Disney Movies and the Family

Due to the holidays quickly arriving, I have found myself watching a lot of older movies, specifically Disney movies. I find it interesting how Disney's main focus revolves around the idea of family and yet in many of the movies we see the families broken apart with violence and killing. Beyond this point, I also find it interesting how we often see these movies being shown around the holidays on television as well. Not only does it send the opposite message to these people about families but they are being shown around the holidays which are supposed to promote family. Yes, I understand that Disney always has the underlying theme of a happy ever after but it still defeats the concept of the family being a unit. This I feel like also ties into the idea of our modern family. Perhaps they show these movies for people to realize how important family is around the holiday time. For instance, many children and families are split up, 50% due to divorces. With these families apart, it is difficult to be one single unit, yet by looking at what a Disney movie shows us, we can still have that happy ending of finding a solution to the problem. Perhaps these movies are shown during this time to promote the concept of changing your standards and norms to something that is appropriate for this season; a family enjoying being around each other and enjoying each other's company. Although I realize that many of our class is enjoying their break and enjoying their family, I hope that this allows them to realize how important family is to this time of year and that as Disney would teach us, how easy it is to change it to make your dreams come true. Happy Holidays everyone! It has been a pleasure blogging with you.

The Impossibility of Transhumanist Ideals

Summary:
The wikipedia article on transhumanism said that its main philosophy was that, by adapting new technology, humans can evolve beyond their current state. It studies the possibility of eternal youth and transcending basic human limitations and looks at the ethics involved in using technology to evolve.

New Things Learned:
I had heard of some of these ideas before, but not in the context of transhumanism. It was very interesting to read about the possibilities for how technology and knowledge could help us move into an entirely new state of being. However, I think that these ideals are largely unattainable. Throughout the course of human history, we have had many technological singularities that have changed the way we function in the world. The automobile, fire, written word, and the internet have all greatly changed human society. Yet, even as society was remolded around the possibilities of new technology, basic human nature stayed the same. We all have a fundamental need for survival, which translates into greed and conflict. Technology hasn't changed this fact, it only gave it new expression. Without a change in human nature, we will never move on to posthumanity. The ideals of transhumanism rely on the ability of technology to change human nature, but history has shown that it can't.

Question:
While reading, it occurred to me that transhumanism is a very hard thing to examine with a sociological mindset. Sociology essentially exists to study the workings of human society, and its assumptions don't translate well into a posthuman setting. The two viewpoints are based on different understandings of what humans are and are capable of. Transhumanism assumes that the basic parts of human nature can be changed through the application of technology. Conflict and personal gain don't fit in well with the transhumanist worldview. A transhumanist would look at my argument above and disagree with it because he wouldn't accept my foundation, and I do the same to him.

Ender's Game and What Happens When the Family is Broken

Summary:
Ender's Game is a sci-fi novel by Orson Scott Card. It follows a young boy who is taken from his family to receive training as a military commander. He eventually has a breakdown after he realizes that he has been tricked into wiping out an alien species by his superiors.

New Things Learned:
Though Ender's family unit is only shown intact for a short period in the novel, it is clear that he relies upon them greatly for emotional support. Once he is taken away, he manages to find some friends who function as a makeshift family. It isn't until the next stage of his training that he is without their direct support, which leads to increasingly cold and ruthless behavior. This book makes a convincing case for the importance of child rearing in a family setting. Although he is mentally capable and very talented, Ender still relies on his friends and sister to keep his emotional state level. As has been shown in tests with baby rhesus monkeys, a lack of emotional attachments creates some pretty severe psychological problems.

Question:
While reading this book, I wondered about the realism in the book's ending. He eventually finds the last remaining alien and tries to find a place for it to live with his sister. Card essentially throws away Ender's psychological problems once he is reunited with his sister. I would like to know more about the long-term effects of children being raised away from a family unit.

Religion and Marriage

Jay Oriola

Religion and Marriage

I recently read an article that brought two of our society’s most controversial topics together, marriage and religion. It centered on the idea of religion being a big issue when couples decide to get married. It dodges the specific religions and discusses religion from an objective and general point of view. It weighed the pros and cons of being in a marriage with different religions. Some pros for having the same marriage as your partner centered on the fact that there would be a spiritual union between the two, so both would be on the same page is most regards. Also, most values and morals sometime align with ones religion, so if one partner may be lacking concerning their spirituality, the other can help them out and they can prosper as a couple.

