Yay we did it!

In the beginning of the year when we all introduced ourselves, I defined myself as a person that always sought self-improvement. This year, honestly is one of the most rehabilitating years I’ve had. This course was well designed, and it will be memorable to me because of how life-changing this course has been. I’ve applied the things I learned in this class to my personal experiences and it made a difference. The power of language is something we learned throughout the time of this course. The power of language has the ability to change anything and it is quite flexible in terms of freedom. Depending on intent, language can be used for the good, or evil. This was important to know, the devices we learned were key techniques that brought me to the right way of thinking. We learned how to think for ourselves basically.

To think for ourselves, is sometimes all we have. Our mind is easily tricked if we don’t observe it carefully. Our reason is often succumbing to our desires, thus making poor choices. And these poor choices are a product of our lack of thinking. This was exemplified in our propaganda assignments. Mainly, Animal Farm; this novel by George Orwell will continue to be a classic to me, I’ll continue reading it -- it’s a masterpiece that directly reflects the current “flaw” of people. Learning how to observe these flaws and see the bigger picture can make a difference. Also, Lolita is a life-changing book that changed my outlook. One thing that I learned in this class is to let our beliefs be challenged, Lolita is the perfect example. Personally, I view it as a love story.

The writing assignments that I’ve done varied from prohibition of marijuana to the analysis of Lolita; these issues had improved the way I think. Mainly, the assignments had shaped my thinking in such a way that it’s hard for me to look at things as simply “black and “white”.

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To end this year, I’d like to thank the students for helping whenever it was needed and especially our teacher Jennifer Gross! We did it! Congrats to everyone for still being in this class, it was a lot of work and everyone deserves a pat on the back. I hope you guys got as much out of it as I did. It’s not over yet, but the finish line is near and it’s about time to celebrate! Work hard, good luck to everyone.

It Changed the Way I Think.

This class was one of the few classes that taught me things that I will always use for the remainder of my life -- the ability to think critically.

This class helped me shape a better understanding of the world around me.
This class made me a better writer.
This class made me a better thinker.
This class helped me appreciate great literature.
This class helped me create a new part of myself.

I enjoy writing and reading, but I didn’t expect this class to change me so much.. I don’t write that much but after taking this class I've considered making my own personal blog to reflect on my experiences in life. I found that blogging is a great way to share opinions on issues that is important to you. I have always considered myself as a young-philosopher. I am an active thinker. I think the great thing about blogging is that everything is anonymous. Writing anonymously gives me the freedom to share anything that is on my mind at the moment and not be pre-judged by age,class, ethnicity and religion -- it’s really reassuring to know that your audience is liking you for your mind, not the extraneous things that may alter their likings or dislikes based on these things.. I plan on creating a blog that reflects my current thoughts, it’ll be a great way to learn about myself.

I found that this class has improved my way of thinking, thus creating a big chunk of me that wont’ be replaced. After taking this class, I’ve had questions -- I'm an active thinker, and I always ask questions about anything. I usually analyze everything I read, and everything I watch on television. I found a greater appreciation of documentaries and activists. I'm more curious with the world around me, and I’m even more involved with the planet. I recently took a stand, that helps the world, even if it’s a contribution to a whole, it may just make a difference. I’m talking about my small contribution on my refusal to contribute to the mega corporate organizations such as buying water bottles. If you're interested, you should check out the current issues on water bottles -- it’s a long and disastrous chain of events that leads to destruction of our planet. Our lives are endanger, our planet, and our rights to know (the government is concealing information on where are water is coming from, and what’s actually in it).

As someone that follows Buddhist philosophies, it’s a great tool to have the ability to critically think, it has really helped me walk on the dharma path (the teachings of the buddha). I have used this quote over and over again; it’s my favorite quote, and I think its relevant to this week’s topic, it correlates to what we learned in this English 103 class.

"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it,

no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own

reason and your own common sense" -Siddhartha 

balance

Balance. Balance is the key word for the upcoming challenges I must overcome during these final two weeks. It’s pretty challenging, the things I have on my plate -- glucose tolerance report (physiology; 7 pages), study for physiology final (physiology; 8 lectures), Synthesis essay (English, 3 pages), Essay 3 (5 pages). And mixed in with all my school work, I also have personal things; the most bothersome at the moment, I have to take care of four dogs that do not play well together and clean their mess. Two big dogs (my brothers) and two small dogs (my other brother’s and his girlfriend’s). Everything seems to be happening at the worse possible time, but I manage to keep it all together with proper management of stress. I believe that stress is all in the mind (or most of it), and these final two weeks is a test of how really strong my head is. My secret to balancing everything out is to plan everything and don’t let anything stress you out. For example, when you plan things and things do not go as planned, it’s best just to accept it as it is and let it go -- since we have no control over most of the things that affects us -- don’t add more stress to your already stressed out situation. In other words, don’t be stressed out that you’re stressed. Duh.

