Is submission a form of defeat?

Submission is the action or fact of accepting or yielding to a superior force to the will or authority of another person.
Defeat is a win or victory over (someone) in a battle or other contest; overcome or beat.
No I do not think that submission is a form of defeat because he people of Oran weren't defeated by the plague. While yes they did give in and accept the fact that it was happening and death would come they weren't seen as weak in my opinion for doing that. I think submission actually shows the strength of a person because in order to submit here had to be a struggle and a person actually fought until they couldn't anymore.
We are shown in the novel Tarrou and Rieux who refuse to accept defeat by the plague and continue to fight against as well as some other people in town. I think that the city tried their best to survive and those that did came out stronger and the community was able to unite.
People didn't want to admit to the plague because they felt as though they would be defeated but I feel like as long as they at least tried to fight against the plague then they were not defeated.

Why do people ignore the obvious?

In our book The Plague rats keep appearing and dying in front of people yet no one tries to figure out why or connect it to the fact that people are starting to get sick.
So that brings this post about why people ignore the obvious?
I think everyone is guilty of telling themselves a white lie and believing it. I think we do it for our own good because we want to be happy. We tell ourselves that everything is ok because we want it to be that way and we think that of we continually say it then it will become true.
Maybe that could just be another level of fear. Just like the wives that tell themselves that they are happy in a marriage when they know they aren't.
I think that in the novel the people of Oran are afraid of admitting that the plague is happening because they know they are in a losing battle. From the deaths that have already happened suddenly the people know that death is approaching but refuse to believe it and instead trays to find different excuses for why certain people have died.

An open letter to parents (not my own)

After reading Ordinary People I have a different view of parents. I realized from reading the novel how difficult it can be to raise children especially in he wake of tragedy. What I would tell parents is to never give up on you're child because no matter what happens children always need their parents. I would also tell them that parenting is a joint family effort, in order to have a successful, happy family it takes patience and most importantly compromise. Everyone needs to be willing to work together and if they aren't then the family will fall apart. I think in Ordinary People Beth was to concerned with herself to realize the bigger picture and her refusal to compromise led to the Jarrett family becoming separated.

Civic Duty: All Americans Should...

I think all Americans should pay taxes and complete jury duty. I think the answers can vary due to the uncertainty of who an American is. America is made up of immigrants and so many different types of people that I think only paying taxes and jury duty should be required of them. Something  that I do that I think other Americans should do is recycle because it is clear that we are reaching the end of he usable life of some of our resources. I think jury duty is a civic duty because it allows Americans to be involved in the justice system. Paying taxes is our way of saying thank you to our government and everyone should do it.

America and Intergration

Integration is America is only present in certain places. The idea that America has become a fully integrated nation is a myth. Yes we do allow several different people to live in the United States but there are still people that do not like having foreigners here. If you look at the diversity in the nation as a whole we look pretty great but take our city as the shining example of the truth. By majorities: African American on the South Side, Whites on the North, and Hispanics on the West side. As divided as this city is I do not consider it segregation, but instead separation. I think that by nature people want to be near people that are similar to them. This idea is also seen in our very own 5th period philosophy class. I don't think people do it on purpose, but maybe they simply do not want to stand out by bring in a group of people that they don't look like. This is why in Chicago we have Chinatown and the Black Belt, people feel more comfortable being around their own race. No this doesn't make people racist it simply makes them human, everyone has been guilty of doing this, I certainly have. If a African American walks into a classroom where they do not know anyone they will naturally gravitate to where one or more African Americans are seated. This will be the same case for other races. I think that Chicago is simply a victim of separation, they are not segregated.

Is Poverty a Choice?

To do this blog I surveyed a couple of students at Whitney young and surprisingly most of them came to the same conclusion as me, poverty is a choice. The students all came to the similar consensus that the world is full of possibilities and opportunities and if you want to have a good life then you will take advantage of it. We all acknowledge that some people have struggled in live and had some misfortune, but that doesn't mean that they cannot prosper. This blog coincides to the report I did in Contemporary US History about Oprah Winfrey, she rose from poverty to become the only African American on the Forbes 400 List. She is living proof that if you work hard and take advantage of our opportunistic world then you can become successful in life.
I think that people might be more inclined to try to support themselves if the government removed their crutch. Welfare shows people that they don't have to work when the government has to provide for them. I am a big believer in some people need to hit rock bottom before they realize that life takes a lot of work.

Malcolm X

I've found it difficult to read this book and I believe it is because I am so engrained in Dr. King's teachings that to accept anything of the contrary is hard. I so far don't agree with what Malcolm is saying. When reading his background I couldn't understand why he was so against whites when he had special treatment from his father for being light skinned. I understand that his father was believed to be killed by white supremists but at the same time I believe that not all white people were inherently evil. I think that some generations simply followed in what their parents taught them. People are not born racist they are made racist whether it be by their environment or by what they are told. Malcolm got involved in a bad lifestyle and blamed all his misfortunes on white people saying that they made the ghettos but I do not believe that that is true. I think that Malcolm holds a lot of pent up aggression and I don't believe that it is all justified.
A problem I have always had with activists like Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, or Dr. King is that I never understood what gave them the right to define a black person. What gave them the right to tell blacks how to live their lives? This is not a sign of disrespect or criticism on them. I personally have never been a follower and for me to have to listen to someone telling me to go back to Africa or fight nonviolent isn't something that I'm going to eagerly do because I don't understand what entitles them to say these things.