Oscars 2011

It's that time of year again... Red carpet, A-list actors and actresses followed by the ceremony awarding gold statuettes to the top movies of the year: The Oscars! So tonight, the long, drawn-out ceremony begins. Anyway, If I have time after homework I hope to catch a bit of the show because I've actually seen quite a few of the movies that are up for awards tonight which makes it about 10X more exciting.

Here are some predictions for the winners by the famous film critic Roger Ebert (who is also a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Time): http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110210/OSCARS/110219999">

The top 3 possible winners for Best Picture seem to be The King's Speech, The Social Network or True Grit, with The King's Speech seeming to have the edge. I got the chance to watch all three this year and can say that they are all definitely movies worth seeing. Although The King's Speech has great acting and a feel-good story, I'm hoping that The Social Network has an underdog victory tonight.

When I think about it, I really enjoyed watching a lot of this year's movies. Inception, Black Swan, Toy Story 3 anyone?? Feel free to post your prediction for Best Picture and/or your favorite flick from this past year. Here's to hoping that 2012 has just as many great films.

PS- I do believe that the lower lounge of Hoyme will be showing the ceremony.

DIA

Recently, our class has been learning DeTocqueville's perspective on American Democracy. As Jake pointed out, yes, it does seem a bit like a love letter to America, but I think that the insight we've gained into America during that time period is very beneficial to our class and not all that much of an exaggeration. I enjoyed talking about Democracy being built from the "ground-up", as DeToqueville said in DIA, and I think that it is absolutely true. A country must start small and grow into a governmental change so huge as Democracy is. As it takes a seed to grow a flower, it takes people to form a government. In my mind, this means Ideas > People > Actions > Government > Change...

Overall, I think that reading DIA has helped me understand the complex process of forming a true Democracy in any country in the world whether it is taking place today, or over 200 years ago.

The man of the hour!

Democracy: A 25-word Definition

On Monday, we ended our class time by writing our own 25-word definition of the word Democracy. Since we have begun the 2nd semester of AmCon, our focus is once again on Democracy in America. This time, we work on a long-sentence structure.

My definition:
Democracy is the political idea of equality and equal representations throughout all peoples that promotes the freedoms of those peoples as individuals.

My Sentence

From Friday's class period assignment:

Take a sentence from McLoughlin's work and re-write it using the same sentence structure with a different subject of your choosing...

Original Sentence: During the Second Great Awakening the conservative pietists of the East gradually merged with the more radical pietists of the efforts to get all the unwashed masses washed in the Blood of the Lamb before deism, Unitarianism and Jacobinical mob rule put an end to the concept of a Christian commonwealth.

Revised Sentence: During her final year of high school Liza chose to attend St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota in order to obtain a degree in Economics instead of attending school for journalism, fashion design or mass media at larger state universities closer to home.

Not sure if I completely got the gist of this assignment but, I understand the idea of utilizing a longer sentence structure...

What Would You Do With an Extra Hour?

I came across a photo-submission contest this past week that is entitled, "25 hours in a day." The site asked for people to submit doodles of what they would do with that extra hour and submit their photos in order to be voted on by the public. Then, one winner would receive a free T-shirt and a free magazine subscription to "GOOD".

"...Imagine that an hour has been added to each day, 30 hours to each month, 360 to each year. Sure you could always add an hour to your day by cutting back on something. But what if you didn't have to? What if tomorrow all of a sudden you had an extra hour to play with? What would you do?"

You can look through the top 25 submissions here: www.good.is/post/submissions-doodle-submissions-for-25-hours-in-a-day/

I enjoyed looking at the pictures, and although a significant number were the typical answer of "sleep", the website left me asking myself the same question: What would I do with an extra hour in a day? So, I've come up with a few ideas below... but ultimately I'd like to learn

what would you do with an extra hour?

Everyone's Story is Important

Last night I went to a Chris Tomlin concert in Minneapolis with some friends (including 3 fellow AmCon members!). Chris Tomlin is a Christian rock singer who was accompanied by Christian speaker Louie Giglio for his concert tour. Of course, the concert was full of Christian messages that led to me reflect even more on our past AmCon class period. As our speaker Mr. Giglio spoke about Christianity and worshipping God, I thought about how present the idea of equality in Protestantism has become. The fact that Louie Giglio spoke to thousands of people about his own experiences with God is proof that Christianity has become democratized in America. So whether I have the seen signs of democratization in Christianity through a Christian rock concert, or just chatting openly at lunch about my own personal experiences with faith, I remind myself that this is a result of The Second Great Awakening in America.

Church Attendance in America: Doomed or Just a Slump?

On Monday, our AmCon guest-speaker Amy Fryholm began her discussion about Protestantism in America with a graph of church attendance from the year 1790 to today. Her graph indicated that the attendance steadily rose from 1790-1965, where it was at its peak, and since has slightly declined to where it is today. She spoke of both the idea of "Pre-Millennialism" and "Post-Millennialism" and the decline of church attendance since 1965. The social change that is demonstrated through Post-Millennialism may have led people to believe that they do not "need" the church.

I think the most fascinating aspect about Pre and Post Millennialism is that the formation of Protestantism in America is really fairly young and new. The fact that it took nearly 200 years until the church had a significant decline is amazing, and although America has seen a decline within the past 50 years, there very much still remains a future for the church. The question is, will Protestantism continue to decline or rise back to the top? Will Post-Millennialism become more or less prevalent according to that change? Only time will tell...

