Rednecks

The term "country boy" tends to be synonymous with "white trash" or "rednecks" in many people's minds. They see rednecks as a big group of fools that only spit dip and have big muddy trucks. However, few country boys are living this life style for this reason. On the contrary, most are country because that was how they were born and raised. All they know is the simple life of living in the country. Most country boys I know are great guys that would go out of their way just to help you out of a bind. For the truth is that being country is a good thing. Most live simpler lives than those in the city. They live off the land and and seem to have less stress than other people. In this essay, closely examine the life styles of country people to that of city people. You might be surprised at how the levels of stress compare.  Now I know there are a lot of hell raising "rednecks" out there, but just because you see someone who is country, don't jump to conclusion that they are rednecks.

Is Torture Right?

In his essay, "The Case for Torture," Michael Levin argues that in some cases torture is the right thing to do. If innocent lives are endangered and the only way to save them is by torturing the criminal, the torture is the right thing to do. Why should we protect the rights of one individual, when innocent lives will be lost in the process. If a terrorist goes through with a crime and puts lives into danger, then he has lost all his rights. Levin stresses that he is not saying that torture should be a regular means of punishment, only on necessary occasions. Those unfamiliar with this school of thought may be interested to know that it basically boils down to only using torture when it is needed. I agree if a criminal(s) puts the lives of innocent citizens in danger, and there is no other way of saving them, then torture should be administered. Torture is a very touchy subject, but if it means saving lives for the cost  one criminal, then it is the right thing to do.

Teacher that inspired me the most

The teacher that inspired me the most was my high school English teacher Mrs. Williamson. Mrs "Willy" as everyone called her was an amazing teacher. I had for 9th and 11th grade english. Going into high school I was very nervous ( as any freshman would be). I especially feared English because all I could remember about my older sisters thoughts on English was " Be ready to right a ton of papers." But I went into my freshman English class with a positive attitude. From the first day, Mrs. Willy made us freshman feel welcomed. She told us not to be afraid and that she would always be there to help us. Now going into my 11th grade English class I was more excited. But I did have one downfall, In my whole high school career I did not have to work hard for my grades. In 11th grade, Mrs. Willy taught us that college will be very different from high school. She taught me that I was going to actually have to work hard if I wanted a good grade. Mrs. Willy helped me prepare for college and if it were not for her, I wouldn't be the student I am today.

Work Ethic

In he essay from the late eighties entitled "Goodbye to the Work Ethic," social critic Barbara Ehrenreich asserts that the true working class is not really a working class anymore. It all started with the Yuppies in the eighties, who seemed to be overworked and overstressed, but really were not doing anything. They just had to seemed stressed in order to make people believe that they were really working hard for their money. Although I agree with Ehrenreich up to a point, I cannot accept her overriding assumption that just because you work in an office you do not work hard. My father has worked in an office for his entire professional career. If it were not for him, my family would not be as financially stable as it is today. My dad slowly worked his way up to the job he has now and without hard work, he would have never made it.

Best Time of the Year

Out of all the seasons, Fall is my favorite! From the weather, to the sports, fall will always be the best time of the year. One of my favorite reasons why Fall is the best is because of the weather. It's not too hot or too cold. It's perfect! I have a really big yard and every week during the summer I have to cut grass. Now that it is Fall, the grass hardly ever needs to be cut. I love being able to go outside and not automatically sweating, or freezing my butt off. The other reason why I love Fall is the sports. Football season is the best. I love nothing more than watching football games on Friday and Saturday nights. I look forward to watching Alabama football all year round. Another great sport that comes with the Fall is deer hunting. Hunting will always be an experience like no other. Ever since I could remember, I have always been hunting. There is something about the rush of seeing that big buck that keeps me wanting more. From the weather to the sports, Fall will always be the perfect time of the year.

Give Me that Old Time Feminism

In her July 2006 essay from the Huffington Post, "Give Me that Old Time Feminism," New York Times bestselling author Barbara Ehrenreich asserts that at times, feminism is blown out of proportion. While in other countries, women have close to no rights at all. She goes on two compare old school feminism with new school feminism. Back in the 1920s, feminist were fighting for equal rights as men, while new feminist are worrying about fitting into stilettos. I'm of two minds about Ehrenreich's claim that feminism is dead. On the other hand I agree that at least American women have rights. Compared with other countries where their woman have no rights and could never be out right feminist. I believe present day woman have as many rights as they do because of old school feminist. If it were not for them, times may be different for woman

Opinions Reviszed

Are you entitled to your opinion? Most people say of course, but is that entirely true? There are instances where both cases are true. Everyone is entitled to their opinion to some extent. If your opinion is on something that is debatable like, "Chocolate ice cream is better than vanilla ice cream," then you have every right to that opinion. But if you use the excuse of "I'm entitled to my opinion" to argue over something that is completely wrong, then that is not the case. If your opinion is 2+2 =5, then you are not entitled to that. If you are arguing over your opinion that is completely wrong, then you are missing that point of your opinion. You have an opinion so that you can argue and back up your beliefs, not to just have an excuse to debate with someone

Patrick Stokes, lecturer in Philosophy at Deakin University. In his essay, "No your not entitled to your opinion," he claims that everyone is in entitled to their opinion, only if their opinion is arguable. If someone has an opinion that is completely false just so they can argue, then they are not entitled to that opinion.  Sometimes people use their opinion in order to say whatever they want, Stokes is against this for that reason. Although I disagree with much that Stokes says, I fully endorse his final conclusion that people should only have opinions if they are arguable. People should have opinions to state their beliefs, not to just be able to say what they want to.

