Friday, November 20, 2009

"Global What??" Response

When I read Jackson Corgey's editorial "Global What??", I was caught off guard by not only his opinion about the subject, but also the way he approached writing about it. If someone feels strongly about an issue that is debated day in and day out in this country; he/she better have an extremely strong argument and some supporting facts if they have any desire to inform or persuade.

Jackson made a good point when he states, "
sure all these factory's and car company's might be trying to lessen the amount of emissions that are produced but its not going to halt the process of global warming." Many people may completely disagree with this statement because of the facts that they know about global warming, but someone like myself who only knows the main points about global warming, could possibly be persuaded with. The issue with the statements he makes such as this one is that there are no supporting facts or statistics.

Jackson has these extremely strong opinions about the global warming issue and the way "propaganda" is being used to express the consequences our actions are having on the world surrounding us. When he states, "The thing is that these advertisements are really exaggerated, its kind of like propaganda people are just filming polar bears adapting naturally in certain parts that looks horrible to us." I don't see anywhere in his editorial that says he did research to find out if the advertisements really are exaggerated or if that is really the situation throughout all of the land where the polar bears are found.

I am fully supportive of everyone having their opinions on issues, but I really think those who have such strong opinions on an something should have done some research or studied some aspects of the issue they feel so strongly about. I understand what Jackson is trying to convey, but there needs to be some more substance if he really wants to get his point across to the reader and especially if he wants to persuade or inform with his editorial.

Friday, November 6, 2009

The United States of America, under God, THE WAY IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN

The United States of America is a nation of evolution. While it may be true our beliefs of 233 years ago are still the foundation of whom and what we are today, I think it is safe to argue that we are wiser, more tolerant, and able to discern what is good versus what is bad more efficiently than our founding fathers ever could. What our minds are able to grasp today can be viewed as nothing short of brilliance compared to the minds of 233 years ago. And looking back, we are able to see that change has worked in our favor more often than not.

Yes, we Americans are brilliant. But also very stubborn and often times uniformed.

It only took us 143 years to allow women the right to vote. And only 189 years after the 1st Independence Day were we to allow African Americans a voice in public elections. Why? Because why change what isn’t broken? Why change at all? This is THE WAY IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN.

“The way it has always been.” A phrase often used when hearing opposition to equal rights for women, homosexuals, minorities in general… A phrase often used when describing reluctance in electing an African American president.

Most recently I heard this phrase used in a discussion about The Pledge of Allegiance aka The Pledge. There are applications on the social networking site Facebook that ask users to vote on whether or not “Under God” should be taken out of The Pledge. I was not surprised to see that the majority of voters said that The Pledge should NOT be changed but was further shocked to read that most of their comments on the subject involved statements like, “It has always said Under God”. Really?

I decided to do a little research and get to the bottom of this Pledge issue and its origin.

Most people would be amazed to learn that The Pledge as we know it is not the original version written. Nor is it the 2nd version we have come to know. But we are now pledging allegiance with the 5th updated revision of those famous words instilled in us from a very early age.

The original Pledge was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy and reads as follows:

“I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”

As you can see there is no mention of the word ‘God’ anywhere in the text. In fact, it took 4 revisions over 62 years to add “under God” to the famous oath. This brings into account a very important question to me- During the first 62 years of children reciting their pledge to America and its flag, were they in any way less “children of God” than we are today? Have we evolved into better Americans because of this addition of words?

And now there is an ever growing population who feel "under God" should be taken out of The Pledge- can that be viewed as evolution to correct mistakes of the past?

I will not touch on the criticism that The Pledge has received since it was adopted. I am not interested in delving into the possible first amendment violations of which The Pledge may be in objection. I am not going to sit here and convince readers that The Pledge should stay the way it is. There are strong arguments for both sides.

