Obama is trying to get the black community in south Chicago organized for most of this section. It is not easy work, because most of the black churches and such are very independent, and don't want (or are too proud) to join the organization. He says "a handful i met with confirmed to the prototypes found in Richard Wright novels or Malcolm X speeches: sanctimonious graybeards preaching pie-in-the-sky, or slick holy rollers with flashy cars and a constant eye on the collection plate" (Dreams from My Father 279). The men were not willing to coordinate with Obama and his organization because they thought they were doing fine without it, and that it might mess up everything they had going, whether it be religion or money from the offering plate. That's not to say Obama didn't like these men. He was impressed by them. He describes them "As a group, they turned out to be thoughtful, hardworking men, with a confidence, a certainty of purpose, that made them, by far the best organizers in the neighborhood (Dreams from my Father 279). He was impressed with their ability to command respect and inspire a sense of duty into things like the offering plate and other church donations. The only problem he had with them was their unwillingness to work together.
The section I read also deals more with the issues of racism. The area where Obama is working is highly segregated. He notes that "there was no denying that the church had a disproportionate number of black professionals in its ranks: engineers, doctors, accountants and cooperate managers (Dreams from my Father 285). The church he was working with didn't have many blacks in professional workers. Also, he meets Reverend Wright in this section. At first, I expected Reverend Wright to be a bad guy type figure, due to his little input into Ba rack's campaign, but it seems that at first Barack and Reverend Wright were pretty good friends. At least definitely not enemies. When speaking about Reverend Wright, Obama speaks with admiration. For example, Obama says "If men like Reverend Wright failed to take a stand, if churches like holy trininty refused to engage with eral power and risk genuine conflict, then [there would be no] chance of holding the larger community intact? (Dreams from my Father 286)
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Teacher Question
I thing there are a few differences between a stool pigeon and a criminal informant. The most major turning point is the view point. It doesn't matter who or what happened. Using the movie as an example, all the mobsters viewed terry as a stool pigeon. The reverend and the girl, plus the court lawyers and police officers all viewed him as a criminal informant. It wouldn't really matter what happened, the people hurt are going to yell traitor and the people helped will yell back crusader.
Another difference is the traitor/crusader themself. You can find out by asking yourself "What's in it for them?" In the case of the movie, Terry was doing it for all the dockworkers and as an example of how one man can make a difference. This makes him a crusader, because he is being very unselfish. He's not asking for any compensation, he just knows he made a difference. The two criminal informants who talk to terry in the beginning are stool pigeons, on the other hand. They are paid, and they probably wouldn't care about the whole thing if it wasnt for their pay.
Another difference is the traitor/crusader themself. You can find out by asking yourself "What's in it for them?" In the case of the movie, Terry was doing it for all the dockworkers and as an example of how one man can make a difference. This makes him a crusader, because he is being very unselfish. He's not asking for any compensation, he just knows he made a difference. The two criminal informants who talk to terry in the beginning are stool pigeons, on the other hand. They are paid, and they probably wouldn't care about the whole thing if it wasnt for their pay.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Dreams from My Father - Part III (pages 153-229)
Obama, Barack. Dreams from My Father. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press, 1995.
