Prius

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/13/business/global/13prius.html

This article was about how Prius' are one of the only cars that are really selling well.  The high demand for the Prius is causing a need for more workers at the plant where they are manufactured.  Earlier this year, they had to take several vacation days to save money. They now have to work more, and are not having vacations because of the high demand.  They still expect to come out with losses though, because other cars are still not selling well.

God, Firearms, and America

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/us/29guns.html?_r=1&ref=us

It scares me that there are people like this.  I know there is probably a lot of them.  This article was about a celebration of the right to bare arms at a church. People came from miles around to bring there loaded guns to church.  

There were a few particularly problematic things in here.

 "'But for a deep-seated belief in God and firearms, this country would not be here today,' Mr. Pagano declared from the church’s pulpit."

I agree with this statement.  I don't see it as a very positive thing thing.  Sure, it is good that people came to America for religious freedom, but I don't think it is good that we took the land from the Native Americans.  It makes me sick to think people are proud of this. 

“'I don’t see a thing wrong with having a loaded gun in there,' Mr. Hillerich said. 'If the pastor’s in there and he’s got a concealed weapon and somebody comes in and starts shooting people, he can take him out. That’s his right.'"

This is also a sick kind of statement.  If no one is allowed to carry guns, then no one gets shot.  Is it better to let everyone carry guns to defend themselves? Where do people get these ideas?

Current Events One

So I've decided I want to start paying some more attention to current events around the world.  We used to do this in  Japanese class, and it was usually a lot of fun.  So I will be reading an article, or two, or three, and posting a little summary, and maybe my opinion if I feel the article deserves it.  Some will be total fluff, and others will be informative.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/18/arts/18iht-women.html

This article is about sexism in Italian media.  Television and magazines portray body as the most important factor in "getting ahead",  which is not that much different than in America.  Young people are more focused on improving their looks than their knowledge or character.  “The body is the new capital for adolescents in Italy,” said Cristina Sivieri Tagliabue.  This gives people incentives to attain a certain look or body type.  They think they need it to get ahead in life.

This was also interesting..

http://www.weforum.org/pdf/gendergap/report2007.pdf

The United States comes in 31st in 2007, which isn't awful, but really not great for a country that prides itself in equality. The sad part is, we were in 23rd in 2006.

Not surprisingly, Japan comes in quite a bit lower, at 91. Italy comes in at 84. 

For economic opportunity, U.S. is 14. For education US is 76, ranking below both Japan and Italy. For health and survival, we rank 36th, though all that come before rank 1. We come in a sad 69th for political empowerment.

The U.S. certainly isn't the worst when in comes to sexism, but it is nowhere near being the best.

Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland rank first through fourth.

1984 and Jennifer Government

Since I postponed my 1984 write up this long, I figured I would just combine it with my Jennifer Government write up. 

1984 and Jennifer Government are both about what happens when the government goes to far in one direction.  1984 is pretty dystopian, where as Jennifer Government appears to be Utopian, in the beginning.

The idea behind 1984 is that the government is all-powerful.  Food is rationed, everything you do or say is heard and watched, and everything is basically decided for you. "Big Brother is always watching". There is three different groups of people; the rebels, the inner-party members, and everyone else. The rebels live in the older parts of town, they are relatively undisturbed, and mainly keep to themselves.  The inner-party members generally have secret, large house, better food, and are allowed to break the rules.  Everyone else lives in uniform apartments with "telescreens" that watch there every move.  If they do something the party doesn't like, they will be taken away at night, and any record of them every existing is erased, and no one says a word about it.

In Jennifer Government, everything is a private institution.  The police will do anything for you if you pay them enough money.  Laws aren't really all that enforced.  Ad campaigns involve kill people. Hospitals want to make sure you have enough money to pay them before they admit you, even if you are dying. The NRA has just as much power as the police. Most of the world, is totally Americanized. This book does come off as slightly "Utopian" though, because everyone can have whatever they want. They can take out huge loans, spend thousands of dollars on the latest shoes, and don't think twice about it. 

The main character in 1984, who was fighting for change in the government, is forced back into believing Big Brother's lies and spends the rest of his life wasting time drinking gin.  

In Jennifer Government, the ending is happier.  Things work out for  "Jennifer Government" and her family.  Change happens, people riot, and the bad guys go to jail. 

