OP-ED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cNJOcb1liU&feature=youtu.be
WHATS WRONG WITH GUN CONTROL?
Trevor Jordan
The right to keep and bear arms is a constitutional right that shall not be infringed upon. Many people believe firearms to be a danger and that the guns “kill people and animals” as if this was the only thing they are capable of doing. A firearm is an object, capable of nothing without a person behind it.
In America in 2012 there have been only 18 murders using semi-automatic military style weapons, 453 murders using hunting style rifles and shotguns, and 6,009 murders with handguns. All of these numbers are lower than murders committed with other objects, except for the hand guns. Hand guns are still four thousand lower than drunk driving. In 2012 there was 647 murders with blunt objects such as hammers and bats. Knives were used in 1,817 murders. There were 869 murders using just hands, fists, and feet. There was over 10,839 deaths caused by drunk driving, and over 30,800 deaths in automobile accidents.
According to the FBI the number one weapon used in violent crimes is a baseball bat. If that case were true why are there no restrictions on the ownership of baseball bats? They say that it is because so many law abiding citizens use them for sport. This is true, but this is also true of firearms. Guns are not just used in hunting and self-defense. Although many would say hunting is a sport, there are still many other sports. Other firearm sports include marksmanship competitions, clay shooting competitions, challenge courses, and much more.
Not only would gun control restrict our rights and liberties it would restrict our safety. Many crimes committed using a firearm are committed in a gun free zone. Such as schools and in places where weapons are not permitted. For instance, the man who entered the movie theater showing the newest Batman, the Dark Night Rises and opened fire on the movie goers after he had thrown tear gas into the theater. Take the man had driven past two larger movie theaters, and went to one that had a no weapons allowed sign posted on the front door. He killed 12 people and injured over 50, one man is capable of this, the MAN is capable of this. One armed good man could have stopped him almost as soon as he opened Fire. Statistics show that in places where there are stricter gun laws, such as New York and Detroit, have the highest crime rate using firearms. In 2012, Detroit had 54.6 murders out of 100,000 people. Durango Colorado has 1 murder in 580,000 people, this means that you are over 316 times more likely to be killed in Detroit than in Durango Colorado. Detroit has much stricter gun laws than Durango does. The data is like this because they know that there is likely not as much of a chance that they could shoot back and defend themselves and their stores or property. In places where the murder rate is really low, in places like Switzerland, the males are required to serve at least some time in some form of service in the military. Once their service is over they take their service weapons home along with boxes of ammunition. They are all trained on how to use them and what the dangers are and when to use them and when not to use them. The crime rate in America is two times more than Switzerland. 68% of people feel safer walking alone in Switzerland than in America.
Firearms are very critical in our safety. For instance, say you don’t own a gun, and someone breaks into your house. What would you do? Very likely the first thing you do is call someone with a gun to defend and protect you, such as the police and pray they get there on time. Calling the police, on a fast response time takes about eight, nine, to ten minutes for them to arrive. If someone was in your home, you would have to avoid being discovered for ten minutes or more before the police arrived. Although if you had a gun, you could call the police, then hide and you could defend yourself if you had been discovered. You could also take another route and confront the intruder and defend you, your home, and property. Yes, people can say that if there were no guns then what would you have to worry about; But for that to work, guns would have to become illegal everywhere. Criminals will buy a gun from anywhere, even black markets to do what he wants with it. If a criminal buys a gun from the black market they can get them without a register or a serial number which is untraceable and illegal. If the criminal could not get a gun he would find some other weapon such as a knife or a crowbar. A criminal will not commit a crime in someone’s house unarmed. How then would you defend yourself? This is only talking about men, think of a woman, if a man entered her home, he would not even need to be armed, she is not capable of defending herself with physical strength. A firearm would compensate for that difference and put the woman more powerful than the man.
Gun rights where given to us by the writers of the constitution. The second amendment gave the people of America the right to keep and bear arms and this shall not be infringed. Even though many people believe that because it states “a well-regulated militia” that it means military or police that have the right to keep and bear arms. They did not know that it is spelled out in the federalist papers that the militia means the people.
This right belongs to the people and is protected by the constitution. Nothing can take away that right, even the government. If the government were to try to take away this right it would spark riots and the people would over throw the government and set up a new one. This was intended by the founding fathers of the constitution, for the people to over throw the government and set up a new one if they became too strict on the people and started to try to take away their rights.
Work cited
"Crime Rate in Durango, Colorado (CO): Murders, Rapes, Robberies, Assaults, Burglaries, Thefts, Auto Thefts, Arson, Law Enforcement Employees, Police Officers, Crime Map." Crime Rate in Durango, Colorado (CO): Murders, Rapes, Robberies, Assaults, Burglaries, Thefts, Auto Thefts, Arson, Law Enforcement Employees, Police Officers Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
G., Edsel. "Switzerland vs United States Crime Stats Compared."NationMaster.com. NationMaster, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.
"Guns Reduce Crime." – IQ2 Debates. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.
II, Rong-Gong Lin. "Gunman Kills 12 at 'Dark Knight Rises' Screening in Colorado." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2012. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
"Quotes About Gun Control." (38 Quotes). N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
"Second Amendment to the United States Constitution." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Oct. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This project was a great way to gain some critical thinking skills and gain knowledge as to how to research and find information on topics.
NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORICAL INQUIRY:
How can an examination of multiple sources and perspectives lead to a more enlightened understanding of history and contemporary social, culture, and political realities?
Trevor Jordan
11/4/14
Journal #2
I found it kind of interesting that how much the media changed the views on Indians from the heroic, spiritual, worriers to the blood thirsty savages. I find it kind of funny that the current Native Americans didn’t like being portrayed as the worriers and people that are very effective in the wilderness. I understand that the Native Americans don’t like to be portrayed as blood thirsty savages, no one would want that. But I also think that we should forget the conflict that was in the past and just get over it and accept each other without the racial conflict. We can’t help were we are born or the race or social class we are born into. We shouldn’t judge someone on something that they can’t help. If they had the choice to do it by all means judge as you want to but only when they chose to live that life.
I feel like America as a whole is slowly becoming more acceptant of the Indians and who they are. I feel like the movies were very racist to the Indians early on but became more and more in favor of the Indian, what they stood for, and what they were capable of. We moved from the first view that Indians where more noble, to them being blood thirsty savages, to them being more and more accurate of the true native American.
JOURNAL #4
It seems as the overarching theme is for a minority to take care of their own family first, then their race and other people second. It also seems like it was an accountability between them to stand as a Native American and keep each other as straight forward in who they are and their identity. But to also not let their race discourage them. “You’re another god-damned Indian, just like me.” “She kept calling me ‘Indian, Indian, Indian.’ I said yes I am. I am Indian. Indian am I.” “Don’t slow dance with your Skeletons.” All this goes to show that Indians may have a dark past and a possible dark future, but they need to focus on making the present good.
JOURNAL #5 11/14/14
Community is necessary in our world today. Part of who we identify ourselves as, is the community we live in. The authors showed many instances of people having a strong stand in their community. Robert Bennett was a good example at how he did not know much of his past and how he was more accepted by the average white man rather than his own cultural tribe. He wished that he had been more involved in his traditional race and tribe rather than in the white man’s culture. Community to the Indian people is very important. That is the most important thing to them. Community is part of their culture.
“I was shedding my wasicu way of life and beginning to understand why my forbearers had preferred to die in battle to protect their ways rather than become puppets of the wasicu world.” (pg. 152). This also gives a little bit of insight to how the Native Americans struggle with their identity and how much that they try to fit in with both our new, ever changing culture and their culture at the same time. They struggle with whether they want to stay in their Indian community or if they want to join the community if the modern day white man as most of the rest of the world has become. In Indian education it talked about in his seventh grade; “But on the day I leaned through the basement window of the HUD house and kissed the white girl, I felt the good-byes to my entire tribe…” (pg.176). He shows that staying in the community of his tribe was very important and that by simply kissing a white girl he was being rejected from his tribe at the same time. He seems to accept the rejection of his tribe at the same time because he doesn’t want to be completely bound by it. This is kind of interesting to me that most tribal Indians are very strait forward in their tribe and stand strong in it, but this kid does not want to be completely bound by it. He must have just purely and simply wanted to be his own man independent of his race or cultural background. I have seen and understand both sides of staying strong in your race and culture and use them to identify yourself; or to become independent and identify with the community that you chose to be in or to identify yourself as a complete individual.
Trevor Jordan
11/19/14
Seminar prep
We should know of the true things that happened when Columbus discovered America. That some bad things actually did happen from his discovery and that we shouldn’t be so accepting of whatever we are told in text books. That he could have been the actual cause of the Indian murders and the extremely unfair treatment of them. I also think that we should take away the knowledge that information will always have a bias and to get past that we have to find both sides to it and get to the facts.
Modern media has always seem to portray the Indian as a very stereotypical Indian just whatever the stereotype is for that time. Such as in Reel Injun, they portrayed Indians as Nobel, to savage, to worthless, to poor, to whatever fit the stereotype at the time. This project helped me understand better why some of the “Race wars” are going on and why there is still this tension between people. This also made me question why people are so sensitive to things in the past to things that don’t affect you, or why people care so much about peoples different race, or ethnicity.
1. Why do you think people still care so much about the racial tensions in the past?
2. Why does the government still have an obligation to keep paying Indians on reservations, and for how long until its paid off.
3. Why doesn’t the government get rid of reservations and make them like every other person in America and call them Americans instead of Native Americans.
we have read from Howard Zinn, The Loan Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in heaven, and journals from students at Dartmouth university. we have read article from all sides and opinion. this allows us to get more of the facts and make our own opinions.
Happiness and Meaning:
Trevor Jordan
Literary analysis essay
HAPPINESS AND MEANING
The meaning of life is something that is entirely subjective and up to individual opinions. Everything all depends on the individual and how they define happiness and meaning in their lives. Many of the people today aren’t truly themselves. Many people show a false identity of themselves and don’t show who they really are and don’t keep themselves authentic. People tend to lie to people to better appeal to others instead of being authentic to who they are. In the book The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is a young man who is kicked out of his school because his grades are all failing. He leaves the school and wanders around the city for several days evaluating his life and his beliefs. Holden shows a very strict and unique meaning of life through authenticity, and happiness through true relationships.
