The American Dream

The American Dream is the idea that anyone from any background, race, religion, creed or economic standing can be born in or come to the United States and make it all the way to the top.

Oprah Winfrey started life on a poor farm, and eventually grew to be one of the best known and most respected journalists in the country, as well as being an actress and running her own company.

Bill Gates dropped out of college to write software because he had an idea that one day every home would have a personal computer. Now he is one of the richest and most powerful men on the planet. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest philanthropic organization in the world.

Ask 4 of the following people what their American Dream is and put their answers and your answer in the blog as your post.

One of your Parents:

One of your Grandparents:
Your Aunt or Uncle:
A Neighbor:
One of Your Teachers:
Your Sibling:

Your Best Friend:

http://www.clevelandplayhouse.com/pdfs/06-07/MS0704-sg.pdf--information comes from this site

Justice

Our last blog was very involved. So many of you provided good arguments that asked those who believe differently to think outside the box. Thinking outside of the box is always a good skill.

The picture to the right has the Justice League. For those of you who are comic book or cartoon lovers, they are familiar. They provide justice to those who experience no justice. A television show called Leverage does the same thing.

This is an idea that so many of us are familiar with.

Think about what justice looks like.

Is justice ever served?

Does anyone ever really deserve justice for a wrong that has been put on them?

Are there different degrees of wrongs committed and do
they deserve different degrees of justice?

What is the difference between an eye for an eye and
justice?

Jus⋅tice 
–noun
1. the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness: to uphold the justice of a cause.
2. rightfulness or lawfulness, as of a claim or title; justness of ground or reason: to complain with justice.
3. the moral principle determining just conduct.
4. conformity to this principle, as manifested in conduct; just conduct, dealing, or treatment.
5. the administering of deserved punishment or reward.

This is the definition according to Dictionary.com.

Look at the questions in purple. Think about them and try to answer. Feel free to comment on the blogs of others. Please remember that you must be respectful of one another and do not insult each other. Happy blogging and I look forward to watching you think.

Power!

How do we define POWER? Throughout the world, I hear people say they feel powerless, they have no power etc. How do we have power? How do we get it? Why do some people have more than others?

In many political debates it is argued that the Republicans take from the Democrats. Is this about power?

When we are at home, who has the power?

Is there ever a time when power won't exist?

Think about the idea of power. Who do you know who has power? How did they get it? What does it mean be powerless?


Feel free to argue against the thoughts of others. Feel free to comment, intelligently, about what other have to say about power. I give you the power to do this.

Happy November!!!!

Here are two pictures for you to look at. They are abstract art. "A simple, common definition of "abstract art" is "not realistic." Yet many artists who call their work abstract, actually do have a subject in mind when they paint. They take a figure or landscape and simplify it, exaggerate it, or stylize it in some way. They are not trying to imitate nature, but to use nature as a starting off point. Color, line, and form are more important to them than the details of the actual subject matter. They want to give a sense or feel for the subject rather than an exact replication" (modernartimages.com).

Choose one of the pictures. Write a story using the picture as your focus. The story should be fictional--make it up. Use the objects in the pictures, the shapes, the colors as a way to identify which picture you are working from.

Ex. "My blue period--My name is Jaclyn and my life can be broken into three parts: the time of innocence, the time of awareness, and the time of confusion. As a child we are innocent. We see the world through glasses that are rose colored. Everyone is nice and has the best intentions. The world is safe. In the middle, the awareness arrives. The center becomes the eye. I can see the world as it is, no longer roses and daisies, but a place where cynicism resides. A ripple effect of my actions reminds me of the way the world works. No one lives in isolation. Everything spirals down and out. In the end, confusion sets it. Here questioning my existence begins. I no longer see myself clearly. There is less of me and more of the world. The color blue has always been the way I see myself--a sky moving above hidden, sometimes, by the conflicts that exist."

The blue one, which I used as my metaphor, is harder to write about. It was a challenge. If you like a challenge, go for it.

Enjoy!