“Victim, Vixen, Villain” by: Nina Burleigh (Blog 9)

          In her article “Victim, Vixen, Villain” written in the October 17^th, 2011 issue of Time Magazine, Nina Burleigh talks about the controversy over Amanda Knox’s conviction. While studying abroad in Italy, Amanda Knox was accused of assaulting and killing her college roommate, Meredith Kercher, with the help of Rudy Guede.  In 2009, Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison. In 2011, her sentence was overturned because it was regarded as a “miscarriage of justice”. Knox was released from prison with a lot of poparazi greeting her outside the prison gates. This entire event sparked a large controversy into the media. Many Europeans believe that she is guilty and should be in jail. Her mannerisms in court were seen as obscure; she was aloof at times and even said, “I am trying to get on with my life”. However, a majority of people outside of Europe saw this case as very corrupt due to the lack of evidence proving that she helped with the murder. It took 2 years for the U.S. to work to exonerate Knox from the Italian criminal justice system. Knox has safely returned to her home in Seattle, Washington.

          This event makes me afraid of studying abroad in a foreign country. I believe that Knox had almost nothing to do with the murder. I have done some research on this matter, and found little to no evidence hinting that Knox helped or committed the murder. Basically, it looks like the Italian justice system sent an innocent U.S. citizen to prison in Italy. She had to stay in prison for two years. Two years is an extremely long time if you are doing absolutely nothing in prison, except activities to keep you sane like exercising. I cannot imagine what that experience would be like; the feeling of living in prison while knowing that you’re innocent must be excruciating. I am glad she is back to her home in our country. I doubt that she will be able to leave this country for a while due to the scarring that this event has done on her.

"The Preschool Wars" by Kayla Webley (Blog 8)

                In her article “The Preschool Wars” written in the October 10^th, 2011 issue of Time Magazine, Kayla Webley talks about why it is necessary for children to attend preschool, and how North Carolina is experiencing the worst dilemma regarding getting children into preschool. In preschool, children perform simple exercises that can, believe it or not, make or break their futures. Preschool is absolutely critical in a child’s life; preschool teaches a child how to pay attention, stay on taste, and how learning can be fun. A study that was conducted in Ypsilanti, Michigan showed that people who attended preschool were able to achieve higher levels of education and earned higher wages, while the people who hadn’t attended preschool had received lower levels of educations and had a higher chance of becoming incarcerated. Recent statistics have shown that if a child is not reading at grade level then they are more likely to drop out of high school by age 19. The U.S. is suffering while trying to fund preschool programs for each state. Ten states have no preschool funding program. North Carolina is struggling and attempting the hardest to get their children into preschool. North Carolina has about 13,500 kids on a waiting list to attend preschool with a funding program. Some parents are resorting to teaching their kids how to be prepared for kindergarten, but are struggling to do so because these certain parents have no teaching experience.       

                Reading about this issue frightens me. I already know that America currently ranks one of the lowest in test scores, and now we cannot even get all of our children to go to preschool. What is America becoming? Sadly, it seems that this is going to be the non-intelligent era for America. Other countries will surely surpass our forces by outwitting us, and possibly even taking over the country. With all this tension between countries like China, North Korea, and the U.S., I am not going to be surprised if an immense war starts. I hope that we can fix our economy soon and start to boost up our school systems. This era in American should be about vast innovations and creations, instead of cognitive and economic meltdowns.

               

"Playing Favorites" By: Jeffrey Kluger (Blog 7)

                In his article “Playing Favorites” written in the October 3^rd 2011 issue of Time Magazine, Jeffrey Kluger explains how parents actually do have a favorite child, and the negative effects that favoritism has on the children and family. Most parents claim that they do not have a favorite, but the parents are only keeping that information a secret. A study conducted by Catherine Conger, who is a professor of human and community development at the University of California, concluded that 60% of mothers and 70% of fathers reveal that they do have a favorite child. The act of favoritism in a parent towards a particular child may cause long term problems in the family; the act of favoritism may also negatively affect the children’s minds. Often times, the favored child is the firstborn because parents will spend more quality time with the firstborn child. A Norwegian study conducted in 2007 presented that firstborns have a 3-point IQ higher than later siblings. Favored children who know that they’re the favorite may often feel guilt, and be mistreated by his or her siblings who also know the “truth” about who’s the favorite.  Parents who neglect a child may cause the neglected child to grow up with psychological scars. An example of someone who has dealt with this sort of psychological scarring is Charles Dickens. Even though Charles Dickens is famous and wealthy nowadays, he still experiences times where he is reminded of his gloomy past where he undergone his parent’s favoritism towards his older sister. Children who feel less loved are at a higher risk of developing low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety. Luckily, favoritism often fades when the children grow older.

