Song Lyrics

"Earth Song"
What about sunrise
What about rain
What about all the things
That you said we were to gain...
What about killing fields
Is there a time
What about all the things
That you said was yours and mine...
Did you ever stop to notice
All the blood we've shed before
Did you ever stop to notice
The crying Earth the weeping shores?

Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh

What have we done to the world
Look what we've done
What about all the peace
That you pledge your only son...
What about flowering fields
Is there a time
What about all the dreams
That you said was yours and mine...
Did you ever stop to notice
All the children dead from war
Did you ever stop to notice
The crying Earth the weeping shores

Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh

I used to dream
I used to glance beyond the stars
Now I don't know where we are
Although I know we've drifted far

Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh

Hey, what about yesterday
(What about us)
What about the seas
(What about us)
The heavens are falling down
(What about us)
I can't even breathe
(What about us)
What about apathy
(What about us)
I need you
(What about us)
What about nature's worth
(ooo, ooo)
It's our planet's womb
(What about us)
What about animals
(What about it)
We've turned kingdoms to dust
(What about us)
What about elephants
(What about us)
Have we lost their trust
(What about us)
What about crying whales
(What about us)
We're ravaging the seas
(What about us)
What about forest trails
(ooo, ooo)
Burnt despite our pleas
(What about us)
What about the holy land
(What about it)
Torn apart by creed
(What about us)
What about the common man
(What about us)
Can't we set him free
(What about us)
What about children dying
(What about us)
Can't you hear them cry
(What about us)
Where did we go wrong
(ooo, ooo)
Someone tell me why
(What about us)
What about babies
(What about it)
What about the days
(What about us)
What about all their joy
(What about us)
What about the man
(What about us)
What about the crying man
(What about us)
What about Abraham
(What about us)
What about death again
(ooo, ooo)
Do we give a damn

Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh

I picked this song because it goes along with a lot of things that are going in the world. All the wars, pollution, sick children, starving children, homeless people, sick people, and the disasters that have happened. All these things are destroying the one thing that supports our life.

American Idol

My American Idol: Everybody Hates Chris

I am not going to lie I do watch this show and find it to be funny and interesting at times. But, after listening to Toby’s version of her American Idol, it made me think to start looking deeper into the things I watch. I honestly have been one of those people that have been naïve to certain messages that are hidden within media. So, when thinking   what to pick for this assignment I immediately thought of the show Everybody Hates Chris. When I started thinking about the show it made me think is this how they think all lower income African American families act. That all black mothers are loud, threaten to beat/kill their children, and only think of themselves. Then that the father works two dead end jobs, counts every cent of food that is wasted or put into a child’s mouth, and has all these medical problems. In almost every episode the mother is yelling at the kids and threatening them if she finds out something. Also, she is constantly investigating something she feels is going on behind her back and finding ways to work the system when it comes to paying bills. The dad is always going back and forth between his two jobs and is mainly complaining about not having enough money, just enough to get by and his gout/other aches and pains. If you look at the very broad aspect of the spectrum, yes there are African American families that are on a lower income level and their money is tight but overall this show serves no justice in how African American families live. Also, I wonder do people that watch this show think not only is it lower income African American families that act this way, but do all African Americans act this way.  If asked to give the show a score on a scale from one to ten, I would give it a five.

Implicit Association Test

The first test I took was a weight test. I have no preference for at or thin people. I like all kinds of people. what makes me not like certain people is that if I do not get good vibes from a person. I try to give people chances and do not always base things off the vibes I get because some people turn out to be some of the best people I know. I do not agree with my results that I like thin people more than fat people. The next test i took dealt with gender roles. The results came up that I associate women more with the career category and men with the family category. Once again I do not feel any bias way towards a particular group or which categiry they belong in. The last test I took was the sexuality test. I kind of agree with my results because I do associate myself more with straight people with gay. But, I have absolutely noting agaisnt gay people. I feel they all deserve the same happiness as any human beings.

I feel my results turned out the way they did because mentally I memorized the categories the way they were the first time around. It also made me automatically click the certain button for the categories because the first pair up was done twice. For example the gender test men' name were on the left and women names on the right had two group names into these categories twice. Then they put men and careers together and women and family together, did this twice. So, when men names moved to the right and women to the left it made it difficult because I had myself accustomed to a particular way. I was able to quickly alternate but at times I would click the button for where the certain category had been.

