Was I surprised that business makes decisions based on their own personal whims and not the well being of the general population? Nope. Does this surprise anyone at this point? I really hope not. We don’t live in as “free” of a country as we all would like to think in fact I often times refer to our democratic political system as merely a “corporatocracy”. Money can buy votes and get politicians elected, politics is the ultimate game of king of the mountain and nothing else. Anyone who thinks that political decisions are made solely about what a politician has read, researched and critically thought about (objectively) is beyond delusional. Politicians are not programmed to do or vote for the will of the people, in fact they do not possess any knowledge about how to solve any of our problems that we face today. All they know how to do is get elected, raise money and say the right things in order to garner enough votes. No where in that list of “abilities” is anything that would allow them to think about the poor, disenfranchised people in the country/world or about what we need to do in order to better our society. Politicians think not about the people who elect them, they think about the people who get them elected through donations and how much money is thrust in their pockets. Votes can be bought, there have even been documented incidents where senators and other congressional leaders have sat through voting sessions and not read the legislation at all. How exactly are we supposed to be making informed and logical decisions that benefit our country when we have leaders that are not informed themselves? The false dichotomy of republicans and democrats is just that a false dichotomy to make the population believe they are making a choice when they go into the voting booth. The real decisions are made with check books and bank accounts not with votes. At the same time who can blame them? Wouldn’t you do the same thing especially given that the current financial paradigm that we live within basically requires nepotism and participation in “king of the mountain”? If you don’t then someone else will and that’s the nature of a profit based system, when profit is stressed at all costs then almost always those costs will include the well being of others and a system that includes the marginalization of others, more or less inherently, is not just.

Given the current economic and social paradigms, which constrict and divide our society into a false sense of competition and overall dichotomy, I would regrettably have to say that it would be difficult to ignore an opportunity presented to me because of nepotism. Especially if this opportunity were beneficial to my family and me it would be especially difficult. However, that being said I would not say that I am a particularly strong proponent of the notion that nepotism invariably carries with it. This idea of entitlement that comprises a large facet of what nepotism actually is is in stark contrast to my disposition on life, which is that every human being is entitled to food, water, clothing and all of the natural resources of the Earth. Many argue that since we have finite natural resources that an equal distribution of food, water and other living essentials are nearly impossible. This is simply not true in light of the technological advances that we are capable of today. This may sound like “communism” or “socialism” I would like to also firmly note that I am in favor of neither, in fact I don’t admire any form of government or national sovereignty as I see them as also a divisionary edifice within our global society. We undoubtedly possess the capabilities at present time to house, feed and educate the entire global population many times over yet we do not do it because we are strictly confined to an economic paradigm, which in and of itself promotes stratification. If the entire working poor right now were to go to college and work hard to achieve the “American Dream”, which is nothing more than a superficial lifestyle, then our current economic system would implode upon itself. There is not enough money for everyone to make this dream a reality, but there are always those outliers that “make it” and are praised and glorified to remind the working poor/indentured servants that it is possible. Nepotism is simply one symptom of an intrinsically sick and malevolent system, which we have in place that serves no purpose other than to perpetuate a morally unconnected species (humans), which in fact is more connected to each other, the earth and it’s natural plants and animals than anything else including our religions, countries and bank accounts. That being said, while this current system is in place we have very little choice but to work within it to the best of our ability. I would not like accepting a position or opportunity, which I knew marginalized others, however if I do not do it someone else would and unfortunately it is, but doesn’t have to be, the reality of our civilization today. Pretty fucking sad when you consider the beautiful possibilities we posses right now with science, medicine and technology but as long as we’re still playing “king of the mountain” there’s only so much we can do.

