My Short Story

If you wanted a copy of my short story, just send me an email at jgrieco@unm.edu

"Woof!"

Hi guys, I have one last topic for you. I wanted to bring this up because I think that it is a huge problem here in New Mexico. Recently, a lot of press has been released about pit bull attacks. Just last week, a women from Truth or Consequences died when a pack of 4 pit bulls mauled her. One of the dogs was shot at the scene after it rushed an officer. The other three, last I heard, are expected to be put down if they are caught.

Why are these attacks allowed to continue? Do we have a larger number of dangerous breeds here or are we more lax about animal control? Is simply euthanizing the animals that attack enough to combat the problem?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey everyone. I think that a lot of you have brought up some very good points thus far.

I guess what I'm trying to allude to is the idea of questioning "homeowner authority". Another example would be unruly or bully children. Every day, people are hurt due to things that are within others' control. When should government, if at all, step in to citizens' private lives?

I'm sorry for not just saying that...

I'd be interested to know your thoughts on the matter.

Book Suggestions?

Okay so throughout the semester I heard a ton of recommendations to books and references to other texts. So I wanted to know what readings you all have enjoyed and would suggest for the rest of us to read. Even if it's not related to our questioning authority theme, I'd love to hear your suggestions. Just tell me why you enjoyed and maybe a little on what it's about, but don't give away the story. :D I'm looking forward to seeing your responses!

Wrap Up

Hi, everyone!

To wrap up the class for our final blog week, I'd like to ask you about the class as a whole. What did you learn/gain from this course? What text did you like best/least? What did you like best overall? Least? Would you change anything about this class?

Have at it! :)

Questioning Education

I would first like to make it clear that this is not directed towards Kathryn. :)

People have said recently more than ever, education in the United States has gone down the tubes. High school dropout rates are on the rise. Teachers, grade school through high school, are being fired in front of their students. Standardized tests are showing little or no progress in individual students and in the school as a whole. These trends seem especially bad in New Mexico where the graduation rate in some schools is only 46% and test scores are some of the lowest in the nation. Even in college setting, we are told that programs are declining steadily. I've heard from more than one student in more than one department that education is a joke and that their department "sucks."

What is happening here? Are the standards used to hire education professionals lower than they used to be? Are students just becoming more apathetic? Are parents taking less responsibility for their children's education? Are these only products of a failing economy? Are we just being too critical? Or it is something entirely different? I will love to hear from you guys.

Medical Authority

Through talking to both my parents and hearing stories from various sources, I have heard of many stories in which a doctor has failed to diagnose a condition or know something that they should have found or known. An example is my mom having pneumonia (a long time ago now), but when she went into the doctor's office he simply told her she was fine and, when she went in for the second time in less than a week, prescribed her oral antibiotics (because her lung sounds were clear). However, she ended going to the ER because she felt so bad, and they had to put her on multiple strong IV antibiotics and she was in the hospital for several weeks. Another example is someone I know who was (properly) given a blood thinning drug, but the doctor did not recognize changes in his blood tests that were a simple side effect of the drug as being such (which could have potential to cause big problems if a doctor/medical professional is giving a drug they don't know very well).

That being said, when is it right to question the authority of a doctor or other medical professional? What defines when it is okay or not? When going to a doctor a person definitely has to put their trust in that doctor and his/her knowledge of medicine and respect them for that, but it is your body or that of a loved one that you may be concerned about. At what point or in what way would it become disrespectful of a doctor to question their authority, and how important of a consideration is this? What would you do if you thought a doctor was missing something important?

How should a doctor react if a person raises specific concerns about how they or their family member is being treated medically? How much should this depend on the manner in which they were approached, and should they allow it to change their treatment, particularly if the patient or family member brings up a valid point? How would you react, if you were a doctor?

I'm really curious to see what you guys think. I know I asked a lot of questions, so feel free to answer whichever ones you like.

Little Rebels

I came across something I thought was really interesting today and wanted to see what you all thought of it. It ties in with our class perfectly.