Can a Facebook App Prevent College Dropouts?

I found an interesting article earlier this week on the website http://www.good.is . The article is basically about how Bill Gates wants to try and restore Facebook back to its original purpose: creating networks for schools (specifically colleges). Through a huge investment in a Facebook Application called the "School App", Bill Gates wants to connect prospective college students to their choice school as soon as they are admitted. There, the students can share information and makes plans even before they arrive on campus. The main idea is that students will feel more connected to their college and the people in it and become less likely to drop out.

Reading this article reminded me of being in that same predicament last year after I was admitted to St. Olaf. Our college strongly encouraged every student to join the "Class of 2014" Facebook group where we discussed plans such as what classes we would take, our majors, interests, etc... And I do believe that was helpful for many students- especially ones who lived out of state or country. The reality is that most other colleges do not push as hard for students to join that group before they begin the fall semester, and it can be especially difficult for large state universities to get a majority of students to join that group.

After reading the article, I'm curious to find out others' opinions on the subject as well. Do you think that this is a genius idea? What about students who do not have a Facebook, how will they feel more included? Do you feel that St. Olaf's admitted students page was helpful to you? Should Facebook return back to its original intention- social networking for schools?

Read the article to find out more: http://www.good.is/post/can-a-facebook-app-prevents-college-dropouts-bill-gates-thinks-so/

Democracy in Our America

Democracy in Our America
Democracy is a loaded word. To ask 100 people on any street in America, “How do you define democracy?”, is a question that could quite possibly bring back 100 different answers. The word itself is not confusing, but it is word for which Americans have different interpretations. Although we as Americans think of democracy as “our word”, it is a word that also invokes passion in people around the globe. What I believe that democracy has meant to America in the past 200 years is a push towards the future, the fight for individualism and a deeper sense of unity throughout our country.
As it is used in American government, democracy provides the framework for any change to take place according to how the people want it to take place. Democracy is the freedom of individualism- the place where one voice can be heard. Because of our country’s democracy, a law such as freedom of speech is practically a necessity. How can a country truly declare a democracy in which the people of a country make the decisions, but are unable to express those positions in public? I once had a government teacher in high school who repeated over and over to my classmates and I that the most radical political groups are a great thing for America because they are a constant reminder of our democracy. Americans are allowed to express opinions freely because of our democratic system. The fact that we can live without fear when speaking poorly about our own government is to me, reason enough to support a democracy.
In contrast with my great support of democracy in America, I realize that this democracy has created not only unity but also divisions in our nation. Many times when people are given the freedom to express their opinions openly, it brings about anger in the opposing party and creates hatred. Violence can become prevalent in these situations where people begin to turn into animals and stop treating one another as human beings. Although this loathing of a fellow American is not “good” for our country, it does sometimes inspire people to take those opposing positions and not be afraid to be the minority.
I believe that Americans are passionate, but much of that passion should be given thanks, in part, to democracy. Having the democratic system not only allows Americans to vote but first, to form their judgment on any certain subject. Americans are provided with choice. What a great freedom to have! Allowing Americans to have options has provided, as Walt Whitman wrote, “spiritual and intellectual breakthroughs.” People strive to become themselves and search within themselves for their own ideas and individual thoughts. In “Democracy in America”, Whitman emphasized the importance of self-betterment. To be an American is to strive to be the best, according to him. His high hopes and expectations of Americans were written in defense of democracy. “The peaceablest and most good natured race in the world, and the most personally independent and intelligent [are Americans]”, stated Whitman. Although I may not go as far to say that I agree wholeheartedly with that statement, I do draw inspiration from it. If a man who is living during the bloodiest battle in American history can go as far to say that Americans are peaceable, then I respect his love for our country.
The overall effects of democracy in America have been a continuously displayed through our history. People in America do not stay quiet about their concerns and continue to have conversations with one another for what they believe is the betterment of America. I am fortunate to take a course in which I can have those conversations with nearly 50 peers of the same generation but different backgrounds. I have spoke of the ideals of democracy as being unifying, inspiring and ultimately important for the future of America. I know that I use my privilege of democracy not only every day that I have our American Conversation course but also in the very writing of this paper, and I am eternally grateful to have that freedom.

back to school, back to school...

Today was the first official day of AmCon 102... Yay! The atmosphere of our new classroom in Rolvaag is fantastic with its gorgeous wood paneling and fireplace, and I enjoyed relating today's discussion/subject to the current events going on in Egypt. That being said, I must say that I left class today feeling unsure and slightly confused about the main point that we were trying (or tried) to get to today. For me, it's difficult to answer very broad questions that have very broad answers... Am I alone, or does anyone else in our class feel the same? I realize that we are studying subjects that are open for individual interpretation but I wish that I could focus in on one aspect and closely examine it instead of trying to navigate my way through a huge subject for which I seem to have several different opinions...

What is my definition of a democracy? When I think about a democracy, yes, I think of voting to elect people, but also the idea of each person having equal power. Does the United States have a true democracy? As we discussed in class, no, but do I believe that the United States' democratic-republic is effective?... Yes. So there are my thoughts if that is part of what we should have thought about today.

Also, I appreciate that Jack was not embarrassed to say that he had never read or really heard of the 2nd Inagural Address. I hadn't known the significance of it either.