This week’s topic of multiculturalism was very interesting in that I could definitely see both sides of the argument. On one hand, it is always a good thing to learn about and be exposed to other cultures but when other cultures begin to superimpose their views or ideals above the culture that they are in then it can certainly become problematic. I have seen multiculturalism in both lights myself. There have been situations that have snow balled into arguments simply because the two parties involved held contrasting cultural views and refused to take of their ethnocentric lens and view a topic with another point of view. At the same time, I have seen people come together and find commonalties amongst within each of their respective cultures and in turn they bonded over their newfound unity with each other. I think this is the aspect of multiculturalism that should be emphasized, that in fact many of our cultures and ethnicities share a cohesion within themselves and that we are in fact much more similar than we are different. Divisionary notions such as religion, nationality and social class serve only to hinder our progress towards a more equal and sustainable future for subsequent generations. Many of our problems today simply cannot be viewed from a singular point of view for it ultimately affects many people in various ways whether directly or indirectly. Virtually any issue, problem or concern that we face as a society can be looked at in this way there are seldom any issues anymore that target one country alone. This is not to say that I think people should lose touch with their roots and cultures from which they sprang, on the contrary they should be celebrated and adorned. However, celebration should be done in the context of “this is my culture, it is not better or worse than yours it’s just mine and I want to share it with you”. When we begin to internalize the idea of cultural supremacy it becomes innately dangerous, as this notion is a fertile breeding ground for bigotry, hatred and prejudice. Understanding unique cultures is important, so long as the “oneness” of our global culture is not lost in the process. It is paramount to our continued progress as a species to remind ourselves that we are all interconnected with each other and with our environment in one form or another and that, again, our differences are all very trivial in the grand scheme of life.

Beyond interesting article, gives some good statistical support to the notion that religion might indeed one day become obsolete. Will it? I think in our lifetime we will see a continued secular shift in ideology particularly in the more progressive nations mentioned. I’ll be honest I hope this trajectory continues for I see it as inherently beneficial to not just one country our nation but towards a more globally unified future which, considering the universal nature of many of our problems, is going to be paramount towards progress. Thus far in history religious dispositions have served to do more harm than good. Of course there are the charities but there are also the evangelical preachers who take in millions per year and pay no taxes. Consider also the mass murder and extinction that was inflicted in the fable/bible by “god” (stories which were written by MEN by the way not by an omnipresent deity or with any input from women at all), the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition and the Dark Ages. The Dark Ages should infuriate us all religious or not for science was held back for nearly two thousand years for fear of religious persecution by the Vatican. Can we even fathom how much farther we would be in terms of medicine, technology and space exploration if it had not been for the Dark Ages inflicted upon us by the edifice that was the catholic church? Cancer might have been cured, THON indeed might have been a yearly celebration of a cure. Not to mention the countless child sex abuse reports, some of which haven’t even been heard for fear of further stigmatization. Trust me when I say this is a very abbreviated list of the detrimental effects that religion has bestowed upon our society as a whole but I’ll end the rant here. Furthermore, in a much broader sense, religion has served as a divisionary tool to make us as a species feel even further alienated from each other and create a false dichotomy that someone one particular religious deity is right and all the others are wrong. How many wars were started and are being waged today because of religion? (Answer: many) How many innocent Palestinian and Israeli citizens have been killed because of some arid land that was supposedly promised to each group by this “god”? Some might say this is only focusing on the bad and ignoring the good, however many religious folks will employ the exact same logical fallacy of selective observation by only looking at the good and not the bad. A prime example often cited is “nature is so beautiful, there must be a god everything didn’t just happen by chance”. Well, actually it did through billions of years of evolution it is indeed miraculous that we exist and that should be celebrated not attributed to some old man with a white beard in the clouds. Also, “nature is beautiful” yes it is the parts you’re looking at, what about what just happened in Japan that’s nature was that beautiful? What about Katrina, Haiti, etc.? All of these were forces of nature, you can’t look at only the good and ignore the bad. This all sounds like I hate religion and I don’t in fact I was confirmed a Catholic, I no longer practice or affiliate with any religion but I read some Buddhist philosophy, meditate and try to do good whenever and however I can everyday. I think if you can extrapolate the philosophical aspects of religion (i.e. the golden rule, do unto others …) and not thrust your beliefs down everyone else’s throat then it’s ok. To quote Ben Harper, my disposition on religion despite what this outburst might suggest is (as with everything in life): “If you’re causing no harm, then you’re alright with me”.