Sometimes, I’d like to pretend I have the killer instinct of my favorite athlete, Kobe Bryant, or the calm and controlled manner of Phil Jackson (Laker’s hall-of-fame coach) . At times that requires your 100% focus, you just need to think of yourself as the greatest human being that ever walked on this planet (Kobe), or the Zen Master (Phil Jackson). Don’t let anything move you, just let it go any distortions and focus at the task at hand. Confidence and  Inner peace.

My difficulties: I haven’t read the books I have to read for the prompts (BIG disadvantage), and I haven’t started on any of the essays due to personal responsibilities. I can either: Flip-out and panic and work with an anxious mood, or work calmly. The latter of course is the best state to study (for me at least). A few semesters ago I used to drink excessive amounts of caffeine and pull off all-nighters; sometimes I would stay up for two days trying to get everything done. But I realized that I don’t function that well without any sleep. What works for me is to take breaks, eat, and sleep. The obvious things, everyone knows this, but sometimes people forget to do these things because they’re so panicked. I was sort of like Boxer from Animal Farm, I overworked out of sheer will, and amazing work-ethic -- but at the end, hard work doesn’t amount to anything if you don’t work smartly

Good luck to everyone; and work hard, efficiently, and most importantly, work smart!  Manage your time and don’t indulge too much on stress. I hope I helped..

Now back to writing my Essays....lol

lolololololololololololo

Online communication is different from personal face-to-face communication; the main difference is that one is personal and one is impersonal. I never really gave my writing style any thought until now. The difference in occasion has to do with everything, whatever the situation may be, my writing style differs from one thing to another. First of all, I am a computer gamer, and I spend quite a lot on the computer; yeah I’m sort of a nerd. I noticed that online communication has a lot of different sub-cultures. Depending on what you spend most of your time on the Internet, you’ll encounter many different styles. If you’re into online gaming you’re familiar with gaming terms such as -- noob, 1337, pwned ,etc. And if you’re into forums you’ll be susceptible to flaming if you type in a way that shows little pronunciations or little grammar at all; well, at least the ones I visit.

When I communicate online, I usually do not worry about grammar. I think, it also depends where you communicate online, sometimes the “grammar nazi’s” are looked down upon for trying too hard to pick on people that don’t bother spelling correctly or using correct grammar. When I communicate, I try to construct my sentences that are straight to the point, even if I have to break a few rules of grammar. I don’t necessarily compose with more detail because the Internet has the luxury of using emoticons. Emoticons is a luxury because it could express moods that are simple, and straight to the point. For example, adding -- lol, :D, :P, XD; is a great way to end a sentence to express emotions. Instead of saying, “Yeah I thought that was funny”; you could simply express that by saying “lol”. Or if you thought something was really funny, you could say, “LOL, LOLOL, or rofl, lmao.”

Generally, I am casual when it comes to online communication, unless of course I have to talk to professors or my older relatives via emails. I try to be more formal, and limit my use of emoticons, because normally my relatives do not understand the normal Internet fads, or emoticons. I think there is a communication barrier present even in the online community, the Internet has many sub-cultures -- gaming, forums, chat-rooms, video blogs. There will always be a separation of people and this will create certain language barriers, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that one can not understand each other, it’s just a matter of taking the extra effort into making clearer and not so exotic terms for each other. For example, I won’t be using phrases like, “lol noob l2cook grandma. olive oil > vegetable oil :P.” when I send emails to my grandma, it’ll probably just confuse her.

I think your style in online communication can say a lot about your character, and people can label others just by seeing his or her style when typing online. A lot of people I talk to will probably know a little about my background, they’ll probably figure out I play video games and spend a great deal online because I use and understand a lot of Internet terms and phrases.

Political Cartoons, a Reflection of our American Attitude.

I never really paid that much attention to political cartoons. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going instinct. Just a few google searches and a few minutes of newspaper surfing; I managed to discover this awesome way of getting political laughs. Some, I did not understand, mainly because I haven’t been keeping up with political issues, and some strips did inform me. I believe however, that to really understand some of these political cartoonists, you must really be up to date in your political issues. Anyway, as I discovered this week, the comical subculture of politics, I realized that political cartoonists are one of a kind -- their means of delivering information is new and refreshing to me and should be honored because it is a great reflection of our American culture.

