You want to talk about Ethics!

Tragedies occur everywhere and everyone has to try move on past it. In Valley City, we have been struck with two disasters right after one another. I do not want to get into details on either of them because they are not my place, but there is one thing about these events that has gained attention. If you were in Comm 200--Intro to Media Writing, you remember discussing journalistic ethics and behavior.



What is right and what is wrong? Who allows the media to pick and chose what goes in a newspaper and what gets broadcasted on air? Why is it that only a select few have this right and everyone else has to endure what they decide is ethical?



If you do not know what I am talking about, Sara Gullickson, an 18-year-old from Spirtwood, North Dakota, was submerged in her car for a half hour before being rescued. It was the next day that the article hit the times record, with a picture of Gullickson lying unconsciously on a gurney. What type of newspaper would do this? I later found out that this is done all the time in bigger cities, such as New York, Chicago, or L.A., but in a community where every face is recognizable, then this is preposterous.



Of course, this raised a cry of ethics. The T.R. tried to defend itself by saying that it was only trying to show how fast the rescue squad could work, but there are better ways to show this and leave an unconscious girl aside. It was not illegal, but I had never seen anything more wrong.



The next week, another tragedy struck, and this one hit much closer to me than Gullickson. A very close family friend was found dead in her house, at the age of 15. Jenna Diemert was a fun-loving girl and always wore a smile on her face. The moment I heard of her death, I sank into such a state of shock; I accused the person who had told me of lying and playing a horrible May 8th joke.



Where will the media take this? There is way more to this story, involving the type of death and where she was found? Is this the type of information that is allowed to be placed in a newspaper? If a reporter can try to justify an unconcious girl, how will they try to justify this?



It all comes down to what is right and what is wrong? Ethics, and where do certain people stand? I do not think either of these instances should gain that much publicity simply because they are personal, family affairs. With Gullickson, she is still in the news because of her recovery and that is different, but the photograph they used on the FRONT PAGE was sick.



With Diemert, there are already so many rumors going around and people trying to convince everyone else of what happened, that I do not even want to think of how the media will affect this. Since when did a family event become elligible for public endorsement?


Since this is my last post for class, I want to close with something I read by Oscar Wilde:

“Its failings notwithstanding, there is much to be said in favor of journalism in that by giving us the opinion of the uneducated, it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community.”

That's all folks....

Who Better To Save The World Than A....

HERO!

Or multiple, since the show phenomenon is entitled Heroes. That's right, the NBC show that captivated the world and definitely caught my attention to the point of obsession (and everyone knows it). For those who have seen the show, you will agree that it is amazing; and for those who have not, I urge you to start. Once you get hooked, you will not be able to stop. *You will see where I am going with this as soon as you reach the end of my blog. I decided to use a creative attention getter to get your attention. HAHA*

Okay, so, in this show, normal people all over the world discover they have special abilities. Take for instance, Claire (played by Hayden Panattierre) who cannot be hurt, harmed, injured, or, for lack of a better term, die at all in the show! She is joined by Peter Petrelli (played by Milo Ventimiglia) who has the ability to absorb other people abilities and pass them as his own. I could go on about the cast, but you get the idea. Basically, it becomes a battle between good and evil, as many science-fiction shows are. But what really draws the attention of so many are the visual effects and the way the story continues, each web interweaving. The real battle takes place with every hero coming in contact in ways that you would never expect.

So where am I going with this? Isn't it obvious already? It is about obsession. The way the media and entertainment industry can bring people to a point where they can't miss the next episode. It happens all the time with baseball or basketball; it's just a different market doing the work. And the kicker is that these industries know exactly what they're doing and know how to do it well.

For example, when the Heroes finale was on, is was Monday, April 27th. I was in my room, and suddenly my mom came in to tell me that I had another neice. Instead of being excited, I told her to get out. My show was on! I know that I may have gone to an extreme here, but I do not think I was the only one this has happened to while watching a show. The way the media is involved with this is through the advertisements and announcements telling people to buy and buy and buy all the stuff that deals with the show. Season packages and desktop wallpapers are all purchased by people because THE MEDIA has told them to do it. And who wouldn't listen to the media. It is very convincing!

