My I.B. History I.A. is about Hitler's ideologies within "Mein Kampf" and how they were implemented in Nazi society and policies. I picked this topic because I'm interested in it, but while thinking about this I began to consider something else. What is so interesting about Hitler and the Holocaust? I know a lot of people who find this topic very intriguing and it makes me wonder why everyone seems to be interested in such a gruesome, horrific subject. The ways the Jews were tortured and killed are an example of evil within society. Often in class the topic describes the details of their extermination and shows videos that show real footage from the Holocaust. What is it about this horrible event that interests people so much. I can't even answer the question for myself; I have no clue why I enjoy learning of something so horrific.

With the upcoming elections, the majority of the commercials I see on t.v. are political advertisements. And something that I've noticed is how they mostly consist of general statements. Each candidate says what they will and will not do if they were to be elected or they bash their opponent. However a lot of the evidence they use is just political jargon that has been twisted to serve their purpose. Although the facts themselves are true, they're said in a way that influences the viewer to support their points. This is an unethical way to gain votes and further ones campaign. What do you guys think?

Something that irritates me a lot is when boys make sexist comments about girls. Even if they say them as a joke, it's still offensive. Telling me to "go make me a sandwich" and saying that "girls can only cook and clean" is rude and sexist, and it doesn't make me an extreme feminist when I tell you to stop. Another thing that bothers me is when boys use disrespectful words to describe women. A lot of rap songs especially annoy me because they promote the objectification of women. Women should be treated with respect and not as sexual objects that only serve to "cook and clean".

I don't know if anyone else has blogged about this, but I wanted to blog about the sub that we had last week! Something that really bothered me, was her attitude towards us. I understand that we're in high school, but that doesn't mean we're children. The way I see it is if you call us children and treat us like children, then we'll act like children. Treat us like adults and we'll be more inclined to respect you as a sub. Even when we explained that we were an IB class, she continued to patronize us. What really upset me was when she called us kids, Jackie and Mackenzie brought up that they were 18, and she still dismissed them and made excuses. Just because we're in high school doesn't mean we shouldn't be treated with respect! Also she completely offended me when she started bashing on the U of M and saying that it didn't matter if any of us were accepted, that we needed to wait for the interview. It didn't help that this was said in a very condescending manner. I honestly hope we never have her as a sub again!

Today I saw something that really bothered me. I was on Twitter and I saw someone who had tweeted that people shouldn't tweet about the death of Mitch Lucker, a vocalist for a screamo band, because the devastation of hurricane Sandy is more important than him dying. I couldn't believe someone would tweet something like that. Of course hurricane Sandy and the people it affected is a serious topic that deserves respect. But the death of a person beloved by many fans deserves respect too. Saying that his death is insignificant because a greater tragedy happened in the world is disrespectful not only to him, but also to his family and the people that cared about him. I'm not disregarding that hurricane Sandy wasn't horrible, but I do want to emphasis that all tragedies have an impact and telling people that they shouldn't tweet about what impacts them is not ok.

I don't know about you guys, but between our IA, our EE, and college applications, I'm definitely feeling stressed out! It kind of got me thinking about the workload we have as high school students. Monday through Friday we go to school for six and a half hours. We then go home and dedicate the majority of our night to completing homework for our classes. A lot of the time we have so much homework that we stay up late to finish it. I know for the past couple of nights I've been up until 1 or 2 in the morning just trying to finish everything. I know colleges want to see hard courses for our applications, and I know we're in IB and more homework is expected, but how are we supposed to be involved in extracurriculars, finish ALL our homework, get to bed at a decent time, AND maintain good grades? Maybe you guys think differently, and maybe it's just the time of year that's making it seem this way, but I'm just super stressed about all of this.

The Right to An Opinion

Today I wanted to blog about something that has really been bothering me lately. I'm a little nervous to post this because I'm diving into politics. I've been noticing that there has been a lot of hypocrisy within the "vote yes/no" arguments that I've been seeing on Facebook and Twitter, especially tonight. One particular status I saw struck me. It said that everyone's opinions are important, but for this specific topic, to vote yes was wrong and to vote no was right. They said that everyone has rights and that you have to defend those rights no matter what their sexuality. The hypocrisy was so blatant that I really wanted to comment back and had to restrain myself from doing so. I'm not stating my political beliefs, I was simply noticing an issue within his argument. If everyone has rights and subsequently, the right to their own opinion, then why in that particular instance is everyone who votes yes wrong? By saying this you are disregarding their opinion and their right to state their opinion therefore infringing upon their rights. It seems that in today's society, the individual is always correct to themselves, and no one is able to admit if they are wrong, or think about topics objectively. I felt that this was a good example of I.B. and its positive ideals because it teaches you to form your own opinion, but to also be conscious of other points of view, which is something this person could have done when they posted their status.

