Democracy all over the world

Should the United States promote democracy? The answer to that question is yes. I believe that the U.S. should promote democracy all over the world.
The definition of democracy for me is freedom. Democracy gives a chance to the people to be in control of the nation. Government run by democracy are government run by the people, and thus people are free and not oppress. In places where there isn’t democracy, people don’t have a voice, and the government is in control and thus there is no freedom at all. So in order to have freedom, democracy is needed to have.

Capital Punishment is NOT justified.

Thirty-eight states use death penalty as punishment of murder. Many people considered capital punishment as justice served with the assumption that it prevents crime. However I believe that capital punishment is a cruel act. Since 1930 more than 4500 people were executed in the United States and I have not seen a decrease in murder rates, contrary to that, the murder rate, has increased. Even though the death penalty seems like a favorable punishment for people who have committed crimes, it has no effect on the deteration of crimes. Statistics show that there is no relationship between the number of crimes committed in death penalty states and the number of crimes committed in non-death penalty states.
I think that instead of eradicating the lives of killers, we need to eradicate the causes of crime. Will it take money to do so? Of course, it will, but what is the purpose of money if it is not to do well? Besides, it will cost less than most people think. Why? Because it costs between two and three million dollars to execute one criminal in the United States. After all, the death penalty is so final that the criminal must be given every opportunity to appeal his case and prove his innocence, or have his mitigating circumstances considered.

Would you like if you go to a concert where the singer is lip syncing?

Personally I wouldn’t like to go to a concert where the singer is lip syncing. There are two specifically reasons why I wouldn’t like it. First reason is because concert prices are high and second reason is because I want to hear the singer live. Is very disappointing going to a concert and find that your favorite singer is actually cheating by lip syncing.
The first reason why I would not like a singer to lip syncing in a concert is because concert prices are too high. I would be very disappointed if I go to a concert, after paying more than a hundred dollars, to just see the singer lip syncing , for that I prefer stay home, and listen to a CD. If I pay that amount of money I expect more than just lip syncing; I want to see the singer giving everything on stage.
The second reason why I wouldn’t like to be in a concert where the singer is pretending to be singing is that I go to a live concert to hear the music sang by the singer not to see the singer lip syncing . I want to see how good the singer sings, and the only way any one can tell when a singer sings good is when they sing live. Some people say that singers lip synch because most of the time, they dance and sing and it gets very hard for them to sing and dance at the same time. I personally believe that most of us when we go to a concert we go to hear the music live, not to see a dance performance.

Should there be Tougher Gun Control?

I believe that gun control laws should be in forced. For instance, think of the Columbine high school massacre of 1999 where approximately 12 people died. The authors of this massacre were two students of seventeen and eighteen years old. The question that comes to my mind is that: how two minors could have access to those powerful weapons, with which they killed and harmed so many people? Is it due to the easy access to gun that the United States has? If there where tougher gun control laws maybe those adolescents wouldn’t have access to any guns and the accident could have been prevented, so I defenetly believe that gun control laws should be in forced.

Reaction to "The Lie Detector" by Lewis Thomas

Lying is never good. According to the author, Thomas, lying causes abnormalities such as physical and emotional problems. When you lie, eventually, the truth will come up. Is better to say the truth no matter under what circumstances you are. There is a quote by Abraham Lincoln that says “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.” I know that some times due to the circumstances it’s hard to say the truth but still, one must look for the time and moment to say the truth. Lies are never good. I think is harder if you find a lie than if you come up with the truth.

Reaction to "Why We Crave Horror Movies" by Stephen King

I totally disagree with Stephen; we are not mentally ill just because we see horror movies. I believed that most of the people who like watching horror films is because they like the tension that it gives while watching it. Also most horror movies are not real, and I think that’s another reason why people watch horror movie. I think that Stephen is talking for himself. Now if you sit and watch a horror movie and laugh when someone kills someone that’s another story; in that situation you are mentally ill. I say this for myself, I’m not a fan of horror films, but I have seen horror films and I am not mentally ill.

"My Wood" by E.M. Forster

Foster’s essay is metaphorically describing the steps to build an empire. In his essay he talks about the ownership of a piece of wood and the effect it had on him. First he felt that owning the wood make him feel heavy, in other words, when ruling an empire it gives you pride. Second it makes him feel that he had to make it larger and he also felt that he has to protect his woods. All these effects make me think that he is really talking about an empire. At first I really thought that he was actually talking about his property, but then with the help of my professor I came to realize that Foster wanted his reader to see more than just a piece of wood.

Neat vs. Sloppy-Britt

“Neat vs. Sloppy” is an essay written by Britt. In this essay she states the difference between sloppy people and neat people, and by the way Britt describes sloppy people, it’s crystal clear she is a sloppy person. I can tell that she favors sloppy people. Britt implied that sloppy people have feelings because they keep everything. Britt also mentioned that neat people are cold hearted because they always through everything away unlike sloppy people. Another opinion that she stated in her essay about sloppy people is that they will eventually organize. That’s why I say that Britt seems to favor the sloppy people and that she is a sloppy person.

