Refuse or Embrace, Technoligically Stumped

The question was posed, do you agree or disagree? I return, with what exactly? More clearly now, do you agree, that we should refuse technology and the direction it’s taken society over the last few decades, and the possible future roads to come, or do you disagree, that we should embrace were we are going. In reading both of the articles, and coming to my conclusions of what the authors were trying to say, and conclusions of my own, I feel that we should actually do both to some degree. Birkerts, to me, is saying that as we have grown, technology has grown, but at a negative rate with negative effects. I felt he made the basic claim that technology was similar to an addiction, and that addiction was a disease that we, the human population, have succumbed to. We have lost ourselves in the "new age" of living, no longer able to survive in what those before us called life. With Birkerts I agree, that we have been completely consumed by our technology, whether it be cell phones, computers, cars, etc., and that we do not do anything like our ancestors did it. We have become so dependent upon these devices of the new world that should we lose technology today as we know it, only a small portion of people would be able to survive on their own given the skills they've acquired from their predecessors. Although I believe we have been consumed by technology, i don't necessarily agree that it’s completely bad. With technology we have been able to improve our world significantly in almost every area from medicine, to transportation, to education. I must agree with Kelly to some degree, that technology is a positive thing, bringing us closer together, as one. This is, I feel a good result of the stage we are in with phones and networks, being able to get in touch with someone across the globe either instantaneously through electronics, or being able to see them by taking a short trip by plane or vehicle. Birkerts idea that we no longer have preservation of privacy to oneself true that most can be reached anywhere now, even in areas that should probably not be reached at, however, the ability to be a fingertip away is not completely negative. I believe interconnectedness is a good thing, bringing all together as a whole. I don't believe the technology and its direction are what is bad and should be rejected by society. Instead, we must consider the users and "abusers" of the technology the make the light of the technology appear negative. We, as a society, should break our dependence of technology, but in that shouldn't refute it completely, embracing the positive results which come because of advancements we have made to date.

Proposal Essay: Global

1) Mandatory two years with armed services if not going to college (2yr draft)
2) Getting out of Iraq!
3) Gun Control in the United States
4) Forced administering of swine flu shots
5) Health Care reform
6) Removing the DOMA act from the laws in the U.S.
7) Raising the social security tax to cover all that someone makes, and not just the first 105k.
8) Global Warming
9) More stringent laws on illegal immigration in the U.S.
10)Reduced tuition rates for students in Universities throughout the U.S.

After

Given the Texas Bill of Rights sections 3 and 3a, the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, and the religious beliefs in the state of Texas, I propose that the Texas government overrule the recently added section 32 to the Texas Bill of Rights, thereby no longer abridging Texan’s rights to marry through equality of rights under the law. Once we, the state of Texas and its residents, recognize the true right for its citizens to be wed regardless of their sexual orientation, we as a people can move forward of this discriminatory action taken toward those with same-sex partners. It has been a tough ride for those which have been discriminated against over the years, and slowly but surely the rights of those oppressed have prevailed and finally been considered equal, growing even stronger over the years. Taking example civil rights for persons of color, which was a continuous battle for 13 years resulting in the death of many people, some iconic and others unknown, but all of which could have been prevented had we put aside our differences and realized one main point, that for those of religious and non-religious beliefs, we are all created equal, and regardless of our sex, race, creed, color, or lively desires, we still are equal, no one person, man or woman, better than another. To prevent a long and wasteful time attempting to oppress now the rights of those which prefer to have same-sex partners would be as foolish as it was to prevent persons of color to have their freedoms and rights.

