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Author: Kendall Duffy

Attacking the Fourth Estate

This article furthered my knowledge of the media and how it has effects people. The beginning of the reading talked about how Donald Trump tweeted the press was “the enemy of the American people.” The media is very powerful and this example shows the impact that social media has. Social media impacts people’s viewpoints more than it ever has before in pst. In recent years people are very much influenced by social media.

Archer then talks about fake news and how it is very difficult to know if it is fake or not. This is because it is hard to understand or know what is true. The internet and social media can be dangerous in how people can manipulate certain information.

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Digital Distopias

I went to the speaker on 11/19 about the internet. I found it interesting in the beginning he talked about how families are hesitant to let their children use the internet due to its problems. He explained how some families believe that the internet is hijacked. He explained how the internet is a weapon for some people. Another interesting fact he said was that 7/10 of the world’s richest men came from the tech industry. This does not surprise me but still, I found it interesting. He then talked about how different programs came about. He said there was a new program that developed that allows the pentagon to put in data and work with data that they have not been able to do before. The program is a mixture of Excel and a database. I liked hearing this presentation because it was very cool to see how much the internet has changed but also how people view it today.

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Pure Confidence

Pure Confidence was another play I attended that was produced by the university’s theater department. This play was very good. It was about slavery and racial tensions that still exist today. The character that I really enjoyed watching was Simon. He was a slave and would ride horses in races for his owner. He did this to make money for his owner. I especially liked Simon because he was very rebellious in the way he did not want to be a slave and wanted to be free. To do so, he had to buy himself from his owner. I liked how passionate he was and when he put his mind to something, he did it.

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Appropriate

I attended the play, Appropriate which was performed by the university’s theater department. The play was about three kids going to their father’s house with their children after their father has passed away. There was much tension all through the house as the siblings have not been in close contact over the years. Then one of the siblings finds a book that has pictures of the remains of black men.

All of the siblings are startled as they had no idea that their father was a supporter of the Klu Klux Klan. They are very upset and some are reluctant to think that their father would be part of such a group. They all have no idea what they should do with the book as they do not want their own children to see it. This play was very good and interesting in the way it explained what the different generations believed in or were apart of.

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Vietnam Protest Movement

Prior to watching this video, I was not aware of all the resistance that occurred in the US during the Vietnam war. People were very passionate and expressive about there feelings.  One example that struck me was Muhammad Ali, refusing to go into war after being drafted and getting stripped of his title.  It is crazy how far this went. While watching this video I was wondering, how did it get to the point where it was that bad?

While watching this video I was disturbed about how bad it got and how the movement traveled onto college campuses. Particularly the one in Kent State. The students were hit with tear gas and then they started shooting and killing four students and a dozen were wounded. It was noted that this was the climax of the anti-war movement and I totally agree with that statement.

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The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

The short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” started out being this perfect society where everyone was always happy. Towards the middle of the story, the reader learns that this society is not “perfect” at all. There is a locked room in a basement where a child is kept. The room is described to be very dirty. The child is being neglected and kept in very inhumane conditions. Children learn about this child when they are about 8-12 years old. Some children when they learn about this child want to do something to help but, they are told there is nothing they can do to help.

With that being said, I think this short story is an example of groupthink. This is because the people in Omelas are aware of this child and the condition it is in but, due to everyone saying there is nothing they can do they do not do anything about it.

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Slavery Without Submission

In the article, Slavery Without Submission, Zinn explains why the United States supported slavery.  Zinn explains why they supported it and the reason was the profit they made off of it. The cotton industry grew because of slaves and millions of slaves were producing cotton. In the article, Zinn says, “By 1860, it was a million tons. In the same period, 500,000 slaves grew to 4 million.” I found this crazy because it just kept growing and growing and they were making money off their labor.

On page 172 in the article, John Little who was a slave explained how people say slaves are happy because they would laugh and smile. They put on a face to keep out of trouble. Even though they are experiencing very harsh conditions they put on a smile to help others and themselves. He says, “We did it to keep down trouble, and to keep our hearts from being completely broken: that is as true as the gospel!” This really struck me because it really is heartbreaking what they had to go through.

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Tyranny is Tyranny

I found this article very interesting in that it gave a whole new perspective on how our country was founded. While reading Zinn’s article it goes into detail on how these wars were calculated and thought out carefully. I thought it was very interesting because I feel like I haven’t been taught the true meaning of the American Revolution and how it started and by reading this article it definitely clears it up.

Zinn also goes into how wealth was a big factor. The article shows how the poorer people have to work harder for wealthy goods while wealthy people are the ones benefiting from this and not the poor people.

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Domination/ Subordination

In Miller’s reading, she described what domination and subornation were and how they are important. She talks about the “superior” party and a “lesser” party in a society. I found this section interesting because I never looked at it in the way Miller did. She uses parents and children as an example and I think she is correct. In the text, she says, “The ‘superior’ party presumably has more of some ability or valuable quality, which she/he is supposed to impart to the ‘lesser’ person.” I do agree with her statement because when I look at it from the perspective of a parent and child this fits.

