Am I a Transcendentalist?

So, am I a transcendentalist?  Well I agree with many things that the transcendentalist writers had promoted.  I believe that God is in all of us because we were created in his image, and he is always with us.  I believe that all people have good inside of them, just experiences and personal suffering causes man to turn to evil and sin.  I also believe that one must find happiness within himself or herself to truly be content with life.  A passage in Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self Reliance that stood out to me was, "Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron sting. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you..."  I really like that line because I believe that it is critical for people to have self-trust and self-confidence.

Another thing that may make me a transcendentalist is my love for nature.  I really love doing anything outside, and in the dark, gloomy Wisconsin winters, all I crave is sun.  Now, I could not live in the wilderness in a tent, but I do appreciate all that nature has to offer.


On aspect of transcendentalism that I do not agree with, or do not particularly follow, is the idea that conformity is bad.  I understand that if everyone is sinful and succumbs to temptation, then hopping on the bandwagon is not the best idea, but if everyone learns to love each other and celebrate the good things in life, then conformity is not so terrible!  There are different kinds of conformity, good and evil, and distinguishing between the two can sometimes be difficult.


I know I may sound naïve, but I feel that everyone has some good inside of them, and a truly peaceful world is possible.  Transcendentalism, to me, represents optimism and happiness while anti-transcendentalism represents pessimism and doubt in humanity.  I know the anti-transcendentalists are just trying to "keep it real" but I feel that that only seeing the bad in people is a very negative outlook on life, and who wants that?  I'd much rather be happy!


So, am I a transcendentalist?  To that question I answer, yes sir!

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE FOR HALLE SIEBERT

When in the course of human events, one becomes too dependent on the over-the-top, flowery storylines of romantic comedies, it becomes necessary for that person to dissolve their emotional ties to this entity.

I hold these truths to be self-evident, that all romantic comedies are equally wicked and should be completely removed from film selections everywhere.  These films infringe on people’s inalienable rights of life, liberty, and their pursuit of happiness by creating false images of love and passion.  Movies are created to depict real events or tell stories that issue an influential morale; they are not created to instill a false sense of romance among teen girls and middle-age women.  It is the people’s right to burn and destroy films that violate this cinematic code of reality and truth.  To prove that romantic comedies are completely corrupt, let these facts be submitted to a candid world.

They have issued chains of suffering upon young and old men alike; bound by the love of their wives, these men are forced to rest their eyes upon these horrid images of sappy romance.  Too many hours have been wasted upon these mindless films.

They have created false images of love and passion in young girls’ minds making it nearly impossible for a suitor to sweep these women off their feet; they are immune to the mundane practices of real-life romance. 

These evil films have hurt the game of love in today’s society.  Men no longer have a chance to impress the female population with their offerings of admiration.

They have caused heightened expectations of how men should prove their love towards the women that they are currently pursuing.  The women will never be satisfied with a simple box of chocolates or a single flower.

These romantic disasters have caused men to appear unsatisfactory to the female population in this country.  Since women are no longer open to the gifts of love that these males are offering them, our population will eventually cease to exist; therefore, these films continue to threaten our very existence and vivacity.

Ultimately these films will tear our country to shreds in social frustration.  People will continue to be unsatisfied by the lack of companionship readily available in today’s society.  These films are nothing but malicious and cause much pain and disappointment among citizens today.

I, therefore, a young, American woman, by authority of my own experiences solemnly publish and declare my independence from romantic comedies.  I will no longer be bound by their ruthless hands of misconception of love and romance; I will pursue other ways of life.  I have the right to find happiness and if these films are hindering my ability to do so, I have the duty to burn and destroy these entities.  With firm reliance on the protection of divine adoration, I pledge my life to finding real romance and love in its sacred honor.

Halle Siebert

Novissima et acuratissima totius Americae

This is a map that was illustrated by Gerard Schagen of Amsterdam in 1671.  It depicts California as an island and only shows one great lake instead of four.  He largely detailed the interior of both North and South America with various animals, rivers, and mountain ranges.  He also included many ships at sea and an “image” of the native population in the bottom left corner.

