India's Blog

Antigone contrasts two types of law and justice: divine or religious law on one hand, and the law of men and states on the other.

Do you believe we still have these types of conflicts in modern times? Explain.

I believe these types of conflicts still exist in today’s society. For example, abortion is still a major debate topic. Religious conservatives tend to believe that all life is sacred, and a woman does not have the right to deprive a baby of its life. On the other hand, you have people who argue that a woman has the right to do what she wants to her body, since it is her property, and she deserves the privacy guarenteed to her in the fifth amendment. To complicate matters, sometimes a child is the product of rape, and other times, tthe birth of the child could cause the death of the mother. There is no clear-cut answer to this predicament. In 1973, in the infamous Roe vs. Wade trial, the U.S. supreme court ruled that it was unconstitutional to pass legislation outlawing abortions. This caused an uproar among religous extremists, who felt that abortion was akin to murder. As a result, protests broke out. Even today, some factions of extremists still protest that hospitals/abortion clinics are responsible for killing babies. Like Antigone, they heed to the laws of religion before obeying the laws of society. Unlike  the people of Thebes though,they make themselves heard in society, they don’t stay quiet out of fear. For this reason, abortion is still a significant issue that will never definitively be addressed, even though there is supposed to be a separation between church and state.

Another major issue is the conflict concerning  gay rights and gay marriage. The bible condemns homosexuality; religious extemists argue that God always intended marriage to be between a man and a woman. Conversely, gay rights activists argue that every human deserves the same rights, since every human is born equal in America. Recent legislation, Prop 8, banning gay marriage in California has sparked controversy; shouldn’t every citizen of the United States be allowed to get married, regardless of gender?  On the other hand, states like Massachusetts, Conneticut, and recently New Hampshire  have deemed same-sex marriages to be legal. Religious groups protest, claiming that same-sex couples are going against the will of God, even though a person’s sexuality is a result of their biological makeup, and not something one has control over. The national government claims that gay rights is an issue that should be handled by individual states, and because of this, it seems futile to wish that their will ever be a definite answer to the question regarding same-sex rights.

Divine law is often pitted against the law of men in modern times, and it seems unlikely that this will ever change. There will always be extremists who want to do things by the bible, and there will always be liberals who want to govern according to the will of the population as a whole. Gay rights and abortion are two highly controversial topics, and there will always be contention, regardless of the day and age.

Society today is phony. Everywhere you look, there is hypocrisy and deception. Sometimes it seems that the only goal in life is to make money. People are compromising morals to make a quick buck. Take major corporations, for example. Kraft Foods doesn’t care about people’s health. They do care, however, that people care about their own health. They use this to their advantage when they market their South Beach Living brand. According to their campaign, “Kraft’s South Beach Living brand gives consumers delicious choices to manage their weight, whether they are following the South Beach Living or simply trying to eat better.” Kraft really doesn’t care about people eating better. If they did, they wouldn’t also market brands like Oscar Mayers, Oreos, or Chips Ahoy! Corporations tell people what they want to hear. Nobody is going to buy a Big Mac if McDonald commercials advertise the fact that it has 560 calories.

Politicians are phony as well, but at least people assume that in advance. Nobody actually expects a president to keep all his campaign promises; that’s unheard of. The job of a politician is to keep people happy, which requires the ability to twist words around. People will always say things to further personal objectives, regardless of  whether or not they actually believe what they say. In modern times, a promise is equivalent to empty words.

School is a breeding ground of phony-ness. Teachers, students, and even executive staff members lie. It’s not a beautiful day everday; that’s just wishful thinking! Students are always inventing excuses for not doing their homework, and they get more bizarre everytime. I’ve heard things ranging from “I was too busy studying for math to do my chem homework” to “I got distracted while attempting to, uhh, save the world?”. Student’s frequently complain about homework, but that’s expected. Teachers on the other hand should not complain about having to grade 60 essays over a weekend, since they are the ones who assigned it! Everywhere you look, people act like frauds. However, that doesn’t make them bad people. Holden might hate phonies, but in a way, he is being completely phony/unrealistic with himself if he expects people to change. People will always say things they don’t necessarily mean; it’s just part of dealing with life. Personally, I think it’s just better to accept that society is how it is and stay positive, rather than always being cynical.

