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Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Chapter 14
The Gettysburg Address is a very “to the point” essay in terms that Lincoln didn’t stray off in anyway, but was clear and decisive. He truly was a eminent speech maker! The way he portrays his voice is a great example of his speech making skills. He does not plain out tell the people that slavery is wrong, doesn‘t even take a side, although he did remind them that they needed to show devotion for the dead’s cause. It reminds me of a grandfather telling his grandchildren Little Red Riding Hood about what happened, but making sure that they understood that there is something they can learn and take part in from the story. All in all this was a very creative, not to mention short, address that can definitely be looked at and considered by many Americans.
Chief Joseph’s Surrender Speech is extremely gloomy. You can tell two things might have happened during the speech making; the translation was a little incorrect, since there is numerous short sentences. Or Chief Joseph was so saddened from what was happening that he really didn’t want to talk. The details about all the dead and harsh conditions were examples of why he gave up. It is just sad that he and his people pursued a goal so eagerly, to end up getting caught after all the work and harshness that they had to endure. Even worse was the fact that they had traveled hundreds of miles an were only forty miles away before they surrendered. Can you just imagine being that close to achieving a goal that you have risked your life for, and yet be an arms reach away before realizing it’s not going to happen? I’m not sure if I’m just babbling my opinion, but while I’ve already started I might as well keep going. I ask people to consider this; Chief Joseph was born down in Oregon, do you think he would want to be buried there? Their has been many an argument on why he is buried in Nespelem, Washington since it is a very random place that I’m sure he wouldn’t want to be buried at. Point being this man had been very misfortunate for all of his struggles in life, yet even after life he was misfortunate for were he was buried. His surrender speech is definitely an insight into what he felt, what people went through, and the guilt he experienced.

Monday, February 4, 2008

Entitlement Education

Daniel Bruno's Entitlement Education paper is quit true. There's a difference between passing your class while actually understanding, and passing without truly understanding. You see it all the time. I often find myself jealous of those who can study right before a test and pass, yet i can't. How do they do it? Most of the time they don't really understand the material in the class, but somehow manage to pass with good grades.
There are many downsides to what Bruno describes as " being cheated in the long run." He mentioned that although the students have remembered all the facts they don't really achieve any additional intelligence. He brought up a good point that alot of people wouldn't have thought of in terms of a students education.
I do disagree with Bruno with the fact that as the students who lag behind in high school will later lag behing in college. It's not like the students were told not to push themselves or to take the easy route. They decided what they did. Do homework for a hour and really make their paper great or rush it before class. Simple choices like that can make a total difference in whether they really learned something or if they cheated themselves. I believe the students can decide if they want to suceed, and a lot of times after graduating high school they become more mature and realize education is the key and don't lag behind like they did in high school.
Daniel Bruno's examples in the paper were very insightful. They gave you a better understanding of what he was talking about, rather than having to guess. His example of Thomas Jefferson's quote was a very good example because Thomas Jefferson is a very inspirational figure for the U.S. and people will take his words to heart.

Is Hunting Ethical

Living in a very woody area, I've heard many arguments on hunting. Most say hunting is ethical, but they don't usually listen to the opposites opinion. I agree hunting is ethical, but only to a certain decree.
Whether hunting is ethical is a very good argument to write about, and Ann Causey did a great job on letting the reader see both sides of the argument. Hunting can be horrible. The fact that people are just blood thirsty and find fun in blowing off several different animals up. On the other hand you have those hunters that kill solemly for food purposes.
If people were to listen to the opposites opinion instead of just thinking they're wrong 24/7, this wouldn't be such a large issue. I suppose if people remain as ignorant as they are today this topic will never disappear.
I really liked Causey's sentence after describing a movie where a rockstar and a tour guide over emphasized killing an animal for fun. It goes like this,"To inflict death without meaningful and significant purpose, to kill carelessly or casually, or to take a life without solemn gratitude is inconsistent with genuine reverence to life." That to me was a very accurate statement that i totally agree on, and wish others would share that opinion.
Her introduction to the story was something i admired. The was she described the incident made you feel like you were there. Then she put a paragraph behind it showing that she wasn't a vegetarian, which was the impression she left you with from the first couple of paragraphs. It was a nice way to show what your story was going to be about without completly writing it out plain and simple.