Happiness, Meaning, and Personal Ethics
Reflection
For this project we were instructed to write a written piece and create a visual piece, answering one of the essential questions. The essential question that I was answering what is happiness and what makes me happy. The inspiration behind this idea was looking at how people really don't connect with each other as much as they should and instead find false happiness in other things. The main idea in the art piece Max Jaye and I worked on together was the importance of human connection. We created a small stencil and spray painted our little logo saying "hold-on" near the river trail and on some bridges so people will hopefully see than, and truly value the time they are spending together.
Through this project I have learned more about why some people may do the things that they do. After learning about existentialism and how hopeless people can feel I started to understand why people do some of these crazy things. Chris Mccandles is an awesome example of how I learned to appreciate people and their reasoning for going on these journeys. Really just thinking about how everyone is on their own path to happiness, but looks just like everyone elses I can understand why someone would want to remove himself from a place where he can't be himself or be an individual. Before learning about why he would do this I was shocked and thought he was honestly foolish or crazy, but I have just come to respect him for doing his own thing that made him happy. I could never leave because I care too much about what is going on in my town and other meaningless things, I wish I could get up one day and trek into Alaska just because I felt like it.
Through this project I learned a lot however I think I am finishing this project with more questions than answers. The biggest question that leads into a lot of other questions and ideas is "will I have lived a happy life?". I want more than anything, to be happy when I talk about living my life. I am not worried about the amount of money I will have, or where I will live, just as long as I have a close family around I think I will have lived a fairly happy life. However this gets me thinking, I find happiness is family, other find happiness in being alone. Is there a better path to happiness? Doesn't sound like it, so how are we even measuring happiness? If happiness isn't one constant that everyone has agreed on. I really don't know. A question that I need to figure out is what will make my life meaningful, right now I find happiness in making people laugh and smile but that happiness isn't found in myself, however this happiness is found through other people, does that mean if I'm alone I'm sad? I don't think so. I think that meaning and happiness go hand-in-hand. Once I find what is meaningful to me, I might be able to discover what happiness is to me, when it isn't found through other people.
Through this project I have learned more about why some people may do the things that they do. After learning about existentialism and how hopeless people can feel I started to understand why people do some of these crazy things. Chris Mccandles is an awesome example of how I learned to appreciate people and their reasoning for going on these journeys. Really just thinking about how everyone is on their own path to happiness, but looks just like everyone elses I can understand why someone would want to remove himself from a place where he can't be himself or be an individual. Before learning about why he would do this I was shocked and thought he was honestly foolish or crazy, but I have just come to respect him for doing his own thing that made him happy. I could never leave because I care too much about what is going on in my town and other meaningless things, I wish I could get up one day and trek into Alaska just because I felt like it.
Through this project I learned a lot however I think I am finishing this project with more questions than answers. The biggest question that leads into a lot of other questions and ideas is "will I have lived a happy life?". I want more than anything, to be happy when I talk about living my life. I am not worried about the amount of money I will have, or where I will live, just as long as I have a close family around I think I will have lived a fairly happy life. However this gets me thinking, I find happiness is family, other find happiness in being alone. Is there a better path to happiness? Doesn't sound like it, so how are we even measuring happiness? If happiness isn't one constant that everyone has agreed on. I really don't know. A question that I need to figure out is what will make my life meaningful, right now I find happiness in making people laugh and smile but that happiness isn't found in myself, however this happiness is found through other people, does that mean if I'm alone I'm sad? I don't think so. I think that meaning and happiness go hand-in-hand. Once I find what is meaningful to me, I might be able to discover what happiness is to me, when it isn't found through other people.
Visual Piece
Personal Philosophy Written Piece
Focusing Question- What is Happiness and What Makes You Happy
By: Brenden Wedertz
Happiness isn’t a feeling in a specific moment; it is being content with what you have and learning to appreciate the smaller things. Although I have only lived 16 years, when I reflect on my life and on the things that have made me the most happy I see that it is the moments shared with my family and friends. There are many misconceptions to what makes people happy, and it has taken me a little while to understand what has made me truly happy, but now that I have some understanding what makes me happy, I want to share it.
