Blog # 3, "What Is Marriage" by Evan Wolfson

Question # 5

Wolfson introduces us to the case, Turner v. Safley, by telling us what the case means and how it was looked at by the supreme court; more specicifully he tells us how the justices look at marriage in American law.  There were four things that define a marriage according to them:
1- publication of love between two people
2- marriage has religious and spiritual roles
3- marriage allows sex
4- marriage comes with responsibility for the other.
     A key thing to note here is that Wolfson does not tell us that the "Americans who had been denied the freedom to marry" were prisoners.  If he had, it  might have hurt his case.  First he infused the idea that marriage is a "important choice that it may not be arbitrarily denied by the government."  After you were in a similar frame of mid as his, he lets you know that he was talking about prisoners.  It was an effective strategy because if you don't support prisoners marrying, you are forced to think about why you initially agreed with the idea that everyone can marry. 

     The case Turner V. Safley is not only relevant but also makes an important statement about society.  The outcome of the case says that, how can you let prisoners, who broke the law, marry and not someone who has always followed the rules.

Blog # 2, 8 "Is Not Hate: The Meaning of a Propostion"

Question # 1-


The thesis of the story is found in the last line of the second paragraph;  Jennifer Ronack Morse states that "from my perspective, it would be tragic for the gays and lesbians of California to believe that every house with a Yes on 8 sign in the yard is inhibited by someone who hates them."  The whole essay is about her defending that a person does not need to hate the gay and lesbian community to be in favor of propostion 8.  With the sentence, she is trying to convey that between the black and white, there exists a gray area ("i'm voting "yes" on 8, not because of my views of gays and lesbians, but because of my views about religion," also makes for a good thesis.)
     Morse's thesis is made credibility due to the fact that throughout the short essay, she does not hold any biases.  It would be one thing to be anti-gay and write a story about gays and lesbians rights; It is another thing to be neutral or pro-gay and write about their rights.  Lack of biases almost gives her an innocent perspective.
     Her thesis is made logical because her essay is full of examples that are undebatable (almost facts).  Its really is undebatable  that the "courts ruling gives gays and lesbians new ground on which to sue religious people and a higher probability of winning than before."  She is presenting consequences that everyone know are going to happen, whether they are a good thing or bad, depend on the person.
     From reading the essay, you can tell the author is genuinely concerned about the topic.  She is trying to emotionally reach other people by not only telling them about consequences  in court but also about how the word 'marriage" is going to transform considerably.  She is addressing a group that "believe that children deserve at least the chance ti have a relationship with a mom and a dad."

Blog # 1 "Looking for Work" by Gary Soto

Engaging the text question #1-

      Why is the narrator attracted to the kind of family depicted on TV? What, if anything, does he think is wrong with his life? Why do his desires apparently have so little impact on his family?

     The 1950's was a period in time where the phrase "living the American Dream" was popular (the two TV shows mentioned Leave It To Beaver Father and Knows Best aired during this time).  The "American Dream" advocated equal opportunity and success regardless of a persons background.  It is generally linked to a typical white family consisting of a parents and two children (usually a boy and a girl.)  The narrator is attracted to the kind of family on TV is because the family is living the "American Dream."  The narrator, just like all people who immigrate to America,  wants to be a part of the dream.  The narrator is trying to integrate himself into the culture, thus the dream.  Another aspect of the family in the TV he finds appealing is that the "family was so uncomplicated in its routine."  Simply put, they had an easy lifestyle that he hoped to be living; instead of the one now where he has to find chores to do around the neighborhood.
     He compares his life to the life on TV, which is supposed to represent an "average" family.  He represents the poor family in America.  Which is why in search for wealth he blindly sets out on a summer day to rake the non-existing.  Thinking in terms of the difference in wealth between his family and the one in the TV, its only natural he should feel there is something wrong with his life.  However, i don't think he feel that there is something wrong with his life.  It seems as thought he feels that he is lacking a few things;  which is why in the time period of a day, he was able to feel "alive" and "skip" down the block.
     His family is a lot less optimistic as him.  His mother has enough experience to know doing those things serves no purpose.  When the narrator asks her why she laughs at him, he tells us that her had had suds and she was sweating from working hard.  His sister is under the impression that "they will never like us."  Or perhaps he just watches to much TV, who knows.

Work Cited

Soto, Gary. Rereading America. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. Print.

Blog A1-Justice

     One of the most controversial word a person can use is justice.  At the heart of the United States court system, the word justice is still on its path to reflect its definition.  According to online oxford dictionary, justice is “the quality of being fair and reasonable.”  The key word in the definition is “quality.”  Courts should be the fairest and most reasonable they can be.  However due to descrimation of minorities, its far from the case.
       According to the online oxford dictionary, the word justice was derived by the French from the Latin word justitia.  Which was later adopted by the old English and called iustise (1).  The word is over eight hundred years old (2).  When the English adopted it, they simplified the word and it was just a title given to people like judges (2).  By the sixteen hundreds, justice became a blind lady holding a sword in one hand and a scale in the other hand (2).  Around the nineteenth century, they started using the word for what it is used for today.  Moving away form the court system, the word is also loosely used to describe what is right and wrong.
     The words definition has not truly changed from its birth to now, nor is how people use it.
  The word may have started out as a title,  but still was linked to the French word.  What has changed however, is the role of who decides what the word means.  Back then the person defining “justice” was the king.  The “quality,” of fairness, as you can imagine, was probably low.  Now, the power to decide justice is split between the citizen and the government.  This makes the quality of the fairness a lot higher.
     The word is important when you are reading something because it can help with character analysis.  By knowing what a person defines as “justice,” you can draw many helpful conclusions that aid in understanding where in the world the person grew up, what political party he/she supports, etc.  In some cases, you can also make predictions from knowing what the individual considers fair ands reasonable.  Since the course will focus on family, the word is key when comparing the families in terms of court.  As I mentioned above, minorities are groups that are not treated fairly and reasonably.  Gay families in the United States are not treated equally as straight families.  Lady justice peeks and favors the majority.

(1) "justice". Oxford Dictionaries. April 2010. Oxford Dictionaries. April 2010. Oxford University Press. 03 February 2012 http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/justice. 

(2) “justice”. Language Studies. December 2008.  Language Studies.  December 2008. Suiet101. 03 Febuary 2012. http://edurne-scott.suite101.com/the-origin-of-the-word-justice-a85518.