Wedding Game

The first thing I clicked on was the virginity link and it came up with a screen of terms and argeement, so for kicks I clicked don't agree and a box popped up saying sorry you have to agree. It was ridiculous listing to some of the links in the virginity link. I think the most upsurb one was the antivirus where the girl siad it was okay to sleep around because hey you were giving men what they wanted. I feel that if any woman feels that way they have a low self esteem because they should not have to sleep around to get the love and attention they deserve. I also thought the virgin perfect link was pretty crazy how she compared losing your virginity is practically like becoming a demon you are no longer innocent. But the funny thing is that at the end of her tidbit she says whoa I did not know that was in there I need a drink. So its okay to drink but it is a terrible thing to lose your virginity.

Next, thing I thought was really out there was the engagement ring. It made a funny sound when the smallest ring was picked and said don't panic you can turn the ring into a whole lotta love. So, I did not know that your ring has to be the size of a tumor to show he is in love with you. I honestly think that if you need a bigger ring to seal the approval of love then your priorities are backwards. You are apparently in love with materialism and not your future husband. Then the next size up says congratulations he loves you but why not ask for an upgrade. He can sell something very valuable. Once again it is apparent that the love is based on materialism and not true love. Then I laughed histerically when it says a whole lot of love, but make sure its real because there is not substitute for real love. I would have been happy and just fine with the smallest ring because I do not need a ring to show my love for my significant other or even need a ring to say I am married to my significant other. It was really heart wrenching listening to Fiona's story. We are so wrapped up in the fact bigger is better but not taking into consideration that for our demands were are causing many innocent people to be hurt or killed. The whole section about picking the ideal spouse was a complete joke. I mean its okay to marry every kind of spouse except same sex. Same sex is off limits.Lastly, the part of engineering the perfect baby. Anyone that would ever pay for this is crazy. It is part of life for a child to get sick, get a bad grade, not be the best in sports. All the varities is what makes your child who they are should never try to engineer having the perfect baby.

Cycle of Socialization

At the beginning of this reading it talked about Rodney King. I knew about what had happened to him but had never seen the video. I jus happened to be watching a documnetary on him the other day and it was such an eye opener in the sense that words really could not justify the horrific beating he had endured. The worst part that they tried justifying they beat him because he tired getting up and attacking him. I just thought to myself that who would not try getting up to defend themselves. I did not know that much about it because it happened when I was only three years old. Rodney's quote "Why can't we all just get along?" I think it is so true that we all need to all just get along but will never be able to. There will always be someone who has more than you or have the life you always have wanted.

The part about what group we belong to bothers me a little. I know it mentioned that from birth we get put into groups and we do not have a say in what group we belong to and things have been this was for a very long time. I do agree with that we cannot help being born in to poverty, rich families, gay or lesbian parent, single or divorced parent. But, my overall issue is who gave the right to certain people to treat others how they want. There was a part that said stepping out of the box and being an individual made you different. What ever happened to being your own individual and not conforming to the social norms. I know my senior year in high school I ended up never having a set group of friends because I was the person that tried being friends with anyone and everyone. I know all groups of people did not like that because the felt I was either being fake and trying to play a cruel joke or simply because they did not like other people I would talk to. It hurt me for awhile but in the end I was happy that I did not just conform to one particular group of people.

Cycle of Cynicism

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world". I feel that 97% of America does not live according to the quote. We as Americans want all the change done for us. Taking the step to do something for ourself, to make that change is too much to ask for.

