Should we eat meat?

Thanksgiving arrives every year with a heated debate over how to best cook that plump and juicy turkey. But the idea of a tofu turkey (also known as a “tofurkey”) has gone from a joke a couple years ago to a reality for many. While vegetarianism has been practiced for over a thousand years in some countries, it is a relatively new concept in the West. And so, with the question cropping up more and more often, should we eat meat?

Movies and Violence

Movies in now way impact or manipulate individuals to commit the acts they see on screen. It takes an individual who does not have the common sense or the basic reasoning skills to understand that a film is a piece of art work and is an interpretation of events. Most of all, a film is a story being told to entertain, it is not an informational video. 

Films are less influential than videogames when it comes to having violence be transferred into the real world. Videogames have so many problems with kids becoming violent and aggressive because they are in control of the character and therefore feel they can make the same decisions in real life after becoming emotionally numb to some of the activities taking place in the game. A film is a different medium where the audience observes from the outside the actions and decisions of the characters. It is easy to comment on how bad an individual is acting on screen because you get to see them make the choice. Videogame players are using their own thought processing to directly control their character's actions. 

Parents are not directly involved with this debate. You can have a strong foundation for your child, but any prolonged exposure to mediums that have negative aggressive and violent outcomes will effect anybody. But since the debate is about films and violence, I would have to say films have no impact on individuals desired to commit crimes and violence.

Drinking Age!!

I think the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen years of age. After all it seems kind of off the meter that we are able to legally vote for our president which is stated to be an very important election. Also we are able to buy cigarettes and play the freaking lottery, Cigarettes in my opinion are just as bad as alcohol and someone will always abuse it but yet it's fine for us to develop cancer but not destroy our liver. Seems odd to me. In my opinion I don't care if you are eighteen or twenty one, someone can always be immature and not responsible with the decision either way but then again we can go to war when we turn eighteen. If you ask me after you've seen the things they see overseas how in the world can you come home and not need to relax. They say because we aren't mature enough to handle the responsiblity of drinking. Then I lthought how are we mature enough to go fight for our country then? How can you send immature individuals over to other places to fight for our safety? You can't. The laws are backwards. They allow one thing and don't allow another. War and alcohol can go hand in hand. They both are dangerous and they both can be abused. You can fight for the hell of it and drink for the hell of it. So being eighteen going to war, buying cigarettes, and drinking should be just as accepted as over the counter Plan B pills and clinics giving away abortions to without the consent of an adult because the girl is legally eighteen. Maybe they should weight these things on a scale and she just how not balanced their laws are!

Successful

I think being successful is having a nice house, not having to live paycheck to paycheck, and being well liked with the people around you. One of the people I think is very successful is Steven Spielburg. He has so many movies and has such a creative mind. He is not just someone who is rich and successful but he has the ability of being a great visual storyteller. I admire his work very much from Jurassic Park to Indiana Jones, his work is one of the best in the industry. I feel that my friends and family are successful because they have what I think is successful which is listed on top. Even though what I stated above is my take on being successful, it doesn't hurt to strive for more. My morals and beliefs would still be with me because they are a part of who I am. I am aiming to have nice things and not worrying about money and having good relationships with people. I try not to think negative and be an optimistic because there is always a bright side to something. To me thinking bad only prevents us to becoming successful in our lives.

Drinking Age/Trends

The drinking age in the US should be lowered at 18. I agree with Justin Forcier that it should be lowered because so many people are doing it anyway. I think some people should know what their own limits are and be smart about it. If they want to be drunks then its their own choice. As he said before, people already do so many other things like smoking and voting, we might as well bring drinking with being 18 its just as bad as smoking is to your body. Some people might even say that having the age at 21 is having younger kids drink more because of their rebellious attitudes. If they do change the age, to me it would seem inevitable to what is already happening.
Trends are I think what makes people be social. My trends that I follow is being a casual fit guy. To me it gives the impression of a down to earth guy. Its not about being pressured. I think its a way to find who we are and what we want ourselves to look like. Other people that always follow trends are still trying to find themselves unless that is who they want to be. For those that set trends up either from shoes to music, they just give us options to choose that's all. No one has to be obliged by them. Trends in our own cultures also help shape us to find our identity. It can have us pass on these trends and teach it. It can also have people be extremists, misinterpreting the culture itself. That is why we must find who we are and choose what to do with ourselves.

