en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2416065 Comments by tlg5107 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/18/war-through-the-ages/#IDComment145272491 Soc 001 4/22/11 This video was particularly interesting to me… the time periods and size of the explosions really do a great job at portraying the events that took place throughout time. It is interesting to see how events unfold in parts of the world and at certain times. It is interesting to see how the events always take place around times of economic and geographic expansion. You cant help but to realize that all of these battles were fought over various resources at the time. Additionally, as technology and resources grew, so did the magnitude of these battles. Another shocking realization is that almost all battles have taken place in Europe and eastern Asia. This clearly points to the desire for empires/entities to possess surrounding land and resources. Also, it is interesting how the Americas have very little fighting. I may suspect that today this dynamic has changed and is not a function of other countries wanting our land… but more of a function of us not allowing it to happen. By occupying other countries and starting escalations with others, we avoid issues in our own country. In essence, I am saying that we bring the fight to them before they even have a chance to bring it here. This is smart as it saves our land, resources, and civilians. I feel this is not particularly evident to most people as they take it for granted. Lastly, I would like to discuss World War I and World War II; almost all of Europe was consumed during these two wars and the casualties were drastic. It really was jaw dropping to see the magnitude of deaths that occurred during these two wars and I was honestly shocked by these parts of the video. Sat, 23 Apr 2011 02:22:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/18/war-through-the-ages/#IDComment145272491 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/war-vets-and-ptsd/#IDComment141142686 Soc 001 4/8/11 I am happy that the video was played in class. It is about time that people start understanding the complexity of their surroundings. When an individual says “we are at war to stop the terrorists” I just laugh at their ignorance. Since when has there ever been a threat to our national security? The fear that we feel is only a product of what our very own government, wants us to feel. The reason we are at war is not for our protection and it is not for our safety… it is for money and power. We are setting the field now for the looming oil shortage. By holding power in these various countries that have oil reserves we are successfully solidifying our position as a dominant world power when it comes down to the time when natural resources are depleted. By going to war under the premise that it is a threat to national security if we don’t, the masses of people will blindly follow just because they allow their fear to get to them. In fact, these people do not even use their reason to second guess the situation or think critically about the choice. They simply conform and do what the government tells them to do. I hope that this movie woke some students up and opened their eyes to what is really happening behind the scenes. Terrorism is only a façade that our government uses to mask their money and commodity acquiring schemes. Sat, 9 Apr 2011 02:09:40 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/war-vets-and-ptsd/#IDComment141142686 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/30/so-what-your-take-on-those-inequality-classes/#IDComment139194282 Soc 001 4/1/11 In class Dr. Richards touched on the inequality that is imposed upon the American and world economies. I would like to explore some thoughts on this and I hope others can also appreciate this. We spoke about how the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer. Everything that we do is a product of what the rich want us to do… in fact, every single decision that impacts any one of us is in some way related to the motives of the rich. I would now like to explore the concept of going to college to better oneself. From the time you are a child anyone you ask says that you have to go to college to better yourself and to make yourself successful… implying that if you work hard and are successful then you will become one of these elite and make the money they make. This is hardly ever the case, and in fact it is exactly how the rich want it to happen. They have constructed the concept of higher education to produce a middle/upper-middle class to serve them. Conceptually, it makes sense that an individual’s intelligence will have a strong correlation to the amount of money that you possess. Therefore, lower class individuals will not have the resources to retain their money. Money will be passed from the lower class up to the middle class then to the upper middle and eventually make its way the whole way up to the select few rich individuals. Now the lower class is easy to target and take money from as they generally are manipulated and scared into spending money the easiest. As you progress up the classes, individuals are more resistant to these influences and are harder to target. One easy way of manipulating these people’s mindset is to put them into an institution and tell them that they have a chance at the life they desire. Now the naive students exit college they hold these dreams and aspirations and work towards their goal of joining the elite. In retrospect, their own ignorance leads them to only filter more money up to the select few. Fri, 1 Apr 2011 20:46:24 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/30/so-what-your-take-on-those-inequality-classes/#IDComment139194282 