Rippled Reflection (Post 21)

Contrary to the initial intent and purpose of this question, I do not find the image presented in this document to be much differed from that I have received in US history, as well as in some of my own personal research.  Let me start by saying that I do not blame jefferson for these racial prejudices directly, rather only mildly find fault in his semi-hypocrisy.  At this time period in history, it was generally accepted b the white majority that african americans were inferior, merely because of the color of their skin.  Jefferson was not intentionally racist, rather was going along with the notions of the time.  Let's face facts, the fact that he even suggested a removal of slavery (gradual or otherwise) made him somewhat better than those entirely dedicated to it.   Jefferson had his faults like any of us; it was his importance in relation to the founding of this country that has cast a shadom over his negative aspects and caused up to concentrate on his more patriotic actions.  

Tucker v. Loman: One Night Only on INDemand PPV! (Post 20)

The contrast between Willy Loman and Cora Tucker is a case of delusional concept versus active participation and action. Willy Loman has a dream. He wants to be a great salesman. His belief is that in order to do this, all he really must be is well liked. If nothing else, as long as he is well liked, he will be a successful salesman. Unfortunately, this is inherently wrong in that without effort and a clear view of reality, it doesn't matter how much people like you. Had Willy been more conscious of his reality, then he would've seen that what he was doing in order to increase sales was not working, and that he maybe needed to revise his strategy. Cora Tucker is Willy Loman ^ -1. Cora saw a problem and did what she needed to fix it, or at least bring light to it in order to incite a movement that would resolve the issue. She had a much clearer view of reality, and was more open to different approaches to solve an issue. The main problem here, is that Willy was convinced that there was only one way to skin a cat, and the adage says otherwise.

"You can do it Nicky!"

Thanks to Rob Schneider for the title.

Unfortunately, Willy's perception of success will only get one so far in life, if at all.  The fact that he believes that being "well liked" is all that it takes in order to become successful would corrupt his success and eventually lead to his demise as an unsuccessful, miserable man in the end.  This parallels very strongly to Emerson's concept of self-reliance, where it is stated that the power to do anything that a person should so desire can be found within themselves.  Because of the nature of society that we live in, just being well liked, or believing in ourselves does nothing when it comes to making the sale, winning the case, or completing the assignment.  Granted, while both of these characteristics can drastically help in most cases, they are not all of what is necessary.

"A severed foot is the ultimate stocking stuffer.  I once wanted to freshen up a room, so i held a Certs in front of a fan."

-Mitch Hedburg

"Strong Xandir... Strong Xandir..."

Image Credit: http://userpic.livejournal.com/51123487/266321
First off, the title's a quote from my favorite TV show of all time, "Drawn Together."

The concept of self-reliance is such that people should rely on who they truly are, and believe in what's inside of them in order to attain success. In short, "believe in yourself and you can do anything."

Disney, thank you for distorting reality for generations. But seriously, The Lion King was great.

I can only start by saying that while this is a large part of attaining true success, it takes a lot more in order to attain success in the eyes of society as a whole (I like to delineate this with personal success, which is wherever the person finds they have achieved what they have always wanted to achieve). In the cut-throat world of corporate America, people will sometimes (often) do whatever they have to, step on as many subordinates as they have to in order to achieve the position in the corner office, the 6-figure annual salary, the 3-story house, 2 cars, and whatever niceties they so desire. Simply believing in yourself will seldom cut it. To acheive success in today's world, one must have proper education, credentials, legacies, and recommendations in order to be considered for a job with any sort of amount of prestige. Unfortunately, corrupt corporate society has no empathy for the common man.

Second Speeches

The second day of speeches came with mixed feelings, both about myself and those of others. My first feeling, or contemplation rather, was whether or not to promote my charity of choice as your friendly neighborhood Spiderman, or as the wanna-be, me. After that problem was resolved, the speeches began with a rather strong presentation about, Third Phase was it? The following speeches were very strong, somewhat shaky, and at all points in-between. The speech I would like to call the most attention to is that of my own. I'll admit, some of the aspects that I ended up covering were improvised (although the facts were real), however i felt that it ended up going much smoother than initially expected. One surprise I found is that 5 minutes is a lot less time than you would think, especially when you have so much to tell.

First of the Presentations

Image Credit: http://www.musicforpenguins.com/wallpaper/mfp_stage_fright_1280x1024.gif

The first day of presentations didn't seem to bring as much dread as I initially thought it would (except maybe from me, and the fact that I can't read minds doesn't support my case either). I was expecting people to be cowering in fear of presenting (although this would have been proven futile) (as well as the fact as this is a gross overstatement). However, the people that did present on the first day did a remarkable job of staying focused on the point, maintaining composure, and presenting in a clear and direct manner. While it was obvious that some people were on the nervous side, it didn't necessarily carry over into the actual spoken portion of their speeches.

BBBSCI

For my charitable organization, I have chosen Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Central Indiana. The reason for my choosing this is that I am personally involved with this program and have experienced nothing but positive experiences coming out of it. At the same time, this organization empowers those who, otherwise, would have little or no positive influences in their lives, and would be at greater risk of failure in their later lives.

Partly Cloudy With a Slight Chance of Afternoon Sun (post 14)

First order of business: yes, that is a metaphorical title.

The flat-out answer is that a myth is only as good when a test does not prove it wrong. In this case, the myth is along the lines that we are judged for who we are on the inside. Anyone who knows what the concept of prejudice is will strike this down instantly. The reality is that we are immediately judged based upon what we look like, how we dress, how well groomed we are, and the unfortunate list goes on. As the "Avenue Q" song so aptly puts it, "Everyone's a little bit racist sometimes." Granted, it goes beyond racism, but as I write this that song is stuck in my head, and because of this is included. Still, the myth that our thoughts and true selves will win out is a very "Disnified" (for lack of a better word) is very easy to call out in fault. The only way to alleviate this cynical view on society as a judgmental whole is to eliminate prejudice (or lessen it to a severe degree). In this case, people would be able to judge others based upon who they truly are, not merely on stereotypes that are associated with the outward kind of person that they are.

See an interesting related article at http://brainethics.wordpress.com/2006/07/03/the-roots-of-prejudice/