How I can move society beyond its racial history

I think modern society keeps too much of its history with itself. Yes, we all know who the historical figures are who made a difference, but what do we do with that information? We always hear “let history never repeat itself.” Any educated person will agree to such a concept, yet will have no interest in maintaining society’s future history. A society does not need to rely on its past to move forth, in my opinion, but better yet needs to rely on improvements it can make. In all honesty the society today is more corrupt than ever and I have no doubt that it will never improve. Racism has always been a part of life; humans are judgmental beings. Slavery and discrimination has left a giant scar on the face of our nation, and those blemishes cannot simply be forgotten about. I would like to know of a way to move this nation out of its hole, but I do not believe there is a way to.

Peer Reviewed Paragraph

Have you ever thought about what chemicals might lurk in your poultry? Domestication of animals has evolved into machinery used to slaughter animals for poultry. The machines can be contaminated by the animal previously butchered on them, leaving the risk of diseases and meats; this is known as cross-contamination. Diseases are easily spread, especially in crowded places like schools where close distances enable easy contact. There was a case in downtown Dallas where the rapidly-spreading influenza virus caused a shut down district-wide. This example can be applied to animals as well, where they are kept in "the most crowded and unsanitary areas" (Pigs 19).

T. Boone Pickens

T. Boone Pickens, the founder and chairman of BP Capital Management, began a campaign called the Pickens Plan to promote energy investment and oil and gas conservation. This project began back in July of 2008 as a plan to make the United States energy-independent. There are two parts to his plan: to encourage the use of renewable resources, like wind and solar power; and to make natural gas a widely used fuel for transportation. No legislation has been passes yet, but bills have been written for the issue waiting with the legislature. It has been forty years and there still has not been a potentially usable energy plan for the country; Pickens says this is because of leadership not fully understanding the issue of energy and the existence of cheap oil. He plans to go after the 18-wheelers which use a large amount of diesel fuel and replace the fuel with natural gas, a more environmental- and financial-friendly substitute. Pickens estimated a good seven years to cut OPEC in half.
Pickens believes the US gets involved in out-of-country business for gas and oil, interfering with its international relations The US is importing oil from its enemies, which can look good to them but not to the states. Only thirteen friendly OPEC countries exist to the US. When we buy oil and gas from the enemies, we are practically paying for both sides of the war. There are enough resources in American to fix the problem though. The security issue needs attention, and foreign oil imports should be reduced.

Best Movie Criteria

Making criteria for what makes a good film seems a bit difficult. These are the guidelines that I chose: quality of actors, appearance, rating, reaction, quality of inspiration, humor, plot, and action. The movie I will set as the nominee for best picture is Donnie Darko (2001). The acting in the movie was exceptional; nothing seemed fake or forced. The film was set a decade or so before it was released, giving it the old-timey-but-not-quite feel. It is rated R for language and scary scenes; I find this much more appealing than rated R movies that have blood, gore, heavy language, and explicit sexual content just to be there. My reaction to the movie was that of being stunned; I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was really inspirational and thought-provoking. The humor was not overdone and bland, but rather witty. The plot was twisting, and contained flashbacks, which cause the viewer to think well about what is going on. The action in the movie was not lacking, but it was not prominent either. Either way, it kept me on the edge of my seat.

Rewritten "Arrested Development" Blog

When trying to develop an argument, a writer needs a steady stance and plenty of supporting facts to back up his or her claim. In James Forman’s essay “Arrested Development,” he discusses racial profiling and its effect on students attending the Maya Angelou school. He begins by pointing out the audience, conservatives, but he describes them in such a way that the conservative reader would disagree with such a description. He has a known bias because he is a teacher in the school he is trying to defend in the article, giving the audience an idea that his facts and process might be a little skewed to his side. He uses statistics to present a sound logical argument, but one statistic stands out in particular, from The New York Times. Percents were recorded of the different races that were pulled over on a highway, blacks having the highest percentage. Not only does that prove nothing, but it in no way supports his argument unless the reader is not careful. He goes on to describe conservatives and liberals in such a way that contradicts his former description, and can be controversial to those readers who identify with such ideologies. Forman could have done a better job using logical to prove his point, but the main idea is made in the article.

Counter Argument to Sugar Tax

In contrast to my views on the penny-per-ounce sugar tax, some may take a difference stance on the issue. Perhaps the tax will in no way make consumer retract from buying sugar drinks; a similar effect is noticed with the inflation of gas prices. There are other options, like riding a bike or taking the bus, but driving one’s own car is most convenient. Soda is so popular that it will not cease to be consumed. The tax might not even generate enough revenue to do anything; if it did, the money might not even be used for its intended purpose. Obesity will still be a prevalent problem, even if sodas were never consumed. People still get their sugar intake from other sources like breads, juices, and desserts. Though the sugar tax seems ideal, the options on the other side of the problem are just as logical to ponder.

