JJ's World Views

Tag: understanding

  • Should we Break up the States?

     

    I have heard a few of my old friend say that the states should become their own countries.  These people also think they are patriots.  In some ways I kind of agree.  I mean our constitution is set up like a treaty if you really think about it.  Most of the states where not there at the time of the signing of it.  This would ease the tax burden on people a bit, not having to pay federal taxes.  We would only have to pay state taxes, which would be federal taxes I guess at that point.  Every country would have its own currency which would be easier to keep a closer eye on it.  This way the few would not have so much control over the many.

    This would also give many that still lived in a democracy more control over their government.  This would promote more activity in the political process which could be much better thing.  People would be more willing to stay informed if they actually thought they had a say, unlike the current system we have now.

    We could give the new countries there national guard back.  If there was a war the individual countries could come together and fight side by side.  May be do drills together annually, this way if the militaries of the countries train together they would be less likely to want to fight them.  So, there are a couple of positives but I feel there are some major drawbacks to this.

    One of the major problems I see right off the bat is what to do about the nukes.  Does anyone really trust the south with nukes?   The KKK would definitely rise to power again and the right wing religious fundamentalist, would want to kill anyone not like them or believe the same way they do.  We would be more like Europe was in the dark ages.  Hell I consider the time we are living in now the Social/Technological Dark Ages.  I is little doubt in my mind, if it were not for our current level of technology we would already be in the dark ages.  We have not yet learned how to live socially yet in this new world.

    Slavery might come back into play if we were to divide up.  I do not think it would be successful though.  The countries which did not legalize it could put major economic pressure on them.  Which brings us back to the nukes again.  How many people think that there would be a leader that might try and play that card just out of spite.  Look at our political climate right now it is crazy.

    Though slavery most likely would not last long I think, Segregation would definitely make a comeback in many parts of the country.  I feel many leaders would try to become permanent dictators, or at least try.

    I want to say right now I know that not all people in the south are bad people.  I lived in Florida for 10 years I know plenty of people from the south.  It is the people they elect that scare me.  I am a Humanist I believe in our potential as a species.  I feel we are not ready yet as a country or s species to do something like that in this country.   Then again people usually only learn when bad things happen to them, so maybe we should, just for the wake up call.

  • Day 4

    Well today was the end of my first week of school.  I had Intro to Cinema and History of World Civilization 2.  After my classes I had a meeting with my TRIO SSS (Student Support Services) advisor.

    In Cinema we were learning about its technical history from the Zoeatrope to George Melies “A Trip to the Moon”.  It was interesting to see how they first attempted to colorize film.  It must have been painstaking painting each frame, even if it was a 13 minute film.  It is remarkable to see how far we have come in such a short period of time ( in the grand scheme of things).  I also started the readings tonight going through the influences of the different countries that had an effect on the industry from the late 19th century to 1947 is where I stopped for the night.  This cover things like the Kinetograph and Kinetoscope developed by William Kennedy Laurie Dickson in Edison’s labs (411 Barsam and Monaham).  Going into the Silent Period (214), The German Expressionists (418) and many more.

    This afternoon I had History in which we watched a video (narrated by the late Leonard Nimoy)and discussed the Black plague, and he answered questions on the syllabus.  The video was something that I had seen before on the History channel so most of the information was not too new to me.  Like I knew they used Bodies of the dead as a form of biological warfare of the time and that doctors of the time were some of the most vulnerable do to the closeness of working with those who had the plague.  What I had missed the first time I had watched the video was the Flagellants ( an extremist Christian sect) that had started to gain traction do to the Catholic Church own ignorance and unwillingness to hear any ideas other than those in the Bible.  I started my reading for this class today as well.  The reading are on some of the creation myths of the world.  I have gone through the Iroquois, which is more of a matriarchal view of the world and the Japanese which from what I read started out quite nice then became very patriarchal.  At least that is how I saw it.  I will be rereading it to get a better understanding of them both.

    After history I went to see my TRIO advisor.  I like going to talk to him we always have interesting conversations.  For those who do not know Trio is an organization that help first generation college students and students with disabilities navigate through college life.  They help you set up your schedules, filling out financial aid forms and help to keep you on track in school.  Some of the most prominent people who have been part of this program through the years (not at Normandale Community college where I go they just started theirs last year) are Oprah Winfrey and Angela Bassett.  This Program has been around since the 60’s and is federally funded.  If you are in college and they have this program check to see if you qualify it is extremely helpful.  Me and James (my advisor) talked about how my classes are going so far, some of my financial aid and a little about this blog.  it was a short meeting but it is the first week and he is swamped with the new semester and people on his team. He did ask me if I “If I thought that I would have any problems with the number of classes or the classes themselves.” I dont really think I will of course while writing this blog my self doubt started creeping up again.  This happened before this time I feel I have the support I need to concur it.  beside I always feel like this until the end of the semester.  By then I have seen where I am at and know what I need to do to get the grades I need and want.  Hell right now I am waiting to get my invitation to Phi Theta Kappa our Honor Society. Over the past 2 semester I earned a 3.53 GPA in my college level courses.  If you add in my remedial courses it is a 3.68 GPA.  So, as long as I keep doing what I am doing I should have another good semester.