I think it’s a great way to lighten up some of the news, but at the same time, political cartoons may demonize or make-fun of politicians or the general attitude of America toward an issue. In this week’s current events; the killing of Osama Bin Laden has created a flood of political comics. These comics either praises that Osama is dead or it is a conspiracy. A lot of haters have evolved throughout Obama’s administration and claims that he cannot do anything right, it seems to me that these haters are very hard to please. These haters discredit anything they can and try to tie anything with something then create conspiracy theories. For example, Obama announcing Osamas death MUST be a campaigning stunt to get re-elected for a second time. There are many political cartoons that make fun of this “hater” attitude, and personally I thought it was pretty funny. 

These political comics reflects our American culture, it reflects the American issues, attitudes, and ideology. I think these comics are a great way to create a light-hearted comment or opinion on a particular issue. Because sometimes in politics things are too serious -- and a great way to side-step from the seriousness is to put it into cartoons! These cartoons presents freedom; I realized that a lot of the cartoons usually make-fun of issues, and sometimes even present conspiracies. This flexibility presented in these political cartoons really reflects our American attitude, and shows our freedom of thought.

Freedom of thought is something that is intangible and is one of our rights as being American but sometimes Cartoons are limited too. Cartoons are censored and when cartoons get out of hand, people will complain; the cartoon of Obama holding Osamas head comes into mind. 

This cartoon imitates the famous scene in Lion King when the baboon holds up Simba to represent new life -- the African-American community was offended by this and was quickly justified. You see, American Culture has evolved in such a way that anything offensive is flitered, and this is done by the community as a whole -- anyone that offends is usually frowned upon by society. I think this is a great notion, the American people have developed, we have freedom of speech and thought but we do not tolerate hate speech.

Personally, I interpreted this cartoon offensive also, but not in the same reason as above, but I dislike the idea of celebrating someone's death. whether evil or not, a persons death should not be enforced as a celebration -- you cannot eliminate evil from violence, only compassion.

Immigration Propaganda

Propaganda: A means of communication to tap into people's common beliefs, expectations, and philosophies on life -- propaganda is used for manipulating purposes, it effects a lot of people. In my opinion, propaganda is often used with bad intentions.

Doublespeak: A means of obstructed communication, that does not necessarily get the point across, but rather -- hide it and make it seem more appealing. An example, death can be hidden if it were to be reworded as “terminal living”; “uncontrolled cells” for cancer.

Propaganda and Doublespeak are techniques to mislead a mass of people, and assist a change -- either good or bad. Doublspeak. In these two chapters I’ve really learned that the power of language can either be used for great changes or bad ones. Great changes were made by Martin Luther King Jr. and Sojourner Truth. Both black leaders were great spokespersons, and they inspired the world to really change the common ideologies of the common time. They inspired change. They used propaganda to appeal to the audience and impose their opinions.

Today; April 28, 2011 --  President Obama has announced that he will be discussing the immigration issues with celebrities -- Eva Longoria, America Ferrara, and Rosario Dawson. This sounds really ridiculous. What impact does celebrities have on this issue? Eva Longoria doesn’t have the expertise or the experience to have any use on this debate -- the only thing they are credible for is their ethnicity. This sounds a lot like propaganda -- a means of gaining an audience, to appeal to the community; especially the Hispanic community. Obama is trying to gain the Hispanic community by campaigning. The United States immigrant policy does has not been accelerated like Obama had promised when he was elected -- the policy has done little improvement if any.

I think this is a way of quieting down the enraged Hispanic community and this is Obama’s way of getting the Hispanic votes for 2012 election. This is based off on what I read from multiple articles on the web regarding the immigration reform. Personally, I am somewhat looking forward to the immigration reform because it affects me personally -- I have a lot of family and friends that are illegal immigrants. American citizens that say, “Go home, illegal citizens should not have rights, they are illegal and they should get out of our Country.” That type of mentality is unhealthy, and ignorant.

My side: illegal immigrants are essential -- they provide an essential role in the American society. How? Without illegal immigrants, sales will go up, and productivity will go down. illegal immigrants also provide diversity in our country -- as a nation that longs for diversity, why must we deny that? On the other side of the argument, people say that illegal immigrants do not pay taxes, and do not contribute enough to the tax pool; honestly, i don’t get that argument so if anyone can explain it to me, it’ll be helpful.

Obama might be hyping up his 2012 re-election by campaigning, or maybe the sarcastic tone presented by the articles is propaganda itself. We won’t know, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

The Internet is Amazing.

