Taxes are always a big subject. The replies you get from people vary from person to person. Some tend to not complain or care too much. But others have a very negative opinion and think they know the solution to a “better” system. America is a very complex and crazy changing country. We have a very diverse culture and it changes from each area. With all of that said the ideas of how the system should be run varies from person to person and all depends on what type of financial or life you’ve been brought up in. If you are a rich person you are going to want less taxes if you are poor you are going to want less but you’re also going to want more money somehow. Taxes “pay” for a lot of the things you use but, in all reality,, we never really know where that money is going. “it will promote economic growth by eliminating the capital gains tax and double taxation that currently discourages productive activity like saving, investing and job creation.” This is a statement from the fair tax article, but it doesn’t show how it will really work. Rich people will always be able to afford products but with the high tax on products it will make it much harder for poor people to buy all their normal things. But people argue that they will make more, but they don’t make enough to begin with so it’ll just make their situation harder. With the amount of poor people and people in poverty we have a flat tax would destroy them and the rich would become richer. There is always going to be people who complain about their situation. No matter what we do people are going to be upset. So it is all about what is best for everyone. A progressive tax is the best in my opinion because it is better for the lower and middle class and that is the majority of our population.

1.   1.    Every man dies but not every man always lives. Every person in the world is born with a sense of purpose. That purpose is for them to find and chase. This purpose could be so many different things and every single person is different. Some people do not have the drive or desire to become the very best they can be. They are content with what they have and do not see the point in trying to better themselves. These people have virtually died because they are done growing as a person. The minute that a person gives up and doesn’t try to better themselves is when that person dies.

2.    2.   Survival is key when it comes to life. When you are faced with a tough or scary situation your body and mind react in complete survival mode. Acting civilized is what people do every day. Some struggle more than others but with every civilized person there is a savage self-inside them. This comes out when your body is trying to survive. Life throws so many obstacles at people and they want the best for themselves, so their savage side will always act out in these situations. Many people do not like to admit when they act in this savage way because they do not usually know they are acting that way.

3.     3.  Society is people living together in a collective community. It doesn’t define a specific person instead the people. It can range from the being the world as a society even down to your community. Civilization is created by the people wanting to better their lives and make advancements for the good. Society is controlled by the people that are apart of it. Their morals and values are going to contribute to who these people are and how they are going to act. The society someone grows up in is overall going to have a factor on who that person becomes. Their morals and values are going to be formed by what they are brought up around. But society can change when different people enter and influence that society. Therefore, people control society.

4.  4.      He is saying Simon should quit and not try to get saved.

Simon is not making it fun for everyone.

He is in Simon’s head, Simon is putting so much thought into it and it is ruining him.

Mason Larson

1.  18-24 months

2.  84,995

3.  Burma and Iraq

4.  39,000

5.  California, Texas, and, New York

6.  The sudden increase in 1980, the 90s having so much going on, and, the sudden decrease from 2015-2017

7.  The decrease in unaffiliated, how muslims decreased 07-12, the steady Christian population.

8.  Because we weren’t in war with them.

   9.   It went from Europe and Africa to Asia. Bhutan.

10.  Bunch of African Refugees, Use to be Lots more Asian refugees, Wyoming almost had no refugees

11.  50,000 refugees

12.  March was low

13.  60 million

14.  12.5 million

15.  Norway and Switzerland

Do you believe the U.S., being a world power and first world country, has an obligation to help refugees and/or give them humanitarian aid? Yes and No. It is hard with countries we don’t get along with because it makes us vulnerable and “weak”. We also are in lots of debt which is always a hard thing to deal with because of the cost. In my opinion I think we should sometimes because we are very blessed to be where we are so we should spread the love and positivity.

