Civil Cents

America the Beautiful

I found Dinesh D'Souza's essay, "America the Beautiful: What We're Fighting For," to be really interesting. I would agree with D'Souza, just like anything in life, America must be united to come out victorious. He mentions that "In order to win, Americans need to believe that they are on the side of the angels." Also saying further on, "Americans cannot succeed unless they are convinced that they are fighting on behalf of the good." I basically agree to this thinking. I believe that when America believes that our side is correct and good this is what unifies us and will ultimately bring us victory.
I found it very interesting how D'Souza brought up the point how far behind the Islamic world is. I have always thought of their wealth in oil, but I have never stopped to think how the world never sees any other contribution come from that area of the world.
Isn't amazing how a people can cause so much death and destruction in the name of God. That has never made sense to me. I just cannot imagine a God who would want His people to destroy another. I felt that D'Souza gave a lot of great information, however I would have liked him to go into a little further the view of non-fundamental Muslims. For example, if fundamental Muslims terrorize because what it said in the Koran, what is non-fundamental Muslims view. He touched a little on it, but it didn't leave me with a full understanding of their belief.

Grammar #6

I have been having trouble coming up with a good thesis and introductory paragraph for my research paper so I decided to look further into how to form a thesis when writing a pro/con paper. Term Paper Edge.com (http://www.erraticimpact.com/cyberedit/termpapers1.asp) teaches this:

The Thesis

The thesis statement is the single most important aspect of your paper; it is, essentially, the justification for its very existence. A good thesis sentence should contain:

1. Your basic argument

2. The blueprint for the organization of your supporting details

Developing the Argument

Topic versus statement - At the outset of your brainstorming, you will likely first decide on a topic for your paper; namely, the particular subject you plan to address in response to the assignment. Your job in formulating a thesis is to find a specific statement to make about that topic.

Specifically-In writing your statement, be sure to say exactly what you're arguing- do not make a broad generalization. Your reader should know from your thesis what your specific arguments are, not just roughly what they prove. Also, take into account the length you intend your paper to be. In the space of six pages, for example, you can't thoroughly discuss the effects of, say. World War II on America, but you might be able to analyze one aspect of its impact on a specific industry or social group.

Framing your paper - In addition to stating your argument, your thesis should give an indication of the particular components thereof. Though it is not necessary for you to include the gist of each subsequent topic sentence in your thesis, it is important that the basic prongs of your over-arching idea be addressed.

Grammar Post #5

I didn't even know about "to be" verbs before we talked about it in class, and now that I've been enlightened I can see how much I use them. I use them way too much. Here is how Trent Lorcher ( http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/14427.aspx) said to eliminate "to be" verbs in your writing.

Strategies for Eliminating Be Verbs

1) Change the be verb to a strong verb:

Example: Tony is afraid of notebook checks.

Tony fears notebook checks.

Example: Billy is alarmed by the proximity of the shark.

Billy motors away from the shark.

2) Eliminate the be verb by writing one or more showing sentence.

Example: Alligators are mean.

The alligator, angry at being disturbed, lurched forward and swallowed the boy's cat. Unsatisfied, the grouchy gator swam circles around the screaming toddler, showing all the while the kitten's severed head.

3) Combine sentences to eliminate the be verb.

Example: The inefficient time manager is unfulfilled. He heads to bed, disappointed, despite having finished his to do list.

The inefficient time manager heads to bed, unfulfilled, having checked everything off on his unprioritized to do list.

4) Eliminate the entire sentence if its omission does not change the meaning of the passage.

5) Leave the be verb if changing it alters the meaning,diminishes the passage, or makes the structure unworkable.

I'm Black, You're White

I found Shelby Steele's, "I'm Black, You're White, Who's Innocent?," a hard read. Hard, meaning it didn't hold my attention. I didn't like the spin he put on racial issue, his theory of innocence vs guilt did not hold true for me. I didn't agree how he says that the "racial struggle in America has always been primarily a struggle for innocence." Obviously I experience the world a lot different than someone who is of a different race, however I don't agree with Steele. I thought that his example of when he was twelve years old watching the "racist" is a prime example that a person sees what they want to see, and that goes with anything in life: hatred, stereotypes, self criticism, goodness, and etc.
I would also disagree with his perception of why The Cosby Show was such a great hit. I don't think that Bill Cosby is a great "bargainer." I don't think that the show's "white" audience liked the show because they knew that "Cosby will never assault their innocence with racial guilt." The show was popular because it was a great show. It was well written, it had a great cast, it was funny, and Bill Cosby was and is a funny, great guy who we all enjoy watching. My family and I always watched The Cosby Show every Thursday night while I was growing up, granted I was a little girl, but I can promise that we never watched it because Cosby was telling us that we are ok and this black man was not going to challenge us.

