LeLe's English Comp.

Aleah: The Present & Future Me

2007-11-28T16:25:00.000-08:00

Prompt: Who are you?

Who am I, is the question; sometimes I tend to wonder if I really know what I want at this point in my life. Taken that I am only 19 years- old makes it known that I am not that old, but that I should know what type of person I am or am going to be in life. There aren’t that many interesting facts about me but I do know that I am a very unique person, cherished by many, morally stable, and ready to live life to the fullest.

Well for starters, my name is Aleah Ramcheran, and I am currently supposed to be a sophomore in college, but because of my recent move to Georgia I am now a freshman again. Although, I am a bit disappointed, I know that this new move was going to have a very positive impact on my new life. Prior to moving to Lithonia, Georgia in Dekalb County, I lived in Queens, New York for 18 years of my life. In Queens, N.Y. is where I attended P.S. 251 for Pre-K & kindergarten, P.S.132 for elementary school, I.S. 59 for junior high school, and Queens Gateway to Health Sciences Secondary School for high school. After graduating from high school, I attended Clarion University of Pennsylvania for my freshman year and realized that the setting was not one that I felt comfortable in for many different reasons. These reasons included, the limited diversity of ethnic cultures attending the school, and the far distance away from friends and family. These issued caused me to convince my parents that a new setting for all of us was necessary, especially since my dad was on the verge of retiring.

Therefore, after visiting relatives last Christmas, my parents and I decided that Georgia would be a good place for them to retire to and one for me to continue the rest of my college education. Since I have been down here I have made new friends and started a whole new life. Although, I have not forgotten my friends back at home in New York; I make sure that I keep in touch with everyone I left behind, because I actually considered them to be my second family.

My ethnic background is West Indian. My parents are originally from Trinidad & Tobago, but have lived in New York for over 19 years. I am one of four other children, of whom are all successful adults and have families of their own. I have two brothers and two sisters. I am the youngest or the “baby” as they would call it in the family. I have two nieces, one of which is 2 years- old, and the other is 5 months, and also a nephew who is 5 years- old. I am very close with one of my brothers and one of my sisters, whom always make time for family and visit as often as time allows them to.

As a young adult, of course I like hanging out with my peers and socializing. I like going to the mall, movies bowling, taking unexpected road trips with friends, and just basically having fun when time allots me. However, one of my favorite hobbies is doing hair, this has been a past time of mine since I was in junior high school. Whenever my friends and I were going out to parties or any special events I was always the designated hairdresser. My family always thought that I wanted to become a hairdresser, but I don’t think that doing hair is a way that I want to make a living. If I do decide to be a hairdresser it would just be for leisure on the weekends or to just have a part- time side business. However, as much as I liked doing hair, I loved taking care of people the most. This is why I chose the career path of being a nurse, like my mother.

I know that once I start my career and become financially stable I will be able to start a family. I am looking forward to this part in my life because I want to be able to share my time and love with a family of my own. I want to be able to have a bond with my children as my parents do with theirs. The love of family is always something to look forward to and live for each day.

Love: A Potential Path to Self- Degradation

2007-11-12T19:19:00.000-08:00

Prompt: The Alligator River Story

On occasion, desperate measures are taken to be with the ones that we love. However, things don’t always go as we plan, or just don’t work out in our favor, so what are we to do? Do we wait it out, or just take the chance, even if it requires degrading ourselves? Abigail was in love and did what she had to do to be in the arms of her lover.

Abigail would be rated a 4 in terms of respect because, although she was willing to go through desperate measures to be with her lover, Gregory, she degraded herself in the worst way possible. Yes, she didn’t have any mode of transport across the river, but I don’t think she had to have sexual encounters with a man in order to get a boat ride to the other side. After crossing to the other side and consoling in Gregory, he lost all respect for her after hearing the story, because it said that he “cast her aside with disdain.” In the end she also laughed at Gregory after he got beat up, but she needs to understand his point of view of the situation. If she loved Gregory so much, why would she be happy seeing him get beaten and laugh at him?