    Works Cited

    Barsam, Richard Meran., and Dave Monahan. “10/Film History.” Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film. 5th ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2016. 411+. Print.

  • Day 3

    Today was a long at school, this wasn’t because the classes were boring I just had a long break between classes.  The classes were rather interesting today with Freshman Comp.  and Theory and Practice of Tai Chi Chuan.

    In Comp. we watched a Ted Talk on “The Danger of a Single Story”.  What is a single story?  A single story from what I have gathered from the video is a one dimensional look at the world (seeing things from one point of view).  An example of this is the way we see Donald Trump speak about illegal immigration and the people in the middle east.  The issue with a single story is: they have a tendency to breed ignorance, bigotry and hatred in those who are not willing to do research and/ or go out and meet people who are different then them.  At least, that is what I had gotten from the video.  We see people who buy in to the single story trap so much in our society today, it is astonishing to see in this day and age.

    In between classes I had a lively and invigorating discussion in the smoking area about religion, politic and corruption.  This is one of the things I love about college, actual intellectual conversation about tough topics.  I get to practice my conversational skills without the pressure of hurting someone’s feelings or someone just getting up in my face.  I just can not to that with my old friends and family. That is one thing that has stifled my personal growth as a human being.  I am someone who enjoys that type of conversation, because I get to actually exchange ideas with people instead of having them dictated to me.

    Then in Tai Chi it was a basic first day until we started learning the moves.  I am so out of shape.  We first learned a stance, then practiced breathing and lastly how to walk.  Doing the stance was difficult for me because I had a hard time keeping my toe connected to the floor.  The breathing was not too difficult, it is something I have been practicing for a while to keep my stress level down.  The hardest part for me was the walk.  I am a big guy, out of shape and extremely right side dominant.  When I was done with the walk my left inner thigh was killing me.  The muscle had started cramping up on me it felt like a bunch of needles poking in to a single point on my thigh.  I am going to need a lot more practice and push myself to make sure I can do this correctly.

  • Home

    I have lived in Washington State, California, Florida and home is Minnesota. I have been a cashier, custodian (Disney World), Photographer/Videographer (Discovery Cove), salesman, Transportation Security Officer (TSA) and soldier.
    I am currently a student at the ripe old age of 41 and am Studying to become a Social Studies Teacher. I am a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (honor society).
    I want to travel more and see this great big world we live in. Explore new cultures and share what I have learned. I believe everyone has different experiences in this life. So, that we can grow and learn from each other. In order to make this world a better place for future generations.

    I have many reasons for starting this blog, one of which it helps to build up my writing skills.  I will be posting each draft of what I have written, this way I can get constructive critiques of my work and people can see my writing process a bit.   If you have constructive criticism of my work please let me know do not be shy.  This will help me to become a better writer which is one of my goals.

    Next I am pursuing a career in Social Studies education sot that I can become a teacher and join the Peace Corp.  This blog will serve as a journal of sorts for me to express my feeling on certain subjects and help me to see how I have evolved as a person and a life long learner.

    Lastly this blog is about me and my experiences over the past 40 years.  There will be journal entries, thoughts on life society, Ideas for thing we can do better and I will even put up some of my work from school after it has been graded, I don’t want to risk plagiarizing myself, lol.

    If you have any questions for me or would like to here my opinion on a subject, you can leave them in the comments below the writings or you can leave me a message on Facebook or Twitter for the time being.  I am still trying get a handle of all the uses for social media so bare with me.

  • Third Semester day 1

    Today was my first day back to school and man did I miss it.  I only had one class Freshman comp.  The teacher seems pretty cool looks like it will be an interesting class.  Tomorrow I have Intro to Cinema in the morning and History of World Civilization 2 in the afternoon.   Wednesday I have comp again in the morning and in the afternoon I have Theory and Practice of Tai Chi Chuan. Thursday back to Cinema and History again.

    I went to the Experimental Education center to find out what I had to do to return as a tutor this semester.  They will be sending the emails this week for returners I found out.  The cool thing about this is that My history class has a service learning component for extra credit so, I will be getting extra credit on top of the work study pay.  Last semester I just did it for experience not I have additional reasons to do it this year.

