Community mentality

            Essentially the community that I created was a socialist society in which money was not the overall goal of the individual, but rather the commitment to the betterment of another's life.  In all honesty it surprises me that more Christians do not have a socialist type of mentality given that the entire New Testament seems to teach that same type of taking from the rich and giving to the poor principle.  One possible way that I could change the mindset of the people around me would be to perhaps guilt them into a society in which the poor should be the top priority.  I could force people to pay attention to the poor, by bringing them to even the best neighborhoods.  In this way they could understand the problem on a more personal level as opposed to reading about it or just watching it on T.V.  The quickest way for me to create a tribe of followers would be then to take a radical stance away from the current established norm.  Which socialism just happens to be.  Whether people are following because they truly believe in what I am saying, or whether it creates enough buzz for people to just argue with me, it does not matter because once all eyes are on me the power has already shifted to me.  From that point, there will always be a group of people who have the same type of radical mentality that I propose; therefore, the only issue comes from finding the right people.  The reason that people should want to live there is that the community that I created would be self sustaining.  There would not be the issue of overcrowding, and nobody would have to worry about being poor, or homeless, or starving.  In the time we live in now, people are stressed with insecurity.  People are afraid that at any moment everything could be taken away from them, and at any moment they could be the ones that they once made fun of and despised.  The stock market crashing provided people with a shock that nothing that they have is truly of any importance because at any moment it could be taken away.  With a more socialist system the safety net is a lot more helpful.
              The main difficulty that I would have with getting other people to join my tribe is the past of my movement.  People always associate socialism with communism, communism with Hitler or Stalin.  Therefore, there is a historical bias against any type of socialist movement, though it is the truly best way to help the poor, and actually reduce crime.  I believe that Karl Marx ran into this same problem.  Though many of his ideas were extremely radical and idealistic, rather than practical.  However, he did provide a framework to a society that could theoretically be perfect if only the egos of people did not always corrupt.

All about the Benjamins

What are the consequences for our everyday definitions of success of the following quote from Veblen: "Purposeful effort comes to mean, primarily, effort directed to or resulting in a more creditable showing of accumulated wealth"


Conspicuous spending was one of the major topics that Veblen focused on in his book, "Wealth of the Leisure class."  This quote epitomizes his main overall theme in which, people today are simply preoccupied with one upping the next individual.  For many people life has simply become a struggle to ensure that they are better than their neighbor.  Accessibly of credit fuels the concept of conspicuous spending.  Many people were unable to earn enough to accommodate all their "needs" so in order to facilitate the high demands credit became available with the idea that you could get what you want today and worry about it later.  However, there are heavy consequences to this type of mentality.  


Credit has the ability to destroy families if not handled responsibly.  In a time where numerous people every day file for bankruptcy, while numerous companies are making millions trying to help people eliminate high mountains of debt.  It becomes easy to see just how easy it is for the accumulation of wealth to get out of hand.  People no longer care to spend money on things that they need, but they care alot more on getting things that would look good for the guests.  Another major consequence of the consumer mentality is the loss of personal value.  People no longer judge their worth by the relevance of their work, but more by how much money they make, and what they can buy to show it.  That is part of the reason that even though the United States is one of the wealthiest countries int he world it is also one of the most depressed.  

The Environmental Challege

              Global warming and greenhouse emission has been a large part of the public awareness movement since Gore’s movie “An Inconvenient truth.”  Though many people argue that the movie paints a skewed picture of the current condition of the carbon emissions situation, a majority of people no longer deny the that greenhouse gases are playing a major role in changing the ecological landscape of the planet.  From rockslides due to deforestation to the bleaching (death of the algae) of coral reefs due to the increased ocean temperature, many people do not realize that the coral reef is actually a $172 billion business. That means that the destruction of this important natural wonder would be a major blow to the Oceanic reason.

