At the beginning of the year, I thought that, to be honest, blogging was really a hassle and not an activity that I could use to benefit my writing skills. I have realized that, as the year has gone on, I have begun looking forward to my blog post every week, as it gives an insight into how American Studies class can relate to current event topics that are affecting our daily lives. Blogging has really helped me become much more aware of my surroundings and how that coincide with my classroom work.
This quarter, I have seen a few slight changes to my blogging style. First and foremost, the change that I believe has been most influential is my shift from a higher degree of focus on the current events rather than the classroom topics. Instead of starting with things said in class, like I have done earlier in the year, I have scoured other websites and external sources for fresh new information that I could relate to class. By having the current event be the foundation for my posts instead of vice versa, I have gained a heightened sense of American news and the stories that surround it. It's isn't too hard too find an obscure article that fits with our class disscussions, while it is much more difficult to take high-profile stories and relate it to something strikingly similar in the American Studies environment. Secondly, I have also begun to write blogs about material that I am more interested in, not just the ones that fit the bill. For example, sports and politics have become recurring themes in my blog because they are among my interests. I do believe that I need to work on my neutrality. Sometimes, my posts can have a negative bias and I really want to work on fixing that so all readers feel free to comment on.
I believe the post that exemplifies my second quarter is the one titled "Censorship in America". It really displays the trends and changes that I have been making. Here is the link: http://rennikss.blogspot.com/2011/01/censorship-in-america.html
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Media Biases
Last week, a tragedy occurred in Arizona that has shook the entire nation as a whole. As many of you know, U.S. House Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot at point-blank range in an assassination attempt during a informational event in Tuscon. The suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, killed six others and injured twelve more besides Giffords in his gun rampage. This event, without a doubt, has stunned America as a whole in many different ways.
What has disturbed me is the media speculation that has surrounded this horrifying event. While these last few days should be ones of mourning and sorrow for the families that have been directly affected by it, the media has immediately jumped to conclusions. Already, the media claims that politics have a central focus in this event. Many sources, including high-ranking news outlets such as the New York Times, have put blame on conservatives for Loughner's actions. Some of their opinions include that Republicans are the sole reason for partisan rhetoric, that Loughner was a direct follower of Sarah Palin's website, which included an image of Giffords' district in the crosshairs, and the simple act of presenting Loughner to "resemble" right-wing talk show host Glenn Beck.
This is really awful on so many degrees. I believe that once these media outlets look into Loughner's background and the evidence against him, they will realize that conservatives are no more to blame than liberals. In fact, as it appears, Loughner had dropped out of both his high school and community college, a drug addict, and a firm believer in radical conspiracy theories. His favorite books, as stated on his MySpace page, include Mein Kampf and The Communist Manifesto. I firmly believe that as this evidence surfaces and becomes clearer and as common sense takes over liberal biases, the media will realize that Loughner is a mentally unstable and is insane. To make it more clear, Loughner has stated in the past that he neither sides with the Republicans or the Democrats; he is a registered independent.
I pray the media will realize their mistakes and apologize for their accusations. It is clear that while political partisanship might be involved, Republicans are in no way, shape, or form involved in this crises. As President Obama would say, “it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.” As Americans, we should realize that this is a healing process and not a string of hate. This horrible disaster is only one that“lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man’s mind" and not any other groups'.
What has disturbed me is the media speculation that has surrounded this horrifying event. While these last few days should be ones of mourning and sorrow for the families that have been directly affected by it, the media has immediately jumped to conclusions. Already, the media claims that politics have a central focus in this event. Many sources, including high-ranking news outlets such as the New York Times, have put blame on conservatives for Loughner's actions. Some of their opinions include that Republicans are the sole reason for partisan rhetoric, that Loughner was a direct follower of Sarah Palin's website, which included an image of Giffords' district in the crosshairs, and the simple act of presenting Loughner to "resemble" right-wing talk show host Glenn Beck.
This is really awful on so many degrees. I believe that once these media outlets look into Loughner's background and the evidence against him, they will realize that conservatives are no more to blame than liberals. In fact, as it appears, Loughner had dropped out of both his high school and community college, a drug addict, and a firm believer in radical conspiracy theories. His favorite books, as stated on his MySpace page, include Mein Kampf and The Communist Manifesto. I firmly believe that as this evidence surfaces and becomes clearer and as common sense takes over liberal biases, the media will realize that Loughner is a mentally unstable and is insane. To make it more clear, Loughner has stated in the past that he neither sides with the Republicans or the Democrats; he is a registered independent.
