Evolution

In the last class we talked about whether or not evolution should or should not be legal in classrooms. Learning about the past, made me realize that the present is not so different. I remember in my 9th grade biology class my teacher had trouble teaching evolution. He told us that he loved teaching evolution, but at the same time was scared because there is so much controversy around the subject. He gave us the option of staying in class and learning (in the one week he taught us) or leaving and sitting in study hall. He did not test any of us on evolution or other ideas because he did not want to worry about bringing controversy to our classroom. I thought this was a good way of teaching evolution, but it was still not fair to those people who really wanted to learn. Who knows, if I had received the proper lectures and testing that he put forth on other subjects in the class, maybe I would be a biologist today.

I guess there is no good way around this issue, but keeping an open mind about all sides of evolution will help for future classrooms.

Bias?

After reading about the recent “New York Times” article about John McCain's affair (or non affair) I was amazed by the reaction that it received. It not only caused a stir in the country, it caused a stir in multiple television shows and television personalities as well. For example on "The View" co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck talked about how this really represents the news' liberal bias. Does the news have a liberal bias? According to the book "Bias" by Bernard Goldberg, it does. In this book he explores the liberal bias that reporters, news organizations and editors hold. But, the news' ultimate goal is to tell the truth and the facts about current issues, so what is really the truth? I am interested in hearing what other people have to say about this issue, either being about McCain and the New York Times or about bias in general.

Taking a Stance

In the last class, we were asked if there was anything that we felt so strongly about that we would keep standing and talking even if there were stones being thrown at us. I began to think about this and decided that one thing right now in my life is my family. I know that there are other things that I care about (one including gay rights), but the one thing that I would die for is my family. I think that the reasoning for this is because, while my life and thoughts are blossoming through college, I am not leading my own life alone just yet. I am still receiving financial help from my parents and I am in this safety net that college allows me to have. Yes, I am forming my life into what I want it to be, but I have not taken on all of the responsibilities of leading it alone yet. I think that as I get pushed out into the world on my own, my courage will also find what I stand for. I believe that in 5 years (or even just next year) after I graduate and take on the responsibilities, benefits, and burdens of being my own adult, my stances and courage will evolve into more things.

Seminar Thoughts

Wednesday in class we talked in our seminars for the first time and I really enjoyed it. I first thought that this would be a terrible idea to sit in groups for a class and just talk about our readings, but it was really interesting. I enjoyed the fact that we did not have to follow a set of questions and answer everything as if we were taking a pop quiz; instead we were able to talk about what was really important to us while following the topic of our readings. My group became very off-topic but to this day I am still thinking about some of the issues we discussed. One thing that really sparked my attention was who really controls the news and the media and how people respond to what they are telling us. We decided that while the older generations tend to believe the anchors to the fullest, younger generations are beginning to realize that we need to also find our own information. With all of the resources that we have today, one including the internet, we can not always believe what people tell us. The news is there to tell viewers the facts and it does, but people also have to remember that it is every person’s responsibility to understand issues (like the election) on their own and form their own opinions.

Free Speech

What is free speech? After writing the essay on what free speech is to me, I realized that I had many thoughts on it. To me, free speech is a power that every person holds, and in order to make it useful to themselves and others, it all depends on how they choose to use this power. I use my power of free speech frequently in an opinion column that I write about my thoughts and life. I use it to sort through my thoughts and concerns that I may come across and while this is a great use of my own free speech, I’m not sure how it helps others. So what really comes from free speech? Sure I can write something down, have it published, and have other people read it, but I wondered what really comes from it all? In the book, Outspoken, it was quoted that “Ninety percent of what you get through intelligence channels is worthless, but it doesn’t matter whether it’s valuable to us or not. We should provide this information because we have it and because it’s a part of acknowledging the past. It may be embarrassing, it may not help people solve rights cases, but that’s why we should do it.” While this quote was talking about a murder cover up in the CIA, it seemed to semi answer my question. Free speech is not only a privilege, it is a responsibility for us all. Maybe by me writing my column, which sorts through my issues, I am helping another college woman think about issues in her life. And from that I may be helping her sort through her issues making her life less stressful, which is in my opinion a positive use of free speech.