Winter Break

16 days of free time. There are plenty of ways of spending it. I have a general idea at the moment. Honestly, I rarely plan what I'm doing more than a week away, so most of this is going to be made up right now, though I may stick with it later anyways. Please note I'll probably use many generalizations, like 'probably' or 'more than likely.'

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For the first weekend, I will be going to my dad's house over in Tacoma, partly because I accidentally left my student ID and phone charger there last week, and partly because I like hanging out with him, even if he's rarely actually there. I'll probably be there until Sunday, where I'll go home probably late at night. More than likely, I'll get on the computer and talk to my friend who will be in Vegas throughout the break. After some time, probably around 2 AM, I'll finally go to sleep. I'd probably sleep in until around noon, then get up and do nothing for the entire day. The rest of the week will be me doing nothing, except maybe playing guitar or talking to friends on the computer, unless I end up walking to my friend's house just down the street. If I do that, I'll probably play some Minecraft while listening to 30 Seconds to Mars really loudly and making jokes constantly. It's what we do everytime we hang out, and it gets hectic, but it's entertaining.

I guess that's how it'll go until Christmas, where me and my brother will open the one or two presents we got. I don't want anything, so I have no clue what they could be. I'd honestly prefer like 5 dollars and call it good. Other than that, though, there probably won't be anything different, except maybe a nice dinner. If my mom and sisters were here instead of back in Anchorage, we'd probably do a lot more. I'm not sure what, but it would be family time, and that's usually pretty cool, because my family is very fun to hang out with.

I guess after Christmas, it'll be just about the same thing; guitar, computer, and possibly a friend. It's not exciting, but I'm not exciting.

I don't mind, though. I like having a simple life. I don't have to worry all the time about stupid things that get everyone else stressed out. It's nice and easy.

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The Unfair Trial of Omar Khadr

In The Crucible, the children accuse many people of witchcraft. Danforth, however, never doubts the honesty of the accusers, until it's too late, and he's killed many people. It was unfair of Danforth to allow such loose, and easily faked, proof be used as solid evidence for giving people the death penalty.

This is why in America today, people are given the right to a fair trial. But even if that is one of our laws, it is not always held up. An example I found of this was with the case of Omar Khadr. Briefly, he was a prisoner of war, and the first person tried under Obama's new military commissions that made it possible for people proven innocent to be held indefinitely. Khadr had been held in prison for 8 years, since he was only 15 years old. With these new commissions, Obama is basically saying since we are at war with the al Qaeda, we are allowed to give people unfair trials.

This obviously violates different laws, like the ones that state people are allowed a fair trial, and are allowed to go free if they are proven innocent. Because of this, I disagree with this case, and believe this to be an unfair trial. If we are allowing people, ones who have been proven innocent even, to be locked up forever, like criminals, then why bother even having courts? Why not just throw everyone accused in prison forever? It would save us time and money.


In both cases, we have to take into account how honest the accusers are. After all, it is possible that people can lie. No matter what they've been taught growing up. It is human nature.

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Sources:
http://blog.amnestyusa.org/tag/unfair-trials/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Ahmed_Khadr

The Crucible - Why?

The Crucible is about the Salem witch-hunts, nearly 300 years ago. Unless you actually looked and thought about the story, you would probably miss how it relates to our lives today.

For one, in the beginning of the story, we are introduced to John Proctor, a man who tries to live his life as honorably and truthfully as he can, but he is tempted into sin. Being a moral person inside, he regrets his sins, and tries to make up for them. Many people can relate to this, because we all make mistakes, and we often regret them. As long as you learn from your mistakes and try your best to better yourself through them, though, you should be proud of yourself.

Another way the book relates to modern life would be how the girls acted out to get attention. As Abigail admitted to John Proctor, they were just playing around, but since the village had noticed them, they decided to use their actions to gain power and attention. In modern society, it doesn't happen as drastically as it did in the play, but there are many people who want attention, and will do anything for it.


Just because a book or play was written a long time ago, doesn't mean you have nothing to learn from it, because things have changed since then. There are many morals and themes that great books and plays were written to capture and emphasize that are still very true today.


That is a big factor in why we still read books like this today.


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Introductory Post - Being American

Hooray for first post~

America.
It's the place commonly known as "The Land of the Free," and for good reason. America was established on the basis of "freedom of religion." As our founding principle, it would have been hard to come up for a better one, in my opinion. Of course, it does have it's downsides, like the people who like to use their 'freedom' for their selfish gain (see: Terry Jones). We, as American citizens, should know how to properly use these freedoms, but that's not how the world works. There are, and always will be, people who are...not so knowledgeable, or at least show any sign of caring, of these things, to put it kindly.

But I digress, it is a good nation overall. We try to help everyone possible, be it through charity, financial aid, or something else. We truly are a giving nation as a whole. Of course, we aren't perfect, and there are flaws in the systems, as with all others. We've made our fair share of stupid mistakes, and we will continue to do so in the future, but it's our kindness and attempts to help other nations that redeem it, in my eyes. It's part of being American.

What exactly is the ideal American? I see them as people who strive to do their best, and better themselves in all that they do. They are the ones who help as many people when possible. They are the people who try. No one is perfect, obviously, but I see the ideal American as the people who try to be the best they can be. They know they aren't perfect, and work to polish the skills they lack. They turn out to be the successful people in our world. The ones people look up to, for realistic reasons, not just because they star in a movie, or bought their way to power. It's hard to tell which is which, but there are definitely some out there.

I'm a musician. I wasn't always that way; I grew up playing video games, and thinking I wanted to work on them my whole life, creating them, and all that. But then I discovered (yes, I know.) Guitar Hero. I played it, and absolutely loved it, which is how I became so interested in music and guitar. I got to experiment on the drums for a while too, and I think that would be an awesome thing to do as well, but I have a guitar right now, and no drums, so I'm stuck with that.

In my future, I hope to be a famous musician. I have my doubts, obviously, because I doubt myself way too much, but it's definitely possible, if I try my best to do what I love doing. I just need to take the time to actually focus on it, and try. It's what's been holding me back my entire life. It's my rough edge that needs polishing.

"You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit."

No. You get what you get, and you fight for more.

Think about it.

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[I think I might add more to this...]

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[I guess it's good as it is. I think that's long enough...]

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