In this section, Barack has just begun his organizing career in southern Chicago. He is working with a white man, named Marty. Marty has a very interesting view on his job, which i think puts this whole section in a new light. Marty tells Barack during the interview that he must be angry about something, because otherwise he wouldn't want this job. I thought this was applicable to lots of situations in real life. It seems to me that a lot of times, someone you have never met can tell you something about yourself that you never knew. There are some things that people take for granted about themselves. A lot of people have almost no idea how their personality makes people categorize them. Barack didn't know he was angry about the situation until Marty told him he was, and then he realized that was true. He was angry, and he wanted to make a difference for the people. Marty warns him about the racism in Chicago, and when Barack experiences this for the first time, All Marty says is "'I did warn you,' Marty said, opening the door to his car. 'I told you Chicago's polarized and that politicians use it to their own advantage" (162). Barack learns that organizing is more than going around getting people to help you. He now knows that a lot of people are too scared to help out, too scared to take sides. This same idea occurs in many peoples lives, and I realize now it can be tied into All My Sons, as well. Joe Keller was afraid to admit his wrong, and so he made an unethical decision. A lot of people are too afraid of the consequences and they over think the ethics. They live feeble lives because of their reluctance to admit to their actions or ideas. Barack is realizing how little power he really has in the organizing business. When he first came to Chicago, he was expecting to gain monolithic support in the community and be completely sure of his actions. In reality, he realizes that not everybody wants to stand up for the right thing. Now he isn't even sure what is right or wrong anymore. He says "I realized then, standing in an empty McDonald's parking lot in the South Side of Chicago, that I was a heretic. Or worse- for even a heretic must believe in something, if nothing more than the truth of his own doubt" (163). Barack has heard so many opinions and so many conflicting views he is too confused to know what he believes anymore. This is a great example of the way society influences us. The more we see or hear somehting in society, the more "ok" it becomes in our minds, and since Barack is being constantly bombarded with opinions and ideas, he has no idea of right or wrong anymore.
In this section, Barack has just begun his organizing career in southern Chicago. He is working with a white man, named Marty. Marty has a very interesting view on his job, which i think puts this whole section in a new light. Marty tells Barack during the interview that he must be angry about something, because otherwise he wouldn't want this job. I thought this was applicable to lots of situations in real life. It seems to me that a lot of times, someone you have never met can tell you something about yourself that you never knew. There are some things that people take for granted about themselves. A lot of people have almost no idea how their personality makes people categorize them. Barack didn't know he was angry about the situation until Marty told him he was, and then he realized that was true. He was angry, and he wanted to make a difference for the people. Marty warns him about the racism in Chicago, and when Barack experiences this for the first time, All Marty says is "'I did warn you,' Marty said, opening the door to his car. 'I told you Chicago's polarized and that politicians use it to their own advantage" (162). Barack learns that organizing is more than going around getting people to help you. He now knows that a lot of people are too scared to help out, too scared to take sides. This same idea occurs in many peoples lives, and I realize now it can be tied into All My Sons, as well. Joe Keller was afraid to admit his wrong, and so he made an unethical decision. A lot of people are too afraid of the consequences and they over think the ethics. They live feeble lives because of their reluctance to admit to their actions or ideas. Barack is realizing how little power he really has in the organizing business. When he first came to Chicago, he was expecting to gain monolithic support in the community and be completely sure of his actions. In reality, he realizes that not everybody wants to stand up for the right thing. Now he isn't even sure what is right or wrong anymore. He says "I realized then, standing in an empty McDonald's parking lot in the South Side of Chicago, that I was a heretic. Or worse- for even a heretic must believe in something, if nothing more than the truth of his own doubt" (163). Barack has heard so many opinions and so many conflicting views he is too confused to know what he believes anymore. This is a great example of the way society influences us. The more we see or hear somehting in society, the more "ok" it becomes in our minds, and since Barack is being constantly bombarded with opinions and ideas, he has no idea of right or wrong anymore.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Dreams from My Father- Part II (pages 77-152)
Obama, Barack. Dreams from My Father. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press, 2004.