The biggest misconception about happiness is that money is the key. I agree that more problems can stem from struggling financially but more money doesn’t lead to more happiness, or happiness easier. In the Huffington Post article, “Here Is The Income Level At Which Money Won’t Make You Any Happier In Each State” written by Kevin Short, explains the amount of income your household makes, can increases your day-to-day well being to a certain point, but making more than that amount doesn’t really increase your happiness. This quote from the Huffington post further explains this idea. “According to the researchers behind the original Princeton study, your emotional well-being — or the pleasure you derive from day-to-day experiences — doesn’t get any better after your household is earning roughly $75,000. That said, a term they call “life evaluation” — or how you feel about your life and accomplishments — can continue to rise with higher income and education levels.” Understanding that money can possibly make you feel a bit better about your life, more money doesn’t necessarily lead to more happiness once you are able to pay the bills, eat, and have some extra spending money.
Reflecting on my life, and on what has made me happy, I don’t think of the amount of money I had in my pocket. I remember feeling loved and appreciated by my friends and family. I specifically remember feeling like a part of something bigger and I’m able to forget about some of my problems when we have barbeques or family dinner. When we eat around the table, or outside as a family, there is so much love and appreciation that it is hard not to be in a good mood. This is happiness in the moment but happiness from family and friends is different from happiness obtained from having money. Your happiness can be limited by money; however, having more friends or being closer with your family couldn’t hurt you at all.
Clearly there isn’t one simple path or answer to find happiness, however I truly believe that one way everyone can achieve some kind of happiness from being close with your fellow human. To clarify, I’m not saying trust every single person you meet and be extremely open and personal;however I don’t see how building stronger bonds with your friends, family, and other people you trust couldn’t lead to more happiness. I experience the most happiness from interacting with people whom I have strong and honest connections with. A study was conducted in 2002 at the University of Illinois by Ed Diener and Martin Seligman, two professors of psychology. This test was on 10% of the students who scored the highest on a personal happiness survey. This study concluded that the most noticeable characteristic in the happiest students were “their strong ties to friends and family and commitment to spending time with them.” (“The New Science of Happiness,” Claudia Wallis, Time Magazine, Jan. 09, 2005).
I don’t know the right way to be happy, because there isn’t one. Everyone is different therefore people value different things, however I believe that one shared value is being connected with your family and friends. I know everyone doesn’t get the same kind of satisfaction from interacting with their friends however I have never met someone who hasn’t want a friend or someone to be there. Understanding that everyone values different things, the one thing that makes everyone happy is feeling that you are connected with the people around you. Happiness to me is making meaningful moments with my friends and family, everyone can find some kind of happiness from honestly interacting with your loved ones.
By: Brenden Wedertz
Happiness isn’t a feeling in a specific moment; it is being content with what you have and learning to appreciate the smaller things. Although I have only lived 16 years, when I reflect on my life and on the things that have made me the most happy I see that it is the moments shared with my family and friends. There are many misconceptions to what makes people happy, and it has taken me a little while to understand what has made me truly happy, but now that I have some understanding what makes me happy, I want to share it.
The biggest misconception about happiness is that money is the key. I agree that more problems can stem from struggling financially but more money doesn’t lead to more happiness, or happiness easier. In the Huffington Post article, “Here Is The Income Level At Which Money Won’t Make You Any Happier In Each State” written by Kevin Short, explains the amount of income your household makes, can increases your day-to-day well being to a certain point, but making more than that amount doesn’t really increase your happiness. This quote from the Huffington post further explains this idea. “According to the researchers behind the original Princeton study, your emotional well-being — or the pleasure you derive from day-to-day experiences — doesn’t get any better after your household is earning roughly $75,000. That said, a term they call “life evaluation” — or how you feel about your life and accomplishments — can continue to rise with higher income and education levels.” Understanding that money can possibly make you feel a bit better about your life, more money doesn’t necessarily lead to more happiness once you are able to pay the bills, eat, and have some extra spending money.
Reflecting on my life, and on what has made me happy, I don’t think of the amount of money I had in my pocket. I remember feeling loved and appreciated by my friends and family. I specifically remember feeling like a part of something bigger and I’m able to forget about some of my problems when we have barbeques or family dinner. When we eat around the table, or outside as a family, there is so much love and appreciation that it is hard not to be in a good mood. This is happiness in the moment but happiness from family and friends is different from happiness obtained from having money. Your happiness can be limited by money; however, having more friends or being closer with your family couldn’t hurt you at all.
