en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2441407 Comments by trade11mark http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/what-americans-fear/#IDComment145139802 To me this is not so much frightening as it is comical. It is a very scary idea that there are people pushing for the death of anyone outside of Islam. But this video is so over the top, I can't help but imagine it being a public service announcement. Terrible injustices, scary quotes, footage of dead Americans then the screen cuts and Morgan Freeman says, "Jihad, it could happen to you!" Now I am not saying the topic is funny, I'm saying the video is so pointed and extreme that I have trouble taking it seriously when the words "Jihad" pop through the pictures in bold like its about to get us all. This is scary to Americans because they are talking about us. The Crusaders who insult Islam is us. They are calling for our beheading, and this is not a pleasant thought. However, think of the opposite scenario. If Iraq, or any Middle Eastern nation, or any nation with any different views than ours invaded the United States. We all know there would be extremist, crazy, bloodthirsty, self-ritous Americans on the streets of every city with signs calling for the downfall of anyone who doesn't support America, or Christianity, or freedom. I think it is important to understand the call to jihad. As we have read in "Was Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning", there is a very powerful draw to be a martyr in some places in the world. It is about more than killing opposition. It is about sacrifice in the name of something greater. What could bring more of heaven's goodness than paying the ultimate sacrifice. Thats what martyrs do in any religion. Christians celebrate martyrs just the same as any other religion. When the extremists say it isn't good enough to be a martyr, you must also take as many people with you as possible, is when it gets scary. I think given the reality of this situation it is difficult not to be scared. The reality is that people are dying at the hands of extremists for insulting Islam. While it is important to realize not all followers of this religion feel this way, the ones that do are taking action. The realness makes it scary. But as it has been proven throughout history, all religions and all nations are capable of very scary things. This video is only scary now because this happens to be the situation in the world right now. In civil war times the signs would have read death to anyone who supports/opposes slavery. Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:26:03 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/what-americans-fear/#IDComment145139802 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/11/transgendered-complications/#IDComment142916151 This ties in well to a reading we were assigned for the last test. Are two genders enough? This is a tough question to answer. It is tough because our society is based on certain assumptions including man/women, adult/child, blue collar/white collar, and good/bad. So what happens in the gray areas between? They sell blue balloons for baby boys and pink balloons for baby girls. Its supposed to be that easy. Boys play with trucks while girls play with dolls. Boys chop wood and women cook right? In today's society its not that easy. Women want to be in the army and men can be nurses. There is nothing wrong with this if you ask me. The double standards and invisible strings cannot be ignored however. Women are stereotypically frail, dependent, and caring. Men are stereotypically strong, commanding, and independent. Obviously this is no longer true across the board. So what happens when you have a person who is born female and lives as a male, or visa versa? What happens when a child acts as an adult and adults act like children? What happens when something bad is done for the greater good? These are all examples to think about, but we are focused on the idea of gender so I will go that direction. As a society we have trouble dealing with anything we are not used to. We generally are not used to transgender individuals. I don't believe anyone would say they should be treated as second class citizens (at least I would not say this), but the question is what do we do when the laws our society has accepted do not give a clear cut path? Is a transgender individual tried as a man or women, are they denied rights as a women or denied rights as a man, are they allowed in the men's room or the ladies room? The last situation is obviously easily solved but it is along the same lines. The main point I want to get across is that regardless of discrimination laws, men and women are treated differently. That is a fact. If a man walks away from an argument with a women he is a dick. If the woman walks away from this argument she is a symbol of female power and she has stood up for herself. So what if the argument involves a transgender individual? The concept of transgender is nothing new, what is new is that people are starting to embrace the idea as an identity and everyone else seems to have a problem with it. It is important that we realize that accepting and refusing to discriminate against transgender individuals will not lead to the end of our world. Unfortunately there are jobs in this world that require gender discrimination and the job in question is one of them. I fail to see the problem when this individual is legally and mentally a man. He has had surgeries, he has had paperwork done to document his gender as male, and he lives his life as a man. Seems pretty obvious to me that he wants to be a man so let him be a man. Thu, 14 Apr 2011 21:05:00 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/11/transgendered-complications/#IDComment142916151 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/03/what-a-man-is/#IDComment140872061 This subject is touchy and regardless of what we say about this someone somewhere will be offended. This man is