Every since I went to Disney World for the first time when I was younger, I have been fascinated by Disney characters. As a result, I started collecting DIsney pins at a young age. Since then, my collection has grown to hundreds. I have numerous pins that have various characters on them, all of which are unique. My grandparents live in Florida, and I usually spend the holidays with them. No trip to Florida is complete without a visit to Disney World, which to me, means adding to my pin collection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfnJrh_UEBg

**I tried embedding it, but edublogs would always stop processing the video at 28%**

Another hobby of mine includes rollerblading. Back in middle school, my friend and I started taking lessons on how to trick skate at the Florham Park Roller Rink in Florham Park, New Jersey. Trick skating is similar to performing routines on ice skates, only with rollerblades. Tricks include things like fancy jumps and turns, but also things like shoot the ducks and arabesques. Shoot the ducks are when one extends a leg forward while squatting. (It’s hard to balance since you are skating while extending your leg.) An arabesque is a ballet move that can be performed on skates; basically, it’s when one leg is extended backward without being bent. Often, dance routines are performed on skates as well.

In addition to collecting and blading, I love to read and write. I read about 3 books a week, and I generally prefer fantasy and science fiction books. My absolute favorite books are Harry Potter (all of them), Catcher in the Rye, and the Ender’s Game series. I also write whenever I can make time. This November, some of my friends and I each attempted to write 50,000 words as part of this challenge called NaNoWriMo. I didn’t succeed, but it was still a lot of fun!

The Girl in the Window by Lane DeGregory is a depressing story about a feral child. The most depressing fact, however, wasn’t that the child was abused or even that the mother served no jail time. The most depressing thing about the story was that it was true. In the modern world of today, in which it takes about 10 seconds to place a phone call and people are sued over the slightest things, it’s almost unbelievable that Dani’s pitiful existence went unnoticed up until three years ago. What’s even more shocking is that people filed for child abuse several times, and no legal action was taken. There were investigations, but apparently people think it’s perfectly normal that a four year old cannot talk. I feel that if the investigators were more capable, Dani’s future might have been exceedingly brighter. Additionally, those who pitied Dani but didn’t report her situation to the police should also have been more responsible.

When the investigators came, they offered Dani’s mother a chance to send Dani to a free daycare. There at least, Dani would have been properly cared for and shown some affection. She refused. The article provides no reasoning as to why she would have done this, but as her IQ demonstrated, she clearly wasn’t particularly intelligent. Although she faced financial problems which could (to a small extent) partially justify the state of her household, she should be solely responsible for Dani’s “environmental autism” since she was presented with an opportunity that could have prevented this from happening. Michelle was clearly not fit to be a parent, as the investigators learned after they revisited.

This article made me angry at the mother’s neglect and depressed due to Dani’s lack of response to interaction, but it also gave me hope. After 3 years, Dani has made baby steps towards progress with the help of her foster family. The fact that a couple like Diane and Bernie were kind enough to adopt Dani into their family even though, “she was exactly what we didn’t want”, gives me hope that the world isn’t all full of incompetent mothers and inept policemen. Although doctors have diagnosed that Dani will always be mentally disabled, this article gives me hope that Dani will grow up and at least be able to express her love for her foster parents who have always tolerated and loved her, despite the fact that she can’t even comprehend this. This article provokes a catharsis of emotions, but surprisingly, despite the serious subject matter, not all emotional responses to it are entirely negative.

