en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/6217786 Comments by Kaswith http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/04/05/voices-from-the-classroom-290/#IDComment614184381 If someone would ask me if I would ever think about working outside of America I would have no problem saying yes. I have always wanted to go to grad school at the University of Copenhagen; I also plan to raise my children outside of America. I do see a lot of internationals coming abroad to work in America and I recently had this talk with my father about why. We discussed that the way the education system in other countries works is superior to America’s but in America the jobs seem to be a lot better. I know a friend of mine that is planning on moving to America from Spain in order to get a good high paying job. However the school he goes to is 11th in the world for his specialty. Even though the general consensus says that America is the best place to work and find a job I feel as if I would just like to travel and see the world more than stay put. I also find it shocking that America is the lowest passport holders and that most of them have no desire to travel outside for work. When I look back at last semester when I used to spend my days hanging out with a bunch of foreign kids from all over the world I think about what they told me. Two of them would talk about how much easier it is to be in school here than overseas since the classes are less stressful and less work. However easy the work load might have been and how much they talked down our school system, they say that the industry here is much more powerful so they might all come back to be able to work. I am aware that they might eventually go back home when their countries have arrived at another level. I feel almost the same way in referring to America. I love it here and I love my education and am not trying to downgrade America, I have always just been entranced by other cultures and wanted to spend my life or at least a large majority of it overseas. It might be something more of a grass is always greener effect or maybe I just have been around to many foreigners for my own good. However many people have their own reasons for why they want to travel, I personally would just like to go to the areas where my studies originated (since I am majoring in Psychology and Existential Philosophy which originated in Europe). I feel like I’ll be over there for quite some time. Mon, 8 Apr 2013 04:05:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/04/05/voices-from-the-classroom-290/#IDComment614184381 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/22/voices-from-the-classroom-279/#IDComment608630051 When the discussion on affirmative action in class lead to talking about nepotism I too thought about how it is more acceptable in our society than affirmative action. People usually look at AI as something that is for poor lazy people who do not deserve it but they look at nepotism (or individual acts of nepotism) as a helping hand to someone that will do great things for you. I cannot believe how I did not see the connection before. As someone who has benefited from my parents knowing certain people or even just the socio-economical class that I happen to be a part of, I never thought of it as a hand out but just something that would help me move forward in my life. The more I look at the idea the more I see that it is virtually the same exact thing. I also see how accepting of the idea that our society is. In fact we are so much accepting of the idea that we just blame this fact on how we are in a world of “networking” and that getting to know people and having connections is simply a “part of life” I feel that if people actually took the time to place the two side by side they would see how strange we have been acting. When comparing someone who is a beneficiary of AI to someone that has received a job simply because they knew someone we would see almost no difference in worthiness. Yet we have all of these negative connotations when talking about people who benefit from AI. If we look at the past nepotism was something that was borderline illegal but it still seemed to happen (in instances like family businesses and well known owners of companies connecting their kids in the business world). Why is it that we are allowed to individually help someone that we know, when the government is not allowed to. Why is it looked down upon when the government gives a handout but when we ask for a favor it is completely okay? I do not know if we will ever look at AI and nepotism in the same light and I do not think that we will ever stop nepotism. However I do think that it is a big step hearing about it in a class like this. It brings the issue out in the open and allows students to form ideas from it. Sure I have benefited from nepotism lots of times and scoffed at the fact that people have gotten more money from a college simply because of where they stand in the world. I know look at it a little differently and allow myself to see the big picture. Mon, 1 Apr 2013 04:07:04 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/22/voices-from-the-classroom-279/#IDComment608630051 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/12/voices-from-the-classroom-269/#IDComment603529492 In class when the women were asked to raise their hands if they were bleeding I thought it was sort of funny. I did not think anything of it, but since I was not bleeding I did not raise my hands. However it seemed like no one raised their hands. Which is statistically impossible…Then I thought, “Well it might be embarrassing for those who are on their periods to raise their hands” but then I wondered, why is it so embarrassing? Why is it that something so natural would make anyone feel unnatural? I never really thought about it too much but it is a direct reflection of how women are supposed to be reserved and pure and not talk about their personal business to the public. The more I think about the fact that society has