Gregory would be rated a 3 in terms of respect because, instead of Abigail crossing the river he could have crossed the river in order to see Abigail. If he crossed the river then Abigail would have never had to have sex with Sinbad, the river boat captain. However, if I was Gregory I would have been furious with Abigail also, but if he was so in love with her he probably would have been more consoling and tried to forgive her. Sinbad would be rated a 5 because, he took advantage of a desperate woman. Sinbad should be ashamed of himself, he knew Abigail had no other means of transportation, and he took all control over the situation. I think he should have been the one getting beat up instead of Gregory.

Slug would be rated a 2 in terms of respect because, he was more consoling of Abigail in her time of need. Also, he stood up for her even though I think he took his anger out on the wrong person. He should have found a way back across the river and beaten up Sinbad. Ivan would be rated a 5 in terms of respect because, he didn’t even want to help Abigail in her time of need, and he was supposed to be her friend. She even told him about Sinbad’s proposition, and he couldn’t find it in his heart to just take her across the river to Gregory.

This goes to show the importance of true friends and the loyalty of love. Anyone can go through desperate measures to be with someone, but you never know the true essence until you are put in a situation like Abigail’s. However, degrading yourself just to show your love for another person is not the answer, follow your heart but also use better judgement.

Metaphysical Assumptions: Basic Human Principles

2007-11-06T15:26:00.000-08:00

Prompt: Metaphysical Assumptions

Metaphysical assumptions play a part in the way humans choose to live their lives, thus creating the idea of morals and values. The idea of metaphysical assumptions comes from our own personal perceptions of our environment. Metaphysical assumptions determine who we develop to be in a world that sometimes demands us to be something we truly are not.

I just think this idea of metaphysical assumptions is just a much more complex way to express your morals and values. I have many basic metaphysical assumptions that I believe in and try to stick by on a daily basis. Many of them are very simple and basic, because they just express ideas that were taught to me by parents and family when I was younger. Two of the most important morals and values that I practice on a daily basis are; respect for myself and others, and self- reliance and independence. As a growing young adult, these two principles play an important part in my life. I say this because as a college student we encounter countless amounts of peer pressure and obstacles that may cross our paths to success, and we have to overcome these obstacles and learn from them.

My parents always stressed the idea of being self- reliant and independent because, when we are out on our own we have nobody to look out for our well being but ourselves. My mom always said “friends will lead you astray, but they won’t bring you back,” and I never really paid her any attention until I encountered many situations in my first year of college. I had to deal with tons of peer pressure, but I always tried to use my better judgment in bad situations.

The idea of respect to me is also very important because everybody wants to be respected, but sometimes they don’t want to show the same respect to others. I always show respect to everyone, even though sometimes I might not particularly be very fond of that person. However, if I ever get caught in a bad situation that same person might be the one to help me out. I know strangely enough that happened to a few people I know, and in the end they felt bad about not showing respect to the person that helped them out in their bad situation.

Metaphysical assumptions just branch off from our own personal beliefs. Some of us may not have really paid attention to the things that we learned in our environment growing up. However, most of what we believe in now branches off from childhood exposures. In actuality, our environments provided us with our metaphysical assumptions and molded us into the people that we are today.

America: The Next Empire

2007-10-23T16:18:00.000-07:00

Prompt: America as Empire?

America is known as a very powerful country, however, it becoming an empire is a questionable issue that strings along many tribulations. I don’t think the reality of America becoming an empire is very positive because in actuality we are not the best liked country in the world. However, due to our advanced American culture we are slowly luring in the foreigners, thus making them a part of our empire.

In Norman Mailer’s book, Why Are We at War?, he states, “Behind the whole push to go to war with Iraq is the desire to have a huge military presence in the Middle East as a stepping-stone to taking over the rest of the world.” (51) Mailer could actually bring up an important point when he talks about this issue. However, from another stand point, it could just be that the military forces are fighting in Iraq to express the wrath of the Americans who lost loved ones due to the events of September 11th. The explanation can go in multiple different directions.

