Final Reflection (forgot on final paper)

Reflection

            To compare my original proposal paper draft to final draft it would be night and day. The first draft was under 1000 words. I had a very weak proposal and one that was unconstitutional which professor Brown did comment on. So I thought of a much better Proposal, one that was possible and allowed a lot of room to work with. I also included actual quotes and a citation page as well. I also took the advice from my partner on a few thing (like actually writing a paper instead of rushing last minute). I also took my own advice from my advice to my partner and followed the actual proposal prompt. I had forgotten it before and it made my paper much worse. I also changed the final part of my paper because it did not match my new overall paper. To basically conclude, I wrote a whole new paper. I built it up from scratch and made sure it the basic prompt.

Commentary on Chris's paper

To start off this commentary I read Chris's paper. He wrote about legalizing marijuana. His paper was done very well, he had a lot of information and a lot of support to back up his claims. He did a great paper but he did not propose anything besides saying it should be legalized. There were a few spelling errors but nothing terrible (just reread the paper and you'll spot them), your paragraph structure was very good. If a skeptic were to read your paper he/she would have a hard time finding a bad thing or argument to against your topic. I suggest you add something about Prohibition from the 20's and how it fail to stay and why marijuana is connected to it (you already listed reasons why alcohol is worse than marijuana). I would also suggest you bring up any past laws that have been appealed since marijuana has been made illegal. Add a few statistics about cost (any and all though you did some already). The big and only real issue I had with your paper was there was no proposal and the structure was different than the "suggested" one. Thats it and good luck, granted you don't need it since you wrote a great paper to begin with. 

Reflection of essay #3

First I changed the basic overall paper from a proposal to an actual ethical argument. Simply I confused the two because of what we were going over in class and followed the wrong guidelines. I then added actual ethical issues like childhood obesity and tried to explain how it is unethical. I also got a few different quotes to explain how childhood obesity is unethical and growing  "Between 2010 and 2020, new cases of Type 2 diabetes could increase tenfold; so could stroke, coronary heart disease, hypertension and arthritis. The number of cases could double again by 2030..." (Begley). This was one example of how I did this. I also expanded my original claim to include the cost of obesity as causing childhood obesity, the high cost of medical bills and possibility the cost of your own life. The only real thing besides rewriting my paper was displaying the problems of obesity instead of fixing it.
 

Man that slap to my face was harsh

1. Is the act of "doing nothing" worthless?
2. Is worth really how you benefit people (I.E. a job or some kind of skill)?
3. If people practice misery and still have a life, is that actually happiness?

I'll be writing about number two. First lets read more articles like that one. This article is something that actually is useful to real life and not just BS academia (which I love but can be too much sometimes). Worth is what you have for society? No. worth is what you make of your self and then you allow yourself to be used or give freely of your worth. Many people are productive members of society but have no real worth, they just exist in society. I know that sounds odd but people sometimes seem like one thing but are actually another. Like me, I am good at my job but hate it. To me I believe that i have no worth (this is purely in just my job and how i perceive myself to my company). They could easily replace my self but why would they? I have experience, i know my job and the customers who come back everyday. If i was the company i would simply fire me and hire someone with a little experience in retail, pay them way less and just continue the process till they get their benefit from the whole process. I'm basically rambling here since worth and benefiting people or yourself are intrinsically infinite. Basically worth to other people will always be different people and that goes hand in hand with the benefits of the same agreement. I agree with the article but he simply does not account for the infinite amount of possibilities out there, granted self improvement will increase the chances to prove your own worth/ benefits to said people. That's enough self help for the week.

ethical argument draft

Erik Arndt

Prof. Brown

English 1B

April 17, 2013

Obesity: Jumbo sizing America

            Obesity. Just let the word sink in. We have all heard about the growing epidemic that the developed world is facing, and yet we have done little to stop it. These problems aren't yours, they're for someone else to worry about, or are they? Just look around and notice if this disease has spread into your daily life. Perhaps some friends or coworkers have put a little weight on, maybe your kids are a little huskier than you remember, or maybe even you have gained some extra weight? To beat the evil of obesity you must first know what that evil is "Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) above 30. Overweight means a BMI of 25 to 29.9. BMI is calculated by taking weight in pounds and dividing it by the square of height in inches, and multiplying the result by 703."( Landau). Do you or a loved one fit into this category? Seeing the definition helps to understand how people (even yourself) can be classified or thought of as obese. Many people have slowly become obese over the years and more and more are joining the ranks overtime. This is because people are changing their habits, basically people are eating unhealthy food and living sedentary lives. People need to reform their daily lives and be healthier/ more active if they want to save themselves from high costs of medical bills and help our children live healthier lives.

            The cost of obesity is more than just you or someone being overweight. People need to look to the future cost of what it is to be obese. "Between 2010 and 2020, new cases of Type 2 diabetes could increase tenfold; so could stroke, coronary heart disease, hypertension and arthritis. The number of cases could double again by 2030..." (Begley). People who are already prone to heart dieses and other genetic or family dieses should pay more attention to this information. The simple cost of your own medical bills should make you realize that being obese is not cheap and the dieses mentioned before were not only expensive but also could lead to your death. These reasons are truly important and relevant to our children's lives. "But there is hope, if adults across America would reduce their body mass index, the report said. If the average body mass index were lowered by 5% by 2030, states could save billions of dollars while helping many people. That's the equivalent of a 200-pound, 6-foot-tall person losing 10 pounds." (Landau). See hope and knowing how to beat obesity can happen, we just need to take some baby steps first. The biggest Issue of obesity is children. So many children are overweight and more are sure to follow. Parents are not enforcing their children to eat well, play outside or even exercising at all. How do people not see that children are the future (literally) and that they need to be educated on how to live a healthy life. "A successful approach to reducing obesity and its comorbidities must also embrace understanding of community-level factors including the social, built, and natural environments. These environmental influences interact with a child's diet, physical activity, genetic makeup, and metabolism..." ( Brogan and Partners).

