Week Twelve

Journal

John Glenn

American Visions and Values LA-400

November 15, 2007





Well the Signature Series is done and it has been a very interesting program. I have enjoyed the program for the most part. This series of classes was a required part of my degree program and I believe that it was a time well spent. The text for the classes was well done and it had some great readings in it. I believe that University requires it for the history and the values that it teaches. It brings up some great issues that are not usually covered in the core classes.



I was very surprised by the wide range of topics that were covered in the program. It was interesting to read the responses that some of the other students wrote to the discussion board. You could see a wide variety of personalities with what people submitted. This will help me in my management career with dealing with a variety of co-workers that I will be working with.



I was able to relate with a majority of the readings that we had because of the values and traditions that we read about. I really enjoyed that part of the readings to look back through history and see how our values were formed as a young country. In my professional life, I hold the same values true, as I do in my personal life.



I hope I was able to contribute different views to some of the discussions that were brought to the discussion board. I believe the best thing I bring to these type of programs is a enthusitic attitude about learning new material.

Week Eleven

Journal


John Glenn



American Visions and Values LA-400



November 12, 2007



Week eleven is coming to a close and week twelve is beginning and is it ever going to be busy. With the two big projects due, it is going to keep us busy. The capstone thesis has been a fairly straight forward assignment. I have been getting my buns kicked by the Photoshop software, by we'll get it done.

The readings this week were interesting ones, the two I especially enjoy was "America The Unusual" and An American Morality Tale. When it came to the first one, it was interesting to see some of the comments that came from the questions regarding the, if the government should be involved in the fight against pollution and global warming. My opinion was that it would probably be the only way to get anything accomplished in this area. We have seen that so far it is not happening with just some parts of the population involved in the idea. It just seems we better do something soon or it will be to late.


On the other reading it was interesting to see some of the "morality tales" that people had from their youth. You could see a small glimpse on how some people were raised and the morals they were brought up with. I really enjoyed some of the stories, especially some of the family stories that they shared.

Well off to week number twelve, it is hard to believe that the program is coming to a end. It seems that it went by very quickly. This gets closer to the degree that I have been chasing for many years.......

WOW WEEK TEN !!

Journal

John Glenn

American Visions and Values LA-400

November 6, 2007

And away we go....... I have been in school now for the past fifteen months and I see the light at the end of the tunnel. The best part is it is not a train for a change!! It is a little early to start celebrateing yet, but boy is it hard not to just let loose. Two more weeks and my time at Bellevue University will be accomplished. This has been a very rewarding time for me since I was one of those kids in high school that worried about even passing a class. Now I get upset if I do not get an A on an assignment. I should be a poster child for going to college when you have had sometime to mature. Maybe not quite so mature, but a little older in life. Some of us it just takes a little longer to "grow up".

Well enough about me, the readings this week were very interesting. My favorite was from "Other People's Money" by Jerry Sterner. With the reading and the and the short video of Danny DeVito playing the part of Garfinkle on You Tube. It is increbile the range of emotions you feel during his speech. At first you want to lynch the guy, but after you think about the situation that the company is in and what the true under lying issues are you see his point. As much as you hate to say it in most cases stockholders are there to make profits on their investments. His job is to see that they make money and that he makes money on the deal. I guess, in this day and age that is what is all about, sorry to say. You can see this in the corporate world we live in now. It is not as much about a quality product, but how much money can we make on the product. I did my capstone project from my last program about Ford Motor Corporation, and you look at where they began to where they are today it is sad. Henry Ford would roll over in his grave to see what happen to his baby..

Looking at some of the other readings from this week we see Milton Friedman speaking about how the only reason a company exist is to make money. His theory that corporations has no social responsibility to the public, but they are there strickly to earn income for their investors. I had read this before and it is as dispictible everytime that you read it. I grew up in a small farm town in Nebraska and think about some buisnesses that my parent's did business with. If all of them would have had that same attitude then we would have had a lot harder time making ends meet. I think corporations are there to make money, that is a given, but should it be at a cost of the public from having a decent life?

Well another busy weeks, but we are almost there!!!!

