Final Thoughts

I have learned so much in this class. I think more than anything I have not changed my opinions on certain issues but I am able to say that I have a deeper understanding now of these issues and have understanding of why people may think the way they do, for example gay marriage. I still disagree with gay marriage, but I have had my eyes opened more to their side of the story and have more empathy for them, even with disagreeing. I am glad to have had my eyes opened to the health care system and the politics and power that influence everything from health care to our food. I am glad for not being naive about it anymore. I have already made a change toward the way I eat and where I choose to buy my food. For the most part I will not support people who are for profit and not the benefit of animals and people. I cannot think of any other changes I am making or will be making, I think I am just more aware, and with this new awareness I can now live my life differently then I did when my blinders were on.

Ch.15

I think the government probably has created a sort of chasm between them and "us". There seems to be a disconnect in our government and it has always been hard for me to understand it or articulate where is possibly comes from. I believe that people who want to work in the government probably go into it for noble purposes, such as righting the wrongs that are there. But I believe there is a system in place, a culture if you will that can suck you in and influence your values. I see it as the music artist or actor that wants to go into performing. They want to be something and have a purpose and make a difference but the culture of the music wood or Hollywood has a way of influencing people in negative ways. People get "lost" in the fame, and pressure of it all and "sell out" as people say. I think we have a government full of sell outs. There may be that few that still hear the people and work for the people but they are overpowered by the others who have put power and profit before the people.

Ch.12

The subject of arranged marriage has been one where my view has changed drastically. I used to think that arranged marriage was stone age and controlling. I was coming from an American view where one must be madly in love with someone before they marry them and that no one should be forced to be with someone they don't already love. THEN, I GOT MARRIED! After four years of marriage I can say that butterflies and fireworks fade over time. To "be in love" is not enough to make a marriage last. There needs to be deep commitment, friendship, strong values, good character, and last of all love. True love encompasses these things but love does not always need to come first. There is no reason someone cannot GROW to love and respect someone.

On a personal note, my dad is not perfect, but now that I am older and wiser, I see my dad's wisdom that he has given to me throughout my life. He has always been able to honestly tell me what would be the best course for me when I ask for advice. I would wholeheartedly trust my dad in picking a mate for me. I believe that he would choose better for me than I would for myself because I do not love myself as he loves me. He thinks MUCH more highly of me then I think of myself. We tend to pick people out of our insecurities and woundedness, we overlook weak character and lack of values because we are "in love". There are people in our lives who love us very much who would not overlook these things in picking a mate for us. I know for my dad that only the best would do, and nothing less. That is why for the most part, I am for arranged marriage. I also hear they have lower divorce rates, which is a good thing.

Ch. 10

I have to say that I am very unaware of how my race and ethnicity influence my life. I am becoming more and more aware that the color of my skin and where I was born give me somewhat of an advantage, but it's always harder to see clearly when you are submerged in the water if you know what I mean. I think race and ethnicity probably play a big part in the obstacles someone faces. Part of me wants to believe that race isn't the issue anymore, but dealing with my own prejudices and stereotypes that I hold I can believe that there are many more out there with the same feelings and thoughts. I have a hard time with the notion that white people are the only one's who discriminate though. I have felt more prejudgment from African Americans then I have from any other race. There seems to be this notion that I already am a racist and so I am treated as such. I am avoided and looked at strangely by African Americans and feel the hate they have for me, when I have done nothing to deserve it.

I believe in the hardships other races face and have faced in the past and I have compassion towards it. I think that people have probably faced hardships primarily due to race or ethnicity, but I also think that people almost expect people to look at them differently and any little wrong look or discomfort is looked at as a racial issue and nothing else. Race is a VERY sensitive issue in our country and we are so afraid to interact with one another because no one trusts the others intentions.

Ch. 8

To the first question, how much are we responsible to our success, I would say that we have mostly full responsibilty. I think that those who are born into wealthy poor families are likely to stay in that social class, and it is easier for those who are born wealthy have an easier time moving up, but it is not impossible to come from poor circumstances and to take yourself to the top. There have been numerous stories of people over the years who started out in poor circumstances. They somehow found the drive to push forward and move on and up from where they came. A lot of these people are very successful today.