If you agree, you will understand where I coming from on this. Although my example was trivial, because, I can safely say that I know people who are the exact same way about their favorite team, or favorite star. Even if the show they watch is an awards show or a movie, it is the media that draws people in and makes them WANT to watch.

If you have a show you cannot miss, think about it? What makes you watch it? Your subconscious or a reminder on the television saying that it is coming up. How about a billboard or a annoucnement in the paper. It's just one of the many ways the Entertainment Industry and the Media come together for a common good.

**One more quick thing: Watch for Season Five of Heroes coming to NBC soon!

Technological Burden

So, four years ago I bought a brand new Dell Computer. I was so excited because I had a very old Mac in my room which was not serving the purposes I wanted. I spent $850 on this computer, a reasonable price for a 15-year-old I would say. Well, my mother decided she wanted to have a better computer downstairs for her use as well (and, her typical use on the computer is to check email and sign-up for the Keith Urban fan whatever). Within two weeks, we each had a new computer coming to us, and a week after that, wireless internet hooked up for them both.
It was not long after this that I decided I should have talked my mother out of this purchase of her computer. I didn't know how to tell her but she did not know how to use the computer as well as she thought. She called my downstairs one day and told me the Internet was broken. I looked at her with one of those my parents don't understand anything looks and she told me that the site she wanted to access--hotmail--was not allowing her on and that meant the Internet was broken. I told her that hotmail was a site and that is not what controlled the functionality of the internet. She, of course, being the mom, tried to convince me that I was wrong. Easily, I logged into facebook and proved to her that I knew more about technology than she did.
It seems funny, when you think about it, that everyday functions are now being done by the computer. What once took hours now takes seconds. Communication is at the push of a button instead of the end of the Pony Express. The older generations do not have the same grasp of technology that those under 20 or 30 have. It is all to do with how they grew up.
For instance, if we look at my mother, a computer was introduced to her at the same time it was to me. Since I was still in school and was young enough to grasp the concept, this modern device came easily to me. My mother, not so much. It is not easy to teach an old dog new tricks.
Would it make sense to sit down with every adult and teach them these technological advancements? Probably not. Some, given time, can come to solve the basic problems, but most cannot come to understand all of the keys and functions without step-by-step instructions.

If one thinks about it, it will not be long before our generation is too old to fully comprehend all the latest gadgets and gizmos. Technology is constantly changing: Hybrid cars, GPS, ect.

Soon, the world will be run by computers. The movie iRobot gives some depth on this idea, as does Eagle Eye. Both show the burden of having technology that is too advanced for its human counterparts. If this result will ever happn, no one can be sure, but soon, all the simple jobs will be gone. Education will be done by computers and human intelligence will become just that--human!

My mother did not know all there was about her computer when she bought it and we do not know all about the computers we are now creating. Whether there is a connection, no one can say. Just wait and see!

Personally, I cannot wait for super smart computers....ones that will do MY homework for me. :)

"Waiter, Bring Me Water"

Shania Twain, country singer phenomenon, on her UP! album in 2002, sang the hit Waiter, Bring Me Water. In these present times, it seems this song may be appropriate to describe the conditions of Valley City. Fargo. Grand Forks. North Dakota in general.

In 1996-1997, North Dakota experienced the great flood, which left Grand Forks powerless for some time. Many can recall the incident, and many also prayed that it would never occur a second time. They got their wish: This year’s flood is worse than 1997.
Again, a big thank you goes out to Mother Nature. Without her additional snow, we may have had an enjoyable spring, but that is too ordinary. It was not like, as North Dakotans, we could not handle the snowfall, but what set this year apart is that the snow never ceased. Since the snow was also very wet, when it landed on the ground, it soaked in and froze. As the winter months continued, the snow accumulated on the ground, piling up into mounds that would take weeks to melt. When the sun did finally shine and some of the snow did melt away, it froze and the piles grew ever taller. This is simply related to the fact that the ground was frozen and none of the water could soak in and disappear. It needed to go somewhere, and this led the water to the streets.
Aside for the amount of snow that fell this year, 1997 did not have the over ground flooding that North Dakota is experiencing now. This comes back to the amount of snow that did not melt. Now, it is April and temperatures are reaching the 30’s and 40’s. This means the snow that did not melt previously is beginning to add water to the river. And, since the temperature is increasing, snow becomes rain. The water levels in rivers across North Dakota—including the Sheyenne, James, and Red—have risen to dangerous levels, threatening the residents in the 39th state.
Record snow fall plagued North Dakota in December alone. The amount of snow left people immobile and the freezing temperatures rendered the snow in the same manner. The combination turned into the nightmare now being faced by the state.
In order to solve this, citizens and lawmakers alike have turned to creating sandbags and contingency dykes throughout residential neighborhoods. The water has already broken through one dyke, since they are not meant to withstand days of pressure. This morning, my family was told to evacuate their house, which is located on 8th Ave. Later, dorm residents were asked to not return or to leave as it is. What will become of the flood of 2009? Only Mother Nature can truly tell us where our fates lie. And, knowing the unpredictable force of this woman, soon Valley City could be known as Valley Lake. It looks like we have to wait and see.

You sing it, Aretha Franklin!

I have to admit, although it is not something I wanted to say, I am entering a stage of writer's block. I am running out of material to blog on, and this is weird for me because I never run out of stuff to say. This can be a good thing, or bad, considering your point of view.
So, as I sat at Speech Practice one night and an interesting topic was brought up: Do children (today's youth) respect their elders?
Who does not remember hearing their parents say, "Respect your elders" every time we would get into a little spat with someone. Heck, we were kids. We did not know any better. But, growth and maturity come with age, and now, looking back, we did have plenty of respect for our elders if you take a look at today's youth.

What is respect? According to dictionary.com, there are 16 definitions for the word RESPECT. Here are three I find important:

to hold in esteem or honor
to show regard or consideration for
to refrain from intruding upon or interfering with

I do my observation hours out at BCN, and as I sat there one day, a student walked in crying out, "Hey douche-bag." I looked and saw that he was referencing the teacher. I was appalled! I knew if I ever called one of my teachers a douche-bag, my mouth would more than likely be tapped up tight. The teacher was very relaxed and just spoke to him back, but I still couldn't believe that I had heard that come out of his mouth in reference to a person in a position of authority.
Another personal situation I have had with this came on Saturday, April 4, during my regional tournament. My head coach asked me to give the pep talk to my kids, and so I walked in with smiles and excitement. I tried to share my enthusiasm with the kids, but most would not stop talking for me to get a word in. I told one student she had to be quiet because I was older and it was my turn to talk. She mouthed back at me, and then a junior girl stepped up, "He's not just older, he's our coach. Respect him enough to let him talk!"
I do not blame the kids though. I believe (and please, no one take this offensively) that parents are becoming younger and younger, and therefore, kids are being raised in different households than we were brought up in. Drugs, drinking, and sex are all things that are moving down in the schools. I was alarmed when I heard that a seventh grade girl at my high school was pregnant. Honestly, I didn't even know that was possible.
It comes down to what parents do an say. Since parents are still in their late teens-early twenties when they are having kids, they are still living their lives, so children are raising themselves. It is a sad notion when you walk into a second grade room and hear the F-word come out of the children’s' mouths.

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T...find out what it means to me." It is funny to say this, but it means less and less as our generations continue. It is time to teach children how to have respect once again.

I leave you with this quotation from James Baldwin:

"Children have never been very good at
listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate
them."

Where are we headed?

As I sat in my Intro to Education class on Monday morning and heard something that I had never expected to hear. In North Carolina, a man walked into a nursing home and killed 8 people. My instructor, Amy Anderson, told us that one lady covered her face because she didn't want to watch the man kill her.


My heart fell as I listened to this story. What kind of sick, twisted monstor does something like this? These people are 80-90 years old and this man thinks that they will be able to defend themselves against his treachery. I just simply could not believe it!


I know that I am supposed to focus my blog on Arts and what not, but I am also allowed to speak on Culture, and I believe this is a cultural issue unlike any other.

I pose you this question: Where are we headed? Where is our culture going if a man will walk into a nursing home and kill 8 innocent people?


And where are we heading when a murderer gets sympathy for it? When I was looking for information about this, I found an article saying that the gunman had cancer. Does this make it right? But also, what is the right way to respond to this situation? Murder to deal with murder? Where is the Meander Right? The Right to a Trial by Peers. That has been replaced by an officer with a gun.