This is one of if not the most pivotal challenge that we face as a species if we plan to continue living on our planet. Big kudos by the way to whoever this was, although seemingly simplistic it’s a very insightful and “big picture” type question, this guy is a critical thinker for sure. The management of our resources has not been one of our strong suites in recent years, especially since the industrial revolution took place a little over a century ago. There are so many factors that come into play regarding this question but the answers may actually already exist. In fact, many of our problems that are tied into our mismanagement of our resources (e.g. the destruction of our planet’s eco system for the sake of monetary profit) actually could be solved but are hindered by our economic system we have in place. The technology exists to completely get off of fossil fuels and all forms of dirty energy such as coal. In terms of food the notion that we don’t have enough to feed all the world’s people is ridiculous. Again, through technology we very much could provide proper nourishment for everyone because today we don’t even need dirt nor the sun to grow food if we utilize a system called hydroponics (commonly used to grow indoor marijuana) and substitute high frequency UV lights or “grow lights” for the sun. Technically, if we wanted to right now, we could simply build a sky scraper miles high and each level could have food being grown in it using hydroponics, no dirt no sun required. The clean energy we need is all out there (e.g. geothermal, solar, wind, tide, wave) the question is why aren’t we doing all of this? That’s great question too and I think the answer is multifaceted but a large portion of it goes back to our outdated economic system which fosters greed, corruption and exploitation of people and our finite natural resources all in the name of profit. The ironic thing too is that money itself means nothing it is fiat currency it has no value you cannot eat it and get nutrients you can not use it for energy to power anything it is a piece of paper. Our capabilities today in terms of medicine, technology, energy, transportation and an overall sustainable existence are much higher than most think and are certainly much higher than the reality we have constructed. The question itself is not so much how it’s more of a when, when will we decide that the resources that the Earth provides for us are inherent to all people regardless of where you’re from or how many green pieces of paper are in your checking account? When are we going to make our planet and our species a priority over profit, shiny cars, big houses and other shit that serves no purpose other than being psychological “junk food.”

Great question and again, as so many of these questions have been, it is a multi faceted answer that requires you to examine the problem itself (i.e. the apparent racism embedded in the criminal justice system) on so many levels. As Sam says so often, there is not one right answer here it is obtuse to boil down such a complex issue to one reason or source. Are there more police present in these larger cities and urban areas where there are subsequently a higher percentage of minorities? Of course, and that is likely one facet of this issue of why the arrest rate is so much higher for blacks compared to whites. Now, one has to ask so why are there more police in these areas? There are more people and there is more crime, but what is a crime how do we define that? Do we consider a teenage drug dealer who is selling marijuana to classmates in order to help out at home or to simply buy him or herself some shoes to wear to school a deviant? Is that a crime, and if so who is being hurt? Marijuana is difficult example because it shouldn’t be illegal in the first place and was made so because of money, racism and moral panics orchestrated by our government and the first drug czar who was linked to the DuPont family by marriage who had a huge stake in the materials industry which hemp threatened significantly. There are other factors there too and the plant itself is one of the most useful on the planet but that’s another tangent. The point is, there are so many forces that come into play with this issue and they align with a lot of the “strain” theories proposed by many sociologists coupled with differential association, etc. Arrest rates don’t necessarily reflect one being deviant or causing harm to another, it simply means that you were caught or stopped for doing something that is against our laws (often times drug related). So why are they being stopped? Is it because they are black in a bad neighborhood or because they are acting suspicious and the police have reason and probable cause for the stop? Again, probably a combination of both depending on the circumstances surrounding the event itself. A huge player in this game I feel that is kind of put on the back burner is the media which tends to over sensationalize crime and show only poor black communities on television or in the news when something negative is happening. Psychology is a powerful tool and when one sees over and over countless times a black man being arrested for crack possession or a Mexican drug dealer being carted off to jail, people and police may begin to take these single events and project them upon every minority they see. Another strong point for why diversity within education is so important in that it reminds us that it is not just a black thing to be arrested for drugs or to fall victim to gang violence, it helps to curb our prejudices some.