Mailer makes many points in his book just relating to different aspects of the American way of life taking over. One of his main points was that of technology, Mailer just thinks anything new or different from previous years is taking over the simple ways of life. He thinks technology is taking over religion, cultural values, our minds, and our souls. Mailer states, “Now take the West’s cultural invasion into Islam. The Muslim, reaction is that Islam is endangered by modern technology and corporate capitalism. They see everything in America as aiming to destroy the basis of Islam. The huge freedom given to women in American culture is seen as an outrage by orthodox Muslims. American TV they find licentious in the extreme. They feel all that Islam stands for is going to be eroded by American culture.” (26- 29) Basically, I think that he is saying that America is already taking over, because he feels that there is a lot of cultural invasion taking place when it comes to the American culture and foreign cultures.

America becoming an empire is not one of the best ideas, because other countries actually despise our culture. Other countries feel that the citizens of America have no morals or values, and don’t really know anything about hard work. Therefore, for us to become an empire would only bring about more chaos, because foreigners might not obey by our rules and consequently there will be infinite numbers of wars. We wouldn’t be able to live peacefully at all. Everyday, I see the work ethics and morals of people from other countries. For example, we have Mexicans who get paid less than minimum wage doing hard labor jobs just to get by and survive. Their work ethics are way beyond ours, the Americans. We get things handed to us freely, and we might not acknowledge it, but it is reality. In actuality, America is slowly becoming an empire. I say this because our country is already taking over other people’s ways of life. We might not have physically taken over foreign countries but slowly our culture is taking over their ways of life.

Religion vs. Technology: A Loss of Western Values

2007-10-16T15:15:00.000-07:00

Prompt: Whay Are We at War?

In today’s day and age many foreigners are adapting to the American way of life, thus neglecting the practices of their own culture. In American society, technology has taken a superior position on the way that everything is managed daily. However, foreigners seem to think that religion is being overlooked and technology is taking the upper hand, therefore leading foreign cultures astray from their traditional customs and practices.

In Norman Mailer’s essay, Why Are We at War? he argues about the affects modern technology has had on the Islamic religion . He briefly states that Muslims are undergoing cultural diffusion when it comes to the American culture. He says that prior to adapting to the American culture Muslims were following their practices religiously, but after moving to America they got used to the American way of life. For example, Muslims feel that women are given too much freedom in the American society, because in the Islamic faith they are looked down upon by men. Men are thought of as the dominant figure in the relationship and the women have to follow the lead of the man.

Mailer thinks that the Muslim people have so much hatred towards the American people because they are afraid that they are “going to lose their own people to Western values.” I can actually see why he says this, however, if the Muslims don’t feel that strongly about their cultural beliefs then they obviously are not going to follow them. As a result, they are going to seek out another way of life that is going to suit their desires. He also talks about the Muslims relationship with God, he says, “There is no understanding of Islam until one recognizes that Muslims who are truly devoted feel they are in a direct relationship with God.” I actually agree with this because in order to accept and understand any religion you have to have a personal relationship with God or whomever you believe to be the higher being. If this concept is lost, then the meaning and the way you perceive the religion is lost.

Mailer states “ Muslims also bear a huge sense of shame, because they were a superior civilization around 1200, 1300 A.D., the most advanced culture then, and now they lag behind. There is a deep sense of failure among them.” This can also be a reason why they hate America, and have so much animosity towards our culture because our culture and technology is flourishing, while their culture is diminishing before their eyes, they are just envious. He thinks they just feel ashamed of their own culture, and try to get back at us by going to war.

On the other hand, I think that technology actually does have an affect on religious values. Due to the amount of advances in the American society maybe people seem to just put religion on the back burner. They are probably thinking more about making money than their religious fate. He says, “We in the West have this habit of looking for solutions. Part of the spirit of technology is to assume that there’s always a solution to a problem…” We tend to spend more time on solving new problems than the problems at hand, therefore becoming oblivious to religion.

Homosexuality: Today's Reality

2007-09-18T14:40:00.000-07:00

Prompt: Human Rights v. Majority Rule

In today’s society, homosexuality is a rapidly growing way of life. This way of life is causing a lot of animosity in the nation, and causing homosexuals to be looked at as “bad” people or “sinners”. Members of the gay community are being classified for their sexual preferences and not for their good or positive deeds in society.