J.D. Salinger Provides a couple of different perspectives of happiness and meaning in Catcher in the Rye. He gave us perspectives from many people such as Holden’s sister Phoebe, Holden’s teachers, and Holden himself. Holden has a rather strict and unique perspective on happiness and meaning in his life. He showed his meaning to life at being authentic and true to yourself; to accept who you really are and not pretend to be someone else. He wanted everyone to express themselves and not let society interfere. He also found happiness in relationships, but in only true deep relationships. Holden shows this when he talks to his sister after he sneaks into his house. He becomes more authentic with himself and his sister when he is with her. His sister also is very authentic and true to herself and that is why Holden likes her so much.
Catcher in the Rye also showed Holden’s reaction to each and every person and how he reacts with each of them depending on how phony he thought they were. He meet a couple of nuns who were collecting money for a charity, and he had a conversation with them and he liked them a little for them being authentic and honest. When Holden saw that he was more open and honest with the nuns, as well as he gave them money for the charity. “’I thought if you were taking up a collection,’ I told her, ‘I could make a small contribution. You could keep the money for when you do take up a collection” (pg.122). But on the other end he went to see actors in a play and he thought nothing but negative thoughts about how phony they all were. Holden, (as many others do, but not to the same extent), holds a very high value on authenticity.
Holden holds a high value on true deep relationships with people. His relationship with his sister runs deep and is his reason to sneak into his house and to end up not leaving the city when he was planning on leaving and heading west. When Holden sees someone in a fake relationship with someone he gets depressed and sad at the world for having so many unauthentic people and relationships, Such as Holden calling a prostitute up to his room. He knows that everything that she is there to do and/or say is completely unauthentic because it is just to get paid. “I thought of her going in a store and buying it, and nobody knowing she was a prostitute and all. The salesman probably just thought she was a regular girl when she bought it. It made me sad as hell.”(pg.107) He also seemed to value some of his relationships with some of the people that hated him because they were more authentic in their relationship than people who pretended to like him.
Many people are “phony” or put an outer shell to protect themselves. The world is a harsh and hurtful place that without an outer shell that some people see as phony, would leave you very vulnerable. It would take the entire world to become authentic for the “phonies” to go away. This is what Holden wants, but he knows that no one is going to change and that is why he wants to be the catcher in the rye field. He describes this scene as a bunch of kids playing in a rye field and he would just stand on the edge of a cliff into the corrupt adult world, and catch kids who started to slip off the cliff.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5ktO3NLUDlcems1NU1kbjZudWM/view?usp=sharing
Trevor Jordan
Sense of place essay
Essential Questions:
1. how does energy production impact place?
2. How does your sense of place, environmental ethic and understanding of our energy needs influence your perception and decisions regarding energy production.
Abstract:
The places talked about are real places in the mountains of southwestern Colorado. These hunting grounds are where I find most of my environmental ethics. It is all there for our use and we may use it as we want. We just can’t abuse it. It is a privilege to be there and is not guaranteed if we don’t take care of it. I have a rooted connection with the place as well as a deeper more unexplainable connection with the place that has always made me love it. I have all the fun in the world in these places, but also want to preserve it.
Hunting Trip
The bumpy road in the roaring dark green large Ford Excursion causes me to itch to get out. My eyes constantly scan the hill sides searching for any sign of wild life. Looking across the pine needled floor of the forest, I have not seen anything yet. Although I am enjoying the beauty of the scene. The large pine and full oak trees are creating a vale that gracefully fades your vision from penetrating the forest farther. Your vision just ends, somewhere out there. As the trails break off into smaller, rougher trails the ride gets bumpier as the roads less traveled are taken. After a while of harshly rocking back and forth, the massive Ford pulls off the road, into the grass and small shrubs on the side of the road and stops. The humming engine rumbles in a quick and quieting fashion as the key was turned, shutting it down. The large V10 engine ticks as it cools, like the slowing sound of a ticking metronome. I never took my eyes off the tree line as I unbuckled, opened the door, and stepped out. I stretched my limbs and turned back to the truck to retrieve my rifle, magazines and bullets. I opened the back door and pulled out my camo backpack and strapped it on my back getting ready for the hike. My brother is doing the same thing as well, preparing himself for the journey ahead. My father steps out of the car after he marked the location of the Excursion on the global positioning system. I get my rifle ready as I wait. When we are all ready, we step off the road and on to the carpet of pine needles, we all become silent and watch our footsteps carefully, leaving only a slight soft crunch of the dry pine needles. we step into the trees and slowly disappear from the road. The walk through the forest was peaceful as we moved up the trails all in a line like a mother duck and her ducklings, only much quieter, and we were much more…. deadly, with our rifles.
For hunters, at least the real hunters, that really truly appreciate the sport, walking in the woods is half the fun. As a hunter you must observe and listen and absorb the world and the environment around you. This causes hunters to have a specific appreciation for the woods. We all want to preserve the forest. While all wanting to use it and the life within it for our use. It gives us time to think as we walk up the trails. After climbing for some time, we stop at the top of a ridge to look and rest for a minute and enjoy the quiet. I walk close to the edge and cross my legs and sit down. As I sit, I unsling my rifle and lay it in my lap, and lean against my backpack sitting on the ground and I stop moving. One by one each of us gets settled and stop moving.
