Native American's Influence on U.S. Society Today

Native Americans have greatly influenced U.S. society today. They have brought us new cultures, new peoples, new ways of communicating, and new ways of thinking in general. Many places in the U.S. are still very interwoven with Native Americans today and many are trying to keep that culture that they brought us alive.

I think that their influence has been celebrated in some places while it has been completely ignored in others. For example, in Washington, D.C., there is a branch of the Smithsonian Institution that built a whole building costing over eight million dollars just in the construction dedicated just to the Native Americans and their culture and ways of life. I have been to that museum, and let me tell you, their culture is most definetly greatly celebrated there like I have never seen anywhere else. Also, there are places that could care less about what went on during that period of time. There are people who care more about where their car is parked than whether or not there was even anybody here before Columbus. I think that we as a country have done a small bit to help to celebrate the Native American ways, but there is certainly a heck of a lot of work that there is still to be done. I think that we as a country even owe them something more than what we have already done. What, we only took their food, introduced deadly diseases intentionally, stole their land, killed off over 5 million of their people, and totally sqashed their way of life like a bug. I think that we owe them for that and that we should give them more back than what we already have.

Change the World Assignment Ideas

Here is a list of a few of the ideas that I have for the change the world assignment.

1) Do more community service in the Boulder/Denver area

2) Use school to inspire kids who might not be as lucky as me to do well in life

3) Helping out at the church more often

4) Just perform more "Good deeds" than I have been doing lately

5) Be kinder to complete strangers

6) Try to inspire kids to have a more positive attitude about going to school

7) Try and organize some small groups (in school or out) that could try to help out in some way

8) Donate food and/or time to a homeless shelter

9) Be more environmentally aware (not littering, being conservative of materials, not wasting electricity, etc......)

10) Help out the "New kid at school" and encourage him or her to do the same

September 11th Thoughts

The terrorist attacks on September 11th were like a smack to the U.S in the face. On that day, something happened that no one thought was possible, but it still happened.

I think that future generations will be inpacted by September 11 because of all of the stuff that the country is doing right now in response to the crisis. Air travel will never be the same, and car and bus travel will be less so but still very different than before. Even with the war, people who live in the next few decades will most definetly be effected by all the new laws and there is even the potential for the draft. Now they would be a little bit effected by that, I think....... Anyway, September 11 will (in my opinion) effect future generations and maybe even develop into a huge date that everyone knows about and treats it like a lot more than it is now.

I Beleive that the "National Mood" of September 11 now compared to that of the mood in 2001 has changed dramatically. First off, you can't get through an airport without being dehumanized and treated like an animal. All of the new laws surrounding travel in the air and on the ground and security have definetly gotten more seroius since the 11th. I also think that because of the "War on Terrorism", there may become a draft, which would most definetly be a change from before.

Should Americans Fly the flag on 9/11?

I really hadn't given much thought to this before it was asked in class. I guess that if you want to fly a flag on 9/11, then that's your decision and it's a free country, so do what you want to do. However, it seems a little weird to me to be flying an American flag on a day where over 2,000 people died in a terrorist attack. I don't think that there should be any laws for or against this policy, although I don't think that I would fly a flag on that day.

Steve Irwin "The Crocodile Hunter" Dies

No one saw it coming. Nobody was prepared for what happened.

Early in the afternoon of September 4th, 2006, at about 11am, Steve Irwin, also known as "The Crocodile Hunter" was killed while diving near Port Douglas, in Queensland by a stingray. According to witnesses and the video footage that was kept, the Croc Hunter was snorkling near the surface when he spotted a stingray. He swam over to investigate and eventually swam into a position such that he was directly over the stingray. At that point, it reared and stuck its poisonous, barbed 20-cm tail directly into Steve's chest. As it turns out, it penetrated directly into his heart. As a reflex, the Croc Hunter grabbed the other end (no longer attatched to the stingray) and pulled it out of his now bleeding chest. Because the tail was barbed, instead of being a smooth, round tail, the tail of this creature has tiny little mini-spikes that stick backwards out of the tail, much like a fishing hook. Instictivly, the Croc Hunter pulled this barbed tail out of his heart, which some people say may have caused more damage than the actual stab.
It is human nature that once you realize that you have been stabbed, you grab the knife (or whatever stabbed you) and pull it out. this is not neccesarily the best way to handle a major wound of that type. When you pull something out of a wound like this, it will open up the would and all of the blood will spill out of the opening. (not a good thing!) Believe it or not, after you have been stabbed, LEAVE THE KNIFE IN! This was (as some people believe) the Croc Hunter's big mistake. Not only did removing the tail allow blood to flow from his heart, but the barbs on the tail also basically ripped the wound apart, which would obviously cause major damage to any organ. However, some argue that because the tail was slightly poisonus, pulling it out was the best possible way to handle the situation.

Either way, Steve Irwin A.K.A. the "Crocodile Hunter" was a very interesting person who many loved and his death will be greatly greived my many.

Island Government Project

This blog is mainly (actually only) about what I thought of the Island Government project.

Initially, the class broke up into small groups that made their own ideas on what should be done for a government. Then, the whole class got together and we discussed what we thought would be the best way to handle the situation at hand. After a "Island Meeting" the class decided that our new government should be a basic Republican government. Then, to my surprise, they elected a president......me. I didn't see that coming.

Some of the problems (I'll be kind......) that we had as a group in our discussions and decision making are as follows. First, I think that we were totally inefficient as a group making decisions because of all of the talking that was going on throughout the whole meeting. I also think that some people weren't participating to their full potential and they weren't helping as much as they could have been helping. Second, I think that almost all of the decisions that did get made were only made by me because nobody else seemed to care. I think that if everyone would have given input (where relevent) then we would have had a happier island.

Overall, our Island government (besides its flaws) seemed to work out at least decently. We decided on a Republic structure, where we elected a "president" and a "vice president" who basically had control over everyone else. We also decided that we would have a good sized bill of rights in which I won't get into detail about right now, but we did have one anyway. Basically, everyone had just about equal power when it came to voting and sharing their ideas, shich I think would have worked out if we would have had more time to really discuss the topic and get it done.

Anyway, this is basically what I thought about the whole Island Government project.

Mik