"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."
Today, we are striking against censorship. Join the largest online protest in history and tell Congress to stop this bill now!
Learn More: Watch the video · American Censorship page · View the Infographic · Read SOPA on OpenCongress · Read PIPA on OpenCongress
The three most definitive articles on SOPA and PIPA: Free Speech, Problems, Security
I’m probably the least likely candidate to post something about this as I haven’t had the chance to read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson yet. It has been on my to read list for a while, and because of this controversy I’m about to talk about, it will be moved near the top of my list.
Dr. Scroggins, a professor at Missouri State University, wrote an article asking that the high schools in his area ban Speak because he believes this book is soft porn. Now, because I haven’t read Speak, I cannot say whether the images described in this book are soft porn or not. However, my gut feeling tells me they are not. Rape is a very sensitive subject, and I can understand why some people are hesitant to read about it. However, I also think that sometimes things need to be shown in their graphic nature (e.g. Schindler’s List) so that those who haven’t experienced what is being described can understand (even if it that understanding is infinitesimal compared to the understanding of someone who has experienced it).
Not only is Speak about the journey of a rape victim who learns to take her life back by dealing with her rape, it is also about that victim having a voice and learning to speak up about her attack. I have been sexually assaulted (you can read my story, but please be respectful to my family), and like me, anyone who has knows the only way to come off as conqueror is to speak up about their experience and not let the perpetrator go away unscathed. Victims should not feel that they are doing something wrong by speaking up about their attack, or by taking back the control that was ripped from them during their attack. Victims need to be able to talk about what happened to them so that they can heal from their experience. Victims need to know they aren’t the only ones who have experienced the heartache they’re feeling; they need to know they aren’t alone. And, if Speak does or can do that, then it’s worth reading.
There is a possibility when I read Speak that I will not like it. However, no matter what my opinion ends up being, I do not believe it, or any other book for that matter, should be banned. Yes, there are a lot of smutty and raunchy books out there that I will not read. However, I have no right to keep someone else from reading those books. Everyone needs to make their own decision as to what types of books they deem are worthy to be read.
In the case of children, I do believe that parents have the right to limit the books they want their own children to read. However, I don’t believe that any parent, professor, or government official has the right to decide what another person’s child should be allowed to read.
In my opinion, controversial topics are a chance for parents to teach their children, to help them understand the atrocities in this life, and most importantly, to more fully appreciate the beauty and love this life can offer. You cannot appreciate the good without knowing the bad, and you cannot always shelter your children against the atrocities of this world. Isn’t it better to arm your children with the skills and coping mechanisms needed to deal with these atrocities instead of hoping they’ll be able to figure it out on their own when they’re older or when they encounter them? I sure wish my parents would have taught me how to deal with my assault instead of always shying away from the bad things as if they didn’t exist. The last 18 years have been a very long, and ofttimes rocky, road to understanding, forgiveness, and healing. Banning books deprives parents and children of these opportunities to arm them with the knowledge they need to get through this life as unscathed as possible!
Even if you haven’t read Speak like me, speak up and support Laurie Halse Anderson and do not let her book be banned! Spread the word that banning books is wrong and banning Speak is harmful. Here are a few places to start:
(A special thank you to my friend Tawnya for compiling most of these links.)
For my Spanish class, I had to write a fake blog post about something that was controversial or caused me confusion. The purpose of this exercise was to explain an event that happened in the past using the different past tenses–imperfect and preterit–in Spanish. I chose to write about my choice to vote for Charles Baldwin during the last presidential election. I decided it might be kind of fun to share what I wrote with my readers who speak Spanish. I hope it’s written well.
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Yo solía no hacer caso de las elecciones. No me gustaba el conflicto sobre política. Siempre pensaba que nadie puede cambiar las opiniones de nadie. Siempre pensaba que las discusiones políticas eran como luchas y no me acercaba a nada de política.
Durante la elección de 2008, hice un poco caso. Me gustaron las ideas de Ron Paul y decidí que votaría por él. Puesto que ni el Partido Republicano ni el Partido Demócrata apoyaron a Ron Paul, pensaba que no podía votar por él. No presté más atención a la elección.
Pero, cuando hubo sólamente un mes hasta la elección, comencé de hacer caso de nuevo. No me gustaron algunas ideas del senador Obama y no me gustó nada del senador McCain. Pensé que votaría por senador Obama, pero me sentí como estaba votando por el menor de dos maldades.
Cuando faltaba una semana para la elección, me encontré con Charles Baldwin, el candidato por el Partido Constitución. Me di cuenta de que Ron Paul apoyó a Charles Baldwin. ¡Que suerte!
En el día de las elecciones, voté por Charles Baldwin y escribí eso en mi foro. Cuando leí las respuestas de mi elección, me quedé tan sorprendida. La mayor parte de las respuestas dijo que gasté mi voto porque no voté por un candidato de unos de los partidos mayores. Leerlas así, me hizo preguntar ¿qué significa gastar su voto? O para decirlo de otra manera ¿por qué no gasta su voto cuando vota por un candidato de unos de los partidos mayores en vez de un candidato que no se compromete sus éticas?
Because today is the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack, I feel I must comment on my feelings about it. Normally, as most of you know, I avoid politics like the plague. However, I feel that things are happening in this country to which I cannot ignore.
