This I Believe

Colton, my younger brother, is 14. He is completely oblivious to those around him, and so he tends to smash into the elderly, step on children, and stroll over small dogs. Of course, he doesn’t realize the injuries he’s caused until he looks over his shoulder and surveys a trail of whimpering creatures. That’s when I have to tell him that he’s closed the door on Mrs. Brosmer and given her Pomeranian a mild heart attack. To avoid such incidents, my mother and I are teaching Colton to hold open doors for everyone, mind his place in line, and keep his eyes ahead when walking. We’re also instilling ideas of chivalry into his little noggin. He’s learning that, as a man, he must treat women a certain way. He must respect women and treat them as an equal, but that doesn’t mean he should expect them to pay for dinner. I’m certainly a feminist, but I think a man should have an air of courtliness about him. I don’t think it’s demeaning to have a man pull out my seat for me. I believe in manners, chivalry, and decency. Today, some women interpret gallantry as sexism, but they need to rethink their meaning of degradation. I think that, as a society, our interpretation of what is “ok” has become skewed. When did recounting one's latest sexual encounter on the Internet become cool or even accepted? Personal information should remain personal and should never be thought of as welcomed. On the other side of the spectrum, too many people equate being good with being boring. One can be interesting without being crass. I think our society needs to heavily reevaluate itself and reconsider what its values have become. Will such a thing happen? Probably not.

Integer P is a multiple of 3 and between 100 and 150. When P is divided by 7, the remainder is 4. What is one possible value for P?

University High School needs to have a Brain Game team. I would totally join. I watch it whenever I can because I really am that cool. Oh, how I feel when I know the answer! Some of the questions are quite easy. I remember one from a game a while ago: What is the name of Roger Rabbit’s wife? Why, it’s Jessica Rabbit. I thought she was so sexy and salacious when I was younger, and I sort of admired her a lot. Most of the questions are difficult. Occasionally there’s a math question, and I just shake my head because, well, they’re impossible. I watched a game a couple of days ago, and I only knew the answer to one question because the contestants kept on requesting math and science questions. For those not in the know, a high school creates their own Brain Game team, and teams go on to compete against each other on the show. Teams consist of four members, and a lot of the teams are male dominated. Actually, all of them are. I’ve only witnessed one girl, Katie. However, I still adore the show. Not that I’d be any better, but the kids on Brain Game are so loveably awkward. When no one knows the answer, they all squirm in their seats and look around, elbowing each other with their eyes. When someone knows the answer, it’s glorious. When someone gets a question wrong, it’s sweetly funny. A few weeks back, a question was “Complete this famous army phrase: ‘If it moves…’” and a contestant smacked his button and declared, “Shoot it!” The answer was “Salute it.”

I'd be Time Trapper, only I wouldn't be evil

I wish I could freeze time. If I could have any super power, it would be that one. The ability to fly is impressive, and the ability to communicate with animals is nice, but none of these powers are necessarily practical. Time-altering powers are quite practical. If I could stop or slow time, I’d have all the time in the world to do my homework or sleep. I would be able to read without interruption and loll about without complications. When I had completed an assignment, I would simply restart the clock. From a superhero’s standpoint, I would be able to stop tragedies from happening by pausing time, altering the situation, and then rebooting time’s forward march. Time travel’s too complicated and too dangerous to want control over, but simple time freezing could prevent deaths in the here-and-now. I wouldn’t want the responsibilities of a superhero, though, so I’d keep my power relatively quiet and use it only for myself. I certainly wouldn’t use my power for insidious gains. I would never use it to cheat on a test. Well, maybe for SAT, I would. But if you saw my math score, you’d understand.

Drone Out the Prayers I Can't Hear

When Joe is finally able to break his silence with Morse code, he expresses a desire to be shown to others. He wants others to see the results and horrors of war. “He would be an educational exhibit. People wouldn’t learn much about anatomy from him but they would learn all there was to know about war… Take off my nightshirt and build a glass case for me and take me down to the places where people are having fun where they are on the lookout for freakish things… I am the dead-man-who-is-alive (287-289).” He wants to display the sacrifices he’s made for democracy. He wants governmental workers to view him in all his stunning atrocity and vote against war. He wants his terrible existence to mean something. When I read this part, my heart hurt. The pity and anger and sadness I felt was overwhelming. If I were in Joe’s situation, I would want to be killed. Life would simply not be worth living. A life of darkness, silence, and loneliness is no life. I understand his desire to form change from tragedy, but it’s not what I would want.