As a recap, in the first section of this book we learn about Barack's feelings about his father's death, and about his solitary attitude in his earlier years. In the next section, we see a little more insight to his growing up years. He learns things that a lot of teenagers learned, too. One thing he learned was particularly relevant. He writes that the kids on his basketball taught him "That respect came from what you did and not who your daddy was. That you could talk stuff to rattle an opponent, but that you should shut the hell up if you couldn't back it up. That you didn't let anyone sneak up behind you to see emotions- like hurt or fear- that you didn't want them to see. (79)" I found this very interesting, because I hear from parents and sometimes teachers that kids don't seem to care about things, and that's really not true. But a good number of teenagers do conceal their emotions, like pain or fear, because those emotions aren't accepted in their societies or groups. I know my parents tell me they often can't tell what I think about something they've said, because I have grown used to not using very much emotion. This is true for many teenagers, it seems. This quote is also a good representative of the idea of respect, in that in modern times it has to be earned, not simply given. You generally don't respect someone until they have given you a good reason to. That reason can be a talent they have, or a position or office they hold. It could even just be the way they treat you. But there is always a reason you respect someone. Obama is learning these things from the kids his age that he hangs out with, which shows us that he isn't very solitary at this age. He doesn't become solitary until later in his life. Another example of his maturing is the description he uses to describe the way teenagers decide what they want to do or be. He explains "so that how to live is bought off the rack or found in magazines, the principal difference between me and most of the man-boys around me- the surfers, the football players, the would be rock and roll guitarists- resided on the number of options at my disposal (79)." By this he means that the only difference between him, who wanted to play basketball, and all the other kids who did other things, was that they had different options to take, different possibilities based on their families, their friends, and all the other things that influenced them. And, not to be racist, but a young African American boy sees African American men playing basketball and he might decide that's what he wants to be, and the people around him will support that, because it makes sense and it goes along with the stereotype.
As a recap, in the first section of this book we learn about Barack's feelings about his father's death, and about his solitary attitude in his earlier years. In the next section, we see a little more insight to his growing up years. He learns things that a lot of teenagers learned, too. One thing he learned was particularly relevant. He writes that the kids on his basketball taught him "That respect came from what you did and not who your daddy was. That you could talk stuff to rattle an opponent, but that you should shut the hell up if you couldn't back it up. That you didn't let anyone sneak up behind you to see emotions- like hurt or fear- that you didn't want them to see. (79)" I found this very interesting, because I hear from parents and sometimes teachers that kids don't seem to care about things, and that's really not true. But a good number of teenagers do conceal their emotions, like pain or fear, because those emotions aren't accepted in their societies or groups. I know my parents tell me they often can't tell what I think about something they've said, because I have grown used to not using very much emotion. This is true for many teenagers, it seems. This quote is also a good representative of the idea of respect, in that in modern times it has to be earned, not simply given. You generally don't respect someone until they have given you a good reason to. That reason can be a talent they have, or a position or office they hold. It could even just be the way they treat you. But there is always a reason you respect someone. Obama is learning these things from the kids his age that he hangs out with, which shows us that he isn't very solitary at this age. He doesn't become solitary until later in his life. Another example of his maturing is the description he uses to describe the way teenagers decide what they want to do or be. He explains "so that how to live is bought off the rack or found in magazines, the principal difference between me and most of the man-boys around me- the surfers, the football players, the would be rock and roll guitarists- resided on the number of options at my disposal (79)." By this he means that the only difference between him, who wanted to play basketball, and all the other kids who did other things, was that they had different options to take, different possibilities based on their families, their friends, and all the other things that influenced them. And, not to be racist, but a young African American boy sees African American men playing basketball and he might decide that's what he wants to be, and the people around him will support that, because it makes sense and it goes along with the stereotype.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Outside Reading- Dreams from My Father (part one)
Obama, Barack. Dreams from My Father. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press, 1995.
For my outside reading, I am reading Dreams from My Father, by Barack Obama. It is the story of his struggles to find himself as a kid, being torn between the life of his father and ancestors in Kenya and his life in the states.
A brief background for those of you want to more about the man who will be our next president, Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama, Sr. was from Kenya. He met Barak's mother in the states, and they were married. When Barack Jr. was 2, his parents divorced. His father went back to Kenya, and his mother moved the family to Indonesia, because she had found a job there. He returned to Hawaii for his high school year, where he admitted that he used drugs such as marijuana and cocaine. He described this as "his greatest moral failure" at the 2008 Civil Forum on the Presidency. Obama later attended Harvard Law School, where he became the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. He then moved to Chicago, where he was the director of the Developing Communities Project of south side Chicago. He ran and was elected senator of Illinois in 1996, and is now the next president of the United States.
