Christianity and the Survival of Creation

I have a lot of mixed emotions when it comes to religion. When I was younger my family went to church but stopped until I was in the sixth grade. We attended the same church until the end of my freshman year of highschool and leaving that church was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. But it was something that had to be done. The church was filled with people who were teaching the preachings of the bible but doing ungodly things. While my family has since moved on and started attending another church I can not bring myself to become close to people only to have to leave them again.

Everything that happened while attending that church was made me question everything about religion and church . That is why I agree with Berry when he says that you do not have to go to church to believe in God. While I do not go to church on a regular basis I still believe in God with my whole heart. Berry also critizes christians who have not read the Bible to its full extent. I am one of those people. I have tried to read the Bible but just do not find it to be that interesting. I guess you just have to have devotion. But Berry is very hipocritical because he says he has not even read it all the way through.

The Argument Culture

I do not really agree with the author in this essay. I believe that there are two sides to everything and that is how it always will be. Opinions is not something that Americans just invented one day. Since the very first people on Earth have been alive I am sure there has been conflicts of opinion. While there are people at total opposite ends of the argument, there is normally some in the middle who are willing for a little more compromise than others but this does not make them less ignorant or argumentitive than the ones who completely agree or the people who disagree.

Another thing I disagree with is that increasing technology has isolated us in a bubble. I believe that while communication might not be as personal it has done far from isolate. The advances in technology has helped us reach out to others in different cities, states, and countries. How has this isolation?

I am not disputing the fact that some may take their opinions to the extreme as to lie and decieve others in order to gain popularity or to bring more people to their side of the argument. I just believe that a conflict of opinion is something that has always been there and is not something that has just evolved as time has gone by. People will forever find something to disagree about and that is human nature.

Its Time to Ban Handguns

I did not agree with this essay. Yes I believe guns can hurt people but I believe it is how a person uses a gun that is what a lot of people have a problem with. I think that even if there was a ban on handguns that a person who wanted one badly enough would find what they wanted anyway. And if the people who wanted a gun for protection but the guns were illegal the only people who would have the guns would be the criminals; exactly the people who should not have them in the first place.
The author had very valid points and some which I agreed with, such as harsher punishment for gun crimes and stricter laws on gun possession, but I think that he was only looking at one side. What Lance Morrow wants is a ban on handguns so if this was to happen all police officers would have to carry around rifles. To me that sounds crazy! Please tell me how a police officer is supposed to chase someone down if they have this huge rifle to worry about. I just do not believe that a ban on handguns would solve any of the problems Morrow mentioned. I think that it would led to more illegal acts since everyone who owned one would be breaking the law.

Leave No Child Inside

I actually enjoyed reading this essay because it was something that I completely agreed with. Everywhere I look there is a new strip mall being built even though half of the ones that are built still have empty space. Right now as we speak the Amazon Rain Forest is being destroyed at one and a half acres a minute. For what? A few more shops, restaurants, or movie theaters? I think that the movtives people have for tearing down our trees.

It seems now that all kids want to do is sit around inside to play on the computer or some kind of video game. When I was young my brother and I would play outside with all the kids from all over the neighborhood. Now when I am outside I never see any children outside. Kids are becoming so unactive and are becoming unhealthy. Even some of my younger cousins are very big for their age. All they do is sit in front of the t.v. or computer and when my aunt and uncle tell them to go out they pitch a fit and scream until their parents gave in. I find it very sad.

In Defense of Talk Shows

I personally hate these types of talk shows. I think that they exploit people who are in a bad situation and humiliate them. But at the same time I do not understand why these people would put themselves through all of that humiliation. I agree with Barbara Ehrenreich when she states that the people who appear on these talk shows "mistake being at the center of attention for being actually loved and respected" (Reid 360). I know that whenever I have seen these shows I always ask myself why would these people want to be on here. They must know that no one really feels bad for them, that the only reason why the audience is cheering for them is so they keep entertainment going. I do not really think that the TV producers really want to help these people because honestly, who would want to hear a normal person talk about the problems that we all share? The producers know what makes money and that is defiantly not it. I might be making a generalization but the majority of producers are only looking out for their own best interest.

The Whole Horse

The beginning of this essay reminded me of one I had read last year in my English class. I am not a hundred percent sure of the title but I know that the word horse was in there which I thought was a kind of funny since these two were so alike. They both dealt with the fact that people are never happy with what they have and we are such a materialistic society as a whole. I must admit I like new things and spend money on things that I do not necessarily need but I know that there are limits.
But I could not even tell you what the rest of this essay was about. It is one of the worst thing I have read in a while. I could not keep my mind on what I was reading and would find my mind wandering and thinking about everything BUT the essay. All I know now after "reading" this essay is that it was very boring and I have absolutely no idea what it was really about.

Attack of Killer Cats

The one complaint I have are the comments that were written on the side of the essay. I found them to be very distracting. Every time I would turn the page my eyes would immediately go to the comments and I would just be jumping around the essay and would have to go back and reread. Other than that I thought that this essay was really funny. The humor that Jaroff brought to the essay seemed to lighten the mood. Normally investigating essays are very boring and straight to the point escpecially since they contain so many facts but Attack of the Killer Cats, while giving you all the statistics, was fun and easy to read. While I did not really understand why this was the choice of topic and found it to be very random it was still a very well written essay.