One thing that I had noticed right away when I looked at this map was the illustration of the native population.  It is what Europeans of the time would normally perceive as the indigenous people of the Americas.  They are wearing minimal clothing, shooting arrows, and harvesting food.  This was very stereotypical and helped reinforce the notion that the native people were savages and less advanced than European society.  This relates to John Smith’s General History of Virginia.  He had depicted the natives as savages and barbarians, which was the common thought of the time, and this map is no exception to this thought.

I had also noticed the gold bars in the illustration in the bottom left corner.  This shows how the conquistadors and explorers commonly thought the Americas were littered with gold.  Many explorers only went over to America because of the hope to find gold, which would inevitably lead to personal glory.  Most of these men searched years and years for gold but turned up empty handed.  By including the gold bars in this picture, it helped keep the belief of gold in the Americas alive; it kept explorers traveling and going back to America.

There were also snakes illustrated in the picture as well.  I viewed this as a biblical illusion because snakes represent the devil and temptation.  Religion was a very important part of European society during this time, and many people thought that the natives were heathens and were “compelled to characterize native religion as idolatrous or as ‘Divell worship’.”  By including two snakes in this illustration, it kept people believing in this misconception of the Native Americans and their religion.

http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/1671s2.jpg

Is the Hearing World Outspeaking Deaf Culture?

The documentary Sound and Fury really made me think about people's cultures and ways of life, and how different cultures collide and sometimes explode.  In this documentary it shows the tensions between the deaf world and the hearing world.  Before watching this I had never really given deaf culture much thought, I never knew how passionate they were about being deaf.  This video did an excellent job of showing both sides of the argument in my opinion, but it also brought up bigger questions about culture and right vs. wrong.

I am so glad that we had the opportunity to view this documentary in class because I learned a lot about the deaf world that I had never knew before.  I learned about how passionate and proud they are about being deaf and how they feel oppressed by the hearing world because the hearing world just doesn't understand them.  I found myself understanding and sympathizing with the two deaf parents and grandparents when they were saying that the cochlear implant was a bad thing not just for the children, but also for the deaf society -- it would be taking one of their members away from them.  I can totally see how this operation would be troubling and insulting to the deaf members of this family.

On the other hand, I also found myself agreeing with what the hearing members of the family were saying too.  I agreed that this operation would be beneficial to the baby and that it would provide him with more opportunities that he would not have had otherwise.  I can understand how the parents would want their child to have the ability to hear; both saw first hand what it was like for their loved ones to grow up and function as deaf Americans, they saw how difficult it was.  They just wanted their son to have the ability to go to a school and talk to interact with the hearing world.  However, I did not agree that it was abuse for the deaf parents to not implant their child; it was their personal preference.  Their children also had it easier because both parents were also hearing impared so they could teach them how to sign at an early age.

One thing that had troubled me throughout the whole documentary was how Peter, the deaf father, was complaining about the hearing world being unaccepting and ashamed of deaf citizens when he was extrememly close-minded himself.  I can understand why he was so against the hearing world, he had a difficult childhood and it is extremely hard to communicate with his deaf co-workers, but he could be a little more open to the hearing world.


Overall I found this video to be very eye-opening.  It showed the two different cultures in an unbiased way and presented good information for both arguments. It also brought up questions of what is right and what is wrong when raising a deaf child which sparked heated debates.

Failing: It's Not Fun

Fears can develop in various ways: from a traumatic event, from painful memories, and even for no reason at all.  Many of us fear certain things, and I am no exception.  People might consider me a bit of a worry-wart or a scardy cat, but all of my fears and anxiety can be attributed to my biggest fear of all -- failure.


I don't know why I am so afraid to mess up or to make a mistake, but for some reason the thought of failing at something scares me.  It is true that I am a bit of a perfectionist and that I try my best in everything that I do, but sometimes I try too much and it takes a physical toll on my health.