This story begins with Barack living in New York, a few months after his twenty first birthday. He is a solitary person. He isn't sad about it, he just likes his privacy. He says "If the talk began to wander, or cross the border into familiarity, I would soon find reason to excuse myself. I had grown comfortable in my solitude, it was the safest place I know" (4). This allows us to infer a little about his past. The "safest place" bit tells us that he might have had some bad experiences with people in a past life, and now he stays solitary because he doesn't really feel safe reaching out to people any more because of these experiences. He will talk to people, and be polite and friendly, but he isnt putting any of himself into the conversation, he's just agreeing and saying things that dont give the other people any idea who he really is. It is at this point that his mother calls and tells him his father has died in a car crash. He doesn't really feel sad about it, because at this point he hasnt seen his father in about 15 years, and when he did see him he never go to know him as a father. Right after his aunt gives him the news, he says " The line cut off, and I sat down on the couch, smelling eggs burn in the kitchen, staring at cracks in the plaster, trying to measure up my loss (5)" He doesn't have any idea how he sohuld be feeling at that moment, because his father was never really his father to him. It would be like if some man you'd never seen, only heard of, came you your door and told you he was your father, and then many many years later, you learn he died in a car crash. You would probably not be wailing and crying, because you never really thought of that man as your father, anyways.
For my outside reading, I am reading Dreams from My Father, by Barack Obama. It is the story of his struggles to find himself as a kid, being torn between the life of his father and ancestors in Kenya and his life in the states.
A brief background for those of you want to more about the man who will be our next president, Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama, Sr. was from Kenya. He met Barak's mother in the states, and they were married. When Barack Jr. was 2, his parents divorced. His father went back to Kenya, and his mother moved the family to Indonesia, because she had found a job there. He returned to Hawaii for his high school year, where he admitted that he used drugs such as marijuana and cocaine. He described this as "his greatest moral failure" at the 2008 Civil Forum on the Presidency. Obama later attended Harvard Law School, where he became the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. He then moved to Chicago, where he was the director of the Developing Communities Project of south side Chicago. He ran and was elected senator of Illinois in 1996, and is now the next president of the United States.
This story begins with Barack living in New York, a few months after his twenty first birthday. He is a solitary person. He isn't sad about it, he just likes his privacy. He says "If the talk began to wander, or cross the border into familiarity, I would soon find reason to excuse myself. I had grown comfortable in my solitude, it was the safest place I know" (4). This allows us to infer a little about his past. The "safest place" bit tells us that he might have had some bad experiences with people in a past life, and now he stays solitary because he doesn't really feel safe reaching out to people any more because of these experiences. He will talk to people, and be polite and friendly, but he isnt putting any of himself into the conversation, he's just agreeing and saying things that dont give the other people any idea who he really is. It is at this point that his mother calls and tells him his father has died in a car crash. He doesn't really feel sad about it, because at this point he hasnt seen his father in about 15 years, and when he did see him he never go to know him as a father. Right after his aunt gives him the news, he says " The line cut off, and I sat down on the couch, smelling eggs burn in the kitchen, staring at cracks in the plaster, trying to measure up my loss (5)" He doesn't have any idea how he sohuld be feeling at that moment, because his father was never really his father to him. It would be like if some man you'd never seen, only heard of, came you your door and told you he was your father, and then many many years later, you learn he died in a car crash. You would probably not be wailing and crying, because you never really thought of that man as your father, anyways.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Outside Reading
Crichton, Michael. Timeline. New York: Random House Publishing Group, 1999.
