Putting the Pieces Together

Our nation was taken by surprise this past Friday when 20 elementary students and 6 teachers were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown Connecticut. As I'm sure everyone knows there are a few issues that will be formed as a result of the massacre. Many debates about gun control, violence in schools, and security will result. I think there is a time and a place for that kind of thing. We are welcome to voice our own opinions, but I believe that it is simply too soon to be attacking anyone. Before any issues are brought up I'd like to say that the victims, families and the town of Newtown are in my thoughts and prayers. I'd like to show them respect by simply giving some facts about the town and the aftermath of this horrible event.

Schools are back in session today in Newtown, but no child, teenager or parent is fully comfortable with where they are. Obviously security has been bulked up and this event seems to be an isolated one, but tensions are still high. Funerals for first graders James Mattioli and Jessica Rekos were held at a local church already this week. Both children had lives, and looked forward to the kinds of things all little kids look forward to. It makes me sad to think that those goals, ambitions, and wants will never be filled by these babies. It seems to me that the victims of this event are already being overlooked, by the politics. Eveyone is so concerned with everything else when we should really be supporting the families of the victims and the people effected. More time should be given to them to mourn before making this event all about gun control or security. The families deserve more respect than that.

An eye for an eye?

       I'm sure there are kids who start their college essays with "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." This saying, attributed to Gandhi, is supposed to be saying that world peace is something that everyone should be interested in achieving. As a man of peace, and someone who was fully committed to helping others, Gandhi is certainly who makes a good role model for morals. There must be a line drawn in the sand though, there are simply some people in this world who want to watch the world burn. No matter how many people they hurt, no matter how guilty they should feel, they'll never get it. If not put away, or in this case put to death, they would just keep hurting. When that is the case, the saying "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" simply does not cut it.
       Many people who are against the death penalty in the United States will use that saying as an argument stating that revenge should not be the answer. I would like to be able to say that revenge is bad, or that it is unhealthy to want it, but I simply don't think that's true. When someone is murdered in a brutal way, the family will be upset, and chances are they will want revenge on the person who committed the crime. This is not wrong, and although it "may not be the answer" it may bring some kind of closure for them. There are certainly cases where the family is still not satisfied even after the murderer has been put to death, but after that there is nothing else that can be done.
        I'm not arguing that the death penalty is right and just, and I'm certainly not arguing that there are no flaws in the system -that much is blatantly clear- I am however saying that there is no reason to abolish it completely. I believe that sometimes it is necessary for someone to be sentenced to death. They should not be allowed to live on this Earth anymore. In very specific cases of course. Some may disagree, and I'm not quite sure that I have the plan right in my mind. I would make it so someone would only be eligible for the death penalty if they killed more than one person (possibly even more than two or three, I'm not sure on the number, and I'm not qualified to make that kind of judgement). There are cases where the crime is too terrible. Too gruesome. The death penalty should only be reserved for those that are atrocious and the worst of the worst.

Racism? Or funny?

People are just mean sometimes. That doesn't mean it's okay.
We read articles, and looked at pictures of cases where college students in the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity were wearing offensive costumes with blackface and KKK costumes. Their conduct was generally racist as they even "jokingly" reinacted the scene of a lynching. This kind of blatant racism is not okay, nor is it socially acceptable. Obviously there is still racism in the United States, but it should not be allowed to take such a physical form, especially in a school setting. I believe that the school has the right, and should, ban this kind of behavior. College (and any school for that matter) is supposed to be an environment in which people can learn and grow, without the fear of dealing with someone hating who they are. I would imagine that not too many black kids would want to go to school with people who enjoy dressing up as slaves, and insulting them.

We think that racisim is gone in the United States, but cases like this make you realize that it's still out there. This is a sad fact, and it will still take a long time for it to completely go away. It may even be impossible.

Gun Control

One thing we haven't heard much about is gun control. In some past elections it has been a big factor. This time around it seems that there are bigger things to worry about. We have to worry about our economy, and the national debt more than controlling the guns in this nation. Obviously there are dangers that come with owning guns, but honestly it isn't guns that kill people. People kill people. There are those that argue that just owning a gun is a risk because they don't want small children to pick it up and shoot themselves or others. My rebuttal to that is, if you own a gun, put it in a place where a child can't reach it. Also most guns today do have some kind of safety on them. My family owns guns, and I personally know how to clean, load, and shoot a gun, and have for quite a few years. Knowing how to handle a gun is a valuable skill, and simply owning one does not make you a killer. I do believe that there should be restrictions on who can own a gun. I don't think past criminals, or people with mental health problems should be able to own a gun. That is why I believe in background checks for anyone who wants to purchase a gun.

2012 Election and thoughts on voting

Unfortunately I will not be able to vote in the 2012 presidential election. It is something that I have looked forward to for a long time. My mom is very involved in poltics, and since I was young I have had very distinct political views on certain topics. I said this in my last post, and I have just further proved it today. In class we had the opportunity to take a few quizzes that would match us to the candidate that fits our view the best. These quizzes came up with the very same results as I thought they would. I am sided with Obama on the social issues, but when it comes to the military, foreign policy, the economy, and taxes.

Politics in America

I've recently come to the conclusion that the only reason there is such a big difference between policies of the Democrats, and Republicans in the United States is because they want to be different. Sure there are real differences, that have existed for years, but now they make even the small differences seem like a lot. For example President Obama's plan for taxation and the economy is not as drastically different from Governor Romney's as everyone thinks. I think what this nation really needs is someone who is willing to go both ways. to be conservative with money, and liberal with social issues.

