This video is a really unique representation of conflicts over a 1000-year period of time. Each explosion represents a conflict, and the size of the explosion represents how many people died. As I watched the video I could not help but notice that as times passes, there are more explosions and larger explosions. And oddly enough there are hardly any conflicts within the United States. I find it odd that the country that has been involved in so many major wars has hardly any conflicts on our own soil. We can say that our wars are in “defense” but after watching this representation of conflicts, what exactly are we doing in “defense”? Generally to be defensive, something or someone has to provoke us. And generally provoking involves violence on our own soil. Yet in this representation, we clearly see that “defensive” is not exactly our game plan. I am not anti or pro war, I am simply observing the data given to me from this video. As an American, I do not know what to feel or say. I, like most of America, probably do not know half of what is going on behind closed doors. But at the same time, those people make decisions that I could never make… therefore I cannot judge any of these individuals. This representation is awesome to display data, but war is too complex to ever just explain through one visual video.

However, an interesting point to make about the explosions in the video is that the size of the explosion does not even include civilian deaths. Today, in the extra credit film we watched, the narrator made it very clear that since WWI civilian deaths have only increased. In WWI it was estimated that about 10% of the total deaths were civilian deaths, now in Iraq about 90% of the total deaths are civilian deaths. I appreciate this video a lot because it is a great visual representation, however if you were to include all of the conflicts from WWI until now we would have to include the civilian deaths. The numbers of deaths in these recent conflicts are greatly increased if you include these civilian deaths.

As stated in the Intersessions article, our society does not know how to handle people that are not just female and not just male. It has been so black and white for basically all of history, and this is really the first time where our black and white views are being challenged. We live in a grey world, there are rarely times where an issue and its solution are simple. And with that we need to understand that issues like gender have other answers than male or female. In our Intersessions article, we learned about how there are 5 major genders. However, I’m pretty sure that most of the world only thinks about the 2 major genders, male and female. In Mr. Devoureau’s case he was not only discriminated based on his gender, but he was discriminated by his lack of ‘gender’. Legally an employer cannot discriminate against a male or female, but what about the transgendered people who fall between the cracks? I mean look at a driver’s license or a birth certificate. There are only two choices: male or female. I personally don’t always know how to feel about issues similar to this, but what I do know is that no one should be judged. Not for their race, their age, or their gender. People are born as a transgender human being, so how can we possible discriminate or show signs of hate against them? In my opinion, we can’t and that type of behavior is totally unacceptable.

The other major point of this article is that Mr. Devoureau is legally a man! He had the sex change and all official documents, birth certificate, license and social security documents, state that he is male. And yet he is fired from his job because he is not a ‘man’. So I guess the next step is to figure out what a ‘man’ is. How do you define a ‘man’? Is it a feeling? Is it solely based on the physical parts? I have no clue and I’d love to know how the US government makes these decisions. If someone wants a new birth certificate with a new gender, how does that person go about obtaining that? These are all major questions, and I’d love to know these answers…

First I would just like to say that this article is great. What soccer is to the Haitian people is unbelievable, and I’ve been lucky to witness the power of soccer. For the past three spring breaks, I have spent time in an orphanage in Mexico. And the first thing I noticed was the spirit of the youth. Despite the lack of financial support or toys like most American children, they are filled with hope. All you need is a futbol (soccer) ball and somewhere to play. Playing futbol provides a healthy outlet for stress, and allows everyone to just have fun. When I got the chance to play with them I could not get over how much fun it was! It created a community, a friendship, amongst the players that was unbelievable. When we played there was absolutely nothing else on my mind. It gave these kids moments where they did not worry about violence or poverty; it was all about the game. In that moment nothing else matters. Does that mean soccer is just going to solve the world’s problems? No. But it allows people to come together and find community and hope. The more the people of Haiti, as well as Mexico, can find similar ground they can rebuild and make a better future for their country. When a culture has something like soccer it is essentially a foundation for conversation between groups of people. Sports can have an extremely positive impact on a group of people.

Even here at Penn State, any IM, club or varsity sport athlete would probably admit that their teammates are more like their second family. For me personally, I have played lots of IM soccer as well as club ultimate Frisbee. The bonds that I have found between my teammates and I have been more than I could have ever imagine. When you are playing a sport nothing else matters in that moment. It’s something I wish everyone could experience. Sports bring people together, give them a positive outlet for stress, and cope with any problems in our lives. I pray that the Haitian people continue to use soccer to help them heal and create community as they begin to rebuild their country.

