What is really important? Appreciation and Respect for Others.

I think it is important for people to learn how to be respectful. As a product of Generation Y I have found for some people to be less and less respectful of others every single day. I think its time for a reminder of what it means to have respect for others. The reason I believe people should have this common courtesy of respect is because usually older people are grateful when you do something so common such as holding the door for another human being. A few days ago I saw a girl walking out of a building holding a big board and there was no way she could have opened the door on her own. I waited for her to make it through the door and just as she was walking through a man walks right through the door I was holding for the girl with the board. He walks through without a word and she almost drops the board. I expected at minimum for an apology to the girl because he almost caused her to drop the board. She walked on through the door with great appreciation saying “thank you” multiple times. If it were anyone else I wouldn’t have changed my action because it is a friendly deed. I want to know why people find it so hard to say “thank you” or say “please”. It is appreciation, respect that has become less and less important. I grew up in a mixed up Mexican and Palestinian household. My mother and father are both Mexican and their parents are Mexican but I lived with my mother and stepfather the majority of my life. My stepfather grew up in a Palestinian household with Palestinian parents that pray to Allah five times a day. It was hard to adjust to but I finally found some common ground between these cultures. It was appreciation and respect. I learned to appreciate having a life, having food clothes and most of all family because not everyone gets to have these things. I learned that respect was not just given it was earned but only if you respect others. By respecting others and saying “please”, “thank you”, “your welcome” and even “bless you” people will look at you and know that there is something about you that deserves respect and appreciation when doing common daily deeds such as holding a door open for someone else, giving up you seat on a crowded public bus, small deeds like this add up and may change someone else’s perspective of not only Generation Y but humanity. 

Can there be world citizenship?

According to Elise Boulding there should be an international citizenship but because of war and excuses for war world citizenship is not possible. I believe that if every single nation in the world would establish a peace treaty allowing for peace and no war. The problem with this is that because there is a world super power according to Boulding, which is the United States. The United States has created this reputation of ruling, invading and allowing for the world to fear the United States. Currently the United States is at war with Iraq for many reasons stated in the video “Two Wars” when “Talk to an Iraqi”, allows for people of the United States to see what the war is truly about. The Iraq war is full of uncertainty. People are confused as to why the super power of the world invaded Iraq. After an unjustified invasion with confusion from the citizens they have no other choice but to make it feel OK that everyday soldiers are dying in an unnecessary war (depending on who you ask).

Boulding being a Norwegian immigrant felt the safest place was with in the innocence of Norway until WWII when Hitler invaded then Boulding came to the realization that the world was a place of fear there was no where to hide. These are the exact feelings that the citizens of the United States felt when there was a terrorist attack on September 11 on the world trade center. The subject of world peace was unthinkable from that moment on. As Generation Y experienced and learned of these events through the United States’ short history as a nation Generation Y and Boulding both have a similar characteristic, in that, these events churned out fear. In the article “The Why-Worry Generation” by Judith Warner points out that Generation Y lives in fear because “growing up in an era of almost unremitting ambient anxiety: school years spent in the shadow of Columbine, 9/11 and, lately, widespread parental job losses. Maybe chronic unease has simply raised this generation’s tolerance level for stress, leaving it uniquely well equipped to deal with uncertainty.” With that said there is little hope for an international peace. I feel it is not possible especially with the next expected great generation living in the shadows of terror.  The world will live in the shadow of fear never allowing for a world citizenship to take place especially when the most democratic nation (the United States, of course) is unable to make such an enormous decision such as, war, up for vote. 

Characteristics of Generation Y

- Expected Education: High School diploma plus some college

- View of Family: Variety of family usually separated and remarried and sometimes, traditional families.

- Role of Career: Main focus, climbing the “positional”  ladder.

- View of Authority: Question authority, respect, honor, new traditions. 

- View of Technology: Use it. It is common and is a must have based on social aspects of our time.

- View of Success: work for it, earn it don’t let anyone take it away from you. Based on family value and influences.  

