Burnt but Never Forgotten, Revised

If I were a living book, and the last of my kind, I would choose to be the King James Version of The Holy Bible, or at least a couple books within The Bible :)

I think that if Ray Bradbury’s ideas in Fahrenheit 451 were to come true then all versions of The Holy Bible would be the first and most sought out books to be burned. Although the Bible for some people is a source that gives us happiness, understanding of purpose, and describes our creation; for others that don't believe and agree with what the Bible says would want the Bible destroyed. Some people don't like to be told that the way they live is not right and should be changed. Those people would find the Bible to be a source of unhappiness. There are so many different ways that people believe we were created and reasons for existence that those who don't agree with the Bible would be upset that it states that it is the ONLY answer.  As the character, in Ray’s book, Faber states, “Lord, how we’ve changed [The Bible] in our ‘parlors’ these days” (pg. 81). I think that the government and officials would change the book as a way for meeting their own needs. Erasing anything that could offend anyone, thus changing the word itself. And they would burn The Holy Bible that way no one could refute what they say to be true. I wish that in the real world more people would stand up for preserving The Holy Bible and not allow nearly all versions to be burned like they did in the book.

In Fahrenheit 451 the people couldn't understand the language that Shakespeare and other authors used. If they couldn't understand their language then they certainly won’t understand the language The Bible uses. For this reason I believe that people would be even more confused with the Bible and that would upset them as well. Some people do not like that which they can not understand. In Ray's world I believe this would be another reason to burn The Bible, to save people the emotional distress of trying to decipher and make sense of the words.

Although I have never read the entire Bible, the thought of having it burned and losing all that the Bible says is hard for me to accept. I would never want to lose it and would do my best to remember as much of it as I could. I think if I had to choose only one or two books because that’s all my brain would retain I would probably start with the new testament, Matthew, Luke, or John. There is just something about those books that I really enjoy and wouldn’t want to be lost. If I chose a book from the Old Testament, it would be the first book, Genesis. That book describes the way God created the earth and it is always good to remember how things started. I think it is important to never forget and stand up for what you believe in and where each of us came from. I believe in God and Jesus Christ and the words of The Bible so that is what I would stand up for and become, the living Bible. I know some people aren’t religious or have different religious beliefs than I, and I recommend they stand up for their beliefs and themselves. Everyone needs to stay awake and not become another drone walking around wasting such a precious thing as life. If everyone rolls over and lets their book be burned then we won’t have any living books and our past will be lost and forgotten.



I really hate re-posting this link; however, this is exactly the type of person that I think would be the first to hold a match to a Bible and any Bible that he could get his hands on. 

Violence 101, Revised

If a child plays violent video games, they are going to grow up to be a more aggressive and violent person.

Just because a child plays violent video games does not necessarily mean they are going to be a more aggressive and violent person.

I don’t think there is one answer to violence in this world. I’m sure people would like to pin point one primary cause to a number of problems in this world, but the truth is there is no ONE answer to a lot of problems. I think this makes people very uncomfortable. If there is a problem then it would be nice to just have one answer and simply eliminate the problem all together, but that is sometimes impossible. 

There have been many studies on whether violent video games affect children and cause them to be more violent. Some studies have shown that playing violent games leads to increased physiological arousal, increased aggressive thoughts, increased aggressive feelings, and increased aggressive behaviors. 

Another study shows that children who were exposed to more video game violence did become more aggressive over time than their peers who had less exposure.   

One more study shows the brain activity in a person who played a violent video game versus one that did not play a violent video game. 

The person who played the violent video game had more activity in the part of the brain that displays emotion, and a decrease in activity in the part of the brain that shows self-control, inhibition and attention. With these studies it makes the problem seem so simple, cut out violent video games and your child won’t grow up to be a violent or aggressive person right? Here are some other factors to think about.

Child abuse and neglect could possibly lead to violent behavior later in life, according to the Surgeon General Report. It also goes on to say that youth violence tends to begin at puberty and adolescence and ends when the person transitions into adulthood. Therefore, aggressive and violent children don’t necessarily turn into violent adults. The Surgeon General also states that most children that are highly aggressive and have behavioral problems do not, I repeat, do not become serious violent offenders.  Even if video games do make children more aggressive, that shouldn’t transfer into adult life. Once again, this is from the Surgeon General Report.

A lot of people think that aggression in children is greatly influenced by video games and in turn will make them violent adults. I don’t think you can blame violence on just video games. I look more to the way the parents raised the child, the quality of their home and school life, psychological disorders, stressors like losing their job or husband/wife (in violent adults), etc. There are just so many factors to consider and there is no ONE answer to this problem and many other problems. People just have to live life knowing that and make the best out of the answers they do have.

Technology HAS Changed Human Society, Revised

Technology has changed human society in many ways. The technological inventions of computers, telephones, and gaming consoles have all changed the way we; communicate with each other, spend free time, and work. I'm going to talk about the computer and technology's advances in social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace and the ways these websites have changed human society. "Social media and social networking are more than a challenge to today's institutions they have the potential to change the very DNA of human society" according to Social Media Today.  These sites can be used for good or bad effects on society depending on the ways people use them since it is not only an easier way to communicate with friends, but also a better way for predators to find people and get personal information.

Some of the positive effects that social networking has on human society include; faster and easier communication with other people over further distances, easier way to stay in contact with society through these mediums than in person, people with the same interests can find one another, and individuals with the same schools/jobs can find each other to stay in touch.  You don't have to wait at your door a week straight waiting for the mail person to deliver an envelope anymore, your message is delivered in a matter of seconds no matter how far the distance. If someone is interested in a particular band and wants to discuss the latest album with another Green Day fanatic, there's a page for that. After ten years, you decide to find people you graduated with, chances are, there is even a page to find them. There are great benefits in order to keep in contact with other people in society.

Some of the negative effects that social networking has on human society include; giving predators the ability to better locate and interact with unsuspecting prey, less face-to-face interaction, and security issues. Any predator can get online, sign up for the social network under an alias, mask their age/race/sex and find/prey upon any member of society not aware of the tactic. With more social networks face-to-face contact has dropped drastically between teens. According to the National School Board Association "teens spend an average of nine hours per week on social networking sites" (NSBA, 2007) that could be spent face-to-face with other teens. Security issues also have to be considered, not only can social predators be encountered, but also digital predators. Digital predators can "hack" your computer and access personal and banking information and they can steal your identity and credit card information if the right tools are used.



All-in-all I think that social networking improves human society. If children have monitored access to these site as to avoid predators, social interaction is encouraged therefore avoiding anti-social computer drones for the next generation, and people know the proper ways to protect their privacy I think it will stay a positive addition to human society. I am an avid Facebook-er and it helps me stay in contact with friends and family. My profile is set to private and I don't share personal information that could put me at risk such as location and job/personal information. People just have to protect their social and digital selves.

I found a great site called http://socialnetworking.procon.org/ which goes much more in depth than my blog does for anyone who wants to learn more about the pros and cons that social networking has on human society.

Hi Everyone

My name is Marisa. I'm really looking forward to getting to know everyone :)