Engage.

For my issue of poverty and hunger among families, I could join either an organization that donates to food banks, or can drives etc,etc. I know that the Woburn rotary club has a can drive that donates full thanksgiving meals to families that go without and then the extra food is donated to other shelters.

Voting.

Last fall/winter I worked in my cities registry for voting and I learned alot about the voting process. My job was to file papers... Now it might seem like an easy job (and it is) but it is some of the most tedious work you would ever have to do. Organizing, pulling, and placing voter cards take forever. I never understood how important voting was untill I ended up working that job.

The President.

The president can be anyone who was born here in the united states and is over the age of 35. The president lives in the white house, makes around 400,000 dollars a year and has his own personal plane, and chef. The president is in charge of the country or "Commander in chief" of the armed forces. The president also has the ability to sit down with ambassadors, and make sure all laws are used properly.

A poet, a mountian, and a renaissance.

In the article The Negro Artist and the Racial mountain, writer Langston Huges discusses the mountain placed in front of black Americans art. Huges states in his article that young black artists are being pushed and almost raised to believe that white Americans are more successfull. A belief that Huges believes will be a large set back in black culture. He talks about the different social and working classes of black people during this generation and how it plays a major role in holding back young black poets from being able to truly discover themselves and be proud of who they are. A very strong topic he continues to push in his article is how he and many others during this period weren't ashamed to be black or to be "Negro". Huges believed that the word Negro was an identification of the art, people, culture, and pride that was being a black American.

This article and the Harlem renaissance played a huge piece in the civil rights movement. Huges article shows a generation of people trying to preserve there culture and showing that being black is beautiful not an issue. A generation of people proud to finally have their own art, music, and writers being published to the public for everyone to share and see. Jazz music flourished during this time, along with black singers who sang freedom songs about peace and equality in the nation. Huges discussed that by continuing this movement and by still preserving the black culture, that the people could continue a plight towards being black, free, and equal.

"Cafe"

The Souls Perspective: We are one!!

The Souls Perspective: We are one!!: "Muslim Point of ViewAs we watch the news we see the rising conflict between the building of a mosque near the world trade center. On top of..."

I enjoyed reading the source you blogged about. Being able to read something published from someone receiving all this criticism is a good eye opener for someone such as myself who could never picture being in such a situation as that.

One thing I would like to say is that you put two titles. "Muslims View" and "Americas View". The young man who wrote that article is an American citizen. He wrote in his article " You fear the majority of me even when the majority of me stand up against the minority you fear." What he is saying is that the majority of american muslims do not seek refuge in these terrorist and extreamist groups and that his own people are slaughtered and killed everyday. I would like to also add that the people building the mousque (or as it is really called "Islamic community center") and whom are funding it are also american citizens.

The Feminist Movement.

Tonight I read a short illustrated poem named "There was a young woman who swallowed a lie.." by Meridith Tax. This poem is tied to the feminists movement which is a movement aimed at the equal rights for woman. This poem to me is a captivating piece for its ability to really hit hard on the subject of the objectification of woman. Meridith shows that young woman are taught the lie that they need to grow up to be a homemaker, who is only bound to the confides of a kitchen and raising a family. She speaks about how in society only the pretty stupid woman are the objects that are sought out by men. She brings up the topic of forced contraception and intercourse that is pushed on many woman. What hits hard about this poem is that Meridith is describing herself. She is the young woman who swallowed that lie and she used her life experience as the basis to her poem.

Meridith's poem is just as relevant today as it was during the period she wrote it. A lot of young woman today have very low self esteems. They see the skinny, pretty, super models on television and believe that is the way they need to look. They read about the fashion trends in seventeen magazine and need to wear that clothing to keep themselves trendy. They cover themselves in makeup, dye their hair a million colors, and tan themselves because they feel uncomfortable not looking like there best friends. This could be added to "the lie" Meridith's poem is about.

Although the feminist movement is a good thing for woman, I feel like it marks men as something we are not. Not all men are pigs, not all men want the stupid dumb chick, not all men want the super model, not all men want there wives to work in the kitchen, and not all men believe that woman are something less. A good amount of men would rather be with a woman who has there lives together, who can support themselves, and who can voice themselves just as well as any man could. A woman who knows who they are and who can be heard makes a better impression than a woman who is helpless and only reliable on there spouse. Woman have the choice in todays modern society to be a doctor, a police officer, a manager of a large corporation, and the ability to change the world. I think it should be that way, and I'm a man so feminist can keep that in mind also.

Tension on 9/11

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/11/ground-zero-mosque-protests-911_n_713391.html

This past weekend was the 9th anniversary of 9/11. A day when our country was attacked by terrorist organizations who's goal was to plant fear and terror into our hearts and spirits. Nine years later our country still is feeling the effects of that day and in my opinion stronger than ever. The debate over the building of the Islamic community center in New York City close to ground zero has caused tension throughout the nation. This past Saturday there were protests and demonstrations against the mosque, as well as burnings of the Islamic religious text the Quran.

The issue to me is that we are not at war with the Islamic nation we are at war with terrorist groups. Terrorist groups such as al-Qaida who fuel and feed on racial and religious tension between our nation and the middle east. The burning of the Quran caused violent demonstrations in the middle east and put the lives of American soldiers at risk. President Obama's speech at the Pentagon touches upon this subject staying "We are not and never will be at war with Islam" but "with  al-Qaida, a sorry group of men who pervert religion." This statement is a truth that many Americans look past and forget. People that day shouldn't of been protesting. They should of been remembering the lives lost 9 years ago, and the devastation in the lives of people who lost their loved ones. We need to reboot our American spirit now more than ever and with a split in religion causing such issues, I don't see it happening very quickly.

Little bit about this blog / Myself.

I've grown up in a world that has never stopped changing, and I owe that change to technology. Over the past ten years we have seen the evolution of cellphones, television, radio. We have seen the invention of the Ipod, social networking pages such as Facebook and Myspace. These advancements have done more than just change the way we see and hear, they have also changed the way we communicate and voice our opinions. The people's voice can be heard much louder and to an increasingly larger audience than ever before, and this blog is just that. With this blog I hope to show you the true potential that we have in this modern world to cause change, to be heard, and to make the difference that we wish to see but never receive. Some of my opinions or views may be different from your own and I am open to the other side of the story, but try to not make it a personal attack. Just because its my opinion does not mean that I am correct. My only hope is that you understand what I am discussing and can give me some feedback.