Something that matters to me..

Something that I believe is important for others to know about is the negative effects and outcomes of bullying. Bullying can be seen as something very minute to some but what it can lead to is far from a small issue and is often neglected. When we think of bullying, most of us imagine children in elementary school being picked on but this issue happens to everyone no matter what your age is. At one point or another, we all have been bullied maybe once, a few times, or we might be currently getting bullied whether it's verbally, physically or through social networking. But the action of getting bullied makes us feel as if something is wrong with us or out of the norm according to society, whether the reason being that the person is a different skin color, has a different taste in music, a different sexual orientation or the fact that they are better than someone else at something. What many of us fail to realize is that the action of being bullied builds up inside these innocent people and it gets difficult to find an outlet and it has often led to very extreme outcomes such as ending one's life. The rates of suicide due to bullying are raising higher and higher and in my opinion, something should seriously be done about it.

Can There Be World Citizenship?

It is more than possible for there to be world citizenship, the problem is people finding the will to act upon it. When we watched the documentary "Ask an Iraqi", it showed how many people in the United States aren't very accepting of others who aren't originally from here. We victimize others and make it unpleasant for those who are here for a better life not only for themselves but for possibly further generations in their family.  I feel that this currently affects my generation because we see our elders responding to others in this manner and what we observe is what we pick up as we get older which leads to the conclusion that Raina Kelley came to in her article, "Generation Me." We're viewed as selfish and narcissists but a lot has to do with what we have seen and are currently seeing as we get older and we see the rejection of other human beings and in result, we carry that on.

Generation Me.

After reading the two articles "Generation Me" and "The Why-Worry Generation", it put me into a new perspective when it comes to how I'm viewed when my elders see me. The articles discuss how we're narcissists, conceited and self-centered and although I tend to see multiple people close to my age act that way, I know that there are people of every age that act in that manner as well. I think all of us have the potential to be that way but it's just a matter of choosing not to. If anything, these articles make me feel a bit more self-conscious of how I'm perceived. In today's society, many of us feel that we must think highly of ourselves so others can and I think it just pressures people more and more to live up to it. Every generation had different standards but every generation also had the negative aspects, attitudes and perspectives.

The Ways We Lie

The White Lie - One day, my dad wanted to buy a new pair of shoes and he really liked this black pair of shoes that just didn’t look too good on him but I could tell that he really liked the style of them. He tried them on and asked me how they looked. Since I knew he liked him and he obviously didn’t mind wearing them, I lied and told him that they worked for him. Fortunately, he put the purchase on hold because the price wasn’t worth the look.

Facades - High school is known as the four years of drama between young teens. Many times, a guy can confide in another guy friend about how he feels towards one of the girls in his class. The guy friend hears him out and tells the other guy to try talking to her but very often, the guy friend sneaks behind his friend’s back and begins talking to the girl that his friend has been crushing on.

Ignoring the Plain Facts - An example of when someone ignores the plain facts is when there is a crime committed and police officers exploit their power to get someone convicted of a crime with very little evidence.

Deflecting - When someone lies by deflecting, they turn the tables around on the other person. In relationships, when someone does something wrong and in order to save themselves, they turn the argument around to make it seem as if the reason for their wrong doing is the significant other’s fault.

Omission - When someone tells their parents that they are going to a friend’s house but they end up going somewhere else afterwards. 

Stereotypes and Cliches - Many people categorize others without knowing from personal experience such as when others say that many hispanics are illegal but a good majority were born here in the United States.

Groupthink - When there is a jury deliberating about whether someone is guilty or not guilty and there is one person who is against the rest of the jurors and all of the jurors change that one person’s mind to be in agreement with the others.

Out-and-Out Lies - An out-and-out lie is the most blunt of them all. It is when someone accuses you of something and even though you know that you did something wrong, you lie and don’t admit to it.

Dismissal - A good example of dismissal is when a student tells their parent that they have a bad grade because their teacher doesn’t like them but their parent dismisses their statement and says, “No, that can’t be true.”

Delusion - A delusional lie can be when someone has schizophrenia and truly believes that they hear voices in their head.

Rant.

I have never understood why people freak out about the world ending in 2012.  It wouldn't be the first time people predict that the world will end but nothing has ever happened before so why would it now? Last Year, I saw a documentary where there was a man who created an underground hideout beneath his house for when this "supposed" apocalypse is supposed to happen and his family members have been fighting for a spot in it since it can't fit too many people. There are even websites selling 2012 survival kits for hundreds and even thousands of dollars. Yeah, the world isn't in the best shape but it's not because the world is ending, it's because we aren't taking care of it. Maybe the Mayans just ran out of room on the calendar they were making Or maybe, the rest of the calendar was continued somewhere else and we just happened to discover the one that got cut off. Either way, the end of the world can never be predicted. Just enjoy the present and worry about the future when it gets here..

Anonymous Civilogues

Over time, the concept of social networking has changed drastically due to the change of how people communicate.  The option for people to be anonymous is a big factor to that. With others being able to tell someone anything they'd like anonymously with just a click of a button, allows people to think that it's okay to say the first thing that pops into their head, no matter how cruel it can be.  The fact that there are very few filters online to review all the comments that are posted online is what assists the damage that is being done with anonymity.  As stated in the article, "Why I like vicious, anonymous online comments" the process that a person would go through to write and send a letter can be looked at as a filter because it would give the person time to think about what they wrote, how they wrote it, and if they were sure about sending it. For those who are in favor of anonymity and it's harsh outcomes, they can learn to speak their mind without being offensive from the article, "Make our Ugly DiscourseBetter: Join the Civilogue."  The article discusses the importance of saying how you truly feel in a polite and clear way to get your point across even though the result can lead to being ridiculed or verbally attacked.  The goal is to enhance the form of communication, "one polite rebuke at a time."