So as I'm doing my homework tonight I'm also watching The Devil Wears Prada, one of my favorite movies. It got me thinking about fashion and how important it is to society. Clothing is a universal sign of expression. It can showcase one's mood, personality and obviously their style as well. Fashion magazines depicting these styles are a big part of society as well. They indicate what clothing choices are popular, what ones look good on certain body types, what celebrities are wearing and much more. However, the big question is, why is fashion so important? One reason I thought of was a first impression. When you first meet a person the first thing they see is your outfit. If you're dressed like a slob they'll tend to think you act like a slob as well. But if you're "dressed to impress" they'll believe it matches your personality and the way you act. Fashion also affects your reputation. Because your outfit reflects your personality and maturity level, it also affects how people think of you. Granted most people generally don't care what other wear, but if you show up to a formal dance wearing jeans and a t-shirt, people are going to think differently of you. I find it interesting how clothes can affect so much of society. 

Presidential Debate

In light of the presidential debate, I would like to highlight a few knowledge issues I'm witnessing currently as I watch it. The entire purpose of the debate is for candidates to discuss the policies and ideals that they would create and maintain while in office. However, there are several flaws in this system. One of the things I have noticed is that the bulk of the debate is refuting each others points and giving out specific facts that divert from the original question. Each time a new question is brought to light, the candidate first to answer immediately veers from the question and instead discusses something that backs up his own political ideas. In reaction the other candidate refutes the statement by subtly insulting what was said and then repeats the same exact pattern of backing up his own political ideas. As they begin to really debate they each tiptoe around the original question, while using facts that serve their own agenda. This creates a somewhat unethical debate that uses justifications and excuses to sway the voters. Granted there are some real issues discussed, but the majority of what is talked about is unrelated to the structure of the debate and its questions.

Different Views on Modern Television

So today I was watching my favorite t.v. show Criminal Minds. I was in the middle of an intense episode, when the website I was watching it on crashed. Naturally I had to know what happened next, so I went onto Youtube and searched for the episode. Instead of the clip I had been hoping for, I found a video of Mandy Patinkin, who plays Agent Jason Gideon in the show, talking about why he eventually decided to leave Criminal Minds. Intrigued, I watched the entire video and afterwards felt somewhat enlightened by his perspective on the show. In the video, which was an interview, Patinkin states that if he could do it all over again, he would never have taken the role of Agent Gideon. When asked why he explained that the show had begun to "destroy" his heart and soul.
I was shocked. How could a fictional television show destroy someone's heart and soul? After all, it was complete fantasy. None of the characters or plot lines were real. However, once I heard Patinkin's view, I began to understand.
Patinkin continued to explain that it was not the show itself that was hurting him, but the extreme violence that was portrayed. For those of you who don't know, Criminal Minds is a television drama depicting the cases of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. This unit specializes in creating profiles for the most serious criminals, like serial killers. Some of the ideas the writers had come up with for episodes were pretty gruesome and disturbing.
Patinkin believed that this misogyny and horror was inappropriate for anyone of any age. He said he thought the reason people are drawn to these types of shows, is that they believe if they get their daily dose of fear, then nothing bad will happen to them. He also said that this violence was becoming a common sight to people and it was losing its grisly nature, due to the modern numbness of society. He believed that we see these images so often that they have lost their ability to frighten us.
Of course Patinkin is somewhat correct. These images have dulled society's empathetic tendencies. However I disagree with his belief that people want their daily dose of fear. When I watch Criminal Minds, it doesn't make me afraid, it's entertaining and is more akin to a thriller than a horror movie.
I found Patinkin's view interesting mostly because he was apart of that world as an actor for so long, yet he didn't necessarily enjoy the story and character he was portraying. It is a unique way to think about modern television and gives insight to the fact that not all actors may like or appreciate the concept of the work they do.