But I say stop being stubborn, America. Do research. If you are apposed to current aspects of politics then find out why. Don’t base your decisions on what you feel HAS ALWAYS BEEN. If “under God” is important to you then find out why. If time comes for our evolving nation to omit “under God” from the classroom pledges, you should know that it is not a change in the way things HAVE ALWAYS BEEN. We are a great country for many reasons which include our thirst for knowledge and change. We are not the Americans we have always been. And we will continue to change and improve ourselves in ways that today we are not able to comprehend.

What our minds are able to grasp now can be viewed as nothing short of brilliance compared to the minds of 233 years ago. No doubt our minds 233 years from now will be able to grasp concepts and ideas that are hard for us to understand today. And when we look back we will be able to see that these changes will have worked in our favor more often than not. In all aspects of politics, religion, equal rights, and culture- Do research. Support change. For the only thing we HAVE ALWAYS BEEN are Americans in a changing world.

If you would like to further your reading about this topic, please feel free to visit The United States of America, under God, THE WAY IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN

The United States of America is a nation of evolution. While it may be true our beliefs of 233 years ago are still the foundation of whom and what we are today, I think it is safe to argue that we are wiser, more tolerant, and able to discern what is good versus what is bad more efficiently than our founding fathers ever could. What our minds are able to grasp today can be viewed as nothing short of brilliance compared to the minds of 233 years ago. And looking back, we are able to see that change has worked in our favor more often than not.

Yes, we Americans are brilliant. But also very stubborn and often times uniformed.

It only took us 143 years to allow women the right to vote. And only 189 years after the 1st Independence Day were we to allow African Americans a voice in public elections. Why? Because why change what isn’t broken? Why change at all? This is THE WAY IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN.

“The way it has always been.” A phrase often used when hearing opposition to equal rights for women, homosexuals, minorities in general… A phrase often used when describing reluctance in electing an African American president.

Most recently I heard this phrase used in a discussion about The Pledge of Allegiance aka The Pledge. There are applications on the social networking site Facebook that ask users to vote on whether or not “Under God” should be taken out of The Pledge. I was not surprised to see that the majority of voters said that The Pledge should NOT be changed but was further shocked to read that most of their comments on the subject involved statements like, “It has always said Under God”. Really?

I decided to do a little research and get to the bottom of this Pledge issue and its origin.

Most people would be amazed to learn that The Pledge as we know it is not the original version written. Nor is it the 2nd version we have come to know. But we are now pledging allegiance with the 5th updated revision of those famous words instilled in us from a very early age.

The original Pledge was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy and reads as follows:

“I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”

As you can see there is no mention of the word ‘God’ anywhere in the text. In fact, it took 4 revisions over 62 years to add “under God” to the famous oath. This brings into account a very important question to me- During the first 62 years of children reciting their pledge to America and its flag, were they in any way less “children of God” than we are today? Have we evolved into better Americans because of this addition of words?

And now there is an ever growing population who feel "under God" should be taken out of The Pledge- can that be viewed as evolution to correct mistakes of the past?

I will not touch on the criticism that The Pledge has received since it was adopted. I am not interested in delving into the possible first amendment violations of which The Pledge may be in objection. I am not going to sit here and convince readers that The Pledge should stay the way it is. There are strong arguments for both sides.

But I say stop being stubborn, America. Do research. If you are apposed to current aspects of politics then find out why. Don’t base your decisions on what you feel HAS ALWAYS BEEN. If “under God” is important to you then find out why. If time comes for our evolving nation to omit “under God” from the classroom pledges, you should know that it is not a change in the way things HAVE ALWAYS BEEN. We are a great country for many reasons which include our thirst for knowledge and change. We are not the Americans we have always been. And we will continue to change and improve ourselves in ways that today we are not able to comprehend.

What our minds are able to grasp now can be viewed as nothing short of brilliance compared to the minds of 233 years ago. No doubt our minds 233 years from now will be able to grasp concepts and ideas that are hard for us to understand today. And when we look back we will be able to see that these changes will have worked in our favor more often than not. In all aspects of politics, religion, equal rights, and culture- Do research. Support change. For the only thing we HAVE ALWAYS BEEN are Americans in a changing world.

If you would like to further your reading about this topic, please feel free to visit this website:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance