Last Exploration - Brian Klunder (I Forgot About It Edition)

While reading "The Idea of a Local Economy", the analysis of the author is eye-opening when he is discussing the hypocrisy of how we live in our modern society. "The 'environmental crisis' has happened because the human household or economy is in conflict at almost every point with the house of nature", this quote alone really opened my eyes considering how many materials we use to support our daily lives and that even solving the crisis would just put it aside instead of fixing it directly. In conclusion, the only way we can fix this economic issue is with our participation as a people, instead of relying on the businesses to have a change of heart in their practices. Like Rachel said,  "We have the power to change it which is something everyone usually tends to forget about". As much as we would love to believe that the companies will do in what is best for everyone, they will never to such a thing as long as we bear ignorance towards their controversial productive methods and because of that companies take advantage on our ignorance and have horrible practices into being an economical powerhouse in their respectful industry. We often talk about how we want to create change in our world, but rarely do we attempt to in our society. We have to take actions by our own hands if we truly want a sustainable way of living that is best for the environment and for ourselves whether it be supporting our local businesses or gather up as a community to support each other in the form of a garden.

Honestly, this part was hard. I was not sure whether or not I should discuss my passions considering my silent character. But I decided to talk about an issue that is not often discussed in our culture, it is there but it seems to be ignored by a good amount of people. My topic is about the coddling of our generation and future generations that are rising up to the plate of College and soon Adulthood. In my opinion, something that we do not seem to talk about is the coddling of students in our generation. The talk about 'Trigger Warnings' and 'Safe Places' in Colleges just seem plain wrong, considering it is the final step for many students towards becoming a independent adult and because of how the World so often throws hard curve-balls at the speed of sound it will ultimately put the students into a position of failure. Although the idea of 'Trigger Warnings' may sound helpful to those that react negatively towards certain topics, ultimately all it does prevent them further from delving into their problems and fixing them head on and cause a social constraint in their lives. If anything it is a mature way to baby someone from being able to make an independent stand on such a thing, whether good and bad. Because some people look for the best interest of others, they believe that it is for the best to not 'trigger' anyone's emotions and as such they do their best to silence any awful person that may bring out said emotions. In conclusion, some will go to very questionable actions to make the campus a safer place for them. This has resulted into people abusing this aspect of coddling and use it as a weapon against any dissenters of their opinions. Same thing with these 'Safe Spaces', to have a special area that completely deflects any controversial and horrid things that a student may experience on campus just serves to take away the student's spine and stop them from growing in this hostile planet. Not only do these things disable their way of being rational towards different opinions, but it also motivates them to never conquer their opposing forces. Instead of confronting their innermost demons these phrases enable students to just run away from them. These are the people that we will be working with in a couple of years and to know this is just depressing. As much as I would like to go further into the problem, the issue is that it runs too deep and to explain it here would become too arduous. Because it has now just began to surface on mainstream media there are some clips that I would love to share with you to better define my discussion with any of you guys that are still on.           

                                                     

 

Viewer Discretion is advised.

(To give a better understanding of what is happening in this video: Yale told the students that they moderate their own actions in response towards Halloween coming up and are given the decision to decide what costumes are appropriate for the campus. As a result, these students do their best to bully persuade a high-ranking English instructor to take action and put certain bans on any horrible costumes instead of allowing students to grow up and make their own decisions).

(A discussion between a Moderate Feminist and a Fox News-anchor over the acts of some students to someone's opinions which differentiate from each other).

Last Exploration; Rachel Nicodemus

The essay " The Idea of a Local Economy really inspired my thinking.  Just like the essay talks about, people, including myself, do not realize the destructiveness of our government. It also proved to me that people really do have the power, if we do not agree with something or like the ways things are being done, we have the power to change it which is something everyone usually tends to forget about. My favorite quote from the essay is "one does not know the history of the products that one uses..." and then goes on to ask who what, when, where, why, how questions that would be difficult for one to answer about the products he/she uses. I used that quote to tie into Brian and I's icon presentation about McDonalds. No one knows the back story behind the products but everyone continues to use them, maybe if they new  the answers they wouldn't fell the same about their everyday products and/or eating habits.

A really big issue that I believe the community STILL does not give enough attention in the issue with animal extinction. It is said that the world will experience a mass extinction period where over 50% of the worlds animals will completely die off and disappear forever!!! If we do not change our bad habits of things like increasing CO2 admissions, deforestation, and using dangerous pesticides, this event could take place in up to a minimum of just 10 years..... over 50% of the worlds organisms will go extinct...forever... in our life times... Not only will this be one of the most devastating events in the entire worlds history but it will completely alter the world, food chains will be effected, climate, ecosystems ect... the list of chain reactions is never ending. I encourage everyone to watch the 3 part documentary "Racing Extinction" by the discovery channel. It's really life changing.

