Blog #8

Discuss the reason(s) you chose the book that will become the topic of your third essay. Did you choose it for the story? the illustrations? the controversial topic it covers? Is it a book that you can relate to on a personal level or one that you think would be helpful to someone that you know?

I chose the author Shel Silver, and where the sidewalk ends. I chose this because I am puzzled as to why this would be a controversial book. I would like to know more about why people chose to fight the battles they fight. I think there is so much more that we could be doing with our time than fighting against children's books. It is a waste of time.

Censorship in the News

If you've been keeping up with current events, you should already know about the censorship issue brewing over a cartoon published in the New York Post. If you're not up to date, here's the story in a nutshell:A couple of weeks ago, a pet chimpanzee attacked his owner's friend and critically injured her (story is here). Just a few days after the attack, the New York Post, one of Rupert Murdoch's newspapers, ran the cartoon above. An immediate expression of outrage from Civil Rights groups ensued, followed by loud (and on-going) protests outside the paper's office. Today, Rupert Murdoch, in response to the public outcry, issued an apology that you can read here. Arguing that the apology is not enough, Al Sharpton (and others) want to see the NY Post shut down.Now that you have the basics of the story, look closely at the cartoon. Think about your reaction to it. What is it about the cartoon that could have provoked such outrage and calls for censorship? What would Milton say about it? Does it, in any way, support Mill's fear of the power of popular opinion in a democracy?Let's talk about it on Thursday!

I find it interesting that they thought it had something to do with black people. It seems that every time you turn around something is turned into a racism. I can see the corralation between the monkey that attack the lady and trying to be funny. I don't know if I agree with them and having him write an apology. People are allowed to say what they feel in this country. If they want to say they think the legislation is a badly written, then let them say it. They are allowed to have their own opinion. People in this country would have laughed if that was written about George W. Bush, why is it different with Barack Obama. He puts his pants on the same way. I do not think that being African American should sheild you from ridicule, just because you can call it racism. He wanted to be the president, with that comes ridicule, and scrutiny.

Blog #6

Write about your first impression of what you've read so far in What Johnny Shouldn't Read. Are you surprised, shocked, horrified, intrigued, disgusted, or some other adjective, by it?

I am mostly intrigued by the book. I am amazed at the things that people think is okay to censor. The part that interested me was the fact that college textbooks are not as censored as they are in elementary and high school. It would be a shock to these kids to find out things they could have been learning all this time, to learn in college. Are we setting our kids back by withholding information, or are we protecting them? I am curious to know if they have done a study to see how this effects the children. I know as a parent I withhold information from my children but what is too much. As a parent, you struggle with this question almost every day of your child's life. How much television do you let them watch? How much desert should they have? How much should I protect them? In short, I deal with censorship everyday.

Blog #5

Milton argues that society needs a free marketplace of ideas, a streaming fountain of knowledge as he calls it, in order to grow and progress. Does our media have a responsibility to contribute only objective information into that marketplace? Why?

I think they do need to provide only objective information in the marketplace. We need to know all the information and make the decisions for ourselves. Otherwise, we become a society that is hanging on someone else's word. We should be a free-thinking society so we are not susceptible to anyone taking over. For example, we become susceptible to people like Stalen or Hitler, and we believe what they say.

3 Things

3 Things. . .
Three Things that Scare Me:
1.Ruining my kids
2.not succeeding
3.being stuck in a place in my life that I will never get out of

Three People Who Make Me Laugh:
1.my husband
2. my uncle
3.my mom

Three Things I Love:
1.being alone (which is never)
2.having fun with my kids
3.my job

Three Things I Hate:
1. stupid people
2.people who think they know everything
3.mean people

Three Things I Don't Understand:
1.politics of any kind
2. close minded people
3. people with no ambition
Three Things on My Desk:
1.phone
2.laptop
3.mounds of paperwork waiting to be done

Three Things I'm Doing Right Now:
1. working on registration for my school
2. working on homework
3.working on what I am doing this weekend (I am a multitasker)

Three Things I Want to Do Before I Die:
1. visit Italy
2.visit all the great sites in the United States
3.make sure my kids succeed, go to college and live happily (this is first and foremost, my one and only job)



Three Things I Can Do:
1. multitask
2. manage a preschool (I think I do a really good job)
3.shop (this is more like my favorite thing to do)

Three Things I Can't Do:

1.speak a different language
2.drive (according to my husband)
3. give directions to a certain destination

Three Things or People I Think You Should Listen To:

1. everyone ( I think everyone has something good to say, take what you want from it)
2. your parents(I realized at a young age they have something good to offer)
3. husband(I will never admit it, but he is the smartest guy I know)

Three Things or People You Should Never Listen To:
1. news (so depressing)
2.people who are negative (who has that much time)
3.stupid people

Three Things I'd Like to Learn:
1. learn how to speak a different language
2.learn more about the child development field (it is forever changing)
3.Learn how to talk my way out of stuff

Three Shows I Watched as a Kid:
1. care bears
2. tom and jerry
3.teenage mutant ninja turtles

Three Things I Regret:
1.not going to school before I had kids, it makes it hard with two kids (although i would never change the fact I had them, they changed my life)
2.not buying a house before we got married
3. allowing our credit to get ruined, we spent so much time fixing it, but we are almost there...Yeah

Liberty

John Stuart Mill contends that society functions best when it is built upon a practice of doing no harm:"[T]he sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant. He cannot rightfully be compelled to do or forbear because it will be better for him to do so, because it will make him happier, because, in the opinion of others, to do so would be wise, or even right. These are good reasons for remonstrating with him, or reasoning with him, or persuading him, or entreating him, but not for compelling him, or visiting him with any evil in case he do otherwise."Do you agree or disagree with Mill that governments have no right to interfere with an individual's liberty unless that individual's behavior will cause harm to someone else? Why?


I agree that our liberties should not be imposed apon unless we will cause harm to someone else. I think we should have the right to live freely within reason. I believe that is what this country was built on. Where would we be without free speech or due process? We would not be the country we are today. I think that the government need to make sure that we are safe and we are taken care of, but our liberties they should leave alone. So in order to sum it up, I agree with what Mr. Miller has said that the government should not interfer.

According to Milton, how or why does truth become a heresy if a person believes things only because his pastor or government tells him so? Why does Milton find this practice dangerous?



I think the way he describes it, it is dangerous to listen to what anyone says. I think that it is important for you to be educated. If you just believe in what people tell you, you are easily manipulated. When books are censored we run the risk of having other people decide what we should and should not know. At that point, we are in danger because then other people can manipulate us into not think for ourselves. This danger comes along with censorship and all that entails.