In the beginning of thereading it talked about how we practically feed off of the media. What ever the media tells us we believe. Our society rely on the media to give us the news. We do not take part in trying to find out information on our own. Recent news has been the disaster in Japan. As the article states the cycle of cynicism we sit around saying to ourselves why did this have to happen, what can we do to make it better, but I'm nowhere near the source of the problem so there is nothing really I can do. I know that I am part of the cycle that what can I really do to make a change or help and I knnow that I really need to stop thinking that way because all it takes is some research and there are probably a million ways for me to help out, just never knew about it. It was kind of funny to me; I watch American Idol and before the show started Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, and Ryan Seacrest all shared how deeply they are remorsed by this event and how to text in to donate money. Ryan had mentioned at the end of the show it would explain how on Thursday night when you texted in you could donate up to $10. My thought was after this reading was how funny is it that that's all we do anymore just ask for a text message and money will be donated and boom bang your done; you have done your contribution to society. Yes, donates do help out in the end but when did we stop asking for a lending hand, for people to come out and physically help the Red Cross put together relief packages. To go along with this I think moving on/forgetting should be added to the cycle of cynicism. Because no matter what the event maybe it will be a hot topic for a couple weeks to a month and then eventually falls off the radar. Yes, there are the people that are still working on the issue but it is no longer a big deal to society. If the media isn't talking about it then it's not important. Another thing I have noticed the commercials to send in money or adopt a starving child do not air as much anymore. It's as if we have excepted the fact that children are straving no need to advertise it, its a known issue.

I had mentioned in my recent Salsa, Soul, and Spirit blog that we as Americans want everything done for us and whoever is in position of power would be held responsible for our demands. So, it was funny to read in this readaing the line saying, "we become angryand blame the people in positions of power for not doing anything to stop it either". As I had mentioned in my other blog that this is so true as soon as something goes wrong or not exactly how we wanted it we deem the person as a bad leader. But, we need to take on some of the responsibility. This is where we fall short in the US because we assume the little things we do have nothing to with what's going on in the world at all. The questions that were asked: whose car creates smog, whose energy causes global warming, whose lack of support for a community group causes it to close its doors and when reading these questions I immediately answered I am to each of the questions. We all need to start waking up and realizing that each and everyone one of us is the problem. As Michael Jackson's song Man in the Mirror, we all need to start with the man/woman in the mirror and ask them to change their ways.

Anita Hill Speech

I will be honest by starting off that I did not know who Anita Hill was. When talking with a couple of classmates they had told me that she was a really good speaker and could not wait to go see her. I began to have thoughts run through my head of what she may has done and what is she doing today. On the syllabus it said Sojourner Truth Lecture Series. When reading this I thought that her speech was going to be all about the life of Sojourner Truth.

Anita began her lecture about sexual harassment. I did not know that because of her testimony that sexual harassment is not taken lightly throughout the work force. I thought about while she was talking if she had never decided to take the leap of faith and let what was going on in her life known if everything would be different today. Also that if Anita did not report this harassment would any woman after her have. I thank her for her courage because I have to been a victim of some very crude sexual harassment at a former job. I sit back and think that because of her everyone has a voice now and I also think that if I did not have that option of reporting the things that were happening to me would things have been taken further than they had already been taken.

I really liked her talk about the housing industry in how it was and where it stands to day. Almost every class you take or some point in life you here someone say the "American Dream". Of course everyone wants to live in the big house, have a successful job, nice car, etc., but the sad fact it is most likely going to never happen there will always be people that are a few steps behind the front runners. One of the questions she asked was "How truky are we at home with an African American President?" She is right because even though we have an African American president in office it still does not make up for the fact that some African Americans are unable to afford to live the "American Dream". She had talked about how homes put the strain on women whether they be single or married. In today's society majority of all women work they no longer are the stay at home moms, but being in the work force is necessary to be able to provide for their families. One of the last things she said was that hopefully hopefully we can have the upcoming generations to not end up where they started. I believe in that. We need to not have the upcoming generations repeating the vicious cycle that has been repeating itself all throughout history. I know my parents ended their life cycle through me, for I am the first one on both sides of my family to go to college. So, we as society need to start caring more about the upcoming generations and showing them more of hope and having them be more involved with their lives and education.

Salsa, Soul, and Spirit (p.117-134)

My favorite part of the reading was a quote by Antonia Pantoja. "I felt I was called to do something about the situation of the people I belonged to. That is wasn't an option. I had a responsibility to contribute to my people" (Bordas, 119). You do not here many people today saying its their responsiblitity to give back to their community. Yes, there are some out there but in today's society it seems all about who is going to take the leap of faith. Not at the same extreme but look at today's classroom setting; a teacher asks for volunteers and everyone peers around them room looking at each other and see who is going to speak up first and when you have that one person finally speak then you have others that will fall in behind. A part of the reading that reminded me of the movie we watched on the election campaign of Cory Booker, was that part on the Latino survey. It said that the survey "found that Latinos wanted a community centered and community serving leaders" (Bordas, 120). I was reminded of the movie because it was funny that everyone was all for Sharpe James because he was always able to put on a good show and did do some good things. But, the community pushed Booker away even though he lived in their community and knew the things that needed to be fixed. You would think that as the Latino community you would be more for someone you knew what exactly you were going through and needed to be fixed.