Before

By the Texas Bill of Rights section 3 and 3a, the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and the stronghold of religious belief in the state of Texas. I propose that the Texas Government overrule recently added section 32 to the Texas Bill of Rights, which in turn allows those persons of homosexuality to wed. Once we accept that citizens o Texas are only unauthorized b legal means to be considered married is due to the strong conservative religious backdrop of Texas and that it violates the rights of those Texas who desire to wed their gay partner is rather than illegal, can we move forward from the discrimination that plagues this state towards same-sex couples. Looking back at civil rights and its movement, it was a lengthy journey of 13 years resulting in unneeded deaths. The goal was to get that which should have existed from the beginning, freedom and equality for persons of color. We do not need to see yet another movement because the United States or any community therein has once again denied due rights to individuals within. The rights of gay persons are discriminated against just as those rights of colored persons, but what we must realize is that we are all people and as people we are all equal with differences in our lifestyle choice and in such should not be punished for it.

Practical Proposal Essay: Gay Marriage

I have decided to write about the legalization of homosexuals to be able to marry their partners in life, regardless of their orientation.

There is a major problem when the topic of gay marriage being legal is brought up because most people, straight people, claim that if we let gays marry it will deteriorate the true meaning of marriage, and that for anything other than a man and a woman to marry is a sin. This problem falls on those which are discriminated against, homosexuals. If no action is taken, gays will continue to be discriminated against as they have been in the past and still are today in many states. Those who possess the power to change this are Texas lawmakers, and the voters and lobbyists in Texas. I believe we have not legalized gay marriage in Texas because it is a strict religious southern Baptist state, and to do so would be committing a sinful act. We can correct this problem by legalizing gay marriage, and no longer discriminating against a minority of persons just because we don't agree with it. With gay marriage becoming legal, said gay couples would be able t take part in the benefits of those things that heterosexual couples currently get now, like tax breaks, sick leave to care for loved ones, and child custody to name a few. For this proposal to take place, there would be no cost to the state of Texas, minus the time to enact the laws. Other than the time to pass the laws, the gay couples would bear the cost of finally being wed legally incurring normal expenses involved in weddings. This proposal should be passed because America is known for being the "Land of the Free", referencing the freedoms that we have versus most other countries in the world, and we should impart the freedom to gay couples to marry should they wish to because they have that right to express themselves. Heterosexual couples marry out of love for one another, just as gay couples do, the difference here is that people do not like it, although in that same sense, tattooing and piercing at an extreme level are looked down upon to many people but those practices are not illegal. The alternative of looking the other way and ignoring the rights of the gay population should no longer be the way things are done. There is a no cost bearing solution to a major issue that needs to be dealt with. We are in a different era, and it is time that gay people are finally recognized at people with rights.

Causal Essay

 What topic have you chosen for your first major essay, the causal paper?
 What is your research question?
 Why is this topic interesting to you? For example, what does it have in common with your values, interests, hobbies, or career goals?
 What kinds of ideas do you have for this paper so far?



After what seemed to me to be a somewhat great deliberation of which topic I should use in writing my first paper for class, I have finally decided to write about gambling in the state of Texas, and the affects it will have on Texas should the legislature pass the bill in office at the moment to legalize gambling in Texas. My research question for the paper will be something along the lines of, in the legalization of gambling in the state of Texas, the government may be more adequately able to distribute funds throughout the different areas of the Texas government, by securing ample amounts of funds that it is currently losing to other states. Each two years, the Texas legislature meets and decides on a budget for the next 2 years, until they meet again. This meeting may not be able to adequately suffice the state, and in some occurrences it did not suffice, leaving the state of Texas with deficit they had trouble covering. The topic is interesting in two ways to me personally. The first is that I believe it could actually help the state financially whereas now they are losing tons of revenue to other surrounding states, which have casinos and legal-to-gamble laws. The second is become I am an avid Texas Hold’em Poker player. I love the game very much, and to play in some of my poker tournaments, I must travel to other states, driving for hours at a time to play for 1-2 days sometimes. To me, for just a few days of playing, this amount of traveling to and fro is absurd. When I go to these casinos, as I walk to the front entrance, I always look at the license plates on the cars, and I seem to find that at least 80-85% of the cars in the parking lot are from Texas. Some of the ideas I pose in this essay are not only to pass the bill in legislature to legalize gambling, but also to rebuild the recently destroyed Galveston to be a hot spot for gambling. My only concern with this, is that Galveston has been destroyed twice now by hurricanes, and some people might not be willing to take the risk of building there. Even so, rebuilding in Galveston is not a necessity; it is merely an idea to bring revenue not only to Texas, but to Houston and the surrounding area as well. The casinos may be built wherever, the main goal is simply to get them built.

