Benningfield's ENG101 FA2011: Kayla Kuhl Final Essay

"You want to know why I haven't cracked? Cause I'm a DIAMOND and diamonds don't crack; Oh no honey; they cut!"

I am completely in love with this quote because it means so many things to me. Here are just a few of the meanings I draw from it:

-I am a just like a diamond; beautiful and unique.

-I love me and the way I am.

-I am a Diamond- the worlds hardest substance.

-I am made better under pressure; I won't crack!

INTRODUCTION:

<--- This is me. My name is Kayla Kuhl and I am from small town Corbin, Kentucky. I am a freshman here at Eastern Kentucky University. In my spare time I love to watch and play sports. I am a HUGE University of Kentucky fan! My family and friends have helped mold me into the person I am today, but most importantly God. I am a Christian and I love my relationship with God and my church family.

This semester I took English 101 because, “everyone knows English, and how hard could it be?” Boy, was I wrong! There was a lot of reading, which I was ok with; there was a ton of writing too which isn’t my best subject. Overall, it wasn't completely horrible.

Government:

An ideal government is one that is taken back as close to its original roots as it can be. America was founded on Christian principles I think along with those principles Nationalism should be included. The picture to the right is what comes to my mind when I think of nationalism and Christian Principles. I also think of the song Soldiers & Jesus by James Otto (<--here is a link to the song if you've never heard it before) because it talks about how Soldiers and Jesus are the ones who have kept us going this long and who will keep America going forever.

There is one thing that I don't think that I will ever understand when it comes to the American government and that is, why we choose to help others first instead of ourselves. John Kenneth Galbraith said that America is too focused on output rather than input, while he meant for this to be applied to economics I think it could suffice as an example of where our focus is at regarding the American citizens.

When it comes to American citizens and the government I do believe that we play a crucial part because we are the ones who vote in the lawmakers and we are the ones who choose to be governed by those people. Ultimately it isn’t our fault for situations we are put in but I do believe that Americans should take some credit for the problem because we are the ones who put the people in office which was the start of problems.

I think that my role in government is to remain focused on MY country and for each election to do my best to become as educated about each politician and his/her stands on important issues. After I get educated about them, I should vote on who I believe is the best person for the position, I don't want to be one of those people who pull straight party tickets, I want to be one of those who stand behind the person and the things they stand for.

Poverty in TN

Wealth & Poverty:

The picture on the left is photos of poverty in Tennessee- there weren't any on the website I found for Kentucky. I think that it is very shameful that our government has "enough" supplies and money that they can send to foreign countries but not enough to lend a helping hand to American people who need it. I just don't think that is a correct way of conducting any type of "solution" to this problem.

I don't think that there is any way possible to close the gap between poverty and wealth, unless everyone who has an outrageous amount of income, millions and billions, gives about 5%-10% of their income to the people who are in poverty. I highly doubt this will happen though, because while philanthropy to research institutions is important I don't think they would rather give that money to "some dead beat," which is a huge stereotype amongst people on their level. I do think that closing the gap is something that should be but never will be done.

I know that personally I may not be able to give a lot but I try to help out all that I can. From experience with Operation UNITE (<--link to their website), which helps educate and prevent drug abuse in Eastern Kentucky, I have heard about some terrible situations that people are in then they turn to drugs because it is their only "escape." I love to volunteer with UNITE because while I can't help monetarily I can help educate and be an advocate for people staying drug free and give them hope that drugs and poverty aren't a circle they want to be involved in.

When I get money I try to handle it responsibly- investing, saving, and necessities- if I do this then hopefully one day I will have a sufficient amount of money that can help my family live better and if needed for an emergency then it will be available.

I think that the most remarkable story of someone from poverty going into wealth is Andrew Carnegie. He started out working for barely $1 an hour he eventually worked his way up the corporal ladder and became one of the richest men in the world. I do think that this was just one of those once in a lifetime situations and that it doesn't happen that often but then when it does people get aggravated because they are jealous.

