Final Blog Post

     When I look back at my first blog post, I can easily see changes in my writing. The early mistakes are clear when looking at the punctuation, or lack of punctuation, in my first post and by the usage of choppy and random sentences. However, the greatest improvement that I will take forward is the feeling of confidence. I feel capable of tackling an eight-page essay and I am no longer intimidated by long writing assignments. I believe this stems from the way I think about and approach my writing, before words have even hit the page. In my first blog post I wrote that I often "vomit" my ideas onto my paper and "sort through the chunks" later. Now my authorial "stomach" seems to have settled and I am able to control my thoughts and ideas easily. I feel more comfortable making writing decisions and this has eased the entire process. I now try to strategize when making arguments and add in-scene descriptions, (which are often far from perfect) but these choices were not ones that I had even thought about in the first blog post. Essentially, this class has given me a way to think about writing. I honestly didn’t put extensive thought into writing in the past and besides following the five-paragraph essay model, I simply wrote the dialogue of the “voice in my head” as I though about a particular subject. This is no longer the case, writing has become a useful way to create meaningful work and at times it can be fun too.

Also, I have a new appreciation for peer review. The peer resource is extremely valuable and a resource that I rarely used before this class. 

Thoughts About Revision

As of now, I am considering revising my first paper. Throughout this course I feel that I have learned some valuable writing lessons. Assuming that the first paper is the weakest, I would like to return to it and apply some of these new skills. In addition, the topic of the first paper was one that evoked the most emotion for me during the writing process. The topic was about a memorable encounter and the one I chose still comes up in conversation between my friend and I today. However, the difficulty with revising this paper, or any paper, is that I don’t want alter the content that positively contributes to the story. I predominantly used flashbacks and they are essential to the story. Therefore, when going through the essay I will have to be sure not to change things just for revision’s sake. The only other essay I might consider revising is the most recent essay. I enjoy argumentative writing but I have tendency to moralize my arguments and this detracts from the effectiveness of the paper. This would be something that I could revise and change so that my arguments are solid. The grade I receive on my final paper will also be a determining factor in this decision. I want to revise a paper that I feel confident on. This is partially the reason why the second, and especially the third paper, are not as viable candidates for revision. The first paper is definitely the frontrunner as of now and unless I encounter an unforeseen obstacle, I am quite certain that I will revise it. 

Thanksgiving

            Holidays always seem to be a time of warmth and relaxation. Family members from far away come to enjoy each other’s company and greet one another with love and excitement. Thanksgiving is a holiday where these comforting feelings are present from the moment the smell of food reaches your nose. This year, I was especially looking forward to Thanksgiving. Upon returning home from months of school I felt that I had established myself, even in the smallest of ways, to finally be qualified at the forum of “elder” members of my family. After months of work and freedom from the household it was nice to come back to those who were supporting me all the while but the one aspect of thanksgiving that always troubles me  is my inability to “come of age” at family holidays. As I find myself at the kids’ table again, I wonder when I will be able to engage in the more adult conversations on the other side of the dining room. I feel able to contribute to conversations about politics and work related issues yet still I seem to lack the credibility necessary to participate. The questions that many guests ask me seem to be very generic and simply out of obligation. I continue to hope every year to finally break out from these invisible chains that seem to bind me to my youth. However, this complication that I encounter every year is nothing new and doesn’t keep me from enjoying one of the most relaxing holidays of the year.

The Electoral College Is Undemocratic

There are common ideals that many Americans share. These principles, chosen by the founding fathers, establish many of the fundamental rights guaranteed by our constitution.  I personally think it would be difficult to find someone who would knowingly forfeit these rights, especially when choosing a president. Therefore, by using historical examples, common sense and statistical evidence, it will become clear that the Electoral College is undemocratic. Justice, equality and the importance of promoting the common good are ideals that clearly conflict with the electoral process. In my essay, I will contrast these ideals with facts from past elections and through the demystification of the Electoral College, the necessity of reform will appear. The Electoral College fails to reflect the national will of the people. It discriminates geographical areas based on population size, favoring more rural states. This gives more voting power to some voters compared to others. Where is the equality or justice? In addition, there have been instances where the elector that has been chosen to vote, breaks from the votes of the people and casts his personal vote. This is known as a “faithless” elector and there are various examples of these “faithless” in history. Although states have recently put in penalties for disobedient electors, so far not a single faithless elector has been persecuted. This system also politicizes the distribution of electors in each state, which should be a completely objective process. This redistribution has become increasingly difficult due to rising amount of interstate travel and greatly increases the margin for error. It also provides an incentive to illegally divide geographic regions in order to garner more support. This is known as gerrymandering. The source I plan to use for these points of argument come from the National Archives and Records Administration. Secondly, the Electoral College prevents third parties from coming to power. It ensures a two party system, and many have argued that it will stay this way because of the security that it gives to the two political parties currently in power. Lastly, evidence from four different elections where outcomes would have been different, had there been a direct vote instead of the Electoral College system are presented to the reader. Currently there have been four minority presidents put in office, the most recent being George W. Bush.  The purpose of this paper is not to give an alternative to the Electoral College. I only hope to show its undemocratic nature and the necessity of change in our election process.

I cite additional information from a document written by the deputy director of the Federal Elections Commission and I use quotes from a professor at Calif. Berkeley who researched the statistical margin for error within the Electoral College.

Potential Topic for Paper Four

The Supreme Court ruling in January of 2010 repealed the McCain-Feingold Law, which restricted corporate funding in political campaigns. The result of this ruling may have significant impact on campaign process. Those in support of this argument have argued that the first amendment prohibits governmental regulation of “free political speech.” Those who oppose the ruling, argued that by allowing corporations to “flood the political marketplace, it would corrupt democracy.”  Each of these arguments relies on certain assumptions. When the Supreme Court ruled on this decision it gave an explicit interpretation of the first amendment. If corporations have the same rights as individuals then the first amendments right to the freedom of speech in elections applies to them. If corporations are not legally “individuals” then the first amendment, which is the basis for the argument, is irrelevant. Therefore, the underlying issue is whether or not corporations are individuals. Conversely, the latter argument says that by allowing corporations to contribute limitlessly towards campaigns and advertisements, big business will not only control the media with biased advertisements but also “undermine the influence of small contributions made by average Americans who are supporting their preferred candidate.” {Barack Obama} Many fear that this will put a higher price tag on campaigning, which is already an extremely expensive endeavor. In addition, many fear that politicians will issue favorable legislation to organizations that helped fund their campaigns, but this is pure speculation. Basically dissenters argue, because corporate funding in elections is not restricted, our democracy will be corrupted.  This would force us to define democracy and how and to what extent it is corrupted. Although, I personally disagree with this Supreme Court ruling I can understand issues on both sides. In my paper I would write it as if I was appealing to the Supreme Court to decide against the ruling that was ultimately decided upon.