Time flies when you are in silence with your eyes ever moving and your head full of thoughts. We were there for more than an hour and hadn’t noticed the time. I never moved once. When we decided to get up and go on further, I lifted with my arms not knowing what I was doing or what I had caused until it was too late. My leg was completely asleep. My dad made a quick move when I reached out my rifle for someone to take so I didn’t break it if I fell. He snatched it from me and I stumbled and rolled my ankle. I was alright other than I couldn’t feel my leg at all. When my feeling came back I took back my rifle and started up the trail. I had no idea that my father had whispered to my brother “I will give him three more steps.” But after I passed him I took about three more steps and then the fuzzy pins and needles hit in my leg. I nearly collapse again as it weakens my leg and tingles like mad. My dad starts to laugh really hard while trying to keep quiet. He shows me no sympathy. My leg takes a minute to recover to a point that I can walk again and we head farther up the trail.
The walk is long and sometimes difficult to manage with our heavy backpacks and rifles. As the early crisp morning fades into a warm bright and sunny afternoon, we end up at a large meadow with a small stand of aspen trees in the center and surrounded by tall brush all around the edge of the meadow. We find a few fallen tree trunks and sit down for lunch. We all drop our backpacks and lean our rifles up against the log to relieve us of the heavy load throughout the day. We dig out our packed lunches of sandwiches, apples, cheese sticks, jerky, and water and say a prayer before digging in. Once the food was consumed to a satisfying amount one by one we laid back and slowly fell asleep. The warm sun and full stomachs made us drowsy after the long up-hill hike. We never sleep for long on hunting trips but the naps are always nice and refreshing. After we each regained consciousness from the slumber, we retrieved our backpacks, made sure to get any and all signs of trash, and slung the rifles to move on. This is kind of an unspoken rule among hunters, never leave a trace that you were there, always pick up your trash. Not long after advancing back into the tree line the sky quickly became clouded over and distant sounds of thunder began to echo around us. We started to head back down to the road, but in vain as the pouring rain ambushed us and forced us into cover under a large pine tree. We sat and had small talk for a little while as the rain came down around us. Then I remembered something great. I pulled out a silver thermos with coffee. I took the lid off and used it as a small cup as I pored the hot black gold into it. My dad was very pleased at the sight and greatly accepted a cup without complaint. The coffee was shared as we waited for the rain to pass. After the rain stopped and the world around us became quiet again, I hear it. It was sudden and not that loud. A thump of movement in the trees below me. I quickly and quietly gather my stuff and ready my rifle. I keep it on safe so I don’t become a hazard but I load a round and keep it in my hands. I lead down the hill as we follow the sounds of hooved footsteps softly drumming and thumping the ground. This is also why we hunters hunt, for the excitement of the stalk, for the rapid heartbeat as you focus on keeping your eyes open, and your hands steady, your feet quiet, keeping track of the sounds, keeping the wind to your side or face, and your breath under control. All of these things at once or you could potentially lose your prey for good. I never see my target…. The doe that I hunt was not seen. Although I am satisfied by the excitement.
As we reach the road and walk it for a little while longer we reach the Ford Excursion again and we begin to talk more freely and let our steps become louder. As we load back up and bring the large engine back to life the care of our performance slips away. As we drive back down the road heading home, we still keep a watchful eye on the sides of the roads. We are almost out when we spot it. A buck in the trees of a small drop on the side of the road. It is with one other small buck. This is what my brother is hunting. We stop and kill the engine and all jump out with our rifles even though it’s my brother that has that particular license. He is excited as he runs for cover behind a tree and braces his rifle. The deer have not noticed us yet. He aims and steadies, the deer have now seen us and they start to move. Right as one lunges for the run a loud crack is heard and the deer falls. The other escapes with nothing more than a scare. The deer has fallen but has not completely died yet. We run as fast as we can and make sure the second shot finishes him quickly and painlessly. No matter how much people judge us for killing a deer, we will still do it. But we make sure that we are as humane as possible. We hunters make it a competition between us of who can make the cleanest kill shoot that we can. Everyone aims to make the best shot we can and a lot of hunters will not risk a shot that won’t kill there pray in only one bullet. We are not cruel or just want to watch them die. It’s a sport that also feeds families. My family in particular will always take some of the meat and give it away to a family in need. We give it for free and it gives them some delicious healthy food. We enjoy our sports and uses of the woods. But we also care and will fight to reduce the risk of letting anything go extinct.
This sense of place essay shows the different students thoughts on energy, the environment, and there connection to a place through a fiction, non-fiction, or poem. This essay was a great learning experience for our writing style and self expression.
This project didn't make me grow as a person or in my thoughts on the world. but it did help me improve my writing skills and allow me to more formally express my views and stories. Before this project I already knew my environmental ethics and what I wanted to talk about. The development for me was taking this and fit it together with a story and to be able to bring out my thoughts and ethics through the story. I tend to like to write very vivid and intriguing stories about things that have happened to me or through just fictional stories. My biggest issue is that I tend to write things for entertainment and no real meaning. This project proved to be some difficulty because I needed to make it meaningful and integrate my ethics throughout it as a posed to just telling a story.
I am mostly proud of the writing styles and the vivid imagery writing that I had. I am pleased with how much you can picture in you head about the event through the writing. Even though the mixing of my ethics and story was a very unfamiliar and challenging thing for me I am also pleased at how well i managed to integrate my ethics into the story.
