Essential question answered by someone who died by Titanic

     Hello, my name is Brad.  I am dead.  I died on the Titanic more than 100 years ago.  Do I forgive the operators of the Titanic for killing me?  Forgiving these people is a hard thing to do.  They were responsible for so many deaths, including my own.  Most of these people who have been blamed were not directly responsible though.  The captain was just trying to make it to america in time, because his job was on the line.  The crew were trying to fill up the lifeboatsas fast as they could, and also trying to save themselves.  No one can blame them for trying to save their own lives, just about anyone would have done that.  I do forgive all these people because they all just made a few mistakes.  Everyone has those days.

Guilt by Association

      Is a member of society guilty for the crimes commited by its leaders?  This question is brought up by Wiesenthal when he tells the old lady that "no German can shrug off the responsibility"(93).  He sais this after the lady says, "We are not responsibe for their fate"(92).  But who is responsible for their fate?  Of course hitler and his advisors would have to be, but should the rest of the population?  What about other countries who did not even participate in WW2 but saw these attrocities happening right before their eyes?  Are they to blame as well? 
     I beleive instead of pointing fingers, we should all seek resolution.  The old lady Simon was talking to, she should be able to believe that she was not to blame.  She didn't herself execute Jews, but she did stand idley by while Jews were killed.  I wasn't even born and you could blame me almost as much as you could blame that old lady.  I didn't execute any Jews, yet I didn't do anything to stop them.
     So this brings up the question, if a person didn't to anything should they still be blamed for a crime someone they were associated with?  I wouldn't want to get blamed for someone elses crimes, but is it a crime not to stop their crime?  Is it a crime to not stop them when you yourself could get hurt by doing so?  I know this is a lot of questions, but was that not the purpose of the book?
   

Anticipation guide over forgiveness: Man or Machine?

In the case of the scientist who developed a biological weapon that could kill thousands, I believe that this man deserves forgiveness.  Even though no one "deserves" forgiveness, I believe that we should forgive anyways.  This scientist was probably just messing around in the lab and made some weapons.  Should he be punished for this?  I don't think so.  I will not condemn this man for doing he job.

A young man, who may or may not be dead but is almost certainly injured, is lying on the side of the road as people pass by yet do nothing to help the poor man.

There is a young man lying there.

Does no one care?

Is he, like a doornail, dead?

Did he hit his head?

Like ants marching along, People pass by.

With a great gust of wind, I sigh.

Is there nothing they can do?

If you could help, would you?

Of Mice and Men: Character Analysis- Crooks

We all experience loneliness and isolation at different times in our lives.  This is true both as individuals and sometimes as part of racial, ethnic, religious or other groups.  Some people and groups are more isolated than other because of factors in the society in which they live.   In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, Crooks represents blacks in America and his character represents the longing for acceptance and understanding of blacks in society.  Crooks, like many blacks during the time the books was written, longs for companionship and acceptance in order to realize the American dream.

The way Crooks communicates with other people reveals his withdrawn nature.  Crooks is for the most part drawn “into himself.”  He will not talk to white people often, partly because of the way he was raised.  Growing up in the town of Soledad, his father did not like Crooks playing with the white kids.  Crooks keeps people away by shouting, “you got no right to come in my room.”  Crooks also tortures Lennie with thoughts of George not coming back.  Through these outbursts, Crooks shows that he does not have much experience talking to people. 

Since others see him as an unequal human being, Crooks feels as if he doesn’t have a right to talk to his white peers.  He feels that since he’s just a “busted-back nigger” talking his words “don’t mean nothing.”  Just because he is black, Crooks is not respected by, nor listened to by his fellow farmhands.  Crooks wishes that his words could mean something.  Curley’s wife supports his idea that he is worthless by telling Crooks in front of everyone that she could have him “strung up on a tree.”  Crooks has been looked down upon by white people his entire life.  He feels worthless since his life does not more than one woman’s word. 

Crooks wants someone to care about what he thinks and not judge him because he is black.  Crooks did not care “who the guy [was],” he just wanted someone to listen.  This was evident when he was talking to Lennie.  Crooks wanted to have a relationship with someone who would listen to him like Lennie listened to George.  When Crooks had visitors in his room, it was hard for him to “conceal his pleasure.”  Crooks’ loneliness is apparent by the way he was excited to have visitors in his barn.  This shows that Crooks was longing for any kind of companionship.

Through the way he spoke and acted around other characters, it is evident that Crooks was very lonely and withdrawn.  He also had a feeling like he was beneath everyone else.  Due to these main three factors, Crooks felt isolated.  He had no friends and no one to really talk to.  Judging by his overwhelming loneliness, and lack of companionship, it can be concluded that Crooks’ American Dream is to, in spite of his racial barrier, be veiwed as an equal individual.

Pioneer Stadium

(photo courtesy of google images)

        There is a buzz of excitement emanating from inside the stadium. Inside the gate, friends are mingling in the paved area in front of the stands awaiting the game. Before the game begins, the massive jumbotron begins blaring “Paradise City” by Guns and Roses as many of the younger fans gather on the field. They stand parted with a pathway going down the middle, cheering along with the cheerleaders. All of a sudden, a football player bursts out of the giant pioneer man stationed at the beginning of the pathway, like a ninja out the front door of a dojo. The crowd roars as he is soon followed by nearly a hundred more of his teamates.