  • My thoughts on “An Evening with Malala Yousafzai”

    For those who know me they know that it was here story that inspired me to get the mental help I needed for my Clinical Depression, head back to school to become a teacher and hopefully join the Peace Corp.  So when I heard she was going to be speaking here in Minnesota I was absolutely  thrilled at the chance to see her speak.  I bought my ticket early in June and the had already sold out the cheap seats, that kind of sucked.  That’s ok I figured if I am going to an event like this I want to get close to the front anyways.  I ended up 8 rows back on the left side of the stage, damn close,  that rocked.  The weeks went by and I couldn’t wait.  I had my nephews over the 2 nights prior and was so excited about the upcoming event that I wanted to share her documentary with them, in order for them to understand why this was so exciting for me.  Joey my 14 year old nephew got bored and played his video game.  Mason age 10 watched it with me and was asking questions about her, he really wanted to try and understand, and I did my best to explain things to him about what she went though.  He is such a cute and loving kid.

    Then on July 26th I headed to the Target Center here in Minneapolis to see “An Evening with Malala Yousafzai”.I ended up fighting through traffic, it was busy as hell for a Tuesday going in then I realized that the Twins were playing right next door at Target Field.  Yes, we are the home of target here in Minnesota.   I still made it there with a half hour to spare, which was nice.  As I walk into the arena I see a stage to nice comfy chairs and a little end table.  The back was lit with a blue bubble like lighting.

    IMAG0080[1]
    Image from my seat before the Anyone came out to speak.
    This was the first time I had gone to a speaking engagement.  Let alone go there by myself.  I expected the auditorium to most likely be packed with women of all ages.  The thing that surprised me was how many men were there, it was about a forth of the audience, all different age groups. It looked like a full house.

    Then the interviewer, , came out to give the introduction to Malala.  She talked about her background, which most people who were their most likely know I would assume.

    Next Malala comes out to a standing ovation, I am not a clapper but damn my hands hurt after I sat down and wiped the tears from my eyes.  Yes I am a cryer folks when I am happy,sad, or inspired, But I digress.  After the ovation calmed down she spoke about her thoughts on Minnesota  and what she has experienced while she was her, all the while cracking jokes about how “NICE” we are here in Minnesota.  She talked about the young Somali women she met and what they discussed like how comfortable they feel here and how welcoming we have been to them in Minnesota.

    Malala with Somali women
    This image is from Everything Somali

    The interview begins between Allie Shaw and Malala.  They tackled some of the differences she sees between Pakistan and her current home of England and here in the US.  Malala talked about her experience’s  over the past few years and what she had learned.  Malala knew very little about any other religion except for Islam.  She  had some words to say about religion in politics and compared it, I felt, to the money in politics problems we have here in the states.  It seemed to me she that she felt neither should have a role in politics.  This did not surprise me to much at least the religion, hell she has seen what happens when you mix religion and politics up close and personal.  This is something here in the US are battling ourselves, just not as severe YET.

    The one thing she liked to joke about was her little brothers and they pick on each other.  I remember from the documentary “He Named Me Malala” how lovingly they joked with one another, it was refreshing to see.  She also admitted that she didn’t know that WWE was fake till she was 17.  This took me by off guard at the time but, now that I that I think about it, it really should not have though she has 2 little brothers who probably love wrestling entertainment.  Hell, I like the stuff from time to time when they have decent stories and talent.

    So yes, I was not disappointed with this event at all.  If you get a chance to see Malala Yousefzai you should definitely do so.  Of course this is coming from someone who is a bit of a fan boy.

  • Personal Goals and dreams

    1. Finish college                                                                                                                                                 a. Finish the next 2 semesters                                                                                                             b. Complete the transfer curriculum                                                                                                 c. Transfer to Metro State                                                                                                                     d. Complete my BA in Social Studies Education                                                                             e. Get teaching licence
    2. Join Peace Corp
    3. Make more friends                                                                                                                                       a. Go back to school                                                                                                                                 b. get out to the parks                                                                                                                             c. Volunteer tutor                                                                                                                                     d. Volunteer in general
    4. Get out of the house                                                                                                                                   a. Go back to school                                                                                                                                 b. get out to the parks                                                                                                                             c. Volunteer tutor                                                                                                                                     d. Volunteer in general
    5. Live life
    6. Help others                                                                                                                                                     a. Volunteer tutor                                                                                                                                     b. Volunteer in general
    7. Grow as a person
    8. Clean up my debt
    9. Travel                                                                                                                                                                a.Take the study abroad course Story Telling Down Under                                                           i. Get passport DONE                                                                                                                             ii.Get visa                                                                                                                                                   iii. Join the Peace Corp
    10. Explore other cultures                                                                                                                               a.Take the study abroad course Story Telling Down Under                                                           i. Get passport DONE                                                                                                                            ii.Get visa                                                                                                                                                   iii. Join the Peace Corp
    11. Fight my fears                                                                                                                                              a. Fear that people won’t like me for who I am                                                                           b. Fear of the ocean I don’t want to be shark food.  lol                                                               c. Fear of being alone                                                                                                                             d. Fear of being forgotten                                                                                                                     e. Fear  that I am not strong enough to achieve my goals
    12. Gain self-confidence
    13. Meet Malala Yousafzai
    14. Meet the Dali Lama
    15. Bring people together
    16. Promote Empathy
    17. Promote peaceful solutions to problems
    18. Become a writer
    19. Quit smoking, sugar and caffeine
    20. Cut back on meat and greasy food
    21. Gain knowledge through experience and research
    22. I want to help make this planet safe and a little, not a lot, scary for my niece and nephews than the world we have now.
    23. Organize the random thoughts in my head.
    24. Work on becoming less hypocritical (this is something the whole world especially here in America)
    25. Be more self-reflective
    26. MOST OF ALL BE KIND