a dream come true to some women. A "feminist" would slap him in the mouth. I hold doors because its the right thing to do. I treat women as best as I can because I would want to be treated as well as was possible. Its not a man woman thing to me. Its a person thing. I wouldn't say I am oversensitive, in fact most people would say I'm rather blunt, but the truth is that as a human being we respond better to kindness and selflessness than we do to harsh selfishness. That is not a woman thing. I agree completely with this gentleman tho. I try my hardest to treat women like i believe they want to be treated. I have never met a guy in my entire life that would look you dead in the eye and tell you in complete confidence that all women want is "sex and money". Chivalry is dead is nothing more than a term. It is a term women use. No man actually believes that means they don't have to be chivalrous. They may desire to keep up an image of a "badass womanizer" or they may simply not know how to be chivalrous or how to act around women, but men in general don't believe chivalry is dead. This screams double standard to me and the self confident, self reliant woman would play this man's writing off as just an opinion, they don't need a man like that. I am rambling so I will try to sum up my opinion on this topic: A man is what his women needs and what his woman wants, nothing less. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 00:52:27 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/03/what-a-man-is/#IDComment140872061 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/30/so-what-your-take-on-those-inequality-classes/#IDComment138903266 I think when you look at power and the distribution of wealth its hard to say that someone went about it the wrong way. When you look through history power has always been taken, then passed along how the powerful want it to be passed, then it is taken by someone else, then passed according to them and so on. I am not saying that I am all for lying cheating and stealing until you get what you want, but how can we say that that is the wrong way when thats the way that works 9 out of 10 times. It has been proven that the cheat method, no matter how against societies morals it may be, works. A saying that everyone knows is "if it's not broke, don't fix it". It seems to me, based on what we read and see all around us, that the right way (or maybe the most statistically sure way) to gain power and wealth is to take it by "playing the game" better than everyone else. The wrong way (or maybe the way that is easiest for the human part in all of us to get behind) is to work really hard and hope for the best. It may seem backwards but it is hard to ignore the fact that the teacher drives a Toyota while the drug lord gets driven in a Maybach. The police officer may worry about putting his child through college while the crooked investor's son may not have to worry about even going to college. Based on societies views of success how can you say the drug lord did it the wrong way and the police officer did it the right way? According to society the Maybach driven, champaign sipping, mansion on the beach having drug kingpin is a very successful man. If you saw him on the street and did not know where the wealth came from your wouldn't frown upon him, you'd likely mention to your friend "wow he must have done something right". Society has turned the struggle for wealth and power into a "game". Before Barry Bonds was caught he was considered to be very good at a game. Unless they are caught, the "cheaters" look like winners. This may be a very twisted logical approach to this subject, but to me it is how it is. I see the crooked and the sly on TV in great suits and landscaped hair while I watched my mother, who has several advanced degrees, who worked very hard to put herself through college struggle to find a teaching job and find one that pays 1/1000th of the drug lords annual salary. Thu, 31 Mar 2011 18:44:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/30/so-what-your-take-on-those-inequality-classes/#IDComment138903266 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/religion-in-the-future/#IDComment137323785 This is the kind of article that you could write about for days. Its interesting because its completely obvious that the trends are true. There could be a million reasons for it, and some of the reasons pointed out in the article are probably the most probable. People follow other people out of a desire to fit in. We have established that in class. That being said, as people shy away from religion more will follow. I think a reason that can't be ignored is the society we live in today values ration and numbers more than faith and loyalty. Ask 10 people if they would keep a hundred dollar bill they found in the commons. Most often all 10 would say they would. Our society has become increasingly opportunistic and decreasingly honest. This is a very long shot reason to site, but you can go further with it. At one point a good family was a mother, father, children, and religion. As long as you weren't starving and you raised good, God fearing children you had a successful family. Now a good family consists of whatever members are present, the best possible social standing a family can achieve, and the most outwardly materialistic the family is. Of course this is not true for all families. I was raised Catholic. I would argue that something happens after you die but I am in no position to say what that is. Dissipate my Catholic upbringing I do not plan my day around the 10 Commandments. Instead, I plan my day around how to get all my work done and how to get the most benefit out of the least work. I know church is on sunday but I also know when payday is. Instead of being taught about religion in schools, it is a subject avoided like the plague. We are taught to think logically, we are taught evolution and creation becomes an alternate history. Logically, how can a man-like figure