Role of a Soldier Today

        i.      War- Germany and Iraq

        ii.      Army- Spartan, Persia

       iii.      Soldier- jungle, guns

       iv.      Weapons- m16, sword

        v.      Woman- girl, mom

        vi.      Modern- warfare, ipod

        vii.      Greeks- Hercules, zeus

        viii.      Achilles- tendon, bad A

        ix.      Iraqi Soldiers- taliban, Osama

          x.      Change- weather, years

                   Two words that im going to analyze are Germany for war and taliban for iraqi soldiers. I chose these two words because probably the most gruesomest war our nation has ever been involved in was WWII. Germany was a new superpower that threatened the world with its radical ideas towards racial purity and form of power. Germany attempted at wiping out an entire religion/ race. Quite frankly, if no one had stepped in, i believe that the Nazis would've succeded in their efforts. Which leads into my next topic of the taliban. The taliban are not so different from the Nazis. They wish for the same thing as hitler had, racial and social purity. I obviously related this word with Iraqi soldiers because the first thing that came to my mind with iraq is the Taliban. The taliban are strong believers in terrorism which cause the 9/11 attacks which caused us to go to iraq to find Osama bin Ladena nad sadam hussein.

2. modern day i believe are alot more publicized and worshiped where as in the past in was more expected that someone was to fight in the army and serve their city. Achilles was more feared instead of praised as such people are. Instead of it just being a singular idol such as Achilles, its more of the entire military as a whole that we look towards and show respect.

3. I think someone would consider modern day soldiers as epic heros because of the technological advances they have to face in combat, whereas in ancient times they didn't have to face it. For example, i think i would fear a gun way more than a sword. My chances at defeating my opponent with a sword are alot higher than going against someone with a firarm. Dont get me wrong i believe hand to hand combat is a very difficult form of warfare i just think with modern day advances, soldiers have to be alot more courageous than those of past times.  

Democracy

I believe that the United states has a form of democracy instilled into our system. Reason why i feel this way is because we are able to elect our leaders; however we do not possess the power to vote on crucial decisions that could affect the nation as a whole. Such as wars and laws that are passed by senate, congress, and the President. What we did was we took the Greek method of democracy and we altered it slightly. So that the way it works now is that we are given candidates running for presidency, congress, senate, governor, and mayors. They give us their "sales" pitch about how they feel on certain subjects and we elect them to positions.

The only strength about our democracy is that we are able to choose whom we want to be in those specific spot. Weakness is that as i stated above, we as the people don't have the ability to decide if we want a certain bill passed, or if we should take certain military action. All those choices are made the people that we elected. Problem being is that they might say they’re for a certain thing when campaigning , but come time when they’re in their seat of power they sometimes change.

A solution that i think would somewhat solve the current problem is that we as the people should have the opportunity to decide on some serious topics that could alter our daily lives. Just as the Greeks had done with their methods of using black and white stones. However, we'd need to find a much more efficent method to save on time. But with the pace of the world us voting on every little decision would pose serious problems in the regard of time. And would be a very long process to get anything done.

The Greeks methods of democracy were obviously successful. Reason i say this is because look out the sudden jump of prosperity and power the nation saw once this method was instilled. They saw victory in their economy, education, and military dominance in the world. However, these are different times. I can understand why our democracy is set up the way it is. The world is changing, the pace of things moves at such a more rapid rate then it did back in the day of the Athenians or the Spartans. Certain decisions need to be made right away to avoid further conflict in the country. Its a very debatable topic, that could go either way. I think that although it may seem our system is flawed, it must be pretty much peaked in efficiency because of all the time we've been able to perfect it as a country.

Pre Read for the Iliad

1. I believe that there are many things an individual would want to fight for, maybe even die for infact. For me personally i would fight and die for those that i care for. It sounds a bit extreme but i know that those i care for would do the same for me. Its not a hard thing to want to fight for something, just as long as you feel passionate about it, you'll be suprised that lenghts that you will go to protect whatever it is your trying to keep safe.

2. My father is one i would say follows a code of honor in his conduct. because of the recent recession he has been forced to make tough choices when dealing with those he..to be continued.