For this Outside reading, I read Timeline, by Michael Crichton. This novel starts out in the desert in Arizona, between an Indian reservation and a small town called Gallup. A man and his wife are driving towards Gallup, and they see an old man on the side of the road. As they drive past, the hit a pothole. The wife thinks they have hit the man, and so they drive back to see. The old man is lying down, but has not been hit by the car, and they see the pothole they hit. The old man is obviously very distressed, and he is speaking in riddles. He is saying things like "Left it, heft it, Go back now, get it how (6)" and, to the tune of a John Denver song, "Quondam phone, makes me roam, to the place i belong, old Black Rocky, country byway, Quondam phone, its on roam (9)" Obviously, the couple has no idea what the man is trying to say. Then the wife notices the old mans fingers are very red and swollen, but they werent when they first picked the man up. This goes on for the rest of the car ride, and when they get to the hospital, the old man dies of massive cardiac arrest. An autopsey shows that the veins in his fingers and heart were split, as if they had ben taken apart and then rearranged slightly lower than their normal places. At first they think its a problem with the machine, but later in the story we realize that isnt the case at all. The story then shifts to a company, supposably where this old man worked. They are a company that has developed the secret of time travel. They have been sending people back to find out what an archeologic sight looked like in the past. We discover that this man was sent back, but upon return the equiptment malfunctioned, messing him up. I wont tell you the rest, because it would ruin the suspence should you decide to read this book. A character in this book, Bob Doniger, the CEO of the time travel company, reminded me of the theme of friendship in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? He is a very cruel man. Upon hearing of the death of his employee, he says:
Big f**king deal. The autopsy won't show a thing. Traub (the old man) had transcriptual errors. They'll never figure it out. Why are you wasteing my time with this s**t?
'One of your employees just died, Bob,' Gordon said.
'That's true,' Doniger said coldly. 'And you know what? There's all the f**k I can do about it. I feel sorry. Oh me oh my. Send some flowers. Just handle it, OK? (23).
The transcriptual errors are errors that happen in your body if you time travel too much. Traub (the old man) had these errors. The company knew it, but Traub threatend to reveal the secret of time travel if they didnt let him go back again. He went, and then died on return. Bob Doniger is not being a good friend here. In Oh Brother Where Art Thou, the men were willing to take on extreme danger to help Tommy get out of trouble, but Doniger wasnt willing to take a little bad publicity to keep one of his employees alive. Also, you can tell that he is an unstable person, because of the nochalant way he takes the news about his employees death. It's almost as if he knew it was going to happen. And the language he uses right off the bat is atrocious too. It's too bad that there really are greedy, cruel people like that in the world.
For this Outside reading, I read Timeline, by Michael Crichton. This novel starts out in the desert in Arizona, between an Indian reservation and a small town called Gallup. A man and his wife are driving towards Gallup, and they see an old man on the side of the road. As they drive past, the hit a pothole. The wife thinks they have hit the man, and so they drive back to see. The old man is lying down, but has not been hit by the car, and they see the pothole they hit. The old man is obviously very distressed, and he is speaking in riddles. He is saying things like "Left it, heft it, Go back now, get it how (6)" and, to the tune of a John Denver song, "Quondam phone, makes me roam, to the place i belong, old Black Rocky, country byway, Quondam phone, its on roam (9)" Obviously, the couple has no idea what the man is trying to say. Then the wife notices the old mans fingers are very red and swollen, but they werent when they first picked the man up. This goes on for the rest of the car ride, and when they get to the hospital, the old man dies of massive cardiac arrest. An autopsey shows that the veins in his fingers and heart were split, as if they had ben taken apart and then rearranged slightly lower than their normal places. At first they think its a problem with the machine, but later in the story we realize that isnt the case at all. The story then shifts to a company, supposably where this old man worked. They are a company that has developed the secret of time travel. They have been sending people back to find out what an archeologic sight looked like in the past. We discover that this man was sent back, but upon return the equiptment malfunctioned, messing him up. I wont tell you the rest, because it would ruin the suspence should you decide to read this book. A character in this book, Bob Doniger, the CEO of the time travel company, reminded me of the theme of friendship in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? He is a very cruel man. Upon hearing of the death of his employee, he says:
Big f**king deal. The autopsy won't show a thing. Traub (the old man) had transcriptual errors. They'll never figure it out. Why are you wasteing my time with this s**t?
'One of your employees just died, Bob,' Gordon said.
