Why the M Word Matters to Me

An article in Time Magazine by blogger and author Andrew Sullivan talks about “Why the M Word Matters to Me.” Sullivan grew up in a traditional home Catholic, conservative, and middle class. His life was relatively simple: education, work, family, and aim high in life even though his parents hadn’t gone to college.  He believed that marriage was very important more important than graduation from college, a first day of work, or even his first home. Sullivan never had the idea of what homosexuality was. Growing up he didn’t have the same feelings for girls the way his friends had.  Sullivan’s emotional bonds to other boys were one-sided; each time he felt himself falling in love, they sensed it and pushed it away. The love he had inside him was not the type of love he grew up to know; by his parents and the way of the Catholics. Sullivan believes that everyone should be equal to marriage, regardless of sexual orientation.

            Growing up in a Catholic household like Sullivan did, I can understand the expectations that he has to live up to. I was raised in the Catholic environment; I was baptized, made my first communion, and conformation. The Catholic religion is very strict with their rules. For example, homosexuality is looked down on as being a sin.

            I don’t fully agree with Sullivan about how marriage is more important than graduating from a college, or your first house. I believe those are just as important, but again everyone is entitled to his/her opinion. I do however; agree that everyone should be entitled to equal rights to marriage regardless of sexual orientation.  

            In today society even though others may not like seeing it , but homosexual people are more comfortable than ever about showing their  love for one another in public just as heterosexuals show their affection.

            Lesson to be learn is we often hide who we really are to make other happy but in the end it is the individual who is happy.

Book War

Author Wang Ping Grew up in China during the violent “Cultural Revolution” of the late 1960 when Communist Chairman Mao Zedong closed school, banned books, and imprisoned or killed thousands of citizens. In this article called “Book War” Ping talks about when he was younger he discovered “The Little Mermaid,” his first fairy tale, in 1968. One morning Ping had seen his neighbor which was a few years older, reading a book with the red plastic wrap which indicated it was Mao’s collected work. He had thought to himself another loyal Moaist. Ping stood behind her and peeked over her shoulder to see what she was reading; the book she was reading was not a book of Mao. It was Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy tales, the story of “The little Mermaid.” A book Ping heard of and always wanted to read. She jumped when she had notice I was behind her scared that I would report her, they both stared at each other. Suddenly she started to laugh, knowing her secret was safe with me. From that day on her and I would trade books to read. Ping had loaned her The Arabian Nights. They had started an underground book exchange network; trade and reading books that were sought as “poisonous weed.”

I believe this time of age it was tough in China, due to the Cultural Revolution. Closing schools, books condemned as “poisonous weeds,” and were burnt on the streets; prevented the people of China to obtain an education. But this was a way to have control over China which at that point in time was communist country.

Just like Ping and the girl in this article, they show that when people are forbidden or not allowed to have or do certain things, for example read books considered as “poisonous weeds” if there is something we want to do. It is in a human nature to find a way do what makes us happy regardless if what we want is forbidden. 

Cell Yell : Thanks for (Not) Sharing

An article in the New York Times called “Cell Yell: Thanks for (Not) Sharing”, Eric Taub talks about reasons why cell phones and their users, often intrude on the people around them. Taub mentions a young man across the aisle on the Baltimore-bound flight whipped out his cell phone and began a hurried and boisterous conversation. One gentleman pounded his foot to the rhythm of the conversation, oblivious to the 15 surrounding passengers glaring at this human loud speaker in seat 2b. Cell yell is when a cell phone user speaks in to their phones more loudly than necessary, unwittingly involving surrounding strangers in their personnel business. A phenomenon has given rise to a Web site (www.cellmanners.com) a subculture of cell-yell haters. Taub also, talks about how surrounding people don’t care to hear a conversation that a person is having on their cell phone, due to being personal. A social scientist at the University of Technology in Helsinki and author of a study on cell phone behavior, Dr. Timo Kopomaa says “Cell phones are so small that people don’t trust the technology to work”; that is why Motorola makes phones that flip open, according to a company executive “to give people the illusion that the phone is bigger and the microphone is closer to the mouth.”

I agree with Taub cell phone users are not considerate to people around them. Reasons being most people without realizing talk very loud on their phone; this creates unwanted attention from the people around them.  As Dr Kopomaa states that people have the illusion that, due to the size of a cell phone being small, people feel they need to speak loud while having a conversation.

Taub brings up a good point that most people don’t care to hear a personal phone call that someone is having. Many people might forget that there in public and get carried away in a conversation. They often don’t realize there are other people around them at that moment. While the people that sound them hear the details that are talked about in another’s conversation, feel that the manners of the cell phone user are inconsiderate.

Some good advice when you receive a phone call on your cell phone, take the time to look at your surroundings and try to be considerate to those around you. You never know who really might be listening.