State of the Union: Obama's speech

Obama's State of the Union speech seemed to be a promising look for this countries' future. I thought Obama had a well thought up speech including new jobs, tax cuts, and the war in Afghanistan. He gave a lot of citizens hope with his promises and saying "And I well send it back again and again until we get it right", talking about the health care bills. I believe this was a great help to lift the countries idea of if Obama is leading out country correctly.

Haymarket and Strikes

Haymarket Strikes: I believe that workers have the right to strike at anytime that they please. Especially workers who are paid very little, work long hours, and work very long and tiring jobs that require a lot of physical activity. I think that the strike is fair as long as it is inside the boundaries of the law, but what happened in haymarket is murder and is both illegal and wrong.

Woman's Rights: Woman's suffrage is a very different story. Similar to the Haymarket incident they did protest to get what they wanted, but unlike the Haymarket incident, they protested peacefully and successfully got what they wanted. The protesters at the Haymarket incident, on the other hand, were shot and killed and violence erupted.

I have a Dream: I believe that Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech is very moving and is one of, if not the most, powerful and memorable speech in history. He not only attempted to give African American's hope at the time, but he believed in what he was doing and he meant everything he said. He was one of the few African Americans at the time who was willing to do something about the racial discrimination.

What is the life of a Human Being worth?

1) What is the life of a human being?

- I believe that every single person is equal and there isn't worth to a human life. In our world, though, there can be a price to life. There are people in this world who see humans as worth less than others or see them as worthless. Other humans are seen as more important and more "valuable". For example, Obama is considered a VIP more than most ordinary citizens.

2) How is worth determined in the U.S.?

- Most people in the U.S. judge people they see and can tell their "worth" by the way they dress or act. Inside this is fact of discrimination to people who may be considered "lower class" or thought of as "not as good". People realistically judge others everyday of their lives and this creates tension and competition between humans.

Letter to President

Dear Mr. President,

I agree with your plan to send more troops to Afghanistan. The fact of the matter is that we need to end this prolonging war with the Middle East, and "cutting our losses" isn't an option we should be willing to risk at this moment and time. The Taliban attacked us, and therefore we need to retaliate with full force until we find all those responsible. The United States has your full respect and we need to backup your plans to send more troops to war. With the moral support of the entire Country behind you, I'm sure you will be able to make the correct decisions to do best for this country. One of which is sending more troops into Afghanistan to end this war.

Thomas Paine's Common Sense

In Paine's writing about Common Sense he distinguishes the difference between Society and Government in his own way. He believes that anything Society is Good or positive and anything to do with Government is Negative and bad. I believe that both of these can go either way. Society can be bad and it's shown everywhere. This is the reason for murders, robbing, and all sorts of man vs. man hatred around the world. If there was no government, there would be no people to punish the evil in America and therefor more killings, robbings, etc. I also believe Government can be good and it purpose, as Paine says, is to protect and serve the people who are under the Government. The Government does things like builds bridges, watches out for its citizens and passes laws that keep our society on an even balance.

I agree with Paine's idea of hereditary monarchy how it is bad and wrong. If there is a corrupt king and the son grows up with him, the son could become corrupt even before inhereting the king's role. Also i believe it is wrong to have a single person who rules over everyone where as in America we have a representitive democracy.

Did Thomas Jefferson read John Locke?

I believe that Thomas Jefferson did in fact read over John Locke's "Second Treatise". There are several points in the Declaration where there are verbatim passages from the Second Treatise. For example, the Second Treatise uses the line " Life, Liberty and property", but the Declaration changes it to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness". Also the Declaration talks about Locke's "Laws of nature and Laws of God". It seems as if Thomas Jefferson just took ideas from many different political figures and added all of their ideas into the Declaration.

Second Treatise

The beginning of the Second Treatise starts out with the title "Of the State of Nature" and basically states that all humans have the right to be free and to do what they want when under their own rules and laws. It states that one should not be evil or harming towards others unless another acts criminally upon you or upon another and you are simply interfering to help and cause good. But, this right is given up after you join a government because of the fact that you add to the governments system and follow their rules and abide by their laws in exchange for protection of the government. But one does give up the right to punish others and follow their own laws against criminals when under the governments rules.

Another section known as the "Of the extent of the Legislative Power", is stating that the Legistlative branch of government is the only one that has the power and cannot give or shift power to any other branch or person. It also states that once part of the government, the Legislative government is the most supreme power of the government and must respected by all those who are citizens of the government. The other two main points say that the government must consult before raising the taxes for the people and that the Legislative branch was created and used for the greater good of the citizens under the government.

Finally the "Dissolution of Government" talks about how if one is to use his own authority and punishes another, than he has put himself at a state of war with not only the person he punished but also the government. In conclusion, the second treatise states that once the power has been given to the government by the people, it cannot be reverted back to the people and must stay with the government as long as it lasts.