Gore Vidal's "Drugs"

I agree with Gore Vidal's remark (from his essay "Drugs") that "each man has the right to do what he wants with his life" to some extent.  However, I think some line has to be drawn when doing what you want endangers yourself, and more importantly others.  Vidal incorrectly assumes that drug use affects only the addict.   Although the addict is significantly harmed; drugs negatively effects those close to the addict as well.  While "high," addicts often exhibit irrational behavior, this can result in physical and/or emotional harm to their family and friends.  In assuming that the actions of drug addicts don't affect others, Vidal largely ignores these consequences.

A myriad of drugs, illegal and legal, can result in violent, abusive and irrational behavior, putting not only the addict, but also his neighbors at risk.  Cocaine, PCPs, LSD, meth and anabolic steroids are some of the most common illegal drugs that result in this violence.  Legalizing these drugs would likely result in increased experimentation leading to increased, possibly endangering entire neighborhoods.  How would you like to live next to the new suburban meth lab? How about the cocaine addict?  Although Vidal makes some valid points, he omits and ignores the far reaching effects of drugs.    

Banneker's Letter to Jefferson In Class Essay

Here is a link to the essay I wrote in class today analyzing Benjaman Banneker's letter to Thomas Jefferson and it's argument against slavery.

On "Politics and the English Language"

In George Orwell's essay "Politics and the English Language,"  Orwell enumerates the corruptions of English that misconstrue a work's true meaning.   Although some of his specific examples felt a little dated, his overall message still rung true to me.

I really enjoyed his point about "dying metaphors."  Overused metaphors are easy to repeat, however, much of their meaning and the vivid image they were meant to create becomes corrupted with time.

I also especially liked his ideas about "pretentious diction" and "meaningless words."   While reading, both annoy me to no end!  However, his definition of "pretentious diction" was a little broad for my liking.  Perhaps it is because I am guilty of the crime, but I think words like "objective... effective... basic ...constitute .... exhibit... [and] eliminate." are not especially pretentious.  Although I had never thought of many of his "meaningless words" in that way, I immediately saw how words like "romantic" and "vitality" are incredibly vague, even though they may sound specific.  The definition and visual image associated with each of these words varies greatly depending on the reader.  This is likely to cause confusion and misinterpretation.

Despite a few outdated parts, I enjoyed Orwell's essay and found it largely relevant to today.  You'd think that our euphemistic language would have improved since 1946, however, to me at least, most of Orwell's problems still exist today.

"The Consumerist" Blog

I recently discovered an interesting blog called The Consumerist.  It's a fascinating mixture of articles, all about various consumer issues.  However, while some of the posts are more serious ("Does Verizon Monitoring of Customer Behavior Violate Wiretap Laws?") others are fun and lighthearted (like on entitled "Man Successfully Reunited with $12,500 in Pot Plants After Calling Cops to Report Theft.")  The blog is like a modernized Consumer Reports, which it is actually affiliated with.   The Consumerist focuses on all consumer issues.  It is written by a variety of authors, providing frequent posts (more than five a day) as well as varying prospectives.

Research Paper Topic

Topic:  Standardized Testing: Is it really and accurate measurement of a student's ability and learning aptitude?

Controversy: Many believe that a high IQ or a 2400 on the SAT automatically mean that a person is really smart.  However, the opponents of standardized testing are gaining strength as some colleges no longer even require SAT or ACT scores for admission.  The opponents claim that these tests do not measure intelligence but only show how much money, time and effort the student has put into learning how to take the test.

Resources: I know I've read some articles about standardized testing so I think I'll be able to find quite a few print sources from newspapers and magazines.  Also, I've seen a number of books about standardized testing which I could us.  I'm sure they're plenty of good websites too, although they tend to be more biased.

Emotional Investment: I struggled with the SAT, even though I spent a good amount of time studying.  Last June, I took the ACT with only a few hours of study time and received a score that would be over 300 points higher if converted to the SAT scale.  This led me to believe that doing well on standardized tests involves a lot of luck and practice, rather than intelligence and has motivated me to research it more.

New Idea?:  I don't think my topic is an especially new idea, although it may have been 15 years ago.  I'm sure other AP students have probably written about it or topics like it because it's something so many high school seniors have to deal with.

Questions: I'm worried that my topic may still be to broad.  Should I focus on just one test or would that make it too narrow? I'm also doubtful if I would really be able to say something completely new on my topic and am still worried that my own biases may harm my paper's credibility.

October's Controversial Holidays: Columbus Day and Leif Erikson Day

Columbus Day, celebrated the first Monday in October, has become one of the most controversial holidays.   A federal holiday since 1937, it commemorates Columbus’ famed “discovery” of the Americas on October 12, 1492.  This holiday has become increasingly insignificant; although government agencies like the post office are closed, most schools and businesses no longer take the day off.   

As it became clear that Columbus did not “discover” America (significant evidence now shows that Norse Vikings were actually the first Europeans to land in the Americas) some began to cry for the holiday to be changed or even abolished, citing the facts that Columbus had not really discovered anything and his landing catalyzed that downfall of prospering Native American civilizations.  Opponents argue that a man who used extreme violence against Native Americans (which he dubbed “Indians”),   enslaved indigenous peoples, forced “Indians” to adopt Christianity, and introduced new diseases that would decimate the Native American population does not deserve his own holiday.  They believe that the celebration of Columbus Day has sanctified that deeply flawed explorer.    It is important that although now Columbus Day is controversial, it was originally created, in part, to be a celebration of Italian Americans.  It was not intended as a way to glorify the explorer but as a method of celebrating our nation’s Italian immigrants and rich diversity.

