Love Think

How far is too far?

lovethink — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:28:37 +0000

Although it is nearly impossible to think that same sex marriage could be legal one day, the truth is it could happen. Many of us do not wish to see this happen, but if we don’t put fourth a solid effort to stop this change in our legal system, we will be forever effected. In our country, same sex marriage should not be legalized, for it causes many more problems than just the one it would solve.

If America were to have same sex marriage one day, it would then de-define the traditional marriage of a man and woman. The Family Research Council claims that redefining marriage would throw our society into a bucket of confusion, much like if we were to change how long a ruler was (The Family Research Council). Gay marriage not only affects adults, but it also affects the children of these nuptials. It is basic knowledge that every child needs a mother and father to fully develop the ways they think and act as an individual. But without both moms and dads, children have a much higher risk of getting involved with drugs, becoming alcoholics, contracting an STD, and being incarcerated (ADF). The Alliance Defense Fund acknowledges the question that if “marriage is already broken, why shouldn’t same sex couples be able to call their relationships marriage?” They respond by saying that “you don’t fix a flat by slashing the other tires.” They are completely right. With all of the other marriage devastations like divorce, abortion, and tax-penalties, how can we afford to sit around and watch one more be put into affect and give our children another chance to be hurt?

It may sound discriminatory to outlaw gay marriage, but not considering it gives many more benefits than making a small part of the population a little happier. It is not discriminatory. Our country must look out for what is most important to the masses which are themselves and their children.

Legalize Gay Marriage

lovethink — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:36:06 +0000

They way the issue on gay marriage is treated is sometimes jokingly, but this is a serious issue. Not allowing gay marriage can cause traumatic differences in the lives of many people in our country. American lawmakers should include gay marriage as an equal to heterosexual marriage.

Same sex marriage has divided our country in half. There are states that refuse to pass laws allowing same sex couples to marry and there are some states that were eager to make a change and difference in America. Massachusetts was the pioneer in this decision to allow gay marriage. They discovered that once the law was made, the fight ended. No anti-gay discriminates tried to have the law overturned or to keep fighting; they knew they had lost the war and now accepted gays as America now accepts African Americans (Lambda Legal). On the one year anniversary of establishing tolerance for same sex marriage many newspaper columnists were amazed at how no harm was done by the law.

Much of America still discriminates against gays. They do not allow them to marry their “soul mates” and to continue their homosexual ways. America, mostly being Christian, believes it is a sin to be homosexual. But, not everyone believes in and worships the same god so how can we discriminate against someone that doesn’t have the same beliefs as we do.

As a nation, will we support or damage the lifelong promise to take care of and be responsible for one another? When we support every type of lifelong commitment, everybody wins.

No gay marriage

lovethink — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:13:11 +0000

The issue of same sex marriage has become a widely debated topic among many Americans lately. Many don’t know what to think when they are asked about the issue because it is so foreign to them. I believe that same sex marriage is wrong and that it should not be legal in our country.

In the Bible, God condemns homosexual activity and says that it is considered a sin. There are many gays that claim to be Christian, but they are going against God’s word with the way they live their lives. Also, there are many Christians who support this cause that are not gay. They are just as much at fault. Not only do their actions affect them and their lord, but their children are also deeply impacted. Obviously no gay couple has a mom and dad, but don’t children need one of both? Girls and boys both need the affection of a mother to carry them through their younger years, and they need the sternness of a father to guide them through their teenage years. A boy without a mother may never learn how to respect women and may reject them later in life. A girl without a father has a higher chance of becoming part of a teen pregnancy statistic(Trayce Hansen). In most aspects of life, a child needs a mother and father figures.

Many may say that being gay is genetic; they can’t help it so why penalize them for something they can’t control. I say that gay being a trait is nearly impossible. It is impossible for two gay people to have a child so how can their traits be passed on. Some homosexual women can be artificially inseminated but that child does not come entirely from two gay parents. With no reproduction process in homosexuality there cannot be a passing of genes.

Without someone taking action against this argument, this debate will continue to go on. As long as our country allows this act to go on, we will constantly have to fight the fight on homosexuality.

Tolmin Theory of Arguementation – Should same sex marriage be legal?

lovethink — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 01:45:05 +0000

Claim: Judges and politicians should never impose a system that purposely deprives children of a married mom and dad.