Clearly there isn’t one simple path or answer to find happiness, however I truly believe that one way everyone can achieve some kind of happiness from being close with your fellow human. To clarify, I’m not saying trust every single person you meet and be extremely open and personal;however I don’t see how building stronger bonds with your friends, family, and other people you trust couldn’t lead to more happiness. I experience the most happiness from interacting with people whom I have strong and honest connections with. A study was conducted in 2002 at the University of Illinois by Ed Diener and Martin Seligman, two professors of psychology. This test was on 10% of the students who scored the highest on a personal happiness survey. This study concluded that the most noticeable characteristic in the happiest students were “their strong ties to friends and family and commitment to spending time with them.” (“The New Science of Happiness,” Claudia Wallis, Time Magazine, Jan. 09, 2005).
I don’t know the right way to be happy, because there isn’t one. Everyone is different therefore people value different things, however I believe that one shared value is being connected with your family and friends. I know everyone doesn’t get the same kind of satisfaction from interacting with their friends however I have never met someone who hasn’t want a friend or someone to be there. Understanding that everyone values different things, the one thing that makes everyone happy is feeling that you are connected with the people around you. Happiness to me is making meaningful moments with my friends and family, everyone can find some kind of happiness from honestly interacting with your loved ones.
Rhetoric Project
Through this project we were assigned with choosing a very controversial topic and, use rhetoric or talk about the rhetoric revolving your chosen topic. The final product could have included anything from poetry, speeches, TED Talks, and also a written Op-Ed or open letter. I chose to write an Op-Ed on the potential benefits that industrial hemp offers and some of the reasons that it has been misclassified as a narcotic when even though it helps more than it hurts.
Legalization of Hemp Ted Talk
Hemp Op-Ed
We have the opportunity to change the ways we are building our society, with a more environmentally friendly resource. So why not cultivate a plant that doesn’t hurt but instead helps? Hemp is a far more eco friendly alternative to the deforestation that we have become accustom to. With more research coming out over the last couple of years we now know how useful hemp can really be. Industrial hemp is the solution, however the U.S. government has classified hemp as a Schedule 1 narcotic that is enforced by the DEA, when it should have never been banned.
In 2014, Congress passed a Farm Bill allowing universities and state departments of agriculture to cultivate industrial hemp. The National Conference of State Legislatures explains how the hemp can only be cultivated by universities and state department agriculture programs for purposes of research (“State Industrial Hemp Statutes” 5). The growing operation would have to be within the state laws, registered and certified by the state to be a legal operation.This has been a huge step in the legalization of cultivating hemp, but it isn’t enough. We still need to push the legality of this incredibly helpful plant.
While it is illegal to cultivate hemp, this plant is already extremely integrated into our country. According to the North American Industrial Hemp Council (NAIHC), hemp can be used to create over 25,000 products, ranging from health foods, clothing, construction materials, to of course paper. This ban doesn’t do anything minimize the amount of products made from hemp but instead outsources these growing operations and then import the plant. We are not only creating a middleman, but also losing money by importing something we can create ourselves. It is outrageous for people to claim that this plant is dangerous enough to be considered a Schedule 1 narcotic while attaching some of the most serious criminal penalties, but still support the crop by legally building with it. Hemp is widely prevalent in the US even when it is proclaimed as illegal, it is ridiculous that we continue to ban this miracle crop.
If there wasn’t potential in this plant, do you think that the United States would be the world's largest consumer of it? In a recent International Business Times article Kathleen Caulderwood references the executive director of the Hemp Industries Association, explains that The United States is the largest consumer of industrial hemp, and in 2013 $580 million worth of hemp with predicted double-digit growth (Streensta, as cited by Caulderwood). Clearly, this plant is being supported, even though growing industrial hemp is illegal. Americans are currently behind in the industrial hemp movement, already seeing the economic benefits we could be leading this operation and producing more economical and environmental benefits. If you aren’t in support of hemp because of the environmental or economic potential, do it for the hardworking U.S. farmers who are just trying to make an honest living.
Even though we are moving towards a more technologically advanced world, the need for change in the paper industry has never been more apparent. In the Times article “Here’s How Many Trees Humans Cut Down Each Year,” Justin Worland writes: “People cut down 15 billion trees each year and the global tree count has fallen by 46% since the beginning of human civilization.” Hemp has the potential to keep up with the world's paper needs, without hurting the environment. According to Katarina Maloney, the co-founder of Hemp Help, “Although more than 95 percent of paper is made from wood pulp, hemp can play the same role. It can be recycled twice as many times as wood pulp, it can produce three to four times as much fiber per hectare as typical forests and even twice as much as a pine plantation.” Hemp reduces the time, and trees wasted, while maximizes the amount of paper cultivated, really ask yourself why are we continuing to execute our breathing source when there is a clear, more environmentally friendly paper alternative. “While genetically modified crops (GMOs) typically require pesticides, herbicide and synthetic fertilizers to survive, hemp does not. It can grow organically almost anywhere.” With less restrictions on growing conditions, with the ability to produce more paper, and the chance for it to be recyed more, hemp is the only clear solution to deforestation, and overall a cleaner planet.