'That's true,' Doniger said coldly. 'And you know what? There's all the f**k I can do about it. I feel sorry. Oh me oh my. Send some flowers. Just handle it, OK? (23).
The transcriptual errors are errors that happen in your body if you time travel too much. Traub (the old man) had these errors. The company knew it, but Traub threatend to reveal the secret of time travel if they didnt let him go back again. He went, and then died on return. Bob Doniger is not being a good friend here. In Oh Brother Where Art Thou, the men were willing to take on extreme danger to help Tommy get out of trouble, but Doniger wasnt willing to take a little bad publicity to keep one of his employees alive. Also, you can tell that he is an unstable person, because of the nochalant way he takes the news about his employees death. It's almost as if he knew it was going to happen. And the language he uses right off the bat is atrocious too. It's too bad that there really are greedy, cruel people like that in the world.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
The whole picture upload is a bit confusing to me, but I hope it works out.
Safety First
When you're flying off a jump, 20 feet in the air, there are hundreds of things that could go wrong. Any movement could send you tipping on your side, and as you see the hard, white ground coming up to meet you, you had better hope you're wearing a helmet. In the picture Safety First, by Michael Alkire, one can realize that the photographer agrees with that statement. The photo is of a helmet perched on top of a pair of skis. The skis have white sidewalls, which create a leading line to the helmet. This serves to emphasize the helmet, because your eyes follow the lines and come to rest on the helmet. This placement may also be trying to say that you shouldnt take your skis without your helmet, because to use the skis you would at very least have to agknowledge the helmet. The low camera angle also shows us the importance of the helmet. You feel like you lying on the ground, looking up at the helmet. You might even feel as if you had just hurt yourself and are looking up, wishing you had been wearing the helmet. Its a long distance shot, but the skis form a pathway up to the helmet. The photographer is trying to say that it may be hard for some people to get themselves to wear a helmet, but, since the skis make a path there, its definately possible. These angles, combined with the placement of the subject, make it easy to realize the photographers opinion on helmets: When it comes to skiing, better safe than sorry.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Outside Reading
Grisham , John. The Brethren. Broadway: Dell Publishing, 2001.
The book I am reading is called The Brethren, by John Grisham. I have become interested in this author from the first book I read by him, called The Firm. The Brethren has two stories in one, which are mixed later in the book. It starts with a story about three judges, named Beech, Yarber, and Spicer, who have been put in jail for cheating on taxes, manslaughter, and skimming profits. They have formed a group called The Brethren, in which they help other criminals form appeals for reduced sentences and stuff, in return for money and other things. The second story is about an Arizona Senator named Aaron Lake, who was approached by the FBI. They approached him regarding a nuclear arms exchange in Russia, between a Russian revolutionist and the Iranian government. The FBI had learned that the Russian man, who's name is Natli Chenkov, is planning to overthrow the shaky democracy in Russia and start an expansion of the Russian borders westward. The FBI agrees to get Aaron Lake into the office of presidency if Lake will agree to double military spending.
The three judges in jail are what seemed to me related to the story siddhartha, particalarly one of the parts of The Eightfold Path, Right Livelyhood. The judges are participating in a scam. In this scam, they have written a fake add in a homosexual magazine, where they pretend to be a young man named Rickey living in a drug rehab facility. They say that they need help, because their rich uncle won't pay for their rehab. They get money out of other men. The worst part of their scam is that they try to get close to the pen pal, and learn if he has a wife or something that doenst know the man is a homosexual. Then they blackmail the man for thousands of dollars. One of the men they trap is named curtis, and they read his letter in the jail library. It says,
"Rickey, I can't wait to see you in April. I've already told my wife tgat there is an international diamond show in orlando that month, and she has no interest in going with me.'
'April?' asked Beech.
'Yep. Rickey is certain he will be released in April.'
'Aint that sweet,' Yarber said with a smile.' And Curtis has a wife and kids?' (36)"
This shows the depth of their scam. They are cheating these guys and stealing their money. This is definately not Right Livelyhood, becuase they are hurting many people jsut to make money. Another man they have is named Quince. They have a good background on him, so they decide to send him a letter. They discuss it in the library, saying:
"'Let's bust him,' Beech said. The others quickley agreed.