Drug Usage: To Tell Or Not To Tell

Today my dad was at Dairy Queen with my little brother, when a fellow parent sat down to chat with him. They got to talking and this parent brought up a scandal going on within their circle of friends. One of their friends children was doing drugs; specifically smoking weed. This parent was deeply concerned and wanted to tell the parents of the child, who were oblivious. When my dad got home he told me this story and it made me wonder if telling those parents is an ethical decision.
Drugs are a big problem among teenagers in our society. I myself have been asked more times than I can count to smoke weed or a cigarette or some other substance. With constant peer pressure surrounding them, many teenagers succumb and try these drugs. They don't always become hooked, but even smoking once can damage your lungs, esophagus, and other parts of your body. Because of this danger, is it ethical to inform the parents of their child's choices? I don't think so.
First of all, you would be getting involved in issues that don't involve you. If these issues don't personally affect you, it's  not your place to insert yourself into their family's business. Second of all this parent had only heard rumors of this child doing drugs. They had no concrete proof. Even if they were right, they have no evidence to provide the parents with. Because of this, if they told the parents, it would seem more like gossip and like they were attacking their child.
Another debacle this parent faces is that they most likely believe that they would be protecting the child in question. However this leads right back to the fact that this parent would be getting involved in another family's issues, which is not their place. If this parent were to tell the child's parents about their drug use, it would come across as immature and like the parent did not know their place.
It would be easy to justify going to this child's parents, but it would still be unethical. The parent would be meddling in another family's problems without any proof or evidence to support their claim. Therefore, I believe, that should they inform the parents of the child's choice to use drugs, that it would be a completely unethical decision.

Football, the True American Pastime.

I'm watching my favorite team, the Packers, play right now and it got me thinking about football. American football has such a deep cultural value in the U.S. Whether it's college, high school or professional football, I believe football is the true "American pastime". But watching the game also got me thinking about the cultural significance of football within society. It amazes me how a sport, and even a team, can bring people together. My dad, my brother and I are all watching the game together; talking just enjoying each other's company. Normally at 10 pm our family would be in bed, exhausted from running around all night to our various activities. But the Packer game is giving us a reason to sit down and spend time with one another. Something else that I find interesting is loyalty of fans to their team. For myself, even if the Packers lose, I will still wear my jersey tomorrow at school. I love my team. And if you ask any fan of any other team if they'd do the same, I bet you they'd say yes. But what exactly causes this loyalty? I believe it's the feeling of belonging to something bigger than yourself, the thrill of experiencing a football game through the players. I find football's ability to bring families and people together is inspiring.

Controversy in Modern Pregnancies

Being in I.B. I've learned to look at controversial topics from different perspectives. Something I was thinking about the other day was pregnancy. (I know, random right?) To be completely honest if I see a girl walking through the halls at school, obviously pregnant, I have stereotypical thoughts about her. She didn't use protection, the pregnancy was an accident, her parents are probably angry and so on. Not to say that any of those options aren't true, however realizing those judgements I would normally have made got me thinking: why does pregnancy seem to have a negative connotation these days? Of course if you're a teen who's pregnant it comes with a negative connotation, but what about a grown woman?
Just the other day I was at the grocery store and saw a pregnant woman walking around by herself. And I noticed down the aisle that another woman was staring at her the same way I see pregnant teenage girls being stared at. The look of the other woman was almost condescending. As I continued to shop, I noticed other people watching her too. And their stares did not appear friendly. They were almost patronizing. I was trying to understand exactly what was making these people stare because I couldn't bring myself to believe the reason was her pregnancy. But then I realized something. This woman wasn't wearing a ring on her finger.
It made me wonder; how does marriage make a difference in how people view pregnancy?
Even though society these days deems it acceptable to have children, but not be married, why were the people in the grocery store still staring at the pregnant woman that way? I believe that the modern idea of unmarried pregnancy has contributed to its own "taboo" connotation. A couple of decades ago if a grown woman was pregnant, people assumed she was married. Now people can't assume those things because of a change in society. More and more people are remaining unmarried, but still having children together. Some people have one night stands and get pregnant. Women can become pregnant from a sperm donor. There are so many ways to become pregnant that people can't assume one single ideal anymore. There are other alternatives they would have to consider. And a lot of people don't approve of many of the more modern ways women are becoming pregnant.
That's why I believe people were staring at that pregnant woman in the grocery store. They didn't know her story and therefore made assumptions. Thinking about this now, it seems quite ridiculous to me that pregnancy should have a negative connotation simply because there are other ways to be pregnant without being married.