Pathos in "Mother Tongue"

In “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan appeals to pathos to describe her and her mother’s pain in the difficulty of communicating with English in an American society. Tan is used to speaking broken English with her mother, who is not as “Americanized” as her daughter. Tan is a well-spoken writer of literature, and she claims she has no mastery of the English language whatsoever, when in fact she does. She describes several situations her and her mother had to go through where communication was in an issue, and they make the audience feel sorry for both of them.
Tan catches herself speaking broken English to her mother, though she speaks the language quite eloquently and fluently to her English colleagues when discussing literature. This communication gap is herd on her and her mother, especially when she accidentally speaks more “advanced” to her mom, who misunderstands her. Her mother does not realize the break in “good” and “bad” English, but can tell the two are different. These trials and hardships in language between Amy Tan, her mother, and society bring out an emotional response in the reader.

Sugar Tax

I have planned on going into the dental field after college, so I chose to write about the Sugar Tax for the Visual Literacy essay. I wrote a 4,000 word paper over the summer of my junior year of high school over the effect of energy drinks and sugar on teeth, so this topic interested me since I can relate to it. I have always been interested in science and I took Biology II my senior year of high school. I know about how sugars, enzymes, and carbohydrates work inside the body.
Sugar is a constant and ongoing problem not only today’s youth, but with everyone. People will excessively consume drinks with ridiculous amounts of sugar in them, whether they know it or not. As for me, I go for the healthy choices and mainly drink water, though I don’t mind having a soft drink a few times a week. I find the crazy amounts of sugar people intake everyday horrifying. Why would someone subject himself to such malnutrition? Health plays an important part in my life because I am always on top of my hygiene and I pay attention to others’. A sugar tax would be beneficial to the society in ways of the economy and health.

My Life In a Pre-Digital Media Age

Life without media? Today, we would all think it would be impossible. Why? Probably because we mainly rely on technology and the media for everyday things like weather, the news, or social networking. As for me, I am on the Internet constantly, always connecting with friends and staying in touch with news and music. I am very fond of websites like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter; I check them all the time. I guess I have become dependent on using those devices to contact others besides talking in person or over the phone. I barely talk on the phone anyway; I usually stick to texting.
Without digital media, we would still use newspapers and basic TV channels as our source of information. In this age, we would use more pen, paper, and landline telephone lines as forms of communication rather than cell phones and computers. Usually when I do homework, I will use a computer for quick accessibility to research and reference; without these I would probably go to a library and use several volumes of encyclopedias. Today, activities like those seem pretty outdated, but the resources are still available. I think I would be okay in a life before digital media because there was once a point in time void of technology and people still got along in their lives.

Gut Reaction to "Sportka" Video

When I first saw the Sportka video, I thought it was just a normal car commercial that one would see on TV. Once I saw the cat walk on screen, I figured something cute would happen; I have cats of my own so I have a personal connection to them. To my surprise, the cat was decapitated by the car's sunroof. My first reaction was "How can this be a successful advertisement?" What about the animal activists? Isn't this commercial controversial in so many ways? It obviously is using some rhetorical strategy for its purpose, or else it would not be a useful advertisement. The car is said to be "Ka's evil twin," so perhaps the other model of the car exists that is maybe outdated or not as good. The action of the cat's head falling off could illustrate how "mean" the new model is, appealing to pathos. Maybe the audience feels the car is "dangerous." The video also appeals to the other side of pathos: seeing the cat get its head chopped off is disturbing and shocking, especially to someone who has a cat as a pet. Word could get out about how crazy the commercial is, in turn spreading the word of the new car to get people to consider buying it. Whatever the case may be, the commercial will stick in someone's mind, whether to encourage purchasing the car or to go about protesting against it.

Writing Qualities I Need To Work On

Writing to me has not really been the kind of writing I have to do in RHET 1302. I usually write for fun (like poetry or lyrics), research papers, or literary analysis. I have not necessarily written an essay where I stake my claim and support it with rhetorical strategies, though I have composed a thesis statement and supported it with evidence from a passage. I know I need to work on my sentence structure and diction; sometimes I have run-ons, bad grammar, or bad word choice and usage. Besides that, I am not very good at staying focused on my writing so my paragraphs might be sketchy or disjointed. When I am "in the zone" to write, I can surprisingly write quite a bit (but unfortunately that is very rare). I need to strengthen my writing style and my claim supports as well. I seem to have a hard time gathering my thoughts, focusing on my work, and creating an outline. Once I have my outline I can work better on my essay, though sometimes it's hard to think about what to write. Since I have evaluated my writing qualities, I can now develop my skills as a writer.