Not Working for the Weekend

This might be a horribly boring blog, so forgive me. But I am indeed terribly excited for this weekend. On Friday I’m going to Guerin High School to see a ComedySportz match. Two friends of mine are on the Guerin team. You’d think that a two-hour show of high school kids trying to be funny would be epically lame, but it is actually quite amusing. I’m going with a friend, and after the show ends, we’re going to see “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.” Yes, I’m aware that this movie will most likely be less than wonderful, but it has Jennifer Garner of “Alias” fame in it. Therefore, I’m obligated to see it. A loyal fan is a loyal fan. On Saturday, I’m going to see “Wolverine” with my brother. Two movies within two days is a bit extravagant, but the madre’s paying for the second. And she’ll probably throw in a box of Cookie Dough Bites, so why not? I have high expectations for this movie, and I really hope they won’t be let down. I have a book to start when the movie’s over, and I’m eager to begin it. “Those Who Save Us” was lent to me by Breanna with the promise that “It’s really, really good.” I finished “Kindred” last week and am beginning to feel the void created by a lack of a book to read. The rest of Saturday will be devoted to Algebra (Curse you, finals!) and assorted assignments. Sunday will be similar to the latter part of Saturday, except that I have “House,” “Lost,” and “Medium” to watch when I’ve completed my History and Anatomy assignments.

The March of the Flag

Beveridge glorifies war in his 1898 speech “The March of the Flag.” He essentially recommends war with Cuba and calls for an invasion of Puerto Rico. As he writes, “There’s canals to be dug, railways to be laid, markets to be won, peoples to be saved, civilization to be proclaimed and the flag of liberty flung to the eager air of every sea (par. 34).” He justifies the subjugation of other nations and races because goods and riches in other places are going to waste. “Shall we be as the man who had one talent and hid it, or as he who had ten talents and used them until they grew to riches? And shall we reap the reward that waits on our discharge of our high duty… The resources of Porto Rico have only been trifled with. The riches of the Philippines have hardly been touched by the fingertips of modern methods… Their trade will be ours in time (par. 6 and 22).” He hails American soldiers as martyrs in America’s righteous crusade to “unfurl our banner (par. 35).” In “Johnny Got his Gun,” Joe decries the American government for not caring about its soldiers. He writes that America’s “martyrs” are only pawns in a greater, more vicious governmental game for power and glory. Beveridge’s insensitive speech seems to prove Joe’s point.

You Better Free Your Mind Instead

In “America the Beautiful,” D’Souza writes, “Americans cannot effectively fight a war without believing that it is just a war. That’s why America has only lost once, in Vietnam, and that was because most Americans did not know what they were fighting for… In order to win, Americans need to believe that they are on the side of the angels. The good news is that they usually are (769).” D’Souza obviously believes that a soldier will willingly fight and die for intangible merits like liberty and loyalty. Furthermore, he quite thinks that liberty and loyalty should be defended. “Johnny Got His Gun,” however, has a wholly opposite view. Nothing, Joe, the main character, exclaims, is worth dying for. “There’s nothing worth dying for I know because I’m dead… I would trade democracy for life. I would trade independence and honor and freedom and decency for life (153-154).” Liberty and loyalty shouldn’t be defended because no one knows quite what they are. “I’m not a fool and when I swap my life for liberty I’ve got to know in advance what liberty is and whose idea of liberty we’re talking about and just how much of that liberty we’re going to have (144).” Interestingly enough, Joe also describes a man who seems like D’Souza. “You can always hear the people who are willing to sacrifice somebody else’s life. They’re plenty loud and they talk all the time. You can find them in churches and schools and newspapers and legislatures and congresses. They sound wonderful. Death before dishonor… But what do the dead say (149)?”