Week Nine

Journal

John Glenn

American Visions and Values LA-400

October 30, 2007


The time is ticking away and we are getting down to the nitty gritty of the class. With the end of week nine, we find ourselves getting heavy into our final digital story ideas and Capstone paper. It sure seems like these classes have flown by now. I was wondering what I was in for in the beginning writings we were reading, but they got better and I actually learned a lot about other areas I had no clue about.

This weeks readings were very interesting, they brought up some very ugly times in our country. Between the early period of the west when the White Man brutally destroyed the Indian Nation and when the Blacks were being treated as second class citizens due to the color of their skin.

In the readings about the Blacks discrimination, we saw how two leaders handle this situation. One using peaceful tactics and trying to be logical, the other trying to contend to the issue in a more militant way. Both still met the same fate, being assassinated, but the one that used the peaceful means to the end is still remembered today as a legend.

Danielle Crittenden piece called the Mother of All Problems was interesting in that I was surprised by the whole dark secret idea that women hold. I had no idea women were that unhappy in the corporate world. I think it stills comes down to an individual situation, some women seem to cope with the issue well. While others do not even want to address the issue at work in fear of crying. I know I have seen this in my work, but most of the time the problem is also that the women does not want to work anyway. The issue is that the couple both have to work to make ends meet.

Well the end is near and we need to say goodnight...........

Week Eight

Journal



John Glenn



American Visions and Values LA-400



October 23, 2007

Well the end is drawing near and it continues to get busier, with the readings and trying to get the final capstone ideas together. I have a good idea on how I want to approach my final projects. These are going to start requiring a lot more time to get these done on time. I still have a few more areas that I would like to research for my capstone.

I believe I have all the information put together for my digital story, this is going to be interesting to see if I can pull off all the electronic aspect of this one. I enjoy the challenge of the project, now just have to pull it off.

The reading this week was another week of interesting topics. My favorite that I did my posting on was by Andrew Carnegie. I had a little bit of knowledge of this man before I did the reading, but I was very impressed how he lived his life. This was a man that could, for the time pretty much have anything he wanted. His main objective was to ensure that everyone had what they needed. That was libraries and parks, he was willing to put his money where his mouth was and donate endless amounts of money. He wanted to ensure that the people of his communities had a library to improve their abilities to read and educate themselves. I love one of his sayings from the chapter, "A man who dies thus rich, thus dies disgraced".

The other reading that caught my attention was "Defining Deviancy Down" by Danial Patrick Moynihan. There was some interesting information that in this writing. The section pointing out the evidence how the children suffer from a broken home and how it leads to juvenile crime and increase in teenage pregnancies. He spoke the truth in how the morals and the standards of society had slipped away. This was another gentleman that I heard a little about when I was younger. When I researched him, I found out he had a very intriguing history.

I will be using some of information from both of these readings in my final capstone, they are perfect for my subject.

Week Seven

Journal



John Glenn



American Visions and Values LA-400



October 15, 2007



Week Seven

Another busy week in the program for everyone ! The larger projects are coming up and will need to get some ideas put together for the final capstone. The readings this week were interesting in that it covered a different look at what a free society looks like and what countries could say they have one.

Donald Devine's writing this week regarding " Adam Smith and the Problem of Justice in Capitalist Society" was very interesting. He was looking back at where the concept of Justice came from and other people's view on justice. They looked at how Plato and Aristotle defined justice and how they considered it as a general virtue of each person's life. They expected people to consider justice in all aspects of their life. Not just in the day to day aspect, but in their "professional" part also. I believe that Smith's concept that justice came from God, and the quote "love our neighbor as we love ourselves". I believe he is correct regarding that the original concept came from God, it has been changed in concept over the years since.

The other reading that I enjoyed and researched some more information on was the writing of David Wessel. The Legal DNA of Good Economies, was interesting looking how the laws and the government has a affect of the economies of different countries. The difference in the countries that have common law versus civil law. I had never looked at this theory before, but it was interesting comparing the contrasting examples.

I believe I will probably look at some of the material from this week to apply to my final project. It is still amazing to me the vast topics that have been covered so far in class. I think his will continue as the class goes on.

Week Six

Journal

John Glenn

American Visions and Values LA-400

October 8th, 2007

Week Six

Well the weeks keep flying along in class and the readings continue to be interesting. I am happy to say that the text has become more what I see as relative in regards to the title of it. Western Visions and American Values, should be about what has made our country the great land to live in. This week the readings fit the title well, with some of the men that we read about.

