Seeing The Beauty

After reading Seeing, I think that Dillard is definitely a nature writer. He explains things in nature so intricately and at ease. I think that Dillard believes people don't see nature as well as he does. We don't recognize the beauty like he does. Dillards writing is very descriptive and I can see how he has won awards from his pieces. To me, the actual story line lacks in this piece though. I couldn't decide on a thesis for Seeing, though his main concept seems to be explaining nature's beauty.

Marked Women

Deborah Tannen, a woman with a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of California at Berkeley, posted an article in the New York Times on June 20, 1993 about her views on feminism. She explains in her piece that all women are "marked" which explains the title of There Is No Unmarked Woman. The author shows the issues in the social differences between men and women by explaining examples of things that are marked on women, while men seem to always remain neutral.
Tannen starts out by telling us of an experience where this became obvious to her. She was at a small working conference of four women and eight men. Instead of paying attention, she couldn't help but notice how each woman had a different style and how each style was articulate. One woman had a classy, well put together style. The next woman had a practical, casual style. The other woman had a flashy, wild style. Each of these women had certain characteristics that made them stand out from the others. The author then begins to wonder why she was only analyzing the women at the conference. She came to realize that this was because the  men's styles were unmarked.
The author, Deborah Tannen, then goes on the explain the term marked as "a staple of linguistic theory." (Tannen, 141).
 She then goes on to make comparisons with her term of unmarked such as English language words, style, name titles, as well as chromosomes. Her story gives many examples and strongly states her opinion without being rude. It really makes the reader think and form an opinion as well.

Speech of Indifference

I was inspired by Elie Wiesel's speech directed toward President Clinton. The speech was very well written and very powerful. The way he used strong emotion from his experiences and kept questioning our beliefs kept me reading and really thinking about his questions.
I very much agree with Wiesel when he says that "Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred." (Wiesel, 216). I also believe that to just be indifferent and not care about something is far worse than being against something. People should stand up for what they believe in and make their opinion count. It was eye opening and very true when he would talk about us knowing of such evil things going on in the world but choosing to ignore it, or be indifferent. After reading this, it makes me want to be involved and fix problems worldwide. Of course I feel that I, just one person, could not possibly make a difference. But then again, I'm sure everyone else is feeling the same way.
I enjoyed Wiesel's sense of gratitude and optimism. Although he seems to have some hard feelings about the past and people's indifference even today, he still has a positive outlook. He has hope for our future and feels that we will go in the right direction. I too have hope for a better future and will now stray from being indifferent.

The Media Megaphone

I agree with Saunders on a majority of his points. He uses certain examples in such a way that totally relates to the world today. I think that he is very clever and really has an insight on his beliefs. His style of writing is laid back and very easy to relate to. The way he uses metaphors makes it easier to understand. It really makes you think about his comparisons to the world and makes very much sense to me.
The section of the article where he talks about everyone following one person because of their presence and the way they present their thoughts is true in today's culture. I was automatically reminded about politics and thought of how the person chosen or assigned to be in charge is rarely the best candidate. The person who wins is the one who makes the most impact on our thoughts.
Also, the section where he mentions how the media takes over the thoughts of the world is true to me. I do believe that they plant ideas into the peoples' minds and run with it. In some ways it is for the better, and a lot of times it is for the worse. Ideas spread as quickly as a horrible disease. They begin to take over the minds of innocent people and eventually spreads everywhere.
From this article I learned the comparison from early times to times now. There is some that is the same and alot has changed. The ways that people are affected seems to be very much the same as today. But now we are affected at a much higher degree. Technology has a big part of this. Technology is so much more advanced and changes the way we learn things and communicate with others. The world is changing, and honestly I'm not sure if it's for better, or for worse.

What Are Your Priorities?

I feel that everyone has their own opinions about who is right, and who is wrong. There is always the one who thinks that they know best, and they try to get followers to believe their thoughts. Along with this comes politics, of course. In some ways the world is coming to a better place. But there are consequences with every step we take.

At this point in time, I honestly do not know if we are headed for a better place, or to a place we cannot even endure. In some ways, we are making better steps toward world peace. By democracy being spread across the world, I feel that every ones opinion all over will be taken into more consideration. Although, when one thing such as politics becomes so important, the other important matters seem to fall into the shadows.

The apocalypse could be immanent but we also may be able to alter it. I believe that everything happens for a reason and there is a plan for the world to come to. I do believe though that we, as humans, could alter what the world will come to. For better or worse, it's up to everyone to come together to make the best of how we live. Although world peace seems impossible, I believe that working toward this is a big part of making the world a better place for everyone.