Two Ways A Woman Can Get Hurt

I don't understand what this world is coming to. Why is it ok for companies, like Calvin Klein, to have advertisements with children in their underwear jumping around? Than, there is the ads where little girls are dressed to look like a seductive woman. One thing that Kilbourne did not bring up in her essay, "Two Ways A Woman Can Get Hurt," is the parents of these children in these ads. We, as the American society, should not be allowing companies to advertise in a way that degrades men, women, and especially children. Our society has a certain level of responsibility, however the sole responsibility lies with indidivual families and parents. I cannot imagine watching my child being photographed in such away that is obviousily suppose to give a seductive feel. Why are these kids parents allowing them to be a part of these ads?
Why is it that Calvin Klein produces an ad that exploits and the sales go through the roof? Shouldn't it be the other way around? When a company produces an ad that has a gun pointing to a symbol of a woman with the b***** on it, shouldn't we all boycott that company so heavily that it may cause it to go bankrupt? I agree with Kilbourne that some of these ads exploits women and children, but the bottom line is that the fault mostly falls to the American society. These huge companies spend millions of dollars to sale us their product, and if we were to never put up with ads like these there would be no way that these type of ads would ever be used. It is because America accepts it and allows them to advertise it that way that these even exist.

Grammar #4

As I have been doing my rhetorical essay I was unsure if I should put quotation marks or italicize the title of the essay I writing about. This is the answer I found out on Yahoo Answers (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090423012200AAhZVGf)

You use quotation marks to set off certain titles, usually those of minor or short works -- essays, short stories, short poems, songs, articles in periodicals, etc. For titles of longer works and separate publications, you should use italics (or underlined, if italics are not available).

Use italics for titles of books, magazines, periodicals, newspapers, films, plays, long poems, long musical works, and television and radio programs.

Killer Culture

There are a lot of valid points that Kupelian brings up in "Killer Culture." For example, MTV. I like how he described MTV as a commercial. I had never thought of it that way, however I see and agree with his point. Everything all works together to perform its main goal, to sale. The music, the little that is left on MTV, obviously works to sale itself, the artist, and etc. I have no doubt that everything in the music videos is manipulated to sale as well. Just like Kupelian said, from the clothes, the set, the products seen throught it, it's all set up to influence youth one way or another.
I was completely taken back when Kupelian described suspension, tongue splitting, and "Bug Chasers." To be honest I had a hard time reading the description of these, especially when he describes suspension. I will not even try to pretend that I understand this. Ironically, my rhetorical essay deals with whether or not we should torture detainees, and just like Kuplelian pointed out this would be described as torture. Why on earth would someone want to do that to themselves? It feels painful just to read about it.
One limitation that I felt Kupelian's essay had was the lack of citation. I was often left wondering where and how he obtained his information.

Grammar #3

What is the difference between affect and effect? I don't have any idea how to differentiate between the two! According to the website Writers Block (http://www.writersblock.ca/tips/monthtip/tipsep99a.htm) here's the difference:

Affect Vs. Effect

Affect and effect are two words that are commonly confused.

"Affect" is usually a verb meaning "to influence".

The drug did not affect the disease.

"Effect" is usually a noun meaning "result".

The drug has many adverse side effects.

"Effect" can also be used as a verb meaning "to bring about".

The present government effected many positive changes.

Framing Class

I found Diana Kendall's "Framing Class'' to be very creditable. The last couple essays there has been many comments, in class and on blogs, questioning the creditability of those essays due to the fact of no resources. However, Diana's essay continually used a variety of resources. I see Diana's point on one side of the issue, but I also disagree with her. She mentions several different TV shows, movies, and other forms of media that have a humorous unrealistic view on social classes, that "the mass media plays class differences for laughs", and how this is one of our down falls. I agree that there needs to be outlets and different revenues that are available that gives our society an accurate view of reality, however that doesn't mean there isn't a place for just plain entertainment. When I take a time out of reality, and spend money to be entertained by going to a movie I absolutely hate going to a movie that is full of reality. I want to go to a movie that is fun, makes me laugh, and takes me out of reality for ninety minutes. We need to be able to laugh at ourselves. The opposite side of that is as we laugh at each other we need to be aware that it is just purely entertainment.
Diana talks about civic journalism; meaning that there needs to be a responsibility from the media/journalists that give the public the truth. She poses that there are journalists out there who need to follow a civic journalism approach. I was left wondering what outlet of media that this type of journalism would actually be able to make it in front of the public, if what she says is accurate; referring to the monopoly of companies that control the media, and the news. How is a lone journalist who is going against the grain going to be heard when these huge companies portray the information the mass public sees in the way they want us to see it?

