There will always be another Brave New World

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World was released in 1932 and its content is still relevant in today’s society. In her article Margaret Atwood says Brave New World hasn’t gone away. She also states that “shopping malls stretch as far as the eye can see” and “On the wilder fringes of the genetic engineering community there are true believers prattling of the gene-rich and the gene-poor, Huxley’s alphas and epsilons, and busily engaging in schemes for genetic enhancement and to go one better than brave new world, for immortality” (Atwood). By saying this Mrs. Atwood is saying that even 75 years after Huxley’s book is still relevant and what he wrote about is actually going on. I agree that some of what Huxley has written has come true. Along with what Mrs. Atwood has said about the countless shopping malls and genetic engineering Huxley also wrote about flying contraptions and drugs both of which are around today. Helicopters were not around in the 30’s even though Huxley created an identical machine in his story. He also wrote about the use of drugs and medicine to further the human life. The study of medicine is still around today and will be for the next 100 years. Even though the study of medicine was around in the 30’s Huxley took it to a whole other level. He wrote about the use of special medicines and drugs to calm people down or hype them up. So after reading Huxley’s Brave New World one can not say that what he wrote about has not actually come true. It may not have come true to the extent that Huxley wrote about but his writing have still come true. The end of the article reads “It was Huxley’s genius to present us to ourselves in all our ambiguity” (Atwood). Mrs. Atwood is giving Huxley the credit he deserves for writing a masterpiece about what the world might be like in the future that has partially become true.

Video Games do not contribute to youth violence!

I believe that video games do not contribute to youth violence. Everyone who plays a video game knowns what they are playing is a game. I do not care what people say about video game violence relating to youth violence because for every kid who plays a video game and bully’s someone or commits a crime, there are 150 more kids right behind him who have not commited crimes or bullied others.

According to a 2000 FBI report playing violent video games is directly associated with school shootings (“Do violent”).  By saying this the FBI is saying that anyone who plays a video game that contains violencemay just go and shoot up a school. This is entirely false, if someone is that insane to go shoot up a school they are going to have a better reason, or no reason at all which is the more likely case, than becasue they played a violent video game. Besides over 97% of 12-17 year olds played video games in 2008 (“Do violent”). So the FBI is saying that over 97% of the country could be associated with school shootings.

Not only do the majority of people who play video games now right from wrong and that they are playing a game, they are also the most active members in society. Almost every high school boy in throughout the United states has played a rated M (mature) video games before. This goes to show that even the straight A students are playing the violent games that are supposedly corrupting them.  Another great example of why there is no corrilation between violent behavior and video games was a stat taken in 2005. This stat stated that there had been 2,279 murders committed by teenagers compared to 73 in Japan. The stat continued to read that per captia video game sales were $5.20 in the US compared to $47 in Japan (“Do violent”). Again showing that there is absolutly no corilation between video games and violent violent behavior.

In the short story A Hunger Artist written by Franz Kafka a man known as “the hunger artist” who throughout the story fasts for long periods of time. The hunger artist has symbolism in himself as does the panther that eventually replaces him.

The hunger artist symbolizes artists all around the world and how they strive for attention. He also represents how art may be looked as beautiful and fascinating by some, but totally disgusting and vulgar to others. This is what the Hunger artist represents as a whole. The hunger that the artist has contains a double meaning. Not only is the artist on the brink of starvation, his hunger represents his vocation of fasting as well as his insatiable yearning to defy human imagination by fasting indefinitely.

Another great example of symbolism used in Franz story was the Panther at the end of the story. The Panther’s power and liveliness serve as opposites to the hunger artist who was powerless and ultimately lifeless.  The panther represent everything the hunger artist is not. Even though the panther was caged, it is so comfortable in its own skin that it projects an aurora of freedom. Ultimately the panther obtains the power and grace that comes from engaging with the material world, which was why all of the people flocked to see him. Its vitality has attracted the recognition that the hunger artist failed to win.

