Week Nine Journal Entry

The weeks seem to be getting more challenging as we near the completion of our semester. I spent most of my efforts working on my rough drafts for both the digital story and my thesis. I dreaded working on the abstract for my thesis, as this is something that can easily be overlooked, but yet it is a very important part of the paper. I have already completed most of the rough draft so I was able to review much of what I had written to help with the abstract, but I still anticipated that it would take me quite some time to complete it, but once I began the ideas kept flowing in.

The readings for the week and the corresponding assignments (the primary post and the responses to other classmates) seemed to draw out our true personalities regarding some very hot topic issues. It can be all too easy to take a hard-line stance on some of these issues, but we have to remember to think through each of these as they would apply if we were experiencing them. For instance Crittenden’s essay about working mothers vs. stay-at-home moms propels me to react in gross favor of stay-at-home moms. I was raised that way, and that is how I envision raising my kids. However, I have to imagine the struggles or challenges a family now faces when the American dollar does not compare to the value it once had when it was easier to raise a family on only one member’s income. I cannot predict if I will be in such a situation, and therefore, I cannot look down on a family who is doing the best they can to provide for their children.

The lesson that was predominant throughout most of this week’s readings was to be more open-minded and accepting of other people’s means of living and expressing themselves freely in our culture. We have to protect this freedom; it is a fundamental right for all Americans.

Week Eight Journal Entry

I found that among this week’s readings there were consequential overtones of the social structure of governments and societies. I remain convinced that most of the related social problems that governments are desperately trying to resolve would best be served by better education and personal responsibility. What I mean by better education is that much of our problems in society have their roots in money. I can recall a time when I was talking to my financial broker (who is also a personal friend) and he asked me a very striking question. To paraphrase he said something similar to this, “Why don’t elementary, or secondary education schools teach basic personal finances? And why is it that many parents rarely teach their children these same principles other than how to balance a check book (which is a task that is becoming a rarity in itself)?

I also believe that basic education should also include more extensive activities which involve the students in social activities and organizations. Our children will improve their learning in how to effectively deal with social situations to include small group negotiation. I also think that a major issue facing our society and culture is that there is an increasing lack in speaking and communication skills. When our children isolate themselves to their computers or video games they lose out on opportunities to refine their social skills.

We have many challenges facing our society and I sometimes worry that our reliance on technology may actually have a depressing effect on our human intelligence. Of course, humans may develop a greater sense of analytical or technological intelligence, but the cost of this heightened sense of knowledge will be a decrease in the importance of human social interaction. Without these necessary skills, we may discover that the only way to effectively interact in society will be with aided medication – if you want an example of how this is already becoming a trend look at the increase in prescriptions for Ritalin for our children. Our society might end up emulating Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” in which most of the people of their world were dependent on their “soma” to get through their days.

Week Seven Journal Entry

I am very much for preserving our capitalistic society, and so I found this week’s readings to be very valuable. It became clear to me that we are straddling a very fine line between preserving our capitalist nature and delving into one of socialism. I say this because we see very often how our system of capitalism and democracy also possesses character elements of socialism. Much was discussed in the readings about private property rights for individual citizens. This is something that we have prided ourselves on as Americans. However, more and more we are witnessing our local and national governments claiming eminent domain rights in certain circumstances whereby, they take over the possession of an individual’s property rights. This purpose of this is usually stated as being done for the common good.

I normally feel very frustrated when I hear about these cases, but the part that I do tend to accept is that each case is adjudicated on a case-by-case basis – which may in fact lead to a necessary overtaking of one’s property at a fair value to be paid. For instance, certain road or highway improvements, extensions, or other construction related projects may be necessary if it means providing a safer, more efficient way of travel – especially for rural or isolated communities. What I disagree with is associated with urban developments such as convention centers, parking garages, or apartment buildings where the city acquires the private property for their benefit. These types of projects are really not at all necessary other than for some modernized development or cosmetic improvement to the city.

Maybe our concept of capitalism is proving to be what Schumpter describes as creative destruction in the sense that our systems of society and government are subjects of continual change and modification. These are not bad things; rather they are necessary for keeping up with technological, industrial, and political advancements.

Week Six Journal Entry

It is very educating to see how some of our most influential persons of Western culture are described as models of responsibility and moral righteousness. Individual responsibility is one of the most important issues to me. I look around in this society and I see such a defining line between those who are responsible and well-mannered and those who are neglectful of these characteristics. Often I see the direct relationship of success with responsible people and failure or a lack of fulfilled success with those who choose a life of irresponsibility or laziness.

“Mind your business” is a quote I once read about keeping control and dominion over your total livelihood. This means being in command of your homes, your possessions, and even your own mindfulness of your self and those around you – since, ‘your business’ is a matter that includes how you interact with others personally and professionally, we need to be mindful of our respect for other people. Judith Martin addresses this issue in her essay The Oldest Virtue which discusses the importance of etiquette and manners. It pains me to see how the customary manners and etiquettes we were taught not so long ago are being discarded at the wayside at such a rapid rate. As I pointed out in one of my responses to another student’s post, our culture seems to glorify this trend in movies, reality TV, and music.