Evidence: De-defining marriage does this. Marriage de-definers insist, without supporting evidence, that all kids need is a “loving home” with two “parents.” But they continue to dodge the most obvious follow-up question in this debate: “Which parent is unimportant to a child: mom or dad?”

Warrant: We already know – through all non-partisan research and plain common sense – that kids need a mom and a dad. Kids who grow up in homes without a married mom and dad are far more likely to drop out of school, to abuse drugs and alcohol, to commit suicide and suffer from depression, to engage in early promiscuous sex, to become pregnant, to contract an STD, to suffer poverty, and to be incarcerated.

Backing: We also know that every time the government tampers with marriage, kids suffer the most.? Consider how disastrous no-fault divorce has been for children.? It’s mind-boggling that advocates of de-defining marriage frequently cite the divorce epidemic in support of their position.? They ask, “Since marriage is already broken, why shouldn’t same-sex couples be able to call their relationships ‘marriage’?”? The answer is that you don’t fix a flat by slashing the other tires.?? Marriage has already been devastated by divorce, welfare, abortion, tax penalties, and other anti-family government failures.? Kids have come out the losers every time.? So where is the wisdom in, once again, treating children like lab rats in yet another massive social experiment when every other one has failed?

Rebuttal: No one would support a policy that guarantees more kids would go without food, clothing, health care, and education. Growing up in a home with one’s own married mom and dad is the best guarantee that a child will not be deprived of those things and more.

Qualifier: Having both a mom and a dad is infinitely more important to a child than any of those material items. So how then can anyone support a system that, by design, guarantees that more kids will be denied their right to grow up with a married mom and dad? The only answer is that a small group of self-interested adult activists have put their agenda above the real needs of real kids.

Green Eggs and Rhetoric

lovethink — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:30:39 +0000

As we astute students grew up from the toddler stage and began to learn to read, the hunt was on for us youngsters to find some piece of literature that we could easily read. Dr. Seuss became a saviour to most teething tots. Green Eggs and Ham was a definite all time favorite by many. Sam’s hunt to find a place or a way to get his friend to try green eggs and ham was almost impossible. Much like this hunt, hunting for rhetorical devices can be extremely challenging. But, with the determination of Sam, anyone can find rhetorical devices. Rhetoric is everywhere, just ask Dr. Seuss.

Examples of Rhetoric (all from Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham):

Anaphora

I do not like them in a box.
I do not like them with a fox.
I do not like them in a house.
I do not like them with a mouse.
I do not like them here or there.
I do not like them anywhere.
I do not like green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.
Anadiplosis

I am Sam, Sam I am.
Ellipsis

And I would eat them with a goat…
Polysendeton

And I would eat them in a boat.
And I would eat them with a goat…
And I will eat them in the rain.
And in the dark. And on a train.
And in a car. And in a tree.
Rhetorical Question

Do you like green eggs and ham?

Who knew that Dr. Seuss was writing rhetoric in his children’s’ books? If we’ve gone all this time without really knowing what was in Green Eggs and Ham, I wonder what other books we’ve missed out on. There is so much rhetoric in the world, so the next time you see a children’s’ book think about what might be hiding in there.

Newsweek: Her Body

lovethink — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:19:28 +0000

After reading the RSS feed called “Her Body” out of Newsweek, I was informed about many interesting topics. This feed wrote about problems we see everyday with our health. An article about flip-flops, a girl’s best friend on a hot summer day, showed how this everyday shoe has become the wearer’s worst nightmare. These unsupportive, board-like shoes cause a range of problems. From toes to knees, some major damage is starting to appear with frequent wearers. Another article was about obesity in children being caused by obesity in their mother’s pregnancy. I learned that mothers with extra weight greatly increase their child’s chance of becoming obese. This research provided a good and believable explanation to why overweight moms tend to have overweight kids. But, “Her Body” wasn’t just good stories with real world topics. Its use of statistics, great knowledge, and quotes from well respected doctors and professors kept me reading and begging for more. This feed wasn’t often updated, but every piece was well researched and easily readable. I got the full story from each article and they were the perfect length to be appealing to readers. I was pulled in by catchy titles and a new style that was full of believable information. The reason I chose this feed was my interest in health, but I wasn’t expecting the up-to-date topics and excellent writing.