Some Pros to not having the same religion in a relationship were that different perspectives would bring a broader view to your partner as well as this would be private time for each partner to concentrate and meditate by themselves. Cons for both paralleled each other, but what I was most interested in is when they brought children into the equation. Some questions that surfaced about the issue were what would the religion of the child be as well as which one would override the other in the family came up? My question to readers is do you think religion should be discussed early in a relationship or saved till much later on?

For the Love or For the Money

Jay Oriola

For the Love or For the Money

I recent read an article that discussed the various reasons for people deciding to get married. It mentioned some of the default and cliché reasons most of us know, but then it mentioned money. Money is indeed cliché, but it caught my eye for some reason. The article discussed different types of societal relationships that have saturated the dating and marriage game recently. The ideology of a ‘gold-digger’ came into play. The meaning behind a gold digger is one who comes in a relationship specifically to use the other person for their money.

Yes, it seems very selfish, but my question is that currently, are most of the relationships enabling potential and current gold-diggers? The article discussed how some partners yearn for for companionship so much that they endure their significant others characteristics that are not too attractive. It stated how most know gold-diggers as females in today’s society. Young females who prey on young but mainly older men who are financially stable and who yearn for younger females as well; an I scratch your back and you scratch mine type of relationship. Whether it is healthy or not, the article discusses how it is prevalent. It also discussed how some older women known as cougars to the media also play their part in the gold-digger saga. The coin is flipped in this circumstance, mainly where older females are said to look for younger men to be with in whatever manner they wish while they support them financially. Somehow, these skewed relationships are said to last longer than expected, even some to marriage.

Happily Ever After

Jay Oriola

Happily Ever After

I recently spoke with an old family friend who has been married for about 20’ish years now. She exclaimed to me repeatedly about how happy she still is. This memorized me more than I had thought. The fact that she had been married so long, yet she still has the zeal and passion she once did as a newlywed amazed me. I asked her to share what factors helped her marriage last so long. She listed 5 things to me: honesty, perseverance, communication, passion and love. I thought this was an interesting group of characteristics. Each one possesses something different that adds versatility to the pot. She explained how they were tested regarding each factor throughout their marriage and how each struggle made them stronger. Honesty kept their relationship open and reliable, because if they lacked this factor, they would be clouded with confusion. Perseverance helped them push through each struggle and obstacle to a solution each would be fine. Communication she said was the core of it all, how they conversed and how well they articulated what they wanted. Passion is the catalyst they kept their relationship alive and kicking. Finally, love she exclaimed was the foundation that all factors stood upon. The love they had and developed for each other was the key to it all.

After conversing with her, I found it interesting that she emphasized communication. A lot of problems can be dodged by simply articulating what you want and what you mean. I told her I appreciated that.

One question I pose to readers is: How would infidelity effect a marriage as successful as this one?

Drama on the Golf Course

Jay Oriola

Drama on the Golf Course

I recently read the hot topic regarding Tiger Woods and his divorce to his wife. The media discussed the details of his divorce in full length stating how he had cheated with numerous women over a period of time. Mr. Woods had been caught when he left a message on one of his mistresses’ answering machine clearly stating his first and last name and discussing other things of a sexual nature. The couple had their final falling out when they starting fighting, Woods tried to drive away but the wife smashed his shield and got into a small incident. This story was one of interest to me because of the sheer power that Tiger Woods held in our day and age. Being one of the most famous Golfers, if not athlete, of our time, Woods stardom seemed to transcend mere athletics.

His family was picture perfect when viewed by the media and he continued to win everything in sight. Then the world came crashing down and the truth was exposed. The world saw their marriage as one to look up to, but under the sheets, Woods was have extra-marital affairs with countless of women while his wife didn’t know anything about it. Just from observing, it surprised me that Woods could keep his secret alive for so long. I also thought, him being the idol for so many young athletes, he would keep his extra-curricular activities under wraps. But needless to say, the marriage was put on blast in front of the whole world. Not only the marriage, but the family seemed to be picked and prodded as well. I felt horribly bad for the children . My question is how will this affect the children in the long run with such a public divorce plaguing their childhood?