create all that is around us? It makes more sense to us, and we feel much safer in being able to look at scientific proof, that chemical reactions led to this which led to that which led to us. That is a lot more safe, a lot more understandable, a lot more believable than a man thinking up an entire world on his own and it magically appearing. I think man's desire to fit in with the crowd, and the safety in abandoning religion for logic will lead to the extinction of religion. Thu, 24 Mar 2011 20:31:49 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/religion-in-the-future/#IDComment137323785 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135632081 This is a very serious issue in our world today. There are two very opposite sides to the argument, and both sides have very emotional approaches. You will find excellent speakers on both sides as well as personal testimonies. Zach Wahls is a very convincing young man. It is important for us to see the good that can come from love regardless of sexual orientation. If someone says they love their pet no one thinks twice. If someone says they love a person of the same sex they are instantly labeled as different and substandard. Why is this? Mr Wahls is living proof that love is universal. If you walked past Zach on the street you would think he is a neat, interesting, well educated, and perfectly exceptional human being. There are arguments that children benefit from having both male and female role models. There needs to be a mother and a father figure in a child's life. If that is the case Mr. Wahls is an evolutionary anomaly. Or it could be that a child that is loved and will grow up to love. Zach Wahls has grown up to be a passionate individual. He is open about a topic he is experienced with. He is as motivated, or motivated, than a child of traditional marriage. It should be each individual's right to raise a family as they see fit. Mr. Wahls scored in the 99% of students. He did not say the 99% of students of gay parents. If there is a damage being done to children of same sex parents it is impossible to tell when using Zach as an example. I believe there are most likely good and bad parents in both same sex and traditional couples. The parenting is more important than the sex of the parent, and gay couples should be given the same rights as any other couple. Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:32:24 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135632081 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/28/the-lottery-as-a-blessing-or-a-curse/#IDComment132196390 To say money will not change a person is very simply a lie. At the very least, living in security, and knowing you are free from the stress that comes with not having millions of dollars will change a person. Friends may be lost, relatives may become vultures, and your friendly hometown may become a dangerous place. The man you pass everyday on your way to work will without a doubt remember that one time ten years ago when he helped you shovel the driveway, and your mailman will remind you all the trouble he has gone through to get you your mail for so many years. As it is said in the article, it is very easy to imagine what you could do with a boatload of money. I'd buy a couple houses, a nice car, a boat, some clothes, a nice TV, and I'd see the world. This is the bright side to winning the lottery. Physically we will be the same person before the big win as after, however, you would have to believe mentally it would be almost impossible to remain the same. Egos would rise, cares would disappear (except the paranoia that follows money), you would feel the difference in others' perception of you, and you may perceive others differently. You may have to go from ducking bill collectors to ducking neighbors and family. You may have to go from lending a friend 5 dollars to feeling obligated to lend every friend 50 dollars. You would have to live everyday recognizing the jealousy in the eyes of your close friends and of people you had never met. It would be impossible to enter into any relationship business or personal without having the person judge you without cause as "the millionaire". You would have to deal with people assuming you have a superiority complex even if you remained humble (which would be equally as hard as having to combat the misconceptions). You would have to instal security systems and add locks to your doors. You would have to keep your children grounded and avoid kidnapping for ransoms. I could go on and on and on for days about the possible draw backs of winning a major lottery prize, but there is a debate over the blessing/curse idea for a reason. There is a plus side to winning money, and I think it is important not to lose sight of that. I won't ever be able to be confident in calling it a blessing or a curse until I win. Thu, 3 Mar 2011 21:04:07 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/28/the-lottery-as-a-blessing-or-a-curse/#IDComment132196390 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-much-government-do-we-need/#IDComment128871732 As a human, that likes to think individually, it is hard to say the government should restrict our choices. We believe that we are capable of making the right decisions. The truth of the matter is that this is not always true. I know as well as anyone that as long as the government allows me to I will be eating big macs. I think there is a very thin line that, with the diversity of opinion in America, is impossible to walk between freedom of the individual and influence of the government. Good intentions do not always turn out to be good or as good as intended. Lead paint was the standard before the government said it was killing people. The government is there to protect our freedoms, but the only way to do that is to limit our freedoms. In order to live a life free of fear you must make murder illegal. To live in fear of being hit from behind by a car going 142 mph you must enforce a speed