test is, about a week or so before it actually happens. After that, I’m able to put the dread away and focus on the myriad of other things going on. Even so, the night before the test inevitably arrives, and that’s when the real panic sets in. I didn’t study enough. I forgot how to do this problem. What if I totally fail? Through all of this detritus floating in my head, somehow I manage to sleep and escape for a few hours at least. Then in the morning, it’s back to the real world. I try hard to not think about it. I attempt to focus on what I’m doing right then. But all too soon, it’s time to go up to the third floor and tackle my nemesis.

On the particular day of the door debacle, the test doesn’t go as bad as I had feared it would. I got the test back on Tuesday, with a fat B+ at the top. Not perfect, but definitely acceptable. I’m actually feeling pretty happy. Then my teacher tells us. We have another math test on Friday. Oh, crap.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

Poor Bluie. Does he know what he is? I’m not going to attempt to understand the workings of little fishy minds here. I was little once. I had fish (still do, actually) and I found that they are impossible to comprehend (and they don’t really make good friends. Every time I tried to talk to them or “play” with them they shimmied away. So they may not have been the best pets ever.) Personally, I always wanted a cat. That’s why I feel bad for Bluie, and my fish too. They aren’t loved as exactly what they are, they’re loved and what we wish they were. Adam Gopnick says it this way, that Bluie was, “a fish passing as a hamster hoping to be a dog.” Therefore, it seems Olivia loved Bluie not because he was a fish but because he was a placeholder for the dog she wanted desperately. But is that really true? Maybe she grew to love him for what he really was, an itty bitty blue fish with a penchant for getting stuck in castle windows.

This brings me to another point, or another fish at least. Reddie. The villain fish. Or maybe just the jealous one. Every story has a villain and jealousy is a classic motive. Until last week though, I didn’t know it was a motive for fish! I thought it was absolutely genius the way Gopnick’s son decided that Reddie was the rogue of the story. Kids can be so smart and have such good ideas, I’m constantly reminded to be more like them. Their ideas can be so simple yet so creative. It’s truly amazing.

I guess my point is just that fish, like people, are complex. That they aren’t always as simple as they appear on the outside. It’s a lot to get from a short narrative about a couple fish, but that just shows that it’s possible to get so much from so little.

Thoughts on Lies

(For all of you not in 3rd block AP Comp, we read an article about lying to kids on Friday for our choice essay discussion time. Just in case you wondered.)

I was thinking about why parents lie to kids and I thought of a reason that we didn't read about. Parents lie to kids sometimes because they want their kids to admire and respect them. They also don’t always want their kids to do what they did. If your son asks you if you ever stole something from the grocery store, you’ll probably say no, even if you did, right? We don’t want our kids to make mistakes the way we did so we won’t admit to making the mistakes in the first place.

Wouldn’t it be better to tell them the truth, “Yes, as a matter of fact, I did take a Hershey bar that one time,” and to tell them how guilty you felt afterwards than to pretend it never happened? They might learn more from someone who did something bad and learned their lesson from it than from someone faultless who they’re supposed to imitate.

If you always tell a child that you never made a mistake, that’s setting a pretty hard precedent for them to follow. Even though in reality, you weren’t as perfect as you tell them you were, they’ll still see you in that light. I think that if we were to tell them the truth, they’d be able to relate to us better and learn from us even more than just trying to be perfect. That’s just setting them up to fail, something no parent wants.

The things we lie about are not always going to be as simple as swiping a Hershey bar from the store shelf. What if your child asks you if you did drugs or had sex before marriage? What would you say? I don’t really know what the best thing to do is when that happens, probably to just tell the truth, but I’m not really sure. I definitely think we should start to contemplate that before we get asked, though.

So…to lie or not to lie? That is the question. A question that I don’t have a solid answer to. But in my opinion, when in doubt, tell the truth.

How I Write

When I write, I usually just dive right in. I used to prewrite extensively, but I've found that if I dive in right away and fix it later, my writing ends up more fluid and less "chunky." I don't want my writing to sound rehearsed and insipid, I want it to be relatable and genuine. Occasionally, it's good to take a minute and organize my thoughts before I start talking about them, but not frequently.

I like to write when it's silent, just me and the keyboard. A nice pointy pencil and blank piece of paper will also suffice. I love listening to music while I work, but I find that when writing, it's more productive to have utter silence. I'm complacent to just be alone and focus on what I want to say. I find that my best writing happens when there is absolutely nothing else for me to think about, nowhere for my mind to wander, nowhere for my hands to roam.

My feelings when I write are somewhat harder to describe. That's quite possibly becuase I have differnt emotions when writing about different things. My find myself feeling excited, zealous, even occasionaly fearful. However, I would have to say that most of the time, I just cannot wait to get my thoughts out and share them with the world. Really, isn't that what writing is?