I consider myself to be pretty moderate. I have very strong opinions on everything, but the thing is, I have opinions that are on both sides of the isle. When it comes to social issues I am liberal. However, I'm conservative when it comes to anything relating to money. I do not think that the majority of the people should have to pay for someone else to go to college. Call me selfish, or whatever, but we do not live in a socialist country. It may sound nice for everyone to have equal opportunity, but that's just not how the world works. My grandfather came to the United States with close to nothing and worked his way through school. It is still possible to do this today. It takes a lot of hard work and determination, but that is what good jobs are looking for in a candidate anyway.

There are good and bad sides to being a republican, just like there is good and bad about being a democrat. Sometimes you have to take a step back and look at both sides before making a decision.

Freedom of Speech in schools

In class we have been discussing freedom of speech in school, and what kind of speech is protected by the first amendment in a school setting. The amount of gray area in these cases is astonishing. Each case has it's own set of facts, making it extremely hard to make broad rulings. In the case of Tinker v. Des Moines the students who were protesting the Vietnam war won their case against their school. The school believed that the students would be disturbing the regular school day and creating issues. As a result, tried to suspend the students for wearing the arm bands. The reason the students won their case was because they were defending a legitimate political view. They were not trying to make problems for the kids who agreed with the war, they were simply voicing their opinion.

This week at my school we experienced our own case of restriction of freedom of speech. Homecoming week is a big deal at any school, and this week we have a few traditions. The biggest, and most fun of which happens on Friday. Each class has a color they wear (freshmen wear white, sophomores wear grey, junior wear red, and seniors wear black), they changed the colors recently from white, green, blue and black, to our school colors. That was fine. This year they wanted to take the class colors away all together. They wanted to "support school unity" and "keep seniors from hazing the freshmen." I have problems with both of these points. As a senior, I was very excited to have this one day of the year where we all dress in black and get to be the "big dogs" of the school. The threat of this being taken away was very upsetting, and as a result the senior class came together and decided to wear black despite what the school wanted us to do. A few coaches, had a problem with these plans, and threatened to bench their athletes if they wore their class color.

Even though I think we should be allowed to wear our class colors, if this became a case and was taken to the supreme court the school would win. The reason for us wearing black does not have anything to do with a political view, or a belief. The only reason we want to wear black is for tradition. There is no free-speech being violated, it is simply something we want to do for the sake of doing it.

11 years later...

September 11, 2001 is a day that I will never forget. No one living in the United States on that fateful day can possibly forget it. My experience on that day was a bit different than most people my age. I'm 17 years old and that means I was only 6 years old when our country was attacked by terrorists that day. Unlike most of my peers I remember it better than most days of my childhood. I attribute my extremely vivid memories of the day to the fact that I was in New York city, and in the Twin Towers themselves less than 3 weeks before the event.

Few things in this world make me cry, two of them have to do with 9/11. One is the events of the day and thinking about how many people perished so quickly. The other is the men and women in our military and their families. In class we watched a documentary about the World Trade Center on 9/11, and one of the parts that really hit me was when they were in the basement of the buildings, with the shopping center. In that moment I recognized the store, and had a pretty vivid flashback of when I was there at the age of 6.

9/11 is now also called Patriot Day, and it should be remembered and celebrated all over the country. Most kids at my school wouldn't have remembered it was the anniversary of such tragic events if they didn't have some kind of history class. Not too many people talk about it. I think there should be something more. The kids who are younger don't have any memory of it, and should be taught about it in grade school. It is now part of our country's collective memory, and should be treated as such.

I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag?

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." The exact words of the Pledge of Allegiance.

In class we discussed the words, and meanings of the pledge. Some people voiced their opinion, and believe it to be an offensive, forceful statement. As students at a public school in the United States we are required to at least sit through the pledge every day. It has been this way for the entirety of our school careers. As seniors in high school, we are all entitled to our opinions, so obviously someone is going to have a problem with "being forced to say it." I personally don't have a problem with the pledge, in my homeroom most of us do not stand and say it at the beginning of the day when we are given the opportunity to do so. Someone in my class mentioned that they think we should have a minute of complete silence in which we would be allowed to say the pledge if we so pleased. That's fine, but if no one is saying it when it's on the TV, what is the difference? It isn't hurting anyone. Nothing in the pledge is controversial (except the "under god" part).

It is my belief that people should not protest, or disagree with something simply because it's there. There are arbitrary rules all around us, and if we stood up to every single one of them the wold would be a far less peaceful place. Like these rules, the pledge is not hurting anyone. It is not infringing on any one's right. It is simply a few words that were used to unify the country in times of need. Patriotism in the United States is becoming less and less prevalent, so for those who want to say the pledge, I say: GO FOR IT!

My Opposing Viewpoints.

I wouldn't call myself a controversial person, however, my views and opinions often don't go over well with my peers. I'm not going to lie and say that I am not opinionated. I will stand up for what I believe, and I will bring up some facts that you may not like. All this means is that my views don't match some, and that is my right. If you are offended by anything that I say, I'm sorry. It is in no way my intention to make someone uncomfortable with what I say. I simply want to voice my opinions.

Some may be confused by what I say, because not everything lines up. There are two sides to every story, and I like to look at both sides before making my decision. Something that I promise to do on this blog, is to do some research before talking about a subjet. If anyone finds something I've said to be untrue, please let me know.