Worries about marryng someone of a different race... founded or unfounded...

Are worries about marrying someone of a different race founded or unfounded? It is my personal belief that any worries one might have vary individual to individual. While some might find a cultural barrier to difficult to deal with others may find it perfectly fine. Other factors that cause people worry can be their families. The opinions and feeling of other family members can weigh heavily on the minds of some people and could even cause a perfectly healthy marriage fall apart. In America we have probably the most diverse mix of races and cultures in the world. So interracial marriages in America are far more common. Children born and raised here may be of any number of races both mixed and pure but since we all lived here our entire lives the shared experiences make those marriages easier. It is when we venture outside our countries that the cultural and racial differences become much more apparent. These however with a good heart and an open mind are able to be overcome. The ability to communicate however is probably the most vital. Communication is the secret to any relationship and marriage most of all. It is up to the individual to think ahead and either decide that they are up for the unique challenges of an interracial marriage or not.

People who haven’t had the experience of advanced schooling, the terms and concepts used there may just as well be a foreign language or a secret code.

People who haven’t had the experience of advanced schooling, the terms and concepts used there may just as well be a foreign language or a secret code.

The collegiate level of education takes a very surprising jump to many students from our current K-12 education system. Terminology and expectations are on a completely different level than that of which I remember of high school. In our current state of K-12 you simply need to be a warm body in a seat. NO child left behind has not improved the quality of our education system it has only lowered the standards and pushed our children forward. There is no excuse for a student to reach community college level and not be able to read English. Not true? Oh it most certainly is. I am not a teacher just support staff but, my work in education has led me to meet far too many students like this. Is it community colleges job to re-educate these students? Half of a student’s financial aid is being wasted on remedial education. Just to get them to the level where they understand what their college professors are talking about. I think if we compare education quality to that of 20 years ago we will find a very significant drop and as time goes forward we should be improving not declining.

WATCHING OPRAH FROM BEHIND THE VEIL

WATCHING OPRAH FROM BEHIND THE VEIL

The main point I would like to make is what seems obscene to us can very well be another nations culture and is it our place to tell them how to live their lives? Western values aren’t the only values in the world and no one countries culture is better than another’s. To say so is what makes the world call most of us westerners arrogant. In a country where the sexes are rigorously separated, where topics like sex and race are rarely discussed openly and where a strict code of public morality is enforced by religious police," the article noted, "Winfrey provides many young Saudi women with new ways of thinking about the way local taboos affect their lives ... Some women here say Winfrey's assurances to her viewers - that no matter how restricted or even abusive their circumstances may be, they can take control in small ways and create lives of value - helps them find meaning in their cramped, veiled existence. In 2006, Youssef Ibrahim reported in the New York Sun on Nabil Ramadan, the owner of a fast-food restaurant in Ranoosh who hired two women to take telephone orders. Within 24 hours, the religious police had him arrested and shut down the restaurant for "promoting lewdness." Ramadan was sentenced by a religious court to 90 lashes. We from a western nation can’t even fathom things like this. Our culture is so different that what they accept as normal we find absolutely repulsive. I think we should not try to control the world by telling people their culture is wrong. There are better ways to foster peace in the world.

Tying it all together

Susan Douglas' Where The Girls Are: Growing Up Female In The Mass Media

Mrs. Douglas piece was not all together inaccurate but I will argue that she seems a very insecure woman. As I read the excerpt I could only envision a overweight and angry woman who is jealous of the popularity and good looks of the other women around her. The mass media does indeed put unrealistic images of beauty out there …. but not just for women. What about men? The manly man on mass media is a muscular Adonis most likely on some form of steroids but advertising that he got that way all naturally. What Mrs Douglas needs to do same as the rest of us is just take the mass media for what it is.. Fake. Don't worry about that image of unrealistic beauty and learn to become comfortable in your own body. If you don't like being fat try exercising or stop eating so much while you complain online about how unfair life is.

But, Get rid of the guns..

GET A KNIFE, GET A DOG, BUT GET RID OF GUNS by m o l l y  i v i n s

After reading Mrs. Ivins comments I was taken aback by her own use of facts. It seemed to be she only saw her own opinion. She goes on to take a quote from our constitution “A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”. Yes that is absolutely right Mrs. Ivins however you focused so much on the well regulated militia and not at all on the rights of the “people” to keep and bear arms. This latter part of the statement from the constitution was to let the people know that the militia would not be taking that right away from them. Really Mrs. Ivins get a knife? Seriously you wont be able to run from someone wanting to stab you. Furthermore that is not an incentive for people to exercise surely you must be a mad woman! As surely as soon as someone dies from a stabbing you will call for the ban of knives. A dog? Sure but same scenario once someones dog kills someone you will call for the death of the dog and the banning of dog ownership.

Can't we all just get along?

Can't we all just get along was the phrase spoken by Rodney King at the time of the Los Angeles Riots. The riots in 1992 were triggered by the acquittal of four white Los Angeles police officers connected with the beating of an African American motorist in 1991. That motorist was Rodney King. King had been speeding and led police on a eight mile chase. When mr King did not comply with the officers demands they used force that the community deemed excessive. Personally this is the reason i would never take a job in law enforcement. Mr King was not an innocent man his reckless police chase was not only a danger to himself but anyone in that 8 mile area. On the other hand police also need to be careful with the amount of force used to subdue a law breaker. So the question is how much is too much? When is it ok to do it at all? Can we all just get along? Sure we can let's start by just obeying simple traffic laws.

Is College The Best Option?

Is college the best option for everyone? It certainly has its benefits and personally I feel strongly in favor of college. Recently there is more reason than ever to go to college. Not just the potential to earn a more substantial income but with current government programs it is practically free to earn a associates degree. However even with all this help some people just feel trapped and unable to go to college because they have immediate needs that require immediate income just to survive. They find themselves filling in all types of minimum wage jobs so they can pay their rent and eat month to month. The income they are making barely pays them enough to get by and when I did it I felt that I worked so I made enough money to afford to go to work. That's not the way any of us should live. My advice to them is to not give up and that if they try hard enough they will find a way to squeeze in a practically free college education. It won't be easy, I know well enough myself that a full time job, being a parent and trying to take classes full time is hard but I also know its possible.

What does sex have to do with it

What Does Sex Have To Do With It?

In the discussion we all have varying opinions. How many is there and can we just pick an choose it as the mood or feeling strikes us? Some say that due to woman taking on roles that were traditionally held by men that this somehow changes things. Times have changed since that of our predecessors and now there is a lot of crossover into what was once considered a job for a particular gender. But just because we are more open minded and will to cross over the old fashioned beliefs does not mean anyone needs to change their gender identity. Gender Identity is a buzz word that we hear a lot today but “Man I feel like a woman” doesn't mean a man suddenly can become Shania Twain. Despite our feelings which through our lifetime change over and over again we do not swap genders quite so easily. Should children be able to make this choice as it suits them in our public schools? Thats a topic worthy a book all its own. When we are born we don't get to choose our names or genders but life isn't always about getting what you want.