Life Perspectives

As members of a bustling society we are often burdened with many pressures of day to day life. We play many roles such as the hardworking student, the reliable friend, a son or a daughter, and the eager employee. Days, weeks and months go by in a flash because we are so busy trying to keep up with life, that we walk around day to day half conscious. Can you remember what happened on your voyage to school today? Unless you almost got into car accident or tripped and embarrassed yourself, you are less than likely to remember details of occurrences that happened just a few minutes ago. We are so caught up in our routines and thoughts that half of the time we are not conscious to the world around us.
But what are we doing all of this for? Is there a point to our lives as human beings other than succeeding in order to make money? I believe there is a purpose for us, and we are not able to perceive it if we don’t take the time out to evaluate our lives, and realize what is really important. In our fast paced society we rarely take the time out to indulge in the beauty of the world around us. If you died today, what are the things you would regret not doing? Who are the people you would regret not appreciating? Would you be satisfied with the way you carried your life, or wish you would have slowed your pace to enjoy yourself? Who would you regret not helping?
We sometimes do not appreciate our relationships as much as we should. After all, when we die and many years pass, we will not be remembered by loved ones for our monetary success, rather for our relationships that we shared, and the impact we made on their lives. At the end of the day, what matters most are our happiness and the joy we bring to others.
It is not wrong to want to be successful, but we should not let the desire for success take over our lives. After all, why are we aiming to be successful? Is it in the hopes of being happy? If so, we should try to be happy on our way to success and not stress ourselves out to the point of unhappiness. Life is precious, but unfortunately does not last forever so we should make the best if it. We should embrace our loved ones, enjoy their company and cherish the little things that make life worthwhile.
So tomorrow on your way to wherever your schedule requires, take a different route and see how such an insignificant change can open your eyes to the world around you. You will no longer be unconsciously going about your day, rather opening your eyes to the beautiful world we inhabit.

Reflecting on St. John's University's Vincentian Mission on Vincentian Thursday

As I went about my day off from school I reflected the concept we are honoring, and the ways we embody the Vincentian spirit and fulfill St. John University's mission statement. A mission statement distinguishes the objectives and values of a particular institution or individual. Being that no two people or organizations are the same, a mission statement allows for their different intentions and qualities to be highlighted.

St. John’s mission statement reads, “St. John's University is Catholic, Vincentian, and Metropolitan.” This mission statement portrays a culturally rooted university founded on Catholic values that follow the life and work of St Vincent De Paul.The values stated in the mission statement of St. John's University is comparable to my own mission statement.

My mission is to learn about myself and my environment while making an impact on my community. I plan to achieve this through community service and my intended field of study, speech pathology. Through community service I can learn about the lives of people I would not interact with on a regular basis. It can also bring to light the social differences we face and help me learn about myself. I anticipate that speech pathology will be fulfilling because verbal communication is very important to me, and to be able to share this with others that are impaired would bring me great satisfaction. My mission statement compares to that of St. John’s in the Vincentian aspect because I have a great desire to aid the less fortunate. This reflects the life and work of St. Vincent de Paul, a man who dedicated his life to alleviating the hardships faced by the poor.

U.S. Aggression on Iran- Interview with Noam Chomsky

I was surfing through the web when I came upon one of my favorite authors, Noam Chomsky speaking about the issues surrounding Iran and U.S. Foreign policy.

Guns, Germs and Steel- An interesting perspective on human development

In “Guns, Germs, and Steel”, Jared Diamond attempts to provide an alternative explanation of historical milestones that would eventually shape the way the world works today. Diamond’s motive for writing the book is to answer the question, “Why did history unfold differently on different continents?” From the beginning of the book he warns that he is not trying to explain racial differences that would have affected the development of civilizations. Instead he finds and analyzes the oldest possible human milestones as a starting point to account for the development of the continents. These milestones include but are not limited to the development of writing, plant and animal domestication, the use of technology, and governmental structure. Diamond holds that environmental factors and the needs of societies are responsible for the varying developments seen across the continents.

Unlike other books that attempt for explain the progression of civilizations, “Guns, Germs, and Steel” does not pose racist causes and it is not Eurocentric in content. Instead, Diamond gives a concentrated version of every civilization for the past 13,000 years. His motive is truly to gain an understanding of the environmental factors that led to the developmental divergence of civilizations. I reccomend the book to anyone seeking to find an understanding of the way the societies of the world work and the underlying reasons for this intricate development.

