Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Internet Censorship Debate
Recently in World Issues we have had a debate on Internet Censorship in general and in Canada. I was for internet censorship fir many reasons. First I want to mention that we want internet censorship within reason, so in other words when the websites harm society. Many comments were made by the anti-censorship side that it infringed on our rights and freedoms but actually it would stand under the "reasonable limits" clause. This is because the government would monitor websites that are harmful for society. An example of this is a website called the Anarchist cookbook where it tell you how to hack computers and create homemade boms. These are the kind of sites that would be censored.
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
Blog Post 7: A Quote for Humanity
"Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point."
C.S. Lewis
In order to be a global citizen you have to have faith, hope, persistence and courage. But at the root of all those virtues is courage. You have to have courage to have faith. You have to have courage to hope. You have to have courage to keep going even when things get hard. So to be a global citizen you need courage. If you don't have courage you don't have anything. Also, this quote says that when you have failed and fallen so many times that hope and faith seem impossible and when all you want to do is give up, it takes courage to keep going to stand up even if you are alone (I know that sounds really cliche but it's true). That is why this quote is so powerful is because it is true. People talk about determination, persistence, hope, faith and even courage but few people recognize how they are all connected and how at the root of everything is courage. You should have hope and determination but courage is is what you need to be strong. Courage is what you need to be a change maker. Courage is what you need to a global citizen.
C.S. Lewis
In order to be a global citizen you have to have faith, hope, persistence and courage. But at the root of all those virtues is courage. You have to have courage to have faith. You have to have courage to hope. You have to have courage to keep going even when things get hard. So to be a global citizen you need courage. If you don't have courage you don't have anything. Also, this quote says that when you have failed and fallen so many times that hope and faith seem impossible and when all you want to do is give up, it takes courage to keep going to stand up even if you are alone (I know that sounds really cliche but it's true). That is why this quote is so powerful is because it is true. People talk about determination, persistence, hope, faith and even courage but few people recognize how they are all connected and how at the root of everything is courage. You should have hope and determination but courage is is what you need to be strong. Courage is what you need to be a change maker. Courage is what you need to a global citizen.
Responding to the Quote
"All that it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing." - Sir Edmund Burke, 1769.
To me this quote has a simple but powerful meaning. Evil is everywhere. Look around you will see it. There are small examples like bullying and big examples like the holocaust. But if good people stand up against evil it will crumple. If you stand up against a bully then they will fall because you aren't the only one who thinks what the bully is doing is wrong. Sometimes in order for other people to act they have to see someone go first. But I think that is the single most vital flaw. A lot of people need a leader and if everyone needs a leader no one will lead, no one will stand up against evil. So this quote also speaks to me about courage. Sometimes you might really want someone to go first but that doesn't always happen and you have to bit down your fear and know that what you are doing is right and have faith in that alone. Take the holocaust for example, if no one said what Hitler was doing was wrong then we would live in a horrible, different world and thousands of more lives would have been lost. When we went into that war we didn't know how it was going to end all we knew is that what Hitler was doing was wrong. That was enough for us so we stood up against evil and it fell.
Friday, 2 December 2011
Blog Post 5: To Act or Not To Act
Readers,
Has there every been a situation where you saw something bad happen and for what ever reason you chose not to act. This is very common. People go through there lives thinking that if the situation should arise they would have the courage to take hold of the situation and stop it. Bullying is a classic example. How many people have seen bullying in action but didn't stop it. Even if you like the person there aren't many of us who would stand up for them. As much as it sickens me, I am not an exception.
In grade nine I was part of a rowing team at my school and there was another girl who not many people liked. I wasn't friends with her but I didn't not like her either. She rarely crossed my mind for no reason other than I didn't talk to her in my regular day. I don't know how many of you have been on a rowing team before but in my school's case rowers must be at the boat house for 5:30 am. So one early morning we were done our practice and we were back at the school to get ready for classes. A friend and I went to the dinning hall to eat breakfast. The other girls went down to get ready for school. While eating my friend mention what was going to happen. "Did you hear." she said. Of course I hadn't and asked her what was happening. She proceeded to tell me that the other girls were going to put pudding in another girl's shampoo. I felt a lump rise in my throat. "Really?" I asked. My friend nodded. Alarm bells went off in my head and I wasn't sure what to do. This person I wasn't really friends with was going to the victim of a cruel joke. I had two options. 1) Tell this girl and risked being hated my the rest of the girls who were in on the prank. Or 2) carry on and be part of the joke. As I looked over at my friend (who by the way I had been friends with for essentially my whole life) I chose to be part of the joke.