3. It sounds a bit rediculous, someone being guided or "touched" by a divine power. You hear people regularly proclaim that they have, and most of the time they turn out to be some crazy homeless guy who spends his time talking to himself. However, i know of someone very close and dear who has had a said touching experience. I believe that he has because of the changes he made in his life. Devin is my older brother, there is approximately four years seperating us and we happen to be right next to eachother in the line up of children. Devin has often regarded himself as the "middle child" or the "black sheep" of the family and actually, for a while, we thought that he was. The way he handled situations, his outlook on life was so much different to that of the rest of the family, that we were very much so convinced that he was different. After he began high school Devin began making choices and decisions that he would greatly regret in the later years of his life. My parents and the rest of the family were very concerned about the path he was going down. Seemed like at every corner things were getting worse and worse. Two years after graduating from high school it seemed Devin's life had come to a complete stand still, he hadn't seen progression whatsoever in every aspect of his life. He hadn't been accepted to college, a church mission didn't look like it would happen, his friends were still making dumb choices and now my parents were threatening to cut him off completely. After coming to the realization that if he didn't pull it together he would either wind up on the streets or in jail , he decided to start taking church more seriously. He began by daily prayer and scripture study, he constantly asked for forgivness for his actions and those that he hurt. Finally one day he said that after saying prayer he suddenly had a very calming feeling come over him. after returning home i saw a new and improved older brother that i finally got along with. He is currently serving a church mission in Philidelphia Pennsylvania and is doing well.

Oedipus Rex Blog #1

1. Bradley Calaway, a young man who lives in a small town known as Ellensburg Washington, has started on his last quest at Ellensburg High school. He will encounter many trials this year as a senior, things such as major choices for his future, projects due that are crucial for graduation, and living his life this year with no regrets. The brown haired blue eyed youg man has many goals he wishes to accomplish in his life. Bradley will attend college and soon afterward find a career that he is happy with. However, he will soon come to the realization that he is destined for greater things than that of peasents. So he sets out on a conquest with his good friends D Chaff, to find the golden city of El Derado, conquer its inhabitants and take the riches for themselves. After doing so they will buy the continent of Central America and become the wealthiest men ever. Shortly after doing so, the realize that Central America really wasn’t that great of a purchase to have made. So the set out north and attempt to take over North America. However the U.S. military was too much and they both were thrown into jail.

2. In the story Oedipus the king, i believe the story will end in the following manner: Oedipus comes to the realization the he actually was the one who killed laius the king and that he married his mom (disgusting i know). However, even with the knowledge that he is truly guilty, he will refuse to believe that it was him and will try and cover up the inccident. Oedipus will attempt at killing the seer, Creon, and the slave whom resides in the fields because he doesn't want to give up his power. Despite his efforts, Creon will see this coming because of the help from the seer who will for see these events coming to past. Oedipus will be prosecuted for his actions and will be put to death. And Creon will take power in Thebes.

3. I don’t believe that my life story or my “destiny” has already been chosen/written. I strongly feel and believe that I have the right to choose my fate. I can achieve this by how I conduct myself in my everyday life. Essentially its choices that make who we are, and where we will go. We were put on this earth as a test, to see that even with temptation we can somehow return to where we came from. Fate can also be summarized as “outcome”, what will be the outcome of my life? Just as students study for a test or put forth effort in a project, whatever work they put forth into their “project” a.k.a their life, they will see the outcome of it all. That is why its so important to make good choices. If you want a good fate/destiny, make the right choices now so that you will have a good future. This is what my philosophy is on this matter.

Biography

i. Name? Bradley Calaway
ii. Birth Date? April 8th, 1994
iii. Hometown? Ellensburg
iv. Job? farming in the summer time.
v. Internect access at home (yes or no)? Yes.
vi: What is your attitude towards reading? I enjoy reading alot if the book captivates and holds my attention.
vii. What is your attitude towards writing? Depends on the topic im writing about, but for the most part I enjoy writing
viii. What is your attitude towards public speaking? i enjoy it public speaking.
ix. What is your attitude towards English class in general? I struggle with english, when it comes to grammar and conjunctions i kind of get my butt kicked. However i can put up with it.
x. What are your career plans after high school? I plan on going to college after high shcool, pursuing a degree in business.
xi. Favorite movie: Transformers
xii. Favorite book: Harry Potter 7
xiii. Favorite Video Game: Call of Duty's
xiv. Favorite color: blue
xv. Favorite sport: snowmobiling
xvi. Favorite sports team: Florida Gators
xvii. Favorite Activity out of school: working out.
xviii. Favorite food: Alfredo pasta
xix. Favorite Quote: "Many of lifes failures are people who didn't realize how close they were to success when they gave up" - Thomas Edison
xx. If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go and why? I would go to Hawaii because everyone i've talked to says it's the best and i've always had a desire to go there.