While understanding the opportunity that hemp poses in the paper industry, we shouldn’t ignore the many other ways hemp can benefit us and our world. Aside from the stock of the plant, hemp has other potential. The oils from the seeds can be extracted to be a source of renewable fuel.
In a 2008 study at the University of Connecticut performed an experiment examining the chance of using hemp seed oil as a biofuel. Richard Parnas was one of the scientists involved in the experiment and he sees the potential for fuel in the oil extracted from hemp seeds. In the article “Hemp Produces Viable Biodiesel, UConn Study Finds” Parnas explains “If someone is already growing hemp they might be able to produce enough fuel to power their whole farm with the oil from the seeds they produce.” (as cited in Buckely) The experiment also concluded that the oils extracted from the seeds had an extremely impressive conversion rate, 97% of the oils were successfully converted into a biodiesel fuel source. This means that we could be driving our cars on a renewable plant that converts almost all of its oils to energy, but instead we are using non-renewable, toxic substance that is damaging to our environment.
Understanding that even though hemp has a lot of potential to change the way we produce and create many objects in our world today, it is still considered a schedule 1 narcotic. Hemps misclassification stems from the unjust propaganda affiliated with hemp due to its genetic similarities with marijuana, and the potential risks that come with growing a crop related to an illegal substance. However, these potential risks can be disproved by having a strong understanding of what hemp is, and understanding there are ways to distinguish between the two. The main difference is the amount of THC in each plant. We wouldn’t be the first, or only country cultivating hemp while having clear contrast between the hemp and marijuana. Logan Yonavjak a published forbes writer claims that 31 countries grow industrial hemp, classifying hemp with between 0.2 and 0.3 percent THC, while marijuana plants generally contain between 3 and 15 percent THC. 31 countries wouldn’t be legally growing and manufacturing this crop if there weren’t any benefits. With such an effective way to determine which type of cannabis plant you have, we shouldn’t be demonizing the whole plant species just because one type of the plant is a drug.
In 2014, Congress passed a Farm Bill allowing universities and state departments of agriculture to cultivate industrial hemp. The National Conference of State Legislatures explains how the hemp can only be cultivated by universities and state department agriculture programs for purposes of research (“State Industrial Hemp Statutes” 5). The growing operation would have to be within the state laws, registered and certified by the state to be a legal operation.This has been a huge step in the legalization of cultivating hemp, but it isn’t enough. We still need to push the legality of this incredibly helpful plant.
While it is illegal to cultivate hemp, this plant is already extremely integrated into our country. According to the North American Industrial Hemp Council (NAIHC), hemp can be used to create over 25,000 products, ranging from health foods, clothing, construction materials, to of course paper. This ban doesn’t do anything minimize the amount of products made from hemp but instead outsources these growing operations and then import the plant. We are not only creating a middleman, but also losing money by importing something we can create ourselves. It is outrageous for people to claim that this plant is dangerous enough to be considered a Schedule 1 narcotic while attaching some of the most serious criminal penalties, but still support the crop by legally building with it. Hemp is widely prevalent in the US even when it is proclaimed as illegal, it is ridiculous that we continue to ban this miracle crop.
If there wasn’t potential in this plant, do you think that the United States would be the world's largest consumer of it? In a recent International Business Times article Kathleen Caulderwood references the executive director of the Hemp Industries Association, explains that The United States is the largest consumer of industrial hemp, and in 2013 $580 million worth of hemp with predicted double-digit growth (Streensta, as cited by Caulderwood). Clearly, this plant is being supported, even though growing industrial hemp is illegal. Americans are currently behind in the industrial hemp movement, already seeing the economic benefits we could be leading this operation and producing more economical and environmental benefits. If you aren’t in support of hemp because of the environmental or economic potential, do it for the hardworking U.S. farmers who are just trying to make an honest living.