A harmless prank I thought. I convinced myself that it was just a little joke, nothing to get worked up about. It didn't mean anything more than a few laughs around friends. When breakfast was over and my friend and I walked into the change room. The girl was just putting a towel through her hair. Her slick, shiny, pudding lined hair. To say that I felt like garbage for the rest of the day is an understatement.
Why didn't I act. I can't say I really know but if I were to guess I would say that I was in grade nine. And like all grade nines I was eager to climb the social ladder. I was afraid to be an outcast. I as shallow and didn't give thought to others. In a way the reason is irrelevant that fact that I didn't do anything and the feeling I got afterwards is enough to scare me out of not acting again. Ever.
Has there every been a situation where you saw something bad happen and for what ever reason you chose not to act. This is very common. People go through there lives thinking that if the situation should arise they would have the courage to take hold of the situation and stop it. Bullying is a classic example. How many people have seen bullying in action but didn't stop it. Even if you like the person there aren't many of us who would stand up for them. As much as it sickens me, I am not an exception.
In grade nine I was part of a rowing team at my school and there was another girl who not many people liked. I wasn't friends with her but I didn't not like her either. She rarely crossed my mind for no reason other than I didn't talk to her in my regular day. I don't know how many of you have been on a rowing team before but in my school's case rowers must be at the boat house for 5:30 am. So one early morning we were done our practice and we were back at the school to get ready for classes. A friend and I went to the dinning hall to eat breakfast. The other girls went down to get ready for school. While eating my friend mention what was going to happen. "Did you hear." she said. Of course I hadn't and asked her what was happening. She proceeded to tell me that the other girls were going to put pudding in another girl's shampoo. I felt a lump rise in my throat. "Really?" I asked. My friend nodded. Alarm bells went off in my head and I wasn't sure what to do. This person I wasn't really friends with was going to the victim of a cruel joke. I had two options. 1) Tell this girl and risked being hated my the rest of the girls who were in on the prank. Or 2) carry on and be part of the joke. As I looked over at my friend (who by the way I had been friends with for essentially my whole life) I chose to be part of the joke.
A harmless prank I thought. I convinced myself that it was just a little joke, nothing to get worked up about. It didn't mean anything more than a few laughs around friends. When breakfast was over and my friend and I walked into the change room. The girl was just putting a towel through her hair. Her slick, shiny, pudding lined hair. To say that I felt like garbage for the rest of the day is an understatement.
Why didn't I act. I can't say I really know but if I were to guess I would say that I was in grade nine. And like all grade nines I was eager to climb the social ladder. I was afraid to be an outcast. I as shallow and didn't give thought to others. In a way the reason is irrelevant that fact that I didn't do anything and the feeling I got afterwards is enough to scare me out of not acting again. Ever.
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Human Rights: Who has inspired me to take action?
Who has inspired me?
Craig Kielburger. Isn't that always the answer. But I guess it has become a cliche for a reason. At the age of 12 years old Kielburger read a news article of a young boy who was killed fighting for the rights of children, asking the world why he and his friends couldn't go to school instead had they had to work as slaves. The boy was shot while riding his bike because he was telling the world of this injustice. Kielburger read this and was amazed and horrified. Amazed that a boy so young could make such a difference and horrified that things like this were happening in the world. So Kielburger went to school and started Free The Children. From there it grew and grew and now look where Kielburger is, changing the world and inspiring the minds and hearts of hundreds of thousands of people.
I am one of those people. Since grade 7 when my sister first mentioned what Kielburger has done I was inspired. That someone had done this and even better he was my age when he did it! Like Kielburger when he was 12 and like thousands of other people I had a moment where I was inspired to do something, anything.
He has showed me that it does not matter how young or how small you are anyone can make a difference and I think that is one of the most important lesson. Everyone hears abut people changing the world with they are adults but there are few who are children. And thats why Kielburger has inspired me because he isn't just a change maker but instead he is hope. Not just for children's rights but for children's voices. Showing that no matter how small you are you can make a difference.
I may just be one of the thousands of people he inspired, but I am also one of the thousand voices wanting to make a change and like Craig Kielburger has shown us. Thats all that matters.
