John Adams Has Had Enough Of Your Vanity

Well, the good news is that we got to read something historical in class today. (I love history.) The bad news, is that I had no clue how to interpret it because the diction was so outdated. The quote below is from John Adams' letter to his wife Abigail. The message itself can be connected to today, however here in 2016, I doubt the average person is aware of their unruly love of "pomp and dress".

"Whenever Vanity, and Gaiety, a Love of Pomp and Dress, Furniture, Equipage, Buildings, great Company, expensive Diversions, and elegant Entertainments get the better of the Principles and Judgments of Men or Women there is no knowing where they will stop, nor into what evils, natural, moral, or political, they will lead us." - John Adams

Now that sounded pretty but what does it actually mean?

Allow to me clarify. What Adams is trying to say is that people want material possessions, for example, "furniture, equipage,... expensive diversions, and elegant entertainments", to make themselves look good, People surround themselves with "great company", they have a lot of "pomp", (defined as a vain display of dignity or importance), they wear the best "dress". But what is the outcome? Often times, this changes people into fake wannabees that are consistently trying to outdo one another.

Does this still happen in 2016?  ----  Of course.

 

The picture above is consistently re-posted on social media. People today, much like back then, want each other to be true to themselves. They don't want their friends being exact copies of them, they want people who have different interests and ideals. The diversity among us is what makes life interesting. So when people try outdoing each other, this leads to a whole mess of things like pettiness, envy, and animosity towards each other. No one needs that in their life. John Adams certainty did not want it either.  

This chaos is not only in small social circles but also more wide-spread. When people are constantly trying to get the next best thing and keep up with everyone else, they lose track of their role as a citizen and more importantly, as a human. Now John Adams was not saying self-driven interests are bad. However, they can get out of hand when people become so overwhelmed with vanity that they don't care about the welfare of anyone else. We should be building each other up, not trying to tear each other down. We have to start becoming more aware of this since nothing has apparently changed since 1776. Why can't people just be friendly and get along? 

Me Talk Pretty One Day

The article we read in class, Me Talk Pretty One Day, had some valid points about language. Even though it took place in France, the story rings true here in America. Not being able to talk "proper" English is often discrimatory here. People can obviously understand what they want to say but the language gaps of immigrants inhibit them from looking as smart as the rest of the population. This causes them to be seen as lesser. 

As a society we need to stop seeing language as a barrier but rather a cultural difference that we must learn to appreciate. We need to give people credit for at least trying to learn a language. Most people native to America only speak English, yet we think that all immigrants need to conform to our ways and our society. This is unfair to say the least. 

The School System 2.0

Today in class we read an article on how the school system in America needs to change. Although I do agree with this statement, the changes presented in the article did not seem appropriate. The article called for high school starting at 7th grade and graduation at 16 years old. The article basically puts high school with the same principles as college today, freely elected courses based on student interest.

There are major flaws with this system. If students can pick the classes they want, then wouldn't it be more likely for students to pick classes that were easy and didn't require much effort? Another problem is that if students are selecting certain classes for fields they want to go into, they can't change their mind when they're done because they don't meet the requirement to go into that certain field.

 

I think that all students should be required to take certain courses but their own version of those courses, much like college. Let's say I have to take three years of lab sciences. I should be able to pick between chemistry, biology, physics, forensics, anatomy, medicine, and still get the same amount of credits for someone who took different sciences than myself. In this way, we would still be getting the same basic knowledge while being able to explore different interests. Basic knowledge should also focus on real world skills that aren't taught in schools now, like filing taxes, and understanding politics. Then, college should focus on just the fields of study that I want to go into and I wouldn't have to take general education classes except if I wanted to switch fields.

  

The education system definitely needs an update. The problem is that the world is constantly updating and we have yet to change the school system to match that. We should make school a place where kids should want to go to every day, because in reality a majority of kids hate school but love learning. We need to look the ones in power straight in the eyes and demand change and refuse anything else and then all that we have to do is follow through with the changes and the school system will improve. 

