I Am a Plow?

I am a plow? With all due respect, I do not consider myself a plow.  I do not see myself with any similarity to a large, old, cumbersome piece of machinery, forced to work and labor all day in the hot sun. There is no powerful horse dragging me towards something with out any power of my own being. Instead of the hopeless and helpless plow, I am the horse that drags the plow.

I am the one in control of the machine that does the work. I go at my own pace, completely at my own will. I can stop when I choose, and start again when I choose. When I complete my task, I am allowed freedoms. I can rest, I can play, I can eat, I can work again. I am unlike the plow in the sense that I am pulling my own destiny, rather than being forcefully dragged behind something else. I am able to go in my own direction, than be led to a place that I might find undesirable. I make the decisions instead of following behind someone who is leading me.

Am I a plow? No. I am much different than that.

A Direction the Class Needs

My blogging this year is because of my third period American Literature class. My teacher, Mr. McCarthy, is having us blog once a week as an assignment instead of writing essays or typical writing assignments. I really enjoy this class - and I'm not just saying that to suck up, I truly do. Although it is a fun and more free form class, I believe there could be some changes to the class.

First of all, I don't see many problems with the class. We receive a fair amount of homework and do enough class work to help us understand the concepts being taught. One thing I think needs a change is the amount of reading we are assigned at a time. Usually, we are assigned at least 25-50 pages of reading a night, sometimes more. This may not seem like a lot, but when you can up to six other classes with assigned homework, not to mention projects, tests to study for, and extra curricular activities, it can seem like a load.

Besides the sometimes monotonous amounts of reading, the class is good. As students, we are given much more freedoms than in other classes, such as being able to sit wherever we would like and work with partners we are allowed to choose, which is a refreshing change. I hope the class remains the same all year because I am really enjoying third period American Literature.

Modern Slavery

When many people hear the word "slavery," the first reference they think of is African American slavery during the 1800's in America. Although the Emancipation Proclamation has been addressed and the 13th amendment has been added to the constitution, slavery still exists in our world today. 

In many communist and third world countries across the globe, there are many people who are forced to work and labor in a modern day slavery. When I think of modern slavery, I think of China. In the United States everything we own seems to have a "Made In China," sticker somewhere on it. Most of our imported goods come from China which are made by migrant workers.

Today, there are approximately 136 million migrant workers in China. On average migrants work 12 hours a day, 26 days a month. Living conditions are poor with up to six people sharing small, cramped bedrooms. Factory conditions are dangerous, and basic health and safety protections are rarely provided to workers. Many thousands of workers die every year as a result of contracting some kind of disease at work.

If this doesn't seem  like modern slavery, then I don't know what is. These people are forced to work for little to no pay, for long hours, to try to make a living for their families and themselves. All this labor and hardship, for what? The next "My Little Pony," horse or a "Nerf," football. We are forcing people to work for us who have nothing, to make us the things we take for granted.

House of the Seven Gables

The Puritans of the 1600's during the witch trials in Salem and the book, House of the Seven Gables, were very strict, pious, theocratic people. Although their way of life and ideals may seem extremely different from the life of current day Americans, the Puritans had a great effect on American culture. 

The Puritans based their lifestyle on three key principals which came from religion and dedication to God, work and labor to ensure their "predestination," and education, in which religion and work was the dominant theme. Simply, religion was the one factor that summed up Puritan existence. These influences, especially education, are stressed in today's society. You work hard to earn a good education so then you can use that knowledge to achieve a better job where you continue to work through the remainder of your life.

Religion, once again, was the key part in the life of a Puritan. They were very small minded when confronted with the idea of religions other than Protestant. This closed mindedness results in religious exclusiveness which is a part of society that they develop.

Though it might not have always been a good addition, the Puritans have added many factors to the lifestyle and society we came come to be familiar with in present day America.

The Moment I Knew I was an American

The moment I knew I was an American occurred 9 years ago. I was in kindergarten, and was 5 years old. The date was September 11th, 2001. 

My dad had dropped me off at school around 8:00. I was completely unaware of what was going on and probably wouldn't have understood the seriousness of what had happened. But all day I knew something wasn't right. I can remember very vividly the looks on my teacher's faces; the look of distress and fear. The phone in the kindergarten house rang continuously through out the day. My teacher would flinch when she heard it ring.

After a few hours, we all walked outside. I still didn't really know what was going on. The entire school was gathered around the flag pole which was at half staff. Everyone was quiet. We were told to bow our heads and say a prayer. I knew then that something was wrong.

Later that day, my mom and dad had the same feeling. I wanted to know what was wrong. My mom had told me that there had been Everywhere I went, American flags began to appear. On the news, reporters started talking about America and the country. 

That day around the flag pole, people were singing. I didn't know the name of the song until later. They were singing, "God Bless America." The strength and togetherness of the people is what showed me the power of our country. That was the moment I knew I was an American.

Us Vs. Them.. Them Vs. Us

Conflict is what fuels the anger with in us all. (I am angry that I have to retype this because Blogger spontaneously refreshed and my writing got deleted.) Conflict can lead to war and problems within a community, nation, or on an international status. Depending on the scale of the conflict, it can lead to serious injury or death in some cases. In The Crucible, the conflict arises between the people who believe in witchcraft and are accusing others of being witches, and the non-believers; the ones who believe they should take the blame for their problems rather than blaming others and "witchcraft." Like in The Crucible, the problems stem from controversial issues within the town.

There are many controversial issues in the United States today. One of those issues is abortion. There are many who would like to say they have no opinion on the topic, but other see it as the most heated issue in the United States. The radicals on both ends of the spectrum are very one sided and biased. They are not able to agree with one another. Because of this, many may feel like they are in a, "Us Vs. Them.. Them Vs. Us," situation.

This is how people though during the times of The Crucible. If people did not agree with each other, they felt as if they were being attacked - or you were a witch. If you were always at odds with people, everyone would have a, "Us Vs. Them.. Them Vs. Us," disposition.

John Proctor, Hero or Stooge?

John Proctor is a character in the play we are reading in class entitled The Crucible. The Crucible takes place in Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. During this time, the area was heavliy populated with Puritians who believed that there was witch craft with in the town. Because there was sickness and things they couldn'tunderstandor explain, they automatically blamed thier problems on someone else by acuaing them of being witches.

Unlike the other charaters in this play, John Proctor does not beileve in this talk of witchery. Rather than blaming others for the problems, he believs they should take the blame themselves because he himself does not belive that there is witch craft. Many people in the town disagree with his beliefs, such as the town's reverend,who seems to be in the middle of all the witchery with his daughter, niece, and slave seen "conguring spirits," in the forest.

I believe that because John Proctor does not agree with the rest of the town, that makes him a hero. Although the town may be against him a think he is a stooge, having his own thoughts is what makes him smarter than everyone else. Though he is not perfect and the town may accuse him of following the devil, having freedom of thought is the herioc trait of John Proctor.

I believe if I was living during the late 1600's in the middle of all of this, I would follow in the footsteps of John Proctor. I would want to have my own belief rather than follow the ideas of others. I would stand for what is true and not submiss to the general assembly.