Blog13: Anything+frustrations

            Oh man… so right now I’m waiting to pass off a computer program for my class. I’ve been waiting for over an hour for this, and I had a date type thing that started 15 minutes ago. I just saw the list and I still have at least 15 minutes to go and the lab closes in 15 minutes so it might all be for nothing. Great eh? It hasn’t even been productive because I didn’t bring anything with me but my laptop with limited batteries, because I thought I’d just come in here, pass it off, and leave (like a boss). But now I’ve been here forever, nothing to do but text friends and work on my Spanish through texting haha. A few minutes ago I realized my battery life would last all the way to when I would have to leave anyways, so I got on and am now writing this blog. So a TA is helping the guy at the table across from me, and he’s been there for 20 minutes… wow. Man I need to be more nice, I don’t understand his situation.

            Anyways I wish I had brought my book, one of the Great Works Papers I’m going to do is on the book by Victor Frankyl “Man’s Search for Meaning”. (You know, I’ve never known for book titles if you put it in quotes or italicize it.) Anyways I still have about 50 pages left in that so that would’ve been a great thing to do for the last hour. Dang it 10 more minutes. Agh!!!! And I’m over 20 minutes late for my date, this is pretty stressful. I could’ve been sitting here forever for nothing. Happy day. You know what, I just realized I won’t make it. I can skip my first class tomorrow to pass this off, that might be what I need to do. Life is so much fun, you have no idea.

            I think I’m going to go through an exhibit in the Museum of Art for my other Great Works. And that is 50 words, there we go.

Blog12: How's the Paper?

            Well, I just adapted my focus on the paper (thanks for the advice Rachel!) and I’m now going to work on just “under God” in the pledge of allegiance.

            When I’ve been working on this, my main focus has been to discover what the real, underlying issue is. I mean, I can understand the perspective and the reasons for why people think we shouldn’t, but is there any legitimate reason that can stand in law and political circles why we should have “under God” in the pledge?

            After a few discussions with my roommate I believe I discovered what’s the fundamental issue, at least on the side of supporting the phrase. It’s tradition. America was founded on a belief of an Almighty and our dependence on such an entity. Although “under God” wasn’t added until 1954, it has already become a concrete part of our national identity. By publicly acknowledging such a founding value, we legitimize our Government’s right to authority and power. No leader, whether it be a person, organization or Government can have a weak foundation of ideals and beliefs. The act of removing “under God” from the pledge would be such a bold action against the values of America that it would dramatically decrease the legitimacy and integrity of the American Government.

            There are legitimate arguments against the phrase however. (I’m using the word “legitimate” a lot, but it’s exactly what I mean.) The Supreme Court has created what’s called the “Lemon Test” to determine if a law religious in nature violates the Establishment Clause. It has 3 points, and if the law fails any of the three then it is not constitutional. The first says that the law must be secular in nature, the second: the law cannot advance or inhibit religion in any way, and I forgot the third haha. Anyways, the 1954 legislation that inserted the phrase “under God” in the pledge of allegiance clearly violates the first two points. The insertion was motivated by the Red Scare, and how much of America was trying to prove itself not communist by reverting back to fundamental American values, like God.

Blog11: Issues Paper

            So I’ve been trying to come up with a topic for awhile, it’s been the hardest part of this assignment, to think of an issue I’m interested enough in to write 8-10 pages about. Today when we were in the library looking up on the EBSCO Database I realized there was a lot of information on the debate of omitting “under God” in the pledge of allegiance. I’m pretty interested in that debate, and I’m also really excited to learn more about it and develop a more educated stance on the subject.

            Because of this super late start I’m obviously super behind on the paper. On the EBSCO Database today I found about 10 peer reviewed journals talking about the debate and so I thought “man, there looks like there’s enough research to back up a paper, so I’m going to try it.” I think I’m much more interested in writing about religious debates than about the tenure of teachers.

            So I actually haven’t come up with a thesis statement or a title, really because I want to be as unbiased as possible during my research. My initial question for the paper, which I just realized is quite a bit biased is “Should we appease the atheists in America by omitting “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance?

            So my small outline is to first talk about Atheism in America, for their influence in political circles, and perhaps the fundamental reasons that people are Atheist. Then I will discuss the importance of religion in America.

            Then I will discuss possible solutions. Even without my research I understand that we cannot force atheists to acknowledge the existence of a higher deity against their will, and I don’t think we should take out “Under God”, because that could offend the majority of people, I know it definitely offends me. Possible solutions are allowing people to not say the words “Under God” during the pledge or making the pledge optional. With that kind of law different schools or classes could vote on policies regarding the pledge of Allegiance.