Serving In Florida

"Serving in Florida," by Barbara Ehrenreich was an intriguing read. So far I have really enjoyed the essays we have read that are written in a narrative style. I found this read to be a page turner, I was surprised how quickly I was done. Through the entire essay I was amazed how much Barbara had to go through. I felt so sorry for her, and all of those who she worked with. As I read I pictured myself working, what would feel like endless shifts, I could picture how it would make my body and muscles ache just liked she described. The way she wrote made everything easy to visualize. I imagined how working in those draining conditions would lower your spirits and your leash on life; constantly working like that day in and day out. How would you have any hope that your life could get better when you're working so long and hard and still are barely able to survive? After reading the essay I reread the information about Barbara, at the beginning, to understand better where she was at at this time in her life. Understanding that Barbara took herself out of her own world in order to get a better feel for the working class made the essay feel even more impressive. I would think it would be that much harder to go through daily life of constant work when in reality your much better life was just waiting for you. I also came away from this essay feeling a lot of gratitude that I am able to go to school and get an education in order for the lives of my children and myself not to be like that.

Against School

Oh my goodness! I really disliked John Gatto's, "Against School." I've never heard of anything so absurd about our schools. I will not argue that, as a whole, our national and local school systems are in need of some serious reconstruction. Our schools do not have the resources that are needed. We need more teachers and more qualified teachers, but our schools are not "meant to determine each student's proper social role." Gatto argued if we really need schools by giving the examples of Lincoln, Franklin, and etc who never had a type of "public" school. At that time only the priviledge even were able to learn to read and write. If having some kind of system that teaches all walks of life is not doing any good than why have we had a miraclous amounts of advancement since Lincoln's time. You can not tell me that all of our modern day advancements in science, medicine, technoloygy, and so on have all been created by the upper "social class," and that are all were made by those who made it beyond our so called differentiating function. Advancements have been made by all walks of life who were willing to work hard enough for their dream.
I enjoyed Mike Rose's "I Just Wanna Be Average" so much better than Gatto's essay. It was more entertaining and easier to read and I wanted to keep reading. Teachers, like the many who Rose incountered, are who have given teachers as a whole a bad name. There are a lot of bad teachers out there, however there are a lot of wonderful teachers who end up changing the lives of their students, just like Mr. MacFarland. Whenever you are around someone who is passionate about something whatever or whoever it may be it's contagious. When you come across a teacher who you just know loves what they are doing you can't help but enjoy what they are teaching you. Their excitement and enjoyment makes all the difference. I think the true tradegy of Rose's story is that his parents just trusted that 'the system" knew what it was doing, and with blind faith let their son be put in a vocational program where he didn't belong. I believe we all have to be our own advocates. When a doctor gives us a diganosis we shouldn't neccessarily take it as the final word just because he is the doctor. We need to also do some research and see if it makes sense to us. Who knows your body better than you do? Who has to live the consequences of being put in particular situation? All I know is that regardless of what those in positions who advise us say we are the ones who have to deal with the consequences, so we need to make sure it is the right solution for us.

Grammar #2

I have never clearly understood how to use the semi-colon. All I know is that when I have written different papers occasionally my grammar check tells me to add a semi-colon, which I automatically follow the instructions, but not really knowing why.
According to essortment.com (http://www.essortment.com/all/semicolon_rcnr.htm) there are two main ways to use a semicolon.
"The semicolon is a simple piece of punctuation, much easier to work with than the comma because it follows fairly clear rules. If you learn the two simple rules explained here, you'll rarely go wrong. It has two main uses, which are both easy to identify. You use it to connect two independent clauses together into one sentence, and you use it as a super-comma."

To Connect Two Independent Clauses

"Independent clauses are series of words that could stand alone as complete sentences. When you have two otherwise complete sentences that you want to connect to form one long sentence, use a semicolon."

To Serve as a Super-comma

"When you have a series of three or more items that normally would be separated by commas except that each individual item already has a comma in it, you use the semicolon between items."