Thomas Jefferson writing about what made George Washington the exceptional leader he was for his time. I had no idea that he was as slow as he was in making decisions, but it sounds as if he was very open to suggestions from his men. As Jefferson stated, there was no judgment sounder when it came to General Washington's decisions. Jefferson also painted a picture of a man that was not real warm hearted towards his men, but would give each man a chance to prove themselves.

The other reading I really enjoyed this week, that made a difference to the country was the Letters from Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King. These were writings that had heard of from the past, but never took the opportunity to read these. Some of the quotes that Dr. King had in these were some of the best I have heard. The one I believe I liked the best was "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere". It is incredible the passion he had for the cause of his people, he was willing to do what it took to get his point across that "all men were created equally".

I also enjoyed the short writing of Larger Than Life by Jenny Lyn Bader and I believe I will be using some of this for my final project. She was able to share the essences of what make a person a "true" hero in peoples eyes. I enjoyed her quote regarding heroes, "They lead lives that make us question our own". I do not think that it gets much better then that. Some people that hold their "heroes" up high are probably ashamed now, Brittany Spears, Lindsey Lohan and other "stars" that always seem to fall back to the ground.

In conclusion, I believe this has been one of my favorite weeks for readings and look forward to more week that are along this line of topics.

Week Five

Journal



John Glenn



American Visions and Values LA-400



October 2, 2007



Week Five

I believe that this weeks readings were some of the best we have had to date in my opinion. These were on the theme of what I plan on doing my final project on, that is giving back to the community. It is my belief that this country was built on the premise of giving back a little more to the world, then that was given to you. We have seen time after time in our country how men and women gave their all to make this a fine respected country what it is. As some of the readings refer to this as a responsibility to our community and government.

My two favorite readings from this week were from Fredrick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. You look at what Fredrick Douglass had to overcome to become the person he was. He exemplifies the character of of our country by not letting the society take you down. After escaping as a slave, he stood up for what he believed in.

I had never read Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address before, but I was impressed with how much he said in such a short speech. You could tell that he was a person of true moral judgement and cared for this country. It would have been interesting to see what history would have looked like if he was never assassinated.

Overall it was a good week, lots of reading and was able to start getting ideas for my final project. The Digital story ought to be interesting, I have never tried anything like this before.

Week Four

Journal

John Glenn

American Visions and Values LA-400

September 25, 2007

Week Four

The week that I have been waiting for finally came. So far in this program, this week was the first week where I understood and enjoyed all the readings. I really enjoy reading about the history of America and the people that made this such a strong country. Looking back through the readings it is amazing the wisdom of the men who structured our government and how much they truely cared about the people that they served.

I enjoyed some of the lively discussions that took place this week on the discussion board. I enjoyed the discussion on how people feel on where "we" are at this time when it comes to the topic of race. You can see where their still is a lot of racism in parts of our country. It is sad we still have not come as far as some people think we have on this topic. According to some of the discussions, it is still alive and well in certain aspects of some of our other students. My hope is if we can pass on a better example to our generation, then thatwas passed on to us. Then we can eliminate another layer of this ugly side of our country.

Of the readings this week, I enjoyed the writings of Ben Franklin and Crevecoeur the most. For Crevecoeur, it was intersting to see the thoughts of America from someone that was raised in Europe. He could compare the difference between America and Europe from first hand knowledge. I appreciated the way he described America, "It is not composed, as in Europe, of great lords who process everything and a herd of people who have nothing".

Ben Franklin has always been a person that I was interested in and recently they had a outstanding exihbit on him at our Natural History Museum. It was incredible the influences he had on so many subjects. From the identification of the positive and negative charges in electricity to weather and meteorology. His contribution to America in its beginning was one of the foremost contribution he gave, plus he started the very first firefighting company in America.

I am planning to use a fair amount of the information from this week in my final project. This is what America values and beliefs were founded on. It dose not get much better then this.