Slang Is Like Cool, I Guess

Walt Whitman is one of my favorite authors in American history. We have quite a few of the same beliefs and I think that I can genuinely relate to his poetry. Today in class we read Slang in America, an essay on... slang in America. Alright so I know that it sounds like an old boring white guy talking about cultural diversity... because that's fun. But it actually was pretty interesting to see what he thought of as slang and how it originated.

1. According to Walt Whitman, slang is particularly American because slang originates from diverse cultural and racial dialects from certain points in time. America as a country receives most of these dialects because we are a "melting pot". The slang from these people belong inherently to America because their culture mixes with our language. 
2. The opening paragraph is already an example of the English that Whitman is trying to explain. The English language is formed by the people who speak it, including himself.  
3. Whitman defines slang as "the lawless germinal element, below all words and sentences, and behind all poetry, and proves a certain perennial rankness and protestantism in speech." Slang is lawless because there is no set of rules or requirements to form slang or how slang should originate. Slang is germinal because it spreads like germs from one person to the next until eventually everyone has caught on to the slang at some point or another. Slang is below all words and sentences because it is seen as an informal manner of speech and should not be used in formal words or sentences, Slang is behind all poetry because it inspires poets and provides them with a speaker that is relatable among common everyday normal people. Slang proves a certain perennial rankness and protestantism in speech because slang is left for future generations and shows how that people left their mark on language by bending it to their own will. 
4. Whitman uses the metaphor of language as an inheritable gift to the United States and also language and slang as belching and releasing something built up inside. These both apply to slang because the language of the United States was given to it by the people who came before them. Slang is also the creation of one person that eventually creates an uprising in others that inspires them to use slang more. The belching metaphor is definitely easier to picture and it gives a quality to slang that many people do not normally think about. 
5. Whitman makes his perspective on slang plainer by giving a history abut how slang originated as words with different meanings and later went on to take on the meanings that the people gave them. This reinforces the idea that slang was the sole creation by people and for people. 
6. Slang and mythology are similar because they are both different according to the different nations in that they originated and people are unaware of that origin and do not pay attention to it. 
7. The point that Whitman is trying to make in his examples is that slang is native to a particular region because it was adapted by the people unique to that region. He gives examples of different communities in America but these areas are just a miniature version of America as a whole.  
8. Whitman does not find American humorists funny. I think that this fact does not strengthen or undercuts his essay. It merely is his opinion that the voice of the people who are spontaneous and original are more humorous than those trying to recreate that.  
9. The overall tone of this essay is insightful. I think Whitman is just trying to share his perspective with us and he uses the metaphors in the last paragraph to try and get the reader to dwell on and get them thinking of what language means to them. 
10. This essay reflects Whitman's style because it is about people. Whitman is a people person and loves to talk about people and how they relate to others and himself. He does this through poetry and more "formally" in this essay.  
11. The definition of slang as an illimitable expression of humanity inspiring poets and poems is really beautiful but I do not think I have seen examples of it in the real world. Slang like that is in poetry that is meant to be beautiful by expressing humanity's self-expressiveness. 
12. I support that slang is a lasting statement by a generation that cannot be controlled. I think that my own generation takes everything as a joke. We make memes and start hashtags and watch vine trends. I think that we are more apt to joke than adults now or even past generations at this age. I think that this is because the world is a scary place today and we need a good joke to see the light in people and that's something really beautiful and I'm glad we as a generation are able to do that. 

Mother Tongue

English is considered the primary language spoken in America. However even though America was settled by immigrants that speak other languages, the culture of power keeps white educated English the only form of English we should strive to learn. 

In her argument Tan includes a quote for her mother. This is a great example of the other forms of spoken English. It would not have the same effect if it were paraphrased. The English in the quote was not the standard English spoken by white educated people. Therefore, it is a great example for the argument that thisenglish is imperfect. It is still language. It's her mother's tongue and the English she grew up with. She is limited by the culture of power because that form of English is a "setback" in life. 

