Recognizing Default Responses

Throughout the semester I have noticed when writing my blogs on the media, my discussions and my line of reasoning I have reverted some of my views back to what I have been taught but also what I have learned since maturing.  We as children learn from our parents what right and wrong is we learn what is acceptable and what is not. We learn these concepts and use them to make judgments on different issues, these judgement are not based on evidence or merit but purely on what we were taught. I recently had an example like Dr.Young did, I was working at the hospital when a Physician told me a story when they were at a resort and wanted to eat at certain restaurant outside, however they noticed that their were people drinking alcohol outside and did not want to expose their children to this behavior.  This is a prime example of how ethnocentricity affects even the most educated people. The other people in the room that heard the same story stood in amazement of how someone could judge people based on something they don't agree with thus making them atrocious people.  As I have had life experiences and have been in different places my views and opinions have changed from what was previously a learned behavior. 
We as humans react differently in every situation and to react appropriately we must be able to adapt.  Adaption means changing to accommodate any situation, for me this was a lesson that took many years to learn however I have finally caught on. For example when I saw something when I was younger I would rush to judgement and determine what I deemed the best solution, this was based not on fact or evidence but a default response. As I have grown older and have experienced different parts of the world my judgement is no longer the same. I have gained a greater respect for the people and world around me, the biggest lesson I have learned is that differences in people, views, opinions are what make people special. The saying that if everyone were the same the world would be a boring place is exactly the truth. Our differences are what makes us unique, we many at times clash with those of other views but we still can find common ground in other interests. When writing on the media, I realized I couldn't just speak my mind and opinion I had to back my words with evidence and facts, and many times facts can be twisted with opinions.
 I have related this to a phrase from a TV series and the phrase has always made perfect sense to me - "Once you attach an assumption to a piece of evidence, you start to bend the narrative to support it." This is what we do in our daily lives we look for reasons to justify our reasoning without actually having facts first. My first on the media was based on the Zika virus, my assumption was that the disease was infecting the world and caused birth defects and citizens should be aware and cancel their trips to foreign country's. The information I gathered was from the media. This hyped the effect of the disease only made the public hysteria worse, as I wrote in my blog when the H1N1 was exposed their was mass hysteria in the U.S. and people lined the E.R. because they thought they had been exposed. However after listening to the discussion and gathering my own facts, the media hyped the illness to be much more than it is, my default response was incorrect and I had no logical reasoning to support it. After gathering evidence for my blog I found that I was wrong. When I did my first constructive video I knew the NSA was trying to protect the american public but at what cost ? I knew who Snowden was but I could not yet decide if he was a traitor or whistle blower.  My assumption was that this was for the good of the country and to protect the people but after some research my response developed as I gathered factual information and began looking at it from a different perspective and adapting my views. I had later come to decide that what the NSA was doing was illegal and unethical. The world we live in is based on our perception, and always has been but our perceptions can evolve with being better informed and having an open mind, listening to others opinions can influence us to make more informed decisions on which to base our opinions.

The Future of Learning

The definition of education is a process of inviting truth and possibility, of encouraging and giving time to discovery. In order to invite truth and possibility into the lives of students the way teachers engage them needs to be discussed and analyzed. Teachers can engage with students and encourage them to discover knowledge simultaneously this creates an interactive environment where the need for information is so great the student wont be satisfied until the answer is reached.
In order to attain this yearning for education, the system needs to be as adaptive as the students themselves.  The process in which the educational system views students scores needs to be adjusted, with technology programs can be designed to adapt to the different learning protocols to properly fit the students behaviors and techniques. 
 Each students learning ability's is as different as their personality's, in order to utilize the full potential of the student programs can be initiated to custom fit their learning capability's and in turn take that information and evolve it for other students.  Student learn in different styles they maybe visual(spatial),aural(auditory) verbal(linguistic)Physical(Kinetic)Solitary(intrapersonal)social(interpersonal) and logical(mathematical). All of these affect and impede on the cognitive learning ability for students and the only way we change this is by adapting to new ideas that generate positive reinforcement. We as individuals need to realize that the numbers we use today for students and their grades do not show the capability's or possibility's that the student can attain. Our whole thought process on student in the class room needs to be revamped in order have students fully engaged in every subject they learn. Many times students are prepared for whats on the test instead of preparing for what might be on the test. Everyday of our lives we never encounter what we expect, we have an idea of what might happen but we don't know for sure. The same theory can be applied to educating students in ways that promote different learning patterns as well as them adapting and engaging in change. Humans are the only animal in the world that can adapt to any environment, we can use this attribute and apply it to our educational system. Seth Godin said in the video, "Revolutions destroy the perfect, and enable the impossible".