Glee

I pressed play and the show began to roll, and I knew that it was going to be just another boring TV show about some teens in high school and the drama that those teens go through in their everyday lives. About half way into the show, I began to get interested as it grabbed my attention, and I also began to think that they have made a TV show that does more than just revolve around a person or group of persons during their high school life. In a way, it is similar to the same old boring, stereotypical TV show like others before it, but in a few ways, it is also a ground breaking TV show which breaks the rules of the social scale, and it also delves into the teacher’s lives. Glee is similar to the ordinarily boring high school TV show that most are used to, like 10 Things I Hate About You, The Secret Life of A Teenager, or, to take it back a some years, Dawson’s Creek. These shows, although different in their own way, has the same overall background, which is a group of kids in high school, and the drama that they must go through on an everyday basis. On the other hand, Glee is also breaking new ground in reference to the social cliques within the high school realm, as well as the teachers of the students. Glee is quite innovative in the way they decided to intertwine the different cliques of the high school. They took the football team hotshot jock, and had him also be the key member to the school’s glee club, where the not so popular kids hang out. This, in the few shows that I have watched, has never been done before. In the past, the show has always kept the cliques within their own spectrum. Until now, they have also yet to make a show which was a comedy drama, as well as a musical. Another key ground breaking point to me is that this show actually involves the teacher’s lives, exploring their everyday drama, and examining their different personalities and how they either work together, or fight amongst themselves. In the past, I can’t recall any shows which had this same idea with the teachers. The show’s innovativeness to combine the dramatic struggles of the high school students in the singing class, the mixing of social levels, which is like an unwritten rule, and the stirring in of the teacher’s dramatic lives make for a seemingly new and improved kind of TV comedy drama about kids in high school.

To Believe or Not To Believe

To Believe:
In regards to the article by William McGurn, I agree that college is not for everyone, and that people can still make equal or more than the national average without a college degree. For this, I will use evidence from my own experience. My wife, who works for an engineering firm that lays pipelines for natural gas, works in a position that’s paying 25$/hour, equating to approximately 52k/year, totaling slightly more than the national average. Like Mr. McGurn said, to obtain these higher paying jobs without a college degree, one must go through some form of technical or apprenticeship training, which is exactly what we did. We decided to pay 700$ a class, totaling to roughly 3,000$ (4 classes) so that my wife could receive the technical certifications to become a draftsperson. With that 3,000$ investment, she can now live comfortably without worrying about the thousands of dollars of debt that college goers usually face once they graduate, not to mention the compiled bills and living expenses to get by on a day to day or month by month means. Another very good example in my opinion, again of a personal nature, is similar to the story told by Mr. McGurn in his article. My uncle, once out of the Marines decided he wanted to move to Texas, and open a landscaping business. He started with 2 lawnmowers, the pushing kind, a few rakes, a few shovels, and one weed eater. Seven years later, Danny McQue is the proud owner of a multi-million dollar landscaping company called Grass Masters Landscaping based out of New Caney, Texas. When he started his company he didn’t have any type of training in the art of landscaping, but he still managed to accomplish his “American dream”. He has since then acquired classes in his trade, which has only helped him further. My main point here is that you can find prime examples of people who did not need to sit in a closed off box, secluded from the outside world for hours upon hours, year after year, to grasp the “American dream”.