Justice:

In my mind justice is the correct verdict of a case presented to our judicial system, only when the verdict is given by those who are unbiased and honest. Sadly, this isn't possible 100% of the time, resulting in multiple injustices, but it should be something we strive for. A great example of injustice just recently happened, I'm sure many of you have heard of the Christian - Newsom trials an instance when a woman and her boyfriend were carjacked, kidnapped, raped, and murdered in 2007. The trial concluded and the victimizers were sentenced, then it all turned into a whirlwind when the judge of the case was found to be addicted to pain killers during the trial. The defendants were given their request to a retrial due to the judges actions, this is a huge injustice to the families of Christopher Newsom and Channon Christian because they have to go to court and sit through the torturous pain of the killers describing every action to the court room again. If it were up to me in this case there wouldn't be a retrial for the simple fact that the jury wasn't a hung jury and the judge didn't sign off as the 13th juror.

When it comes to laws that are unjust, I don't think that they should be strictly enforced but they shouldn't be purposely broken. I would have to agree with Henry David Thoreau when he said, "One would think that a deliberate and practical denial of its authority was the only offense never contemplated by government..." (185) I think that my role in fighting for justice is to report to proper authorities when I see laws that are bluntly being broken. I have done this on a few occasions, for instance when I'm on the interstate and someone is speeding, driving reckless, and having no regards for the vehicles around them I do call the police.

Ethics & Morality:

To me ethical/moral behavior is doing the right thing no matter the situation or how hard the "right thing" is. In todays society there are numerous unethical behaviors such as, prostitution, doing/dealing drugs, abortion, and stealing. Justice isn't always served in these cases because they can be hard to catch people doing them, then there are others where it is obvious what is being done and they are punished for their actions.

I am one of those people who think that you can not have ethics/morals without religion for the simple fact that if you don't have any idea of right or wrong, which are usually taught at church and at home, then there isn't any possibility of being an ethical person. In some instances I don't think that ethics/morality is tied to happiness because it can be the hardest thing in your life you will do but you do it because it is the right thing. I agree with Aristotle that happiness isn't really a temporary emotion but it is more of a lifestyle. To be happy you have to find things that give you joy in life, not short term but long term such as reading. Being able to read can give you a lifetime of happiness. In comparison to what Aristotle says, I do believe that I am a happy person because even if I'm having a "bad day" I can always seem to find the light at the end of the tunnel.

Individual:

To be an individual you should be able to think freely and to form your own opinions. The world needs more individuals because it's people like that who cause conformist to look at the world differently. When I think of individuals I immediately think of artist Andy Warhol because to society he was "odd" but that is only because he wasn't like the rest of society. When people like that arise then great things happen, things like the events that happened on April 1, 1976 when Steve Jobs helped found Apple who is now the leader in the technology of computers, phones, music players, and many more areas.I think if you are seen as an individual then you are held to the standard of being able to accomplish great things and make contributions to society. I love the passage that Erich Fromm said in The Individual in the Chains of Illusion:

...When I experience myself fully, then I recognize that I am the same as any other

human being, that I am the child, the sinner, the saint, the one who hopes and the one

who despairs, the one who can feel joy and the one who can feel sadness. I discover

that only the thought concepts, the customs, the surface are different, and that the human

substance is the same. I discover that I am everybody, and that I discover myself in

discovering my fellow man, and vice versa. In this experience I discover what humanity is;

I discover the One Man...(335-336)

Sometimes I do think of myself as an individual but then there are times where I think that I try to conform to society. I'm not really sure that it's possible to be completely individual because there are different ways that society gets in the way of our individualism, such as clothing. If you purchase your clothing in a store there is a good chance that someone else in your town will have the same item as you. I think that different industries try to conform society to their idea of an "individual" through the products that they make but then again, individuals are made by their life experiences and lessons.

I put in my contribution to society by volunteering and being an educated citizen. I want to contribute to society so that someday I can look back and hopefully say that I made a difference somewhere at one point. I think it is important to support individualism within society because eventually at one point in time we will all have to rally together for some common cause. There are many different ways that I am an individual, if you take a group of people of 25 and they are all from different countries then we are each an individual because of the cultural barrier between the 25.

Part Seven:

If there is one thing this class has taught me it is to not procrastinate, eventually all of the things you wait to do last minute can take a toll on you! I also learned that since I came from a small town that there are other people out there that have different views other than those that are found in my town. I would have to say that two of my favorite authors from this class are Dali Lama and Leopold. Some things I would change about the class are the amounts of long readings and I would have had some fun activities planned instead of just Reading Responses and Essays-borrrrinnnggg!