Miller also says that we have not found a good way to carry out central tasks. The central task of movement from unequal to equal. She then goes on to say, “Officially, we say we want to do things, but we often fail.” I found this very interesting but correct. It is just like she said earlier, we have not found a way to carry out certain tasks and sometimes if we try, we fail.

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Transactional and Transforming Leadership

Transforming Leadership seems to be a very effective leadership style. In Burns’s article, he suggests that leaders and followers raise each other to higher levels of motivation and morality. I feel this to be an effective leadership style because having the leaders and followers rasing each other higher and higher can improve any environment. An example Burns gave was Gandhi and he was an effective leader while using this method.

The other form of leadership in Burns’s article was called transactional leadership. This style is when one person takes initiative in making contact with others in exchange for other valued things. Burns says it is mainly political or economic. I feel as though this is the main one used today because it is shown to be used in a political background.

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Humility

I think that it is very important that Ruscio proposed the question “can our democracy survive a leader without humility?” He made some very valid points in which he discussed that humility is a necessity in being a good leader. He suggests that humility is not defined well enough and goes into depth of what humility means.

While reading this, I think humility is being overlooked by people. Ruscio also says how leaders are supposed to be firm and strong and humble doesn’t always make the list. He also says how humility is not a sign of weakness but people can sometimes view it that way. He argues that a good leader must have some level of humility in them. I agree with this because I think having some level of humility can make one a more effective leader. I don’t think it should be a sign of weakness but I do agree that it is being overlooked by most people.

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Allegory of the cave

I thought this was a very interesting video. I think it is very interesting how Plato suggest that we see things through socialization and how we perceive things could be in fact wrong. There are many factors that go into this such as social media, friends, family and multiple other things as well. While listening to the video a bunch of questions started to pop up in my head. I wondered why leadership really is and what characteristics go into one. There seems to be so many different characteristics, making it hard to define a good leader.

In the one article Gardner says “Leaders are almost never as much in charge as they are pictured to be, and followers almost never are as submissive as one might imagine.” I thought this was very interesting and I thought about it for a while because I wondered what he meant by “never as in charge as they are pictured”. And then later on in the text he says “A following must be earned” and I agree with this. The leader must do their job in order to gain followers such as earning trust, having the same beliefs, and goals.

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Charles I

Charles I was known as a very stubborn leader. He made bad decisions in difficult situations and also got into disagreements with other powerful men. He seemed to be gracious and loyal only when he wanted to which caused problems. Charles showed time after time that he could not be trusted.

Although Charles I had tyranny behaviors, I do not believe he was a tyrant leader. He was not a good leader and could not be trusted but in the end he didn’t deserve to die, in my opinion. Yes, he was an awful leader but there have been bad leaders in the past and will continue in the future. I also found interesting that he died in what he believed in. He did not want to take the plea deal and I think that showed the public a positive side to him. I think by killing Charles he became more famous and known by the public.

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Tyrannicide Response

Tyrannicide is a very controversial topic in today’s world. This is because it can be justified in multiple different ways. I thought it was very interesting when it mentioned the idea or actual killing of a tyrant leader can be justified as a good in society. This is because people view killing a tyrant as something that is morally acceptable. Also, some people view killing a tyrant as them “saving the nation”.

According to Andrade, he said that “tyrannicide is part of the American ethos”. In today’s world tyrannicide is being shown everywhere. This is including tv shows and movies such as The Lion King. Young children are being taught this and I find that very interesting. The children may not realize when watching the shows or movies but in the underlying meaning and the lyrics in the song suggests that there are examples of tyrannicide.

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Riggio and Charisma

This weeks readings were about Charisma. What I found interesting in these readings were that there are multiple different ways in defining charisma but, in the end they all have something that connects them to one another. In the one reading, it was talking about all the theories of charisma. While it talks about all the different theories, in the end it says how they all have the common themes of attracting attention, to communicate, and to effect followers at an emotional level. To me, I feel as though communication is a key part to being a charismatic leader. If you cannot communicate well with others, you do not have a chance to be a good effective leader, in my opinion.

What I also found interesting was the controversy over if charisma is something one learns or is born with. I feel as though they make a good compelling case for each of these. To me, I find it hard to choose one because I see both sides. I feel as though you can be born with the ability to be able to communicate well, can connect on an emotional level and have good vision of that too. But, that can also be taught. They mentioned a number of different leaders and one was MLK. Now, from what people see is that yes, he is a very charismatic person and carries all of those traits and it seems to be natural. But, just as we discussed in class we do not know for sure if he grew up like that or he had to be taught it. That for me messes with my mind because I see it both ways and they have good evidence to back each case up.

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