-Interactive Style: e-mail, Facebook, cell phones, text messaging and occasional phone calls, video-web chatting.

-Messages That Motivate: “going green”, “just do it”

Generation Y

Generation Y has be perceived as a very dependent and spoiled generation in these two articles “The Why Worry Generation” and “Generation Me” from the New York Times and Newsweek. Both of these articles are based on research that has been done in order to show how generation Y has become so spoiled and needy. Being part of generation Y I feel this is a complete outrage that my generation is considered “the most narcissistic generation ever” (Kelley). Narcissism is a strong word given the fact it is considered a personality disorder and that is the word that is going to be associated with my generation for the rest of our lives! As children I agree we tend to be selfish and we do grow out of it depending on our parents and family. I have been raised in a home where if you do selfless acts to benefit another human being, you are doing a noble act. I have been taught to do nice things for complete strangers because karma is something I believe in and my family believes. Not too long ago I sat on the public bus filled with many college students and people of the city of Chico. My cluster mate and I sat down and a woman gets on to the bus with two children, an infant in her arms, and a toddler. I gave my seat to the toddler by respectfully asking her mother to allow her young daughter to take my seat. I stood on bus the entire way to school, which is not to far. My cluster mate however, was seated right next to me and did NOT given up her seat just as I have. She stayed seated next to the toddler while the woman stood with her infant son in hand. This experience made me think: “what the hell was my cluster mate thinking not giving up her seat?” Why was I the only person on that bus willing to give up my seat to a toddler? Then it hit me! I was brought up to do selfless acts. Am I as selfish as the generation I happen to be a part of? I have become a college student because I want to be a nurse and help other people. Is that “narcissistic”? I agree that people of my generation are spoiled and expect more out of life than most generations, but it is not because we have good parents that gave us too much self-esteem, it is because we were raised to have goals and desires (Warner). Through generation Y, Warner points out we live with the “ambient anxiety: school years spent in the shadow of Columbine, 9/11 and lately widespread of parental job losses”. We have experienced these things that has given us the desire to want more. We want jobs that will be available in the future. We want a stable country not just for ourselves but also for the rest of the nation. We do not want to worry about layoffs and making ends meat to survive, however that is exactly what we have been taught to be afraid of. We have been taught to work hard in order to achieve a better life compared to the one’s our parents have worked hard for. We just want to do bigger and better things than the generations before us. If having a goal is cocky or egotistic then why did the generations before us expect greatness from generation Y?

2/15/11 In Class Discussion

1) When do we stop turning our personal power over and responsibilities to liars?

The day that we make a step forward and accept responsibility for our actions. We turn to liars and blame them for our deception and our wrong doing yet we do not realize that we allow them to lie by blaming them. We enable liars to lie. We give them reason through guilt and emotion. We learn from our mistakes of trusting liars to not trusting very often. We put our trust in certain people and allow them to ruin our trust not just for those certain people but many others as well. We allow liars to take not only our trust but also faith in good people, which can be a form of personal power. It is our responsibility to protect ourselves from the people that may hurt us emotionally and we must accept that we are responsible for trusting others, keeping our personal power in tact.

2) Ericsson connects to other writings in class.

Ericsson explains 10 different types of many lies and how everyday people lie. The connection I have made between Ericsson’s point of view and what we have been learning in class is that from behind a computer screen vicious comments can be posted as a façade that people chose to have from the safety of their anonymous profile. Online, people create these images or perceptions of themselves, which can be hurtful and harmful to others at times.  This very common façade may or may not reflect a person’s true personality. Throughout the class we have discussed the reasons people chose to use a façade online and how common it is. 

Generation Me

I feel the author of “Generation Me” was very stereotypical and judgmental toward generation y. Raina Kelley’s attitude was very negative toward generation y, which was expressed in the words she chooses to describe us. One example is the title of the article “Generation Me”, that expresses the idea of a selfish generation right from the beginning. Throughout the article Kelley uses the term, “narcissism” to describe the people of my generation. This word is not only offending but very stereotypical based on the fact that she states “we've created a generation of hot-house flowers puffed with a disproportionate sense of self-worth (the definition of narcissism) and without the resiliency skills they need when Mommy and Daddy can't fix something”. Narcissism does not only mean a “disproportionate sense of self-worth” but it is also considered a personality disorder in some cases. There are many successful people of my generation that will go on and make history but not in a selfish manner and without the help of our mommies and daddies.