Movies vs. Violence

Can movies influence some people into doing bad things? Films such as Scream gives us an extreme lens of how people might try to mimic a movie. If so, what do u think drives them to reenact a movie? Could being violent be blamed at parents or other kinds of figures?

The Drinking Age

My family and I would have to agree that the drinking age in the United States should be lowered from age twenty-one. Eighteen would be an appropriate age because teenagers at that age are already legally able to purchase cigarettes, vote, and in some instances gamble at casinos when they reach the age of eighteen. Having the age lowered will also remove much of the difficulties and legal troubles surrounding college students. No matter what people say, everybody knows underage drinking goes on at college, there is nothing that can really be done to prevent this fact. Getting the drinking age lowered is a good idea because there would be no more illegal drinking going on at colleges, if everyone is doing it we might as well make it ok. Many other countries have legal drinking ages lower than those in the United States. Many European countries and, closer to home, Mexico allow teenagers at the age of eighteen to drink alcohol legally. I think the age is good because we don’t hear many stories of people complaining in other countries about alcohol consumption. To be honest the stories we hear amongst each other as Americans are stories of our friends getting drunk legally on family of friend vacations to foreign countries. The largest question concerning having eighteen year olds drink legally is whether or not they are mature enough to have the age lowered. The question of maturation is relative because there are certainly immature twenty-one year olds running around making stupid decisions all of the time. I know more than a few eighteen year olds who make good choices and show common sense in situations regarding drinking and alcohol consumption. It doesn’t really matter if the age is dropped because it will be the same situation as it is now with the drinking age being twenty-one. 

Prompt...Success

What does being successful mean to you? Does the amount of money make you successful or the amount people you have influenced? Who do you feel is successful in your major and why do you feel that way?( dance, fashion, film, poetry, art etc.) Do you feel that your friends and family members are successful? Would you throw away all of your morals as well as beliefs to become successfully know?

Why the drinking age needs to be higher

The current legal drinking age of the US is apparently not doing well; I think that just because someone is 21, doesn’t necessarily make them mature enough to drink. In fact, there has to be a standard for drinking, because it is mainly the college students that are known for binge drinking. There has to be restrictions on who get to drink legally, based on accountability. Some people don’t take their responsibilities serious into later on in life.
I think that the drinking age should not be lowered to 18, because there was a trend in the past of high death rates amongst teenagers from underage drinking(taken from NHSTA http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/research/pub/age-of-drinking/pub2/discussion.htm ), by having the standard set at 21, teen deaths are decreased. Logically at 21 yrs. Old, they should know the importance of being responsible. But this is only for the US, because the age of maturity is different in other cultures. In the US, the age of maturity differs for everyone, so there has to be a standard that everyone can follow.
Compared to everyone else, we are one of the four countries that have the drinking age set four 21. Japan has the age set at 20, along with Iceland and Paraguay. From that the other ages are 16 to 19; however, there are countries with no real age for drinking. Yet, some cultures forbid drinking at any age. For more information about different countries legal age of drinking go to: http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/LegalDrinkingAge.html. This goes back to the fact that based on certain cultures; there are different traditions, which results in different ages of maturity. For the United States we are a mixed culture, not everyone has the same traditions or beliefs, causing everyone to mature at a different age.
I think that there are some 18 year olds that are responsible enough to drink alcohol. Yet, it is not enough to lower the legal age. It just goes back to the fact that not everyone is mature at the same age to drop the standard. Going back to my first paragraph, the ability to drink should be based on how accountable the person is.

Drinking Age

What do you think about the current legal drinking age in The United States? Do you feel that 21 is a logical age or do you think that it should be lowered to 18? What do you think about the drinking age as its compared to other countries? Do you think that an 18 year old is responsible enough to consume alcohol?

Prompt

How do you feel about trends? Would you consider yourself a trend follower and do you feel pressured to follow trends? What trend(s) do you follow and why did you like that(those) trends? What do you think about people who live to follow trends? How do you feel about those who are setting these trends? What positive and negative effects do you think trends have on culture? Reflect on your personal preferences on music, television, movies, books, and clothes while answering these questions.