I feel that America as a whole tries to implicate as the book has it the five things that leaders use to grow their community. I cannot speak exactly for everyone or the entire country because I do not know what goes on all across the world but from my viewpoint is that we elect a leader and as soon as he doesn't do his "job" then he is automatically a bad leader and the speculations as to why did he ever get elected in the first place. Then you have those that stick by their so called president because of their loyalty to a certian party. Out there, there are those that are strickly to republicans or democrats and the presidnet could be doing something terribly wrong and they would still support them. I just feel that America falls short on all five things: "encouraging participation and building consensus, creating a community of leaders, generating a shared vision, using culturally effective communication, and weaving partnerships and connections" (Bordas,121). I know the reading designates this section paticulary to a leader of a community but I feel it applies to the US. We all as citizens need to take on some of the responsibility of why things in the US are failing. We are helping the problem more than we are helping the solution. In Obama's campaign the main slogan was "Yes WE can". It wasn't "Yes I can". All throughout his campaign he would talk about how nothing is going to happen overnight or as soon as we may want it to, but if we can work together we can make it happen. But as Americans if it isn't done on our time and schedule or as fast as we may want it; he hasn't done an effective job as a leader. I feel bad for Obama because everyone was all on the band wagon when he was running for presidency and as soon as he got the job it was like everyone just abandoned him far as helping to be apart of the change. To me in some ways I see it as we got you here so do your job as president and fix the problem. If everyone could colaborate on the five things to make communities grow and stuck with them I feel changes would actually happen faster. We all need to be a community of one.

The Dalai Lama

"To develop a sense of universal responsibility--of the universal dimension of our very act and of the equal right of all others happiness and not to suffer--is to develop an attitude of mind whereby, when we see an opportunity to benefit others, we will take it in preference to merely looking after our own narrow interests." (Dalai Lama) This part stood out to me the most because it is beyond true that we all need to start taking responsibility for ourselves and others. It will also be of free will not because you have to. I have done various community service jobs and have seen so many people unhappy and grudge around. It saddens me to see that more people are not happy and will ing to help out in the community. Yes, I understand in some circumstances it is court order to do community service, but why not make the most of it. Another part that stood out to me was when the Dalai Lama said, "When we pretend to be one thing but in reality we are something else, suspicion develops in others, causing fear." The relates to me on a personal level because all throughout high school I always tried being someone I wasn't. I would bounce from groups to different groups and would always try to conform to however that particular group was. I regret always trying to be a follower/conformist andn not being my ownself. If I could go back in time with the knowledge I have now I would do it in a heart beat.

I believe this next part can relate to everyone;"Not only can our speaking out under such circumstances be a duty, but more importantly it can be a service to others." To me this means that yes it can be a hassle or put that target on your back for speaking out, but in the end it could be beneficial. This reminded me of the class where we role played and my group had the scenario where someone spoke out and out of the norm. It was good that she spoke up because say that outsider looking in never said anything, everyone would continue to be so naive to the truth and how George Mason isn't as diverse as it may have seemed to the other faculty members. "Our circumstances may prevent us from always acting in accordance with our responsibilities." I feel this quotation goes along with this because even though there are the times we should speak our minds freely, sometimes just isn't always the right time.

Critical Essay

Night

By: Elie Wiesel

            The Holocaust is not widely talked about or taught thoroughly in schools. In some ways it seems like it was just an event that had occurred and now we are long ways away from that ever happening again. I do not agree with the statement above but sadly that is the way is it treated. I remember my sophomore year in high school we watched the movie The Pianist. We watched the movie one class and the next talked about the movie and the Holocaust itself, then after that class we moved on to the next event that occurred in history. I am one of those people that only know the Holocaust as an event. After reading Night I really wish that in my earlier years of high school we had learned more on the Holocaust. I most definitely plan to try and learn more about the Holocaust and read some other works by Elie Wiesel.

