I have replied to two posts in Different Ideas' blog. One on the post "Modern Day Hitler" and the other on the post "Gay Marriage?"
I have also replied to Mrs. John Mayer's post "Sarah Palin: Queen of Controversy Re-Visited."
Friday, November 14, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Land Is Kind
For class we've been asked to pose and answer a question on a reading from William Least Heat-Moon's Blue Highways.
Q: Discuss the following passage:
Q: Discuss the following passage:
"[John Smith] thought heaven and earth had never agreed better in framing a place for man. He said it best in four words, "The land is kind. Somewhere in America they should cast those words in bronze. Cast them big. THE LAND, MY FRIENDS, IS KIND" (389).
A: In this passage Miz Alice tells Heat-Moon the story of John Smith, the first white man to visit the Island. He named them after himself, the Smith Islands, and spoke of the rich variety of animal life.
I think the line "the land is kind" holds great significance for the whole novel. Heat-Moon spends a lot of time talking about nature and what it means to relate to nature, live in nature, use and misuse nature. He explores places where people still live much closer to nature, as is the case with the Hopi he meets, as well as Miz Alice.
But why "kind?" I don't know. It seems to be he has already struggled against nature when he is trapped in a snow storm, but he does survive: perhaps nature was forgiving. I think the theme of conflict - as in the oyster wars, the indian wars, his own internal conflict - may have something to do with this idea that the land is kind. Maybe it is we who are not.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Go-Bama!
Whoo hoo! It's about midnight, and of course Barack Obama has won the 2008 presidential election.
John McCain gave a gracious and respectful concession speach, saying that Barack Obama had accomplished something great for America. He thanked his supporters, but scolded his audience when they booed his former opponent. Senator McCain spoke of national unity, and loyalty to the new president-elect, and promised his allegiance and assistance in the years to come.
Listen to McCain's Concession Speach. Or, you can read a full transcript at NPR.
Barack Obama, president-elect, spoke of his former opponent's integrity and grit. He thanked his many supporters, and promised to remember that this victory was theirs, too. He thanked his wife and children, his campaign strategist, and various others. He spoke of a "united" states, a reference to the landmark key-note speach he gave at the DNC four years ago which helped catapult him onto the national stage.
He addressed not only American's, but all the people across the globe who were listening "huddled beside radios" and promised to usher in a "new era of American leadership." His tone was conciliatory, but even as he spoke of victory and celebration, he reminded us also that their is a lot of work ahead.
Obama spoke of the soldiers who would wake up tomorrow, still in Iraq and Afghanistan, and still fighting. He spoke of the economic crisis, of families trying to pay their bills, stay in their homes. And he told the story of a woman of 106, child of a slave, who yesterday voted for the first African American president of the United States. Finally, he spoke of "restoring prosperity" and reclaiming the American Dream.
Listen to Obama's Victory Speach. Or, you can read a full transcript at NPR.
John McCain gave a gracious and respectful concession speach, saying that Barack Obama had accomplished something great for America. He thanked his supporters, but scolded his audience when they booed his former opponent. Senator McCain spoke of national unity, and loyalty to the new president-elect, and promised his allegiance and assistance in the years to come.
Listen to McCain's Concession Speach. Or, you can read a full transcript at NPR.
Barack Obama, president-elect, spoke of his former opponent's integrity and grit. He thanked his many supporters, and promised to remember that this victory was theirs, too. He thanked his wife and children, his campaign strategist, and various others. He spoke of a "united" states, a reference to the landmark key-note speach he gave at the DNC four years ago which helped catapult him onto the national stage.
He addressed not only American's, but all the people across the globe who were listening "huddled beside radios" and promised to usher in a "new era of American leadership." His tone was conciliatory, but even as he spoke of victory and celebration, he reminded us also that their is a lot of work ahead.
Obama spoke of the soldiers who would wake up tomorrow, still in Iraq and Afghanistan, and still fighting. He spoke of the economic crisis, of families trying to pay their bills, stay in their homes. And he told the story of a woman of 106, child of a slave, who yesterday voted for the first African American president of the United States. Finally, he spoke of "restoring prosperity" and reclaiming the American Dream.
Listen to Obama's Victory Speach. Or, you can read a full transcript at NPR.
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