"Salvation" and "Chase"

Salvation and The Chase are stories that both writers exposed their childhood experiences. In the story Salvation we see Langston excited about having an encounter with Jesus. Like in Salvation, we see in The Chase how Dillard is very excited as well about throwing snowballs to the passing cars. That’s one similitude; in both stories both child are excited about something they are doing or will do. Something different that I found within the stories is how they both ended. In “Salvation” Langston is excited with his aunt in church sitting in the front bench waiting to see Jesus. When Dillard sees that he is the one that stills sitting in the bench, he decided to go to the platform and lied to the preacher saying that he saw Jesus. At the end of the day, he found himself crying because he lied to the whole congregation and to his aunt. He is disappointed of himself. In the other story, The Chase, we see Dillard running everywhere trying to escape from a man who she threw a snowball. At the end the man gets Dillard and her friend and starts screaming at them. Dillard and her friend were very scared, but she said that if that man would’ve killed her that day she would of have died happy because she enjoyed trying to escape from the man. In Salvation the end of Langston was that he felt bad for lying and very disappointed. While in the other hand Dillard had a great experience running away from the man who was chasing her and her friend.
One lesson I think that Langston, from the story Salvation learned, was probably to always tell the truth and always do what the heart tells you. Langston found himself in the bench, felt the pressure that the preacher put on him and that’s why he decided to lied.
The lesson that Dillard learned is that she should not through snowballs to the cars passing by. She should always measure her actions.

Gay marriage is harmful for society

Many people around the world believe that gay marriage should not be legalized while others believe that gay marriage should be legalized. Those in favor of gay marriage state that everyone deserves to be happy. Those against gay marriage believe that the legalization of gay marriage would bring serious consequences to our society. In the United States, the legalization of gay marriage has become a country wide issue. Studies and research that has been done towards this issue has demonstrated that gay marriage would divide the nation, would destabilize the purpose of marriage and would harm children. Legalizing gay marriage would bring a separation between religious organizations and the state power. One of the main reasons why people opposed to gay marriage is because of religious belief. One of the purposes of marriage is procreation. Two people of the same sex can not reproduce. Gay marriages would also have a strong effect on children. An article in Child Trends stated that research proves that the child needs both, a mother and a father, to become a full personality. For all these reasons I believe that gay marriage should not be legalized.

Two historical leaders

Many years ago blacks used to be slaves, and they were discriminated. Nevertheless, there has always been someone that believes in equality and has fought for it. Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln are two political figures who have marked the present by freeing the slaves and by standing up for their beliefs on equality, and even though Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King were very different, both succeeded in one thing: bringing racial equality to America. Abraham Lincoln fought for the freedom of Africa Americans in the Civil War. Martin Luther King did many things for African Americans as well. He was the leader of the bus boycott in Montgomery and he also gave the powerful speech “I have a Dream”. These two leaders helped so today could be racial equality.

Why don’t we complain by William F. Buckley, Jr.

After finishing reading “Why don’t we complain” by William F. Buckley, Jr. I came to realized that it is true that many of us are so afraid to speak out when something is bothering us. We have the tendency to wait for somebody else to speak out. Out there in the world are a lot of issues which, I think, can be taken into consideration if someone speaks out for them. For example gas prices are rising again and no one says anything about it. Another issue can be college books, they are so expensive, but no one say anything about it. Not everyone has the determination to speak up when something bothers. I must agree with William F. that people are afraid to speak out. The reason why I say this is because of me, I must admit that I don’t have what it takes to stand p and speak for a change. Standing up and speaking for what it’s bothering you take lot courage. For Example if it wasn’t because of Martin Luther King and others that spoke up for his beliefs on racism, maybe today we wouldn’t have a change on racial equality.

Café Cultura

On Wednesday October 28, 2009, I went to Café Cultura Magazine event at Hialeah Campus. Everything was very organized. I liked the way the tables were settle. Every person got a free copy of the new Café Cultura magazine and a rose. Something that I really liked a lot was that, the faculty gave us a postcard so we could write a dream or goal we have or had. I got to write what were my goals and my dreams. Students and faculty presented the poems that were published in the magazine. After the presentation they gave some refreshments. I really liked the presentation of Café Cultura magazine.

"A Hanging" by George Orwell

In the passage “A Hanging” I found a message. The message that I think the author is giving out to the reader is simply that us, humans, don’t have the right to decide whether or not eliminate a human being. I found this message in an epiphany moment that one of the guard had while taking a prisoner to the gallows. This message makes me think in Capital punishment which I completely oppose to. I believe in God and he is the only one who can decide upon a life. In the passage although the guard had an epiphany moment, he did nothing to save that prisoner.

Who am I ?

In life everyone has different roles. I, for example, am not an exemption. As a human I have to
navigate through a lot of roles. I have the role of being a student, a worker, a daughter, a sister, a
friend and if I continued; I’ll never end. All these roles I’ve learned to manage with time.
The way I navigate through all of these roles is by giving, each one of them, their time. Of course some of them require more time than others. For example the role of being a student is not only at school, but also at home studying or doing homework.
Now if someone ask me- “At the end of the day, who are you?” The way I’ll answer will be – “I am Mercedes, the student, the worker, the daughter, the sister and the friend. That will be my answer because all of those roles make the person that I am and they put a meaning to my existence.

My reaction to "Burges an I"

My reaction to this excerpt was one of amazement. The author has an internal struggle between himself and the person he is to the world. To the world, he is an accomplished professor famous for his writings and his accomplishments. His inner self though is a person that has a taste of ordinary things like coffee , hourglasses or topography. Yet the author sees that these things are being suppressed, mainly because of external pressure to be more like “Mr.Borges”. Little by little he sees that his identity is changing, that he is becoming more and more alike like Mr. Borges to the point that he cannot identify who he really is. In an attempt to please those around him , the author has given up the sovereignty of his soul and instead of being a typical person, he has morphed into Mr. Borges, who is the person the world wants him to be.