Post American World- Meeting 2

The Post American World- Meeting Two (Pg. 65-128)

             Three non Western countries (Japan, China, and India) keep their tradition and culture, which makes them unique and more modernized but not Western. Other than military and political power, all other shifts of power including educational, financial, social, and cultural are leading to the weakening of American dominance. Which is we are moving into Post- American world that directed from many places and by many people.

                “Western civilization is precious not because it is universal but because it is unique.” (Zakaria 74) The countries that are growing are not necessarily becoming more Western. For example, India, growing economic power, still has Indian women wearing fusion clothes that combine indigenous and international styles. This quote related to the first quarter theme, creativity. Creativity makes each country more unique and different from other countries. The other countries do not have to Westernize, but they can be more creative by keeping their culture and combining it with modern culture.

Captured Thought : Lottery winner

         My mother always told me that if I earn something without working hard, it is not worthy. I felt good when I found money on the ground or got something for free. I wasn’t sure what my mother was talking about until I took Sociology.
        In the last unit, we talked about different social classes that exist in our society. There are capitalists, who make big decisions for our country. Also, there is the underclass that gets money from social security, or welfare. There are four more classes between these two classes. When people move up to the next social class without putting their effort, they will fail later on.     
Sometimes an article has a story about a person who won millions of dollars in lottery. I see them in the newspaper or on TV. I was very jealous of them because I thought they would be rich for the rest of their lives, and that they would be able to buy everything they want. However, I never read a single piece of news that said that they are happy in their lives or they became successful in their lives. I always wondered about this question. Aren’t they supposed to be happy because they got money that they never expected?
           From sociology class I could answer to my question and understand what my mother was talking about. The answer was no. The most common consequence of hitting a big lottery is that life becomes topsy-turvy. When the person was living in poor class, they don’t know how to handle millions of dollars. They were used to living with few hundred dollars a month. Long forgotten friends and distant relatives suddenly remember them and ask them for money. People just use them as a tool. Also, some lottery winners separate from their marriage. They no long trust people even in their family.
           From the article news, I understand the materials that I learned in class. The resulting status inconsistency can lead to worse condition. People who left their jobs, friends, and family after they won lottery, they are most likely to become poorer in several years. However, people who don’t make sudden changes into their lifestyle or their behavior, they are people who will succeed in their lives. Moving up the social ladder without putting their effort, it is not worthy.

Connection : Einstein's Dream and my life

Einstein’s Dream is one of my favorite books. It’s very interesting to read each chapter. Every chapter is a different story but they are all related to the topic of time. I have actually had similar thoughts to the author’s ideas in the book prior to when I read it. One of my favorite lines is ‘ the future can be changed, that thousands of futures are possible’ (68). Lightman was saying that the future can be change in so many different ways depending on the present.
This quote is directly related to my life. One of the reasons why I study and try hard in my life is because I am preparing for my future. Ten years later, I can be a totally different person depending on how much effort I put into my work now. I can be one of those people who get respect from everyone, or I can be a person who works for someone else for my entire life.  Since I cannot go back or forward in time, I cannot waste this time by doing something worthless. I want to make the year 2011 one of the most memorable times of my life.

Metacognition: after 1st semester

      I cannot believe almost half of the year past since I took Mr. Allen’s Humanities class. Last year, before I take the class, I did not understand how English could connect with music and art. I thought we were going to see many art and music in class. This is one of the reasons why I chose this class this year. However, I was kind of disappointed in the beginning of the year because we just read articles and books. However, when I look back now to the beginning of the year of myself, I can see that I have changed a lot.
     I realized that the books that we read in class were not just for the class. I had to apply the thought and theme of the books into my life. After I read The Shadow Catcher, I learned how to see the story and problems in different perspectives. The story and problems seen in a different way depends on what perspective I see it. Reading Sophie’s World was kind of challenging because I felt like I was reading a philosophy textbook. However, after I finished the book, I realized that philosophy is everywhere in reality. If I catch the one major philosophy and apply it to my daily life thinking, I would be very different and creative from the other people.
     The next thing that changed me was doing mind book. Since I was interested in art and music, doing mind book was one of my favorite assignments. Before I did the first mind book assignment, I could understand the connection between English and art. I was surprised when I learned many things from doing mind book. Art can tell stories like writing an essay or poem. Even though art does not have written words or sentences, people can understand and communicate through art. In the future when I look back and see the mind book, it will be my journal. I am going to express my thoughts and feelings on mind book.
          I am excited to see how I am going to be after the 2nd semester is over. Probably, I am going to be a different person from now or beginning of the year.