limit. For this reason it is difficult to say the government should let us make our decision just as it is difficult to say the government should restrict us. As far as Michelle Obama is concerned, I think we have more important issues to be concerned with. I believe when it comes to breast feeding, the government can take a back seat and let the individual live that aspect of their life without interference. When the government feels it necessary to intervene in breast feeding they have overstepped their boundaries in my opinion. There are child safety laws and protective services to protect children from parental abuse because it is a proven fact that being abused as a child is not good. When there is a concrete idea that is held by everyone and is backed with the statistical proof that says not breast feeding is as bad as child abuse the government can step in. Fri, 18 Feb 2011 18:17:10 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-much-government-do-we-need/#IDComment128871732 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/06/empathy-might-be-our-natural-drive/#IDComment127239273 This is interesting because as human beings we would all like to say that this is a wonderful idea, and we will all live lives in which we feel for our fellow man and better our world in every way possible. When we see something like this we like to believe we are good people. We believe we are all empathetic individuals who have the best interests of mankind in mind. In reality, we are all raised, by society, as Americans, that Fortune Favors The Bold. The truth is when we see someone in a bad situation we feel badly for them. As a human, when someone is hurt we feel empathy towards them. However, when we see someone succeed or thrive we do not feel happy for them. When we see someone pull into the driveway of their mansion and get out of their Maybach we don't go shake their hand and say congrats dude I'm happy for you. In fact, when we see this unfold, we may be jealous or feel pity on ourselves, but very few of us would feel happy for the successful individual. We may ask what does he have that I don't? What can he do that I can't? We are all trying to get "ahead". I believe that as long as getting "ahead" means having the bigger house, driving the nicer car, wearing the more expensive shoes, and eating at the 5 star restaurant we will never be able to live in the world the video describes. How could we all be empathetic and still get "ahead"? If, on the other hand, society told us that rather than having the nicer car, getting "ahead" meant being the better person, being more understanding, and being more available to the emotions of others we could one day live in a completely empathetic society. I believe that until that happens changing my life to fit the values of this video could keep me from getting "ahead". Fri, 11 Feb 2011 01:51:42 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/06/empathy-might-be-our-natural-drive/#IDComment127239273 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/30/conformity-rules-the-day/#IDComment125982686 This is a very popular experiment, and every variation is just as entertaining and just as telling when it comes to human nature. There is the "everyone just wants to belong" explanation. There is the "its just easier to conform" explanation. There is the "what may happen if I don't conform" explanation. All of these are possible, but you also have to look at the person's character. Maybe these subjects all had low self esteem and were in need of a group to fit into. It would be interesting to see what would happen if you put someone with a large personality in the elevator. I would like to think I am a fairly outgoing and self confident individual, and my initial reaction would be to say "Hey why are you all spinning around and not facing the door?" I would be confused and curious which would have lead me to ask a question. Conformity is interesting, because no matter how much someone wants to avoid conforming it is almost inevitable. We have been placed in a society that tells us what we need regardless of what we think. For example, if you would have polled a group of high school students a while back on how many of them had ipods there would have been a few that still had not bowed to that societal expectation. If you had asked a year later, my money would have been on all of those students having an ipod. Its hard to stand out when we are told what is acceptable and what is not. A few years ago it wasn't "cool" to wear skinny jeans. A select few that wanted to stand out continued to wear them, and now every morning there will be nine out of ten students at the bus stop wearing skinny jeans. Another group of nonconformists will wake up and put on their NorthFace jackets. Some thousand radically different individuals will be listening to their special brand of music that has become the norm. No matter how bad someone wants to be different it is hard when every eye around you is a judging one. So had the individuals not turned in the elevator what would the people around them have said? Or what kind of dirty look would they have given the subjects. I said before that I thought myself to be an individual with high self esteem. I like to think I am unique. However, I went out and bought an ipod. When millions of people flocked to facebook I followed right behind. The elevator skit, to me, is a very clear picture of the society we live in. This is why people walk by a New York City mugging and turn their head. Society has told us that we should mind our own business, we should keep our heads down and follow the herd on the street. Nobody in the U.S really cares about curling (well some people do), but every four years we are all glued to the current curling match. Overnight we all become experts on the rules and strategy. Then its over and we spend the next three years not caring about curling. We don't want to be left out so we watch and act interested. Do we all temporarily