TED Video 10/31/12

All individuals vary whether it’s their personal appearance or personal opinions. However, the main thing that sets all individuals apart is their identity. Identity can be defined as the fact of being who or what a person or thing is. In the TED video the identity of people is discussed. The speaker, Bryan Stevenson, in this video discussed the role of identity in society and how in reverse society affects the identity of people. Bryan emphasized multiple times that poverty is one of the main causes for identities to changes as well as lead to crime rates to increase. Bryan suggested that building ones’ character from learning from the past one will one day be able to look past the determining factor of race. He believes that ethics also help play a role in identity by using ones’ truths, morals, and beige able to reconciliate to mold a better person. Also, having the characteristic of being courageous will help one look past the media and what has been instilled in them through segregation and history books one can change their identity for the better. It has been noted in poverty stricken areas the crime rate is extremely high. Bryan poses the question, is this due to biasness of whites and blacks, and the fact that many people believe the color of one’s skin is more superior than the identity underneath the skin. By creating a new identity for yourself you will be able to see things I a new light that you would have never seen before. All of the things speaker, Bryan Stevenson, talked about all relates back to one thing and that are that identity is associated with inequality. The inequality towards African Americans results in the ill punishment of them in the legal system. With Bryan’s personal experience working with adult and juvenile African Americans in the prison system he is able to speak accurately on how punishment is solely based on race. The TED video today showed that by changing our identities as well as perspectives on things, discrimination of African Americans as well as the flawed prison system can be changed.

Alternative Assignment

I believe that the video for the alternate assignment is very interesting. However, I think that Huckleberry Finn is a great piece of literature that reflects greatly on the time period it was written. Although nigger may be an offensive term in today's era, back when the book was written it was the acceptable term. I believe that the commentator is correct when saying that slave is a job title and isn't a description of a person's ethnicity. By changing the word nigger to slave the essence of the book will be changed and it'll lose its' relevance to why it was written. Just because words inside Huckleberry Finn is offensive does not mean that we should change it. If this is the case then Catcher in the Rye should be taken off the shelves of all book stores because of the offensive manner it contains. Mark Twain used certain words and descriptions in order to make his book relevant and to build a great story that teaches life lessons.

Opinion Free Summary of "At Long Last, Dignity?"

In the article “At Long Last, Dignity” the highly controversal topic of same sex marriage is discussed. The article was published in The New York Times October 8, 2012 by Frank Bruni. The article discusses the issues over same sex marriage in the state of Maine, as well as other states including: Maryland, Washington and Minnesota. The emotions of an 80 year old gay man, Chuck Bennett are abundant in the article. This man discussed many things varying from being forced out of the Navy to buying his dream house alone. The times seem to be changing according to Bennet and he believes that he was born 50 years too soon. Same sex advocates are very optimistic about Maine as well as the other states due to the Presidential support they have as well as a whole community supporting the same sex marriage regardless of sexual preference.

"At Long Last, Dignity?" Ethos, Pathos, and Logos Chart

Ethos-Credibitity

-NY Times Opinion artice

-Frank Bruni

-Chuck Bennet- gay man 80 years old, a college English professor, then a dean

-Navy

-State of Maine

-President Obama

-State of Minnesota

-Gay Advocates

-Gay characters in movies and on TV

-John Osborne

-David Newman

Pathos-Emotion

-President Obama’s history-making statement of support in May

-“You know that old saying, Born 50 years too soon?” he asked me. “I think I do feel something of that.” –Chuck Bennet

-“he bought his dream house on the ocean here 15 years ago with two close friends, because he didn’t want to grow old alone and didn’t expect to meet anyone special, not so late in the game.” –Chuck Bennet

-In the late 1950s, he was forced out of the Navy for being gay.

-Advocates are most optimistic about Maine

-Only assurances that there were other people like him were newspaper stories about men arrested on Fire Island for “obscene” or “depraved” behavior.

-He felt the need to be secretive about his sexuality and kept work colleagues at a distance. His parents died without knowing he was gay

-He later joined efforts to end the ban on gays in the military, giving money to the cause

-“The likelihood of winning was so, so far-fetched.”

tormented by the straight world’s norms, which excluded him-David Newman, 71, lives with Chuck

-“It recognizes their dignity. His dignity.”