The function of today’s newspaper and television is to spread crucial news and to spread propaganda. I usually get my information on the Internet because personally -- I think it’s more efficient, convenient, and practical. I rarely watch the news or read the newspaper, I actually think its role in our contemporary society is diminishing. Why use other sources when you have the awesome Internet? Right lol? Despite the argument that news from television and newspapers are a dying meas of communication, it’s still a big factor in other people’s lives -- I guess the older generation (like my parents for example) can only get their information through television and the press...my parents are really computer illiterate, they wouldn’t know how to turn on a computer if I asked them to.

Most of the time, I get my notifications via friends; via facebook (haha). When I first discovered that Japan was hit by the horrific earthquake, I quickly got a rush of adrenaline and anxiety -- and  quickly called my brother that is stationed in Japan. Thankfully he was okay, and was helping out Japan the very next day (he’s doing service in the Navy). So, my main point -- there are a lot of sources you can get your information from on important news -- I prefer the Internet because the Internet community is usually quick about anything, the spread of news is instant and fast.

The reason why I prefer the Internet rather than any other source: you get to choose what you want and when you want it. This is important to me, I dislike advertisements, and all the unnecessary hype that comes with television or especially the newspapers. For example, a few days after the incident in Japan, a lot of so-called “experts” were predicting that there will be aftershocks incoming to the west -- they provided little evidence, I usually take these type of stories as “hype” and don’t pay much attention to it, I always think to myself, “they’re just trying to get more viewers”. Or maybe I'm ignorant, and i don’t really know enough about earthquakes, or maybe i just don’t want to believe it. Either way, I wasn’t convinced with the little evidence they provided, it felt like hype to me. With the proper use of the Internet, you could choose what you want to watch, and pick out what really is important to you; whether it’s a specific location of where the earthquake hit to see if your loved ones are safe or to avoid the nuisance of jargon-filled media.

Overall, I think our means of spreading crucial news globally is impressive, it has improved throughout the years with many different varieties -- TV, newspapers, Internet, the social network..etc. My personal thoughts, I think the Internet is in direct competition with the other sources and will eventually achieve dominance over the others. It’s not a bad thing -- it’s more efficient. I use the Internet for just about everything, and I think it’s one of our greatest innovations of our time.

What kind of Chinese are you?

Propaganda is the means of communication used to influence the community. Propaganda affects everyone as a whole, and can influence people on just about everything. The effects on people’s daily lives that result from propaganda can be really serious, I think it’s becoming so powerful that we have little control on freedom, and freedom of thought. It has the power to influence what we like or dislike. People often compare what they see on TV to reality. If the standard created by the media isn’t like reality, then it must be wrong. A lot of people think this way, and i really hope that people snap out of this type of mentality.

Growing up as a Chinese-Filipino in California, I experienced some stereotypes but not enough to really have a huge impact on my life...I think. Honestly, if someone were to ask me, “How has racism affected you?”. At first, I would say that racism hasn’t affected me at all. I cannot say that I have been a victim of a “hate speech”.I think part of the reason of the decline of “hate speech” in American is because Americans as a whole has improved. People who take the effort into putting people down according to the differences of other people are frowned upon by society. I never experienced a time where I have been really scared of my life because of threatening verbal abuse. I’m thankful of this. Maybe part of the gradual acceptance of diversity is part of the function of propaganda. In reality, there is however still some sorts of racism, but people would agree when I say that the world is a better place a few decades ago and maybe, the media is to get the credit for the gradual acceptance of diversity.

The gradual evolution of society has improved the state of living in America. I think people overall, feel more safe. I’m not saying that racism doesn’t exist, I just think it’s not so dominant than it was back then..from my experience anyway- I have experienced stereotypes like I noted earlier, but didn’t really take it personally. Maybe it suggests that my experiences are lacking and I have yet to see reality and I am living in a shell of innocence that has yet to been popped by the evil prejudicial attacks. But from my experiences, I have been a part of few minor incidents where most of the time, the stereotypes come in a rather light-hearted fashion and it doesn’t become too personal. For example, my friends always say, “Dude, you’re Asian! These math problems should be no problem for you!” If you haven’t heard of that stereotype...the stereotype suggests that Asians are superior in math and its innate to them. Or maybe you’ve heard, “What kind of Chinese are you?” This stereotype, i have to admit, is rather dumb and it can rub me  the wrong way but it usually does not send me to a state of anger and impulsively attack the ignorance of another person, but instead I laugh and correct them. I don’t know where people get the notion from where Asians automatically means your Chinese by default. Maybe the rise of martial artists in America, Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Jackie Chan were all Chinese so therefore all Asians are Chinese.

No not every Asian person has to be Chinese, and not every Asian person can do back-flips. Like I said, these stereotypes do not offend me at all and I think racism won’t die as long as there is people that are not willing to accept variance and diversity. Maybe the media is partly to blame to the rise of stereotypes but it’s not as bad as it was back then.