Dreams are hopes that your heart holds fast
Dreams are wishes that you wish would come to pass
Dreams are seeds planted in your brain
They grown and grow, until they are attained
Dreams are goals you hope to achieve
Dreams are aspirations in which you believe
Dreams keep your life from being a nightmare
Dreams prevent you from falling into despair
Without dreams, the world would be bleak
Without dreams, nobody would be unique
Clueless is what everyone would be
Without dreams to guide them to their destiny

To me, things always seem more real when you’re learning about them from a primary source. While there are many interesting holocaust sites, this one had the biggest impact on me. It contains personal stories about people who actually lived during the holocaust. Some of them survived, but a lot of them died. The stories are simple, but heart-wrenching. They make the holocaust seem even more terrible because you read about things, like the loss of a family member, that are easier to relate to than the concept of concentration camps. If I had never heard of the holocaust before reading The Book Thief, I would have found the idea that one person (Hitler) could be evil and insane enough to bring about the deaths of millions of people to be completely bizarre. The concept would seem so alien and terrifying that I would probably deny that such a thing ever occurred it. However, this site presents the holocaust in such a way that one cannot deny that it happened. The stories are touching, short, and powerful. They touch upon every aspect of the holocaust, including death, the camps, liberation, and  the aftermath. I was shocked by some of the things I read.

Lisa Dawidowicz and her family of five were forced to hide in a small potato cellar for sixteen months in order to escape death. They didn’t even have room to stand, and according to Lisa, “we could breathe only through a hole covered by pumpkins”. Other stories mention having to hide inside a suitcase! In some cases, people remained motionless for so long that they had to relearn how to walk when they were liberated. Charlene Schiff survived by living off the land in a forest. “Apparently I wanted to live very, very badly, because I did undescribable things. I ate things that no one would dream of being able to. Somehow I survived.”

This site showed me how truly privileged I am to live in a time where I am fortunate enough to go to bed knowing I will wake up in the morning.  I also found this site to be very interesting though. It provides a good overview as to what happened in addition to attempting to explain why it happened, which I found very helpful. The site’s analysis as to why and how such a horrendous genocide could occur really helped solidify my understanding of the tragic events that took place. Additionally, the site talks about  the future, and what we, as individuals can do to make sure that history doesn’t repeat itself. Never again should something as despicable as the holocaust happen.

The Book Thief urges the reader to consider the power of words—both the written and spoken word. Think about the significance of words.  Write about a time when words have played a significant part in the world.

In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Liesel Hubermann comes to understand the power of words. During the beginning of the book, Liesel was illiterate and mocked for her inability to read. Once she learned to read with the help of her foster father, Hans Hubermann, she immediately fell in love with words because she knew how powerless she felt without them. Liesel loved books because she felt a special connection to them ever since she stole The Gravedigger’s Handbook as a young girl because it reminded her of her dead brother.

However, as the novel progresses, Liesel realizes how ugly words can be when manipulated by someone like the Fuhrer. Hitler dehumanized Jews by using propaganda. According to Zusak, “Propaganda even reached the bathroom”. (Page 460) The mayor’s wife had a bathrobe and slippers engraved with the swastika. Max, a Jew who was initially hidden by the Hubermanns, wrote about the terrible influence of  Hitler’s words in his story, The Word Shaker. Eventually, Liesel gets so frustrated and angered by the Fuhrer’s words that she rips apart a book. Immediately though, she feels ashamed. Liesel transitions from being an avid reader to being a writer. She attempts to write a memoir about her life. Her story concludes with, “I have hated the words, and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.” (Page 528)

All of human history is told in words. History was first spoken and passed down from generation to generation. It was then written down with the development of the alphabet and writing. As useful as words are, as Liesel discovered, they can often lead to trouble. While this may sometimes be intentional, more often, it is accidental. The bible is purported by many to be the word of God. However, even the bible is subject to multiple interpretations which can lead to debate, arguements, or even tragedies like 9/11.

Words have played a significant role in in human history on many occasions. In The Book Thief, the reader learns about the power of words as propaganda in bringing about the holocaust. Unlike Hitler though, many people have used the power of words for good. For example, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have A Dream”  speech touched millions and helped spark the civil right’s movement. Gandhi used words to help India gain its independence without blood being shed. Lincoln’s Gettysburg address started the long process of healing the nation after the civil war. Without words, the entire world would be in chaos due to misunderstandings resulting from lack of communication.