Last Exploration- Jenny Kitzler

There are so many that make me relate the documentary Fresh with the article The Idea of a Local Economy. I really connected with the line, "We can't hope to solve these problems without an increase of public awareness and concern." and then goes on to say that then again it might not be the greatest idea, like a catch 22. It's so hard for local business to stay open anymore just because of things like convenience, competitive pricing, and believe it or not name brand. It's so much easier for someone to walk into Wal-mart rather than taking the time to find a local produce stand or market. Marketers place these stores in the most convenient areas purposely. Its a genius thing really, but it kills local business almost entirely. Not only do they place them in areas where everyone can get to them they then mark the items down so low that you can buy them in bulk or just in general. I know that Wal-mart, unlike most other stores, does price matching. If you see a lower price for the same item in say a Krogers or Meijers ad they will honor that price. Wal-mart and other stores carry the name brand item such as Tyson and others that I can't really think of at the moment. But a lot of times people are just buying it because of the brand that is on it, some people have the mind set if it's name brand then it must be good. I still think that in order to make a difference that we would need to come together as a society and really start to change things. Community gardens or even a community produce stand, where everyone helps not just a few people.

I feel as though something that doesn't get talked about much is passion. I have a passion for Cosmetology and Psychology. I love to make people feel better about themselves there is nothing more fulfilling than completing a hair service, turning the chair to the mirror for the first time and allowing the client to see there new transformation. I love watching them touch there new style like it's something so special. I've known since I was eight years old that is what I wanted to do when I grew up. My passion for Psychology came a little later in life, I wasn't always the best behaved child growing up and I didn't really have too many people who wanted to steer me in the right direction, but if wasn't for a select few people I wouldn't be where I am today. With my psychology degree I would like to counselor in a juvenile detention center. It's never too late to make a difference in a kids life, and I'd like to be the person that makes that difference. My point is is that people ask me everyday "Why did you pick that for a career? You won't make any money." But to me it's not about how big of a salary I get, it's about doing what I love and what makes me happy. And I feel as though growing up people weren't really told that they can do what they want and what makes them happy but instead to find the highest paying job. Yes money is essential to live on but you don't need it to be happy.

Omar Shehadeh Last Exploration

            I could not help but compare Wendell Berry's essay The Idea of a Local Economy to the Documentary "Fresh" we watched earlier in the class. Both are a call to action for people to realize the impact we are having on our environment and the docile nature people have towards it even though we are all aware of the issue. Wendell Berry immediately makes the readers address this problem stating "The problems of pollution, species extinction, loss of wilderness, loss of farmlands, loss of topsoil may still be ignored or scoffed at, but they are not denied." showing exactly what I said right as readers begin the essay. Amber points out in her exploration, that if one animal goes extinct it can disrupt an entire food chain. This would lead to other extinctions and in some cases even affects the environment the animals were living in. Another issue Wendell addresses is our reliance on companies stating that "Without prosperous local economies, the people have no power and the land no voice." and this could not be anymore correct. Our reliance on companies for everything from food to the clothing we wear are a hinderance on our current society and leaves us blind to what they are actually doing to the land we live on. If we don't rid ourselves of this dependence than nothing will change and we will continue to slowly destroy our environment and eventually this will culminate in the ending of the current society we know if we continue on the blind path we are following.

            One of the issues I feel that is not talked about enough is bullying. I really feel as if its prevalent all throughout our society and its one of those subjects that everyone sort of turns a blind eye too. One of the subjects we learned about was the columbine shooting and one of the things I noticed when researching the subject is that the kids who committed the act were seen as "outcasts". So I did further research into other school shootings and saw that the other shooters were also deemed as "outcasts" Well when someone is a outcast in society, especially in high school they are often times made fun of and bullied. I know this was the case at my high school and even in middle school. If people were more aware of how their actions made others feel and the extremes it can bring them too than maybe they wouldn't bully others. These kids who committed these atrocities were most likely bullied until they couldn't take it anymore and simply snapped. I find it hard to believe that someone would do something as extreme as these acts without being pushed into committing them first. I can admit when I was in middle school, I was one of those people who would join in on making fun of people for laughs or fun. But when I became more mature and aware of how my actions affected other people I became the person who would stick up for the kid getting picked on. One thing I would ask of anyone who is reading this is to simply stick up for anyone being picked on. If we don't address this problem of bullying that is so prevalent throughout our society than issues like columbine will never stop happening. It is not gun control that is the issue-- even though the accessibility to guns is a issue, the problem is the way we are treating each-other as humans.