Happiness Vs. Self-Respect

What is more important to you? Would you rather take true happiness or self-respect? To me, it sounds like a trap - aren’t they related to one another? In other words, how can you be truly happy if you don’t respect yourself? I guess, self respect is more important in this case because if you respect yourself, you are happy... right?

To fully understand something, it’s sometimes best to take the variable out. Imagine not having self-respect; what would our lives be like? Simple answer, we would be miserable. Without self-respect how would we ever stop the voices in our heads that tells us that we’re not good enough. Having self-respect means you have confidence, without confidence we won’t function very well.

I had the habit of always comparing myself to others, because I lacked confidence. Every time someone would compliment me i would say thank you, but in my thoughts, I would often disregard the compliment by saying, “You’re only saying that to be nice”. That’s how I really felt but I wouldn’t dare show it. I can say from experience that being quick to dismiss compliments lead me to a depressed state. Putting artificial doubts into my head only clouded reality, and I became mindful of this. When I became aware of my false truths that have planted in my head I learned to greatly improve my way of thinking, and thus gain a new level of respect for myself.

So basically, without a true sense of self-respect, true happiness cannot be reached. In order to be happy you must accept yourself for what you really are. Focus on your strengths and note your weaknesses, and in doing so this will ultimately reach harmony with your mind. Happiness is never permanent, it wont last forever there will always be bad times, and the best way to diminish it’s bad times is to have a level of self-respect that has the potential to really look beyond all obstacles.

I’m a firm believer that self-respect leads to confidence, and when you have confidence everything you do will be significantly be easier to do. Here is an interesting test I found online about self-respect. This quote is helpful to get a grasp of the concept of self-respect

“Consider an interesting test of self-respect. If someone compliments us, what is our reaction? If we are very pleased, it would suggest a certain amount of uncertainty about our skill. Imagine that somebody whose opinion we respect told us that we were great at spelling three-letter words, or that our pronunciation of vowels was wonderful. Chances are we would not be moved. We know we can do it in the first case, and we don't care in the second. Because we were not evaluating ourselves, the compliment was unimportant. The more instances in which we don't "take the compliment," the less vulnerable we become to evaluation and insult.”

Overall, I believe both self-respect and happiness are two things that will be always found together.

Right Speech

Over the years my personality has changed. I have learned to accept help from other people, and trust them. I used to be arrogant, cocky, and excessively competitive. It was very hard for me to take any advice from people I did not respect that much; to me, it was a sign of weakness. I used to focus on defending my beliefs and trying to tell the person I'm talking to that my beliefs are better, because at that time, that's how I really felt. But in time, I realized people have different personalities, and different philosophies in life. This is the beauty of being human. We have the freedom to express and live our lives our own way. And I believe that people can connect with each other with an proper approach to coming together through conversation. The exchange of wisdom and beliefs through speech doesn't necessarily mean people can't get along with contradicting beliefs. If you are willing to accept other perspectives other than your own and allow yourself to be confused once in a while, you'll find it very helpful to creating harmony with others.

I was with my mother, on the way to church we were having a casual conversation which quickly turned out to be a somewhat uncomfortable dialogue, well at least for my mother. Just before arrive to church, I asked her, “Ma, what would you say if I said I was a Buddhist?”, I expected her to dismiss the thought of it and force her catholic beliefs, which is what exactly happened, “What do you mean?! I didn't raise you up to be a Buddhist, Buddhism isn't good!” she replies very quickly and defensively. My mother is very religious, and sometimes her own beliefs (to her) is always the right way. I replied, “Well, I don't think you understand what Buddhism really is, it's not what everyone thinks it is, it has a reputation of being a religion.” I then proceeded to explain the debate between whether or not Buddhism was a religion or a philosophy. The answer is of course, both. But originally, Buddhism was just a teaching, and people started creating their own fabrications of what Buddhism is, when a religion arises, the certain traditions of religion is unavoidable. Anyway, after the explanation, my mom lightened up and started to listen. I kindly told her, that I didn't fully agree with hers, and I asked her to at least realize mine. So at that point, we came into harmony.

I did not necessarily defend my beliefs, I was open minded, and so was my mom. And I think that is why this conversation between my mom and I is very memorable – we finally came together in harmony with our beliefs. It was a conversation that lead to sharing beliefs, without friction, I allowed my mom to express her beliefs.

So what I learned that day? I learned that if two people learn to come together without any wrong motives, I think the conversation will run smoothly. Learn to observe your motive before you engage in a conversation. 