Words have the power to hurt or to heal. They can cause love or hatred. A kind word to somebody can make their day, but an insult can have the opposite effect. Wars have been started and ended because of words. For example, the U.S. attacked Iraq because we were told by our President that they had weapons of mass destruction. However, peace treaties, an example of the written word, have been effective in ending and preventing many wars from breaking out.

As Liesel learned, words can be used for good or evil. Without words, the world as we know it would cease to exist. It is impossible to imagine a world without language, yet, words are also responsible for millions of deaths as demonstrated in The Book Thief. Words by themselves may be harmless, but they have the power to shape the world when manipulated.

Autumn is a wonderful time of the year. The light, pastel colors of summer are gone, but the dark, gloomy colors of winter have yet to appear. Instead, one can find vibrant reds, vivid oranges, and intense shades of brown everywhere! Autumn is a beautiful season, but there is one annoying attribute associated with it: raking leaves. It was your typical chilly October day, and the harsh wind whipped incessantly against my back as I tried to rake a whole mess of leaves into a neat pile. The sky seemed to be painted a dull blue, and it was littered with grey clouds. I knew it was going to rain, so I tried to rake as quickly as I could. Unfortunately, I hadn’t gotten very far by the time it started drizzling. I continued raking, however, even though the wind and rain made it nearly impossible to finish in the near future. Regardless of this, I managed to gather a decent size pile of leaves when I heard thunder rumbling in the distance. Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning. The lightning set the sky ablaze, and although my glasses were fogged up from the rain, the sky was still a magnificent site. The grey clouds seemed to protrude a neon yellowish glow, and the sky itself had turned a deep, majestic purple. Numb from coldness and weary of the lightning, I decided to head in. It appeared as if my hard work was in vain, since the fierce wind would completely scatter the small cluster of leaves I had raked together. Not wanting to have wasted the entire day, I did the only logical thing: I jumped into the pile. There was an immediate explosion of colors, and I smiled as leaves all different colors of the rainbow seemed to dance around me.

Written as if by a young, shallow soldier in World War I

Departure

Bye Mom! Bye Dad!
I’m off to the war; don’t be sad!
I am off to fight for Germany,
I must defend our honorable country!

When I come home, I’ll be a hero
Right now, I feel like I am a zero
I am on my way to glory and fame,
When I come home, everybody will know my name!

Training Camp

The food is really quite disgusting
I have had a bit of trouble adjusting
We rarely even get enough
The beds are hard and the training is tough

The commanders are very strict
They treat me as if I were a convict
Bonds of comradeship are starting to form
I feel like I have known these men since I’ve been born

Day 1 (on the Front)
I am no longer at training camp
I am starting to doubt if I will return home a champ
I am terrified of what is to come
Volunteering for this war was really dumb

Day 2
Yesterday, I managed to survive
I am so thankful that I am still alive
Today, again though, I must fight
Will I survive another night?

Day 3
Today, my comrade died
I cried and cried
I have lost my best friend
Will I soon meet the same end?

Day 4 (Battle of Verdun, 1916)
Shells fall constantly, like a harsh rain
From war, what is there really to gain?
Bombs explode like thunder
I react quickly, I can’t afford a blunder
Flares set the sky ablaze like lightning,
This war is truly frightening

Day 5
More of my comrades have passed away
I am so depressed I can’t express my dismay
I wish the fighting would cease
I wish no more would join the deceased

Day 6
I wish I could go back in time
For I have committed a terrible crime
I murdered a man because of a command
How am I supposed to make his family understand?

Day 7
I no longer care about prestige or acclaim
I don’t care if anyone knows my name
I am no longer so naive
I desperately want to be given a leave
It’s only been a week, however
Even though it seems like forever

Return (after two years of fighting, the war is finally over; it is 1918)

Hi Mom! Hi Dad!
I made it back; you should be glad!
Being home feels so bizarre,
I am lucky to return, although I am scarred
And even though I am finally revered,
I know that I don’t belong here
It feels like it has been an eternity
I am no longer so immature, the war has changed me