Where Do We Start?

Our first African-American president, Barack Obama, is finally in office. Having been elected during a fierce economic crisis, he hopes and plans to get to work quickly on fixing the nations economic problems. He urges the enactment of an 825 billion dollar stimulus package, one of its goals to create 4 million new jobs. This all sounds like good news, but there are many skeptical people who are not quite convinced. Resulting of a national pole, only 13 percent of people believe that the economy will recover in the next year, 27 percent believe it will take up to 2 years, and 59 percent believe it will take more than 2 years. Also, there are some worries in Washington. Kent Conrad (Democrat), the senate budget committee chairman, feels that this package is heavily needed, but questions certain numbers regarding financial sectors and housing. He said "if we don't get those two right, we're not going to see the kind of lift out of this downturn that we need".
This situation seems to dram my attention to FDR. Elected during the Great Depression, he too had to make change quickly. Much of his changes were the products of experimentation. What aided him to make change were his auxiliary powers that prevented time wasting opposition in the government. By the looks of public opinion, and even the opinions in Washington, it seems that president Obama might experience some drag in his efforts to lift America out of crisis. Should he be granted auxiliary powers?

Progress in the Justice System?

I was looking over CNN.com and came across a somewhat disturbing story. Ameneh Bahrami, an Iranian woman, was blinded by a young man named Majid in 2004. He admitted to attacking her with acid, but says that they are in love and he wishes to marry her. Ameneh said that this was not the case, and if he were to be let off, he would surely kill her. Also, Majid's mother tried to form an arranged marriage between the two, and when she said no, the problems began. The most interesting part of this case is Ameneh's want for justice. She said that, "I am not willing to get blood money from the defendant, who is still thinking about destroying me and wants to take my eyes out". Rather than receiving financial compensation for her suffering, she wants a more sinister brand of justice. She urged to the courts of Tehran that her attacker should be blinded with acid as well. She based this off Islamic law; an eye for an eye. Shockingly enough, the panel voted unanimously for the sentence. He is to be blinded by acid, but not to have his face deformed as she did. When asked about her reasoning for not demanding Majid's face to be mutilated, she stated that, "Of course, only blind him and take his eyes, because I cannot behave the way he did and ask for acid to be thrown in his face".

This whole situation concerns me. Perhaps a more appropriate quote for this situation ought to be that, "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind". I cannot believe that the courts actually voted in such a way. Even more appalling is that Ameneh claims that she is not behaving as Majid did, but she demanded that his eyes be destroyed by acid. Either the judicial system in Iran is insanely corrupted, or personal ethics has gone astray. Progress does not simply apply to the individual nation, but the human race as a whole. I guess this "opens our eyes" a little bit. Many think that the justice systems have, internationally, improved. I thought so until I saw this headline. I believe, now, that progress hasn't been truly made throughout the world.

Taxpayers Finally Catching A Break

Gas prices have officially dropped to an average of $1.75 a gallon. This is a record low since March of 2004. The decreased demand for gasoline has caused the prices to go down significantly. It seems that the hard working taxpayers are catching a bit of a break. People have been making the effort to cut costs on certain luxuries in order to secure the necessities. Based on the current price of gasoline, I would say that many people are doing their part.

Both R.W Emerson and H.D Thoreau detailed the concepts of materialism, and how the stuff you own can own you. They thought that life is not about who has the fanciest car, house, etc. I feel that many people are starting to pick up these ideas because of the current economic situation. Driving as a means of transportation to work, the grocery store, and other activities is a necessity, but a lot of it is rather pointless. I have witnessed this first hand. I cannot tell you how many times my friends and I have spent great amounts of time just driving around, listening to music, in our gas guzzling suv's. Even though we live in a very prosperous area, this trend has changed, and as a direct effect of the economic situation. Parents are no longer paying for their children to drive their cars any longer. Because of this, teenagers are simply not driving as much. From the lower ends of society, all the way up to the higher, people are making changes to compensate for our delicate economy. As a direct effect of the taxpayers efforts, gasoline is now more affordable than in the last 5 years. Emerson and Thoreau would be proud of this change, and perhaps amazed in the national effort to make the change.

National Reform

As a direct effect of the current economic situation, many changes occurred. People were laid off left and right, and could not afford many of the daily necessities. On a larger scale, many of our nations corporations, such as General Motors, are on the verge of collapse. A national reform effort is needed to get the mangled economy back on its feet. Barack Obama plans to make a 175 billion dollar stimulus package, as well as creating 2.5 billion jobs that will "rebuild the nation's roads and bridges, modernize its schools and create more sources of alternative energy."