No doubt there are difficulties for people who want to move up the social class latter, but it can be done. It is not always easy to move up, which is the second part of this question. Although it can be done, the easiness is not always there. Some people run into good luck, winning the lottery, having a million dollar idea that catches on and makes you money, these experiences are the exception and not the norm though. For anyone trying to work their way up, they will most likely be met with many obstacles.

Personally, I would like to move up from middle class, I don't know many people who don't want to move up and make more money and have better things. But I have experienced the obstacles of climbing up the latter. Just when I have thought my husband I and I were getting ahead and building a savings for us then something unexpected comes along. Cars have been stolen and broken down, teeth need to be fixed without dental insurance, etc. Also, school is my vehicle right now to getting to a career to make more money, but school has been slower than planned because of lack of financial aid and not being willing to go into debt paying for my classes. It will now take me 6 years instead of 4 to finish school. Being in my late 20's this is not ideal because these are the years when I should be in a career, buying a house, and getting ready to start a family.

So while it may be possible to move forward, it is not always easy. Those are very much two different things.

Ch.7

My opinion about making prostitution and drugs legal is that they shouldn't be. I am against drugs for Biblical reasons and personal reasons. I believe that our body is something that should be stewarded with care, from what we eat to everything else. I do not like the fact that cigarettes are legal and alcohol, biblically is OK but not in excess. Drunkenness is not OK, but Jesus even shared wine with his disciples. Wine is actually supposed to be beneficial to the body in small amounts. That leads me to the marijuana issue. I have no biblical basis for saying that marijuana is OK and I have had personal experience with it taking over my life to the point where I drop out of high school. Weed was my first drug, and when that was no longer enough I moved onto bigger and better things. My life was completely taken over by hardcore drugs by the time I was 20. This is why I cannot condone the legalization of this drug. People then argue with me and tell me then we should make cigarettes and alcohol illegal, my response is this: we tried that once and it didn't work. We have to lay in the bed we made in regards to cigarettes and alcohol, but why add to the problem we already have by legalizing another drug? Just so we can save money by not arresting so many people for petty pot dealing? It's just not worth it to me.

The positive consequences (if I look objectively) to legalizing pot are things like saving money state wide because we are not arresting so many people for pot. Another positive may be the medicinal side of it. Easier access for people with chronic illness.

Negative consequences: More people driving high and smoking it in the car. More people being led to other drugs because pot is not getting them high enough anymore. Lung issues and much much more.

Prostitution has no positive benefits the way I see it. When there is prostitution there is violence, rape, drugs, and lifestyles that do not add to society but take away from it. I have known prostitutes personally and have seen first hand the emotional destruction it can do to a woman and even men.

Gambling to me is not an issue, I know that some people end up being addicted to it but I have no basis for saying its 100% wrong.

In connection to the book, making things legal or illegal impacts our jail and prison systems. We either lower the amount of people in the jails or we increase them with the decisions congress make things legal or not. Sure states may save money with less prisoners, but what will be the social consequences for making certain things legal? Are we so concerned with "MY" freedom that we are willing to sacrifice the health of our nation?

Ch.5

The social statuses that I found for myself were as follows:

1) Wife

2) Daughter

3) Sister

4) Nanny

5) Student

6) Caucasian

7) Female

8) Middle income

My achieved statuses are wife, nanny, student, and possibly middle income. I believe income status is both achieved and ascribed because you are born into a certain financial status but you can also achieve a different status later on. It is something you can change, although many people stay in the class they were born into because that's all they know. I was born into a middle class/income home, I have stayed there into my marriage and maybe someday it will be different. I am a first generation college student and because of that I may break the generational status quo.

My ascribed statuses are female, Caucasian, sister, daughter and middle class. These are the things that I have been born into.

The roles I am expected to play as a consequence of these statuses:

Wife- As a Christian woman I am expected to be submissive to my husband when the decisions he makes are not against what God would want. I am expected to be selfless as a spouse, to spend time with my husband.

Student- I am expected to get good grades, be attentive, present, and respectful.

Nanny- Follow the parents wishes, attentive to children, helpful, productive (making sure child's duties and my own get done).

My role as a student and a nanny conflicts with my role as a wife a lot. I have to sacrifice time with my husband at night because I get home from work at 6:30 and then I have homework to do. This takes up a lot of time and sometimes I don't get to see him until 10:30. My role as a wife tends to take a back seat when I am in school. I am constantly thinking of ways to bring balance into school, work, marriage, and all the other roles I hold. This is role conflict at it's best and it is not easy to prioritize sometimes.