            Most people will say that obesity is a problem but it's not my problem. Well it may not be your problem now but it might be in a few years or even to someone who is close to you. Well obesity is a rising problem but it's a problem we can get ahead of, we just need to take the reins and slow it down. Well People should just buy better foods and stop eating out. Well that would be one big step in helping to reduce obesity but money can become an issue. People can and do live off fast food and because it is so cheap people can spend less than going to a supermarket and buying healthy food. What about working out? I go to the gym everyday and I'm not obese, why can't people do that too? Well not everyone wants to go the gym. Also people can not always afford to go to the gym. This also brings up how people who can afford to go to the gym but don't know how to work out but cant afford a personal trainer to teach them how to work out correctly. We can sit here all day and poke holes in why obesity exists but the real argument is people need to change, Change is scary and people don't like scary. So why would we want change then? Well look at the facts and just see if change is scarier than the really awful realities of obesity.

            To sum it all up for you, obesity is a growing problem and it will lead to higher costs to both you and your family, and this will affect your children's  future and may lead to even bigger issues. The big picture to look at is what will this epidemic bring about? Will this affect me or to someone who I love? Or will this growing problem really make it impossible to have medical care in the future simply because all the medical practices will be busy with all the obese people? Basically look at how will the this epidemic will affect our country as a whole. Will we have a population of people to weak to defend ourselves? Will we be too fat to get out of bed and even clothe ourselves? If that is the case then who will take care of the new generation or will there even be a new generation to be taken care of?

Citation

Begley, Sharon. "Fat and Getting Fatter: U.S. Obesity Rates to Soar by 2030." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 18 Sept. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2013. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/18/us-obesity-us-idUSBRE88H0RA20120918

Environment and Obesity in the National Children's Study

Leonardo Trasande, Chris Cronk, Maureen Durkin, Marianne Weiss, Dale A. Schoeller, Elizabeth A. Gall, Jeanne B. Hewitt, Aaron L. Carrel, Philip J. Landrigan and Matthew W. Gillman

Environmental Health Perspectives , Vol. 117, No. 2 (Feb., 2009), pp. 159-166

Published by: Brogan & Partners

Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25434919

Landau, Elizabeth. "Health Care Costs to Bulge along with U.S. Waistlines." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 17 Apr. 2013http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/18/health/us-obesity.

Do I exist or Do I need to exist?

1. If the author thinks that we need to change how we think, does that make his self needs more important than that of society's needs?
2.Does culture/ society affect one's true inner self?
3. Will the needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many ( will the needs of poor people be dominated by the rich )?

Honestly I can't write just about one since this is such a juicy topic. First This might be the first article I have read in this class that got me actually excited. Now to attempt to answer the second one first; does culture/ society affect one's inner self? I'm going to say no. Yes they do really make a person who they are but not what they are. People are animals with animal instincts. No matter what we think about our selves or what other people think, we will do what we need to do to survive. People can go around this and have gone around this but Why have they gone around it? that's the real question, is the true inner self, the primal man being altered by society even existing? Are people's instincts being bred out and becoming civilized through long exposure to society? All I know is that when it comes down to it people are willing to let them selves die for their kids, families, and or anyone "connected to their survival. I don't care what this guy is saying since I believe that any society pushed far enough will revert back to our "original " selves, or true inner selves.

Next Will the needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many? I'm going to say yes. People are selfish and despite all this talk on people needing to conserve our resources, or saving mother earth were going to fail. We as a society have changed from back when men chosen by a god, ruled over all of us and now we are free thinking people who only think about our selves. Now everyone is vying for power and we don't care who we have to step on to get ahead. This thinking (and it's not just in the western world) will destroy us and  the world. And who cares? Well that's someones problem in the future. Who cares if I destroy the world in the process, its all about me. Power will corrupt and as we have seen the rich have a lot of power. So will the needs of the poor get ahead of the rich? No simply because their "self" worth has more strength behind it and that will change the "needs" of the poor. and done with this subject.

Lastly to answer the first question, I just love that this guy talked about "Self" and kept referring to himself or how it made him feel. Does he think he has all the answers? Or how about his "needs"  compared to others? I think he should have addressed his own self image in this paper, and that's all.

Vivesection AGAIN

1. Scientist or Christian is there really a difference?
2. What are the long term effect of vivesection?
3. Does morality actually apply when it comes to animals?

I will do this blog on the first question. And as a side note, this will be my second post since I'm doing this all on my phone since my modem fried and this is my only option.

Well is there any difference between scientists and Christians when it comes down to vivesection? I'm going to say no. I generally believe scientists more then Christians simply because they try to deal on facts and I'm just generally against organized religion. But for this issue they are on the same level. Both think that it's okay it just comes down to "morals" and when's a soul actuall exists. Well where does a soul exist? Do humans even have one? Well when I learned anatomy we didn't learn about a certain par of the body that held the soul. So both Christians and scoenttists  are in the dark on this. But does that give them the right to say that animals don't have a soul? I don't think so. I thought this argument was a comets joke and the writer was trying to poke some fun at a certain group of people. Well I think it made both groups look bad and gave basi ally Christians/ scientists an equal footing ( which is why/where both groups are the same ) they thinks they are superior to others. Whether it be with other people or trying to show mans dominence of the earth or god's choi e that we are superior to his other creations. Basically there is no difference, people are people and were are all Terrible. Vivesection is just another exams that shows that no matter what people morally believe, we're all the same cruel kind of being At the center.