In America, the citizens are supposed to have "the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled, often held to include the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law." If this is true, then why are men and women of the gay community being treated with such hostility? They are people, too! Just because their sexual preference is one of the same sex doesn’t mean that they are bad people and they can’t teach others. Personally, I feel that homosexuals deserve just as much respect and acceptance as any other person in this world.

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” This is telling the American people that all human beings have the right to do as they please, so if men or women want to be homosexuals or heterosexuals then that should be accepted. These rights are legal so that makes homosexuals preferences legal and not against the law.

For instance, if communities argue that they don’t want such a role model teaching elementary school and influencing their children, then that’s not setting the right example for their children in the first place. A homosexual’s preference doesn’t make them bad educators, if anything they might have more knowledge to offer the students. If parents are teaching their children not to accept homosexuals from a young age, this can ultimately have their children hating others, even if it’s not dealing with homosexuality.

I think peoples attitudes toward homosexuals is just a factor of ignorance. I say this because whatever someone’s sexual preference is doesn’t affect their personality and doesn’t make them bad people. I actually have a homosexual friend, and he is a very fun person to be around. He is actually a good person, and is very open- minded about things people say around him. He doesn’t let what others affect the way he lives his life.

Terrorist Attacks: A Threat to Our Nations Wellbeing

2007-09-11T16:33:00.000-07:00

Prompt: Hijack!

The U.S.’s Foreign Policy has been abused by our nation, thus generating the beginning of a never ending war. Many unimaginable, life threatening events have occurred in the past decade dealing with terrorist threats and attacks against the United States. These threats and attacks have taken away lives, ruined families, and deterred the prosperity of the United States economy. If I had any political power and had to make a vital decision that would affect the American people, all the problems that we face now would never have evolved from the beginning, and they would be in the best interest of the people.

If I was in a situation and an airliner was being hijacked by terrorists and they were demanding some sort of ransom, I would at least listen to their demands. However, I wouldn’t actually give them what they wanted because then they would think they just got over and have the upper hand. I would also be condoning terrorist attacks, expressing to the world that terrorist attacks are tolerated, and not protecting my nation to the best of my ability while abiding by the law.

Currently, our Foreign Policy is being overlooked by the Bush administration. To my understanding we have laws and we were taught to abide by them or else be punished. However, the authorities or “leaders” are not even following the laws, so how are the American society supposed to follow the laws. The Foreign Policy states that it was made in order "to create a more secure, democratic, and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community." This statement is a huge contradiction, because it is the total opposite of the issues being faced in today’s society.

The issues at hand are ultimately being solved by war. I wouldn’t use war as the first resort, if anything, and common sense would tell you that you don’t want to physically harm the opposite party, you want to be stern and assertive to get your point across. In doing this, you can probably get more accomplished instead of just killing thousands of innocent people. This doesn’t just apply to the government, but the terrorists too! If the terrorists want something accomplished they can address the situation differently instead of threatening innocent people’s lives. Their problem is not with the citizens of the nation, its with the government, so that’s who they need to take it up with.

Right or Wrong: Being a Moral Relativist or a Moral Absolutist

2007-09-04T15:49:00.000-07:00

Prompt: Right or Wrong?

While reading the assignment, I wasn’t quite sure I understood what was being asked of me in terms of specification. However, I am going to answer to the best of my knowledge and ability. In the process of reading the prompt I asked myself, are you a moral relativist or a moral absolutist? After giving this question much thought I concluded that I am a moral absolutist, because they believe “that there are absolute standards against which moral questions can be judged, and that certain actions are right or wrong, devoid of the context of the act.”

I believe that I am a moral absolutist because I feel that there are certain things that are right and certain things that are just wrong. There are many things that can determine if something is indeed right or wrong such as laws, your specific morals, religion, etc. Personally, I know that there are a lot of things that I see and hear daily that I might think are wrong but to the person saying them, they think that it’s right due to their moral beliefs and values.