Logic & Fallacies in "Arrested Development"

In “Arrested Development” by James Forman, I noticed several fallacies in logic. The target audience is conservatives, given by the first sentence. This could throw off the reader as to what the article is about, especially if the reader does not agree with this certain ideology. A conservative reader might not agree with the writer’s viewpoint on conservatism either; perhaps the description is flawed. The reader can also discover a possible bias in the article, because the writer happens to work at the school he is defending; it is obvious that he will be on its side. A few statistics are used without citations, which can be thrown out and claimed unbelievable. Later on the article cited statistics are used, and one stood out from the others as odd. From The New York Times, blacks are shown to be more frequently pulled over than other races. This is just by chance, not racial profiling. Drugs or breaking the law were not even involved, but the writer makes the situation seem more prominent to the topic of the article. This quotation stuck out to me: “conservatives are wrong.” Not only does that shut down the conservative audience, but it also mislabels the liberal and conservative ideologies to fit those of the writer. Lastly, rhetorical questions are used towards the end of the article to give the reader some thought as to how this problem can be fixed. Overall, this article established its point, but with fallacies and logical errors was not very persuading.

Is Pornography Adultery?

In Douthat’s essay, he brings up the Bible definition of adultery: the act of lustfully looking upon a woman is a commitment of the sinful act. Comparing this to the dictionary definition, adultery can be seen as two different situations; it can be extended to one’s mentality or it can be limited to one’s physical actions.
The first definition might seem a little extreme, but should the marriage between a man and a woman remain faithful and pure, pornography should not even be considered. It emerges out of lust, which would not need to exist in a healthy married relationship. “Adultery” does not just have to be cheating on your spouse with someone else, sexually or otherwise, but any other connections involving sex outside of the couple’s would be considered “infidelity”.
Since pornography sexually stimulates a man (or woman), he is betraying the loyalty to his wife by going to some other form of entertainment to let his desires run wild instead of leaving that to his wife (sex is supposed to stay inside the marriage, isn’t it?) and not the everyday internet whore. The relationship between the one watching porn and what is displayed on the computer screen is not even real; it is only a fantasy to achieve the desires of the former. Within a marriage, a spouse theoretically should not strive to find satisfaction elsewhere, because the significant other should be all he/she needs.
If these pleasures remain unsatisfactory, one could advance to taking part in prostitution, which is basically making what is watched on the Internet come to life, involving flesh connections and the whole experience. Should porn and prostitution be weighed at two different levels in terms of adultery? The treachery still exists between husband and wife no matter how the means is reached, whether it is hiring a hooker for a one-night stand or watching someone else do the same thing online. The sexual relations have been broken, resulting in adultery, although it might just seem like an outlet for desires. Yes, porn might be “risk-free” compared to a physical and emotional relationship with someone else, but adultery is not about the dangers of the act. The act is the act, no matter what form it is in. The one committing adultery will know when they are committing adultery; if the fact is not clear to him or her it might need some rethinking. One would have to think, “Would my spouse approve?” It is still an extramarital affair with someone that is either tangible or two-dimensional.
It can be pointed out that everyone has a libido, but that should be kept under control in order to maintain a relationship. Looking at porn is no excuse for a lack of gratification within the liaison. The preservation of self-control is necessary to withdraw from the tendencies to find pleasure elsewhere, and breaking away from a partner is not a reasonable explanation.

What makes UTD me.

It's almost the end of the second week of school, and as a new freshman I can say college is so much better than high school was. Everything is so much more laid back. I'm not on a strict schedule like I used to be, and I think the vast amounts of "free" time contribute to the overall atmosphere of college that I thoroughly enjoy. I have my own time to do the things I seem fit, like after a good round of pool in the Student Union I can get together with some friends and go over some Calculus problems. Another plus is meeting new people; I already knew a bunch of people in my school last year. But now, everyone is fresh, and I can find new acquaintances easily. I have a feeling I will succeed to the extent of my liking, as long as I make sure all my reading and practice problems get done in time. This could be a problem to me, despite my ability to remain organized and manage time for schoolwork. Nevertheless, I am greatly looking forward to what the future holds, and I can only go forward from here.