The Potential in Nuclear Energy

After reading John McPhee’s “The Curve of Binding Energy” the dangers of nuclear power are evident to me. However, I feel that the positive aspects of nuclear power outweigh the negative, and that safeguarding can be improved in order to increase global safety while still benefiting. Although I do not support nuclear weaponry, I feel that nuclear energy as a power source is a better alternative to those currently in use.
Nuclear weapons have shown great destruction and another detonation on civilians would be an unthinkable tragedy. For this reason I feel the Atomic Energy Commission needs to improve safeguarding and realize the threat posed by stolen nuclear material. If this is done effectively, many global issues can be solved regarding the energy crisis.
The global energy crisis consists of different components. It includes over-consumption of oil which leads to pollution, health concerns, and global climate change. We’ve depleted our resources so much that the cost of oil is rapidly increasing, affecting the economy and leading us into wars over control of it. It is evident that we are in need of an alternative energy source, one that is easier on the environment, affordable and in vast supply.
An example of a nation that has embraced nuclear power is France, who in my opinion has shown great success. They are not reliant on foreign oil and they emit a smaller ratio of greenhouse gasses per capita than other nations. They also have among the lowest electricity costs in Europe. Public opinion on the matter shows that 70% of the citizens of France approve of nuclear power and express minimal fear of it.
So far France seems to have mastered nuclear power and utilized it in a positive way while keeping potentially lethal nuclear materials out of the wrong hands. I feel France is setting a good example for nations to follow, in successfully establishing an efficient and clean power industry.
When discussing the issues regarding the safety of nuclear power, the example of Chernobyl is a prevalent argument. However, there are common misconceptions involved with this argument. It is important to understand that nuclear power plants only need 3% enriched uranium in order to sustain power while an atomic bomb requires 98% enriched uranium. Therefore, it is virtually impossible for a nuclear power plant to explode because of nuclear material.
The tragedy at Chernobyl occurred because of a loss of coolant accident also known as LOCA, as well as human error. Since then, we have analyzed these errors so that another accident like this will not occur. I don’t think this event should keep us from forging ahead in utilizing an effective energy source, rather we should learn from past mistakes and use caution as we do with many other industrial entities.
Over all the positive aspects of nuclear energy outweigh the negative, just as long as the Atomic Energy Commission establishes effective safeguards.We should not let opportunity pass because of the possible fear of something. Instead, we should overcome obstacles in order to improve our lives.

Another Loss in the Fight for Mumia's Freedom

On March 27th, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals denied Mumia Abu Jamal's request for a new trial, meaning that he is currently facing either life in prison or execution. Though he was granted a re-sentencing, he was denied a new trial on the basis that it was unclear what ethnicities his jury consisted of. Consequently the Third Circuit Court of Appeals feels that since they can't be sure of the jury's race, they can't definitely say there was a racial bias against him. It has almost been a year since they began deliberating, and the outcome was a big disappointment to all of Mumia's supporters. Mumia's lawyers are appealing this decision, and in the meantime there are many scheduled rallies in New York, Philadelphia and in major cities around the world.

Does This Ring a Bell?

On April 25th, 2008 the three police officers that were indicted in the killing of Sean Bell were acquitted of all charges. Sean Bell was shot on his wedding day, along with two if his friends in a hail of fifty bullets. It was later discovered that they were unarmed, and there is now much speculation on the events that unfolded that night. There is the question of proper police protocol that was not followed, as well as the forcefulness of the incident. Either way, an unarmed man was killed and no one will pay for it. While reading about this trial, it reminded me of Amadou Diallo, and the similarities between the cases.

In 1999, Amadou Diallo, an immigrant from Guinea was shot and killed by four police officers. Of the forty-one shots, nineteen hit Diallo who was later found to be unarmed. The police officers claimed that he fit the description of a serial rapist in the area, and that he appeared to be armed. He in fact he was only armed with a wallet. Mass demonstrations against the acquittal of these officers were carried out. In 2000, my father and I attended one of these rallies in Union Square, and I vividly remember the crowds honoring Diallo's life and protesting the circumstances of his death.

In the case of Sean Bell, his surviving family has hired Al Sharpton as their advisor. Following the acquittal of the accused officers, the family has promised to round up the masses to perform civil disobedience, boycotting and other practices that would express their feeling towards the outcome of the trial. Hopefully this will lead to some action; preferably legal action that will prevent similar future occurrences and hold that shooting at unarmed citizens is not acceptable and will have harsher punishments. Also, these will hopefully lead to more effective police training so that officers on the job have safe protocol to follow at all times.