The Opposition Constructive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIrUSg73C-8&feature=youtu.be

On the Media 
Lies,Lies,Lies

In the current political season many different topics arise however one such particular is when candidates lie to gain esteem with the voters. However many times these lies are false narratives and lies of omission, these occur when facts are left out in order to foment misconception.  Another type that has been occurring lately are lies of distortion which don't take into account important factors that change the outcome.  Lately the lies have been building up to garner attention and provoke different emotions that some politicians are using to fuel their camping, recently many individuals are upset with the GOP and have viewed Trump as an alternative and he has used this anger to gain popularity among the voters.  Many times individuals base their version of the truth on what they want to believe and justify their reasoning because they don't want a world where honesty is universal. In the 1970's our country believed in honesty when speaking especially in the public arena, however this later changed with Nixon in which he gave three speeches on the Watergate scandal.
Whereas before when politicians made remarks about how many job they could create or what they could do for the country to improve it they were given slack with their lies and the media calling them out on these, all of these remarks were hypothetical and used to gain momentum with the people.  However Donald Trump has changed all of this because of his attacks on the media when they call him out on remarks that he has made. Many do not want to face his "scorn" however the best response to this would be to continue calling out the lies and falsified statements.  When these types of lies are used in politics they change the perception of the candidate and although some may not agree with all their policies they continue to look for ways of justifying their support.
Donald Trump used an embellished number to tell the american people how many immigrants President Eisenhower removed while in office. Trumps claims the U.S. removed 1.5 million illegal immigrants during the 1954 "Operation Wetback" program.  However politifact fact checked this information and concluded that their were like 200,000 immigrants sent back and the campaign was used to accompany legal immigrants initiatives. By using this half truth many viewers react to this information, and thus influencing them on political decisions. We as voters of the country have always known truths have been distorted in order to gain popularity and rise above other candidates, but at what point do we reach in which the lies become so big and unrealistic that we can longer justify our support? Candidates must be confronted on their elaborate "truths" and the comments they make, if the leader of the free world can speak the truth when running for elected office why would we think they would act any different when in the oval office and behind closed doors.

 Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death explores the concept of the news being used to entertain individuals, its no longer to inform the public on current events and public discourse.  Interestingly enough this book was written in 1985 but the themes explored in the book mirror those of today. Trump is an entertainer and he was before he became a candidate and the media has used his entertainment to convey his message to the masses. According the Market Watch Trump has received $3 billion in "free" advertising through his previous entertainment endeavors and social media. The book ironically is called Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, even the title itself channels today's world.

Carroll, Lauren. "Trump: Eishenhower 1.5 million immigrants" @politifact. Politifact, 11 Nov. 2015. Web. 12 July 2016.

Schroeder, Robert. "Trump Has Gotten Nearly $3 Billion in 'free' Advertising." MarketWatch. MarketWatch, 06 May 2016. Web. 12 July 2016

First Constructive

The NSA and our right to Privacy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAai0Vwf1A4&feature=youtu.be

