To Act or Not To Act

Indeterminism or determinism, freedom or predestination, to act or not to act that is the question. If we had a definite answer to this question, we could be considered gods. What if you know your life was predestined, would you always do the best you could in every endeavor? On the other hand, what if you had a choice, how would you make the best one? These vistas will be compared in this analysis.

When you look at the freedom to act on your desires, can you really, actually act on your desires? Moreover, the freedom to act does not guarantee success. An example, when a young man attempts to approach a young woman he may be interested in, there is a freedom to act. Freedom is the belief on chance. There is a chance that this young woman may accept the young man’s advance. The young woman has freedom to act or not to act. This is indeterminism. 

If there were belief in determinism, this case would change. Determinism is a theory that our lives are predestined. The young man who is interested in the young woman would have no choice in his reaction, as it is predestined. How could we truly know if this was predestined interest or not? Humans cannot control the way they act or better yet humans cannot control their desires.

It has been said that the hardest thing for a man to do is control his desires. The freedom to act or not to act on ones desires may be the best term that humans have for freedom. There is no freedom were you have desire.

Predestine, being here, right now, writing this essay is a predestined event, which I have had no control over. There is no freedom were you have no choice.         

Therefore, we were all born into slavery. 

A Rhetorical Analysis of the Declaration of Independence

            The Declaration of Independence was created in 1776 to declare our freedoms from the British colonies. It declares that at that time the King of Great Britain was not a just ruler. The King neglected to attend to the issues of the 13 original colonies. This caused conflict between Britain and the 13 colonies. To overcome this conflict the 13 colonies declared their independence and became a sovereign nation. Over the years, many times the Declaration of Independence has been used to remind people how it feels to be treated unjustly. Considering the history of the United States, this abstract analysis attempts address whether conflict between governmental roles in public safety and the civil liberties exist.

            The most common analogy used to display the power of the words the Declaration exudes is the “I Have a Dream” speech that Dr. King delivered in 1963. Although the Declaration was used to declare independence from Britain, it has also been used to focus awareness and bring about some changes in the civic arena. The Declaration is very well written in regard to governmental liberties, but there is a disparity concerning civil liberties directly.

            The Declaration of Independence is impersonal and does not address civil liberties. The preamble portion that states that all men are created equal is not addressing personal freedoms. It addresses governmental freedoms. With this said the government could be considered an entity or body. This is where one could declare the declaration unto himself because we are all bodies or entities. Meaning that any entity can declare his freedom from tyranny where governmental force impinges on the right to pursue happiness, life, and liberty.

 There is no conflict between governmental roles in public safety and the civic liberties. The declaration does not address civic liberties directly for the governed. It addresses civic liberties only if you consider yourself a government or wish to be sovereign (independent of government rule). Again, this is an abstract analysis.

The Position

            The traditional rigors of education are not addressing the needs of today’s students. Currently America is ranked 18^th of 23 industrialized countries in education. (DoSomething.org) America has and is constantly outsourcing manufacturing positions in order to focus attention on advancing technology. The problem is that if America wants to become a more technological advanced society, America’s youth must be included. Having talked with several middle school students, these students have stated that they are bored with the traditional rigors of the educational system. The current rigors are not proactive in agitating the students to challenge themselves. In order to prepare the younger generation to become the leaders of tomorrow’s technologies, America must start preparations now.  This involves deploying incipient technologies into the classrooms as they develop.

            To watch America leave the students behind is lugubrious. Maybe no one knows how to mitigate this situation. With all the recent calamities concerning restoration of the economy, jobs creation, health care, and immigration, Americans have been indisposed to discuss America’s future, the youth. The large scale effects of this problem, while minute now, will eventually lead to a period of stagnation. Having so many great yet underdeveloped minds also has the potential to lead to a self-destructive mind state, which is detrimental to everyone.

            America’s technological advances are aimed at consumerism, this is leaving an educational system struggling to resolve deficiencies in reading competencies and graduation rates. This leads to my proposed solution, holography. Holography may be the answer for America’s educational downfalls.