Response to "Three Cups of Tea"

“Here, we drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third, you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anything even die.”

This quote is from my non-fiction book, Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to read, but my mom, my sister, and several others strongly recommended it. Now I’m someone who will strongly recommend this book to others.

Three Cups of Tea was about its co-author, Greg Mortenson. Greg was a mountain climber and while he was climbing the mountain K2 in Pakistan he got lost. He ended up in a small village called Korphe. When he saw how the children of Korphe had no school and just sat outside when they could, he promised the village chief he would build them a school. Greg returned to America and the book follows his life from getting the funds to build that one school to finally building 81 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, plus the many water systems and vocational centers. Various things went wrong for him, but even after 9/11 and the war began, he kept going. The area was extremely dangerous for Americans, but it didn’t seem to faze Greg. This book is a huge testament to how one person can make an immeasurable difference to thousands of people.

The book talked a lot about how terrorism can be stopped, or at least slowed, through education. A lot of children and young adults in Pakistan go to schools that support terrorism and other extremist groups because that’s the only schools there are for them to go to. The schools Greg helped build provide “balanced nonextremist education,” that gives the students what they need to be something other than soldiers and terrorists. A quote from the book says, “Working over there, I’ve learned a few things. I’ve learned that terror doesn’t happen because some group of people somewhere like Pakistan or Afghanistan simply decided to hate us. It happens because children aren’t being offered a bright enough future that they have a reason to choose life over death.” Greg gives them what they need to have a bright future.

Another thing Mortenson stresses is educating girls. Girls are scarcely educated at all in Pakistan and the vast majority can neither read nor write. By the end of the book, two of the girls from one of the villages have made it all the way through school and are requesting scholarships for college. They make it through college and have big plans for the future. One of them wants to return to the village to give all the girls the chance to come to the city and change their lives. The other was going to become a health care worker, but then she decided to go for broke and start her own hospital. In her own words, she wants to be, “superlady.” I think it’s really inspiring how one man can cause two girls to gain so much confidence and make them able to become leaders to make sure other girls can have what they did. These girls don’t just want to be able to read for the fun of it, they want to do something big.

I think this book was really inspiring. People always say that one person can change the world. But when it comes right down to it most people don’t truly believe that they can make a difference. Greg showed that one person really can do that. I think that’s a big theme in this book. This one man, Greg Mortenson, helped many kids to get an education. Then they can teach others and help in ways they couldn’t have before. The effects keep rippling so that eventually it’s not just one person, its thousands or millions of people who are doing what they do because of one person.

Response to "The Prevailing Opinion of a Sexual Character Discussed"

Ok, so I have to admit, I came very close to falling asleep several times while reading this. Don’t get me wrong, Mary Wollstonecraft was a great writer, and this was a great piece, but it seems to me it took her 22 pages to say what she could have said in about half as many. I suppose that might be a slight exaggeration, but not too much.

Even though she’s a little too long winded for my taste, I found myself getting lost in the language and style she used. Not many people write like that anymore. Words like epithet, propriety, and pernicious are scarcely ever used. I loved how smooth and sophisticated it sounded, but I had a mammoth list of words to look up by the end.

Speaking of words, I think Wollstonecraft had a powerful message about the oppression of women. She made many valid points about how women are treated. However, she wrote this 217 years ago and things have changed a lot since then. Women are no longer educated only to be docile housewives; we have the same education as men. That isn’t to say that women are always treated equally and with respect, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was in 1792.

Although it’s a lot different now, instead of writing it off as irrelevant to today’s society , I took it as an insight to life during Mary Wollstonecraft’s time. She says that,

“Women are told from their infancy, and taught by the example of their mothers, that a little knowledge of human weakness, justly termed cunning, softness of temper, outward obedience, and a scrupulous attention to a puerile kind of propriety, will obtain for them the protection of man; and should be beautiful, everything else is needless, for, at least, twenty years of their lives.”

That, to me, sums up much of this whole piece and much of the lives women had then. Women didn’t need to be smart or do anything for themselves. All they needed was to be pretty and socially graceful so that they could get a man to protect them. They didn’t need anything else but a man, it was their ultimate and only goal.

All this talk about how life was for women in the 1700’s made me extremely grateful for how it is now. I don’t have to be perfect on the surface, nor do I have to agonize over gettin’ me a man. I can get a good education and know that I can survive on my own. If I want to be a superficial socialite I can do that, but I don’t have to. Mary talked a lot about how it would feel to be free, and I get to feel that way every day. I am so lucky, as are all women in our society.