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135972312 Soc 001 3/18/11 Why do we allow the government to dictate what is right or what is wrong about this matter… and all matters for that point? Technically they should have no say as to what we say or do. If someone is already taking a child into an alternative lifestyle, it is being done before the child is capable of comprehending what is happening. This alone infringes upon the freedoms of the child in the first place, now how is it any different if our government dictates what can or cannot happen. Is it really even that big of a deal? A sexual orientation has nothing to do with the family unit… my parents are not any better or worse than a gay couple just because mine are a male and a female. In all honesty, it is not something that the government should need to control and frankly it is better off if they don’t control it. To step back and take a look at the situation as a whole, one must consider all circumstances where children are raised by gays. It is not very often that we hear negative stories associated with this matter… however it is not very often that we hear positive stories either. I suspect, as with almost every matter, that the positive stories are swept under the rug and ignored, while the negative stories are beaten to death by the media and by political radicals that feel they can use examples to evict fear into their “blind” followers, thus enforcing the control they have over the citizens. I will say that the student giving this speech is able to captivate his audience, but putting that all aside, if you look at his life as a real life example of same sex child rearing it is clear that his family unit functions superior to that of some “normal” families. Despite the fact that this individual’s freedoms were set in stone the moment that his gay parents decided upon conception, one must also consider the other side; a child still does not have these freedoms when born to a male/female family. Politics can pointlessly argue all they want about the matter, however the bottom line is that there never was a valid argument in the first place… and this can be proven by looking at grown individuals of gay families, such as the one in this clip. Sat, 19 Mar 2011 03:46:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135972312 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/28/the-lottery-as-a-blessing-or-a-curse/#IDComment134361411 Soc 001 3/11/11 The lottery is a perfect example of a social construct that people blindly follow without asking questions or even thinking about what they are doing… similar to going to school or work. The lottery is only used as an ideal for people who are underprivileged and think they can improve their lives with money. The happiness you feel or experience is a product of your surroundings. If one is in surroundings that are not productive towards happiness, they will never feel this emotion. Additionally, happiness can be seen in the way you interpret the various surroundings. Perception plays a large role in determining what emotions will be felt and experienced. If you are unhappy because you don’t have money then it is only because you are making yourself feel this way. If you are unhappy because people bother you because you have money, then it is only because you allow the people to actually bother you and thus makes you unhappy. I would like to provide an example from my own life that illustrates this concept exactly: For a few years now I have been keeping saltwater reef aquariums—caring for fish and growing corals as a hobby. Making sure to support everything these organisms need to live, grow, reproduce, and thrive. Now in the last few years the coral industry has been expanding to include “rare” and “one-of-a-kind” species… This of course has driven the price of certain corals through the roof due to this made up demand for exclusivity. Recently one coral in particular was sold for $2000 for a 1”x1” piece; these prices are outrageous and frankly absurd. Since I am very close friends with many people in the hobby that are both wealthy and well respected, I was given a piece of this “exclusive” coral. If I choose to do so, I could easily sell the tiniest pieces of this coral for hundreds if not thousands of dollars each. I do not sell this coral and I never plan to sell it, however I do give this coral away for free to fellow hobbyists. I have found that by giving away my corals I feel much more happiness then when I sell them. This demonstrates the issues with the lottery; I have the “rare/exclusive” piece and I choose to give it away instead of charge because it brings me happiness. Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:35:51 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/28/the-lottery-as-a-blessing-or-a-curse/#IDComment134361411 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/rethinking-education/#IDComment130724132 Soc 001 2/25/11 I find this particular subject very interesting. Over the past 6-7 years I have been rethinking the structure of our academic system. I have adopted a quote that I live by as I feel it correctly personifies my views on the system: “It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” -Albert Einstein. I feel that people who see this quote cannot appreciate it, as I can, for its true meaning. Over the years I have found the flaws in our current education system. I completely disagree with the accepted system and I feel that it does nothing but put everyone who participates on a fast track to social conformity. I myself am part of this process and I now regret participating in it. As a young