    These are some of the things I just a few things I am working on in my own personal development.  This is also a list of things for me to choose to write about in this blog.

  • Cultural insanity

    Cultural insanity

    ideo that got me thinking

    I have heard the argument that the states should be divided by other Republicans before. I have just one question. Do we really trust the south with Nuclear weapons? I mean really think about how insane the right wing is in the south. They, and I am using a generalization because that’s how a lot, yet not all despise people who are not like them and are fearful. Ignorance is not bliss ignorance is fear wrapped in false beliefs spread by people who lust for power and control. We have a tendency to fear things and people they do not understand or want to try and understand. People who are self aware know this they try and change themselves to become a better human being. My biggest bitch about the U.S.A. is that as a nation we refuse to acknowledge our own failings as a country. We think we are better than everyone else. This is not true. I feel what we need is the a country’s equivalent of a psyciotrist. If we were to judge our country like we would a human, this country would have many disorders, Including but not limited to schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, narcissistic sociopathic tendencies with an addictive personality.
    Schizophrenia, I know someone who has this condition. My biological father I have not seen the man since I was 3 years old, but in my 20’s I was able to have my first contact with his side of the family. This is when I found out about his condition. I have talked to my father over the phone and have had decent conversations with him. That was until about 3 – 4 years ago when around Christmas time, right before my divorce was final. He had gone off on me because either he really hated lawyers of he did not like the fact that my marriage had failed. I am not quite sure. He blew up on me after I had told him that I had gotten a lawyer for the divorce. It seemed it affected him more than me. Had said that I was no son of his, and that he would kill me. I did not know what to do. I knew I shouldn’t let it affect me because I had not seen the man in almost 35 years at that point. I also realized that who the fuck was he to judge he was 26 when he knocked up my mom at the age of 17. From what my mom had told me he also had gotten extremely violent with me when I was younger and was alway jumping in and out of my life. So, my mom told him to leave out of my life for my safety.
    Bi-polar I have dated a couple of Bipolar women and I am assuming that trying to date a bipolar man is about the same. They would be good for awhile happy energetic, then from out of nowhere they would turn getting extremely agitated at the smallest thing for no logical reason.
    Narcissistic A-moral sociopathic tendencies: In my youth I had a fascination with serial killers and cults. I had noticed that most of the serial killers and leaders of these cults had in common, they were all in it for themselves and said to hell with everyone else. They used ignorance and fear to control and influence people to coax them in to a trap or to do despicable things, like mass suicide, child molestation, cannibalism, murder, destruction and conning people out of money.
    These are just a few mental disorders I feel we have as a society.  In our society I feel we need t look more analytically in on our nation and start to see the true reasons all this chaos that we as a nation are a part of and start looking for real solutions.  One of the ideas I have is a class I feel we should integrate into our schools, is a class on critical thinking .  Learning how to think in a more critical manner helps us to see other peoples perspectives better.

    Another thing I feel we should focus on is getting people to live in other countries for awhile.  No I am not a saying abandon the U.S.A., but living in other countries could help us to figure out how we can better our country through seeing things the way other countries see us.  They may also have policies that work over their that could work over here as well.  This would make us a more well rounded country as a whole.  This would also help with the race divide in this country.  If people were to live with and experience things that other people go through they would not be so quick to judge others that are not like them.  Of course there would still be those who would try to push a religious agenda, yet if the government were to implement this we could make sure this does not happen for there is a separation of church and state therefore anyone working as a representative of our country would not be able to push that agenda and could be reassigned, retrained and have a mental assessment done.  If they still continue then they are sent back.