I am a human being, which is the answer we should all have here this question is mindless. We are human beings who share one planet and face similar problems. This obtuse and false dichotomy that exists between so called “liberals” and “conservatives” is the pettiest shit I’ve come across in my twenty-one years of existence. The question itself serves only to create this false binary that we must fit into. We talk all the time in class about how we are all so different and unique, we come from a wide array of backgrounds and cultures (which all absolutely 1,000% influence our “choice” to be a demoidiot or republimoron) but we are forced to choose between these two pre-constructed boxes of which we must fit. There is no wiggle room, parties vote along with their particular party’s disposition 99% of the time (you have a few free thinkers like Ron Paul) without even thinking about what they are voting for, reading the actual bill itself or talking to any experts in the field, etc. basically there is NO critical thinking applied in politics the scientific method and all other forms of logical thought are tossed out the window because the demoidiots are in a constant fight with the republimorons and both sides are convinced that they are correct all of the time and there is no way the other side has anything of value to say. There is no compromise, there is no logic there is nothing constructive done or applied in politics only trivial arguments thrown back and forth which are usually riddled with logical fallacies (e.g. straw man, you see that all the time). Most of the time not only are they simply voting to be another sheep in their moronic herd, but they are voting with who and what corporation is going to give them the most money, the democracy that our founding fathers probably envisioned has been molested for years by the whims of the corporatocracy that has essentially usurped any form democratic governance that we think exists. This goes for democrats and republicans alike there is no real difference between them, none of them possess the skills, training, research experience or even the logic to consult with professionals and experts about our problems such as poverty, environmental conservation, sustainable development, etc. they are politicians NOT problem solvers. This all highlights the very nature of this system we have in place which serves to only divide us into groups rather than bring us together to objectively and logically attack our countless problems as a species. The nature of politics and ultimately the monetary system, which is another tangent all together, do nothing to support and sustain our lives here on this planet. Scientists, sociologists, psychologist, researchers, engineers the list goes on and on of experts in their fields if you put them all up for election then I would vote because they possess the actually knowledge and understating to tackle problems, politicians only know how to raise money, lie, deliver good rhetoric and get elected that is their only concern not your well being. Don’t be so imperceptive as to think that your Obamas and your McCains or whoever gives two shits about you, it’s all a big show and we’ve been watching for a long time. Wake up.

There’s a good Carl Sagan quote that I think of when I watched this video I can’t remember it verbatim but it went something like if a extra terrestrial being were to observe our world they would find our differences minute compared to our similarities. This quote is definitely rooted in truth, the unfortunate thing that while we have progressed we haven’t evolved to the point where we see other races and ethnicities as merely differences in how our ancestor’s biologically adapted to their environment. That’s really all “race” is but we’ve had these socially constructed ideas about race in place for a very long time and they’re going to be hard to uproot. I hope we can get to a place where race is irrelevant (because it is) and we are seen as one species with commonalities that far outnumber our differences. This sounds idealistic but I don’t see why it still can’t be a goal to strive for, why would we not try for the ideal? Something I never understood about the argument that an idea or concept is too “idealistic” how is that even possible, why is ideal unrealistic? I think that speaks volumes about the nature of the society in which we live when idealism is thought of as impractical. If you consider the drastic level of stratification and inequality, which has become a reality in our world, I guess I can understand our seemingly inherent level of pessimism and doubt. In regards to the question specifically, with getting a job or having housing that essentially equates to being “successful” financially so are we moving towards a more equal world in that regard? No. The very nature of our monetary system is not set up for equality it is set up for the “haves” to continue having and the “have nots” to remain in squalor. That is not to say you don’t see those rare cases of someone working real hard and moving a little in class but it is not as common and easy as most think, probably because most of the people who are even aware of this phenomenon are “haves” themselves because “have nots” are usually very busy being indentured servants and working a lot to feed and clothe themselves which is completely ridiculous. If everyone right now were to work hard to pursue the “American Dream” the entire economic system would implode upon itself there is simply not enough money to go around for everyone, debt and inequality are inherent in the monetary system there is no money without the bottom feeders, the base of the pyramid so to speak. It is sad that even today that race and inequality are two words that are almost interchangeable, but hopefully we can realize the shortcomings that are innate in our current system and make a drastic change.