"I play video games and watch TV, but there's more to life than that. Faxing and the Internet have created a global community. The kid next door has become the kid in Latin America or Asia."
-Craig Kieburger
-Brittany
Craig Kielburger. Isn't that always the answer. But I guess it has become a cliche for a reason. At the age of 12 years old Kielburger read a news article of a young boy who was killed fighting for the rights of children, asking the world why he and his friends couldn't go to school instead had they had to work as slaves. The boy was shot while riding his bike because he was telling the world of this injustice. Kielburger read this and was amazed and horrified. Amazed that a boy so young could make such a difference and horrified that things like this were happening in the world. So Kielburger went to school and started Free The Children. From there it grew and grew and now look where Kielburger is, changing the world and inspiring the minds and hearts of hundreds of thousands of people.
I am one of those people. Since grade 7 when my sister first mentioned what Kielburger has done I was inspired. That someone had done this and even better he was my age when he did it! Like Kielburger when he was 12 and like thousands of other people I had a moment where I was inspired to do something, anything.
He has showed me that it does not matter how young or how small you are anyone can make a difference and I think that is one of the most important lesson. Everyone hears abut people changing the world with they are adults but there are few who are children. And thats why Kielburger has inspired me because he isn't just a change maker but instead he is hope. Not just for children's rights but for children's voices. Showing that no matter how small you are you can make a difference.
I may just be one of the thousands of people he inspired, but I am also one of the thousand voices wanting to make a change and like Craig Kielburger has shown us. Thats all that matters.
"I play video games and watch TV, but there's more to life than that. Faxing and the Internet have created a global community. The kid next door has become the kid in Latin America or Asia."
-Craig Kieburger
-Brittany
Interdependence
"We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other nations, far away.... We have learned to be citizens of the world, members of the human community."
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, Former US President, 1945.
This quote by the Former US President Franklin Roosevelt is accurate as to how we are living today. We, in a sense, are no longer citizens of a single country, instead we are citizens of the world. We are interconnected and dependent on other countries to the point where it could be potentially catastrophic. Or it could mean even more amazing advances in all things, technology, sustainability, peacekeeping and further research into our world and out side of it.
Today what you do affects everybody. On a large scale, take the European Debt Crisis. If any of those nations fall it can crash the entire EU and as a result the ENTIRE WORLD could launch into a economic down turn!
The only thing I disagree with is when Former President Roosevelt states, "We have learned to be citizens of the world." I think instead we are learning and we still have a long way to go.
None the less this is a great quote that expresses how we are no longer people of a single nation but connected and dependent on each others actions.
-Brittany
Blog Post 2: AIC Reflection and What's Up Italy?
Hey Everybody!
Here is en update on my world issues class. Enjoy!
AIC Reflection:
Recently in my world issues class we have been participating in something called the AIC simulation. Here we are put into teams and pose as different countries that are connected to the Arab-Israeli conflict and we have to try and find a solution, hopefully peaceful, to the conflict while working with the other countries.
My group and I were assigned Palestine Hamas.
When first starting this simulation I found it stressful. Working with a new site that I wasn't used to was challenging and navigating through it was confusing at first. Also, I never realized just how complicated this issue was. How many factors and barriers are blocking a peaceful solution (Beliefs, religion etc.) not to mention the numerous people involved.
Our first project for the simulation was to create Strategic Goals. These are goals that we wish to achieve through out the entire simultion. My group's goals all revolved around coming to a peaceful solution were both Israel and Palestine are happy and have say and rule over the land. Though this may seem idealistic it is what I wish to see in the simulation and in real life. Those goals have become useful in deciding who we wish to ally ourselves with.
Overall the AIC simulation is proving to be challenging but interesting and I look forward to studying it further.
Whats up Italy?
Through out the European Debt Crisis all cameras have been focused on Greece but unfortunately Greece isn't the only country people should be worried about. Italy is revealing to be a problem. According to the Globe and Mail, Italy is beyond saving. With a $2.6 trillion debt it is said that it is too large for the other European nations to bail out.
So whats happening now? The resignation of Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is making Italian investors happy-ier... His departure is seen as long over due and proves that Italy is serious about changing there current economic situation. But they aren't out of the woods yet. His replacement will have his work cut out for him. Not only does he have to attempt to pull Italy out of the crisis but he has to attempt to gain confidence in Italy's market. Which means he has to building public support and political support, both tasks will not be easy.