Zach Murphy

John Cheever and The Swimmer{+_-}

In the short story “The Swimmer” written by John Cheever a man named Neddy attempts to swim across the county. The question is asked whether or not Neddy was dreaming about swimming across the county or is he under the influence of alcohol or a mental debility. I would say that Neddy is dreaming about swimming across the county. I believe this because no one could just swim from pool to pool across countless miles to reach his or her home. This is not only unbelievable but  unrealistic. Neddy is dreaming about the most important parts of his life and uses those memories to build his neighbors homes and pools. He places himself in this dream as himself with the idea of swimming across the county to his home. On his magical journey home, the season change and Neddy ages very quickly. When Neddy finally arrives home he is much older than he was before he began his journey he also came to the harsh realization that he did not even live where he thought he did.

This leads to the next question asked about Neddy, was his memory failing or had he so disciplined it in the repression of unpleasant facts that he had damaged his sense of the truth? I would have to say that Neddy had indeed disciplined his mind to block out the unpleasant truths about himself and his family. I believe this because I think Neddy is dreaming and is blocking out all of the painful memories he has, such as loosing his home and wife. This is why Neddy does not remember that he has lost his house. I ask you my fellow classmates what do you think Neddy was doing, was he actually swimming the county or was he dreaming? I also ask was he blocking some of his memories or was he actually forgetting his past?

Concelaed Carry?

Any one who meets the minimum requirements of the “shall issue” laws should be allowed to own and carry a handgun as they please. Everyone in the United States should be able to do as they please and if they want to carry a handgun with them for protection they should have the right to. According to the article opponents of concealed carry argue that increased gun ownership could lead to more gun crimes and unintended gun injuries. However, between May 2007 and March 24, 2010only .003% of all murders in that time period were from people who owned and concealed handguns. Those numbers just go to show that  owning and concealing your own handgun does not raise the gun crimes throughout America. In fact in some cities there have been less crimes due to the “shall issue” laws because many are afraid that they may be shot or injured due to the fact that others may be carrying a concealed weapon.

The article also states that the general public is 5 times more likely to be arrested for violent offenses, and 13 times more likely to be arrested for non-violent offenses, than concealed carry weapon permit holders. Those who have the gun permits have passed the criteria such as minimum age, no prior felonies and no recent commitments to a mental hospital. Therefore making all of the men and women who own gun permits responsible, law-abiding citizens of the United States.

Minimum Wage

Minimum wage is an hourly wage rate that is set by the law. In 2010 , the minimum wage rate for the United States was $7.25 per hour.  Minimum wage needs to be set throughout the world, just like the United states. Not only does minimum wage need to be set, it needs to be raised.  This would provide everyone a fair chance to succeed in life. Countries such as China and Mexico have very low minimum wage rates. One could put in 40 hours a week for 52 weeks and still wind up in poverty. This is not right. One should be able to go to work, put in their time, every year, and make a fair living.

By making a fair living one does not have to make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. However, if the minimum wage limit was raised from $7.25 per hour to $9.00 per hour, one would make roughly $20,000 a year instead of a measly $13,000 a year.  It is easier to support a family with $20,000 dollars compared to $13,000.

This is just one example of why minimum wage should be utilized throughout the world. It’s not only needed, but, it should be increased so hard-working members of society are able to support their families.

The Arts

The arts are an acceptable subject to cut from schools because students are not tested on them. Schools can offer art appreciation classes along with music if the school can afford the classes. Schools are only tested on core subjects like math science and English. This is why if an administrator wants the arts to be taught in his school, he should use STEM. STEM is the link between arts and science, technology, engineering and math. This is a great way to expose students to the arts while teaching them a core subject that will eventually be tested on. Since schools are look at on how they do on tests, teaching students the material needed for these test is a priority for schools. This is why the arts are an acceptable subject to cut from schools. However, the arts do not need to be erased from a student’s curriculum. By using STEM, teachers are able to teach core classes, math English and science, while including the arts at the same time.

Art advocates state that if a student is exposed to the arts he or she is are likely to excel in school. This may be true however I believe that many inelegant students admire the arts because they are more capable of grasping the concept. There are many different concepts that can be grasped when admiring the arts and only a certain few can actually understand what the arts actually are. I am not saying that I understand what the arts actually are because I do not, but I am saying that art advocates can not say that students exposed to the arts are more likely to excel in school because those same students are already above the average students intellectual level. Therefore, it is not fair to say that exposing a student to the art makes them a more inelegant person.