Political Correctness

Political correct language plays an important factor in our daily conversations. Depending on ones intentions, “political correctness” can either benefit or become just another way of discrimination.. First of all, what is political correctness?

Political correctness: is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, religious belief, disability, and age-related contexts, and doing so to an excessive extent.

Depending on your intentions, the effects of politically correct language in the daily conversations can either be good or bad. First, lets look at political correctness when it is from an individual with good intentions.

Using politically correct language with good intentions can establish a level of respect and harmlessness in the conversation. Using phrases and words that are politically correct can prevent any unwanted friction, and deliver each others' thoughts and ideas through healthy communication. For example, avoid phrases like “black sheep” to describe “outcast”. The words “oriental” can offend Asian people, my brother for example. Call my brother “oriental” and it may rub him the wrong way and eventually have his fist in your face. That's just how my brother is. And that's the importance of communication, understanding the words that are acceptable versus the unacceptable.

To get around the semantics of “political correctness”, you must really understand people's intentions when using this “language”. Using politically correct language with BAD intentions creates friction. Users of political correctness in the hands of the wrong people have the ability to mislead, offend, and mock by means of disguising their discriminatory phrases and words. Anyone with bad intentions can turn something that is good to bad. Examples would be, criminals using guns, internet, or religion. Guns are supposed to be for protection, internet as a source, and religion for good morals and intentions. Political correctness obviously, can also be used for evil intentions. Just because it is reworded differently does not mean it is not offensive.

To look at the significance of political correctness; Rewind to the 1970's, where there was little political correctness, it was a time when the words “nigger” was a norm and it was okay to say. It is a myth that words cannot hurt people - I believe that wholeheartedly. The fact that certain racial slurs many decades ago were acceptable constructed two classes that split up human equality. The world is a better place now with our evolution of political correctness.

In summary:

Bad intentions: Attempt to blanket or disguise prejudicial remarks. This
Good intentions: A way of healthy communication without any misunderstandings between social, racial, sexual, class, etc.

Today in our society, people that are “assholes” are looked down upon for being politically incorrect. Some argue that it's a form of restrain to our right of freedom of speech. I don't understand that, and I need to do further thinking about that and maybe I'm not familiar with their concept of “political correctness”. However I believe that with good intentions, practicing political correctness in everyday conversations can establish a common ground by understanding each others' differences.

English vs. Other Languages

“With more than 320 million speakers, English is today the most widely spoken language in the world after Chinese (Mandarin).” English as a lingua franca has a positive effect on numerous global issues such as: science, technology and commerce. First of all, Let's define the term “lingua franca”. Lingua franca: a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues. Or basically, a universal language. I will be listing the two sides of the issues surrounding English as a lingua franca. First, I will note the positive side.

Linguists consider the growth of English to be a product of globalization. Because the English language is practiced by so many, the English language continues to evolve. This is positive in my personal opinion. Why? Because English as a lingua franca serves the main purpose of what languages are supposed to do – to communicate. English as a lingua franca exemplifies the function of languages. Using a universal language enables people to communicate in greater masses. According to linguists “English is the most common language to communicate scientific, technological, academic, and international trade information.” Being able to communicate at a global level will obviously promote growth. Some linguists disagree however, they believe the globalization of a language can result to the death of other languages.

The negative effects of English as a lingua franca: English is becoming so widely used that the other non-native speakers cannot “preserve” their own languages. This is a fierce debate, “English vs. Other Languages”. Some even argue that that English is a form of linguistic imperialism. Linguistic imperialism is developed by Robert Phillipson. Phillipson defines English linguistic imperialism as: the dominance asserted and retained by the establishment and continuous reconstitution of structural and cultural inequalities between English and other languages. In response to Phillipson's concept of English linguistic imperialism, Linguistics Professor Juliane House says, "Paradoxically, the very spread of English can motivate speakers of other languages to insist on their own local language, binding them to their own cultural and historical tradition”

My personal thoughts, I believe that English as a lingua franca is a means of global growth. It is unavoidable, communicating with one universal language enables people to exchange knowledge and goods more efficiently. I do agree that the spread of English worldwide, will have negative effects, but the positives will overwhelm the negatives. We can live with languages dying, I don't believe in preserving any languages because what's the point of a language if only a few speak it? It is inefficient and inhibits growth. As the debate continues, the English language will continue to grow from the product of humans' natural habits of exchanging knowledge and goods.

In summary, English continues to show that its dominant force throughout the world is overwhelming the other languages, while the other languages struggle to gain any power. English is used mostly to communicate in terms of sharing scientific, technological, academic, and international trade information. What are your thoughts on the dominance of English? Do you think it's logical to have a universal language to communicate? Are the different cultures affected by the power of a dominant language? If so, is it worth the trade, from the benefits of having English as a lingua franca? 