As we’ve talked about in class for almost the entire semester, the invisible strings are one again present. As much as society does not want to admit it, we are extremely materialistic. We always want more, regardless of our current financial situation. And power goes hand in hand with wealth. The more money we have, the more power we now hold over those around us. But that power exerted from non-government individuals is often over looked. If you asked a group of people who have the most amount of power in this country they would probably all choose government officials and people of that status. Which makes sense because 50% of congress is a millionaire. However, a lot of the power is from that top <1% of earning individuals are not involved with the government directly at all. These individuals make far more money than governmental officials and often totally out of the public spotlight. All of these individuals have power. Whether their power is exerted in through the government or through the corporate world, it affects us. And I feel dumb even stating that because if the top 10% of America controls 2/3 of the net wealth, the obviously they would control more. More money, more power. It doesn’t get much simpler.

Our society would guess that the bottom 60% of earning take up about +20% of the total wealth within the country and they would prefer if it was approximately 50% of the wealth. However the honest truth is that the bottom 60% of earning citizens only makes up <5% of the total wealth. This shows that Americas are unaware of the power the top 10% has over them, and they want this to change.

I am not a political science major, and to be honest I have no clue how to fix it. With that being said, there has got to be some sort of solution to at least help. But for now… The rich are in power. The people with power take care of themselves and those around them. The lower class gets screwed. Unemployment goes up. Nothing really gets fixed. Repeat.

(part 2)
He fully admits his faults and makes it very clear that he made a terrible mistake. When he writes: "M., if you agree to be killed right now, in the most torturous way possible, your victim’s family will have their one back,' I would do it without hesitation." You can see how sorry he is, and you can see how much he has changed after becoming a lifer. He accepts that he will have to live with the guilt until the day he dies, but until he dies he will "try and repay a little by being a good man".
As a reader I have to wonder if 'M' really deserves a life sentence. Was it the invisible strings working upon a troubled teen? I mean a runaway teen is bound to find themselves in a similar situation based on their surroundings. So what if he grew up in a different family or in a different neighborhood? As humans we are all effected by the invisible strings, but in the end we control our actions.

How can someone witness a murder and do absolutely nothing to help the victim? Does fear take over your body? Does it paralyze you, or do you still have the ability to stand up and help the victim? Does experiencing this at a young age change the person's ability to overcome the fear? I, personally, do not know. However I also know that the only way I would understand him is if I truly stood in his shoes and experienced it. I can't even imagine experiencing something like this at 14 years old. This letter really gave all of us a lot of insight into the effects of the murder on a lifer. Though he was not the one who actually murdered the man, he is still held partially responsible because he did not help. 'M' made it very clear that he though he did not want to really share the entire story, he wanted to tell people in hope to possibly help someone in the future. He also made it very clear that he admits that he made a mistake and he is ashamed of his past. 'M' and the other Lifers have extremely interesting stories and I would love to sit down and talk to them. He seems like a strong person, and despite his faults he has come to accept himself and love himself.

Zach Wahls is clearly the perfect case of why LGBT families work. He is obviously well spoken, positive, and loved by his family. The entire LGBT issue is one I’ve really gotten around to thinking about because of the presents in my own life. A very close family friend of mine is gay and his partner and he have been contemplating adopting a child for the past two years. He and his partner are both the most selfless awesome people I’ve ever met, and to be honest they are both a living definition in what I would want in a father. I am a very conservative Christian but with that said, I also cannot understand why an orphan must live in a foster home rather than be loved by someone. If that person is gay, straight, married or single doesn’t really alter their ability to be parents and to give love to that parent-less child. I have done several mission trips to places outside the US and I can honestly say that I would do anything for even just one of these children the chance to have a loving family. Orphanages outside the US can be a living prison, and no child deserves anything like that. Does growing up in a LGBT family change the way you see the world? Probably. Does growing up in a LGBT family suffer because you do not always have a male or female presents? I’m sure it does. But in the case of adoption, who has the right to say a child deserves no family rather than a LGBT family? I sure don’t. Single parents adopt many orphans, and in that case there is only a male or female presents in the home, not both. So how is that much different than a LGBT family? As a strong Christian I still cannot say that LGBT should be ‘married’ because that term is only used to unite a man and a women. However, if two people can give a child a loving family I cannot say no. Gay or straight, these people have the opportunity to give a child a whole new life.

