Freedom of Speech

In the United States we are suppose to have the freedom of speech. If you think about it, do we really have the freedom of speech? When the constitution was first written we did, but over the years our freedom of speech has slowly been taken away. Many times we are not allowed to speak our mind anymore. In " The Decline of American Press Freedom" by Anne Applebaum, it really explains how over the years our freedom of speech has been taken away because of globalization.

Applebaum writes that at Yale University would not publish a book, GQ magazine was debating if they should publish an article and how companies working with China goes against our constitution. Yale University did not want to publish the book because because " the cartoon would create "outrage" in the form of riots, boycotts, and anti- Danish protest." I think the article should have been published. In the U.S we have the freedom to say what we want, but not publishing a book because you think it will create outrage is taking away that freedom. As for the GQ magazine I can see why they debated it because of globalization the magazine is being distributed to many different countries. Globalization is taking away from our rights though. The internet does not help our situation. Since everything ends up on the internet it makes it harder to write things about different countries like Scott Anderson did in his article " Vladimir Putin's Dark Rise to Power." Even though GQ magazine did not want that article to leave the country, people posted it on the internet, so it made them look foolish. The last thing Applebaum writes about is the fact that companies, like Microsoft, yahoo! and Google working with China goes against the constitution. They are working in the U.S .and using U.S. servers to block certain things in China. We have the freedom of speech and because they are doing it in the U.S. and using U.S. servers it goes against our constitution. Applebaum makes a good point in her article "The Decline of American Press Freedom."

I think Applebaum is right in her essay.We don't have the freedom to say what we want anymore. Since we advertise for other countries in our magazines and we distribute them to different countries it limits what we can write. I think this is wrong and that the people in the U.S should be able to say what we want and write what we want. If we want to publish something about another country or something that might start riots then we should be able to. Our constitution says we have the freedom to say what we want and I don't think that should be taken away. 

Nature Is My Friend

I have never been a big fan of poetry, but I find Lorine Niedecker's poems very compelling. She makes you view nature from different points than you normally would. In some poems she seems like she loves nature, but in others it seems like she sees it as a bad thing. I think in her poem:

My friend Tree

I sawed you down

but I must attend 

an older friend

the sun

Lorine talks about nature in a good way and a bad way. In the line "My friend tree," I think she sees nature in a way that she loves it and would not want to hurt it. She calls the tree her friend, but the next line contradicts that. She says "I sawed you down." If she saw the tree as a friend, then why would she saw.  it down. When you look at the next couple of lines it makes more sense why she would saw the tree down. She did it to try and stay out of the sun sometimes. I think she did it to maybe build a house so she could sit inside because even though the sun is an old friend it is also dangerous. Even though she loved the tree like a friend she has to saw it down to keep her from getting hurt by the sun.

Lorine Niedecker's poems are very compelling yet confusing. They really make you think about things and even though when she was writing them they may have made a lot of sense to her, they make everyone else think. Even though many of her poems are very short they have a lot of meaning behind them when you really try and look at them. They make you look at things from different points of views than you maybe normally would.

The Guy Code

I personally think that the “guy code” is too strict and should not even exist at all. It is enforce pretty much as soon a boy is born. They are taught to be masculine. Even as a kid boys are told to “man up” or “boys don't cry.” I think this puts too much pressure on them. Guys are not allowed to show their feeling. I think that is one of the dumbest rules there is. People can't just hold in there feelings. Sometimes they just need to let it all out.

For girls there is no code. We can be whoever we want or do whatever we want. We don't have to worry about not being feminine enough. In “Bros before hos: the guy code” by Micheal Kimmel, a woman said she can be Mia Hamm, Britney Spears, Madame Curie or even Madonna. She said “nobody can tell me what it means to be a woman anymore.” I believe that is true in society today. We can be anything we want whether it's a doctor, a soccer player, a business owner or a teacher. We don't have to be a stay at home mom and do all the cleaning and cooking anymore. Woman don't have to explain or prove themselves when they chose what they want to do so why should men?

Another rule that I think is dumb is the fact that guys have to prove they are a man among other men. Guys should be able to do what they want or be whoever they want. Guys should not have to worry about whether they are being too feminine when they do something. For example if a guy wants to be a nurse then they should be able to without being judged or having to prove they are still masculine. In high school I was on the cheer team and there were a lot of guys on it. Most of them got judges by their friends at first, but then some of them got their friends to join. Once they tried cheer they realized it is not an easy sport. Trying to lift girls in the air and most of the time by yourself is not easy. It takes months of practice and conditioning. I think the fact that they did not care what their friends thought and joined cheer anyways makes them a man.