-“I’m inclined to look back not in anger, as John Osborne once said, but with some degree of sadness,” he said. “Everyone could have been happier. Everyone could have been more fulfilled if they hadn’t been burdened with this prejudice.”

Logos-Stats

-Maine-one of four states with same-sexmarriage on ballot for Nov. 6

-Minnesota, the vote is on an amendment to the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage

-Maine, Maryland and Washington, the vote is to permit it, and thus to join the six states where it’s already legal, thanks to legislatures or courts

-That right means that gay people are equal to straight people

NY Times Article

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/09/opinion/bruni-at-long-last-dignity.html?ref=columnists
"At Long Last, Dignity?"

"Why Men Fail"

The age-old question of which gender is superior rises again during this New York Times article written by David Brooks. "Why Men Fail" is an article that brings to light the lagging performance of males in school as well as in the work force. "Boys earn three-quarters of the D’s and F’s" is a staggering statistic that is proof that boys are falling behind in school and letting females take the driver seat. The credibility of this source helps back the stats as well as the story. Being a female makes this article, more appealing to me, due to the fact that the statistics and the article as well the book "Why Men Fail" support women and show the true strength of women. "She’s just saying women are adapting to today’s economy more flexibly and resiliently than men" this quote shows that women are strong and are willing to make a change in order to be more successful. I believe that this article is made to be a persuasive article to men. The reason I think this is the fact that it keeps hinting that mean are lazy, not resilient and inadaptable to change. I also think this article is a small reminder to all women to show the progress of the female gender. The article "Why Men Fail" is a great persuasive article to provide evidence to the community that men are lagging in responsibilities.

Presidential Debate

The first presidential debate was held this past Wednesday at the University of Denver. The two candidates that debated were Governor Romney and President Obama. Although the debate was very intense, there was a clear winner: Governor Romney. I believe that Governor Romney won because of his aggressive personality and his determination to get his point across. Like a true debate, the candidates truly never answered any questions that were being asked. President Obama throughout the whole debate kept bringing up the fact that Governor Romney had a "5 trillion dollar tax cut" and that seemed to be Obama's only argument. Governor Romney, in my opinion, won the debate due to the fact that he corrected President Obama on everything that was incorrect, never let the proctor ask questions, stayed off topic, brought up the flaws in the past four years that Obama failed to fix, and had a manipulative personality. The debate was not about the truth behind what the candidates were saying but rather how well they got their message across and how convincing they made it sound. In other words, the debate was not about truth but about believing in lies and being confident about it. I believe that Governor Romney won the debate not by the content of his answers or what his plans had to do with this country but rather by his aggressive personality and confidence in his information. I do not think that President Obama lost because he did not try or have enough content in his answers but because of his laid-back personality. The difference in morals as well as personalities is the reason why Governor Romney won the debate over President Obama. The next debate should be very interesting considering the fact that the President got walked all over because of his mellow personality.

"New Rules"

The riveting article "New Rules" published in the New York Times, mainly discusses the extraordinary educational system in Estonia. The pathos in this article strongly relates to the emotions of the United States. Thomas L. Friedman utilizes data as well as quotes from credible sources to build his story. The quote "Work hard and play by the rules" was coined by President Clinton in 1992, and has been used multiple times by President Obama in his speeches to persuade listeners that the open system in America is fair. The logos provided in this article ranged from the unemployment rate in the United States to global school system rankings. In America, the unemployment rate for people with four years of college is 4.1%, with two years college 6.6%, with high school diploma 8.8%, and high school dropouts have an unemployment rate of 12%. The Shanghai school system is ranked number one in the public school system, beating the rest of the world in math, science, and reading (global PISA exam). The fact that children in this school system are learning how to code from age 7 to 16 makes Estonia the number one target, especially for China. "Lifelong learning is the key to the middle class" is a very powerful statement and plays to the pathos of the paper. Citizens in the United States seem to have one goal and that is to have a decent job and make a decent living. Now that goal seems to be achievable only through higher education, yet that will only provide a mediocre life. The final words that still linger in my mind after reading this article are said by futurist Alvin Toffler "Illiteracy will not be defined by those who cannot read and write but by those who cannot learn and relearn." This statement is so influential due to the fact of the ever-changing technological world as well as the workforce adapting to consumer demands.