Fear

As I have stated in some of my previous blogs,  during the summer I work as a camp counselor at the Grandview YMCA. Every summer the camp has a lock-in. This is where the kids get to stay all night at the camp. It starts at 7 and ends the next morning around 7. The kids look forward to this night more than anything else. We have pizza, play games, and go for a night swim. For the really brave kids, we take a midnight hike through the woods. Now at camp grandview, there is an old pool with locker rooms that is no longer used. It hasn't been used in decades and looks pretty creepy. The reason it is no longer used is because the foundation started to crack, but the kids don't know that. As counselors we made up this scary story of how a camper went crazy and killed 5 campers at that pool a long time ago. So when we told the kids that we were going to go explore the haunted pool, only a few went. Me and two other counselors took the brave kids down there and from the beginning, the plan was to scare them. At first the kids were fine, the started to believe nothing was going to happen, until we went into the locker rooms. Now these lockers even creep me out, especially during the night because it's pitch black. We walked through and the kids were scared, but nothing happened so they eventually lightened up, but I had a plan. I was the last person in the group making shore no kid got lost. So as we excited the locker rooms, I screamed and jumped into an old shower. The kids freaked out yelling, "Mr. Colby!!!" I continued to scream and started yelling, "Run! Its coming!" So the other two counselors played along and told the campers to run back and don't stop. As they all left, I took my knife and ripped my shirt to make it look like giant claws going down it. As I ran back to were the kids were, I laid down and knocked on the door. The kids ran to me freaking out. They asked me what happened and all I said was, " All I remember is a big figure attacking me, then I blacked out." From that night on, I Still don't go a day without a camper asking me what happened that night.

Library fun

Last week instead of going to class, we had to go to our library and find three books that had to do with three of our discourse comminitys. I first went to the online website and searched for my books. Once I found them, each book had a number which told you where the book was located within the library. This is when the fun began. There are 7 floors in the library, so finding three book was going to be an adventure. The first few numbers on the book lets you know what floor your book is on, and the rest tell you exactly where the book is at. I found the floors pretty easy, but I was lost from there. I went down rows and rows looking for just one book. I eventually found the row I was looking for, but each row has three shelves on it. The number told me which shelve it was on, but when I looked, the book was not there. I looked and looked but could not find it. The website said the book was not checked out so I was confused. I was almost ready to give up, when I saw one book who's back was facing the wrong way. I grabbed the book and turned it around and it was my book. After finding the first one, the rest of the book were a breeze.

opinions

Are you entitled to your opinion? Most people say of course, but is that entirely true? There are instances where both cases are true. Everyone is entitled to their opinion to some extent. If your opinion is on something that is debatable like, "Chocolate ice cream is better than vanilla ice cream," then you have every right to that opinion. But if you use the excuse of "I'm entitled to my opinion" to argue over something that is completely wrong, then that is not the case. If your opinion is 2+2 =5, then you are not entitled to that. If you are arguing over your opinion that is completely wrong, then you are missing that point of your opinion. You have an opinion so that you can argue and back up your beliefs, not to just have an excuse to debate with someone.

facebook vs twitter

The big question; Facebook vs. Twitter? Ever since social media began, Facebook has been the superior front runner, but here within the past 5 years a new network is giving Facebook some competition. I have both Facebook and Twitter accounts and there are not to many differences. Both let you tell your friends, or followers, what you are doing. Both let you interact with your friends or followers. To me, the difference is if you are trying to meet new people Facebook is for you. Facebook is designed more so that you can meet new people easier. Twitter is aimed more for the younger audience who already have a lot of friends and want a "cool" way to communicate with them. I have noticed one reason why the majority of Twitter accounts are younger is because most adults are not on Twitter. Teenager can talk to their friends without a family member seeing. Facebook is more prevalent with the older audience because it is more professional. It is more acceptable for an adult to have a Facebook rather than a Twitter. So which one should you pick? It all depends on your age or your popularity. Meaning if you are a celebrity it is more helpful in having a Twitter. But for us regular folks out of high school, Facebook is the way to go.

weird day at work

For the past two years I have worked with the Grandview YMCA as a summer counselor. Dealing with kids everyday is always a weird time, but I can recall one day in particular that was weirder than usual. It was in the afternoon and the kids where getting their things together.The kids and the counselors were all tired from the long hot day and everyone was ready to go home. We get a call over our walkies that it was time for this kid to go home. We call for the kid but he is no where to be found. We search and search but cannot find him. By this time everyone is looking but he is still missing. The counselors begin to panic while searching all over for him. By this time the mother has pulled up waiting for her child. My boss goes up to her and explains to her the situation. She is very angry and has every right to be 30 min later the mother gets a call from her husband. The husband is calling to remind her that she needs to pick up the child from soccer practice at school. The kid never came to camp that day! The mother completely forgot about his practice and was very apologetic to the staff. We were just glad that it was a false alarm. That day was defiantly the weirdest day at work