The Lottery - Shartrand

I've grown up in the Protestant church. I feel like, presently, I understand a majority of the rituals and practices in my faith. Though when I was younger, the church I went to participated in various Old Testament practices. We would not eat leavened bread (bread with yeast) for a week, which was appropriately called The Days of Unleavened Bread. When I was younger, I did this because I was told to, not because I understood the point. Right now, I am part of a different denomination, and I participate in New Testament practices. These rituals and practices have meaning to me, and to my faith.

All of my younger experiences allow me to see how and why the townspeople in Jackson's story participate in these yearly stoning sessions. They feel like they'll get something out of it, even if that idea is not based in facts, even if they've never really seen the benefits, they just believe eventually they'll understand.

Contact Zones: Work Places

I think simple, everyday places like the classroom are obvious contact zones. But I feel one particular contact zone is a workplace. In my own experiences I've found myself disagreeing, agreeing, and contemplating with my co-workers. I have seen others who have their primary contact zone in the workplace. My mother works in a preschool center, and comes in contact with incredible diversity. The children she takes care of, the families of those children, and her co-workers all provide her with a contact zone filled with varying culture, gender, identity, backgrounds, and personalities. My dad works an environment where immigrants work alongside him. This provides a contact zone for not only my dad, but my mother and myself, when he brings home stories of these people's experiences, thoughts, words, and stories. As common an idea as it is, the work place provides great contact zones for workers, and those who come into contact with those workers.

Letter From Birmingham Jail

I read this over the weekend, but felt oddly compelled to wait until Martin Luther King Jr. Day to post my response. The letter MLK Jr. wrote tangibly expressed the desperation of the Negro population to overcome this oppression which was upon them. I feel his whole point was to express, with utmost emphasis, that these nonviolent ways must be continued, and the white supremacy must be dethroned. He speaks of how he rarely responds to criticisms, yet felt that he must explain his actions to those who followed him. How noble, mature, and loving of him to respond, not with frustration at their doubts, but with knowledge and peace at their concerns.

In my own train of thought, I can't imagine writing a letter that long by hand. I guess, thinking about how far we as a nation have come in technological advances, I can correlate those advances with the civil rights which have been given to so many oppressed citizens since Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his letter. In light of the day in which we honor Martin Luther King Jr.'s awesome, powerful, and inspirational life, I look forward to our country's next HUGE advancement; inaugurating an African-American (I use this term simply because I will admit I'm not sure what the politically correct terminology is anymore. I personally call the race human.) into the highest position of power in the United States of America.

Fight For The Right to Save A Life

Rebecca Schmidt's "Fight for the Right to Save A Life" presents a fact I personally did not know about the FDA and their policies for donating blood. This piece of writing is good because Schmidt provides intense detail and explanations of medical terminology. By doing this, Schmidt encourages the reader to continue with her story, despite terminology they may not have understood otherwise. She continues by going through the key steps of the blood donation process, and then provides statistical evidence of the percentage of people who actually do donate blood. She then culminates her whole argument at the ending of the essay. Her way of building up the essay with facts, statistics, and definitions entices the reader to read to gain knowledge. It's good because it provides analysis of facts to prove a point, as well as providing potentially new knowledge to readers.