adolescent, I felt that I was pressured to go into college so that I would be socially accepted in the future. After entering college I realized how pointless this “required” process was. Once I am done college, I will be starting a position at my family’s corporation as the CFO/supervisor. My major has nothing to do with what my future job will entail, however I still went so that I was “socially accepted” by my peers. I feel this is a perfect example of the conundrum at hand, as I will clearly be much better off working for the family corporation than anything that I could find that my major would offer for me. This brings me to my next point; I could have been in this position right after I graduated high school. Therefore, I have used these past 4 years to attend college while paying an outrageous amount for an education that will not benefit me in any way. Additionally, I have to consider the money that I have lost out on while attending college, which is not at all an advantageous trade-off. Lastly, my opinion is that there is no need for education to be so “conformed” and that the process of learning and maturing can be accomplished from experience and does not have to be achieved by the process that we all accept as formal education. Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:07:36 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/rethinking-education/#IDComment130724132 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-much-government-do-we-need/#IDComment128924512 Soc 001 2/18/11 The amount of government involvement in our lives has been a highly debated topic and recently, has been getting out of control. First, I would like to ask why these individuals even have the desire to debate such fruitless topics. When one steps back to view the reasons as to why these debates take place it is apparent that no answer is ever achieved and there is never a beneficial outcome either. In fact there are multiple negative outcomes from these pointless political debates. The average citizen is told to think that the government is actually accomplishing something and is socialized to blindly follow and believe everything they tell us. Unbeknownst to the masses however, there is a significant downside to this… The citizens that take an emotional response to the pointless political arguments are not only wasting their time but also wasting their individuality by conforming to a belief put forward by a political leader that is far from a professional on the particular matter they are advocating. Expanding upon the article, who is Michelle Obama to dictate whether breast-feeding is good or not. She has not conducted research to prove anything about it, nor has she consulted professionals. Michelle only is passing along the information published in a news article and using her political affiliations and fame to reach out to the masses over this matter. She does this only to gain recognition, make herself look better in the eyes of the very people she is skillfully manipulating, and to get a little bit farther ahead in the game we call politics. Digging deeper, we can examine the real reason as to why I was initially motivated to respond to this particular post: after Michelle Obama made this statement, why was Michele Bachmann compelled to respond to this!? A perfect example of my above thoughts in action! Not only was Obama’s original announcement pointless, but then by Bachmann publicly criticizing this, she has added even more completely and entirely pointless perspective to the original matter! Because I have no desire to engage in this obviously mundane matter I will stop here… My main point being that it is pointless for government to have control over such matters, it does not help us in any way (in fact, it hurts us), and our government is not needed for us to make reasonable and educated decisions on our own accord. Fri, 18 Feb 2011 22:06:22 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-much-government-do-we-need/#IDComment128924512 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/16/reflections/#IDComment127471997 Soc 001 due: 2/11/11 I find this passage particularly interesting, mainly due to the fact that you can see the author’s psychological development as he sorts through his thoughts. Personally, I still do not feel that he has come to his final realization on his internalized feelings… I feel that the author will eventually come to a deeper realization when he takes into consideration his internalized feelings. The author has few things that he can call his own in his cell, however one of his most valued possessions is his mind, himself, and his feelings. He has not reflected inwards to come to his realization as to “where did it all go wrong”. When he reflects inwards he will have the opportunity to associate his feelings with the various actions that he has performed in the past. Once he can come to terms with these feelings, he will then be able to understand what has influenced these feelings. The influences that have created these feelings that drove the actions are the real reason “where it all went wrong”. In the passage, the author mentions living in the hood of Philadelphia, however he immediately jumps to the conclusion that this was in some small way an influence as to why he is where he is… This is far from the truth! The author grew up in the hood and was socialized to the hood life and all the destructive thoughts/feelings associated with it (drugs, easy sex, violence). In retrospect, one could argue that he did not chose to live in the hood and that he was forced to be there as a child when these influences have such a profound effect… However, he also has not yet come to the