Both stories seem possible in real life. People seem to always want more and more, people want to get what they earned, and not have to pay for other people.  Jennifer Government's life without taxes, everyone fending for themselves, may seem ideal.  On the other side of things, 1984's rigid government censoring may appeal to people who want to be protected from the world. As long as the follow the rules, Big Brother will always protect them.

My conclusion from these books is there needs to be a balance.  A total free-market system is dangerous, and puts a lot of people at a disadvantage.  Total government control is also dangerous, in that it takes away all the enjoyment people get out of living.

Vermont Same-Sex Marriage

I was in Vermont this weekend and the issue making all the newspaper headlines was the same-sex marriage bill that passed the Senate 26 to 4.  The governor of Vermont, Jim Douglas (R), says he will veto the bill.  Today the house will vote on the bill, and if it passes by 2/3, it will have the power to override the veto.

I get kind of angry about this stuff because I think we should be so beyond this. Athiest's can get married, can't they? Is marriage really a religious institution? And if it is, why the are there laws to control it?

This makes me sad. America needs to start getting better.

I went to GSA today and we did an activity to demonstrate what it may be like for someone to come out.  We stood in a circle with one person in the middle.  We all held on to strings connecting us to the girl in the middle.  She told each of us she was heterosexual. We responded based on cards we were holding.  The sister saying "its just a phase", Grandma saying "you just need to buy some new clothes", Dad saying "what did I do wrong" ect...  As we said these things, the strings were cut.  The last person, the ally, didn't say anything, and the string wasn't cut.  

It made me think about the social facets of being homosexual.  Not being gay, lesbian, bi, or transgender, I don't really think about that as much as equal rights. Its sad to see how people treat others. 

Anyway, hopefully all goes well tonight in Vermont!

Siddhartha

I just finished reading the book Siddhartha* by Herman Hesse.  The book was written after Herman Hesse's journey through India. It takes place many years ago in India. 

Siddhartha is Brahmin as a young boy, and he leaves home with his friend Govinda to try and fulfill his need for knowledge. Govinda loves Siddhartha and sees him like no other person.  Siddhartha is perfect. They become possession-less Samsara, who travel, and think, and fast.

 After many years, Siddhartha decides that life as a samsara isn't right for him, and he Govinda go to see Gotama, the Buddha. Govinda accepts Gotama's teachings and way of life, and becomes a monk, but Siddhartha is not satisfied and he leaves.  

Siddhartha travels to a town, and meets a beautiful woman.  He lives there with her and works and makes money.  He eats rich food and wears fine clothing.  

After many years of this life, he abandons it and moves in with ferryman by the river.  The woman he used to love is traveling to see the Buddha with their son.  She meets Siddhartha again, but she dies of a snake bite and leaves their son to Siddhartha.  The son is spoiled and eventually leaves home, and Siddhartha is saddened.  

Govinda comes upon Siddhartha, after hearing from people about the peaceful god-like ferryman. Govinda realizes that it is Siddhartha and talks to him for a while. Siddhartha realizes that none of the words he followed in the past were real.  He decides that the best thing to do is to love everything.  He says it is okay to love people, animals, food, sins, and riches. After years of traveling, going from being unhappy and possessionless, and unhappy with riches, he realizes that it is all okay and has reached his own nirvana.

*Siddhartha Gotama was Buddhas real name. 

Christmas Around the World: America

America

Christmas in America is usually celebrated with gift giving and family visits.  Children are given a couple of weeks off of school for the holiday.  On Christmas Day, children open presents delivered by Santa Claus the night before. 

Santa Claus was brought to America by the Dutch in the 17th century, but did not become an important part of Christmas until 1809, when Washington Irving included him in a novel.  He flew around in a wagon with no reindeer and smoked a pipe.  He brought presents to the children, but didn't live in the North Pole or have a red coat.

Thomas Nast started the creation of the Santa Claus we know today by making drawings of him in the 1860's.  In 1931, Coca Cola choose one of Nast's drawings to star in a Christmas time ad, and the image has stuck ever since.

On Christmas Eve, big meals are often eaten with families, including turkey or ham, cranberry sauce, potatoes, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, Christmas cookies, egg-nog, and other things.  For some families, this is followed by midnight mass.

Houses in America are heavily decorated.  Lights are hung outside, along with pine branches and wreaths.  Mistletoe is sometimes hung in the home, in-between doorways. Stockings are hung by fire places, or from hooks, to be filled with small treats. Christmas trees are decorated, by most people, with lights, ornaments, candy canes, tinsel, popcorn, and other things.