            The aspect of Elie’s life that stood out to me was his dedication to his father. In the first part of the book Elie explains how his father was more involved with activities outside of the home than inside of the home, “was more involved with the welfare of others than with that of his own kin” (Wiesel, 4). So, I find it astonishing that when Elie and his family were forced into concentration camps, that he did whatever he could to stick with his father. At first I was surprised Elie wanted to stick with his father figuring he spent most of his time worrying about others than his own family. The saying blood runs thicker than water is so true for this novel. There were three accounts when Elie had witnessed other men selflessly mistreat their fathers. The first account occurs with the pipel, “a boy of thirteen, beat his father for not making his bed properly” (Wiesel, 63). Then was the occurrence of the rabbi’s son leaving his father behind. “He had seen him. And he continued to run in front, letting the distance between them become greater” (Wiesel, 91). Lastly, was on the train; one son was so stricken of hunger he killed his father for food. “Meir, my little Meir! Don’t you recognize me…You’re killing your father…I have bread…for you too…for you too” (Wiesel, 101).  The part that captured my heart the most was that no matter what Elie never gave up on his father. Even when Elie knew deep down it was all over for his father, he continued to push his father to fight and not give up. Another aspect that stood out to me was that Elie had the strength and courage to even write this book. It is obvious by the size of the book a lot of his story was left out, but it was enough to share what he went through.

            The ideology that I agreed with was religion throughout this whole book. The Jewish stuck to their payers and faith no matter what. When Elie and his father first arrived to the concentration camp and were being sorted to either be killed or got to work Elie’s father recited a Kaddish prayer. “Yisgadal, veyiskkadash, shmey raba…May his name be celebrated and sanctified” (Wiesel, 33). One person in the same concentration camp as Elie and his father would tell people, “of the end of the world and the coming of the Messiah” (Wiesel, 45). Even though conditions were terrible some found the strength to still take part in Rosh Hashanah. “Yom Kippur. The Day Of Atonement. Should we fast? …We needed to show God that even here, locked in hell, we were capable of singing His praises” (Wiesel, 69). It is said throughout their time in the concentration camp they barely ate, so for these men to have the strength to still fast because it was the right thing to do is so powerful to me. One thing that I didn’t necessarily agree with was at the beginning of the book Elie asked his father to find him someone who could teach him about Kabbalah and his father did not agree with Elie wanting to learn Kabbalah. Another ideology I agree with and disagree with was with Elie losing his faith in God. I can never fully understand the pain and hardships he went through but him giving up his faith during that I do not think he should have. I do understand where he is coming from far is God is supposed to be the protector and deliverer from suffering, but where was he when all mistreatment was occurring. The main ideology this book is based off of is one that I am sure no one agrees with, but is the inhumane treatment of the Jewish people. I mentioned earlier I saw the film The Pianist and the scenes depicted throughout the entire movie were hard to watch. I praise Elie for just giving us what I feel is the clean story of what had happened to him and his family. I feel he did this in part probably it was too painful to retell detail for detail. But, the story did just regardless.

            Elie’s life is a testimony of leadership because through it all he never gave up. He put his father’s needs before his own. At the beginning when the Jews were starting to be taken away, Elie and his sisters took on the responsibility to get water for those who needed it. Throughout the book there was examples of Elie doing what he could to stay with his father, but the most touching was when his father was nearing death. “I tried to tell him that it was not over yet, that we would be going home together…For a ration of bread I was able to exchange cots to be next to my father” (Wiesel, 108). Elie’s life is also a testimony because he was able to come out with his story, when others could not. In the preface this part made me feel that he wanted to write his story not in order to get rich, but to get off a burden he has lived with for a very long time:

“There are those who tell that I survived in order to write this text.

I am not convinced. I don’t know how I survived; I was weak,

rather shy; I did nothing to save myself. A miracle? Certainly not.

