Posts Tagged "Week 15"

Politics and the Public Eye

Posted by on Jan 24, 2013 in Passion | 4 comments

Obama inauguration

This past Monday was an event that millions of people around the country talked about endlessly: Michelle Obama’s new bangs. All jokes aside, the inauguration on Monday drew a crowd of around a million people while others watched from the warmth of their beds instead of chilly D.C. The event has the world’s best singers including Beyonce, and Kelly Clarkson as well as readings by some of the world’s most renowned orators. The ceremony was not only beautiful but also uplifting and motivating. After the ceremony concluded there was a brunch which the First Family attended before they attended the big parade to say hello to the people lined up to meet them.

 beyonce-lp

 

If you weren’t watching CNN, MSNBC, or some other news outlet you would think that no one cared about the start of Obama’s second term or what he plans to do for the next few years. The focus of entertainment news was either Beyonce’s lip syncing or Michelle’s new bangs. It’s sad to say that if the inauguration did not have entertainment that far less people would attend. Not that it isn’t an important event in our nation’s history but no one cares unless it directly interests them. Shouldn’t we as a society be more at the forefront of pressing political issues? Why do people refuse to bring political news into everyday conversation. To me, the inauguration  would have been a perfect opportunity to introduce rhetoric on the topics concerning our country but that just wasn’t the case on Monday.

 

Hopefully in the future there will be a time when people can focus more on the implications of our first black President entering his second term than whether or not Beyonce lip-synced at the ceremony. What do you all think? Should there be times when the focus should be completely on politics? Or is there a happy medium to be found? Comment what you think below!

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This I Believe… Respect

Posted by on Jan 23, 2013 in Work In Progress | 1 comment

Natalia TIB

 

I believe in respect for women. Respect is a value that should never be compromised. I have lost count of the times I have seen crimes perpetuated against the women I call my fellow sisters. Physical and verbal abuse. Sexism. Rape. The offenders of these crimes lack the fundamental lesson instilled in me at such an early age: That women are brave and strong and to be respected at all times. Some of us in this generation seem to have forgotten that we ALL come from a woman and that fact in and of itself demands a certain level of appreciation.  Growing up in a single parent household has fueled my belief even more as I have watched my mother work endlessly to provide a better life for my siblings and I. At times it was obvious that my mom was at her breaking point with stress, and bills and just the day to day of living but she kept on working.

My parents have been divorced since I was about 9. Everything changed; from my mom having to get a second job to her moving an hour away from her family and friends and putting my siblings and I in a new school. I used to think my mom was superwoman when I was younger. She would come home from work, get me ready for school, and probably gossip on the phone as she did it. Everything seemed fine. It wasn’t until I got older that I noticed the tiredness behind my mother’s eyes; The way her arthritis limited her movement and took her strength. I would joke that she should go out for a weekend with her girls and her answer would always be the same, “Natalia, you know I have to work”, she would say with a sigh. Now as I become an adult I see the sacrifices that my mom has made in order to better the lives of her children.

My mother’s story is nothing new; it’s one repeated endlessly in homes across America. Everyday a woman drags her tired body out of bed, puts on a strong face and selflessly does what she has to do to make sure her children have a better life than the parents that came before them.  This is why I believe in respect for women. I respect all of the strong women in this world putting what they have to do way before the things they want to do. To this day,  I will never forget my mother’s famous words, “Behavior is learned”. It’s a phrase I’ve heard repeated throughout most of my life. My mom likes to say that people’s values don’t just come from anywhere, that they are instilled in them at a young age by their parents. Therefore it is no surprise that I believe in respect for women because I had as strong, beautiful to give me the foundation for that value.

 

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