Civil Disobedience

In Henry Thoreau’s essay, Resistance to Civil Government (Civil Disobedience), he explains his reasoning for refusing to pay this tax and his views on government and why it must be resisted. He looks at the importance of justice, morality and conscious of an individual. Thoreau argues that people shouldn’t let the government overrule and that it is the duty of the people to allow the government to act with injustice. Thoreau believes that was government exists in America because of tradition, and because it was practical.

The Declaration of Independence was written to request independence from Great Britain under the rule of King George III. Much like Thoreau’s essay, the settlers were trying to resist the government that was being imposed on them. The role of resistance is in place to shape and consider the will of the people. The Declaration of Independence served as the settler’s first attempt at creating a democracy, where the power would lie in the hands of the people. Resistance to democracy is important because everyone would be forced to believe the same thing. A government that has resistance allows people the freedom of thought, which is what helps to shape and enforce a democracy. It allows citizens to live freely under an established government where everything is considered “fair and balanced.”

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

An interesting topic that has come up recently in the news is the military policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” An independent Senator named Joseph Lieberman introduced a bill that would repeal the ban on openly gay service members in the military, but at a hearing later in the day Republican lawmakers questioned why lifting the ban was necessary. Lieberman introduced the bill in response to Obama’s pledge to end the 17-year-old “don’t ask don’t tell.” This law allows gay men and lesbians to serve in the armed services only if they keep their sexual orientation secret. At the hearing panel, there was the statistic given that from 1999 to 2008, 1.9 million people were discharged by the Department of Defense, including 8,300 because of the “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Gender is personal and I believe it should remain that way and it allows people to live their lives freely, but without fear of reprisal.

Engaging the Text #2 What is Marriage?

By starting the passage with an extended definition of marriage, Wolfson is able to make himself credible and show how much power a marriage between people can hold. He starts his definition with discussing how even though people speak many different languages, there is a word for marriage, and it always describes someone’s love and dedication to another person. This shows how marriage is a universal term, and is represented the same way no matter what culture or background someone comes from. Wolfson then describes how marriage is a personal commitment, a social statement, and a relationship with the government. He also describes the legal and economic responsibilities, and the spiritual significance marriage has for many of us. Wolfson does this to show that a marriage is a big step, and requires a lot of commitment for two people. He uses the definition to primarily represent that the union between to people should symbolize their love for one another.

I think that Wolfson’s definition is fair and sensible because it describes an accurate meaning of marriage. However, since Wolfson is a gay man it is possible that in his definition he placed a higher value to the benefits he believes marriage entails as opposed to someone else who carries the same ideas, but does have the actual benefits of marriage.

It Takes a Family

Rick Santorum uses Dr. Wade Horn’s metaphor to show how a traditional marriage where both parents live in the same household is better in comparison to a child who has grown up in a single-parent household. The families that have both a mother and a father in the same home provide for a “safe destination” whereas the families that have a single parent only “land safely” part of the time, but not as successfully as the first.

Throughout the essay Santorum uses statistics. He stated, “In one study of more than 6,000 young men ages 14 to 22, it was found that boy show grew up without a married mother and father were more than twice as likely to end up in jail as boys who did.” He is implying that families with a mother and father figure provide for a better healthier family and it is less likely for the child to get into any kind of trouble. Research has been done to show that a healthy family is one that is more likely to support one another and the kids will do well. Santorum goes on to state, “Marriage matters because children matter. Without marriage, children suffer, there is simply no better investment parents can make in their children’s future than a healthy marriage.” Therefore children who have grown up in a single-parent home have a future that may or may not be good, which is why Rick Santorum suggests that we should always choose the first plane because even though both planes offer good odds, having a mother and father in the same home provides the family with more success.

Appearances

Vazquez waited until the end to reveal that Brian and Mickey were both actually straight men so that it increases the effect and adds an element of surprise. Because they were perceived as gay, they were beaten up. The disclosure that the two men were actually straight helps the reader to realize that appearances are more important than many of us would like to think. The attacks of the men were all based on their appearances. The attackers only assumed that they were gay based on the way they dressed and presented themselves. People in our society will judge and hate whomever they want for whatever reason they want, the easiest of which being the way someone looks. Her disclosure adds emphasis on the dangers of biases based on appearance and how everyone is at risk even if one is not homosexual. The issue of antigay violence changes when the victims are also heterosexual because it puts more people at risk for attack. It is sad that both heterosexuals and homosexuals are at risk for choosing to be an independent individual in society, living life according to their own values and moral standards. More people would respond to a heterosexual being attacked than a homosexual. It is sad that we grow up being taught not to judge a book by its cover and to treat people with respect, but people still remain condescending based on appearances.