            Microsoft has developed holographic eye wear which will be available in 2015. Holography is not a new concept, but the advances made in this technology are. To not usher the youth forward by broadening their learning experience could prove detrimental to America. In 2012 the Tupac Shakur hologram show became a game changer in the digital world. Taking form Musion.com,” The virtual performance took place at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (known simply as Coachella). It was part of a show by Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg that saw rap artists such as Eminem and 50 Cent ignite the festival as they took to the stage one after another. But it was Tupac’s holographic performance that blew the audience away, mashing minds and sending the crowd insane as the virtual performer, exquisitely crafted in the rapper’s image, took to the stage. The Tupac hologram proved utterly game changing and year defining.” (Musion) Holographic technologies accessibility in America’s classrooms could mark the beginning of a new era in education.

            The spark of imagination in the youth begins a cycle of new development. This in itself is the greatest return imaginable. In the evolution of technology America cannot afford to leave its youth behind. At some point this will cause a slowing or stagnation in technological advancement and development. Thus, the elders are burdened to be creative in challenging the youth to do better tomorrow than we did today.

Works Cited

 “Microsoft Unveils Latest Windows 10, Holographic Technology.” NY Daily News. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.

Simonite, Tom. “Microsoft Headset Rewrites Reality with Holograms.” MIT Technology Review. N.p., 21 Jan. 2015. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.

“11 Facts About Education in America | DoSomething.org | America’s Largest Organization for Youth Volunteering Opportunities, with 2,700,000 Members and Counting.” N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.

"Tupac Hologram and the Coachella Virtual Performance | By Musion." Musion. 6 Feb. 2014.       

Web. 17 Feb. 2015. <http://musion.com/?portfolio=tupac-coachella-2012-hologram>.

To love you is to love myself.

If children are our future we should do more to lift their self esteem. The traditional rigors of education are just that, too traditional and does nothing for self-esteem, which is essential.

Annotated Bibliography: Virtual Time Travel/Virtual History

Annotated Bibliography: Virtual Time Travel

Wang, Yinying, and Janet Decker. “Can Virtual Schools Thrive in the Real World?” TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning 58.6 (2014): 57–62. Print.

                    Wang and Decker during 2007 until 2011 implemented a performance study of traditional and virtual schools in Ohio. There findings show that while enrollment for virtual schools increased, traditional schools outperform virtual schools. The overall aim of their study was to identify how Ohio’s virtual schools fare on student performance measures in comparison to Ohio’s traditional schools. Another objective of their study was to compare the rate of growth of Ohio’s virtual schools to that of traditional schools. (Abstract) The statistics produced by these studies are helpful and will be considered in the building of the time travel software.

                    Considering the graduation rates and the performance index report the authors produced the time travel software should be interactive and guided by a teacher or instructor. This is important in establishing a need for this type of software. This software has the potential to increase graduation rates and performance in every subject not only history, but also in mathematics, science and reading.

Reinsmith-Jones, Kelley et al. “Use of Second Life in Social Work Education: Virtual World Experiences and Their Effect on Students.” Journal of Social Work Education 51.1 (2015): 90–108. Print.

                    Second Life is a three-dimensional (3D) virtual world created by individuals known as avatars. The virtual environment provides residents with a sense of being there, mimicking a face-to-face classroom. (90) The Second Life program is used to test the receptivity of a virtual world-learning environment. Warburton (2009) stated, “A virtual world provides an experience set within a technological environment that gives the user a strong sense of being there” (p. 415). Second Life is used for students in the studies of social services and is used for virtual travel. In the social services, the Second Life program evokes emotion, problem solving, leadership, and decision making to name a few of its benefits.

                    I believe a program such as Second Life will be a huge benefit to our younger generation. This author’s work can be used to show the success of 3D virtual education. Institutions such as MIT, Notre Dame and others are using Second Life for their social services programs. Making video game type educational software similar to Second Life could be a major game changer if applied correctly.