Not To Believe:
In response to Mr. McGurn, and his claim that college isn’t for everyone, and that you can live just as good without a college degree as you can with, I cannot agree. If one were to use evidence of successful business persons who are very well off, or successful individuals who managed to work hard over time to attain a position at a workplace that pays equal or above the national average, I will tell you that is a case by case basis only. Those lucky individuals who actually make it, are exactly that, lcuky! Approximately 80% of businesses fail within the first 5 years, and most businesses never really turn into those that people often dream about owning, turning over profits in the hundreds of thousands to the multi-millions. Usually it is enough money to get by, living month to month, similar to pay check to pay check. All the jobs out there that pay exceptionally well all require, at a minimum, a four year degree. Some of those well paying jobs go on to require masters and PhDs. I myself am going to school for my masters degree in accounting, after which I will attain my CPA and live a very nice life, or at least that is my “American dream”. To accomplish all that I desire, I could not do by working a minimum wage job. To just pick up and learn a few skills and hope you find a good position working somewhere in hopes that you’ll eventually get lucky and make a nice living at some point down the road, is to waste valuable time that you should have been spending obtaining an education towards your passions in life so that you can have and support a family one day. The “American dream” has changed over time, but the idea is still the same, and to accomplish this task, and make a dream come true, you should get an education.

I honestly had more trouble than i thought i was going to writing this, but hopefully this is something close to what you were expecting. Hope you enjoi! Oh, I wasn't trying to sound conspiracy theorist or anything.

Begin Response

In reading the short story by Daniel Orozco, I have come to conclude that he is trying to convey an idea in that America and its’ government is not the “Land of Dreams” as most believe it to be. Don’t get me wrong by that, as I am not trying to say that America is a horrible place by any means. You see, for the developed nations, with stable, structured government bodies, and a strong democratic leading, of all the places people could go to, usually its America they wish to flee to. Why you ask? Well it is because it is the land of freedom and opportunity. Well, in my opinion, I feel as if Orozco is saying the complete opposite, that it is not that at all, and one could not possibly see that if they were an outsider looking in, but once you get in, you realize its true colors. Let us start from the beginning, so like in Orozco’s story, the new employee is getting the show, learning the rules, and there are a lot of them, learning about the plethora of documentation he must read to be able to “remain” there, I correlated this to possibly an immigrant, coming over to America, learning about the way of life here, filling out the ridiculous amounts of paperwork for the simplest of things, and then the laws, rules, and regulations that must be followed or you would be “let go.” Then Daniel began to describe everyone, and how they, at work, are one person, but when they are home, or alone, they are another person. It is as if they are not who they say they are, and only put on the “happy face” when they are at work for the matters of business only, similar to that of government officials who say they will do this and that, claim things will change and get better so that you get on their side of the table, and then when the day ends, they are just like everyone else in this country, trying to better themselves. Then let’s not leave out the continuous reminder that you are not to know more than “they” would like you to know, and if you let on that you know too much, then you will of course be “let go”. The government is beyond secretive, only letting on what it feels we, the people, should know, and if someone was to find out more than they are “allowed” to know, then they will be dealt with. Later in the story, Daniel introduces us to the Boss that is never seen, but surely around at all times, and the wonderful coffee fund that has to be paid into, regardless of the different extras you would like with it. I see the coffee fund as our Social Security, or even our health care, and that you are forced to pay into it, but since you can’t bother Mr. Coffee, then you really don’t know where the money is going, someone else is taking care of that for you. Oh, that’s right, it’s Uncle Sam, the boss that you never see, but he is always around you. We as Americans never see Uncle Sam, but he sure sees himself into our pockets for fees that most of us don’t even realize. That’s your sugar, or coffee creamer extras, that although you might not be using, they are getting you on anyways. From beginning to end, Daniel kept the reader, me, interested through the comical tales of the different people who work there already and their crazy lives, the ridiculous rules and forms and handbooks needed to do the job right or be “let go”, but in all of that I think Daniel was also trying to get us to read between the lines to see his hidden viewpoints about America and its’ governing body.