Metacognition : A tribute to Aristotle

          I had kept piles of paper and schoolwork from last year. All the math, science, history, and English binders were placed on my shelves. I never had a chance to throw it away or organize them. I was kind of overwhelmed and did not know where to start. Before I organize my desk, room, and drawers, I felt chaotic and unfocused when I sat on my desk to study. Many post-it notes were taped in front of my desk and piles of books were stacked up.

          Since I had a lot of free time over Thanksgiving break, I promised myself to clean up my room. I threw away unimportant papers from previous years, took off all the posts-its on my wall, and threw away the clothes that I never wore, or will wear. It took a few hours to clean and organize everything, but in the end, I felt relieved.

          Now, I know where everything is located in my room. I donated my clothes and school supplies that I do not use. I have lots of extra space and I can focus more on my desk. I threw away all the stuff that distracts me. I do not know why I never cleaned my room before. I feel like my life is more organized. I will be easier to clean up next time becasue I already finished the hardest work. I think I should organize myself more and through away all the things that distract my life.

Change of Mind : new technologies

On Tuesday in class discussion, we compared between is and ought. Mr. Allen asked us a question, “Ought we to need a cell phone or smart phone?” And he said, the cell phones are distracting people, and it is not necessary to have them. He even changed his smart phone to a regular free phone, because he does not want any distractions.

When we talked about this in the class, I deeply thought if I need a smart phone? Because everyone has one, or do I really need one? Not even just cell phones, but I get distracted by other technologies. I constantly check Facebook and e-mail, and I listen to music every time. I feel like I miss something when I do not check them.   

I changed my mind through this discussion. Most of the technologies that were invented in the 21^st century, it can be convenient, but we ought to not need them. Even a few years ago, people were fine without having a smart phone or Facebook. They did not have to check mail or go on the internet every few minutes. The new inventions can help people in one point, but it hurts and distracts some part of people’s life. Now I choose not to be distracted by other technologies that surround me. I promise myself not to spend more than 30 minutes on Facebook or e-mail every day.

iMedia: Pilsen Mural

           

I went on a field trip to Pilsen, a neighborhood located in Chicago, for my Latin America class. Many artists lived in Pilsen until a few years ago. However, the murals that they painted still remain on the wall.

            When I saw a mural on the street, I never looked at it closely. I thought it was simply just a painting that people just drew. However, from this field trip, I learned that a mural has a lot of meaning behind it. The muralist painted the symbols of what they wanted to tell people.

             The mural on the left is my favorite. When I looked at it at first, I could not understand what message the muralist was trying to relay. However, when I looked at it closely and thought about the symbols that he painted, all the ideas came together in my mind. The eagle symbolizes Mexico, and the ribbons symbolize different religions and countries. The tree that is pointing to the earth shows that immigrants are trying to lay their roots down in America. The ribbons are covering the people, because they do not have a freedom to say, see, or protect them. Since the muralist was Mexican, he tried to tell people that immigrants did not have these rights even though Constitution states that they should.

            Even though Pilsen is only located only 30 minutes away from Glenview, the atmosphere of the neighborhood is very different. More immigrants from Mexico are living in Pilsen. Therefore I could see Mexico’s culture through different murals. Most of the murals display messages from immigrants. Since I am an immigrant, the murals were familiar and I could understand the meanings. They try to tell their hopes and dreams in America.