Archive for the 'society' Category

Does the Internet Change Our Brain

Published on June 11, 2008 in society. 0 Comments

The  article  Is Google Making Us Stupid? suggests it is possible the Internet is changing our brains..  Think about the way people communicate and receive information.  Also, look at what the most popular videos are on the web.  Plus, there is a proliferation of TV news shows dedicated to the youtube and videos posted to the web.  It shows a definite shift to the Internet, and not print media, as our source of information.  Think about how often you use the Internet and what it does to your reading and social interactions.  Are the different than when you didn’t use the Internet that much?  It is interesting to consider.

ps I just ran a the spell check for the post.  Everytime I wrote internet, it corrected me by capitalizing the “i”  I think the internet is getting pushy.  Is is really a proper name?  Wait, HAL is calling me.  Got to go.

Nuremberg and Today

Published on April 22, 2008 in society. 3 Comments

I have been reading a book called Judgement on Nuremberg.  It was written by a UNC professor William J. Bosch.  His focus is not on the trials themselves but on American reaction to the trials.  He draws from material in the public record and other works written about the trials.  Some of the people he talks about raise some interesting questions.  So far I have read through his Presidential and international law sections.  The international law part really raised some questions.  Mainly, I was wondering how the precedents set at Nuremberg would translate today and how many people would support trials of current leaders.  One of the best points is that before Nuremberg war was considered a morally neutral event.  It was considered a tool in a nations arsenal if they felt they could not achieve their ends any other way.  The idea of trying leaders of the warring nations was unthinkable.  But Nuremberg criminalized acts of aggression and placed the responsibility on the shoulders of the leaders of the nations who started wars.

How would it be viewed in today’s light.  Should Bush and his allies be tried for starting a war, no matter the justification?  What is the liability of the leaders of nations that start wars?  Where does Osama Bin Laden fit into the scheme?  Should he face a similar tribunal or should he only face judgement in the nations where attacks occurred?  Who else should face judgement?  It is pointed out that Julius Streicher, the head of an anti-semitic newspaper was sentenced and hanged though he never actually ordered anyone to do anything.  He was the head of the leading propaganda machine that fueled the anti-semitic fire.  Who else should face trial?  CNN, FoxNews, MSNBC, Rush Limbaugh, etc, all of these and more can be accused of fueling the war against Afghanistan and Iraq in some way.  If there were trials, should they and the people who head their organizations face execution?  It is interesting questions to ponder.

Ultimately I believe that the victor sets the story line.  None of these will happen because we have basically won the war, it’s the rebuilding that has been the issue.  Also, no nation on Earth would dare set a finger on Americans because they fear the American military and the allies we have on our side.  so Nuremberg could not happen today, but it is interesting to debate “what-ifs.”

This Is Very True…

Published on March 21, 2008 in society. 0 Comments

A student told a teacher. ..

“You didn’t go over this more than one time. . .”

“You never gave us one with 2 variables. . .”

“You never gave us a problem like this. . .”

“You didn’t prepare us at all for this test. . .”

Yet, the teacher has talked for more than a week about the topics on the test.  She has given homework each night that was not always completed by the student.  She took questions each day on the homework and on the problems presented in class.  She gave a review sheet that had 14 problems very similar to the ones on the test and gave extra problems from the book so that the student would get a thorough review.  And, she gave the student an index card that she could write whatever she wanted to from the chapter on and use it during the test.  The student hastily wrote one thing on the card the morning of the test.

I love how it’s always the teacher’s fault.

Thanks Jeanette.

Again With the Blame Game

Published on March 18, 2008 in society. 2 Comments

I am sure many of you have heard of the murder of Eve Carson.  She was the student body president of UNC and was loved by most on campus.  The arrested two young men and charged them with her murder and a spree of other crimes.  So, is it their fault they were out early in the morning murdering a young woman.  Of course not it was education’s fault, as this letter writer to our local paper says.  When can we place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the offenders responsible for these horrendous crimes?

He Was A Quiet Man

Published on March 16, 2008 in society. 0 Comments






I watched this movie last night.  It was riveting.  It is only an hour and a half long but I was glued to my TV the entire time.  He Was A Quiet Man chronicles the life of a desperate worker and his attempts to find happiness.  It is about how society can create desperate men and what those men can do.  I highly recommend it.  I watched on a In-Demand channel.  You can probably find it there.  I’m not sure it is out on video yet.  The IMDB site for it is here I don’t know what I did to mess this up but here it is.

When Can We Place Some Blame?

Published on March 3, 2008 in society. 1 Comment

Stricklands settle after death of son  I am not going to debate the question of whether this teenager needed to die.  He did not.  The sentence did not fit the crime he committed.  I do have a problem with one issue here.  If Stricklend had never stolen a PlayStation, the cops would not have been at his door.  This is aspect of the situation that seems to have been overlooked in the outrage over the actions of one trigger happy cop.

In today’s society we seem to overlook the actions of a person if an injustice results from those actions.  Rodney King would not have been in a situation to be beat by LA officers if he had not been doing drugs and driving erratically.  Why did someone not point this out.  It was wrong for the cops to bludgeon him, but he brought the cops attention to himself by being high.  There are other circumstances also, he kept resisting the officers.  If he had just stayed on the ground he would not have been beaten either.

How many times a day have officers arrested someone and no one was hurt in the incident?  Many.  But when something goes wrong the blame is always placed on the cops and little mention is made about the offenders crimes.  When can we place some blame?