Response to Sports vs. War

I will agree that sports are sold through violence - no equivocations. Which sports are the most popular? Is tennis the most popular sport, frisbee, swimming? No, the most popular sports are those that not only incorporate violence but promote it. Football, boxing, baseball, hockey, even NASCAR are followed with seemingly obsessive scrutiny. People are brought up thinking that such sports are the "manly" sports. I laugh when people say that and then mention wrestling . Not to offend anyone but can a sport appear more homosexual and less manly. Two sweaty guys in tights grabbing each other. I only mention it because sports that don’t require tights and man to man rubbing, such as tennis, are considered gay.

I don’t think sports have a direct correlation to war. The connection is violence, a subject that our culture could not thrive without. The question for this prompt is rather ironic because of the football game this weekend. So many people see football games, and the day that they occure, as holy days. Nothing can coincide or interfere with such imperative matters (other than alcohol and the occasional witty comment that is). Sports, followed as they are now, are rather ridiculous. I have nothing against sports. I have played on various teams in various sports since I was three. The lure of violence and manliness is enough to make me sick though. The only thing worse in this subject than peoples inability to live without it is their dependence on alcohol. Another point, adding to the violence, is the abuse of women in these sports. Women are used solely as soft-core porn to please the drooling drunks watching it. Even worse they'll most likely agree laughing and not see anything wrong with it. But hey, that is what being a man is all about right?

Response

I think for humans, and pretty much all animals, there is an instinct towards confrontation and violence. Humans, at this point seem to have come to understand that they can't just go around killing people randomly. In my opinion, sports seem to be a good way for people to let out their natural aggression. Not only that but sports is also about simply feeling that adrenaline, and power that goes along with physical activity and feeling successful at something.

I think that sports are a really good thing for society. It keeps are motivations high, gives some people something to look forward to and maybe something to feel passionate about. On the topic of sports promoting violence. I don't really feel like they promote violence more than anything you could possibly see on TV or even simply walking down the street.

Even though I myself, really don't have the motivation to do anything like sports, or something competitive, I can see how its totally beneficial to people. Especially in the United States right now things that involve physical activity need to be encouraged, as obesity becomes an increasingly bigger problem.

Response to the Post

Sports themselves are not a negative impact on our culture and do not promote violence through “war-like” activities. Sure, sports and war have two sides opposite each other battling for victory on a field or open space somewhere, but the winner of the Super Bowl never gets to occupy the state of the losing team. Sports are competitions, two opposite sides try to outperform each other and gain points based on their performance. They do not promote “war” in the sense that they are not trying to kill each other. After every game they shake hands and often meet with each other to talk about personal topics like old friends. If sports were in any way like a war I’m sure the winning side would be a little less sportsmanlike to the men who are still alive for the opposing army. These men are all in it for business too; they get paid and will gladly switch teams if a better opportunity arises.

 

I don’t think sports try and promote violence, in most sports the violence is against the rules and all leagues will suspend players for certain amounts of games for being violent with other players. There are sports such as the National Football League and the National Hockey League that have contact and would be considered “violent”, but they don’t include violence with the intent to injure and opponent. Both sports require the players to wear helmets and pads to prevent them from sustaining injuries.

 

Sports are a positive influence on our culture and our society. They are taught to our children at an early age and help them develop skills they need for the rest of their lives. Sports teach people how important it is to work as a team and to put one hundred percent into any activity they begin. Discipline is another aspect of being in a sport; you learn to mentally be prepared for challenges and to develop a positive attitude in handling adversity. Children also get to learn the values of not only losing gracefully but winning honorably through the influence of positive sportsmanship. 

Response to Sports-War

I do think that sports mimic war because the goal is to win. All of today's sports are determined by points whether it be touchdowns, goals or points made, they are striving for being the victor. War uses this with a number of ways such as number of soldiers or weapons. Whoever has more of either one will most likely be the victor as in sports. Sports today I think is a positive influence because it releases an inner rage when you play it. It is put on television for us to be entertained and stimulates that inner rage inside be let out within our thoughts without actually doing it unless you are. At least if you are doing a sport, you know what is at stake and whatever the rules are but in the streets it is more brutal/savage-like because its all out of rage, not from any meaning like sports has. Sports though does have more of a positive tone than war because at least it is aiming to win to feel the best at something not to gain more control over.
-Steven Gallardo