Be Yourself.

The use of language has the ability to change the world. Everyone has different personalities. This arises to different writing styles. A writer may have different education, background, or beliefs. But a good writer has the ability to express themselves by recognizing the audience and get their points across. Nobody's impressed by big words, it only confuses them. It's not the reader's fault its your fault as the writer if your audience has problems reading your writing. Good writers recognize this, writing should be clear, direct and persuasive. My basic approach when writing to influence an audience: be yourself.

This is an important concept to grasp when you are expressing yourself through writing. If you try to impersonate someone from the 19^th century, this is a big problem. Using big words, that are uncommon, forces your audience to look up every word up in the dictionary causing headaches and confusion. Don't do that, please. Don't use guffaw instead of laughter. Don't use ersatz instead of fake. Again, don't try to be anyone else but yourself. Likewise, music is something that resonates from the musician, people have different voices. The Jonas Brothers playing “Hey Jude” by The Beatles just won't sound the same. It's okay to get techniques from other writers but it's important to have your own personality.

The words you choose, and the way you express yourself is a big factor when influencing your audience. It is important to recognize your audience and write to them accordingly. Also equally important, when you are trying to be convincing and persuasive: Do not use words that transforms your arguments into opinions. For example, using phrases “in my opinion, I believe, I think, etc” loses your credibility of having a sound argument. Opinions do nothing to little impact on your reader.

Share your experiences, and this will capture your audience. Getting an emotional response is also an important concept when writing for change. Remember, language can change the world. Keep this in mind, you have a responsibility. Martin Luther King's letter from Birmingham Jail inspired change. Dr. King had achieved power with his voice, his voice was heard in a time where African American's had no voice at all. He had done so with the power of language.

If you have to say something say it. Put your heart into your writing. Richard Weaver said, “Liberty to handle the world, to remake it, if only a little, and to hand it to others in a shape which may influence their actions.” Find your own voice. Use it. Change the world.

I Admire Strong People

I would like to note that these reading assignments I've done for this week have been quite inspiring. I have found a great respect for these two people. These American heroes devoted their lives for other people and for their rights for generations to come. I have really grown to respect them – the more I read about them, the more fascinating they became. I commend these heroes for their passion, perseverance, and character.  I found myself reading their biographies and the things they have done; I've been staying up late watching documentaries and waking up early to read about Martin Luther King Jr. especially. Wow! I came to realize what people can do with incredible passion, it changes the world. Not only did their efforts change the world, but their speeches have been widely accepted as rhetorical masterpieces.

Martin Luther King Jr. and Sojourner Truth were undoubtedly catalysts in providing freedom and equality in America. Their speeches are familiar to most Americans. These speeches of change widely influenced the masses and had a great impact in American society and literature. Today, it is recognized as a masterpiece of rhetoric. I will be analyzing "I have a dream" by Martin Luther King Jr. and "Ain't I a Woman" by Sojourner Truth and making a comparisons between the two in terms of style, subject matter and the use of rhetoric.

Firstly I would like to note the similarities in the contentions made by the two speakers. Martin Luther King Jr. argued that the current state of Negroes were limited and he called for racial equality and an end to discrimination. Sojourner Truth proposed the similar argument of equal rights towards blacks, and especially women. Both did a amazing job on using repetition as a tool of persuasion. Both used anaphora (a rhetoric device, using the same introductory words repeatedly in neighboring clauses) to emphasis their points. Repetition is a strong tool to use, especially when you are trying to deliver your point with greater emphasis. Martin Luther King used anaphora constantly throughout his speech, this makes the speech more memorable and compelling. Just to illustrate how repetition makes anything more memorable- we've all listened to the radio and we have our favorite songs. What part of the song is most memorable? It's not the verses usually, but the repeating chorus that repeats two or three times throughout the song. The chorus of a song is very memorable, it's what we remember the most; we are comfortable with repeating lines for greater emphasis. Sojourner's speech “Ain't I a Woman?”, also had great use of repetition that got the crown on her side with her roaring voice and passion.

It is amazing what passion can lead to. These two great activists saw the world as it is and did not sit there silently. Their voices roared with passion and drew the world to a change. They shared the emotional difficulties they had faced, the police brutality, daily discrimination, and feeling of inferiority. They related to their audience with religion, and brought people together, and opened their eyes to reality.