I found it interesting that Wollstonecraft compared both women and men to children and different times. First she talks about husbands attempt to keep their wives in a state of childhood. Then she goes on to say that many man are overgrown children themselves. Being a girl, I tend to agree more with the second statement, but then I started thinking and realized that both can be true sometimes. Some wives are content to play Homemaker Barbie and live as if life is a fairy tale. On the other hand, a lot of men just never seem to grow up.

So while I had my various thoughts and my ups and downs with Mary Wollstonecraft, I did like her piece and her writing. She made a lot of good remarks that spurred thoughts of my own. It’s was little out of the ordinary for me, but that’s what makes it special.

Response to "Is Google Making Us Stupid?"

This essay really brought up a lot of confusing and intriguing, yet alarming questions.

One of these questions is whether or not the internet is a good thing. We take it for granted are rarely question it, but there are lots of both pros and cons. It boils down to which there more of. The internet is great for research, social networking, sharing information, and just having fun. But it’s not all good. We’ve grown accustomed to the instant gratification of having exactly what we want to see pop up in a matter of seconds. Getting everything right away seems like a good thing, but when it goes beyond computer to our lives, we start to lose patience.

An additional question is if writing on the computer is bad or not. Personally, I do almost all my writing on the computer. Even today, I wrote this entirely on the computer without picking up a pen once. In this essay, Friedrich Nietzsche is quoted saying, “our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts.” So what makes writing better? How do we want to sound?

Another quote from the essay says, “The more pieces of information we can ‘access’ and the faster we can extract their gist, the more productive we become as thinkers.” That may be so, but is it really more productive when you’re not actually thinking of it, you’re just finding it? Are you a productive thinker or a productive finder?

In the part of the essay talking about Frederick Winslow Taylor’s theories, it was stated that his system would create “a utopia of perfect efficiency.” Taylor himself is quoted saying, “In the past man has been first, in the future the system must be first.” This shocked me, and I immediately thought, “No way, that’s awful! It’s not utopia, even if it is much more profitable!” I know it happens daily, but it’s angering to think that anyone would put being efficiency and money ahead of people. Is that really what our society wants to be? Is that what we want to be known for?

This brings me to another equally frightening question: are we turning into computers? No, I’m not asking if we’re going to become plastic and sprout keyboards, I’m talking about our minds and the way we live. If we’re turning our lifestyles into swift, emotionless assembly lines, how will that affect our mentality and our daily life? I’m sure the people who invented computers didn't realize the potential consequences that could bleed into civilization, but now that we are aware of them, we need to do something to ensure that they don’t happen. It’s quite possible that I’m overreacting about all this, but it’s equally possible that there is an immense problem extending beyond our grasp.

All of these are important and difficult questions. I don’t have all the answers, in fact I’m not sure I have any at all, but I believe that all these questions are worth giving some serious thought. Maybe, sometime in the future, we can figure out the answers, and if we can do that, we just might find a solution.

Response to Skunk Dreams

I thought that Skunk Dreams was a lot different from Talk of the Town. Talk of the Town was more of an opinion piece, whereas Skunk Dreams was more of a story or collection of events. I liked the part about the skunk, though I’m not sure if she was telling something that truly happened or if the skunk was symbolic for something else. Actually, I have that question for the entire piece. Is it factual or figurative? It could be that different parts of it are each, or maybe the whole thing is both. In any case, this essay really gave me something to think about.

I found Louise Erdrich’s voice to be contemplative, although extremely negative at times. When she talks about the West and how it isn’t wild anymore, she is cynical at best. Personally, I’d rather read something a bit more positive, but she does make some good points about how America has changed and isn’t like it was. We do use lots of pesticides and yes, occasionally unmowed ditches are treated like environmental areas. I’m not saying these are good things, but they are true at times. Still, I think that it would’ve been better for her to either make her criticism constructive, or not criticize at all.

A better part of her voice was that she was very descriptive. I loved the passage, “Rock walls ran everywhere, grown through and tumbled, as if the dead still had claims they imposed.” It seemed like everything she said placed a picture in my mind. It made her essay easier to follow and it was easier to remember what had already happened.

I liked her musings about dreams. Are they real? Can you be in another’s mind? I believe the first is true, at least in your mind, but I don’t really believe the latter. On the other hand, it is strange that she had a dream and then found the place she had dreamt about. I love the way she told how she found the fence from her dream. I was hit first by confusion, then realization dawned.

That brings me to my next point, about the fenced in animals. Erdrich made a very insightful observation when she said, “Animals, much like most humans, don’t charge through fences unless they have sound reasons.” I enjoyed that part and agree with it. Most people just want to get along and not make a big deal about something small. Still, when they have solid grounds, they’re quite willing to charge through that fence.

