Education

We need to balance progress and education. Yes, there are new educational tools available every new school year, but we need not fall into the trap of thinking we need the best and viewing that what has worked thus far as obsolete. Computers and labs are an important aspect of education, but a lot of learning can be done in an older lab and older computers. Why should we let our school system become involved so deeply in the capitalist machine? We lose sight of teaching as it was intended – to build a foundation in each student that allows them how to learn facts systematically for some purpose(i.e. writing or scientific lab to prove or argue something) and to use reason to achieve understanding of problems and issues ranging from philosophy to politics. In order to accomplish that we need well educated teachers with a broad curriculum, and cut spending on the technological side education.

Economic Divide

 

No, soaking the rich is not the best course of action. While I would have little to no problem paying high taxes if I earned in the millions and billions, the people who achieve that amount of money often do mind very much. If you put pressure on the rich with the threat of taxing their money, then they find ways to get it out of the reach of taxation. Maybe by investing or moving business overseas…? The way to get the money out of the rich is to give them incentive to spend it in America. It’s a republican talking point, but it is right in that the rich are intentionally holding back the economy due to President Obama’s economic policies. Government plays a role in the strength of the economy, but you only see the crazy American capitalistic growth and prosperity when the rich decide. Moreover, the rich decide to create that atmosphere when it works out best for them.

Feminization

Sometimes I wonder if the bachelor degree has been feminized.

One of Many Arguments

Prohibition is fundamentally wrong.
You are taking a consumer/seller relationship and making it criminal.
There is nothing inherently evil or about cannabis.

Just because something is illegal, does not mean that it is morally wrong.
Just because something’s are not classified as illegal, does not mean that they are morally acceptable.

Aristotle

"Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime." -Aristotle

"The most perfect political community is one in which the middle class is in control, and outnumbers both of the other classes." -Aristotle

The Debate

I’m disappointed with the debate overall. I don't see a clear "winner" to be honest. I wouldn’t blame either candidate per se. Maybe it’s the questions: how can one give a clear answer if the questions are so general?

I think too many people listen for what they want to hear and make their decisions based on that.

Anyways. In the spirit of the debate, I thought I'd share this link:

25 Funniest Tweets About the Debate.

Word of the Day

According to merriam-webster.com utilitarianism is defined as: a doctrine that the useful is the good and that the determining consideration of right conduct should be the usefulness of its consequences; specifically: a theory that the aim of action should be the largest possible balance of pleasure over pain or the greatest happiness of the greatest number.

I intend on coming back to this word in a later blog. But for now, it's something to think about.

A Quick Thought

Rational debate and rational discourse no longer exist.

Deepa Kumar's Presentation

I enjoyed Deepa Kumar’s presentation on Wednesday, although my first reaction would be that along with informative, it was disheartening to learn (more) about the “construction of the Muslim enemy.” History is filled with events and stories such as those Kumar illustrated; it does not get easier to learn about them. If I took one theme away from her lecture, it was this: language is not static.

There is a consequence to the way we (Western civilization) present the Muslim world. It seems that the words Muslim and terrorist are used in tandem.  This is problematic, as Kumar suggested, because we’re focused on the fundamentalists and the terrorists. Ultimately, it seems many people believe that every Muslim is a terrorist or fundamentalists or that all terrorists are Muslim. People forget that there are other terrorists groups, all over the world, that have nothing to do with Islam.

Consider the Klu Klux Klan from the West (more specifically, America). They may not be involved in terrorist activity anymore, or that we know of, but they terrorized African American’s up through recent history. Maybe the Klu Klux Klan is not comparable to other terrorists groups, however, I believe that the one of the purposes of a terrorist group is terrorize. The Klu Klux Klan did just that.

On the Topic of Personal Responsibility

I am taking two classes this semester at North Central and in the last few sessions of the other course I am in, we have had discussion on the notion of personal responsibility. I like the idea of personal responsibility for the most part. One is responsible for oneself, essentially. A problem seems to arise though, when an individual is not responsible for himself.
Consider the context of this discussion –healthcare.

If an uninsured person chooses to live an unhealthy life and down the line, they are diagnosed with a treatable but expensive disease, is this person entitled to healthcare? My first inclination is that most people would say “no,” but I have been wrong before. Regardless, my problem goes beyond this.

Why is it that the majority of us (again, I'm just guessing) would say no? Why not consider helping this individual, even if the state they’re in, is of their own making? They may not deserve healthcare, but I would argue that it’s not about deserving. It’s about society’s attitude towards helping people in need. The boogieman has been built up. The political spell has been cast, I suppose. We demonize the individual who uses recreational drugs, who has weight issues, who drinks too much, yet, couldn’t one argue that plenty of us live in unhealthy ways?

Saying, ‘if you don’t live this way, then you don’t get help’, seems to be the wrong route to take.

**(This blog has a number of holes in it. I hardly know my questions and I don’t know the answers, but I know I am unhappy with the suggestion that one person could be more deserving than the next when having access to healthcare. It just doesn’t seem right. But what is right and what is fair? I don’t know)**