I’m going to go back to a very old saying that I have known since I can remember which is “Anything is possible” because truly we can figure out a way it’s just a matter if we want to conform or go through the efforts to change. The problem is we, as Americans; don’t really feel like changing the way we do things unless it is progressive. The new industries being developed for green energy is actually really helping America right now because we are creating a lot of research and therefore the research is then sold to other countries. The problem is we became so dependent on oil and we are having trouble coming off of it. Also we have plenty of oil in the United States specifically in Alaska that we are barely even touching just in case we can’t get the oil from here anymore. It is allowing us to have some leverage and not allowing other countries to shut us down by not selling us oil. It is possible for us to co-exist because I believe we are going to become less and less dependent on oil the problem is there is a rumor it’s not even about oil for the war but the watershed located there because in the near future water suppose to be the scarce resource.

I believe she is completely right it is not what a women looks like that matter it’s really their personality however Hollywood doesn’t help the situation and neither does society. For example within my group of friends there is almost a certain standard for women if you are with a woman who is below the standard than you are looked down upon. I know this isn’t right but it happens with several aspects in life with guys like how much you can drink, if you can drink more people like you more and if you can’t drink much people look down upon you. It does seem like Hollywood has guys set on what a woman should look like and at this point in life, a college student, looks are a major priority to guys because the chances are most things won’t last long because of all the drama and stress associate with women. So just a little advice to the women out there if you are looking for a guy that actually cares about you for you and not your looks don’t be superficial if you are looking for a guy to be all over you at a party dress up a little and put on some make-up and guys will be all over you it’s your choice.

As a male I believe there isn’t a lot of force to conform to society. However, when I actually sit down and think about it, I believe there are a lot of natural or unconscious decisions to conform to society. I played football in high school so I always hung out with my football buddies and we would always do similar things such as watch the games and go out to eat and just kind of chill around town however it never really was conforming to society it is more like conforming to your group of friends. I believe it is very similar with females. I have met several females ranging in a vast array of characteristics. I don’t believe it is society that shapes us but the actual people we hang out with.
Maybe this question isn’t as much what shapes us personality wise but the things we do. There are just certain things that certain genders do and if you do the opposite society frowns upon it I honestly disagree with this but it’s the way people treat it. There are things that are considered to be “feminine” so girls in the field are accepted by society but guys are looked at as “gay” even if they are not. This is where I believe we have a larger problem then what we wear because honestly girls wear what they wear so guys notice them. If their friends all wore clothing that did cover them up more guys would still find their way to them and they wouldn’t be conforming to society as we say they do. Women just believe that they have to do certain things and dress certain ways but the fact is most guys really just don’t care. We all, us guys, conform some such as we don’t wear sweat pants out to parties we usually wear jeans and a nice shirt or polo. It’s just girls at parties don’t only wear jeans and a nice top but they have to go out and get new dresses and never can wear the same one twice. I’m not sure why most girls are like that or even a lot of guys have to wear brand new clothing or a certain brand. I honestly believe it’s a status that we all hold each other to.
People get so caught up in their “status” such as their group, culture, race, class, and many other categories that we have to conform to which ever means most to us. The problem is more of us need to conform to ourselves. I don’t think it’s a sex thing I think its humanity. We notice it more with girls and girls admit to it guys seem to do it more unconsciously but if you ask them why they actually are doing something or wearing something and they actually think about it is what means most to them.

I honestly am not one who is a fan of an eye for an eye. However I am a strong believer that there is no place on earth for 1st degree murders, otherwise known as people who proceed with a premeditated murder. If you have the brain to actually think out a murder and fulfill I don’t believe there is a place on earth for these people. Other types of murders are done in a fight where honestly if I got in a fight my Dad always told me if they throw a punch make sure he looks worse than you at the end. So after laying out my values if someone actually killed one of my family members not by a means of a fight or something they did. There is no doubt in my mind if they get locked up it would be for their own good because I would revenge their death not by suicide but by other means.

I believe religion has been driving wars since its inception. Wars have been driven by either land or religion for a long time now and Christian’s like any other religion is for everyone to be their religion. The problem is now Christianity has been watered down and doesn’t mean as much to people now and there are a lot more religions now then there were in the past. However I don’t believe this war against terrorism has anything to do with religion because it religion is not in the forefront of all Americans minds any more. The war is obviously driven by resources and in reality the United States wants to have control of the world. I am really excited for this class because we don’t get to see this scenario everyday and we don’t get to put on a different lens and think how other people feel, we just take what we have for granted.