If heaven could or would perform a miracle for me, why not for

others more deserving than myself? It was nothing more than

chance” (Wiesel, viii)

            The main thing that influenced Elie as a leader is the things he went through and is now telling his story about it. Elie is the voice for those who were killed, those who have recently passed, and those that are still living. I feel that one family was one of the most cultural influences on him. Through his story he tells of how the men would be the providers and the women that caretakers. The children were left to either help the mother or to study. From dictionary.com the Talmud is the primary source of Jewish religious law, consisting of the Mishnah and Gemara. In the beginning of Elie’s story, he says, “I continued to devote myself to my studies, Talmud during the day and Kabbalah at night” (Wiesel, 8). Elie and many other Jews believed in their faith and still practiced it despite what they were going through. Until the times got to be unbearable, Elie gave up on his faith and questioned the very being of why he believed and why them. In his Nobel Peace Prize speech he states, “Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must—at that moment—become the center of the universe. It would be unnatural for me to not make Jewish priorities my own. Apartheid is, in my view, as abhorrent as anti-Semitism” (Wiesel, 118-119). Elie wrote this book to show that no matter what your skin color, race or religion no one should ever have to be treated like they are nothing.

Patriotism: A Love Story

I have heard about the movie "Capitalism: A Love Story" and have planned to watch it several and have never gotten around to watching it. I think I will try and watch it during my spring break. You had made the point on students who dare to protest showed more school spirit than those who attended games and wore school colors and gear. I have to I never thought about it that way before because I think I can speak for everyone the person deemed as having school spirit is the one is at all the games, cheers the loudest, wears school colors/gear like its their religion. But when you said that it made me think that students who do protest for change and fight for what they want is schoool spirit. I mean they attend there they should have some say in having things their way. It is so true that most students nowadays go to school do what they have to do and go on about their day. There is no questioning on why things are the way they are. I honestly believe it is hard to say a percentage of the students who do try and stand up for what is right. I think it isd the fear in the back of peoples mind will I have supporters or will I be the only one, they don't want to be the so called problem student, and just in general afraid of the reaction if they step out of the norm. I remember when I was in high school (which wasn't too long ago) the black male students were always seen as the problematic students in school. Some of them were in general living up to what they were always protrayed as, which was the black student who comes form a low income family and they will never amount to anything. It was sad to see so many just drop out of school or not even try to do something. Then you had the athletes who did only focus on sports their minds were never in the books. I remember one student I was friends with was sent to the principals office becuase they said they found the ending of a book to be wack. They tried expressing why they felt that way, but the teacher immediatley worte him off and sent him to the office for having a bad attitude and not being open minded. I loved the quote you out in by Paul Robeson. I can only imagine the looks on their faces and their reaction to what he said.

I believe patriotism is fighting for and believing in something that you value. It is something that you are willing to take a stand for and make note that you will not conform or change your view because its not what everyone else is doing. In class we were asked to bring in a picture of what we saw patriotism as. My picture was more for the words than the picture itself, but it said Remember when it took more effort than waving around a cheaply made flag. I found this so true because in todays society you show your patriotism primarily but wearing your red, white, and blue.

Ella Baker

I have to say as the beginning of the article stated I had no clue who Ella Baker even was. I believe the main lesson she is trying to teach us is continue to educate yourselves. The more you know the more you can help your community and find ways to get more involved. "Opening your eyes. asking tough questions, and then supporting local leaders who you decide have actual tangible programs and plans about how to improve your life" (Bynoe, 29). Do not just conform to what is being told to you, go and find out for yourselves, do not believe in everything you are told. In the reading its says, "Baker believed in leadership emerged form the community and the idea of helping local leaders grow" (Bynoe, 27). It is the communities leaders that will make a difference, not someone who is just thrown into the mix.

Who Shall Lead Us

Bynoe's basic point of citizen and charismatic leaders is that they need to embody the needs of their communities. Each leader needs to know what it is that they are representing; such as the issues they plan on addressing and how they are to fix them. In the article the line she uses in the section on citizen leaders, "have to read newspapers, magazines, and legal documents, as well as other publications related to their issues" (Bynoe, 13). I think this goes for both leaders though because each will have to know what they are talking about, unless they are really good as making up stuff.