ingrained women so much that the feeling of shame felt with being on someone’s period is so great, is just disturbing. In my discussion class we talked about where this shame comes from. We thought about whether it was because of the natural fact that procreation is usually not happening when a woman is on her period but that cannot be the case because a woman is still able to have sex on her period. Or maybe it was because the ancients thought it was dirty to bleed and be close to dying, but other cultures viewed it as a beautiful ceremony that was filled with love and life. I could go on and on about where the cultural bias started but as I look at it now it does not matter where it started but rather when it will end. While reading one of my favorite short stories “The Yellow Wallpaper” I learned more about a woman’s rule in society. The story was written by a mental patient in reply to her doctor who would always tell her that she simply needed to start being more like a woman and then all of her issues would surpress. She writes the story as a woman who has just gone through child birth and sees a woman in the wallpaper who is constantly staring at her and judging her, the main character wants to be known as a perfect house wife who can do no wrong but feels anxiety when faced with the facts that this impossible. Just like the story it is obvious how society has placed intense pressure on women and made them fear for their sanity. We are not free in a world where we are judged and unable to talk about certain topics among other members of our own society. When will this freedom actually arise? When will we be able to express our thoughts openly? Mon, 25 Mar 2013 04:01:36 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/12/voices-from-the-classroom-269/#IDComment603529492 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/12/voices-from-the-classroom-268/#IDComment598171557 I had a conversation the other day with one of my best friends about how nudity is looked at in America. Over in Germany and other places in Europe it is completely normal for nudity to be seen. The way that people look at how “strange” Europeans are for doing this sort of angers me. I have always been comfortable with the naked body even if it is someone else’s. I feel like in America if someone were to even describe their naked body it would be looked down upon. Why is this though? Why are we so weirded out by topics like a woman’s period or sex life? Why is it taboo to feel free and naked? I feel that it comes from how society believes in hiding individuals. Why is someone that is a nudist looked at for being so strange? I find it weird that we are so afraid of something that we look at every day of our lives. Our body is something that is so intimate to us and our society just wants us to hide it from everyone. I’m not saying I’m a nudist or anything like that but if I was I do not see why people should have the right to look down on my life choices. The discrimination of nudists is just something that is so common in our society. Another idea that people are uncomfortable about in the real world is dropping out or people who have never gone to college. I know lots of kids drop out for the wrong reasons and waste their parents’ money while doing so but I also see a lighter side. I know it seems hard to believe after spending 9 hours studying for that Econ exam to think “hey I could really be spending my time doing something that makes me happy and makes me feel better on the outside” but it is really something that people should invest in. lots of kids forget that years ago people had more time to live out their lives and in turn had become better at working in the real world after returning to school. People forget just how important it is to have me time and get everything out of their system before they attempt a hard job like the future. I personally have problems with society looking down on drop outs( for these reasons) and those who have not gone to college because I know of someone who has advanced so far in their life just because they took time away from school and decided to be free on their own. Mon, 18 Mar 2013 04:00:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/12/voices-from-the-classroom-268/#IDComment598171557 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/01/voices-from-the-classroom-265/#IDComment591851773 I have never feared death. Personally I have always viewed death as something that was inevitable. I feel like it came from my certain upbringing of just knowing that reality is something that we cannot determine but can only live in. I feel like it’s almost strange how people view death. They feel like it is a gripping end that will cease everything beautiful. Death itself is a beautiful reality. Being afraid of it just hinders the life you live. When I asked my father if he would miss me on my way to college he very wisely told me “How can I miss you when you’re always in my heart?” I found this strange of course, how could he not miss me, but the fact was I would always be in his heart and no matter where I was it would always be true. I feel like my views came a lot from how my parents taught me about death and how much it surrounded my life. I believe that everyone in my life is represented by a special piece inside of me. Some pieces are large and some are small. I have a lot of memories with them and keep those memories in mind whenever I am away from them. I feel like I had to develop this believe as a young child since I moved 1000 miles away from my home where I had multiple friends that talked to me about living our lives as friends forever. Even though they were gone and that I would never see them again. I could not just change the way I felt about them. They still meant something to me and always would. After realizing this I saw no difference in the way I would move away and never be able to communicate (or never having getting a chance to) to the way I lost people when I was older. My high school experience had a lot