Sex slavery is obviously a very bad problem all over the world. Even in America it is a major issue. But reading about the stolen boys in Afghanistan makes me feel uneasy. Coming from my background I have never been put in a situation remotely close to this before. I understand other countries have different customs and laws but having young boys as slaves and them getting raped shouldn’t sound ok to anyone in any part of the world. Growing up that was all they know so it is hard for them to truly make efforts to get out of it. Putting myself in the boys’ shoes who must go through all of this makes me feel sick. Being enslaved to anyone usually means you are not going to be treated well at all. But then to think about being a sex slave makes it worse. Trying to find a way to escape my owners would be on my mind at all times.  Obviously being a sex slave wouldn’t be enjoyable and having to suffer and not have any way out I would feel helpless and just lost with my life. Suicidal thoughts have never crossed my brain but with those circumstances I feel like it might be lingering. 

If you could describe the game in one word, what would it be?

 Chaos

What did you expect at the beginning of the game?

 Just to play a game that was unfair

When did you realize that something was wrong?

When I left my original table and I thought d frey won and he didn’t take the cards.

How did you deal with it?

 I tried to point out the diamonds and push them the cards and they pointed at the spades and pushed at me.

How did not being able to speak contribute to what you were feeling?

You just had to handle your anger and wait to find out.

 Is my title above appropriate for the game of "culture."  Why or why not?

Yes if you look at it in a deeper meaning

 Is a universal language and set of customs necessary for world peace and harmony?

 No it can’t be the world needs to be diverse.

 What can a simple card game teach us about our culture?

It can show how we don’t everything about other cultures until we are really in their shoes 

The truth hurts sometimes and what this sociologist explained to us and showed us was the ugly truth. The first thing that really got me to be all in and really try to understand what he was saying is when he set us up by putting us in a difficult situation with our coal and china. Granted that never really happened so we don’t know exactly what it was like. But it made you think about how you would feel if that really did happen. Secondly, he started hitting us with the ugly truth about what is really going on with are military and how what we see might not always be exactly how it is. There are always 2 different sides to a story and sometimes you need to see the other side to truly understand what is going on. He showed the “rebellious” people from over there that tried to kill our soldiers. If you would of showed me that picture before that video it would of gave me a way different feeling than it did after he explained what the “honest” truth was. The thing that really got under my skin is how to them it looks like some religious war. Because looking at America while living here religion is really something that isn’t as big as a factor anymore. No war we fight is truly over religion. The way they are seeing it is wrong and honestly the way that we are seeing it is also wrong. That’s never a good thing. I see myself fitting into the big picture of society by contributing and trying to better myself every single day. I want to make the best out of myself and try to positively effect everyone that is around me. Too many people in this day and age are content and don’t have goals but I’m going to maximize my potential as a person in my lifetime.  

What are the groups and what functions do they serve? Are there negative influences from any of the groups (dysfunctions)? There is Freak group- They like to do a lot of illegal and rebellious things

There is the Geek group-  No negative influences.

Who has power in the episode? How or why do they have power? How do they use it?  People kind of wanna be like them. They use it negatively.

What are the important symbols in the episode? Note that the symbols might be an object, but also might be an idea, an event or something else. How do the characters act based on the symbols they find important? This is symbolic interactionism. You can connect it to Max Weber.

Lyndsey rebels from her parents and hangs out with the “Freaks”. She disagrees with how some people lives so decides to live the way she wants too.

Can you relate any of these theories to your own life? How can the things you do be interpreted through one of these theories? For example why do you wear what you wear or why are you going to college or why do you stress yourself out to get "good" grades?

Yes. Everything you do shows how you live your life and how you look at life. 

What do you think about the awkward silence?

I feel it is when certain people feel vulnerable to embarrassing themselves. People are “speechless” because they do not want to make a bad move.

 Do you see how we set expectations based on our experiences?

Yes because I feel most people set their expectations on what was expected of them as a child or in life growing up. Maybe even by what they have achieved.

Did you know what sociologists studied before taking this class?

I just thought it was about life.

 Do you realize that students expect the teacher to tell them what to do?

Yes. Just like this assignment.

 Can you see how this crushes a love for learning?

Yes because no one enjoys when something is forced upon them.

What do you think about the idea of blogging as a way of teaching others?

Sharing ideas is always a good idea.