Trevor Jordan
The right to keep and bear arms is a constitutional right that shall not be infringed upon. Many people believe firearms to be a danger and that the guns “kill people and animals” as if this was the only thing they are capable of doing. A firearm is an object, capable of nothing without a person behind it.
In America in 2012 there have been only 18 murders using semi-automatic military style weapons, 453 murders using hunting style rifles and shotguns, and 6,009 murders with handguns. All of these numbers are lower than murders committed with other objects, except for the hand guns. Hand guns are still four thousand lower than drunk driving. In 2012 there was 647 murders with blunt objects such as hammers and bats. Knives were used in 1,817 murders. There were 869 murders using just hands, fists, and feet. There was over 10,839 deaths caused by drunk driving, and over 30,800 deaths in automobile accidents.
According to the FBI the number one weapon used in violent crimes is a baseball bat. If that case were true why are there no restrictions on the ownership of baseball bats? They say that it is because so many law abiding citizens use them for sport. This is true, but this is also true of firearms. Guns are not just used in hunting and self-defense. Although many would say hunting is a sport, there are still many other sports. Other firearm sports include marksmanship competitions, clay shooting competitions, challenge courses, and much more.
Not only would gun control restrict our rights and liberties it would restrict our safety. Many crimes committed using a firearm are committed in a gun free zone. Such as schools and in places where weapons are not permitted. For instance, the man who entered the movie theater showing the newest Batman, the Dark Night Rises and opened fire on the movie goers after he had thrown tear gas into the theater. Take the man had driven past two larger movie theaters, and went to one that had a no weapons allowed sign posted on the front door. He killed 12 people and injured over 50, one man is capable of this, the MAN is capable of this. One armed good man could have stopped him almost as soon as he opened Fire. Statistics show that in places where there are stricter gun laws, such as New York and Detroit, have the highest crime rate using firearms. In 2012, Detroit had 54.6 murders out of 100,000 people. Durango Colorado has 1 murder in 580,000 people, this means that you are over 316 times more likely to be killed in Detroit than in Durango Colorado. Detroit has much stricter gun laws than Durango does. The data is like this because they know that there is likely not as much of a chance that they could shoot back and defend themselves and their stores or property. In places where the murder rate is really low, in places like Switzerland, the males are required to serve at least some time in some form of service in the military. Once their service is over they take their service weapons home along with boxes of ammunition. They are all trained on how to use them and what the dangers are and when to use them and when not to use them. The crime rate in America is two times more than Switzerland. 68% of people feel safer walking alone in Switzerland than in America.
Firearms are very critical in our safety. For instance, say you don’t own a gun, and someone breaks into your house. What would you do? Very likely the first thing you do is call someone with a gun to defend and protect you, such as the police and pray they get there on time. Calling the police, on a fast response time takes about eight, nine, to ten minutes for them to arrive. If someone was in your home, you would have to avoid being discovered for ten minutes or more before the police arrived. Although if you had a gun, you could call the police, then hide and you could defend yourself if you had been discovered. You could also take another route and confront the intruder and defend you, your home, and property. Yes, people can say that if there were no guns then what would you have to worry about; But for that to work, guns would have to become illegal everywhere. Criminals will buy a gun from anywhere, even black markets to do what he wants with it. If a criminal buys a gun from the black market they can get them without a register or a serial number which is untraceable and illegal. If the criminal could not get a gun he would find some other weapon such as a knife or a crowbar. A criminal will not commit a crime in someone’s house unarmed. How then would you defend yourself? This is only talking about men, think of a woman, if a man entered her home, he would not even need to be armed, she is not capable of defending herself with physical strength. A firearm would compensate for that difference and put the woman more powerful than the man.
Gun rights where given to us by the writers of the constitution. The second amendment gave the people of America the right to keep and bear arms and this shall not be infringed. Even though many people believe that because it states “a well-regulated militia” that it means military or police that have the right to keep and bear arms. They did not know that it is spelled out in the federalist papers that the militia means the people.
This right belongs to the people and is protected by the constitution. Nothing can take away that right, even the government. If the government were to try to take away this right it would spark riots and the people would over throw the government and set up a new one. This was intended by the founding fathers of the constitution, for the people to over throw the government and set up a new one if they became too strict on the people and started to try to take away their rights.
Work cited
"Crime Rate in Durango, Colorado (CO): Murders, Rapes, Robberies, Assaults, Burglaries, Thefts, Auto Thefts, Arson, Law Enforcement Employees, Police Officers, Crime Map." Crime Rate in Durango, Colorado (CO): Murders, Rapes, Robberies, Assaults, Burglaries, Thefts, Auto Thefts, Arson, Law Enforcement Employees, Police Officers Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
G., Edsel. "Switzerland vs United States Crime Stats Compared."NationMaster.com. NationMaster, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.
"Guns Reduce Crime." – IQ2 Debates. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.
II, Rong-Gong Lin. "Gunman Kills 12 at 'Dark Knight Rises' Screening in Colorado." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2012. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
"Quotes About Gun Control." (38 Quotes). N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
"Second Amendment to the United States Constitution." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Oct. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This project was a great way to gain some critical thinking skills and gain knowledge as to how to research and find information on topics.
NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORICAL INQUIRY:
How can an examination of multiple sources and perspectives lead to a more enlightened understanding of history and contemporary social, culture, and political realities?
Trevor Jordan
11/4/14
Journal #2
I found it kind of interesting that how much the media changed the views on Indians from the heroic, spiritual, worriers to the blood thirsty savages. I find it kind of funny that the current Native Americans didn’t like being portrayed as the worriers and people that are very effective in the wilderness. I understand that the Native Americans don’t like to be portrayed as blood thirsty savages, no one would want that. But I also think that we should forget the conflict that was in the past and just get over it and accept each other without the racial conflict. We can’t help were we are born or the race or social class we are born into. We shouldn’t judge someone on something that they can’t help. If they had the choice to do it by all means judge as you want to but only when they chose to live that life.
I feel like America as a whole is slowly becoming more acceptant of the Indians and who they are. I feel like the movies were very racist to the Indians early on but became more and more in favor of the Indian, what they stood for, and what they were capable of. We moved from the first view that Indians where more noble, to them being blood thirsty savages, to them being more and more accurate of the true native American.
JOURNAL #4
It seems as the overarching theme is for a minority to take care of their own family first, then their race and other people second. It also seems like it was an accountability between them to stand as a Native American and keep each other as straight forward in who they are and their identity. But to also not let their race discourage them. “You’re another god-damned Indian, just like me.” “She kept calling me ‘Indian, Indian, Indian.’ I said yes I am. I am Indian. Indian am I.” “Don’t slow dance with your Skeletons.” All this goes to show that Indians may have a dark past and a possible dark future, but they need to focus on making the present good.
JOURNAL #5 11/14/14
Community is necessary in our world today. Part of who we identify ourselves as, is the community we live in. The authors showed many instances of people having a strong stand in their community. Robert Bennett was a good example at how he did not know much of his past and how he was more accepted by the average white man rather than his own cultural tribe. He wished that he had been more involved in his traditional race and tribe rather than in the white man’s culture. Community to the Indian people is very important. That is the most important thing to them. Community is part of their culture.
“I was shedding my wasicu way of life and beginning to understand why my forbearers had preferred to die in battle to protect their ways rather than become puppets of the wasicu world.” (pg. 152). This also gives a little bit of insight to how the Native Americans struggle with their identity and how much that they try to fit in with both our new, ever changing culture and their culture at the same time. They struggle with whether they want to stay in their Indian community or if they want to join the community if the modern day white man as most of the rest of the world has become. In Indian education it talked about in his seventh grade; “But on the day I leaned through the basement window of the HUD house and kissed the white girl, I felt the good-byes to my entire tribe…” (pg.176). He shows that staying in the community of his tribe was very important and that by simply kissing a white girl he was being rejected from his tribe at the same time. He seems to accept the rejection of his tribe at the same time because he doesn’t want to be completely bound by it. This is kind of interesting to me that most tribal Indians are very strait forward in their tribe and stand strong in it, but this kid does not want to be completely bound by it. He must have just purely and simply wanted to be his own man independent of his race or cultural background. I have seen and understand both sides of staying strong in your race and culture and use them to identify yourself; or to become independent and identify with the community that you chose to be in or to identify yourself as a complete individual.
Trevor Jordan
11/19/14
Seminar prep
We should know of the true things that happened when Columbus discovered America. That some bad things actually did happen from his discovery and that we shouldn’t be so accepting of whatever we are told in text books. That he could have been the actual cause of the Indian murders and the extremely unfair treatment of them. I also think that we should take away the knowledge that information will always have a bias and to get past that we have to find both sides to it and get to the facts.
Modern media has always seem to portray the Indian as a very stereotypical Indian just whatever the stereotype is for that time. Such as in Reel Injun, they portrayed Indians as Nobel, to savage, to worthless, to poor, to whatever fit the stereotype at the time. This project helped me understand better why some of the “Race wars” are going on and why there is still this tension between people. This also made me question why people are so sensitive to things in the past to things that don’t affect you, or why people care so much about peoples different race, or ethnicity.
1. Why do you think people still care so much about the racial tensions in the past?
2. Why does the government still have an obligation to keep paying Indians on reservations, and for how long until its paid off.
3. Why doesn’t the government get rid of reservations and make them like every other person in America and call them Americans instead of Native Americans.
we have read from Howard Zinn, The Loan Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in heaven, and journals from students at Dartmouth university. we have read article from all sides and opinion. this allows us to get more of the facts and make our own opinions.
Happiness and Meaning:
Trevor Jordan
Literary analysis essay
HAPPINESS AND MEANING
The meaning of life is something that is entirely subjective and up to individual opinions. Everything all depends on the individual and how they define happiness and meaning in their lives. Many of the people today aren’t truly themselves. Many people show a false identity of themselves and don’t show who they really are and don’t keep themselves authentic. People tend to lie to people to better appeal to others instead of being authentic to who they are. In the book The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is a young man who is kicked out of his school because his grades are all failing. He leaves the school and wanders around the city for several days evaluating his life and his beliefs. Holden shows a very strict and unique meaning of life through authenticity, and happiness through true relationships.