Ch.3

The ways in which Facebook and texting have changed us are numerous. This topic reminds me of when chapter three talks about innovation. Social media, like Facebook, and texting are probably the greatest innovations of our time. Social media especially has moved our society in ways no one could have ever imagined. Here are a few of the positive ways I can think of:
1) Social media has brought people together again. Reunions with old class mates, an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, long lost relatives and childhood best friends. We are now able to reunite with these people once more and reconnect in friendship.
2) More connection with distant family members. For those of us who have family far away we can communicate with these family members and share our lives with them through picture and messages. We can talk with them daily, or even hourly if we choose.
3) We can look into each others lives through pictures and information that the person has given on favorite music, t.v. shows and political and religious views. This can give us a bigger picture of the people we talk with.
I personally have reunited with a couple childhood best friends and have been able to smooth over some relationships that have been somewhat broken over the years. I have found old classmates who I longed to talk with again and I am able to stay in contact with my aunts, cousins, and grandpa who all live far away. They get to see pictures of me and I of them. It's a pretty neat thing.
Texting has changed our society as well. I tend to question if texting is worse for our social health more then I do with social media.
A lot of people fear that because of social media and things like instant messaging or texting, we are all falling away from the fundamentals of socializing and the value of being together and talking face to face that our culture once had. Here though, are a couple positive things I can think of that texting has done to improve things.
1) If we are busy doing something, we don't have to drop everything to call someone to ask a simple question. You text, get back to work, then wait for the text back. Simple and time saving.
2) Texts can be sent while someone is at work or at school or occupied with something else. Once they are done and receive your text, they can answer. Texting gives people the freedom to reply when they can.
3) Texting important information can save a person the time it would take to write all that information down on paper. A text can be saved and used later for informational purposes such as trying to remember an address, phone number, or even a recipe someone has sent to you.

Our society has changed rapidly since texting and social media. People are beginning to lean on these things more now for connection to friends and family. Time seems of the essence and we never have enough of it, but if we can connect with people faster and more efficiently then we can save time. Now we even have the capability to have our voices heard by the news, congress, and others like it through Facebook and Twitter. People can grow their businesses and connect with other business professionals through sites like Linkedin. People can even connect with their favorite celebrities or music artists!!

I see so much good in these new ways of communication, but I also see old time values being lost in the midst. Face to face contact, verbal skills and HOW to talk with others, grammar, punctuation and sentence structure are all things that can get lost in the new way of talking with one another. Spelling words completely and correctly is almost a faux pas in the texting world. Overall, these social mediums are blessing and curses depending on how they are used. If we can use them and still maintain important things like spending time with on another then we will be OK, but as long as we use these tools as our only source of socialization, we may end up becoming an anti-social world.

Initial Thought

How much responsibility do I think individuals have to make things better for society?

I think there is a lot of responsibility on our parts to make things better. From a Christian and Biblical perspective, the Bible teaches me to take care of the orphans, the poor, and the widowed. God places huge emphasis on helping others and making that the focus of our life. I agree with this beyond just an obligation to believe it because I am a Christian. Thinking about my church in particular, Eastside Foursquare, we have been a part of building churches and schools in Manila, Philippines for over 20 years now. The church has taken it upon themselves to help out this impoverished community. I think the church, because of what we believe to be true in the Bible should be at the forefront of helping society.
Schools and other organizations should help in their own ways too with financial needs etc. The schools already have grants and help for those who are in need or have disabilities. I think this is important.
My only problem with taking full responsibility for others well being is the risk of enabling them to continue in something harmful to them or others. Take welfare for instance, there are lots of people on welfare, and also with food stamps, who use drugs. I know this because I used to be one of them. When I went to apply for this there was no way for them to tell if I was a addict or not. I know first hand that food stamps are traded on the streets for drugs, and free money given to someone each month can prolong the pain needed for change and can provide for more drug use. There is a place where I draw a line at helping others, when I think that helping them may actually hinder them. I have been on the streets, addicted to drugs and in need of things, but sometimes the more "help" I was given, the more comfortable it made it for me to stay in the mess I was in.