12/3/2009
It is only the third day of class but there are many issues that have brought to my attention through lectures, readings and guest speakers. I really enjoyed our first reading, Walls. This chapter has a lot of great points in it. In walls, Derek Evans writes that we are all connected to each other but we still put up barriers so we don't have to deal with the world around us. Society thinks that the only was to deal with issues is to not deal with the issues. It is started at a young age. I remeber getting in arguments with other children at my daycare and the only solution was to have us separated. Maybe it would have been wiser to ask us what our problems were instead of ignoring them. By ignoring them, nothing was resolved. It makes you think about the old saying, " If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all." If people are always saying nice things, then most likely they are not always telling the truth and we all know were that gets you. I also like the authors idea about how we need to build a respectful relationship with all aspects of the enviroment in which we live - human and otherwise. All aniamls whether they are mammals, reptiles or birds adapt to their enviromental surroundings. Gazelles have stripes to blend in with the grass. Rabbits turn white in the winter. Even plants adapt to their surroundings. Over time that thought has diminished to mankind. There once was a time were men lived side by side with nature. Now instead of adapting to nature, we make nature adapt to our lifestyles. That is not the way it is suppose to be. In return we are dealing with serious problems like global warming, food shortages and now water shortages. This goes back to when the author states that we belong to the Earth. It is not ours, mine or yours. It is the exact opposite. By claiming it as ours only causes problems. We are destroying the natural beauty that the Earth has to offer us. Instead we put up more fences and concrete slabs to avoid dealing with other cultures. Which results in increased tension, hate, war and destruction. I believe that if we keep on denying out problems and do not embrace each others cultures, we will no longer have to worry about diseases, natural disasters or food and water shortages because mankind will no longer exist.
Posted at 6:04 PM by Emily Stewart