Will Berlusconi's resignation help italy, that is the question. It's not looking good. Italy was the last country to have there leader be replaced. When other european leaders were replaced there was no resulting boost in confidence in the market so who's to say it will happen to Italy. Only time will.
-Brittany
*Note all information I stated from my readings of the Globe and Mail*
Here is en update on my world issues class. Enjoy!
AIC Reflection:
Recently in my world issues class we have been participating in something called the AIC simulation. Here we are put into teams and pose as different countries that are connected to the Arab-Israeli conflict and we have to try and find a solution, hopefully peaceful, to the conflict while working with the other countries.
My group and I were assigned Palestine Hamas.
When first starting this simulation I found it stressful. Working with a new site that I wasn't used to was challenging and navigating through it was confusing at first. Also, I never realized just how complicated this issue was. How many factors and barriers are blocking a peaceful solution (Beliefs, religion etc.) not to mention the numerous people involved.
Our first project for the simulation was to create Strategic Goals. These are goals that we wish to achieve through out the entire simultion. My group's goals all revolved around coming to a peaceful solution were both Israel and Palestine are happy and have say and rule over the land. Though this may seem idealistic it is what I wish to see in the simulation and in real life. Those goals have become useful in deciding who we wish to ally ourselves with.
Overall the AIC simulation is proving to be challenging but interesting and I look forward to studying it further.
Whats up Italy?
Through out the European Debt Crisis all cameras have been focused on Greece but unfortunately Greece isn't the only country people should be worried about. Italy is revealing to be a problem. According to the Globe and Mail, Italy is beyond saving. With a $2.6 trillion debt it is said that it is too large for the other European nations to bail out.
So whats happening now? The resignation of Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is making Italian investors happy-ier... His departure is seen as long over due and proves that Italy is serious about changing there current economic situation. But they aren't out of the woods yet. His replacement will have his work cut out for him. Not only does he have to attempt to pull Italy out of the crisis but he has to attempt to gain confidence in Italy's market. Which means he has to building public support and political support, both tasks will not be easy.
Will Berlusconi's resignation help italy, that is the question. It's not looking good. Italy was the last country to have there leader be replaced. When other european leaders were replaced there was no resulting boost in confidence in the market so who's to say it will happen to Italy. Only time will.
-Brittany
*Note all information I stated from my readings of the Globe and Mail*
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Welcome
Welcome to Brittany's World Issues!
This is a blog created for my World Issues class!
First let me tell you about me, more specifically my summer! As usual I spent my summer at my family's cottage. Here I worked at a bakery/deli/grocery store/ ice cream place. But the real exciting thing I did this summer was spend a month in British Columbia. I attended a leadership camp with people from all over the world. Speakers like Elizabeth May and a co-founder from Green Peace. Not to mention we had Skype chats with activists from around the world. Each fighting for many different causes. One that really stood out was a girl who was fighting for women rights. She told us a little about the organization she was part of. Unfortunately, she couldn't share anything because of security and safety reasons. She did share that the organization she was part of had to be secret because if "they" found out then "bad things would happen" to say the least. But it wasn't just a nerd camp we also hiked, canoed, swam in the ocean. Everyday having different activities like soccer, yoga, running etc.
Well, with a new friends made from Denmark, BC, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Japan, Unites states, Thailand, Africa and other places. it is safe to say that I had an amazing summer.
-Brittany
This is a blog created for my World Issues class!
First let me tell you about me, more specifically my summer! As usual I spent my summer at my family's cottage. Here I worked at a bakery/deli/grocery store/ ice cream place. But the real exciting thing I did this summer was spend a month in British Columbia. I attended a leadership camp with people from all over the world. Speakers like Elizabeth May and a co-founder from Green Peace. Not to mention we had Skype chats with activists from around the world. Each fighting for many different causes. One that really stood out was a girl who was fighting for women rights. She told us a little about the organization she was part of. Unfortunately, she couldn't share anything because of security and safety reasons. She did share that the organization she was part of had to be secret because if "they" found out then "bad things would happen" to say the least. But it wasn't just a nerd camp we also hiked, canoed, swam in the ocean. Everyday having different activities like soccer, yoga, running etc.
Well, with a new friends made from Denmark, BC, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Japan, Unites states, Thailand, Africa and other places. it is safe to say that I had an amazing summer.
-Brittany
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)