of death involved. I have sort of talked about it a lot in blogs soo I will just skip the details. I realized that I would never be able to experience anything more of these people. Those who I loved, those who I saw every day, but I knew them still. They gave me little pieces of life without me even realizing it. Their pieces still live in my heart. My death will be no different. Every day is made up of memories: you wake up, go through the motions, and come back to sleep. But the things you experience in the mists of everything else that happens makes the day remarkable. The way we manage time in memories as we perceive them should lead us to treasure the memories we hold with others. Those days that we had with them cannot be changed just because they are gone. The days my friends have with me, all the pictures, the ups and downs, do not just go away with my death. If someone were to ask me if I am afraid of death I will say no, and whether the class had anything to deal with it or not. The class just made me realize how many people were different but hopefully people will start to understand that it is okay and not a scary thing. Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:36:48 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/01/voices-from-the-classroom-265/#IDComment591851773 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/02/21/voices-from-the-classroom-256/#IDComment578758169 I have always been aware of the invisible strings that pull me in the direction of the future and that have pushed me from the past. However we discussed in class that there are three causalities, biological, free will, and determinism. Personally I think all three hold a very strong hold in someone’s life. As Søren Kierkegaard once said, we cannot escape who we were born as and who are family is. The biology is obvious. You are born a certain way and that cause is unchanging. Going further Kierkegaard also explained that this is merely half of who you are though. For me I feel like this is why I do not rely too deeply on this cause. I know how my genetics serve me. I can biologically do things better or worse than another person but I feel like those factors do not define me, for I am someone who chooses to look past the first half of who I am. In the past people have relied too much on discriminating others for their biological appearances or traits. I feel like this reason also drives me to not pay attention to this cause, for someone cannot choose their own biology so why should I put them at fault for it. I will say it blankly, I do not believe in free will. It is simply something that does not exist. We have a plan set for us ahead of time and it might give us the appearance of free will, like we get to choose if we want to think a certain opinion over another, but in the long run nature has determined our futures. The world is too in touch with itself to give so much power to one organism. I could never rely on free will simply because it isn’t my choice in the matter. My own actions are all according to a plan and so I can never be held accountable to the path that I am following. Thankfully it is one that is placing me towards a virtuous lifestyle but in reality it is just something that I cannot change. As for determinism I feel like this may be the only cause I rely on, if I relied on a cause. When someone starts to determine who they want to be or what they want to do you can obviously see other factors playing a part in their choices. No one is able to fully ignore the pressures of society or of their plan in order to make a full hearted decision, but all added factors aside I feel as if someone still has the option of being judged upon these choices they make. Mon, 25 Feb 2013 04:58:55 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/02/21/voices-from-the-classroom-256/#IDComment578758169 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/02/14/voices-from-the-classroom-247/#IDComment573759536 Often I have seen a large difference in how my generation reacts to topics as opposed to the current adult generation and generation before them. The young generation to me has always seemed to be more excepting and able to see past differences. When it comes to issues such as Gay Marriage or certain religious beliefs it seems as if we have more of an “it’s your life” attitude towards it as opposed to the current generation who would rather push their views on others. I wonder if these fresh new ideas of my generation would stick around in time for a shift in ideas in power. However lots of members of our generation are content with how the country is run now, which might create the same deadlock result that we have now. When you think about the younger generation you might think about hipsters and gay rights activists and kids that honestly just want people to be who they want to be. I mean if I take a look at a handful of my friends they all seem 100% okay with everyone’s will to be different. We do not care what religion or ethnicity or what policies someone practices. From what I can see of other members of my generation, for the most part, they are completely accepting or at least tolerant. This might stream from the fact that the older generation has always wanted to push forward their ideology and policies. Our generation seems to be more like an Epicurean point of view where we refuse to be dogmatic towards a person’s opinion but instead search for tranquility and peace. I am sure the older generation is all for peace but it seems like all of our policies are against people that are different. The whole fact that people who practice homosexuality cannot get married due to some very well coded way of saying “the bible does not allow it” is just baffling. Why does it matter that someone else wants to get married? Years ago it was against the law for a black person to marry a white person but after that generation sort of disappeared and started to accept different customs a change began to happen. I imagine this will happen in the future again simply because our generation is more open to new things. Even though my generation is very open to new ideas and beliefs I feel that some of them also feel tied down to the way policies are now. I feel even more uneasy when I hear someone my age say that it is great that a gay person cannot get married. Does it even cross their mind to that they could be denied marring someone that they were deeply in love with simply because it was found “morally wrong.” Or if someone from my generation says that they are afraid of people in the Middle East, these beliefs and ideas are obviously passed down from a judgmental upbringing that does not see anything wrong with hurting or putting down others. When I think about the future I hope that it will become more of an accepting place, I hope that my generation will be able to reverse all of the harm that misconceptions and clouded opinions have done. Mon, 18 Feb 2013 04:55:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/02/14/voices-from-the-classroom-247/#IDComment573759536 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/02/07/voices-from-the-classroom-240/#IDComment569554663 If I had the opportunity to know ahead of time that my child was born gay, I would of course not abort my son or daughter. As for the question of whether I would tell my child whether he or she was gay I would leave that up to them to decide. I feel like it is something that is their decision to come to terms with, and that I will be there to support them once they need me. I do feel like it is important to let your child grow how they would want to and not let them be influenced by anyone else. I feel like it would almost be unethical to pinpoint a “gay gene” if it was possible. I was a bit shocked to see how many people would abort their child for being gay if they could. I do think that this decision has a lot more factors then a clicker question can lead on. For one, it is unknown that a person did it simply because of their dislike for homosexuality or if they did it because they did not want their child to grow up in such a rough environment. The way I looked at it was that I would not want my parents to abort me simply because I was a darker shade of black, or a lighter shade, or was going to have pointer ears then my siblings, or anything genetically for that matter. Not only for that but I personally do not see anything wrong with being gay and would have no problems raising my child knowing they were gay. While raising my child knowing they were gay would not be a problem, I feel like trying not to create invisible strings for them would be hard. As I said that I would let my child find out on their own, I mean in all honesty I would probably try to raise them as if I didn’t know. But I feel like knowing the information would make me want to help them flourish without pushing them in any direction. I just feel like as a parent you always want what is best for your child and so you would probably place your child in certain activities and certain situations. I wonder to myself whether these nuances would really matter in the upbringing of a child, or if they could be ignored. It is incredibly hard to think of a hypothetical like this. I have always envisioned my future family. I would have twins, a boy and a girl, that they would probably be of a mixed race, that I would teach my children to explore the world and be free spirits. My son would grow up playing soccer and his sister would be in dance as soon as she can walk. However all of those hopes could be thrown up into smoke and everything could turn out completely unpredictable. Even though I have had these hopes for my future children for years I feel like it would be hard to give up my dreams for them, but that I would obviously do it and ignore my own wishes. I would let them grow up how they would as if I did not have these wishes for their lives. Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:54:41 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/02/07/voices-from-the-classroom-240/#IDComment569554663 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/31/voices-from-the-classroom-235/#IDComment562258476 During class I’ll have to say that I was a bit put off by how Sam described cutters true feelings to cutting. He seemed to be down playing the internal battle that someone goes through. I mean I understand that it is a completely absurd thing to do, but the people who struggle with cutting, suicide, and depression of any level seem to have a different outlook. From freshmen year to junior year there was at least one suicide in my high school. On top of that there was a regular death, usually by accident, every single year. Our high school denied that there was a problem with our student body and that we needed any extra help. Finally when a group of students took the matters into their own hand did solutions surface. I feel like because of my high school problems along with my own struggle with my thoughts makes me hyper sensitive to the feelings of others. I’m not saying I am any bit better than anyone else at helping someone I just have a different approach to it. I can’t walk past someone who looks sad or upset without asking them, which usually does not annoy them, what is wrong or if there is anything that I can do to help. I usually like to let my friends vent to me, since I am not really qualified to give expert advice, just because I know how great it feels to let out true feelings. I also understand how important it is to fully trust someone. No one really knows why we get so sad or if our depressing thoughts will go away for good, but as long as we are able to tie ourselves to something it is a lot easier. For me I found that it is always easier for me to calm my mind if I think of my subject of control. For all of the incidents that I have seen it has been more of a struggle with being in control with the world around them. If they think that they are unable to choose for themselves or that they are in a situation that makes the feel trapped. If I do ever give advice or try to help someone I usually express how important it is for them to know that things are out of their hands but still in their control, which is something that sounds like a contradiction if you don’t read into it. The world we live in throws so much at us, so much hate, and so much angst, so much fear and despair. We should start to understand that even though it is a chaotic world the fact that we acknowledge that these things are random helps us start to build off the fact that we are in control. Mon, 4 Feb 2013 04:58:28 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/31/voices-from-the-classroom-235/#IDComment562258476 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/23/voices-from-the-classroom-232/#IDComment555853544 When Sam put the question on the screen for what group Americans were least likely to want their children to marry I was confused. Originally I was going to pick the Black American group, simply from personal experience and seeing how sensitive people are about interracial marriage. However this turned out to not even be a choice so I basically just guessed. I was shocked to find out that Atheism was ranked number one. I personally do not have a preference to what religion my spouse would be but maybe that is because I don’t follow the path of a uniformed faith. I can’t understand why someone would be so hesitant. It makes me think about how the world is very religiously oriented. People think that being an atheist’s means that you can’t be ethical or that you believe in crazy rituals. I feel like it is so absurd. The fact that someone’s lack of religion is a deciding factor on whether they can marry someone’s child scares me. I can try to understand whether the fear comes from them not being used to the same customs or if it is because religion is something that is something that you are born with. As Sam describes it in school many people do not even have strong bases for why they hold their foundation in one religion or another. To me religion has always been a choice so why not have the choice to not be religious. When I think about what my parents would say if I married someone that was an Atheist I start to wonder. I mean I am sure they would accept my decision if it was based on love but I wonder because I would find it hurtful if they thought for a minute otherwise. Kind of like how people say they “probably wouldn’t care” if they married someone of a different race, the small hesitation sort of speaks deeper than the black and white. My parents have dealt with me dating a republican, since my mom thinks she is the biggest Obama fan, dating boys who are pro-gun, white, Asian, or anything else. I would hope they would be able to accept a slight variation in believing or not. Maybe I have it a bit too easy since my upbringing has allowed me to not focus on differences or biases. Since I found it hurtful for people to call me out about my race and what I was. I feel as if this makes it easier for me to say that I would have no problem with whoever my child wanted to marry. I would absolutely stand behind them for whatever choice especially if it only had to do with not holding a religion. Mon, 28 Jan 2013 04:57:09 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/23/voices-from-the-classroom-232/#IDComment555853544 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/18/voices-from-the-classroom-229/#IDComment552936594 When Sam first looked at the girl and asked her “are you fully white” I was a bit shocked. No one really talks about the race of those who appear white. I admired the reaction of the girl, she didn’t get pissed off but instead more understanding. She said that it was something that she had gotten before. She claimed that if people saw how white her parents looked they would believe she was full white. Even though I commend her for her answer, most likely because she did not get mad, I could not help but think that deep down inside that comments like that hurt her. I find it a bit strange that people are so defensive about having ancestry from other parts of the world. I mean as a person that is full African, as far as I have known, I feel as if someone would not want to dabble in my blood. I mean I’m sure the girl does not feel so stand offish as to reject the idea completely, her reaction was one of being put on the spot in front of 650+ people, she may very well have thought about having other ancestry. She may not even care about what she looks like in the eyes of others. I chose to write on this response because to me race has always just been something that I never cared about. Growing up I never heard anything about how my race made me any different, but I guess little kids do not really care about that. Some of my closest friends who are a variety of races also agree that to them race wasn’t an important factor. Until about my 5th grade year when people started to make up reasons for why I was lesser than them. What I am trying to get at is that a negative connotation of not being pure white seems to be something that shocks me. I mean I understand that the beliefs have been passed down from generation to generation and I understand that there are people who are racist in the world. I just find it an absurdity. I once asked one of my friends, who is white, if she would have a black man’s baby. She simply replied that “If I wanted a mixed child than yes, or if I wanted a white child than no.” Since all aspects of love, money, and social economics were taken out of the equation since it was a hypothetical question, I began to think. Lots of people do not really follow by this “wells sure I could have a mixed baby.” Some people would rather keep to what they are and never venture to the other side. I mean I cannot tell those who think like that how to live their lives but it does sort of create a strange feeling inside. Thu, 24 Jan 2013 16:18:16 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/18/voices-from-the-classroom-229/#IDComment552936594