love curling, badminton, biathlon, and handball? Of course not. Fri, 4 Feb 2011 20:23:26 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/30/conformity-rules-the-day/#IDComment125982686 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cm%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment125977844 Soc 001 Fri, 4 Feb 2011 19:54:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cm%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment125977844 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/30/conformity-rules-the-day/#IDComment125216882 This is very interesting to me. I have seen experiments like this before, and they always interest me. As individuals we like to think of ourselves as unique. However, when put into a group we will do whatever is necessary (within reason) to fit in to that group. Why we do this could be explained in several ways which may be all correct, all incorrect, or completely off base depending on the individual. subconsciously we have a need to belong, but society, and our parents, tell us to be individuals, but society also wants us all to drive the cool cars, wear the sleek suit, jam to your ipod, and answer your blackberry on the bus. This type of experiment does not really need set up to be observed. A little while back, all you needed to do was go to any high school. If you found the small group of kids without an ipod then checked back in a few months they would all have purchased ipods. Not because they needed them, but because everyone else had them. There were a select few individuals who resisted the power of facebook for as long as they could, and now, chances are, they have succumbed. These are tricky scenarios, because we all know we do not need these things, but society tells us we are missing out until we hop on board with everyone else. The people in the elevator all turned as they were expected to turn. If asked why they probably would have said, Im not sure. Everyone else was doing it. Maybe they did it to avoid the awkward face to face encounter. Maybe they did not want the "why aren't you like us" glares. Maybe They simply wanted to be accepted. Maybe they thought they had missed a sign that said to face back, and they were trying to play it cool. Whatever the motives were, all of these subjects conformed just as they were expected to. Now I ask, could it have been that the individuals picked had low self esteem or were easily conforming people? What if you put a very self confident person in their shoes? I would like to think myself to be fairly outspoken and self confident, and my first reaction was to ask, "How can you just stand there and move? How long will it take for someone to ask why?" I would like to think that I would have been the one to speak up or to stand the right way in the face of social pressure. That being said, I do have an ipod, and I am on facebook. So without being in that situation I can't be sure. It strikes me that in a world where everyone is looking for a quick fifteen minutes or a big claim to fame nobody was willing to speak up and be an individual. Conformity is interesting to me because everyone talks about not conforming, and yet we all conform. The majority of students woke up today, put on their NorthFace jacket and went to class. A select group of individuals put on their skinny jeans. A very progressively minded group of nonconformists grabbed their Beats by Dre headphones and waited for the white loop listening to music nobody has ever appreciated before but them. Now we have to look at it and laugh because every single on of us conforms, in some degree, to what we are supposed to be by society's standards, even when we try our best not to. Tue, 1 Feb 2011 18:15:03 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/30/conformity-rules-the-day/#IDComment125216882 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/15/what-does-it-mean-to-be-free/#IDComment122901616 We live in a world where freedom is something we are born into. We are taught about how we got this freedom in school just as we are taught everything else. It is distant. It is just there. That makes this letter interesting because it is written from the perspective of an individual who has been stripped of the basic freedoms we all take for granted. When I have consciously decided to think about what freedom is to me I have some trouble. I have been taught the rights the constitution and American law provide me with. To me it is tough to think of freedom in terms of laws. I am allowed to say what I want, I can assemble when I want to assemble, I can carry a gun if it means that much to me. To me these are things that some power higher than me has "allowed" me to do. By that view I do not really feel very free. It makes me feel that with the snap of a finger all that freedom could be gone, and, as our inmate has proved, it can be. I guess there are freedoms that we all have that we do take for granted. I can listen to the music i want to listen to, I can go almost anywhere i want, I can befriend who i want, and I can drive the car i want to drive. However, to me, being told I can do something does not really make me free. To me, that makes me under the control of something. To be free completely and in the spirit of the word would be to answer to no one. This would obviously create almost instant anarchy so to be completely free would be impractical. As a consequence, no one will ever be completely free. For our own good we must answer to someone. As a result of this conclusion i have come to, I find it more comforting to not think about it. I am "free." I am free to be what i want when i want. There will always be someone to answer to, but freedom comes when we chose to focus on what we can do as opposed to what we cannot do. This is what our inmate has done, and he feels he is a better person for it (as do I). Sat, 22 Jan 2011 02:33:16 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/15/what-does-it-mean-to-be-free/#IDComment122901616