The Power of Choice

Look at this political cartoon.

How do Western politics reflect the message portrayed in this cartoon?

In the above political cartoon the artist is sending the message that the people of Western civilizations don’t know their own power, especially when it comes to free elections and our government. Although one vote may seem small and insignificant, it is still one less or one more. By stepping off the plank, the individual is making a powerful statement and is taking leadership for others to follow. Within each of us lies the power of choice, thus making our life under our own control and not another’s.

Lifestyle Choices

“We're in a giant car heading towards a brick wall and everyone is arguing over where they're going to sit.” -David Suzuki. What do you think this quote means in terms of the environment and the future of the earth, and where would you sit in the "car"?

In terms of the environment, the above quote illustrates the sheer stupidity of how human beings are able to argue over something so trivial when there is an oncoming threat. This quote sends a message that if human beings are unable change their lifestyle and priorities, the future of our earth will have a disparaging, inevitable fate. In addition, the quote also illustrates how human being can be selfish by only thinking of themselves and “where there’re going to sit in the car”. Personally, I have also considered myself to be advocate for environmental change in the world and am a strong believer in climate change. However, I believe there is still a great deal of lifestyle change in my life that needs to be done in order to protect our environment. Although I hate to admit the majority of times in my life I have joined in the argument of “where to sit in the car” and put the choices of my own well being and successes before environmental change. In the future I will set goals of environmental change to my lifestyle as well as campaigning and donating to environmental and wildlife protection agencies. We will never be judged by the things we almost did or wanted to do, but the choices we made.  

Care Model: From Take More Action

1. In this scenario, I would prefer to lose the opportunity to hang out with my “crush” instead of encourage this kind of behavior. I have been raised in a family that discourages drugs, alcohol, and smoking and I share this belief. I do not wish to get caught up in this lucid behavior, and cannot see how this would in any way benefit me.
2. Firstly, I would never put false information into a resume. However; in this hypothetical scenario I would probably decline the job offer because I would feel too guilty, especially if I was hired over my friend who had a much better resume.
3. Personally, if my friend asked me not to say anything I would keep his secret because it may worsen the situation if I “snitched”. However, suicide is an extremely serious problem that cannot be ignored. I would encourage my friend to talk to the schools council because she is much more equipped to handle a situation like this than I am and keep an extra close eye on him. If he does not seek help and continues to worsen then I would feel obligated to tell someone.
4. Personally, I would stay. There are many ways in which I can express my rights without commiting an illegal act. I am not willing to jeoprodize my future, and I am unable to see how "hoping the fence" would solve the problem.  
5. We are not officers of the law, thus it is not our duty enforce the law or decide when special circumstances are necessary. There are more effecient ways to obtain information whithout passing any major ethnical boundries.  

Character, Integrity, Courage: Find a Quote

 

Beyond the rules of religion

The cloth of conviction

Above all the competition

Where fact and fiction meet

There's no color lines cast or classes

There's no fooling the masses

Whatever faith you practice

Whatever you believe

Oh, Heaven, Heaven

What the hell is Heaven?

Is there a home for the homeless?

Is there hope for the hopeless?

Throw away your misconceptions

There's no walls around Heaven

There's no codes you gotta know to get in

No minutemen border patrol

You must lose your earthly possession

Leave behind your weapons

You can't buy your salvation

And there is no pot of gold

Mmm Heaven, Heaven

What the hell is Heaven?

Is there a home for the homeless?

Is there hope for the hopeless?

Heaven aint got no prisons

No government, no business

No banks or politicians

No armies and no police

Castles and cathedrals crumble

Pyramids and pipelines tumble

The failure keeps you humble

And leads us closer to peace

Oh, Heaven, Heaven

What the hell is Heaven?

Is there a home for the homeless?

Is there hope for the hopeless?

Is there a home for the homeless?

Is there hope for the hopeless?

 

Link to song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ox_n7Z5JOk

            The above song is called Heaven by Brett Dennen. This is one of my favorite songs as it has multiple meaningful, thoughtful, and powerful messages. For instance, when he sings “You must lose your earthly possession, Leave behind your weapons, You can't buy your salvation, And there is no pot of gold” illustrates that our “possessions” or wealth are useless and have no meaning in heaven. Dennen refers to a place where everyone is equal and are materialistic society we highly value, has faded. Many of the lines relates back to issues we have discussed in class, such as “There's no color lines cast or classes” refers to the purge of racism and discrimination. Although “Heaven” is a Utopia mankind is unlikely ever to achieve Dennen gives an idea of what we should all work towards in order to create a free and just society.

Racism

Racism is the belief that characteristics and abilities can be attributed to people simply on the basis of their race and that some racial groups are superior to others. Throughout history the crimes concerning racism have lead to very dire and serious consequences. A good example is the Holocaust and the Nazi government policies of the Second World War. Even to this day many people wonder how an enter country could turn on a single ethnic group causing the massacre of countless innocent victims. A major root cause to the Holocaust was racism and discrimination. In addition, during the 1880’s Chinese immigrants of Canada struggled through the head tax, personal attacks and job discrimination because of racism. They risked their lives to help build Canada's railroad in the 1880s. But as soon as the work was done, Canada just wanted them gone. It was a difficult history for Chinese immigrants to Canada. Today, Chinese-Canadians are an integral part of Canada's multicultural society, and the struggles to overcome discrimination have not been forgotten.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htEtTra7rdw&feature=related

Violence in Society

After watching "Invisible Children," what have you learned about the "psychology of violence"? What are the root causes of the abductions and youth violence in Uganda and the surrounding region? How has this affected the mental health of these children?

            After watching the “Invisible Children” video on violence in society especially concerning youth I have become more aware of the dangerous affect of our powerful and persuasive media system can have on society. The invisible children video discussed how young men are given a distorted perception of what a “real man” should be. In the video Jackson Katz presents the “crisis of masculinity” and explains how young men are pressured to put on a tough guise. Katz illustrates our dominant culture creates a persona that boys and young men should be strong, powerful, intimidating, muscular, and tough. Through movies and TV shows, such as the expendables or lights out a famous boxing television show, the media creates a perception that men need to be violent in order to be respected and to be considered a real man. This negative persona can be reflected in our society through the high violent criminal actions of men in contrast to women. For example, the developing nation of Uganda has an extremely high crime rate, especially concerning gang violence. The purpose of gangs is to display superiority and power by corrupting civilians through violent criminal acts of killing, mutilations, and even cannibalism. Uganda is filled and corrupted with gang violence. However, Uganda is not the only country plagued by gang violence, these offenders also exist at home. The other day I was told about a violent gang story that took place in down town Hamilton. In order to be initiated into the gang you had to seriously injury or disfigure someone, resulting in the assault of several pedestrians. Where does such violence stem from? The tough guys persona presented by media, peers, and society with the help of gang members prowling for potential young children to join in such violence, are the root causes of this horrific behavior. Evidently, this issue of a “tough guise” and violence among youth is undoubtedly a serious concern. Not enough is being done to create awareness of the issue and our governments as well as society have taken little to no action of solving this problem.

Human Rights

What are your Human rights? A question every living person needs to know. According to The Universal Declaration of Human Rights created by the United Nations in 1948 every human being, whatever your nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status are all equally entitled to the following rights without discrimination. http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/

These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible. Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the forms of treaties, customary international law, general principles and other sources of international law. International human rights law lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.