Even though we are moving towards a more technologically advanced world, the need for change in the paper industry has never been more apparent. In the Times article “Here’s How Many Trees Humans Cut Down Each Year,” Justin Worland writes: “People cut down 15 billion trees each year and the global tree count has fallen by 46% since the beginning of human civilization.” Hemp has the potential to keep up with the world's paper needs, without hurting the environment. According to Katarina Maloney, the co-founder of Hemp Help, “Although more than 95 percent of paper is made from wood pulp, hemp can play the same role. It can be recycled twice as many times as wood pulp, it can produce three to four times as much fiber per hectare as typical forests and even twice as much as a pine plantation.” Hemp reduces the time, and trees wasted, while maximizes the amount of paper cultivated, really ask yourself why are we continuing to execute our breathing source when there is a clear, more environmentally friendly paper alternative. “While genetically modified crops (GMOs) typically require pesticides, herbicide and synthetic fertilizers to survive, hemp does not. It can grow organically almost anywhere.” With less restrictions on growing conditions, with the ability to produce more paper, and the chance for it to be recyed more, hemp is the only clear solution to deforestation, and overall a cleaner planet.
While understanding the opportunity that hemp poses in the paper industry, we shouldn’t ignore the many other ways hemp can benefit us and our world. Aside from the stock of the plant, hemp has other potential. The oils from the seeds can be extracted to be a source of renewable fuel.
In a 2008 study at the University of Connecticut performed an experiment examining the chance of using hemp seed oil as a biofuel. Richard Parnas was one of the scientists involved in the experiment and he sees the potential for fuel in the oil extracted from hemp seeds. In the article “Hemp Produces Viable Biodiesel, UConn Study Finds” Parnas explains “If someone is already growing hemp they might be able to produce enough fuel to power their whole farm with the oil from the seeds they produce.” (as cited in Buckely) The experiment also concluded that the oils extracted from the seeds had an extremely impressive conversion rate, 97% of the oils were successfully converted into a biodiesel fuel source. This means that we could be driving our cars on a renewable plant that converts almost all of its oils to energy, but instead we are using non-renewable, toxic substance that is damaging to our environment.
Understanding that even though hemp has a lot of potential to change the way we produce and create many objects in our world today, it is still considered a schedule 1 narcotic. Hemps misclassification stems from the unjust propaganda affiliated with hemp due to its genetic similarities with marijuana, and the potential risks that come with growing a crop related to an illegal substance. However, these potential risks can be disproved by having a strong understanding of what hemp is, and understanding there are ways to distinguish between the two. The main difference is the amount of THC in each plant. We wouldn’t be the first, or only country cultivating hemp while having clear contrast between the hemp and marijuana. Logan Yonavjak a published forbes writer claims that 31 countries grow industrial hemp, classifying hemp with between 0.2 and 0.3 percent THC, while marijuana plants generally contain between 3 and 15 percent THC. 31 countries wouldn’t be legally growing and manufacturing this crop if there weren’t any benefits. With such an effective way to determine which type of cannabis plant you have, we shouldn’t be demonizing the whole plant species just because one type of the plant is a drug.
Rhetoric Project Reflection
Through this project we were assigned with choosing a very controversial topic and, use rhetoric or talk about the rhetoric revolving your chosen topic. The final product could have included anything from poetry, speeches, TED Talks, and also a written Op-Ed or open letter. I chose to write an Op-Ed on the potential benefits that industrial hemp offers and some of the reasons that it has been misclassified as a narcotic when even though it helps more than it hurts. My visual presentation that I displayed during the exhibition was a TED Talk advocating for the full legalization of industrial hemp.
Through this project I was able to use my rhetoric to test people’s ideas, and also shape their knowledge about industrial hemp. I first tested ideas by informing people that hemp and marijuana aren’t the same thing even though they are very similar, and then strongly advocating hemps incredibly beneficial uses. This might have test ideas by challenging people’s views and beliefs of a useful plant that has been demonized by negative propaganda, and unjustly misclassified as a drug. I was able to shape their knowledge of industrial hemp by explaining my research and understanding that hemp is extremely useful. After discovering that hemp can be used as renewable source of fuel, has the potential to drastically decrease deforestation, and can create 25,000 other environmentally friendly products, hemp is clearly more than a drug and I wanted the audiences new hemp knowable to be based off of facts and potential, not propaganda and lies.