J.D. Salinger Provides a couple of different perspectives of happiness and meaning in Catcher in the Rye. He gave us perspectives from many people such as Holden’s sister Phoebe, Holden’s teachers, and Holden himself. Holden has a rather strict and unique perspective on happiness and meaning in his life. He showed his meaning to life at being authentic and true to yourself; to accept who you really are and not pretend to be someone else. He wanted everyone to express themselves and not let society interfere. He also found happiness in relationships, but in only true deep relationships. Holden shows this when he talks to his sister after he sneaks into his house. He becomes more authentic with himself and his sister when he is with her. His sister also is very authentic and true to herself and that is why Holden likes her so much.
Catcher in the Rye also showed Holden’s reaction to each and every person and how he reacts with each of them depending on how phony he thought they were. He meet a couple of nuns who were collecting money for a charity, and he had a conversation with them and he liked them a little for them being authentic and honest. When Holden saw that he was more open and honest with the nuns, as well as he gave them money for the charity. “’I thought if you were taking up a collection,’ I told her, ‘I could make a small contribution. You could keep the money for when you do take up a collection” (pg.122). But on the other end he went to see actors in a play and he thought nothing but negative thoughts about how phony they all were. Holden, (as many others do, but not to the same extent), holds a very high value on authenticity.
Holden holds a high value on true deep relationships with people. His relationship with his sister runs deep and is his reason to sneak into his house and to end up not leaving the city when he was planning on leaving and heading west. When Holden sees someone in a fake relationship with someone he gets depressed and sad at the world for having so many unauthentic people and relationships, Such as Holden calling a prostitute up to his room. He knows that everything that she is there to do and/or say is completely unauthentic because it is just to get paid. “I thought of her going in a store and buying it, and nobody knowing she was a prostitute and all. The salesman probably just thought she was a regular girl when she bought it. It made me sad as hell.”(pg.107) He also seemed to value some of his relationships with some of the people that hated him because they were more authentic in their relationship than people who pretended to like him.
Many people are “phony” or put an outer shell to protect themselves. The world is a harsh and hurtful place that without an outer shell that some people see as phony, would leave you very vulnerable. It would take the entire world to become authentic for the “phonies” to go away. This is what Holden wants, but he knows that no one is going to change and that is why he wants to be the catcher in the rye field. He describes this scene as a bunch of kids playing in a rye field and he would just stand on the edge of a cliff into the corrupt adult world, and catch kids who started to slip off the cliff.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5ktO3NLUDlcems1NU1kbjZudWM/view?usp=sharing
Trevor Jordan
Sense of place essay
Essential Questions:
1. how does energy production impact place?
2. How does your sense of place, environmental ethic and understanding of our energy needs influence your perception and decisions regarding energy production.
Abstract:
The places talked about are real places in the mountains of southwestern Colorado. These hunting grounds are where I find most of my environmental ethics. It is all there for our use and we may use it as we want. We just can’t abuse it. It is a privilege to be there and is not guaranteed if we don’t take care of it. I have a rooted connection with the place as well as a deeper more unexplainable connection with the place that has always made me love it. I have all the fun in the world in these places, but also want to preserve it.
Hunting Trip
The bumpy road in the roaring dark green large Ford Excursion causes me to itch to get out. My eyes constantly scan the hill sides searching for any sign of wild life. Looking across the pine needled floor of the forest, I have not seen anything yet. Although I am enjoying the beauty of the scene. The large pine and full oak trees are creating a vale that gracefully fades your vision from penetrating the forest farther. Your vision just ends, somewhere out there. As the trails break off into smaller, rougher trails the ride gets bumpier as the roads less traveled are taken. After a while of harshly rocking back and forth, the massive Ford pulls off the road, into the grass and small shrubs on the side of the road and stops. The humming engine rumbles in a quick and quieting fashion as the key was turned, shutting it down. The large V10 engine ticks as it cools, like the slowing sound of a ticking metronome. I never took my eyes off the tree line as I unbuckled, opened the door, and stepped out. I stretched my limbs and turned back to the truck to retrieve my rifle, magazines and bullets. I opened the back door and pulled out my camo backpack and strapped it on my back getting ready for the hike. My brother is doing the same thing as well, preparing himself for the journey ahead. My father steps out of the car after he marked the location of the Excursion on the global positioning system. I get my rifle ready as I wait. When we are all ready, we step off the road and on to the carpet of pine needles, we all become silent and watch our footsteps carefully, leaving only a slight soft crunch of the dry pine needles. we step into the trees and slowly disappear from the road. The walk through the forest was peaceful as we moved up the trails all in a line like a mother duck and her ducklings, only much quieter, and we were much more…. deadly, with our rifles.
For hunters, at least the real hunters, that really truly appreciate the sport, walking in the woods is half the fun. As a hunter you must observe and listen and absorb the world and the environment around you. This causes hunters to have a specific appreciation for the woods. We all want to preserve the forest. While all wanting to use it and the life within it for our use. It gives us time to think as we walk up the trails. After climbing for some time, we stop at the top of a ridge to look and rest for a minute and enjoy the quiet. I walk close to the edge and cross my legs and sit down. As I sit, I unsling my rifle and lay it in my lap, and lean against my backpack sitting on the ground and I stop moving. One by one each of us gets settled and stop moving.
