Patriotism
Patriotism: national loyalty, devotional love; these are just a few ways to describe what patriotism means. People ask "Is patriotism still essential to the American tradition?” Of course it is. With patriotism comes the respect for your neighbors, respect for your country, and respect for all. If the United States was without patriotism we wouldn't be united; even though we'd still have the land, we wouldn't have a reason to make the land united.
Almost halfway across the world, American men and women are fighting 24/7 around the clock against the Taliban. Not because they were ordered to or because they think they are going to become famous, but because somewhere in their conscience, there's a part of them saying they have to finish what they started, for us, back home. These are the people who we should be showing patriotism to.
Many of us play games where we are a soldier, whether it is “Call Of Duty” or “Medal Of Honor”, we all play them; it is a lot fun and when you die you can start-over from your last checkpoint with no harm done except some negative stats. Well these people don't have a start over button on their lives. They aren't fighting for trophies or experience points; they fight for our freedom. They are risking life and limb so we Americans won't lose our rights and lives as well. All they ask for is respect and do they get it? Sure, on Fourth of July and Labor Day, but we should show respect every time we see the people in uniform; we should thank them with the most sincere amounts of gratitude from the bottom of our hearts. By showing patriotism to all, we as the United States can have a utopian country where there will be no wars, but peace throughout the land.
Insomnia to Insanity
Night winds roar like an
angry parent yelling “Go
to sleep!” without words
My eyes are blood red
Burning from insomnia
God take me away
This is so useless
No prayer can help me now
My sleep is now gone
The winds keep yelling
Starting to weep in my pillow
Not helping my sleep
Must end this pain now
There is no other option
Goodbye forever
A Response To 2001: A Space Odyssey
In world of today, technology plays an important role. Whether it is playing games on gaming consoles, texting your friends on a cellular phone or writing an essay like the one you see in front of you. We see the world of technology is growing at a miraculous pace each day. But with this amelioration one may ask “Is this progress a benefit to our society or are we creating the one thing that will kill us all?” Many theorists believe that because of artificial intelligence we will be terminated by robots. Is this theory realistic? To a few maybe, but in 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke it seems quite realistic.
The main reason for this curious concept is the Hal 9000. This human-like computer is aboard and is in control of the Discovery One, a space ship which is holding Dave Bowman and Frank Poole, two ordinary astronauts.Though today, this seems not that strange Hal 9000 is a figurative representation of many concerns about technology and its progress; one being that Hal is artificially intelligent which means that it can think as well as, if not better than, any human can. Also, the inner workings that make this computer work and function are not completely understood by the inventors. As time goes on in the dark abyss known as space, this great and powerful computer which runs basically the lives of a few people, it starts to malfunction. As this goes on the action becomes less predictable and a lot more human like. At first, this involves something relatively not so important such as reporting a malfunctioning part when it is working fine. But, after a while of these malfunctions Hal goes crazy and suffocates Frank Pool by cutting of his oxygen tube while outside the ship. Hal's breaking down occurs against the backdrop of an otherwise flawless and simple mission of exploring space like many NASA missions today which makes its malfunction stand out even more.
Though the thought of the year of 2001 being this way is quite asinine, the feelings it has about the advancements of technology is still a morale that lives on through today. Using technology to text and instant message friends is fine, but having it run and the lives of human beings? Though being technologically advanced is important, some may ask where should we stop before this horridness plot become a reality.
Money
Why is our currency green; it should be red for the blood fought over for it. To think not that our world is ranked not by knowledge or kindness, but wealth. Though some deserve not having wealth, many have none where in a righteous world they would be the fat cats of the society. Countless lives have been canceled for this terrible green paper. The smile on the presidential faces make you believe that the material they are printed on is commendable or even godlike, but in reality the grin on the face is not a grin at all: but smirk, a smirk of the “comedic” value of the battles for riches; like animals fighting over food and shelter.