                I always had a hint that this was an issue for a lot of families. Most often I would believe that parents are telling the truth when they state that they love all their children equally. But this article has made me a bit more skeptical about that statement. I do not want to be a parent of more than one child. I know that if I were to have more than one child then I would favor the child who makes me more proud. Even though having a favorite is bad in many aspects, I am acknowledging that I would have a favorite before I even have children. By acknowledging this fact about myself ahead of time, I can determine whether or not it would be smart to have more than one child. I believe many people who are about to start a family should think about this matter like how I did. They should determine whether or not they can give every child an equal amount of love and support. Instead of favoring a child for everything that they are, parents should favor something about each and every child. For instance, the father could favor the son for his musical abilities and favor the daughter for her singing abilities. The favoritism should be balanced with that sort of a system. It is tremendously important for equality to be met in families.

“Getting to Know about You and Me” by: Chana Scheonberger (Blog 6)

                In her article “Getting to Know about You and Me” written in the Writer’s Response textbook, Chana Scheonberger talks about how many people in the U.S. are ignorant about other religions; this ignorance could then lead to hatred and prejudice. Scheonberger is of the Jewish faith. She provides a few examples from her own life where people have been misinformed about her religion and have made anti-Semitic remarks in front of her. One of her main examples is about her professor who said he, “wouldn’t want them to get Jewed,” in front of a group of students. Scheonberger and her friend, who is also Jewish, were going to confront their professor about what he had just said, but they never acquired the courage to do so. Another effective example she provides is the time her friends were asking her questions about Jewish people. They asked questions like if she still practiced animal sacrifices, or what kind of foods do Jewish people eat. These examples show that ignorance about another person’s religion may be problematic for both parties involved. People should try to teach one another about their own religion, instead of showing hatred towards someone who is misinformed about someone else’s religion. Hatred should be stemmed off of facts rather than ignorance. Scheonberger plans to join the Diversity Committee at her school in order to inform people about different religions.

                I think that I have experienced much more hatred due to racist stereotyping rather than religious stereotyping. A majority of the people I have known do not even know about my religion, Buddhism, so it has been easy going for me. My friends, on the other hand, have faced a lot of prejudice and hatred from people who are ignorant about certain religions. I believe that the main religious group that suffers the worst of the stereotyping is the Jewish faith. A lot of the kids at my middle school used to make Jewish jokes and harsh Jewish references constantly. Personally, I strongly dislike how different people are on Earth due to religions. Religions cause terrible things like war and violence. In my opinion, religion brainwashes people. It can make them do crazy things. But I am glad that society has moved to a point where religion is kept out of mainstream corporations and the government.

"Beyond 9/11" - Lyzbeth Glick Best's Story (Blog 5)

          In the article “Beyond 9/11” in the September 19, 2011 issue of Time magazine, Lyzbeth Glick Best explains how she dealt with her husband’s death after 9/11. Her husband, Jeremy Glick, was a passenger on flight 93. Flight 93 was hijacked by four al-Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001. After the plane had been hijacked, passengers behind the cockpit were able to make phone calls out to their loved ones. Jeremy Glick was able to make a phone call out to his wife and have their last moment together through the phone. The plane crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Lyzbeth was pregnant with her daughter at the time her husband had passed. She didn’t want her newborn child to grow up with a depressed mother and an absent father, so she learned to deal with his death through counseling and eventually remarried.  She keeps close to her friends who are also 9/11 widows. They call one another whenever they need advice and answers to questions like “when should I clean out my husband’s closet?” Lyzbeth also keeps a diary with her whenever she is feeling emotional about her husband not being there to witness their daughter do something significant in her life. Lyzbeth believes that she will never get over the loss and pain, but she is still able to find much joy in her life with her children and current husband.