Phillip Nel released a children's book titled, "Tales for Little Rebels: A Collection of Radical Children's Literature," which encourages children to question authority. It caught my attention first of all because you normally don't see the words "children" and "radical" together. One of the reasons he wrote the book is because you read childhood stories before you've figured out who you are. This was interesting to me because it's like planting somewhat rebellious ideas in kids. And you know how kids are, they hold on to things for a long time. So my question or questions are: Should we teach our children to question authority from a young age? Do you think this book will encourage children to "rebel" against authority? If you had kids now would you allow them to read this book? Are there reasons why we should teach our children to obey rather than question? Along these same lines, if you did encourage your child to question authority, is there such a thing as taking it too far? For instance, if your child is continually acting out against his teacher at school, what would you say if he/she tried to justify it by saying they were just "questioning authority?" I'm interested to see what you all have to say!

Religious Authority

Hey everyone! :)

So after our presentation today, I started thinking about that tangent we went off on during the discussion about King Henry VIII and about how he questioned the Catholic Church and ultimately usurped power from it by creating his own religion. This has happened repeatedly throughout history where someone is unhappy with the way that a certain religion is handling things so they decide to go out and create/find a religion that is more suitable to their personal beliefs.

Is it ok to question the authority of a religious institution based on the simple fact that you yourself don't agree with it? Are there some examples where questioning the authority of a religious institution has gone too far? Are some religions harder to question? If there are, why do you think this is so? What do you think is the most interesting result to come about from questioning religious authority?

Also kind of relating to this topic, why do you think there are so many disagreements among people that center around religious beliefs and teachings?

I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on this! Happy blogging! :D

Questioning Gone Awry

Hi, all!

I forgot that Cori dropped the course and we don't have anyone to post this week so I will go ahead and post something.

My question for you has to do with whether or not it is ever wrong to question authority. I'm thinking particularly of fringe theorists or extremists/zealots who question because they might be overly paranoid, who question just for the mere sake of questioning, or who question because they are in complete denial about facts (Holocaust Deniers come to mind here). Can you think of some examples where questioning authority would be dangerous and not worth the risks? Or do you think it should always be acceptable, no matter what?

Have at it, folks!

BYU Honor Code

Recently, BYU basketball came into the national spotlight; and not because of how their team was performing. Brandon Davies, one of the Cougars’ best players this season was dismissed from the team for violating the school Honor Code by having premarital sex with his girlfriend. While the season ended already, and probably too early for many BYU fans, I still feel like this issue applies to our class.

The Honor Code requires students to “Be honest, live a chaste and virtuous life; 
Obey the law and all campus policies; 
Use clean language; 
Respect others;
abstain from alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea, coffee, and substance abuse; 
participate regularly in church services; 
observe the Dress and Grooming Standards and 
encourage others in their commitment to comply with the Honor Code.” The Honor Code applies both on and off campus and students are required to renew this contract every year. If they violate it, punishments range from an academic hold on their account to total separation from the school.

This brings up many questions. If accepted to BYU would you sign the Honor Code in order to attend? Why? Why not? Is it healthy that the school essentially shelters their students from the world? In many dystopian tales, the totalitarian government was created to protect the people from the “evils” of the world (Ex. Brave New World and “V for Vendetta”). Is this in any way similar to BYU’s Honor Code? Also, if students knowingly and willingly accept the terms of the Honor Code, is it ok for them to question the authority of it? I’ve posted a link to BYU’s webpage with the Honor Code on it. I can’t wait to hear everyone’s thoughts on this!

http://saas.byu.edu/catalog/2010-2011ucat/GeneralInfo/HonorCode.php

Drugs, Drugs, Drugs

I recently learned the classification system for drugs and the criteria for their placements. Drugs are broken down into 5 schedules, (I) being the worst to (V) being the least harmful. There is a hyperlink at the bottom of this post if you want to read more into each schedule and the drugs that each contains.

I was extremely shocked to find out that Marijuana was placed in Schedule I. The requirements for a Schedule I drug is to have a “high tendency for abuse, have no accepted medical use, and are not available with a prescription by a physician”. The other drugs alongside Marijuana in Schedule I are Heroin, MDMA (Ecstasy), LSD, and GHB.