Climate Change & Exxon

The controversy between the environment and the oil and gas industry has always been an ongoing feud.  Exxon is currently fighting for it's right to the first amendment and claiming they have a constitutional right.  Recently their have been other corporations that have argued they have an amendment right and have used that right to block laws requiring labels to disclose added sugars in food, radiation in cell phones and genetically engineered ingredients. Many corporations are now using the shield of the first amendment to deny information  to be released to the public.  In 2010 the Supreme Court ruled that a federal ban on spending by corporations and unions in federal elections was unconstitutional. Justice Kennedy argued that prohibition of all independent expenditures by corporations and unions violated the First Amendment's protection of free speech, he also said that because the First Amendment does not distinguish between media and other corporations, these restrictions would allow Congress to suppress political speech in newspapers, books, television, and blogs. Thus giving corporations the right to donate unlimited amounts of money to a campaign of their choice as well as use the amendment to hide information from the public.  When Attorney General Paxton intervened in the release of information to the public the wide spread view of politicians accepting money for legislative favors became more truth than a conspiracy theory.  With Paxton receiving almost a $1 million dollars in contributions from the oil and gas industry during his run in public office the information begins to show a pattern of a bought politician.  Environmental impacts caused by corporations that create petroleum based chemicals should have to disclose all information to the public due to the possible hazards they may contain.  One such example of this was the infamous lawsuit of PG& E and the city of Hinkley, California.  PG & E dumped chromium 6 wastewater into the ponds around the town contaminating the groundwater and didn't inform the local water board until years later after many of the town citizens drank the water and later chromium 6 was linked to cancer resulting in the company paying out $333 million in damages to the town. Exxon argues that asking questions and inquiring information on their findings is encroaching on their right to freedom of political speech, however as citizens we understand that gathering more information on a topic helps us to make a better choice for our country and future of our world.  Our country runs on fossil fuels however this does not give them a right to not disclose valuable information that may help our future and prevent potential problems that may arise later.  Like the Hinkley California incident in which information that was kept from the public destroyed a community and lives all for profit.

Foote, D. (2000). Erin Fights Goliath. Newsweek, 135(11), 61.

Coates, John. "Corporations Are Perverting the Notion of Free Speech." Newsweek. Newsweek, 04 Aug. 2015. Web. 05 July 2016.

Liptak, Adam (2010-01-21). "Justices, 5–4, Reject Corporate Spending Limit". New York Times

Line Of Reasoning

Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act allows for every U.S. citizen to have health insurance. President Obama signed this new Act March 21, 2010. The Affordable Care Act consists of thousands of complex pages and has been explained to be filled with multiple new regulations. Some politicians are even estimating up to 20,000 pages.  Due to the complexity of the new health care laws, The Affordable Care Act is still being processed and read by politicians, learning all of the new rules and regulations that will apply to it.  According to “PhysiciansforReform.org “ under the article “ Why Obamacare must be repealed”, it states “When the 2,700 pages of legislation are examined extensively, much of the bill does not detail how the new healthcare law will actually work; it simply transfers power to the Secretary of Health and Human Services”.Which in essence, means the government will have full access to all of your personal medical information.
From this point, they are able to start a triage like system.  In section 3007 of the ACA law, the secretary of Human Health Services has all rights to review the physician’s medical decisions and gives them power to punish financially the doctors who don’t comply with “cost effectiveness standards”  (J.Kartcher) Nancy-Ann DeParle the director of the White House Office for Health Reform claims that when Obamacare is fully implemented that it will reduce the number of uninsured by 32 million and that this program sets up competitive private health care exchanges.
These claims are a fallacy because the factual proof shows a different side. One of President Obama’s biggest promises to the American people was announced on June 5, 2008.  “In an Obama administration, we’ll lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per… we’ll do it by the end of my first term as President”.   Medicare’s Actuary has claimed that in the first 10 years, the ACA will increase health spending by roughly $621 billion. Through the years 2014-2022, the amount of health spending per family will go up $7,450.  These cost hikes will vary from state to state. In Ohio the increases will raise 41 percent, 72 percent in Indiana and the largest of 198 percent increase of healthcare premiums in Georgia.(Tevi Troy)This new law that was designed to help the 47 million uninsured Americans but has instead caused confusion among Washington and between Parties. With all of the issues the new healthcare law contains, some pros have arisen as well.  One exception is that with all pre-existing conditions no insurance company can drop you from coverage.

Gray, C.L. "ObamaCare." Physicians for Reform::. Physicians for Reform::, n.d. Web. 25 Apr.

Tevi, Troy. "The Three Failed Promises of ObamaCare." Ebscohost.com. American Jewish

Committee, Dec. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2014

Kartch, John. "Full List of Obamacare Tax Hikes: Listed by Size of Tax Hike." Americans for Tax Reforms. Americans for Tax Reforms, 29 June 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.