Idiot Nation

When I saw that we were going to be reading,"Idiot Nation", by Michael Moore I instantly thought, "Oh great here we go." However, it wasn't nearly as bad as I imagined it would be. Moore gave a lot of appalling facts throughout the entire read, yet we have no idea where he has got any of this information. He has accused politicians, as well as others, of stating things that don't turn out to be true, but how do we know if the knowledge that he is sharing with us is indeed accurate. I thought it was so hypocritical and hilarious how Moore went on and on about the education, or the lack there of, of Politicians and Americans in general, and he actually was a college drop out!
I did agree with Moore's take on our countries education. Politicians spend so much time pointing blame on everyone but themselves. Sources of media, such as MTV, is not helping educate our child, but I agree it is certainly not the root of the our nation's children not being properly educated. We as a nation do not value are teachers. Teachers and schools are not given the resources so they can sufficiently teach. There's not enough books and materials, kids have to share, and because of that it effects how a teacher can teach their students. I know in the elementary school that my boys attend there isn't an "official" library, just like Moore suggested is happening around the country. For a time they had their make shift library in the cupboards of the kitchen. Now, I think, they stuffed it in a small corner room.
It is hard to believe that in cities, such as NYC and Washington DC, public schools can be so horrible, however this isn't the first time that I've heard of it. You would think it would be the opposite. You would think that in DC, in our nation's capital, you would find some of the finest schools in the country. Instead schools are falling apart, and they don't even have toilet paper, that is unacceptable. Although our local schools do not have all the materials that each student needs I'm at least grateful that I know that my kids are in safe, nice schools.

What We Really Miss About The 1950s

I was not surprised that Stephanie Coontz suggested in "What We Really Miss About The 1950s" that 1950s is voted as one of the bests decades to grow up in. I have heard my mother, who was a teenager during the 50s, say the same thing many times. My mother loved that time in her life, and thinks back to it fondly. Considering the decades that came before the fifties it is not surprising that so many felt about the fifties in that same way. After experiencing so much difficulty and pain, the war and Depression, who could blame them to want more hope and happiness in their lives even at the cost of it being a facade as Coontz suggested.
Thinking back to the 50s I would have never thought of it as being a facade. However, if the facts that Coontz used are accurate it sounds more like a facade than true reality. I think the TV programs during this time is a perfect example of the facade of that time. I recall hearing that the word "pregnancy" was not allowed to be used on shows like "I Love Lucy" yet according to Coontz, "teenage birth rates during the 1950s were twice as high in 1957 as in the 1990s." I would never have guessed that would be the case. Stereotypically, I think of the 1950s as morally squeaky clean, like the sitcoms of the day make it appear.
In "Changing American Families", I was taken back on how Judy Aulette defined the four characteristics of the middle class. At first glance I didn't agree with her, yet as she went through each characteristic I realized that they are characteristcs that are not uncommon for a middle class family to practice, but from my perspective they aren't characteristics I use to define the middle class. From my perspective the "class" that someone is labeled in is more defined by their income and life style, rather than someone who tends to replace their extended family with friends, or who shares their resources lineally. I agree that it is common that these four characteristics can appear within a middle class family, however I take the perspective that it comes by necessicity rather than something a middle class family looks for. For example, to ensure that your family's needs are provided for parents may make the decision that they need to relocate the family, and as a consequence this may cause great distance between extended family members. Ideally, they would have liked to live closer to their extended family, but that may not be possible, so people who are around them tend to become an adopted family. Not that their extended family isn't important to them.

Grammar

I have always had trouble with knowing when to use THAN vs. THEN. Honestly, I don't remember learning the difference between the two, and I just have never taken it upon myself to find out. Most the time I just use THAN not really knowing if I'm using it accurately. According to ehow, (http://www.ehow.com/how_4607305_word-use-then-vs-than.html) "THAN is a conjunction that is used to hook up words and make them function. It is used to introduce the second part of a comparison." Whereas, THEN is used "as an adverb, meaning a time; next in order."

A little about Me!

Hi my name is Leah Krispin. I suppose I can now technically say that I'm from St. George after living here for almost 16 yrs. I love it here! I love the community, the atmosphere, but most of all the weather. Give me heat any day versus the cold. I returned back to school two years ago, something I never planned or thought I would do, but it has turned out to be a great experience for me and my little family. I have three little bums at home enjoying every bit of their summer vacation. Jayden 9, Luke 6, and Spencer 5. When you have a house full of little men there tends to never be a dull moment, or a quiet one for that matter either. The four of us love to go swimming at the Washington Community Center, play in our communities wanna be river (AKA the Virgin), and love to do all the sport activities that my boys get involved with. English 2010 will officially end my Associates requirements as well as fulfill my fields requirements. The last two years of school I have been accomplishing my prerequisites for the Dental Hygiene Program here at DSC. I will be able to apply at the end of this next fall semester. Keep your fingers crossed for me that I'm accepted the first go around. I would be lying if I were to say that 2010 is a course that I feel confident in, it has been too many years to mention when I last took English, however I'm looking forward to have conquered it!!