First off, Marijuana does not cause a physical addiction, if anything it is a mental addiction. There have been no reported cases of THC overdose. Secondly, there have been experiments that have successfully shown that Marijuana can have a beneficial medical use with cancer patients; it gives the patients an appetite and helps with the pain. Lastly, it is available to cancer patients with a prescription by a physician in 17 states, including Washington, D.C.

Activists have tried to change the schedule of Marijuana based on these previously stated arguments to help the legalization process. Since people do not believe that it meets the requirements of a Schedule I drug, the government either has to allow for medical use or remove it from federal control altogether. However, the government maintains its stance on Marijuana being a Schedule I drug.

So my question is why is the government refusing to remove Marijuana from Schedule I? Are they trying to dissuade the legalization of the drug by maintaining its “dangerous” status? Does their authority affect your view of the drug? Or do you agree with the government that Marijuana should be a Schedule 1 drug? Generally, how do the positions that the government or authorities take affect your views and opinions?

You can expand off of this topic in any way that you wish. I was just so intrigued when I learned this that I wanted to hear other people’s views on the topic. Also, I’d just like to say that I’m not a druggie or anything; I’m just very interested in drugs in general (haha).

I can’t wait to see what you all have to say :)

http://www.addictions.org/schedules.html

Its a Big Business World

Just a little background information before I ask questions, I am a business major with a concentration in finance. I currently own a few shares in Pacsun and Citi Group Insurance. These businesses, along with all publicly traded companies, make A LOT of money. Jeans at Pacsun go for about $40 a pair. If a little research was done, they are produced for something around $5 dollars in places like Taiwan. It almost makes me angry to support a company that is making between 400 and 600% in profits. So some questions that I have are, should companies be allowed to make as much money as they like, if no, where should a limit be drawn since we live in a capitalist society. Should we stop buying or is paying that much alright? Can we fight the system for a change in price or is it a helpless situation?

Wikileaks: Good or Bad?

I’m sure most of you are familiar with Wikileaks and how it is changing the structure of journalism. If not, check out the links at the bottom of this prompt. I’m curious to see how you guys see Wikileak’s actions. Speaking specifically about the Afghan War Diaries, do the potential security risks of these secret documents outweigh the benefit of having information available to the masses? How does the availability of information about major corporations and governments affect an everyday citizen’s ability to question authority? Does Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, deserve judicial action? What affect does Wikileaks have on the future?

I know there are a lot of questions here, so feel free to choose whichever you’d like to answer. I’m looking forward to your answers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10757263

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/What-Is-Wikileaks--99239414.html

What happens next?

The recent events in the Middle East continue to interest me, especially as they relate to this class. Egypt has recently overthrown its president of 30 years and the army has assumed temporary control of the country. My question is, after the excitement of activism and revolution, what happens next? How important is it, in the process of questioning authority, to have a plan in action after you have successfully questioned authority? How much responsibility, if any, does the questioning party have in reestablishing order after breaking down the previous authority? How does a society prevent another corrupt authority figure from taking over? What about anarchism?

Also,what can we learn from how past revolutions turned out (like the aftermath of the Russian Revolution vs. the aftermath of the American revolution for example). I look forward to seeing all of your responses.

Rebellion At It's Finest (Sort Of)

My senior year of high school, my school got a new principal who was a lot more strict than our old principal had been. She had security patrolling the halls to herd students into classes before the bell even rang, started cracking down on the slightest dress code infraction, and talked to students as if they were elementary school children. Most of the time, seniors put up with the new rules because we only had to deal with it for one year, but when she announced that she would have chaperones patrolling the dance floor at prom and that she would personally choose the playlist, we decided it was time to take action (Seriously, who wants to dance to the Chicken Dance at prom?). So a group of seniors started planning an Anti-Prom by setting up a location, DJ, and security for a dance to be hosted on the same night as our school-sponsored prom. Eventually, concerned parents heard about the Anti-Prom and called the school telling the principal that she could not allow this to happen. In response, she met up with us and agreed that we could choose our own playlist as long as the sponsor teacher of the senior class approved it; which was fine by us since we got along well with our sponsor.