Columbus Day Protestors in 1992

Columbus Day is often marked with parades and festivities, meant to celebrate Italian-American culture and heritage.  However, in recent years, these events have been marred by protestors.  These activists often picket at parades or dump red paint and fake blood on statues of the holiday’s namesake.  Not only are these protests often troublesome, they undermine parades and festivities meant to celebrate Italian culture and heritage, not Columbus.

Often the same week as the Columbus Day, comes the less controversial Leif Erikson Day on October 9.  Leif Erikson Day has been a national holiday since 1964, although no government agencies shut down for it.    Although it is little known, it has become a day to celebrate our country’s rich Norse heritage as well as a commemoration of Leif Erikson’s landing in Canada, the first European encounter in the Americas.  Perhaps it is the answer to those who seek a less controverisal alernative to Columbus Day.

In recent years, some states have adopted alternative, more “politically correct” celebrations on Columbus Day.  In fact, Alaska, Hawaii and South Dakota no longer recognize or observe Columbus Day.  Instead of Columbus Day, Hawaii celebrates “Discoverer’s Day,” which commemorates Polynesian discovery of the islands.  However the state does not treat it as a legal holiday, schools and federal agencies continue to function normally.  Similarly, South Dakota has renamed the holiday “Native American Day” and Alaska completely abstains from celebrating Columbus Day or any affiliated holiday. Even within states, cities and counties have taken it upon themselves to “improve” Columbus Day.  The California cities of Berkeley, Sebastopol and Santa Cruz now celebrate “Indigenous People’s Day.”

Columbus may or may not be “deserving” of his own holiday, but I find the numerous attempts to make the holiday more politically correct rather annoying.   Columbus Day does not have to sanctify the explorer unless we allow it to do so.  Instead of abolishing or renaming the day, students should be taught Columbus’ full story, not just the glorious sections.  For those who argue that Columbus did not discover anything and therefore is undeserving of his own holiday, I suggest celebrating Leif Erikson Day instead, or perhaps remembering that Columbus Day is not only a celebration of the explorer himself, but also an opportunity for Italian Americans to celebrate their own heritage.  Although I don’t think it’s fully necessary to have a federal holiday devoted to Columbus, the continued controversy over Columbus Day is uncalled for and ridiculous.  People are wasting their time trying to “improve” a holiday that few people truly care. 

Senior ("Girl" style imitation essay)

LINK to my essay in the style of Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl."

I Want a Husband (Judy Brady style imitation)

I want a husband who will take care of me, a husband who will support me. I want a husband who will work hard so I don’t have to, who will pay for all my expenses so I never have to worry about money.  I want a husband who will give me free reign on his credit cards so I can throw lavish parties and buy expensive things. I want a husband who will never question my expenditures; when he discovers I’ve made a new purchase, he will congratulate me joyously.  I want a husband who is not afraid to spend money.  I do not want a stingy husband  I want a husband who will buy new cars every year and waste his bonuses on season tickets for sports teams he doesn’t like.  I want a husband who will buy me expensive gifts too, diamond necklaces, pearl earrings and a new convertible for me to drive around.    I want a husband who will pamper me with anything and everything I want.

I want a husband who will support me in all my endeavors.  Rather I want to go back to school, take a sewing class or open a gourmet cupcake shop, he happily open his check book, smiling as he signs.  “Good idea honey,” he will say, or “I’m so proud of you, you’re so smart and successful, you hardly need me at all!”  Both he and I will know I actually do need him, but we will still marvel at my abilities.

I want a husband who shares my interests.  I want a husband who loves to travel, who won’t hesitate to plan an international trip on a moment’s notice.   I want a husband who is intelligent and cultured.  I want a husband who enjoys going into the city to see plays and art exhibits and delights in witnessing me find the perfect pair of shoes.  However, my husband’s love for the arts will not detract from his manliness.  I want a husband who is athletic.  Specifically, I want a husband who is a superb volleyball player so we can play beach doubles together on weekends and teach our children to be even better volleyball players than we ever were.  

I want a husband who is manly, who cannot clean, cook, do laundry or care for the children because that’s not what men do; that’s why we hire a housekeeper, cook and nanny.  I want a husband who delights in watching Monday Night Football and violent action movies.  I want a husband who can fall asleep quickly, keeping me up as his ferocious snores make the room quake.  I want a husband who will dispose of spiders, or anything else that creeps or crawls.  I want a husband who can fix anything. When the internet doesn’t want to work, he knows how to restart the router.  When the garbage disposal is clogged, he can fix it.  We could always hire a repair man, but we don’t need to, my husband can do it all.

I want a husband who is loving, who cares deeply for me and my children and isn’t afraid to show it.  I want a husband who will pamper his family with material comforts, time and affection.  I do not want a husband who is mushy though.  I want a husband who doesn’t dramatically declare his undying affection for me everyday, opting instead to show his love through his actions.  In short, I want a husband that will fulfill all the duties traditional to a husband, and then some.  In fact, who wouldn’t want my husband?