                Reading this article was emotionally difficult for me. I cannot imagine what it would be like to speak to my significant other before she died in a hijacked plane, while watching the news on New York being attacked. I was too young at the time of the attacks to fully understand how devastating it was. Many people in the U.S. must have thought that we were being swarmed with attackers during September 11, 2001; or they probably thought that it was doomsday of some sort. I believe that day made a lot more people realistic. These attacks can happen in areas with a huge population. We always have to be prepared and enjoy the moments in our lives. Lyzbeth is strong for being able to raise a newborn right after her husband’s death. Her life is a powerful example of courage, determination, perseverance.

"The Oz Diet" By: Dr. Mehmet Oz (Blog 4)

In his article “The Oz Diet,” found in the September 12, 2011 issue of Time Magazine, Dr. Mehmet Oz talks about some of the myths of food diets and what we should be eating to stay healthy. He starts off by saying that patients usually end up in his surgery room due to the unhealthy foods that they ate. Food was very difficult to obtain in the past. Now, people have easy access to whatever they are craving to eat. Even with easy access to a wide variety of food choices, some people choose to stay on a strict diet because they don’t want to become unhealthy. There are many diet programs out there that don’t even work. Some common diets are the Mediterranean diet, grapefruit diet, and low-fat diet. Scientific studies and results have shown that these diets actually had little effect on our bodies in terms of healthiness. There seemed to be a problem with every diet in our food era. There was no diet that was completely healthy and had promising results. Dr. Mehmet Oz says that people should be consuming eggs, whole milk, salt, fat, nuts, wine, chocolate, and coffee. These are the foods you should be consuming to stay healthy, but if you over-indulge on one food, then you may be faced with some health problems. Health is achieved with the right amount of healthy foods and exercise.  

At first, I was very skeptical about the information in the article, so I did a little research on the author of the article, Dr. Mehmet Oz. I learned that he is a very successful surgeon and he has his own television show called “The Doctor Oz Show.” His television show focuses on topics related to medical issues and personal health. After doing my research, I re-read the article with confidence knowing that I could believe all of the information. The main healthy foods he listed are what surprised me the most. The list doesn’t even have vegetables in it! The article had much scientific evidence and reasoning as to why each of the foods listed is beneficial to our health, so I cannot question or argue against the information. The only thing I can really do now is gape at the information because all of it is so new to me. Health has been a big priority in my life, so the information can benefit me a lot. I plan to work in the medical field and I will take with me this new found knowledge of what we should be consuming for our health. I hope Americans will be informed about this and attempt to fix the problem with obesity. The article mentioned that 1/3 of adults alone are obese, while 1/3 of children alone are obese. If Americans keep eating with bad habits, then people will keep dying from diseases like heart disease.

                                                                                                                                      

"A Famine We Made?" By: Alex Perry (Blog 3)

          In his article, “A Famine We Made?” author Alex Perry explains the situation occurring in Southern Somalia. It turns out that Texas is not the only location that is experiencing severe droughts; Southern Somalia is experiencing it too. However, the corrupt African country is going through much worse compared to Texas. Luckily, Texans have the government and wealth to keep people from becoming very ill due to the drought. Southern Somalia is not a wealthy country, nor does it have a central government. Somalis are starving to death. And to top it all off, there is a war occurring in Somalia. Their war is not against another country. Their war is against themselves. Somali people are killing each other. Two of the symptoms for the cause of this war are piracy and the rise of the Islamists supporting strict Sharia, which is an Islamic law based on the Koran’s teachings. Somali officials have estimated that a million people have died due to war and twenty-nine thousand people have died due to starvation. Sixty-three percent of the region’s population (2.8 million people) is either starving or at risk of starvation. The U.S. is attempting to help their starvation issue by airlifting high-energy biscuits to the country. The biscuits are able to feed 1.6 million people, but only for one day.

          This situation is ridiculous. War is ridiculous. I will never understand why violence was the answer to our greatest problems. Somali people are resorting to piracy because they are desperate for wealth. I remember an incident in the year 2009 when Somali pirates captured an old couple out at sea. The pirates told the country, where the old couple were from, that they were holding the couple hostage until they receive some ridiculous amount of money. I believe it was around sixty-million dollars. The country refused to pay that amount, instead they sent in a special rescue team to rescue the two hostages. Somali people should be trying to work together to fix their corrupt government. Then, they could possibly team up with other countries to help with their own starvation issue. I wish more people would be aware of the Somali crisis and make an attempt to help.