'How much?' asked Yarber.
'At least a hundred thousand,' said Spicer. 'His family has owned a bank for two generations. We know his father is still active in the buisness, you you have to figure the old man will got nuts if his boy gets outed. Quince can't afford to get booted from the graby train, so he'll pay whatever we demand.' (39)"
Their buisiness is hurting others, making it against the Eightfold Path. These three judges won't be achieving enlightenment any time soon!
The book I am reading is called The Brethren, by John Grisham. I have become interested in this author from the first book I read by him, called The Firm. The Brethren has two stories in one, which are mixed later in the book. It starts with a story about three judges, named Beech, Yarber, and Spicer, who have been put in jail for cheating on taxes, manslaughter, and skimming profits. They have formed a group called The Brethren, in which they help other criminals form appeals for reduced sentences and stuff, in return for money and other things. The second story is about an Arizona Senator named Aaron Lake, who was approached by the FBI. They approached him regarding a nuclear arms exchange in Russia, between a Russian revolutionist and the Iranian government. The FBI had learned that the Russian man, who's name is Natli Chenkov, is planning to overthrow the shaky democracy in Russia and start an expansion of the Russian borders westward. The FBI agrees to get Aaron Lake into the office of presidency if Lake will agree to double military spending.
The three judges in jail are what seemed to me related to the story siddhartha, particalarly one of the parts of The Eightfold Path, Right Livelyhood. The judges are participating in a scam. In this scam, they have written a fake add in a homosexual magazine, where they pretend to be a young man named Rickey living in a drug rehab facility. They say that they need help, because their rich uncle won't pay for their rehab. They get money out of other men. The worst part of their scam is that they try to get close to the pen pal, and learn if he has a wife or something that doenst know the man is a homosexual. Then they blackmail the man for thousands of dollars. One of the men they trap is named curtis, and they read his letter in the jail library. It says,
"Rickey, I can't wait to see you in April. I've already told my wife tgat there is an international diamond show in orlando that month, and she has no interest in going with me.'
'April?' asked Beech.
'Yep. Rickey is certain he will be released in April.'
'Aint that sweet,' Yarber said with a smile.' And Curtis has a wife and kids?' (36)"
This shows the depth of their scam. They are cheating these guys and stealing their money. This is definately not Right Livelyhood, becuase they are hurting many people jsut to make money. Another man they have is named Quince. They have a good background on him, so they decide to send him a letter. They discuss it in the library, saying:
"'Let's bust him,' Beech said. The others quickley agreed.
'How much?' asked Yarber.
'At least a hundred thousand,' said Spicer. 'His family has owned a bank for two generations. We know his father is still active in the buisness, you you have to figure the old man will got nuts if his boy gets outed. Quince can't afford to get booted from the graby train, so he'll pay whatever we demand.' (39)"
Their buisiness is hurting others, making it against the Eightfold Path. These three judges won't be achieving enlightenment any time soon!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Response to Question 1
Here are the questions inside the question...
1) Should Homer be considered an early feminist or an old-fashioned sexist?
2) Is Odysseus a hero for modern times?
3) Is the concept of Kleos relevant for a contemporary society?
Here are my thoughts...
I think Homer is a old-fashioned sexist, but I don't think he should be thought less of because. the view of the time back then was that women were to stay at home and care for the house. I don't think anyone would've viewed homer as a sexist, because everyone thought that the woman's job was to stay at home. You can't blame Homer without blaming almost the entire population of Ancient Greek men. I also believe that the argument about Athena being powerful and all that stuff is flawed. The reason that she was depicted as powerful and respected is that she was a goddess, and has nothing to do with the fact that she was a woman.