Well the question itself isn’t worded the best: “If everyone looks down upon rednecks (a generalization) who is left for rednecks to look down upon?” Uh … I mean haha the answer is everyone?! Not that all rednecks do I’m just pointing out the obvious fact that just because “everyone” looks down upon one group doesn’t mean that that group isn’t allowed to look down upon others? I’m honestly a bit confused by the question I’m not sure it was worded the best. I think she was trying to bring up the point that not all rednecks are racists and bigots? Which I certainly agree with much of my mom’s side of the family is in the south and they are some of the warmest and friendly people I’ve ever met and certainly do not hold any prejudice sentiments. The question is riddled with generalizations but I think it ironically is trying to address the overall generalization that all rednecks are racists? If that is the case then it’s also going to be kind of hard to really put any hard evidence or support behind the argument that they are or aren’t racist because I’m not too sure there is any data out there to support that and even if there was it would be fundamentally flawed as being an overt racist has become so taboo in our society seldom few would actually admit to it even if they did actually harbor intolerant attitudes towards a particular race. However, I will say that I have come across a few studies that have shown an inverse correlation between IQ and level of racism, meaning the more narrow-minded you are the dumber you tend to be. I’m not too sure this has anything to do with being a “redneck” or not but it certainly highlights the significance of education which can free one of many ignorant ideals. Another component of racism in general I feel is not only education but the environment from which you came. If you are marinated in bigotry from the time you are young and it is rampant throughout your community, friends and family then you are most likely going to adhere to the social norms of your environment. Also the media plays a role in this by casting certain racial groups in movies and tv shows according to their racial stereotypes further reinforcing these ideas as true, and if you grow up in an area with little to no diversity (e.g. State College and the surrounding areas) you are going to be more likely to take these stereotypes as truth rather than a fictionalized over generalization of a racial or ethnic group. Sort of went off on a tangent here but the point being is that racism in general is a “onion” problem in that it has many layers and so to boil it down to just one element is not truly examining the issue.

This is a great question in that it is multi faceted and brings up a myriad of issues regarding how we view and ultimately value our bodies. As we are all aware we are particularly saturated in this country with media and it’s expectations for what the “ideal” body should be. Some of the blame for these unrealistic depictions of what our bodies are supposed to look like certainly lies with advertising executives who perpetuation these notions with their continued utilization of such unrealistic imagery. However, at the same time as consumers we enable advertising and marketing companies in the sense that we digest these ideas to the point of where we actually start to believe them to be true. This effectively creates a vicious cycle where in we as consumers eat the psychological junk food that the advertising restaurants serve us. When all the layers are peeled off you realize that everyone is essentially to blame and that we all need a dramatic shift in how we think and feel about our bodies. Regarding the question itself I believe that people would have an easier time coming to terms with their body and who they were if they were made more aware of the hereditary nature of their physical make up. The problem is that most people do realize this it’s just that it does not resonate as strongly in their thoughts as advertising does, because it is constantly around us. In regards to race in the media I have no idea as to why “white” has been the color of choice for … well ever. Most likely because the industry was started and is still largely run by old white males coupled with the fact that for so long “white” was though to be superior maybe we are still experiencing a “hangover” so to speak from our more overt racist past (not saying that racism has been completely eradicated). In terms of body issues regarding weight my disposition is slightly different. Yes genetics play a huge role in how we turn out however we chose what we eat, we chose the quantity of food we eat, we chose to exercise or not so there is a certain level of personal responsibility that factors into the weight aspect of body image. All in all the issue of body image whether from a racial perspective or a strictly physical one (and they over lap certainly) is one that needs to be addressed more directly and talked about; especially the negative consequences that have stemmed from the constant showering of advertisements that demand “perfect” bodies for men and especially for women. Once we have a more open forum for which to discuss the issue, then we can really delve into why our advertisements are what they are and how we can possibly reconstruct them in a more positive and sensible light.