I believe that this fear developed because of my childhood.  I am an only child so ever since I was little I have viewed myself as the only chance that my mom and dad have to be successful parents.  That is a huge burden for an eight year-old girl to carry around.  Because I was so afraid of my parents being disappointed in me or my grandparents being disappointed in my parents, I have created this fear of failing.  I know deep down that I probably am doing alright and that my family is proud of me, but this fear is one that is not easily shaken.


As I am sitting here stressing over this blog and trying to make it sound perfect, I am thinking to myself, what can I do to overcome this fear of failing?  So far the only solution I can think of is to relax and to picture myself doing well in the future.  Fears, especially mental ones like this, are often hard to get rid of, but I'd imagine with time and practice, these types of fears can be suppressed and dealt with.  I just have to learn how to enjoy life and to not stress out about everything all the time; it's going to be hard work!

Semiotic Analysis: The Wonderful World of Wal-Mart!

How are Americans perceived?  Large and in charge, demanding, impatient, diverse, and loud are just a few suggestions.  And what do people think of when they think of American culture?  Well, there are many answers, but I personally think of Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart embodies basically every American stereotype -- the prices are low, the stores are conveniently located, and the people are, well, diverse.  It is truly a one-stop-shop which plays into our country's need for instant gratification; there is nothing that you can not find at Wal-Mart.  The stores are also easily navigated and well organized to help make one's shopping trip that much quicker.  The people who shop at Wal-Mart range from the lower class to even the wealthy, from backwoods Americans to new citizens; everyone shops here.  Because there are so many different types of people that shop at Wal-Mart, the stores are usually labeled in multiple languages, mainly English and Spanish.

One big characteristic of Wal-Mart though is their prices.  Their prices are extremely low compared to a lot of stores because of their outsourcing; they send a lot of jobs over to China.  This is very American because Americans today seem to think that they are too good for these factory jobs, they deserve more money than what those jobs will pay.  Since Americans turn their noses up at jobs, many are finding themselves out of work and out of money, and Wal-Mart is the only place that they can shop because of the low prices.

It is easy to say that Wal-Mart not only embodies the American persona of impatience, diversity, and connivence, but it is also consuming the public.  It is no secret that the gap between rich and poor is growing exponentially in this country, and Wal-Mart is becoming a monopoly because of it.  So many Americans already rely on these stores to get their basic needs, and as Americans continue to shop there, the jobs in China will keep growing and Americans will keep losing jobs (that they would turn down anyway), which would cause even more people who will depend on Wal-Mart's low prices -- a vicious cycle has been created.

It seems as if our economy is failing just so we can save a few dollars....we're in a sticky spot America.

A Global World

As I looked over the words from President Obama's inaugural address, I noticed the usual patriotic words such as "nation", "America", and "spirit", but there was also one other word that had caught my eye -- world.  I started thinking about how countries interact with each other on a daily basis now; communication is so easy!  Naturally as I scrolled through the past presidents, I realized that the word "world" was dying out and being replaced with words like "union" and "country".

When our country first was established, our founding fathers had to try to do something that was never done before -- unite a bunch of strong states that formed a weak confederacy.  In the early stages of our history, the politicians were not primarily concerned with helping foreign nations, they were concerned with the development of their own.  It is no surprise that I saw so many words like "union" and "constitution" from our early presidents.

I have never given it much thought until now, but government has turned into not only sovereignty over a nation's land, but into a global affair.  The world isn't such a big place anymore.  Back in the day, the handwritten letters or messages to other countries took weeks and even months to arrive.  Now with a few clicks of a button, government officials from America can be video chatting with government officials from China; this is really quite remarkable!

Since nations are so connected now, we all have to be conscious of what we are saying or doing, making sure not to offend another country.  A country's business is also less private; news spreads fast and when any scandal or war springs up, everyone will soon know about it, either providing aid or criticism.

A global world in my opinion is not a bad thing, it helps make everyone more cultured and worldly.  The global market also is a huge benefit from the development of this -- needed products and resources can be shipped to any part of the world!  To conclude, it is not surprising that our country's focus has shifted from itself to the world.  The United States have become united and stable, and with the help of technology, we can now focus on our global interactions, and our presidential speeches are starting to reflect this ideal.