Concerning another matter regarding our assignments, I was surprised that I was able to compose a poem. I do not think that I have ever done that for a class, and as I first perused over the assignments this was the one that I quickly disregarded. But, as I reviewed the list of topics after the readings I began brainstorming for a couple minutes about what I would make as the subject if I was required to complete this assignment. I could not believe how quickly a few thoughts about my job turned into an intriguing story.

Week Five Journal Entry

A few of the readings for the week compelled me to want to take action on behalf of the message they were conveying. Frederick Douglass’ address in 1852 was one such document through which his highly esteemed delivery caused many supporters to adopt his cause. He brought forth a deep understanding of the constitutional rights each citizen was supposed to be afforded and used that in persuading his audience to consider more thoroughly how their own actions could be considered blasphemous in respect to how they were denying rights to black Americans.

Such works as Emerson’s Self Reliance and Machiavelli’s The Prince provided new perspectives in how an individual should act or behave. I have mostly been a critic of Machiavelli’s work ever since I read a book about gaining power. In that book the author quoted and referenced many of his main ideas from those of Machiavelli, and it was from these that I noticed how the author’s underlying motive for gaining power was at the expense of everyone around. He suggested that we needed to be deceptive, forceful, and always willing to be on the offensive to strike about some opportunity to elevate one’s self above another. It was for this recollection and reason that I really identified more with Emerson’s account of being true to ourselves, and living according to our own virtues, morals, and ethics – which are inherently good.

I have found quite a few favorites concerning the individual authors throughout our text, and I will take up reading more of their works when I find some free time. There is so much to learn that can still be applied in our world today, and I would much rather read material from people who have proven their ideas than many of the current authors who hypothesize upon their ideas.

Week Four Journal Entry

It was interesting to see how some of our nation’s first political and social leaders viewed the creation of our great country and the world in general. I found Ben Franklin’s The Way to Wealth to be a familiar topic of interest. For years growing up my siblings and I were lectured by our parents about the value of money. We were also heavily advised to avoid getting into too much debt. But, did we listen? Of course not, but we probably would not have learned the great lessons of money management had we not found ourselves indebted to credit card companies, car financiers, and other various creditors and then had to climb out of that pit on our own. The final test was being able to discover that all of the things our parents had said about saving money for a rainy day were true.

One of the most fascinating things that I discovered was the difference in prose and composition of the written documents from the English descendent authors like Hamilton, Madison, and Franklin and those of the Frenchmen de Crevecoeur and de Tocqueville. The flow of the works for the English writers seems always interrupted with too many extra descriptive phrases, whereas the Frenchmen’s works flow smoothly where each sentence gets right down to the point and transitions very well into the next sentence.

Week Three Journal Entry

I can see where much of our civilization derives from the Classical Greek period. I also see how much we have removed our own society from the ideal concept of the Greek polis state, as well as from our own American foundation beginning with the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. We would be wise as a nation to re-establish some of these principles from which our nation was founded – specifically matters concerning our justice system. It is disconcerting to frequently hear a judge sentence a criminal to a certain amount of time, but that time will realistically translate into a lesser sentence; i.e., “The defendant received 10 years in prison, but this will come out to be 5 - 6 years.” My question, then is why not simply sentence him or her to 5 – 6 years, and if there is bad behavior (as opposed to reducing the sentence because of good behavior) add on additional time for the defendant. We also see matters of the law being greatly favored for the extremely wealthy and the extremely poor. This means that the rule of law is relative or subjective to the individual. This is unjust.


I discovered something interesting to think about while reading Michael Walzer’s The Idea of Civil Society. In his essay, he states that a civil society cannot exist without the state, and therefore, a whole and complete free market society is impossible. A free market society without government inclusion leads to anarchy. What I came to realize is that there are many intense activist groups within the U.S. that support the idea of no government intervention or at least less government intervention. But, interestingly, they seem to miss recognizing that without the government these activist groups would not be able to establish any base or generate any sort of organization for their cause. If the government never took any action on behalf of the activist groups there wouldn’t be any organization of these, because ultimately, they would have recognized from the continued failure in the past of all activist organization that the government would not listen or act.
So, despite what they routinely believe to be inaction favorable to their cause by the government, the government does actually listen to their message, and often will take some sort of action. We have seen that even small groups can get the government to put pressure on the “other side” when necessary.

Walzer’s essay was the most interesting, primarily because I disregard many writings of liberally biased authors (mainly those in the newspaper), and yet I found his writing to be full of substantial points that I agreed with. I can see now why a absolute free society might become chaotic and exploitive – there still needs to be some state intervention to protect, preserve, and govern its citizens. Without state intervention what would be determined as “fair wages” for the working class. If this was an arbitrary arrangement left to be determined by free market enterprise there might be a greater exploitation of employees. Certainly, this is the worst case scenario; the best case scenario would establish higher wages based on the success of the organization. But I think it would be best to err on the side of preventing the worst case scenario.