I pray the media will realize their mistakes and apologize for their accusations. It is clear that while political partisanship might be involved, Republicans are in no way, shape, or form involved in this crises. As President Obama would say, “it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.” As Americans, we should realize that this is a healing process and not a string of hate. This horrible disaster is only one that“lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man’s mind" and not any other groups'.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Censorship in America
This week in American Studies, we have discussed a current event topic regarding our current book, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. A publisher has decided to release an abridged version of the Mark Twain novel that removes the N-word from the book altogether and replacing it with "slave". This movement is another addition to the 21st-century phenomenon of censorship and "politically correct". I completely disagree with this decision wholeheartedly. I personally believe that if Twain had heard that a third-party publisher would essentially rewrite the meaning of his story, he would be outraged at this. It also goes to what we are as a nation. I think that we have to realize that the N-word is engraved in our nation's history and flaws and that by simply hiding it from our nation's youth, we are simply not accepting our failures in the past and not accepting it. Instead, we should teach our children about the background behind this word and ensure that we learn from it in a positive way.
This movement presents a striking parallel to the Native American mascot controversy in the United States. In 2005, due to strong pressures from the far left, the NCAA decided to create a self-evaluation into all collegiate athletic programs with possibly "offensive" imagery. One of the schools on this list was the University of Illinois due to their mascot, Chief Illiniwek, which the NCAA deemed "hostile and abusive". Chief Illiniwek, meaning "the indomitable human spirit" was a 70 year tradition that was created to celebrate the Native American heritage of the state of Illinois. Chief Illiniwek's His costume was designed by a Native American chief from the Lakota Tribe and his dances, performed at halftime of University of Illinois sporting events, was proclaimed by the U of I Board of Trustees "His ceremonial dance is done with grace and beauty. The Chief keeps the memory of the people of a great Native American tribe alive for thousands of Illinoisans who otherwise would know little or nothing of them." Despite all of these truths, clearly the NCAA was extremely ignorant and did not look into the history and background of what Chief Illiniwek. At Florida State University, however, the NCAA allowed the use of the nickname "Seminoles" because of tribal support. But because there were no more living members of the Illini tribe to support the Chief, the NCAA forced Illinois to retire the mascot and logo, therefore destroying a great and respectful symbol that payed homage to our state's rich history.
The censorship of Twain's novel and the University of Illinois' revered symbol are alike in so many ways, as they have fallen victims to this new era of unjustified politically correctness that is attempting to rewrite our nation's past. Instead of teaching our children about our past through these devices, many people and organizations are attempting to blind our citizens from the truth. Censorship, simply put, is not what America has ever stood for and never shall be.
This movement presents a striking parallel to the Native American mascot controversy in the United States. In 2005, due to strong pressures from the far left, the NCAA decided to create a self-evaluation into all collegiate athletic programs with possibly "offensive" imagery. One of the schools on this list was the University of Illinois due to their mascot, Chief Illiniwek, which the NCAA deemed "hostile and abusive". Chief Illiniwek, meaning "the indomitable human spirit" was a 70 year tradition that was created to celebrate the Native American heritage of the state of Illinois. Chief Illiniwek's His costume was designed by a Native American chief from the Lakota Tribe and his dances, performed at halftime of University of Illinois sporting events, was proclaimed by the U of I Board of Trustees "His ceremonial dance is done with grace and beauty. The Chief keeps the memory of the people of a great Native American tribe alive for thousands of Illinoisans who otherwise would know little or nothing of them." Despite all of these truths, clearly the NCAA was extremely ignorant and did not look into the history and background of what Chief Illiniwek. At Florida State University, however, the NCAA allowed the use of the nickname "Seminoles" because of tribal support. But because there were no more living members of the Illini tribe to support the Chief, the NCAA forced Illinois to retire the mascot and logo, therefore destroying a great and respectful symbol that payed homage to our state's rich history.
The censorship of Twain's novel and the University of Illinois' revered symbol are alike in so many ways, as they have fallen victims to this new era of unjustified politically correctness that is attempting to rewrite our nation's past. Instead of teaching our children about our past through these devices, many people and organizations are attempting to blind our citizens from the truth. Censorship, simply put, is not what America has ever stood for and never shall be.
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