Lastly, the one rule I think I am most against is the fact that guys are not allowed to be a homosexual. Guys are not allowed to hang out with guys who are gay. If you are called gay, that is considered one of the worst put downs there is. No guy wants to be called gay and I think many guys deny the fact that they are gay until they are older because they are too afraid of what other guys will say. I think that if one of a guys friend say that they are gay, they should still be friends. If they have been friends for a long time then that means they pretty much know everything about each other and I don't think anything should change, but of course it will because that is just how society is. Guys are not allowed to be friends with gay guys. I also think that even if someone is gay they will most likely still like to do “guy” things. I don't think that being gay is a bad thing and that people should stop judging each other. I had a friend who came out and said she was a lesbian. Granted I am a girl and things are different for girls, but I still was friends with her. I didn't care what sexuality she was and I don't think guys should either.

Not Your Typical Teacher

In “I Just Wanna Be Average,” Mr. MacFarland is and interesting teacher. He doesn't look like one. He wears his tie weird and his pants were wrinkled. At first they though he slept in his car. After a while they realized he was a good teacher. He had them writing many essays and reading many books. He also cares about his student. He got Rose to want to read again. MacFarland inspired him. He made sure Rose got into college because he thought he was a good writer. It was obvious that MacFarland cared about his students.

In Dead Poets Society, Mr. Keating made his kids go outside of class for the first day. He also made them rip pages out of there books which I thought was very interesting. He wasn't like a normal teacher. He made the kids question him. I found it interesting when he talked about how everyone of them is “going to stop breathing, turn cold and die.” While we all know that one day we will cease to be alive, we do not talk about it especially at that age and with our teachers. I also think when tells his students to ripe out paged from their text book it makes them question him. He says he wants nothing left of it. He says that he wants them to think for themselves. I thought it was interesting the way he taught his class.

One of my teachers in high school, Mr. Shrank, reminds me of Them. He didn't act like a teacher much. He tried to act like a kid. He was the one teacher in the entire school, that even if you didn't have him you knew who he was. He just stuck out. He would take a bubble gun and shoot bubbles in front of people as they were walking down the hall. He would also wear masks and say random weird things.

Almost every day he would come into class doing something goofy. He had so many different hats and masks that he would wear. Even though he liked to goof of he was still a good teacher. The classes were easy “if you actually read the book,” he would say. It was true. The class was easy, but he really pushed you to do better. He made class more fun by not just talking to you about the chapter in a monotone. He would make things more relatable to us and he would have us do fun little activities. One time we did a blind fold activity around the school and it kind of reminded me of Mr. Keating when he had his students leave the room on the first day of class. Mr. Shrank really inspired me. Even though I have wanted to be a teacher my entire life, he made me want to be just like him and not have my students be bored out of there minds in class. I want to make class fun just like Mr. Shrank.

Who am I?

I awake every morning earlier than needed and tell myself just a few more minutes. After telling myself I slept enough I sit up and lie there pondering my thoughts for several minutes. Then when I bore myself with that, I manage to drag my barren body downstairs to the bathroom.

 I stare at the mirror and wonder,“ Who is that?”

 I brush my teeth and wash my face, then make my way to the kitchen to scavenge whatever I can find for an adequate breakfast. I quite often find myself making waffles with Nutella or just plain toasted pop tarts. 

After eating I gain an ample amount of energy finally. Then I continue upstairs to my room and attempt to complete the remnants of homework I have yet to finish. I often get frustrated the night before trying to accomplish it and give my best effort to complete it in the morning. Then after an hour or two of that I have to get ready for my first class of the day.

 I quick rush downstairs and hop in the shower. When I’m finished with that I get out and dry my hair while trying to get my supplies for my classes of the day ready and into my car. Occasionally I get a mug of coffee to take with me for the ride for an extra boost. I then get in my car and drive to the highway while trying to get my spirits up by listening to some of my favorite music. Usually a mix of country and pop will get me in a better mood. Doesn't sound like a difficult morning, but for me it is. 

This is my Grim Dawn.