The pros of a charismatic leader is mainly they know how to get a crowds attention. They know how to get a crowd stirred up and ready for action. As Bynoe puts it, "three key elements of a charismatic leader: envisioning, energizing, and enabling" (Bynoe,  10). So a charismatic leader knows pretty much how to be a crowd pleasure, almost like a smooth talker they know all the right things to say to keep you interested. The cons of a charismatic leader is they are really only good for the hype. They get the crowd all stirred up and ready for something to be done but in the end nothing is ever done.

The pros of a citizen leader is that they are truly representing for their community. "The citizen leader not only understands the human needs of the community, but can also relate to its people on their own terms..." (Bynoe, 13). With this kind of leader knowing what their communities needs and knows ideas of how to make things better, ultimately makes their job easier and can get along with the community. it will make things easier on the ccommunity knowing that someone knows what needs to be done and genuinely cares about the community. The only con I can think of is if the citizen leader tried moving up the leadership chain and still pressed for the same issues. Some of the issues their community may be facing may be irrelevant to the bigger scale community.

I see Obama as being a charismatic and citizen leader as far as getting a crowd really involved and showing a community he knows we are here. During his campaign he came to Leesburg, VA and I know from experience a lot of people do not know where or what Leesburg is. So for him to pick our area out of all the other possibilities out there, showed even though we aren't really a big popular community its the small communities that make this country. My friend went to the rally and said it was really moving and xhilarating to have a public figure come speak.

Letter to Malcolm X

Dear Malcolm X,

I first have to say your speech moved me. I appreciate you being such a strong and influential voice for us. You show that there can be hope for everyone out there in this white man society. I found it intriguing that you put the letter X in your name to keep from having to wear the white mans name. I believe that your are right that we all need to take a stand for extremism. That we will all be jusitified for rightfully fighting for the liberty we deserve. The part you mentioned about extremism being good for one and bad for another or bad for one and good for another. This is so true with our society as it is now. We take the stand for ourselves which is good and it turns out being bad for the white society because they feel threatened. So then it gets flipped to where us fighting for our liberty gets turned into us being criminals or bad people and the white people get to parade around because they know they are making us look like we are raging animals. We are in a lose lose time right now. It is so true that the press is used to make us turn out to look like the bad people. Just the other day my brother's best friend Paul, was just going to the store to get some milk. When he was on his way home he was approached by several white men, had his milk stolen from him, and was beaten until he was practically lifeless. A couple days later those men reported that they had seen Paul steal the milk and threaten the clerk he would kill him if he told anyone of what he had done. So these men felt it was in their right to do what they had seen best, which was steal the milk Paul had paid for and then to beat to near death for his so called crime. These men were seen as heroes for what they had done to Paul; that all of us black should now know what are place is in that community. All the time when my brother and I are seen with Paul people immediately put up their guard as if they are ready for a fight. You said that that black man is castrated from the social, economic, and political aspects of society, but I feel we are all castrated from society. I remember my parents saying that lets see what this Civil Rights bill is really going to do for us. You are so right it hasn't changed anything for the way we live or are treated. That this world will never get anywhere until we are all looked and judged as human beings not by the color of our skin. The part where you mentioned that our society preaches intergration but practices segregation, made me chuckle a little. It is so true though the white man will say he is all for everyone coming together, but when not in the public eye he is really doing something else. I am right there with you when it comes to that we need to start speaking the language that they will understand. I mean I am not all for violent actions, but sometimes you have to treat others the way they treat you. I want to thank you for taking the time to read my letter. One can only hope that things will get better from here on out.

Sincerely,

Breanne

MLK Tough Mind and Tender Heart

The very first paragraph was my favorite part. I had to read it over a couple times to fully understand he was just naming opposite things. But there was just something about it I really liked. Then is the part of how so many people fall short to propaganda. It is so true when you pick up a magazine and read the cover of something going on in some celebrities life and immeadiate reaction is either oh my gosh I cannot believe this or this is full of crap. I used to be sort of still am one of those people that believes in a good bit of what I read, but not all the time. I have gotten better because my boyfriends cousin actually works for MTV an she has said to me I cannot believe you read/believe that crap its complete lies. She has said it does stem off of a tiny bit off truth but the majority is blown out of proportion to get you to read it.