Week Three

Journal



John Glenn



American Visions and Values LA-400



September 17, 2007 Week #3



Another busy week for the class! I keep thinking that I am going to have one of those weeks where I understand all the readings, but it wasn't this week. I continue to struggle with some of the readings from the early centuries. It is good information, but it still makes it hard to put the whole picture together for some of them. Once again this week the writings of Plato was a tough read and the "Western Civilization: The Problem of Political Freedom" by Meyer was another tough read, but the podcast helped with understanding more of what Mr. Meyer was trying to get across. With the Plato readings, I had little knowledge of Plato and Socrates going into this program. It has been interesting learning about the two, after hearing so much in the past about their writings.

The reading I enjoyed the most this week was the one I did my discussion on, "The British Tradition in America in Retrospect" by Wright. I enjoy American History and this reading gave me a fair amount of new information on what was brought over to the American Colonies from Britian. The interesting part of this reading for me was how some of the religions that we know today came over and talking about how they developed. When it discussed about how the King James Version of the bible was brought over, (which is one of those things I never had thought of) made sense.

The other reading I did enjoy, even though for me it was a tough read was Crito by Plato. I had heard of this writing before, but had not read it. It is interesting how Socrates stood up for what he believed in. He had a choice on whether to die on the basis of what he believed in or escape from prision and hide out the rest of his days. There are not too many people that are willing to do that, but with this I believe he proved that he was truly dedicated to his teachings.

It was a interesting week for the discussion board, the responsives seem to cover the majority of the readings and had some good discussion on the topics. The posting from Brian Holmes was interesting, it is amazing how we get so accustomed to being able to question our government without the fear of being put to death for it. It makes you think about what it would be like living in some of those other countries that do not have this type of freedom.

Week Two

Journal



John Glenn



American Visions and Values- LA 400



September 10, 2007 -Week Two





Well week two was another weeks worth of reading that baffled me again. As I had stated in last weeks blog, this is all new reading for me. It is amazing all the information that is out there that I have never heard of. The writings of Plato and Freud are ones you hear about all the time, but unless you sit down and read them. You just have no clue what they are talking about unless you research the writer and some of their other writings. The readings were very interesting and I was able to learn from them.



The readings were a very interesting this week in that they were the type that would engage a fair amount of discussion. The one that seem to get everyone talking was the "The Antichrist" by Friedrich Nietzsche. This short story paints the picture of Christianity being a religion that makes a person weak and went on to describe how it corrupted the Western Culture. As you can imagine this was something that got opinions flying. One of the other readings I enjoyed was "An Outline of Psycho-Analysis" by Sigmund Freud. His writings are ones you always hear of, but never really sit down to read. It is interesting on how he describes some of the basis of the psyche for humans. The role that the ego and the super ego plays in who we are as a person.

I think what I enjoyed the most out of this weeks work was the decisions that came from this weeks readings. There were quite a few responses to a couple of them. You could tell that the readings hit a nerve with a few people. Especially Nietzsche, he still can make people angry at him 107 years after his death.

Some of what I would say was the tough part of this week, was reading Plato. I really had to work at understanding what he was trying to say. I have always been a very literal person, so the imagination had to work hard on these.

Overall a good week, plus the Huskers Won !

American Visions and Values

Journal

John Glenn

American Visions and Values- LA 400


September 4, 2007 -Week One




I just recently completed the core curriculum for the Management Program at Bellevue University. With this signature series completed the majority of my requirements will have been met for my Bachelors Degree. I am looking forward to this program because as I have already read this week, it will take me to a new area of learning I have not been too many times before. The material just in the first week has been information I have not studied before.


There were two readings in this past week's assignment that really seemed to catch my attention, the first being "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. As I had mentioned in one of my e-mails, I have never been much of a reader of the short story style. With that being said, I found The Lottery very intriguing with a ending a did not expect. It was very interesting how Shirley Jackson seem to lull you into the quite small town mentality in the beginning only to hit you with the ending as she did. It was intriguing how the story developed into more of a soap opera style, by how she described the different characters.

The second reading that I really enjoyed was the short excerpt from Mere Christianity. C.S. Lewis presented his views on how God created man' and how man fell from the grace of God. His most interesting aspect, which I had not thought of before was the aspect of why God created man with free will. Lewis's thoughts on free will gives man the option of good or evil. In the final decision it comes down to the individual on which path they will travel.

Overall for the week, I enjoyed the postings in the discussion area and getting to see a fair amount of variety in opinions on what the readings meant to them. This will be a very busy eleven weeks in the, but I have enjoyed the information I have already received.