Paris Vs. London

We all know that Paris Hilton is an heiress who gets what ever she wants, who's family owns the Hilton Hotels. But is there a Paris mini me on the Disney Channel? There is! London Tipton from "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody". London's name is famous city in Europe just like Paris, and the last names are eerie Hilton Vs. Tipton? They are oddly alike, i wonder if maybe the director did this on purpose. London is a rich heiress who lives in the hotel that her dad owns called the Tipton. She gets everything she wants and she isn't the smartest person ever. She's never had a job, and she never had to work for anything she's ever wanted.

Can Ethics Ever Change?

Ethics day at New Trier is the same every year. You get a long advisory where you eat bagels from Panera and talk about things you should and shouldn't do to make New Trier a better place. My question is whether or not you can change what someone thinks is the right thing to do. Ethics are usually first taught by your parents and family and that is when they become brainwashed. If you were taught as a child that the color red was a devil color, than you heard otherwise in your twenties, you will probably not change your mind. I don't think that the school can change what you think in one hour once a year.

TV Tokenism.. Is It Real?

Like it or not, it is a real thing. TV Tokenism is when a director is forced to hire an African American for a television show so that the television isn't 100% Caucasian. You will never in today's TV, find a drama starring an African American, but because they are needed on TV to prevent the network from being sued by NAACP, they will give them small parts and never as much screen time as they deserve. Whether or not this is a problem is up to you. Some thing to think about is the fact that an average American spends 14 years of their life watching television! That can change any one's perspective of a race or social group, and as a matter of fact, it does! When you are watching a show with the "black guy" always killing people and robbing the banks and the "white guy" there to save the day, or get him out of the slums of the ghetto, your feeling about people change no doubt. This is almost having the networks work against what NAACP stands for. Unfortunately the people in America with the most money are Caucasian and are between 25-50 years old, so they have to produce TV shows that catch their attention, many of them don't yet feel comfortable with an African American starring in a television show, saving the day. This brainwashing starts when kids are little even, starting from when they flip on the Disney Channel. There is a show that most kids are familiar called "The Proud Family" and what I have noticed is that the father eats chicken for dinner everyday, they have the friend that has 12 brothers and sisters under the age of 14, and their mother has never been married. Also the only sport that is ever played is basketball. This is just a great big exaggeration of what people have stereotyped them for a comedy effect. Another show on Disney would include "Suite Life of Zack & Cody" where these two little boys fool the hotel manager, who happens to be African American, so that they can get away with everything and anything. Is him being African American just a coincidence or could it be tokenism and the fact that they needed to pop an African American in there somewhere, so why not be the gullible one?

The Witch Hunt of 2008

The word "witch hunt" wasn't used back in the 1700s. But of coarse we have all heard about it in Salem, so what was it really? In the novel "The Crucible" many people are being accused for being witches, with rarely any true evidence. The witch hunt was just a way for people to stand out. If you weren't a witch, then you could say that you were more perfect. It was just another way to single people out. Many cultures throughout the world, both ancient and modern, have reacted to allegations of witchcraft either with superstitious fear and awe, and killed anyone that seemed suspicious. How is this similar to today, you might ask?

Patriotism.

A Patriot person shows strong support and love for their country. They have the American flag on their cars and houses, they say the pledge of allegiance, and they allows follow the law and are respectful. People today are accused of being unpatriotic all the time. Many people today don't stand up at the flag with their right hand across their heart reciting the pledge of allegiance. If you don't do those kinds of things you will be alienated just like the witches of Salem.

If someone doesn't do all of this can they still be patriotic?

I think they can, in my opinion, it doesn't mean what you have to show for it, it depends on whats in your heart.

Contradicting A Bit..

New Trier teaches it's students many things about life and how to live and be better people. However, in advisory it was brought how often we often find mew Trier contradicting itself. Last year New Trier celebrated Earth Day, we learned about how humans are effecting the weather and are even causing global warming. We learned about how we should be recycling. After we spent the whole day learning how bad we were treating Earth we went to the cafeteria and ate pizza. The pizza boxes weren't being recycled and they had plastic cups, plastic forks (for the salad), paper plates, and paper napkins. There weren't any recycling bins, so it was a major contradiction. Another example of New Trier's contradictions is when a teacher doesnt grade a test or quiz accurately. Honesty and Academic Integrety has always been something that New Trier taught. Recently, however, I find that teachers are saying exactly this "If you got something wrong and I didn't mark it, dont tell me, its benefical for you." I think that if the teacher is going to make a mistake on somebody's test they should give everyone a point that got that one wrong. If they know that they made a mistake grading, then they should have done something to make it fair. I feel like they teach us to be honest but then they dont inforce it, they dont follow up with the

Limited Vs. Protected

"Congress shall make no law abiding the freedom of speech, or of the press."

Back in the day, when America was being created, the founders made reasonable rights to protect the Americans. Congress wanted America to be different from UK, they wanted freedom! Today in age, congress has slowly taken away these rights. This limits us to what we are allowed to buy, what we wear, what we say, including what we do. These rights should be limited to a few things in my opinion. Screaming "fire" in a busy building and making people panic just isn't acceptable. Its an easy one. However, when people wear t-shirts with inappropriate words, or gestures, it becomes more difficult. Why shouldn't the person be allowed to wear it? Is it really hurting anybody? What about when you aren't supposed to false advertise? Advertisers are always stretching the truth to make their product look like the best, that's how they keep their jobs. What would you think if a high school boy was running for school's president and used words that left the audience feeling uncomfortable? Congress passed the law years ago to make freedom of speech possible for him, but the audience is in school and isn't able to leave the auditorium. Which is more important?

Keeping Things Private

No doubt about it. Important things in your family should be kept there. Sarah Palin's teenage daughter is preganant, but should this really be in magazines? What does it matter to anyone? Perhaps, its beacuse she is making herself look like one of us, she calls herself a hockey player's mom and tries her best to fit in with moms in America. But does her status of being a grandma change this? Her teenage daughter being pregnant, makes her look like a bad mom. Sarah Palin is 44 years old and about to be a grandma, in American the average age to start having your own family is 21-25. So Palin is in the average age of being a grandma, but her daughter is not. Does this change at all how people view her now.