2.   

Agree	Disagree
- The super stars have impacted Kelley’s perception of our generation as a whole. - We are a little more dependent on our families than most generations - Inflation of praise, expectations for our generation.	- The way we are raised does impact the amount of narcissism a person has and can learn from. - Socioeconomic status, cultural norms does impact the way you are raised and how we become or are not narcissism. - We grow up to have our own values, morals and social expectations not all however are based on having “six-figure sweet-16 parties and plastic surgery for graduation presents”.

My Lie

The last time I lied was last night when I was on the phone with my sister. I told her I had a lot of homework to do, when the truth was I only had to review my notes for today’s Child Development class. It was the only way to get her off the phone; so, I could do what I needed to get done. We hardly ever speak on the phone because she and I are always busy with school and dealing with other things. I love my sister and I am glad that she calls me but I have work that needs to get done this makes me a white liar. 

Types of Lies According to Stephanie Ericsson

White Lie

When someone lies to you to protect you. One example is when I don’t want to talk on the phone I decide to tell whoever is calling me that I am busy doing homework and I cant talk unless it is very important.

Façade

Façade is like wearing a mask. You create an image for someone or something else. An example of a façade is when you go to a job interview you may not be or act like your casual self. Depending on the job you may act more sophisticated and use vocabulary you do not normally use.

Ignoring the plain facts

Is being dismissive of the facts and convincing your self there is nothing wrong. For example I tried to convince myself that sneaking out would be “okay” because my parents were being unreasonable. The truth was that they sneaking out could be potential danger lurking and my parents are just trying to keep me safe. 

Deflecting

Deflecting is when direct the attention from the truth and focus it on something else (can be more lies). When I was in high school and my parents wouldn’t let me barrow the car I would deflect the attention by pointing out that they let me use the car only when it is convenient for them. 

Omission

Omission is when you tell part of the truth but not the complete truth. When I went to the movies my parents asked me who was going to be there and I told them all the names of my girlfriends and did not mention that we were going to meet boys there.

 Stereotypes and clichés

Stereotypes and clichés are made up of “exaggeration, omission and ignorance” says Ericsson. An example of a stereotype is when some people see a beautiful person they jump to the conclusion that because that person is beautiful that person must be stuck up or have an enormous ego dependent on looks.

Groupthink

Groupthink is when people lie as a group and make the decision to not tell the truth when questioned. One example is when a group of people decides to go out somewhere and not invite a specific person. And they decide not to tell that specific person they all went out together is groupthink.

Out-and-out lie

Is straight out lie. No truth is involved. One example is when my parents ask if I am going out this weekend and I say “absolutely not! I have too much work I need to get done.” When the truth is I am going to parties every night of the weekend.

Dismissal

This is a form of denial or making a decision not to say something or do something about the truth. One example is if a friend is getting cheated on and you know and don’t say anything to your friend you are dismissing the fact of truth being a bystander. Depending on the situation it may a good decision not to say anything.

Delusion

Delusion is when excuses are accepted vs. the truth. One example is the fact that someone I know has parents that are delusional because they know their daughter does things that they are not proud of and they don’t tell their daughter what to do and what not to do. They allow her to continue to make these mistakes and accept the excuses that she gives them.

Rant: Non-football fans that feel the need to make unnecessary comments when true football lovers watch their favorite team lose.

Congratulations to all the Greenbay Packer fans, it was a good game. As a die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan it was devastating to watch. If watching my favorite team lose wasn’t bad enough the constant bashing on Facebook, through text messages, rude comments came from the people that do NOT even care about football was just plain annoying and UNECESSARY! I am sure if all those people were to see the packers lose the same things would have been said about the packers to packer fans. If you do NOT like football, follow football or even cares which team loses or wins learn how to bite your tongue!