Looking back on the situation, I think we made a bigger deal of it than we needed to, and we could probably have handled it in a way that caused less chaos. After all, it was only a high school prom. However, we did get our point across and came up with a compromise that worked for both sides.

So, since I love stories, my question is: What have YOU done in the past to question authority? How did you justify your actions at the time? Do you still believe they were justified, or was there a better way to handle the situation?

I can't wait to hear what you guys have to say!

The Power of Uniforms

I apologize in advance for taking too long to post this..

Anyways, my girlfriend was watching Dr. Phil and told me about a segment called "Are we really that vulnerable to uniforms?," which caught my interest for this class. They had a man in a military uniform stand in the streets and tell people to do certain things like walk around a tile or stop and walk with their left foot in front. Suprisingly people would make a face but do as they were told. When this same man was dressed in civillian clothes and requested that they do the same thing, people would look at him questioningly but walk right through the tile or not stop at all. It is not only clear here, but in everday life that the power of a uniform is significant. People personifying a doctor or police can face incredible criminal charges. Is the power of a uniform really that significant that it even has to be regulated? Why do we so easily follow what someone in uniform tells us to do? Why is it so hard for us to question the authority of someone in uniform?

Peer Pressure

So after the movie we spoke a bit about peer pressure and how much of an influence it is in our daily lives. I want to know if you believe it is a type of authority in itself and if so how much influence does it carry? If you were to rank all the types of authority we have covered so far (parental, religious, governmental, societal, etc.) which would be most influential all the way down to least influential and why? Are there examples to show the power of each kind of authority?

So I'm Thinking About Piercing My...

Hello All! I know what you all are thinking, what could this title possibly mean? Well, after reading two books that deal with questioning authority in the wayyy past, back when the wheel was created, I decided to try and think of something more modern, and I got to thinking about the modern generation. In our generation, give or take 5/10 years in either direction, people are modifying their body in new and 'improved' ways everyday. So the question I thought of was, what is it that makes us do this? I know a lot of my friends who, once they turned 18 decided to get a tattoo or a piercing that their parents otherwise wouldn't have allowed if they had been underage. Is the reason people our age feel compelled to do this have to do with 'sticking it to the man', whether that be our parents, employers, or just older generations in general, or is it for some other reason? Is is some coming of age thing people today feel they must participate in? I want to see what you all have to say about this and what it means in terms of questioning authority, and of what it means to you. I look forward to reading your replys :).

Social Networking

Hello everyone! I hope your Wednesday has been to your liking and that the rest of this week flies by smoothly. I recently watched the Oscar Nominated film "Social Network" that tells the real-life stories of the people behind the creation of the multimillion dollar corporation, Facebook. I have to say that in my opinion, it is a really great movie. I am not a film major and the closest I have ever been to that industry are the locations. What I liked about the movie was the story it told (a real one by the way) of one of the most revolutionary inventions of the 21st Century. After the film was over I had discussion with the people around me about the whole idea and discovered that what started as a simple "drunken/heartbroken prank" became one of the most prominent vessel to question authority. Based on what Jane wrote last week, we can obviously see the impact that these simple tools for entertainment have evolved into a completely different thing. Tweeting where to meet for a protest, making a Facebook invite to boycott a piece of legislature, making a Facebook group to fundraise for a relief fund to Haiti are just some of the many calls for action through this media.

This is the future. Do you guys think that this adds or takes away from the ability to question authority? What are some of the risks of using this type of media to do so? (i.e. Internet being censored) How well does "cyber-activism" impact the real world?

We are blogging about questioning authority... Is that going to make a difference?

Egyptian Unrest

So current events in the Middle East have taken a sharp departure from the norm latelyand Egypt in particular has had a crazy couple of days. President Hosni Mubarak has been in power for the last 30 years and been the leader of 10 different governments in Egypt. Now, the young people of Egypt have started a revolution to oust him, using the internet as a driving and organizing force. Last Tuesday, a march in Tahrir Square drew over a million people, and many groups have also chosen to question authority, siding with the young people.