They are really inspirational characters that literally changed the world. I am disgusted by racism; black or white, blue or purple, we're all the same. I've grown to admire these heroes of America. I feel blessed from what they have done, I am forever grateful for their efforts to bring our nation to one. For my life and my future kids and all my loved ones. Life is good.

i cant reed or rite

I never really thought of what it would be like to be illiterate. I could not think of an activity that did not include reading and writing. So the very thought of being illiterate is a scary thing for me. Take away my literacy, I basically inhibit myself from intellectual growth. I believe reading and writing is the basis of learning. The ability to obtain knowledge everyday from reading is something I took for granted. But now I realize after brainstorming a list of things I could not do if I were illiterate....

A day without the adaquate skills of reading and writing will probably be like this:

•  I have to go get groceries, but I can't read the road signs that leads to the grocery store - I starve.
•  Need to do blog for my English 103 class, I can't type - I fail.
•  Need to respond to girlfriends text; I can't reply back - girlfriend gets mad, and dumps me
•  I'm starving because I couldn't go to the grocery store, I try to make my own food, but I can not read the instructions -I starve more.
• I log on Facebook to update my status, but I can't express feelings - I lose friends.

Well maybe this is a little much, but you get the point, its hard to do everyday tasks without the proper writing and reading skills. The two main things that will probably affect me if I were to lose my ability to read and write is the ability to obtain knowledge from what I read everyday. And secondly, it will be harder for me to express my self the way I do without the ability to write.

Gaining knowledge from reading is something every student probably took for granted. Because reading to me is like breathing, I was fortunate enough to learn the language skills I have at a young age. Its easy to take for granted because it seems natural for most people. If you think about the idea of not having the set of skills to read a text book, phone book, newspaper, internet articles – imagine how much information you are potentially missing out on. Language is a powerful thing. It is what connects your mind and your expression and can lead to gateways of priceless information.

Try imagining expressing yourself, but cannot read or write. You cannot talk to your family, your loved one, your boss, your teacher. This can greatly affect your life. Expression through writing is very powerful, as you can see from this week's essay assignments. Helen Keller learned certain emotions through descriptive words of how she felt. Malcolm X found freedom through his words by expressing his mind the way he wanted to.

The thought of being illiterate is quite humbling, I came to a realization that literacy should not be taken for granted. It is a powerful skill that greatly improves expression and learning.

I'm beginning to enjoy blogging, it's the perfect way to reflect through your own thoughts and learn stuff about you. I learned quite a few today about my self..

Critical Thinking

“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” This quote from Siddhārtha Gautama (or more familiarly known as Buddha) exemplifies the basis of critical thinking. Critically thinking opens up your mind and liberates your thinking from the dangerous but very common mind-sets.

To illustrate, how often do we hear students say “Why does it have to be an essay test?! Why can't it be a multiple choice test? A true or false?”. This is just one of many examples of how people are comfortable being ignorant; students commonly avoid the task of actually knowing, people are satisfied with taking in the least information possible just to “get by”.

My point is, most of us would rather accept easy tasks that traps us in an illusion that we actually know something as opposed to real knowledge. Critically thinking is a powerful skill to have in life. Personally, thinking critically is a means of questioning particular claims that is presented to you and applying your own experience and reasoning along with it. I tend to question whether the text I'm reading is either logical or illogical, rational or irrational. Or simply put, I ask myself it really make sense to me.

Habitually, when reading and writing critically, I try to have an open mind and free myself from any subconscious beliefs and any prejudicial thoughts that could lead me to the wrong direction. I frequently ask myself if I see the bigger picture and if any of the claims relate to my own understanding of what is rational, logical or efficient.

I try to incorporate critical thinking in all aspects of my life, I do so because I think it's the healthy way of living and its important for any type of growth; Whether it involves analyzing politics, the media, academic work, or professional endeavors, I try to regularly be an active thinker and have something to say.

I personally, constantly analyze the media, I think it has a major role of influencing many people and it causes many social norms nowadays. The media is in part, responsible for creating the norms for social expectations and behaviors. In my opinion this could possibly be potentially dangerous.

When critically thinking around politics, I usually ask questions like “Who's argument is better and who's point of view is more appealing to me?”. Admittedly, I don't follow too much on politics. However, from the little experience I have, I'll a make a strong assumptions that our government isn't what it claims to be. I think that our government is in complete control of most issues and we the people, have little influence over these choices.

When critically thinking around academics, I frequently ask “Why is that? And “How?”. I apply critical thinking to academics mostly, I think its the key to gaining the most out of your classes.

I genuinely look forward to this class, I believe critically thinking and analyzing can improve many aspects of people's lives. I think the best way to develop stronger critical thinking skills it to basically keep practicing. This class is the perfect opportunity for me to practice on a daily basis, and hope to get the most out of this class.