                Awareness moved to the forefront of the environmental movement.  Sack’s believes that the amount of CO_2 in the environment would be doubled by the end of the 21^st century.  However, how can people control something that is simply a consequence of their existence?  For instance, just by living people increase the CO_2 levels in the atmosphere.  Also, many people believe that at our current state complete reliance on renewable energy simply is not realistic.  The second article posted talks about a wind farm being created in Britain that would be able to provide enough electricity to handle the electrical demands for 20,000 homes.  Many people would argue that wind farms are just not sensible because even with the farms, on days with a lack of wind a power plant would be needed to run them.  However, that understanding fails to acknowledge that the purpose is to lessen the dependence on nonrenewable resources, so that they last longer and pollute less.  

When life gives you raspberries...make raspberry ice tea? Part 2

Ron Artest

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Ron-Artest-s-championship-ring-is-for-sale-inqu?urn=nba-268518

Ron Artest...what can I really say about the guy.  No more than 6 years ago I would have said he was some hot tempered maniac, that should probably have been kicked out of the NBA.  Now believe that he is one of the most stand up athletes that I have seen in a long time.  My hat comes off to him.  For 11 years Artest has struggled in the league to finally win that long sought after NBA Championship ring, and thanks to his contributions on the Los Angeles Lakers, he finally made it.  No player was more excited to win that championship on the Lakers team than Ron Artest.  So what does he say when the microphone comes to him..."shout out to my hood"...wow...what else could could I say.  After that moment though, he continued to surprise me, taking his off-season time to go and talk at different schools about the struggles that he had gone through.  And now, Artest declares that he will put his championship ring up for auction and give the proceeds to a charity, in order to get more psychiatrists, psychologists, and therapists in the schools to help the children.  I think the part about this that makes this story so great is that he is not even just giving away his money, he is selling an item, that he put his blood sweat and tears into earning.  An 11 year journey all accumulated on that one moment, and that one single item, and he is willing to give that up in order to help others.  Ron Artest certainly has come a long way.  From the Pacers v. Pistons brawl in 2004, to the domestic abuse arrest in 2007, which got him kicked off of the Sacramento Kings, Artest has truly grown.  Artest realized the impact that good therapy, and--dear I say--some prescription drugs have had upon his life, and how much better he is for it.

When life gives you raspberries...make raspberry ice tea?

Life altering moments


T.I.


http://www.aceshowbiz.com/celebrity/t_i_/biography.html

There are points in every individuals life that could forever change the course of their existence.  The change can be either good or bad.  In most cases the individual has no idea of what will come out of it.  A person must just simply do what they feel right and hope for the best.  Every person who has "made it", has some story of the moment when they knew that their dreams will come true, and the know the moments that decided everything.  Clifford Harris (T.I.) took his destiny into his own hands, and fought his way to success.

Despite the fame and success the question remains, what are you going to do with it?  In the music industry a rapper named Clifford Harris Jr, commonly known as T.I. became a world renowned rapper and "actor".  In his youth he had been caught up in the life of drug dealing, running in and out of jail on a regular basis.  At the age of 9 he had begun rapping.  Then one day he got a break, when his great-grandfather, and executive at Artista Records signed his to a label. From there his career took off.  Now he is a multimillionaire.  However, two years ago his glamorous life took a turn for the ugly, when he was pulled over with a stash of illegal guns in the truck of his car.  He was able to put up a 3 million dollar bail and luckily was able to get out of jail with probation and community service.  Which led to a reality show called, "Road to Redemption", where he attempted to reach the lives of young children, by going into the schools and talking about his experience, and encouraging them to do the same.  Though personally I could not bring myself to watch the show without a nauseating feeling, he was able to complete his community service in the allotted year.  Stopping the story at this point, his life seems to have turned out for the better, and he himself seemed to have grown as a person through his experiences.  However, in the summer of 2010, the rapper was pulled over again, this time with his wife and drugs in the car.  So far it is unknown what will become of the rapper, but whatever it is, I do not believe he will be as lucky as last time.

The stories of success shows just how far that hard work and a little bit of luck can get you.  T.I. out worked his competition to reach where he is today.  However, sometimes like in the case of T.I. a person cannot seem to escape the problems of their past.  Though he seemed to have everything going for him, he risked it all, for what in hindsight would seem silly.  After being arrested in 2008, be sent out an album, in which he explained himself, saying that the guns were for protecting his family, but honestly that excuse was pathetic in itself.  T.I. is a person that perhaps did not learn form his past experiences, or maybe it is just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.