The Last Exploartion from Andrea Carwile

     One of the first things I realized when reading The Idea of a Local Economy are the relationships the film Fresh shares with the writing by Berry. The farmers and Berry truly show a common goal of informing people about the needs of the local economy. Much like Allison stated, I can see the effects of large corporations on our small businesses. I have lived in Marion my entire life and I have watched restaurant after restaurant be shut down because of these large chain corporations. Locals have faced the hard reality that McDonalds will always be the cheapest option and that is how it will stay. It's a scary place. The few local places that have been able to thrive have provided great hope for Marion and the future but we must still work at creating an environment in Marion that allows for local businesses to thrive. Like Berry says "If people begin the effort to take back their own power a significant portion of their inevitable first discovery is that the 'environmental crisis' is no such thing; it is not a crisis of our environs or surroundings; it is a crisis of our lives as individuals, as family members, as community members, as citizens." We must push for growing support of our local businesses if we want to see a change.
     Whether we want to face it or not, racism is still prevalent in our world today. Being white, I wouldn't normally think about this seeing I'm not affected by this. But that is where our problem begins. I'm not saying we're telling people that we hate them because of their skin color much anymore, but what we are doing is saying suddle things to tell African Americans that it is better to be white. I see this directly in my life every time I go to visit my grandparents. They are very racist, but I somehow managed to find myself dating an African American boy. They comment things such as "Well don't you want to hang out with white people?" or "Do you think you could ever see yourself with someone who is white?" This is what sparked my realization that racism is still present. I even find myself telling my boyfriend "you're okay because you act white." This stuff is not on purpose, but we need to start asking ourselves why is it better to be white? I believe this can change if people start to realize that skin color means nothing, it is simply just a color. A human is a human.

The Last Exploration - Zeb Lucas

     Wendell Berry did a fantastic job writing "The Idea of a Local Economy." I feel that the entire chapter is not only focused on educating people on the importance of a local economy but is more so a call to action. Wendell touches upon this in saying: "The danger, in other words, is that people will think they have made a sufficient change if they have altered their 'values,' or had a 'change of heart,' or experienced a 'spiritual awakening,'" (13) In other words, wanting to do something is not enough, you have to actually do something about it. But don’t get me wrong, having a change of heart is a good thing but means nothing if you do not make an effort at changing the way things are. It may seem impossible for one person to have an actual impact, but that shows the importance of educating others on the importance of a local economy for the environment. One person may not be able to do much, but a group of like-minded individuals can definitely make an impact.
     I feel like Miguel really hit this on the head, when he said: “We assume that nature is a never ending well of renewable resources and with this false notion, it’s okay to continue going to this well, thinking it will give us resources forever.” I feel that it is important to realize that we can’t just take from nature without giving something back. Whether that means something on a small scale such as composting and growing your own produce, or something on a larger scale such as the importance of a local economy that Wendell Berry spoke about. Either way, we are responsible for taking care of the earth and not wasting our limited resources and polluting our atmosphere. We need to make a change, and that starts now.

     I’ve always had a passion for music, more than likely stemming from playing the violin at a young age. Music is something special to me, I listen to it when I am struggling to get an assignment done, looking for some form of inspiration. When I am just looking for that distraction from life. Music has the ability to completely change someone’s attitude for the better. This is one of the reasons I loved doing our presentation on Johnny Cash, it genuinely was something that I was interested in, and I absolutely loved learning more him.

Last Exploration: Joe Weingates

"The Idea of a Local Economy" is a very interesting essay that does a great and unique job at arguing about what we are doing that we think is changing a lot but is really doing very little. Specifically when he talks about people thinking they made a significant change when changing their values or something a long those lines when they've really made a change that did relatively nothing to affect anything or anybody but themselves. the quote "What has happened is that most people in our country, and apparently most people in the "developed" world, have given proxies to the corporations to produce and provide all of their food, clothing, and shelter." Wendell Berry is saying how we are relying to much on corporations to do things that we used to just do on are own or used to be a lot more inexpensive than what it is now. This really hit me because I've never thought about this since I have basically been raised by getting everything from companies but people used to do this all ourselves and it shows how lazy we have gotten since we would rather pay high prices rather than making it or raising the cattle ourselves. I agree also with Chris when he talks about the environmental harm with the exporting and importing of our goods and that when a certain area only has one thing to offer they usually sell a lot of it at a reckless pace that will really hurt the environment.

Something that is still a huge issue in the United States that has been dropped when it should be pursued until its elimination is smoking cigarettes. Every year cigarettes are killing more and more people, giving others health complications, and taking so much money from all these people. At a hefty $6.00 a pack average in Ohio it is making great profits in which the people are basically paying these companies to kill them. We are trying to make America healthier with better eating selections but that won't matter if they are all dying from lung cancer, how has this drug that has taken so many lives not been banned by the U.S. yet? We need to get cigarette out of America to truly make our nation a better place. This isn't just a problem for the smoker either, even if you are just a bystander this smoke is harming us. 42,000 people die every year from just secondhand smoke. This addiction has even caused babies to be born with health defects due to the mother not being able to stop smoking or just being open to the second hand smoke. I don't understand how we are accepting of this potent habit that has been robbing people of their lives and ones close to the smokers. These Companies are so corrupt and rich though that they can basically get away with anything they want now. I have not heard a single thing from cigarette companies saying anything about their efforts of how they are trying to make it any bit healthier. We need to ban this product for a healthier world that is still getting new addicts everyday even though everyone is educated on the harms of cigarettes. Just warning and educating the populace on these dangers aren't enough since people are still picking up this dirty habit, we need to stop this problem before it takes anymore loved ones.