This would prove to be a huge reform, especially in terms of energy. For the past century, fossil fuels have powered the American people. We all realize that this cannot be the case forever. Not only are we running out of these fuels, but it does vast damage to our environment. If Obama's plan becomes approved, and his plans to revolutionize energy are enacted, I think America will set an example of a much needed International reform. Going from one of the biggest consumers of fossil fuels, to the implementers of alternative energy would be huge.

What Would Ralph Waldo Emerson Say?

In American Studies class we read part of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self Reliance. Emerson, a transcendentalist, believed that all people should voice their thoughts and accept them as fact, regardless of societies approval. On top of this, he believed that accepting ideals that a person does not truly believe in to fit into society is both ignorant and cowardly. What I am wondering, is how far Emerson truly believes in these ideals?
All of the people in my class remember, even if only vaguely, the September 11th terrorist attacks. The only things I remember were the fear, chaos, and mystery that I was seeing. In Barack Obama's speech on the election night, he talked about how he and his administration would defeat all those who have tried to destroy the world. I would like to know what Emerson would say to the beliefs and thoughts of these people.
The idea that Emerson seemed to give off in our reading that everyone, no matter what beliefs they have, should live those beliefs out, but what I would like to know is if Emerson thought that peoples beliefs were wrong. I do agree with some of what Emerson says, that people should not conform to the common beliefs of a society just to fit in, but I do not feel that every belief is good. Would He agree with Barack's belief about defeating those who have tried to destroy the world? This is where Emerson has left a void. Can a transcendentalist say that everyone's beliefs are right, even just for the individual person? Would Emerson say that the killing of people is justified because of what the killers thought was right? Maybe he believed that everyone should accept their own thoughts as truth, but taking action on those thoughts may be another story. I found the reading so interesting because of the absolute nature of the beliefs. Do you think that a belief justifies actions?

We The People

During our studies of the late 1700's, we have learned many aspects of our countries Independence. Some things that were valued in both the declaration and the constitution were the rights to be represented in order to be taxed, the equality of all people, and a system of government where the people, not a king, decide the countries affairs. Although these things were stated in these historic texts, they were not entirely accurate. When written, the term "the people" meant primarily white men. Native Americans, women, freed blacks, and slaves were not considered to be under this qualifying term. Slavery was not abolished until 1865, a full 89 years after the declaration was signed. Black people and white people could not even use the same drinking fountains, or entrances to stores up through the 1960's. Now, 40 some years later, an African American man is the president of our country.
For the first time, we now have an African-American president. As I watched president elect Obama's speech in Grant Park, I knew it would be something I would remember forever. Obama was going to the White House, a house that slaves built. When he started talking about Ann Nixon Cooper, I realized how truly far America has come. Her parents lived in the time of slavery, and being 106 years old, she has witnessed so many of the inequalities that our country has had. For some time she was not allowed to vote because she is a woman and because of her skin color. But more importantly, she lived to see the first African American president. I find it astonishing that one person has seen so much in her lifetime. This made me think and realize the great distances our government has gone. I think that the term "the people" is at least much closer to being a true statement. The Declaration and constitution may have not solved many of our nations problems, but it certainly sent our country in the right direction.

Yo, What Happened to What's His Face?

The 2008 election is getting tense, and both parties are getting very anxious. It's anyones guess on who is going to be the next president. Every day we see commercials supporting and scolding from the Republicans and Democrats. But what many people may not have thought about recently, where is George Bush? It has certainly felt like he has been out of the publics eye for a while. White house officials say that hes busy working to fix the economic crisis, but will anything he does make a difference?
In class we were talking about the "lame duck" period of presidency. This is when the new president has been elected, but has not yet been given their position as president. I think that this lame duck period has started early for George Bush. This week, for example, a few events have been canceled, and he is spending time with his family at Camp David. It actually does make sense for him to keep a low profile during the election season though. It is the opinion of many that George Bush is not a very good president, and the Republicans want to win this election. With a shockingly low approval rating of 28 percent, and a past full of unpopular decisions, he is proving to be a very big threat to the success of the Republican party. Political commercials have been addressing McCain's similar views with Bush. I believe I saw in a commercial that he voted 92 percent of the time with Bush. I believe that the president is enjoying a period of relaxation. Even if he tries to address some of the issues with full effort, he is almost out of office and probably won't be listened to. We'll see if he can stay out of the spotlight for a while longer, and if he costs the republicans the election.