If you have a Facebook profile, you cannot help seeing all the US flags being displayed on people’s profiles. You cannot help seeing things like, “Never forget,” “Do you remember?” “Thank you to the troops who fight for our freedom,” etc. I decided I wanted to show my support in remembering the awful disasters that happened on September 11, 2001. However, as I posted my flag, it directed me to a Facebook page that wanted me to support the cause of not wanting an Islamic Center built at Ground Zero. I cannot and I will not support this!
Just because Islamic Fundamentalists are responsible for the disaster of 9/11 doesn’t mean that all Muslims are bad. Because the US Constitution gives us the right of freedom of religion, Muslims have every right to build an Islamic Center at Ground Zero. Just as my religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has every right to build temples where they please.
I will not support the racism against Muslims because of 9/11. Not only will I never forget what happened on September 11, 2001, I will also never forget what happened on April 19, 1995 in Oklahoma City. Timothy McVeigh, a Christian, attacked our country and caused death–a terrorist act. I will also never forget what happened on April 19, 1993 in Waco, Texas. (I’m not remembering these dates because they happen to have occurred on my birthday. I’m remembering these dates because of the events that occurred on them.) And, even though I wasn’t alive, I will never forget what happened on December 7, 1941.
Terrorism does not encompass one way of life or one religion. Terrorism is an equal opportunity killer. Terrorism even happens through the sanction of the US Government. I will never forget what happened on September 11, 2001. I will also never forget what happened on any other day when a terrorist act was committed by anyone! I will never forget that any one person, whether they are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Atheist, etc., can commit an act of terrorism.
This is a very scary topic for me to write about. As I’ve stated in past posts, I usually stay as far away from politics as possible. I hate the anger and contention that ensues because of the disagreements over the issues. However, in my last poll, a good number of you said you wanted to read about my feelings on controversial issues. Here I go.
I’ve been thinking about President Obama’s health plan a lot. Mostly, because there are so many posts/polls about people disliking/liking it on Facebook.
In talking about his health plan, President Obama has said, “No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick.” First off, I agree with this statement whole-heartedly. Now, before you start seething or fuming because I agree with this statement, please hear me out. Just because I agree with this statement doesn’t mean I agree with the entire health plan in general.
One of my Facebook friends posted President Obama’s statement as their status on Facebook. I immediately clicked the “Like” link. A few minutes later, I noticed the following comment:
“Then, they should plan ahead and take care of themselves. Because if we want the government to do it, it will cost us our souls!”
The part that really struck a chord with me is the planning ahead to take care of themselves. In general, that’s a good rule, but from personal experience, it doesn’t always work like that.
Corey and I were married in March 1998. He was 22 and I was 19. We had very little money, but we both had jobs and we had good insurance through Corey’s job. However, because we didn’t want to be stuck in the same place our entire life, we decided that because I only had a year left of school at Snow College to get my Associates degree, we would quit our jobs, move to Ephraim, find a job there, and finish my year at school.
This plan worked until Corey was injured on the job in July 1998. And, unfortunately, the job wasn’t paying worker’s compensation and they didn’t have insurance, even though they had told us they did. (We were young and naive.) Because Corey could no longer work, they fired him and his injury was bad enough that he needed surgery.
From this point on, a mere four months after we were married, Corey and I have been constantly putting more than half of our income towards medical bills. Some of you may be thinking, “That was an expensive surgery.” Yes it was and Corey’s medical problems didn’t end there.
About a year and a half after we were married, Corey started having horrible migraines. However, these migraines were more than migraines. They wouldn’t just incapacitate him for hours. They would incapacitate him for days and even weeks.
He had test after test done to find out the cause of his headaches. No underlying cause has ever been found. This went on for nearly eight years. Fortunately, during this time, we had insurance. It did cut our costs, but not as much as you think it would’ve.
Just as his headaches were starting to go away, Corey started to have pains in his abdomen. The pain was later attributed to a faulty gall bladder. However, even once his gall bladder was removed, he still had problems. The doctors kept running test after test until he was diagnosed with polycythemia, a disorder in which his body produces too many red blood cells, usually associated with leukemia or lymphoma. A few months later, he was diagnosed with colitis. However, because of the polycythemia, they can’t control his colitis in the typical manner. And finally, last year, they found a tumor in his femur.
Since the tumor was removed last December, Corey has been doing much better. He still deals with the pain from the surgery and having a good chunk of his femur removed, the polycythemia, colitis, and he always has a constant low-level headache. But, for the most part, he’s doing really well. Unfortunately, our finances are still suffering from all the medical trauma.
We have insurance. We’ve had insurance since his headaches started. It’s through my work. I quit going to school so I could be the main breadwinner because Corey couldn’t work. It was too hard on him physically. A regular eight-to-five job is still too hard on him physically. However, even with the insurance, we’ve still paid more than half of our income to medical bills. We still have medical bills we’re trying to pay.
You can’t always plan ahead for medical problems. And, even if you can pay for the smaller illnesses, no one can afford to pay for cancer treatment. It’s too expensive, except for the über rich, like Bill Gates or Donald Trump. Heck, they may not even be able to afford all the treatment.
Do I think that health care should be affordable for all? Yes. Do I think our health care system, as it stands, has problems? Yes. Do I think President Obama’s plan is the best way to fix our health care? I don’t know. I don’t think we should bankrupt our nation to provide health care for all, but I think we can make health care more affordable and that it can cover more than what it does right now and without all the headache from dealing with the insurance companies. President Obama’s plan may not be the solution, but at least he’s thinking along the right lines in the sense that no one should die or go broke because they can’t afford the care they need.