The only problem is clothing is not the only part of slavery but it is a great start. Most people especially at Penn State when they buy clothing they are paying ridiculous prices for something’s which are probably produced for close to nothing. I use to work at a department store and when it came to clearance time I would always wonder how they could sell shirts for 5-10 bucks which us to be between 25-30 dollars. I knew the store wasn’t losing money on these shirts or they probably would have just sent them back to the distributor or they would get recalled and put in a different store or sold to a different company. So how could they still make money on a 5 dollar shirt? The answer is slavery it is honestly disturbing now that realize that slavery is still around in the world. Until this class I thought the problems were more child labor such as in China and they can make stuff for cheap with cheap labor however the sad part is they still get their materials from slave markets. The idea he represented would be a great start to the problem but the thing is there are way too many people who care about having new clothing. I believe what we need to do is create a fair trade clothing market. When I use to work at a department store there were several incidents I remember in which customers were sad that the clothing was made in 3rd world countries or China then the clothing that said they were made in the United States were usually one part was assembled in the United States. The only reason I knew this information was because some customers researched the brands and found out the info. The problem is though they come and want to buy this type of “fair trade” clothing however there is none. We just aren’t doing something like this for the clothing market. We use to offer Columbia as an American made brand they were a little more expensive than Nike and the store brand however they claimed to be American made and people were willing to pay the extra few bucks for the American made clothing. However I was recently informed by a customer that Columbia is no longer made in America and they have outsourced as well. In reality American made clothing is basically a thing of the past because of our high cost of labor. So we need to create a fair-trade market for clothing where people can sustain an adequate level of living. I believe that “Fair-trade” markets for clothing would be are best option. The secondary part of the plan would be to educate not only the consumers about the “Fair-trade” but the stores and sales associates so they can inform customers.

Affirmative Action I believe is almost passed its time. With the equality becoming closer and closer between races and sexes the differences are closing in. It is all in our minds now that women and men deserve equal opportunities and the same with whites and blacks. In reality when going for a job everything should be thrown out the window. There shouldn’t be quotas on how many minorities or females should be hired it should be computed strictly from their resumes and interviews. I believe there should be some sort form of assistance to people who are in a less fortunate state. I personally didn’t have to worry about how I was going to make it to college and get a degree. There are plenty of individuals out there however who are in less fortunate positions. We should provide people who are unable to afford education an opportunity to prove themselves that they should earn money for education.

I have been concerned on where video games have been heading for quite awhile now. Myself personally I do not get too caught up in the Role Playing Games most commonly called RPG’s I am more personally intrigued on the sports games and some of the first person shooters. The sports video games I don’t believe anyone really has a problem with because it is basically the same thing as sitting there and watching the game on television. First person shooters on the other hand which I do play, I believe there is some controversy on where they are heading becoming more realistic and closer to becoming an actual marine in the video game world. All of these steps towards becoming an Avatar are scary because people may become confused on what’s real and what’s not. Now making your Avatar a rapist is just out of this world to me. Killing takes a lot of materials to accomplish but raping someone is as easy as walking to the Uni-mart for a late night snack if you choose to. There needs to be some great steps taken in this area or we may have some major problems in society.

Honestly like how we have to talked about race in this class this guy is not just one but a mix of all of them. He could be classified as a Bigot because he obviously believes that us as Americans need to preserve not only our rights but our values as well. He is also a knucklehead because some of his points are just not thought out. When it comes to the question of why we have 200 bases off of US soil is pretty obvious it is because we then have security in those nations. It’s is just like why would you punch me when as soon as you touch me you are getting hit like crazy. It is simply for security and from what I know about soldiers is they love these assignments because they are very relaxing and are more like a civilian rather than a serious military personal. His point of simply bringing all these troops back to the United States to defend our borders is just not only implausible it is just plain never going to happen. He also could be considered a Patriot because he is trying to do everything he believes is best for this nation. He believes that his views are to protect the United States and to support our great nation. I don’t know anyone who can deny that this dude is in some way Patriotic because he is supporting our Nation just believed it should be run a little differently. The idea that he only believes that people can only legally immigrate into our country and no one can sneak onto our borders is a very reasonable expectation for our country. However I disagree with people being born on US soil as being deported he did put in a nice clause where if you are applying for citizenship and you have a child that child could still receive US citizenship. I am a fan of this type of a law there would have to be some rough edges but it could really be a worthwhile, however overall this guy is another brother with an opinion. Is there anything wrong with having opinion though we do live in a country which is one of our freedoms, freedom of speech. I believe we need more people like him to come out in our technologically open world where everyone is watching the latest videos on youtube we really could use some more Americans with opinions on how to make our country better. I believe we all owe this guy some respect for getting up and saying what he believes in, instead of taking a prescribed plan by our politicians of our parties he is making his own plan with his own goals.

It really is a tough position I honestly don’t like all of the talk about white team and brown/black team I honestly think its all nonsense but I understand how it fits into the class. For the purpose of this class I believe since you grew up in a Hispanic household and grew up being treated differently for being Hispanic then you should consider yourself Hispanic. If it had no effect on you growing up for arguments sake you should stay on the white team. I believe that is where Sam is going with this. I believe he is saying the White team means you haven’t had a real racism towards you or real discrimination towards you. So I believe for the purpose of argument that if a White person were too grow up in a prominently black neighborhood for the discussion they really should be considered to be on the black/brown team. I really believe the team aspect has to do with have you experienced discrimination/racism or not.