I know this blog is supposed to just be focused on the lottery article but I had a few other thoughts and questions regarding the lottery…

Do people ever consider those who give up all their personal belongings for mission work or the religious life? These are people that come from all classes and go into a life of selflessness and typically take a vow of poverty. Do these people have those same struggles when changing class? In my opinion they don’t. I understand that it is still obviously a huge change, but they have something to fill that hole. And even more importantly they have an entire new lifestyle ahead of them. I am actually considering a career in mission work and oddly it does not scare me to change classes like that. I would have to take a vow of poverty, which is basically promising to life selflessly and not focus on worldly possessions for my life here on earth. Obviously not everyone is cut out for a lifestyle like this, but those of us that are considering it have to weigh in the fact that we are loosing everything if we choose to live that lifestyle. That is a huge change for anyone! Though I think the transition would be not be a severe as one who wins the lottery, the overall transition is not easy.

TLC actually started a new show called “Lottery Changed My Life” where they focus on individuals who have won and their lifestyle has totally changed. Most of them meet with a financial officer to avoid bankruptcy because each of them came from a lower class family. It is a great show because it really does show the social pressures put on the members who win the lottery. Each of them faced family struggles and felt they didn’t fit in with other millionaires. The social changes that occur when an individual or family jumps classes have a huge impact on them. And honestly until I saw this show I never really understood how lottery winners felt post-win. I’m really glad I saw this show and wrote this blog because I feel like I have a much better understanding of the social strings attached to winning the lottery and changing social classes overnight.

We know that opinions and even fears can be rooted from what we see in the media. In this case I think kidnapping is such a prevalent fear for parents because of what they see in today’s television shows. Just look at the popular shows on TV: NCIS, the CSI series, the Law & Order series, Hawaii Five-O, Castle, the Mentalist, Numb3rs, etc. See a theme? Crime television has become extremely popular in the past decade and I’m sure they have had an impact on our opinions. I know every time I watch any of these crime shows I am less likely to go walking alone at night, despite the statistically low robbery and rape charges in this area of Pennsylvania. When I feel this fear I’m not thinking about the statistics, I’m thinking about whatever I saw or thought about last, which in this case was the TV show. Though this is not a rational thought process, it is exactly what we all do on a daily basis. It is the same thing as someone watching a YouTube video about a lion that befriended a dog, and then that person assumes that all lions are friends with dogs. Clearly this is not true, but we base our opinions about what we have seen and memories that we can recall. My COMM118 class last semester talked all about perception and how media elements can change a person's perception about any given subject. We, as humans, use experience to make judgments and decisions, but if media is giving us these ‘memories’ or ‘experiences’ then are we really the ones creating this fear? Media is just another way that the invisible strings influence us. A powerful way we can “loosen” these strings is by educating others. If people use statistics or facts to make decisions, then these ‘memories’ or ‘thoughts’ that pop into our head from the media will not influence the person as much. There are hundreds of irrational thoughts or fears that could arise from television or movies, and with media becoming more integral in every step of our life we are only going to fall into irrational fear even more so. By all means, I am not saying that parents should even allow their children to just roam around by themselves, however I am saying that parents should realize that there are many more things they should be concerned with.

The man who wrote the letter is an example of a person who truly understands the effects of his actions. He fully understands that he has hurt others, and he allows these people to face him regardless of how hard it is for him. He wants to give others the opportunity to gain some sort of closer even if that means they cruelty yell at him because of an act he did over 35 years ago. You can tell that he wants to find forgiveness; he would like forgiveness from the victim’s family but more so he wants to forgive himself. A person sentenced to death is never given the chance to find that forgiveness, but if a person is given life in jail we as a society are giving them a chance to find that. I understand that money would be saved, but allowing someone the chance to find redemption or forgiveness is what is right. I am not saying that every murderer changes, but as a human the person has the ability to do so. A murderer must recognize and admit their actions, they must repent, and with time they can forgive themselves. The victim’s family might never forgive them, but the prisoner can still forgive himself. In this specific story we see a 51 year old man that committed murder when he was 15 years old. At such a young age, a person is not totally responsible for his or her actions. There could have been many social factors that influenced this man to kill, and many of those invisible strings he could not change. However once the act was committed he found himself in jail for a lifetime. If the judicial system sentenced him to death, that 15 year old boy would have never gotten the chance to grow up and recognize his mistake. Again I am not supporting murderers, but I am saying that people can go through the process of forgiving oneself. If you want to understand how the victim’s family felt I would suggest reading the first half of the book ‘The Shack’. It is a story about a father who never finds his daughter after she is kidnapped and killed. The beauty of the story is how the father finds healing and forgiveness, but the book does an excellent job at showing the family’s pain. This book is a huge reason I have faith that people in the darkest places can find forgiveness. The murderer still committed a grave crime, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that as humans we can recognize our mistakes and find that forgiveness.