Responses to the first assignment.

Joseph Ortiz                                                                                                                                Critical Thinking

Professor Wiseman                                                                                                                   Journal 1 intro

Case 1: Michael and capital punishment –

Michael is a classic flip-flopper. The man cannot make up his mind despite his efforts in doing research on the topic.  Capital punishment is not a deterrent. It has been known since the beginning of mankind that if someone believes strong enough in something, they will die for it. From “Adam and Eve” to suicide bombers, it is clear as day to see that humans will go to any length to achieve wisdom, establish ethnocentricity or see to it that their religion reigns supreme.  Capital punishment is nothing more than a means to seek revenge so the grieving families can have a sense of closure.  An eye for an eye.

Case 2: Maria and adopting a mans’  last name.

Marias problem is that she is trying to make this a sexist issue.  Adopting a surname has been around since 2500 years BC. It is tradition and nothing more.  It makes tracing lineage a lot easier rather than changing names over and over again for the history books, it simplifies things a little bit. However, if the man she is going to marry sees this as a big issue for her, I would never let something like a common name stand in between me and love. Maria needs a chill pill.

Case 3: Pete

In one aspect of culture, It is obviously wrong to force people into adopting your cultural practices, but it happens around the world, all of the time.  Just recently, we tried installing a democratic regime in Iraq, to benefit our country. In some places, cultures wear out their welcome and you see it in the news every day.  Egypt, Syria. As far as art and humanities, nobody should be discriminated against.

Case 4:  Bizarre Foods

Cuisine is a cultural thing. You find that in poorer countries like Thailand, it is actually commonplace to eat think that Americans wouldn’t even consider if they were starving for days, such as bugs and scorpions.  We have domesticated Dogs and cats and treat them as one of the family. A lot of people only eat what is available to them. It is a regional thing. Americans are importing the finest goods from all over the world, so we don’t know what it is like to HAVE to eat a dog to stay alive.

Part 2:

The last step is difficult because it deals with acceptance of the hard truth.   You know what needs to be done, or not be done for that matter, so if insubordination prevails, you will get a lower grade.  Students must have an understanding of the importance of attending every class.  I believe that every teacher I have had so far was fair to explain and enforce their guidelines and each should be respected accordingly.