Peace in the Middle East

lovethink — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:12:04 +0000

Over the course of several weeks I read the RSS feed called “Peace” from People’s Weekly World. There where a bunch of articles, but all of them seemed to be about politics and war. So, I found some headings that looked the most readable and began reading. As I read, I realized that most of these articles where about how to get the U.S. out of the war, what we where fighting for, and how the war is affecting our country and world. Even though it was never stated, the writings where very democratic. Most of them criticized President Bush or republican candidate John McCain and talked about how Barack Obama could fix our country as soon as he wins office. When reading these pieces, I started to feel like I wasn’t getting the whole story so that was one thing that I didn’t like about this feed. Not all of the readings where editorials or articles, though. One was a poem called Mother. This poem states the feelings and horror that a mother goes through while her child is at war, wondering when he/she will be back and if they are alive or dead. But, in every feed, the author was against the war in some way or another, whether the reason was oil, the cost, the return of troops, or that the U.S. was fighting for the wrong cause. I kept wondering when someone would write about something positive. This feed could not keep my interest going because of my hatred for politics and unbalanced thoughts. Altogether, I thought that this feed could have been very interesting if it had not been centered on the war and bad moves made by republicans.

War for the White House

lovethink — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:02:24 +0000

Even though politics is the last topic I want to discuss, I found one feed about them that sparked my interest. The feed War for the White House had political feeds that weren’t entirely politics. They also weren’t solely democratic and about the war. Each piece, like Bill Clinton Sadly Folds First Lady Dress Back into Box, had a comedic side to get to a point. In this piece, it talked about Hillary Clinton losing the candidate race and the dress is used as a metaphor to signify that. The authors’ topics kept me reading about my least favorite subject in the world by a little comedy. This feed showed me how to take an uninteresting topic and turn it into something I would want to read everyday. The article titled “Time” Publishes Definitive Obama Puff Piece showed how little some people care about Obama’s plan for our country. This piece was basically a bunch of questions grouped together that were irrelevant to anything political. America is laughing at this article. Geoff Mills, an Obama supporter who recently read the story, said, “I’m not quite sure how he intends to turn around the economy or get us out of Iraq, but any man who prefers his steak cooked medium-rare has my vote.” The author of this article saw how silly it was that a well respected magazine is now writing about things that make people look good. Even though this is not a laughing matter, the author still carried a comedic tone. This feeds where very good at giving the whole story and keeping me reading.

Difficult Challenges=Great Inspirations

lovethink — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:51:27 +0000

Looking for blogs to write about seemed like a difficult challenge for someone like me who agrees with just about everyone. It turned out to be a lot easier than I thought to find inspiration in my peers’ blogs. My feeling that I would never get this done went away after I found three amazingly written blogs – Digging Deeper, Greater Omaha, and Got Words?

After reviewing Digging Deeper by Lizzie W., I saw how intrigued I could get by just reading a few of her posts. In her post Driving While Intexicated: A Deadly Distraction, I learned the increasing dangers of texting while driving. This post shined a new light on my previous thoughts about texting while driving – maybe it’s more dangerous than I thought. Seeing the carelessness that came out of culprits after they were informed of the number of people affected by texting while driving, was alarming. Lizzie’s post gave me a new incentive help prevent people from committing this dangerous act. Her posts on Cloning were also very informing. I had no idea that stem cells were being used to create clones. I learned that if we allow this cloning to continue, we could be able to special order our children. To me, that seems ethically and morally wrong, and I agree with Lizzie in saying “our children are gifts” and that we should not try to alter the miracle that has already happened. The post states that in 1 in 277 embryos that were used to construct the well known Dolly survived. That’s not something I’m willing to chance, and I agree with Lizzie in the fact that the U.S. should outlaw cloning.

Another blog I caught myself relating to was Greater Omaha by Drew D. His post Bye, Bye, Love…? describes our world today and the increasing number of divorces that occur. It seems that as time has increased, so has the acceptance towards divorce. Drew stated that it’s not only the couple that is affected by divorce, but a long line of others. If that couple had kids, they could suffer a long term sentence of feeling divided. I agree with Drew when he said the number of saved marriages needs to be increased. His blog It’s Frustrating told the truth about the students at Batesville High School. Whether walking in the halls or sitting in the classrooms, I can see his point he was trying to make in how frustrating one can get by listing to the carelessness of his fellow classmates. I am in agreement with his thought that kids should get a good education while they can so they can support themselves and their families in the future. It really made me think about how many students I know that could care less whether their report cards have A’s or D’s on them.