Tan critices herself in the essay because she wants to show how her English has improved over the years. The English that her mother spoke at home limited her opportunities in he world and her scores on standardized tests and English grades in school. Her argument is that we need to start accepting other forms of English as English. Once we do this, we will end he culture of power and prejudice towards immigrants. 

This I Believe

According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, “among adolescents with mental health needs 70 percent do not receive needed care.” I am part of the remaining 30 percent. It takes a few years for me to get to this place but I am here now. This is partly because of the most important belief in my life at the moment. “I believe that things will get better.” And yes, that’s written in quotations because I’ve said those words so many times that I have the right to call them mine.

            It starts when I am thirteen years old and I am sitting with my mom in a psychiatrist’s office and he tells her that I have depression. He told her that things will get better once I get a bit older. Well I get a bit older and things never really get better, and I stop going to see that psychiatrist. It continues and now I am fourteen and I am told almost every day at recess that I have no friends and that no one likes me. And I try to act as if I’m not there but no matter how hard I try those words stick with me even as I move to high school. At fifteen I begin to worry. I never stop worrying that one day someone would say those words to me again because I believe that they are true. And then I am sixteen and I am saying those words to myself and I refuse to think anything else.

But then I am still sixteen, and I think of my parents and friends and how much they care about me and I want to stop thinking this way. I eventually begin to want to help myself. That is the first step. I learn that I need to stand up on my own before I can run a marathon. The second step is believing that things will get better. Everything in life is temporary. It takes me a long time to learn this but I eventually do. Now that I’m standing up, I know that I can only begin to move forward and if I fall down I know how to get back up again. If I keep moving forward, things can only get better.

I am one of the few people who have mental illness that actually get help for it. I wish more people would see the effects of mental illness and actually take it seriously. It’s not just about feeling sad and anxious all the time. It’s planning your every breath because you are worried that people will judge you. It’s counting your reasons to keep living. It’s staring at the ceiling for hours on end because your thoughts won’t stop replaying in your head. It’s feeling guilty that other people are trying to help you because you believe you are not worthy of anyone’s help. Mental illness is a real thing that impacts real people and the first step to getting help is recognizing it and talking about it. I hope that one day people with mental illness will be taken seriously but I believe that things will get better for us.  

Humor + Argument = Success

In "The 'F Word'" by Firoozeh Dumas, she uses humor to build her argument that immigrants' names are part of who they are and we should take the time to learn them. This is an appeal to pathos. I feel like without humor, Dumas' account would lack real emotion and lose its purpose. The humor brings her account to life and shows how she is a real person. It would be hard to empathize with her if she had not made us laugh while also explaining her problem to us.

For example, the humor that stuck with me the most is the story of her at a doctors office and the nurse calls her name as "Fritzy Dumbass" This is really humorous and the author has a great attitude about it. If I was in her situation, I would get very embarrassed and angry at the nurse for her mispronunciation. Instead, Dumas shows how she endured the situation because she was used to people being unable to say her name. I, as an American, want to challenge this by not mocking other peoples' cultures, because it is simply ignorant. We, as Americans, should stop seeing each other by their differences and start seeing us as the people who make up these united states. This will start to end racism and once we end racism we can stop the cycle of the culture of power and give everyone in this world a fair chance at success.

What struck me the most was Dumas' sense of cooperation with the people who made fun of her. Yes, she realized it was difficult to be an immigrant and have an foreign name but, she embraced her culture and knew that it was a part of who she was. She knew that one day, people would learn to just accept each others' differences. Her conclusion of the mother who called her "F Word" shows that she really did not care of that woman's ignorance. She accounts that she moved to New York, one of the most ethnically diverse cities in America, and that she was eventually going to have to get used to foreign names. This is the whole purpose of her argument. That immigrants are not just going to stop immigrating and we are going to have to get used to, and even appreciate their culture that they are bringing with them.