History is Righted by the Losers

The common saying is that "history is written by the winners," which generally means that those that have power can leave their legacy in a much more favorable view.  Oftentimes, this legacy comes from books from a single perspective.  Reading this year has definitely shown how different perspectives can really change the outlook on a person or country.  For example, many Chinese people honor Mao and believe he was a great leader, while those in the Western world know (from books like Balzac and The Little Chinese Seamstress as well as news reports) that while he was at best morally grey, he was an incompetent leader responsible for millions of deaths due to famine and the ridiculous 'cultural revolution.'  I'm sure tales from the people without power, the so called 'losers,' will continue to right the falsehoods that the winners have written.

The Secondhand Experience

My mom grew up in the period following Mao's death, when the re-education and cultural revolution was winding down so all of her childhood stories weren't during this period, and she had a fairly peaceful childhood.  Reading this much more exciting and dynamic account of the time period is very interesting to me, because I've never really learned much about China's recent history beforehand.  Its definitely a much more personal experience reading a book, even if its fictional, than learning about it from a wikipedia or a lecture.

Dear Calvin

Dear Calvin,
          Look, I know English isn't your favorite subject and writing isn't your strong suit, but honestly, you've been a little lackluster.  You wait for too long to begin writing, and the difference between your first and final draft is far too little.  You never pay attention to passive voice or the tense either. Your writing is logical most of the time, but sometimes your supporting evidence or paragraphs are weak; you should spend more time looking for good evidence.  I think you do an ok job with flow and general essay fluidity, but grammar mistakes and poor word choice can sometimes mess that up too.  Just work on your writing please.


From,
Calvin

Banned Books

          I've read a couple of book on the banned list, but I think that the primary reason that these books are banned is that they deal with sexuality, something teachers aren't uncomfortable dealing with, and shouldn't be.  Books that are banned because they introduce 'dangerous' ideas shouldn't be, it should be determined by the quality of the writing, plot, and interest of the book.  If a book had been seen as dangerous or illegal by my community it would make me want to read it more.  I think that would make it that much more interesting.  An interesting fact about banned books is those who burned book historically are seen as the most brutal, harsh rulers like Qin Shihuangdi or Hitler.

Wimps in Sports

Whatever people say about my generation and how we're a bunch of wimps, I know that I'm not.  I know that every time that I play a game, I desperately want to win.  And I know plenty of people like me, and I know plenty of people that are less competitive than me.  But I know that they kept score when I was playing AYSO.  I don't know if it really makes a difference, but dealing with wins and losses will be something that happens in everyone's lives.  So if they don't keep score in youth leagues, a generation of wimps won't emerge, but people less emotionally equipped to deal with losses might.

Let me leave you with a slightly unrelated amusing image I found on google:

Fear Germ

Gerber and Glassner's ideas that exposure to fear saturated media leads to people becoming more fearful and paranoid is a point which is probably true.  In addition to people becoming more fearful in their own situations, becoming more fearful leads to believing more 'fear media' which just contributes to the cycle.  And because of social media, sharing this 'fear germ' with other people is as easy as posting a link to a news article on facebook.  These increasingly make it harder for politicians to get into office by improving care for widespread dangers and things that are proven to work; instead, those who promise stricter punishments do.

Gordimer's short story in which the family gets more and more security measures (most of which are ineffective and the last of which is deadly) because they hear about all these robberies and riots by the 'colored people.'  Though it isn't proof of anything (because its made up) it does a good job of showing what an extreme situation of our fear mongering could look like, which is really scary.  I think that if the public keeps putting anecdotes before real statistics this or some equally scary future is a possiblity.

Tank Man

This is a man during the Tienanmen Square protest, standing in front of a line of tanks, protesting the direction the government was heading after General Secretary Hu Yaobang was deposed after losing a power struggle.  Martial law was imposed in Beijing, where the protests took place and between hundreds and thousands of students died.

One must think what this man must have been thinking, as he had undoubtedly seen others being shot at by soldiers.  Is he thinking of the China that he wants to live in?  Is he thinking of his fellow students who have been hurt by soldiers?  Is he caught up in the rush of the protest?  Whatever, the case, his enormous courage is admirable.  Its facing mortality, and putting it in the hands of a complete stranger and relying on him to have respect for human life.  This is truly putting your body on the line for a cause, and this is a picture that represents the complex issue of Chinese politics and protest as well as the simple idea of courage.

Beginning of the Year Blog Post

Hello everyone who may be reading my blog (you obviously don't have anything interesting going on right now) may I present my wonderful word cloud!  It has everything important on it, like food and sleep and ... other boring stuff, like my hobbies, interests, hopes, dreams, loved ones blah blah (on a serious note, its a good representation of lots of things important to me).  It's the start of a new school year and here I am, no longer at the bottom of chain, a puny freshman. Instead I am a puny sophomore, slightly less close to the bottom of the chain.  I'm hoping for great things this year and benevolent teachers.  Hopefully my writing is less sucky than it usually is and my homework is more finished and turned in than it usually is.  Live long and prosper!