To me, one of the most significant aspects of this revolution-in-progress is the fact that the Egyptian government, under the orders of President Mubarak, has shut down cell phone and internet services to the entire country. Egyptians have had to create new ways to spread information and communicate with each other in order to stay organized. Personally, the thought of a government-mandated crackdown on the internet seems impossible, especially in the United States. So what I want to know, is if the United States could ever undergo something like what has happened in Egypt, or if the US is too big (geographically or otherwise) for a shut-down to be effective.

If any of you are interested, here are some more articles on the revolution, including a timeline that’s constantly updated.

Why Should We Question Authority?

Okay so when I was thinking about what to write for the blog this week, the thing that came to mind is "why?" Why should we question authority? Are there times when we should not question authority and obey the government or other authority?

After reading Dr. Faustus, I couldn't help but think about his motives in questioning authority. He began to seek higher power by questioning the authority of God and making a pact with Lucifer. I feel like Faustus' civil disobedience was unnecessary and the power he gained became a corrupting influence. When Faustus actually gains the limitless power that he desires, his plans and ambitions are lowered. By gaining absolute power Faustus ends up performing meaningless tricks instead of the"great" things he planned before. Do you all think that Faustus questioning authority of God was for selfish reasons as well? When I think of Thoreau or MLK questioning authority, I feel like they had legitimate reasoning that would benefit more than just themselves. Are there any examples of individuals that have questioned authority for personal or selfish reasons?

Questioning Authority: Lysistrata

Hi class. Now that I've let Lee make the first move, I guess its my turn to post something!

Although Lysistrata is a comedic play, it deals with some very serious issues. Some of which still exist today. As we decided in class, however, a sex strike to stop a war would probably not be quite so successful in modern society. However, are there any contemporary situations where such acts of deprivation could work? If not sex, then is there anything else which could be withheld to convince society of something? MLK Jr and Ghandi are two very famous examples of where peaceful strikes have succeeded, are there any other examples recent times? Also, as modern capitalists, what would you be willing to give up for a cause and what could be taken away from you to make you support a cause?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8025457.stm

Thanks for reading, I look forward to reading your responses!

And just for fun, Extra Credit if you can guess what animal this is:
(\ /)
(' . ')
(") (")

Questioning Authority Post from Lee

Hey guys, this is Lee. I was just thinking about what my topic should be, and I think this question may spark a lot of debate. Many people have started blaming the Tea Party for "encouraging" Jared Loughner and others like him to act out violently against those that disagree with them.

While these comments may or may not have basis in fact, it raises some interesting questions about the very rights we as Americans hold near and dear. What should be the limits, if any, of freedom of speech? Is there a point where questioning authority is not healthy for society and/or the individual?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. :) Enjoy!

Revised Blog

Hello, all!

Excellent first discussion class today. I just wanted to pass on how happy I am that you are all so engaged and enthusiastic!

As I mentioned, Cori is no longer taking this class. So, I need to move the blog schedule around a bit. Instead of having Bridget and Jane post on February 3rd, I'm going to move Jane to April 7th. Also, Group Two, she's obviously no longer in your group. :)

Please let me know if you have any questions about this!

Thanks!

Groups

Hello!

Below are the groups and the texts/themes they have chosen so far:

Group One: Bridget, Christian, Mariana, Eric, Jimmy
Text: Night, Elie Wiesel
Theme: Questioning religion

Group Two: Jane, Cori, Carly, Miranda, Amanda, Sam
Text: TBA
Theme: TBA

Group Three: Jesus, Meagan, Ben, Lee, Amy, Tony
Text: A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini
Theme: Questioning gender roles

Blog Schedule

Hello, everyone!

Below is the blog schedule:

January 27: Lee and Sam
February 3: Bridget and Jane
February 10: Mariana and Meagan
February 17: Amanda and Jesus
February 24: Miranda and Carly
March 3: Eric and Jimmy
March 10: No blog (spring break)
March 17: No blog (spring break)
March 24: Christian
March 31: Tony
April 7: Cori
April 14: Amy
April 21: Ben
April 28: Kathryn