The blog Got Words by Audrey M. gave me a lot of insight to many new topics. In particular her posts Sleep Deprived?, Life Savers, and Love is in the Air really got me reading. In Sleep Deprived?, it was very interesting to find how many problems are caused from the few hours of sleep depravation most teens experience. I was shocked when she stated that this problem could be cured by just thirty minutes of extra sleep that schools won’t give us. I completely agree with her post Life Savers. Seat belts save lives, period. I think that people should respect themselves enough to protect the life God gave them. The powerful statement “Lust can’t wait to get, Love can’t wait to give” is stated in the post Love is in the Air. This post showed me new things I had never thought about when I thought of the word “love,” and I agree 100% with everything she had to say about teens and their love choices.

These three blogs I read showed me new thoughts I could have and really got me thinking about something new and different. They were all great inspirations and really helped me with everything in this assignment. With an open mind I found many great stories within these blogs.

W, Lizzie. “Driving While Intexicated: A Deadly Distraction” Digging Deeper. 30 Jan. 2008. 22 June 2008.

W, Lizzie. “Cloning” Digging Deeper. 21 April 2008. 22 June 2008.

D, Drew. “Bye, Bye, Love…?” Greater Omaha. 8 Feb. 2008. 22 June 2008.

D, Drew. “It’s Frustrating” Greater Omaha. 30 Jan. 2008. 22 June 2008.

M, Audrey. “Sleep Deprived?” Got Words?. 20 Feb. 2008. 23 June 2008.

M, Audrey. “Life Savers” Got Words?. 13 Feb. 2008. 23 June 2008.

M, Audrey. “Love is in the Air” Got Words?. 6 Feb. 2008. 23 June 2008.

Global Warming Watch Out

lovethink — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:01:36 +0000

To prove global warming is real, anyone can look at our Earth today. Today, the affects of global warming are very prevalent. Any citizen of the world can see that. Every morning when I wake up and watch the news, I hear the meteorologist saying there is a new record high temperature for the day. This has happened increasingly more over the past ten years (Appenzeller & Dimick, n.d.). Some of these higher temperatures are caused the greenhouse affect, which is a natural system to Earth. Before the Industrial Revolution, little gases were released into the atmosphere which was less heat for the atmosphere to hold in. Today, we use gases and fossil fuels for almost everything we do. Using energy like air conditioners, turning on a light, watching television, using a hair dryer, playing video games, listening to a stereo, washing clothes, or microwaving a meal releases greenhouse gases and adds to the greenhouse affect. To perform these functions, one must use electricity. Electricity comes from power plants, and most power plants use coal and oil to make electricity. Burning coal and oil produces greenhouse gases (Greenhouse Effect, n.d.). Affects of these rising temperatures are everywhere. The human race is even being affected. Higher temperatures can cause heat stress and heat related health problems to people directly. Indirectly, ecological disturbances, air pollution, changes in food and water supplies, and coastal flooding are all impacts that could potentially affect human health (So What’s the, n.d.). Proposed legislation to stop these situations from occurring would raise energy and food prices, cost millions of jobs, and severely hurt poor families, while doing nothing to stabilize global temperatures. This is because the only way to fix these problems is for the people to want to care and to better themselves (Driessen, 2007). If people would look around they would see how much their environment and all living things in their environment are being affected. Climate change has been altering the world’s habitats and ecosystems for some time now. Many climates depend on rainfall, temperature, and soil. A rapid change in climate like we are experiencing has upset this balance and can seriously endanger many living things. In the past, climate change has occurred slowly, giving animals’ time to adapt to the new environment of move to a new environment that better suits them. Now that climate change is happening more rapidly, animals are having a much harder time adapting to these quick changes and are being forced out of their well known habitats (So What’s the, n.d.). Our climate change has caused water supplies to go short causing animals to move into cities to find water. One day while on his way home from work, my father was driving through our neighborhood and a turkey flew out in front of him. Normally there aren’t too many turkeys that find themselves in a suburban neighborhood with so many inhabitants but for some strange reason he was there. Why would this turkey have traveled so far? The only answer is changes to his environment most likely caused by global warming.