People all over the country watched the super bowl and all of a sudden people decide to have a slight interest in what team loses or wins. Good for you, you are taking an interest in something that many people like and even love to watch. If you don’t have nice things to say about the game that you decided to watch don’t say anything at all. It is called RESPECT learn how to both earn it and give it to others. Watching my favorite team lose was a good enough reason for me to post a status update congratulating Packer fans that I have as friends on Facebook. I put a lot of thought into the things I say to the fans of the Super Bowl XLV champions and people still have the rude, disrespectful nerve to feel the need to comment on my nice, respectful status update. Seriously people, learn how to earn and give respect to the respectful football fans of the NFL!

Online Guidelines

After being a regular Facebook user it is only natural for me to ask for all websites to have similar privacy settings for social networks such as Facebook. People have a freedom of speech in the United States and because the Internet around the world is not completely regulated. One main guideline is to be respectful, polite and have morals when you post, comment or question someone else’s post. Due to the fact of misconception there is no way possible to completely regulate profanity, and the complete disrespect that people find behind the safety of their computer screen. One reason that I like Facebook so much is that I can decide what stays on my profile and what certain people can see. The privacy feature Facebook provides is something that most websites should also include. This will allow people to be bold in what they post and it may also allow for people to think twice before posting things that may be offensive to others.

Main guidelines:

1.     Think twice before posting something online.

2.     Be polite and respect others’ opinions without criticism.  

3.     Always expect to be attacked for anything and everything you post. 

Reading response to “Make Our Ugly Discourse Better: Join the Civilogue” and “ Why I like vicious, anonymous online comments”

With a growing popularity of internet posting, commenting, tweeting, or simply stating what is on your mind people are able to give their own personal opinion publicly through websites such as blogger.com, twitter.com, Facebook.com, myspace.com and many other sites like these. The problem with all of these sites is the fact that they are not all completely censored. People all over the world can post violent and vulgar language at any moment for any one to see. Matt Zoller Seitz points out very specific inappropriate language posted on websites such as Salon.com in his article “Why I like vicious, anonymous online comments”. People drop the F-bomb like it is a new trend in the very extreme quotes he uses in his article. Seitz made it very clear that he was not offended by the “vicious” comments but he points out that these comments are made public due to the lack of censorship on the fairly new Internet that has become a household item for most people around the world. The fact that these comments are filled with profanity allows for people to have little to no fear of consequence. With the little regulation on the Internet people have began to create fantasized identities by acting, saying and doing certain things on the Internet.

Another account of this “political nastiness” is expressed in the article, “Make Our Ugly Disclosure Better: Join the Civilogue”. In this particular article the focus has shifted from inappropriate, fantasized identities the Internet provides to “political nastiness”.  I found it interesting how the author does NOT ask for people to correct others politically but requests for people to give an alternative view in a political manner by commenting in these controversial posts in the political field. There has to be “Action!” taken in order for people to completely understand the dynamics of politics not only in the united states but all over the world. These points of view allow for people all over the world to have many perspectives at the tips of their fingers provided by the all so amazing Internet.

What is Freedom?

Freedom is the ability to make your own decisions. Not having to ask for permission to do things you wish to do. Not being held back in saying what is on your mind. Having the ability to think, say and protest what is on your mind without restrictions. Growing up in a traditional Mexican family I was not allowed to do a lot of things that my friends were. I was not allowed to be out all hours of the night hanging out with my friends. I had a curfew and lived in a very strict home where I could not even choose what kind of clothes wore.  My parents were very strict with me in having friends and attending social events. I was exposed to a life where I couldn’t tell my parents how trapped I felt. When I left home to attend CSU Chico in the fall of 2010 I began my life. I was able to make my own rules, wear what I wanted and do what I wanted with whomever I wanted. I have the ability to speak my mind.  I define freedom with the ability to make your own decisions, good or bad, they are your decisions and no one has the ability to change what you do or influence you unless you enable them to.