I know that I have many morals and values that I believe in, and no one can change my way of thinking because I have reasons to why I think they are right or wrong. For example, wearing a helmet while riding any type of bike, some people might feel that they don’t need to wear a helmet because it looks silly; or they believe that they can’t get into an accident, they are invincible. However, in actuality it’s not a device meant to be stylish or make you look stupid, it’s meant to protect your head in case of an accident. I know that when I was younger my dad would not let me ride my bicycle without wearing a helmet and I hated it but I wore it because I knew it was protecting me. How do you feel about my outlook on this particular situation?

On the other hand, when it comes to the idea of being a moral relativist I don’t believe that that specific type of thinking is accurate. A moral relativist is someone that “is sometimes identified (usually by its critics) as the thesis that all points of view are equally valid. In ethics, this amounts to saying that all moralities are equally good; in epistemology it implies that all beliefs, or belief systems, are equally true.” To me this idea makes no sense at all. This is saying that everything that every person thinks or says is correct, so even if they are scientifically wrong they are morally correct, and their idea or belief is valid. I strongly disagree with this.

Perception: A Universal Debate

2007-08-28T17:53:00.000-07:00

Prompt: Perception

Perception is defined as the “ability to grasp mentally, become aware of through the senses.” Perception is basically the way people interpret various situations, ideas, information, etc. However, two men by the names of Gorgias and Socrates had differing opinions on the idea of perception.

Gorgias thought of perception as “nothing exists, if anything does exist it is unknowable, and if anything can be known it is incommunicable.” He argued that this was accurate because everyone’s senses vary. In other words, if everyone in this world’s senses are different, then their view of perception is different, and vice versa. Hence, the idea or situation that is being perceived will never be proven because of the many different views.

Socrates on the other hand, had a much different opinion on the idea of perception. Socrates argued “that knowledge and virtue are so closely related that no human agent ever knowingly does evil: we all invariably do what we believe to be best.”
To him, perception was influenced by what a certain person believed to be correct. Therefore, your morals and beliefs influence your idea of perception, which then in turn determines your vulnerability to a certain situation or idea. He also believed that if a person acted immorally, it was due to their own unwise decisions, and not a factor of how they were raised in society.

In actuality, both of these men made major points that I believe could be valid. However, I think that perception is interpreted by your own personal beliefs, because no one can tell you what to think about something, or can they? This can only happen if you don’t have a mind of your own, in which everyone does, or I would hope does. The way I perceive something might not be the way that another person perceives something, and that’s what makes each individual in this world unique.

I didn’t agree with Gorgias when he argued that since people’s senses vary then there will never be an answer to the idea or situation being perceived. People do tend to have different perceptions of things. However, if another person explains why they perceived whatever it is as they do, then sometimes the other person tends to agree with their ideas also. Therefore, it’s not that a common ground can’t be reached because ultimately it can, it would just take a longer time to arrive at it.

I did agree with Socrates for the most part, when he argued that people’s perceptions come from their beliefs. I also feel that how you look at things is an extension of what you believe to be correct or true. Also, the way you react to something does actually come from your upbringing because whatever you are taught is what you’re going to stick by even if it’s not really correct.

All About Aleah!

2007-08-22T09:44:00.000-07:00

My name is Aleah Ramcheran, and I am currently supposed to be a sophomore in college, but because of my recent move to Georgia I am now a freshman again. Although, I am a bit disappointed, I know that this new move was going to have a very positive impact on my new life. Prior to moving to Lithonia, Georgia in Dekalb County, I lived in Queens, New York for 18 years of my life. I attended Clarion University of Pennsylvania for the last two semesters and realized that the setting was not one that I felt comfortable in for many different reasons. After visiting relatives last Christmas, my parents and I decided that Georgia would be a good place for them to retire to and one for me to continue the rest of my college education.

My ethnic background is West Indian. My parents are originally from Trinidad & Tobago, but have lived in New York for over 19 years. I am one of four other children, of whom are all successful adults and have families of their own. I am the youngest or the “baby” as they would call it in the family. As a young adult, of course I like hanging out with my peers and socializing. However, one of my favorite hobbies is doing hair. My family thought that I wanted to become a hairdresser, but I don’t think that doing hair is a way that I want to make a living. If I do decide to be a hairdresser it would just be for leisure on the weekends or to just have a part- time side business. These are just a few interesting facts about me.