Gender

I have never felt “genderized” because I have grown up in a home where my parents have encouraged me and I could do anything that I set my mind to. My parent’s roles around the house are not always typical. It is often assumed that the man of the house does the yard work and the woman does the work inside. My dad can be found doing the dishes and my mom can be found mowing the lawn. They raised me in a similar fashion. If I wanted to play soccer, I was encouraged to do so, and if I wanted to wear pants instead of a dress that was okay too. One of my favorite toys growing up was Stretch Armstrong while my Barbies sat in the corner. In terms of school, I was not like the author in the second passage where because of her height she was chosen last for things in P.E. I have always been very short, but was actually very athletic and was usually chosen first. Even today, my parents instill the values of “you can do anything,” and that doesn’t stop me from doing something a boy may do or a girl may do. I think had I grown up in a different time such as the 1950s and 1960s there would have been less opportunity for me to branch out and try the things that boys were “supposed” to do.

Transcendentalism

In many ways Eustace Conway did have some Transcendentalist qualities. Transcendentalism is the belief that nature teaches us unity and connection between all things, and that we should be engaged in processing our own world. Eustace could be considered a transcendentalist because he is someone who depends on his mind and nature, and doesn’t really need anything else. Transcendentalists also go by free thought, and understand the importance of nature and how it affects the world because you can’t trust everyone around you. One of the things that concerns Eustace is that the world revolves around material possessions and he decided to he attempts to save our nation from its own greed and sloth by living in harmony with nature. By moving away from his family and creating turtle island Eustace was able to connect with himself, escape the material world and live at peace with nature. I agree with Gilbert’s interpretation of Eustace as a transcendentalist, although I don’t believe that Eustace actively seeks to be one, his personality just included many of the beliefs of transcendentalism.

Nature

The lines in Emerson’s piece that really spoke to me were, “Undoubtedly we have not questions to ask which are unanswerable. We must trust the perfection of the creation so far, as to believe that whatever curiosity the order of things has awakened in our minds, the order of things can satisfy.” This statement means that nature is self-describing and has essentially no secrets. Emerson alludes to a higher being, God, who has made nature according to certain order in life. He discusses how there are some scientists who look into the order in nature, yet we have to wonder if this order exists at all. There are things in our lives that because of nature have to be followed in a certain order. Emerson believes that through nature and the belief in God, all of our questions in some way or another will be answered. However, many of us have unanswerable questions and by putting faith in God or a higher being we may achieve the answer we are looking for. Even though I already have a strong faith, I think that these lines are powerful because it questions the reader’s beliefs in why does nature exist? What am I here to do in life and is there a order that I must follow to ultimately reach a higher goal?

The Last American Man

Elizabeth Gilbert could have written her hero-worshipping biography of The Last American Man because she was enamored with and possibly loved Eustace Conway and that she wanted to deliver a powerful message to attempt to save our nation from its own greed and sloth by living in harmony with nature. She uses the “man of destiny,” Eustace Conway, to show the possibility that an idealistic mountain man can convert us to a mindful natural way of living. In the Last American Man, Eustace is portrayed as an extraordinary man with very ordinary flaws. Eustace lives in an idealistic world that essentially shuts others out and has no tolerance for varying levels of competence or preferences that are different than his. However, since Elizabeth Gilbert is enamored by Eustace, she often represents him as a masculine hero who can bathe in icy streams and eat road kill. On pages fifty-eight and fifty-nine Gilbert states how she feels about Eustace by describing him as a teacher and soft spoken man and compares him to many other books and so-called “mountain men.” Gilbert states, “I am the Teacher of all the People, he seemed to say as he drifted out of his world and hovered over ours. I am trusted and I am to be followed but I am not to be frenched…And he does, after all, bathe in icy streams, so the whole libido problem is a little hard to picture. Still—and this is what got me—Eustace Conway presented himself as an epic American masculine hero.”