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.