conclusion that simply by identifying these influences he could have had a life that better correlates with his internal morals and desires. The development of this inmate is very interesting specifically because he reflects upon his youth; feelings, desires, and actions. Next, one can observe his current state of development as he reflects on his actions and feelings about these matters now. Lastly, one can see how close he is to the final realization on how related all of these are. I hope that this inmate will soon realize that all of his actions were just a function of his environment and his society and that everything he did here was to please his society and not actually himself. By identifying this, I believe he will come to a whole new level of self-realization that will finally help him come to terms with himself. Sat, 12 Feb 2011 04:21:48 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/16/reflections/#IDComment127471997 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/30/conformity-rules-the-day/#IDComment126044628 Soc 001 2/4/11 Social conformity is a concept that has long rubbed me the wrong way. I constantly see individuals (as in the video) mindlessly conforming to the actions or expectations of others. Almost every day I ask myself why some individuals do the things they do just to “fit in”. Conformity is thought to be a natural function of human beings, however I would classify it more-so as a learned social construct that is unknowingly placed upon us at a very young age. By conforming, one is giving up their individuality and thus their ability to think for themselves. Since my late adolescence I have been actively identifying situations where conformity is expected and despite the social norm, I would decide whether or not to conform based on my own personal beliefs or opinions. In doing so, I have adopted an interesting view on all situations, especially ones that involve awkwardness: I now feel that awkwardness is solely in the eye of the beholder. This concept has led me to become separated from the masses and to be an individual in any given situation, only conforming when I choose to do so. By realizing this, the constructs of what we all consider/perceive as normal were literally torn down. I no longer am constrained by what other people determine is right or wrong… I now think for myself and make educated decisions based on a situation-specific environment. By achieving this level of realization, I ask myself every day why people engage in the mindless tasks dictated by a social entity that they cannot even identify. On numerous occasions I have tried to explain this view to people but every time they are not able to grasp this concept and thus, even when given the exact information needed to break free from their constraints, they stay trapped within the confines of social conformity. I often ask myself whether this is a function of intelligence or if these people are just not capable of foresight. Sat, 5 Feb 2011 01:17:19 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/30/conformity-rules-the-day/#IDComment126044628 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/suicide-in-japan/#IDComment122886616 If confronted with a situation involving a suicidal person, I would start the conversation as so: How do you justify taking your own life? Do you really have nothing to live for? Then I would continue on to explain that every emotion they feel right now is only a function of their perceptions given the current situation. That the way an average person interprets something is completely determined by a “sociological guiding hand”. This hand is one that manipulates and determines the way that every individual reacts to any given situation within their particular society. The reactions and actions that an individual performs are only a function of what society tells them it should be. People are naturally inclined to form groups, however by doing so, they also allow themselves to conform to a social norm. This social norm will dictate what is “acceptable” and “unacceptable” for the group of people. But WHO says that an individual must abide by these norms? Are they always the best for each individual? No. By not conforming to the ideals put forth by a society, you will feel dissonance within yourself and it will lead to uncomfortable feelings or actions that set you even farther apart from the “norm”. But I ask; why are you affected so much by these feelings that arise from not fitting in? They are just feelings… if you can realize that this is all they are then you will able to see your life in a new light. Every aspect of the way you see life will be changed by simply taking a different view on the way you are influenced by a society, the feelings it causes within yourself, and finally how you react to these influences. Finishing up, I would ask the person to not allow their feelings to be influenced so freely by any situations out of their control or even under their control. Dissonance arising from emotions is just a bi-product of socially “expected” perceptions in any given situation. By detaching yourself from the emotions that are dictated or expected from others you will be able to see that taking your life may not be the best option given your true - aka not socially dictated/influenced- desires. Sat, 22 Jan 2011 00:48:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/suicide-in-japan/#IDComment122886616 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cg%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment121389861 soc001 Fri, 14 Jan 2011 23:35:44 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cg%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment121389861