I also agreed with something else about the animals. She said, “Shooting animals inside fences, no matter how big the area they have to hide in, seems abominable and silly.” I completely agree. It’s cruel to import animals and keep them enclosed, only to have people come in and shoot them. I don’t know much about hunting and I understand that it’s necessary in some cases, but I don’t really care for it at all. I especially don’t like it when the animals have a limited area to run and the people are hunting just because they think it’s fun. Killing animals should not be fun. I know it is to some people but it’s not to me.

I think Louise Erdrich’s essay was mostly very well written, even if I didn’t like parts of it so much. She had plenty of good ideas and a lot of good insights, although occasionally they weren’t presented in the best light.

Response to "The Talk of the Town"

Gun control is a subject talked about often but rarely acted upon. However, it’s a pressing issue that needs to be dealt with.

I thought the story at the beginning of Adam Gopnik’s essay was very effective. Instead of just telling us why gun control needs to be stronger he made me really feel bad for those people and drive home the point that gun control needs to be fixed. It made the issue even more important than just politics.

It frustrated me how the student got the gun in the first place. Gopnick said that he was, “an obviously disturbed student,” and yet was able to buy a gun. It doesn’t take a genius to see a problem here. No one who is mentally ill should ever possess a weapon, especially a gun. It just doesn’t make sense for someone who is mentally unstable to have the power to so easily take a life. Gopnick states, “The United States has more gun violence than other countries because we have more guns and are willing to sell them to madmen who want to kill people.” I’m not saying that the student was a madman, but it’s quite clear that we need to better regulate who can own a gun.

Another point made in the essay is that other countries have had the same problems. We’re not the only country to have mass shootings and people who feel alone and are willing to kill others because of it. But other countries have taken steps to fix the problem, something that hasn’t really been done in America. More often than not, the results of their protective measures have been positive, with few or no repeats of the previous event. I think that we need to start doing something to prevent further tragic shootings. The examples set for us have shown that it is possible to change and get better.

Even with all these problems, I don’t think it’s necessary to ban all guns, just the ones most likely to do the most harm. It’s not all or nothing, and there is a middle ground, a compromise. People can still have hunting guns and certain people should be allowed other kinds of guns. It just has to be better controlled and restricted.

In addition, Susan Sontag brought up an excellent point when she said, “Let’s by all means grieve together. But let’s not be stupid together.” I definitely agree with her. It seems so often that when one person has an idea, others just abandon their own ideas and agree with them. Soon everyone has the same idea and it’s not always a good one. It’s kind of like when your mom asks you, “If all your friends jumped off a cliff, would you follow?” We all hate that question, but it does make a point. Just because people do something, that doesn’t make it right. Sometimes the best decisions are ones that no one else has done yet.

Later on in the essay it says, “Our leaders are bent on convincing us that everything is O.K. America is not afraid…Everything is not O.K.” I think it’s alright for us to be afraid, or to not be O.K. Everything is not always going to be perfect. Sometimes when something bad happens we should be afraid. To not be afraid would be stupid. The important thing is not to be fearless, but to do something positive because on the fear.

I also liked what Sontag said at the end of her essay. She said, “Who doubts that America is strong? But that’s not all America has to be.” Being strong isn’t everything. A person who is only strong is missing out on being so many important things. If everyone was just strong and nothing else there would be no one to be kind, intelligent, or countless other things.

It is clear that something needs to be done about gun control. The only question is: how long will it take, and how many lives will be lost before then?

About Me

Here’s a bit about me:
I live with my mom, dad, and sister in McFarland. My sister is leaving for UW Madison in August, just two months away. A lot of people are glad when their siblings leave for college, but I’m really going to miss her. My family doesn’t have any pets except for one small orange fish in our giant fish tank. We’re going to get some more soon (I hope!) My extended family is really small but we have so much fun. I love to hang out with my five cousins, who are all girls between the ages of 8 and 12. I wish I got to see them more often, but two of them live in Ohio, a nine hour drive away. They’re coming to visit in two weeks and I can’t wait!
My interests… where to begin? I love to work with kids, and right now babysitting is my only job. I help out with Sunday school at my Church and I’m volunteering for a week this summer as a high school staffer at Lake Waubesa Bible camp. I also love music; I sing, play the flute, and play the piano. I’m in band, choir, and jazz band, so music is a really huge part of my life. I’m going to be in “Damn Yankees” in the fall and I’m totally jazzed for that! I also participate in ambassadors and I’m on the yearbook staff. I really enjoy scrapbooking, reading, and cooking.
Other random facts about me: I love chocolate and Italian food. As far as my favorite color goes, it changes daily. Today it’s green, who knows what it’ll be tomorrow! All color is amazing, in general. I love musicals; my favorites are The Sound of Music and The Wizard of Oz. My favorite vacation spots are Florida and Ohio. Florida seems cliché, and Ohio is not what’s thought of as a great vacation spot, but they’re both just so awesome!
I hope you all enjoyed learning a little bit more than you needed to know about me!