I agree that more people need to have a tough mind but a tender heart. To be able to think for yourself and not to to back down, be cowardly, or stay oppressed. But at the same time know to have the compassion and understanding at the same time. MLK is so right there are so many people out that can sometimes only be either or. I feel i fit into the category of only being able to truly only be one depending on the situation because I know there are times when I am tough minded all around and let whoever needs to know my point, but do not show my tenderheart and it goes for the opposite way around.

Salsa, Soul, and Spirit (p.96-113)

I have to first begin that I feel so naive to so much. All throughout my K-12 years they only taught you what was in the books. During school we learned a fair amount about some of the things of Black culture. Mainly everything we learned was on the Civil rights movement, MLK, or Mallcom X is what was primarily focused on. As I think back to it I find it very offensive that the time we would learn the most about the things I mentioned above was during what is so called black history month. Why not being learning about all cultures equally and at all times of the year not just when its a certain designated month. During this reading I had just found out so many things that I didn't know before.

My best friend and I work together at the guest service department at Target and we are always sharing crazy stories of what may of happened while at work. Well a couple days ago we were hanging out an she was like your not going to believe what I tell you and I was just trying to imagine what she was goint to say. So she tells me that a woman comes up introduces herself and asks for the manager. The manager that had come up to the service desk happened to be of hispanic background. So the lady proceeds to tell our manager that she she speaks several different languages (german, french, mandarin, chinese, italian, english and a couple others). My friend proceeds to tell me the woman says the only language she hasn't learned is spanish and then tells the manager she finds it very offensive that the spanish speaking team memebers just freely speak spanish amongst themselves. She also said that by all you people speaking your spanish language is ruining my childrens culture. If I remember correctly my friend said she was white. The first thing I said to my friend is if that one lanuguage is ruining your childrens so called culture why did you go and learn so many others. All she could do was just sit there and sake her head. Recntly I have had people come up to guest service an tell me that they cannot believe we are turning into Wal-Mart far as the people we are hiring. It sickens me that their are equally opportunities for everyone now and some people still cannot expect that. The qoute from the book that sums this up for me is "The role of a leader is the role of advocacy.The purpose of leadership is to exercise one's power, knowledge, and access, to change the oppressive and destructive situations in society."

Salsa, Soul, and Spirit (p.77-97)

On p.78 the part that said. "In this speed-driven environment, people must be able to think on their feet, solve problems quickly, and find innovative solutions," this reminded me when I had applied for the manager position at Target. I did not get the position, which today I see now as for the best because with my schedule as it is now it just wouldn't have worked out. But, when I was told the decision and reasoning for not being picked was one I didn't think of answers fast enough or seem really confident in my answers. At first I kept thinking to myself what did I say wrong, why couldn't I think of the answers fast enough, etc. As I reflect on it now I realize I wasn't all that ready for the position as I thought I would have been. All in all I know everything happened the way it did for a reason.

Next thing I thought about was collaborative leadership. I feel that if everyone not just one community, race, or ethnic group practiced this for leadership, we would have more and more driven leaders on a regular basis. I know its not necessarily the same exact thing but its how students work on group projects for school. One person ususally taskes on the role as a leader and immediately is like who is doing what or who wants to do what. Nine times out of ten you have the leader doing the majority of the work. I have experienced this before when I decided I was going to be the leader of the group and ended up standing alone on the project. I feel that if we didn't always just have one person assume the leader role and have everyone have the leadership dutites distributed amongst everyone things would hopefully run smoother. Of course this is not always the case some just feel more comfortable having someone make the decisions for them but if you have everyone involved some may finally feel they have a purpose in life. This ties in with the pyschology of oppression. I have known many people that because they were told they won't be anything they take on this role of trying to not be anything. Its just awful that we have such a division amongst the races in education. I know where I went to high school the majority of the student drop outs, pregnancies, grade repeats, or of the lower learning students were either black or hispanic/latino. Most fell under these categories because of their own personal life or how they were treated in school. Of course not every single teacher can give each student the individual attention they may need, but it would be better if teachers had more of a drive to motivate all students. I saw it on a regular basis that if a student showed they didn't care or want to learn the teacher gave the same negative vibes right back to the student. In this instant I think of the movie Freedom Writer's; I could only imagine if we had all teachers like that of who Hilary Swank played, how many more students we would have to be insipired to be their own leaders, do better for themselves or help find ways in bettering their own communities.