I don't think Odysseus would be capable of filling the role of hero in modern times. He is simply not an honest man. The only reason he was depicted as a hero in Ancient Greece is because he was a good fighter, and a good strategist, and a king. Another reason he couldn't be a hero is because we really don't have heroes anymore. We have the kind in movies, but those obviously aren't real. We have politicians, who need to be honest, not liars, and they really aren't heroes either. Odysseus is just a smart guy who lies to people because he thinks its fun, not a hero.
And as for Kleos, I don't think its very relevant. There are a few examples, such as getting into a good school, or winning a sport event, that would bring someone glory, but for the most part we lead pretty glory-deprived lives. We don't go off to war to take back treasures that were stolen from us, we don't kill other families because they killed one of us. We just earn money and then spend it away for most of our lives.
1) Should Homer be considered an early feminist or an old-fashioned sexist?
2) Is Odysseus a hero for modern times?
3) Is the concept of Kleos relevant for a contemporary society?
Here are my thoughts...
I think Homer is a old-fashioned sexist, but I don't think he should be thought less of because. the view of the time back then was that women were to stay at home and care for the house. I don't think anyone would've viewed homer as a sexist, because everyone thought that the woman's job was to stay at home. You can't blame Homer without blaming almost the entire population of Ancient Greek men. I also believe that the argument about Athena being powerful and all that stuff is flawed. The reason that she was depicted as powerful and respected is that she was a goddess, and has nothing to do with the fact that she was a woman.
I don't think Odysseus would be capable of filling the role of hero in modern times. He is simply not an honest man. The only reason he was depicted as a hero in Ancient Greece is because he was a good fighter, and a good strategist, and a king. Another reason he couldn't be a hero is because we really don't have heroes anymore. We have the kind in movies, but those obviously aren't real. We have politicians, who need to be honest, not liars, and they really aren't heroes either. Odysseus is just a smart guy who lies to people because he thinks its fun, not a hero.
And as for Kleos, I don't think its very relevant. There are a few examples, such as getting into a good school, or winning a sport event, that would bring someone glory, but for the most part we lead pretty glory-deprived lives. We don't go off to war to take back treasures that were stolen from us, we don't kill other families because they killed one of us. We just earn money and then spend it away for most of our lives.
Monday, September 15, 2008
1st Post
My first post on this blog. I saw an article about the Pope urging sick pilgrims to accept that god would choose when they died.
Doland, Angela. "Pope to ailing at Lourdes: 'Accept death at the hour chosen by God'." am New York 9/15/2008 15 Sep 2008. http://www.amny.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-france-pope,0,1746984.story
The Pope was visiting Lourdes, which is a shrine that's spring waters are supposed to have magical healing power. The pilgroms are usually sick religious people who donn't believe in modern medicine. The spring itself attracts about 6 million pilgrims every year, who are helped by attendents to bathe in the springs and are allowed to bring jars or vials of it home to drink. It reminded me about the view of fate in The Illiad, by Homer. Hector and Achilles reffered to fate numerous times. They would say that they would go out and fight, because the Gods would choose when they would die anyway. They were going to die whenther they fought or not, and it wasnt their choice, I don't like that way of thinking, like they don't have a choice, and I don't think its okay for the pope to be telling people to accept their death because god wants it to happen, but that is the Popes decision.
Doland, Angela. "Pope to ailing at Lourdes: 'Accept death at the hour chosen by God'." am New York 9/15/2008 15 Sep 2008
The Pope was visiting Lourdes, which is a shrine that's spring waters are supposed to have magical healing power. The pilgroms are usually sick religious people who donn't believe in modern medicine. The spring itself attracts about 6 million pilgrims every year, who are helped by attendents to bathe in the springs and are allowed to bring jars or vials of it home to drink. It reminded me about the view of fate in The Illiad, by Homer. Hector and Achilles reffered to fate numerous times. They would say that they would go out and fight, because the Gods would choose when they would die anyway. They were going to die whenther they fought or not, and it wasnt their choice, I don't like that way of thinking, like they don't have a choice, and I don't think its okay for the pope to be telling people to accept their death because god wants it to happen, but that is the Popes decision.
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