Quote from Speaker for the Dead

Published on January 22, 2008 in religion and society. 0 Comments

  • A great rabbi stands teaching in the marketplace. It happens that a husband finds proof that morning of his wife’s adultry, and a mob carries her to the marketplace to stone her to death. (There is a familiar version of this story, but a friend of mine, a Speaker for the Dead, has told me of two other rabbis that faced the same situation. Those are the ones I’m going to tell you.)
    The rabbi walks forward and stands beside the woman. Out of respect for him, the mob forbears, and waits with the stones heavy in their hands. “Is there anyone here,” he says to them, “who has not desired another man’s wife, another woman’s husband?”
    They murmer and say, “We all know the desire. But, Rabbi, none of us has acted on it.”
    The rabbi says, “Then kneel down and give thanks that God made you strong.” He takes the woman by the hand and leads her out of the market. Just before he lets her go, he whispers to her, “Tell the lord magistrate who saved his mistress. Then he’ll know I’m his loyal servant.”
    So the woman lives, because the community is too corrupt to protect itself from disorder.
    Another rabbi, another city. He goes to her and stops the mob, as in the other story, and says, “Which of you is without sin? Let him cast the first stone.”
    The people are abashed, and they forget their unity of purpose in the memory of their own individual sins. Someday, they think, I may be like this woman, and I’ll hope for forgiveness and another chance. I should treat her the way I wish to be treated.
    As they open their hands and let the stones fall to the ground, the rabbi picks up one of the fallen stones, lifts it high over the woman’s head, and throws it straight down with all his might. It crushes her skull and dashes her brains onto the cobblestones.
    “Nor am I without sin,” he says to the people. “But if we allow only perfect people to enforce the law, the law will soon be dead, and our city with it.”
    So the women died because her community was too rigid to endure her deviance.
    The famous version of this story is noteworthy because it is so startingly rare in our experience. Most communities lurch between decay and rigor mortis, and when they veer too far, they die.
    Only one rabbi dared to expect of us such a perfect balance that we could preserve the law and still forgive the deviation. So, of course, we killed him.

    • By Orson Scott Card

    The Global Community

    Published on December 31, 2007 in society. 5 Comments

    I have been reading several articles lately about the need for America to mind it’s own business in world affairs.  It is an admirable idea.  The problem, in my eyes, is the complete interconnectedness of the world today.  If an exchange burps in Japan, the European exchanges taste the after effects and can tell what the Japanese exchange had for lunch.  Same for U.S. markets, Asian markets, every decision made by one company or group is felt globally.  This extends to politics, culture, religion, in essence every part of one society is effected by another societies decisions.  We can’t just mind our own business when our lives are being affected by the decisions made hundreds or thousands of miles away.

    A Great Warning Label

    Published on December 18, 2007 in society. 0 Comments

    The following is part of the warning instructions for the washing machine at the Y where I work.

    Failure to operate this machine according to the Instruction Handbooks or the work safety and hygiene standards and COMMON SENSE (emphasis mine) may result in conditions which CAN PRODUCE bodily injury or loss of life.

    I love it. Common sense is usually not part of a warning but if every body put this on their products it would cover so many issues. You wouldn’t need to put a warning on a hair dryer like “Don’t use in the shower” or Preparation H’s “Don’t use orally” All these warnings are on these products because someone tried to do it. With this warning you could just say, “Is it common sense to use something that uses electricity in the shower? No you will die.” or “Is it common sense to put a gel in your mouth that is used to cause things in you butt decrease in size? No you will get sick, or a really small mouth.” I love it.

    Terry Pratchett

    Published on December 14, 2007 in society. 0 Comments

    Thanks to my friend Jeremy I found out today that one of my favorite authors, Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.  He announced the news on Paul Kidby’s website (Kidby is the long time illustrator for Pratchett’s books)

    http://www.paulkidby.com/news/index.html

    Pratchett is one of those writers that captures the imagination.  His novels are a constant read for me.  I will usually sit down with one of his books and know I will be entertained and challenged.  I have probably read everyone of his books at least three or four times.  I went for a year and a half and did nothing but read his novels (Obviously between times of work and other activities.)  He usually challenges a person to think while they read.  His commentary on life, politics, religion, culture, you name it is fairly spot on.  I rarely read something and say “That’s not right.” or “That’s not how it works.”  His books are an excellent read.

    I believe his greatest feat is his ability to draw a person in to the story till they are not able to put the book down.  I often find myself reading thinking, “Here it goes.”  When he starts the build up to the final action.  Then there is a long sigh afterwards as you realize the ride you just took.  This is true no matter how many times I read the books.  I recently read what I call the Vimes series again.  It starts with Guards! Guards! and continues through several books, Men At Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, The Fifth Elephant, Night Watch, and the latest Thud.  When I finish the book I am reading now I will probably start the Witches series again  These start with Equal Rites and goes through Wyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, Lords and Ladies, Maskerade, and Carpe Jugulum.  My favorite series though is his young adult books.  They seem to be more insightful then his more adult books.

    I know Pratchett isn’t dead.  He will continue to write, and as he said in his announcement

         ”  ’I am not dead’. I will, of course, be dead at some future point, as
    will everybody else. For me, this maybe further off than you think – it’s too soon to tell.”

    And I know he would not write forever, but his characters are constant companions for me and it is upsetting to know their complete stories may never be known.  That is why I am sad today.  I want to know what happens to everyone and I may never know.

    p.s. If anyone is thinking about buying me a Christmas present, I still haven’t been able to get Pratchett’s Wintersmith or Making Money.  Just to let you know.

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