Time flies when you are in silence with your eyes ever moving and your head full of thoughts. We were there for more than an hour and hadn’t noticed the time. I never moved once. When we decided to get up and go on further, I lifted with my arms not knowing what I was doing or what I had caused until it was too late. My leg was completely asleep. My dad made a quick move when I reached out my rifle for someone to take so I didn’t break it if I fell. He snatched it from me and I stumbled and rolled my ankle. I was alright other than I couldn’t feel my leg at all. When my feeling came back I took back my rifle and started up the trail. I had no idea that my father had whispered to my brother “I will give him three more steps.” But after I passed him I took about three more steps and then the fuzzy pins and needles hit in my leg. I nearly collapse again as it weakens my leg and tingles like mad. My dad starts to laugh really hard while trying to keep quiet. He shows me no sympathy. My leg takes a minute to recover to a point that I can walk again and we head farther up the trail.
The walk is long and sometimes difficult to manage with our heavy backpacks and rifles. As the early crisp morning fades into a warm bright and sunny afternoon, we end up at a large meadow with a small stand of aspen trees in the center and surrounded by tall brush all around the edge of the meadow. We find a few fallen tree trunks and sit down for lunch. We all drop our backpacks and lean our rifles up against the log to relieve us of the heavy load throughout the day. We dig out our packed lunches of sandwiches, apples, cheese sticks, jerky, and water and say a prayer before digging in. Once the food was consumed to a satisfying amount one by one we laid back and slowly fell asleep. The warm sun and full stomachs made us drowsy after the long up-hill hike. We never sleep for long on hunting trips but the naps are always nice and refreshing. After we each regained consciousness from the slumber, we retrieved our backpacks, made sure to get any and all signs of trash, and slung the rifles to move on. This is kind of an unspoken rule among hunters, never leave a trace that you were there, always pick up your trash. Not long after advancing back into the tree line the sky quickly became clouded over and distant sounds of thunder began to echo around us. We started to head back down to the road, but in vain as the pouring rain ambushed us and forced us into cover under a large pine tree. We sat and had small talk for a little while as the rain came down around us. Then I remembered something great. I pulled out a silver thermos with coffee. I took the lid off and used it as a small cup as I pored the hot black gold into it. My dad was very pleased at the sight and greatly accepted a cup without complaint. The coffee was shared as we waited for the rain to pass. After the rain stopped and the world around us became quiet again, I hear it. It was sudden and not that loud. A thump of movement in the trees below me. I quickly and quietly gather my stuff and ready my rifle. I keep it on safe so I don’t become a hazard but I load a round and keep it in my hands. I lead down the hill as we follow the sounds of hooved footsteps softly drumming and thumping the ground. This is also why we hunters hunt, for the excitement of the stalk, for the rapid heartbeat as you focus on keeping your eyes open, and your hands steady, your feet quiet, keeping track of the sounds, keeping the wind to your side or face, and your breath under control. All of these things at once or you could potentially lose your prey for good. I never see my target…. The doe that I hunt was not seen. Although I am satisfied by the excitement.
As we reach the road and walk it for a little while longer we reach the Ford Excursion again and we begin to talk more freely and let our steps become louder. As we load back up and bring the large engine back to life the care of our performance slips away. As we drive back down the road heading home, we still keep a watchful eye on the sides of the roads. We are almost out when we spot it. A buck in the trees of a small drop on the side of the road. It is with one other small buck. This is what my brother is hunting. We stop and kill the engine and all jump out with our rifles even though it’s my brother that has that particular license. He is excited as he runs for cover behind a tree and braces his rifle. The deer have not noticed us yet. He aims and steadies, the deer have now seen us and they start to move. Right as one lunges for the run a loud crack is heard and the deer falls. The other escapes with nothing more than a scare. The deer has fallen but has not completely died yet. We run as fast as we can and make sure the second shot finishes him quickly and painlessly. No matter how much people judge us for killing a deer, we will still do it. But we make sure that we are as humane as possible. We hunters make it a competition between us of who can make the cleanest kill shoot that we can. Everyone aims to make the best shot we can and a lot of hunters will not risk a shot that won’t kill there pray in only one bullet. We are not cruel or just want to watch them die. It’s a sport that also feeds families. My family in particular will always take some of the meat and give it away to a family in need. We give it for free and it gives them some delicious healthy food. We enjoy our sports and uses of the woods. But we also care and will fight to reduce the risk of letting anything go extinct.
This sense of place essay shows the different students thoughts on energy, the environment, and there connection to a place through a fiction, non-fiction, or poem. This essay was a great learning experience for our writing style and self expression.
This project didn't make me grow as a person or in my thoughts on the world. but it did help me improve my writing skills and allow me to more formally express my views and stories. Before this project I already knew my environmental ethics and what I wanted to talk about. The development for me was taking this and fit it together with a story and to be able to bring out my thoughts and ethics through the story. I tend to like to write very vivid and intriguing stories about things that have happened to me or through just fictional stories. My biggest issue is that I tend to write things for entertainment and no real meaning. This project proved to be some difficulty because I needed to make it meaningful and integrate my ethics throughout it as a posed to just telling a story.
I am mostly proud of the writing styles and the vivid imagery writing that I had. I am pleased with how much you can picture in you head about the event through the writing. Even though the mixing of my ethics and story was a very unfamiliar and challenging thing for me I am also pleased at how well i managed to integrate my ethics into the story.