        Moments later the action begins. Bone-crushing hits are followed by the ooohs and aaahs of the crowd. A referee’s penalty call against the home team is followed by boos and jeering. Together, the fans cheer the players down the field, just as they had in many years past. Finally, a touchdown. Throngs of stadium goers erupt in jubilation as the band plays the fight song, fireworks bursting in the background.
        When the game is over, the home team celebrates another victory by chanting the fight song. The sense of pride and tradition of fans and players alike is overwhelming. This is the scene every fall Friday night in Pioneer Stadium.

9.11 Paragraph

The terrorists on the planes that crashed into the twin towers may have been less guilty than we think. Osama Bin Laden made them feel like they did not have an option not to commit this terrible crime if they ever wanted to get to heaven. He told them, “Do not disagree, obey.” It was okay for them to be scared, because “fear is a great worship.” I think that the terrorists did have a choice, but they were so brainwashed that they thought crashing the planes was the only way they could get to heaven. They were afraid that if they didn’t go through with it they would be punished. I’m not saying they aren’t to blame, but you might ought to think twice next time you say they are.

I Am Poem

I am ferocious and pompous
I wonder what makes clocks tick
I hear the wheels in my head turning
I see flowers growing on the moon
I want to see the sun set on mars
I am ferocious and pompous

I pretend that I am a scuba diving astronuat
I feel a slight breeze whistling between my ears
I touch the whole world without grasping the significance of it
I worry that time is running out
I cry when I lose
I am ferocious and pompous

I understand that some things are not meant to be understood
I say stupid is as stupid does
I dream about playing football on Friday night
I try to make everyone smile
I hope there is more hope to be hoped for
I am ferocious and pompous

Huck's moral delima

I read the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Slavery and racism played a major role in this book. Jim escaped from his master because he was afraid he'd be shipped down south to work on a plantation which was very hard. He wanted to go to Ohio were his wife and kids were slaves. He was going to free them. On their adventure, Huck and Jim had many encounters with racism. The people in the book used alot of derogatory terms toward black people such as the "N" word. There also were many men who were hunting runaway slaves to make some money. One time to deter some men who were going to capture Jim, Huck pretended he had small pox so they wouldn't come near them. Of course everyone in this book is so racist because it was set over a hundred years ago.
Huck had a lot of revelations about what was right and wrong in the book. It started with when he helped Jim escape down the Mississippi River. At first he didn't want to help because Jim was someone's property, but then he changed his mind because Jim was a human too. The second time Huck's integrity was questioned was when this guy saw them floating down the river. Huck lied to the guy to keep Jim out of trouble. Over time, Huck and Jim became really good friends and they would do just about anything for each other. They overcame racial boundaries that separated them at one time.

Bob Dylan - "Masters of War"

     With all these wars going on in the Middle East, it reminded me of a song by the great songwriter Bob Dylan called "Masters of War". This song was released in 1963. Even though this song was wrote about the Cold War, I think it still applies today.  The lyrical genius of this song transcends time with a story that is still true.

     “Masters of War” is one of many protest songs made in the 60’s and 70’s.  In the beginning, the song talks about people who build big bombs, guns, and planes.  When this song was written, it was intended to be about the Russians.  Now, these same Lyrics apply to the Muslim extremists in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Lebanon. 

     In lines 25-32, the song accuses “you” of making other people go out and die while “you” just sit back and watch from “your” mansion.  To me, actually sounds a lot like Osama Bin Laden and his cohorts.  He squirreled himself away in his little compound for years.  Just as the Russians “fastened the triggers for others to fire”, Bin Laden convinced innocent men to strap bombs on their chests to go out and blow up innocent people.

     In the last lines of “Masters of War”, Bob Dylan condems “you” to die.  This is a lot like the US government going out and condemning and killing Osama Bin Laden.  These are just a few of the ways Bob Dylan’s song “Masters of War” is still applicable to our world today.




 

John Mackey (1941-2011) - The NFL great who helped build the modern game, and then suffered for it.

     Lately, there have been several stories in the news about head injuries in football being linked to dementia and other serious brain diseases.  John Mackey is a prime example of this condition as described in this week's Sports Illustrated article "He Gave His All.  Make It Matter" by Dick Friedman.  The author writes about how there were two versions of Mackey; the tight end breaking ankles and scoring touchdowns, and the lesser known elder Mackey who can barely remember his own name.  This all relates to the author's main idea that the players in the NFL should be less worried about getting a lot of money now as they should about getting better health and retirement benefits, because they may end up just like John Mackey.  I agree with the author in this regard, and love how he persuaded me to think the same as him.
     The author writes that Mackey's retirement pension was "less than $2,500 dollars a month."  That was not nearly enough to cover his health care cost.  This statement makes me wonder how many other former NFL stars are going through the same thing.  A few years ago that income amount was raised to $88,000 a year to help former players with Alzheimer's, but it is still not enough to cover all costs.  This is something current players should seriously consider when negotiating new benefits.
     Another major point the author makes is that only a handful of the current NFL players were even alive when Mackey was playing.  "You can just hear it: Why should we care about some old guys?  The young never think they'll end up like that."  The truth is, many of these players might just end up like John Mackey, so they had better be thinking about that while they're negotiating. 

My Photo Story

A little about me as a reader, writer, and an individual.