Our society is going to a place where no one is ever going to be safe. Our discussion in my class on that morning then brought us to deciding what a school could be called:

• Daycare
• Social Institute
• Knowledge Facility
• Jail

Safety is something that our country used to pride itself on, but as of late, there is a serious lack going around.

"Sunday's incident was the third major shooting in the south-eastern US this month. On 10 March, a 28-year-old man killed himself, his mother and eight others in a shooting spree in Alabama. Days later, a Cuban immigrant killed his estranged wife and three others in Miami before taking his own life."

What does this lead to? As individual citizens of the United States, should we begin to focus on what is really important? Let us all go back to second grade: We have the teacher preaching up there, "You have certain needs. Love and Belonging..." When our second graders have a better idea of friendship and belonging than our adults, we know there are issues.

It comes down to doing our part. Remember Abraham Maslow? He integrated a hierarchy of needs into American Education. And just as it should be, love and belonging falls right after safety. Ultimately, that is the need that we do not have: Safety.

How do we fix this? We start to care. We start to understand and accept. As a culture, we can all start to realize that people are people, no matter what the color of their skin or the number of years they have lived. Life is too precious and when one man can take another's, where does that leave us.

I am reminded of a set of dialogue from the 2004 Blockbuster iRobot.

Detective Del Spooner: What if I'm right?
Lt. John Bergin: [sighs] Well, then I guess we're gonna miss the good old days.
Detective Del Spooner: What good old days?
Lt. John Bergin: When people were killed by other people.

Let's get away from this. In North Carolina, they have a way to go, but as a world, we can head ourselves in the right direction.

When in Europe...

Do as the Europeans do?
Okay, it does not quite flow the same, but still, it was a cultural experience unlike anything else.

Singing Through Amsterdam and London

42 residents of Valley City (or nearby) travelled to Europe for Spring Break and it was truly a culture shock. We travelled first to Amsterdam, and right away, saw people whom we would never have called different than ourselves. At points, it was hard to remember which face belonged to our group because they all looked alike.

When I prepared for this trip, I expected the basic Eurotrip type feeling: Girls in bikinis accompanied by a lot of alcohol and drugs. True, all of this was there, but what lay hidden away behind was a culture that we may have long forgotten about. These people live in a place that has such a unique design and natural beauty, I could not believe people take it for granted. This website, which gives basics on the Red Light District, said something I found very believable: They have all this, but that is not what they are about! Having seen it, I can truly say I believe it is true.

The thing that really got me while in Amsterdam was the Anne Frank House, which is now a museum. If you have not seen it or read the book, I feel pity on you (not to be mean). But, of course, this book is way too popular to not be read, so crises averted. Back on track, we were allowed inside the house in which this family hid for nearly two years; one can't help but feel a brand new respect for what these people went through. People sat, staring at the walls--ones that Anne had seen every day--and cried. It was hard not too! This is something we grew up hearing. It's the same with 9/11. It is one thing hearing about the towers going down, but when I went to New York in April last year, and saw the GAP where the towers used to stand, it brings a whole new perspective on everything.

Another huge cultural experience was in the cuisine: Croquettes! These are like a meal that has been deep-fried. They are quite tasty (in moderation) and found to be quite enjoyable. Along with these, the Pancake Houses were extravagant. At one point, a student had a pizza on his flapjack. Another received a pancake that was topped entirely with ice cream. Our waitress couldn't believe that we did not top our pancakes as such. She was even more shocked when we compared sizes. "But they are dis thick, no?" she asked. And we explained that in America, we stack our pancakes. I swear, she about fainted.

Our trip then took us across water to London. It was comparable to our New York or L.A., except with more history. And boy, did it have history. For one, Westminster Abbey took me completely by surprise. There lay people that had formed their country. They were responsible for great things: Handel and his music, Shakespeare and his writing, Mary, Queen of Scots and whatever it is that she did.

Basically, through this blog, I wanted to capture just a little bit of what their culture has taught me about my own. I want to know about the stereotypes that people from Holland or England think when they come to the states. The one thing I did not sense was the Eurotrip environment.