This project has been one of the most relatable and engaging projects I have ever created at Animas High School. I was able to connect with this project in ways that I never really have with work before. I connected with this project by doing research not because I had to, but because I was truly interested in reading more about the current situation, or the reasons it has been deemed as a schedule 1 narcotic. I was able to connect with this project on such a deep level because it is something that I am very interested in. The freedom that was given to us when researching a topic has never been presented to me in this way and it truly was an experience that I was ready to make the most of. The thing that I liked most about studying these topics was how free and undirected we were in the research process. This allowed me to begin to understand both sides of this issue. From international business magazines to pro-marijuana magazines and websites all delivered information that had its own kind of bias, this allowed me to develop a very open wide perspective on this issue.
Creating a Ted Talk was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. If I had to do this over I would write a poem even though I am not a fan of poetry. I really think that is just the most effective way to deliver your emotion on a subject. My ted talk was filled with information, but really lacked the creative and emotional part of traditional TedTalks. If I wrote a poem I am very sure that I could have pulled more emotion out of the audience. Although I really enjoyed creating a Ted Talk with the commonsense emotion that it had, I would have liked even more of a response from the audience.
I have learned that rhetoric is a huge part of everyone's everyday life. It has influenced the way I think, my beliefs, and our country because of what people are able to do with the use of effective rhetoric. For example country leaders have used rhetoric to get elected, and from a position in power they are able to bring serious change to the world. The American experience is rhetoric. Rhetoric in America swarms you no matter where you are or what you are doing, from simple commercials, to complex presidential campaigns rhetoric is a very influential action. The rhetoric affects my ideology because the information I am receiving is the structure of my beliefs. I learned that rhetoric has really influenced what I believe, because rhetoric is an exchange of information, I have ultimately learned from rhetoric.
Through this project I was able to use my rhetoric to test people’s ideas, and also shape their knowledge about industrial hemp. I first tested ideas by informing people that hemp and marijuana aren’t the same thing even though they are very similar, and then strongly advocating hemps incredibly beneficial uses. This might have test ideas by challenging people’s views and beliefs of a useful plant that has been demonized by negative propaganda, and unjustly misclassified as a drug. I was able to shape their knowledge of industrial hemp by explaining my research and understanding that hemp is extremely useful. After discovering that hemp can be used as renewable source of fuel, has the potential to drastically decrease deforestation, and can create 25,000 other environmentally friendly products, hemp is clearly more than a drug and I wanted the audiences new hemp knowable to be based off of facts and potential, not propaganda and lies.
This project has been one of the most relatable and engaging projects I have ever created at Animas High School. I was able to connect with this project in ways that I never really have with work before. I connected with this project by doing research not because I had to, but because I was truly interested in reading more about the current situation, or the reasons it has been deemed as a schedule 1 narcotic. I was able to connect with this project on such a deep level because it is something that I am very interested in. The freedom that was given to us when researching a topic has never been presented to me in this way and it truly was an experience that I was ready to make the most of. The thing that I liked most about studying these topics was how free and undirected we were in the research process. This allowed me to begin to understand both sides of this issue. From international business magazines to pro-marijuana magazines and websites all delivered information that had its own kind of bias, this allowed me to develop a very open wide perspective on this issue.
Creating a Ted Talk was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. If I had to do this over I would write a poem even though I am not a fan of poetry. I really think that is just the most effective way to deliver your emotion on a subject. My ted talk was filled with information, but really lacked the creative and emotional part of traditional TedTalks. If I wrote a poem I am very sure that I could have pulled more emotion out of the audience. Although I really enjoyed creating a Ted Talk with the commonsense emotion that it had, I would have liked even more of a response from the audience.
I have learned that rhetoric is a huge part of everyone's everyday life. It has influenced the way I think, my beliefs, and our country because of what people are able to do with the use of effective rhetoric. For example country leaders have used rhetoric to get elected, and from a position in power they are able to bring serious change to the world. The American experience is rhetoric. Rhetoric in America swarms you no matter where you are or what you are doing, from simple commercials, to complex presidential campaigns rhetoric is a very influential action. The rhetoric affects my ideology because the information I am receiving is the structure of my beliefs. I learned that rhetoric has really influenced what I believe, because rhetoric is an exchange of information, I have ultimately learned from rhetoric.
Voices From the Animas River
The purpose of this project was to get a more human perspective on the tragedy that was the Gold King Mine spill last August. My fellow classmates and I interviewed members of the community, ranging from locals to city officials. This range in the interviews helped our class develop a more human perspective without all the blame or other games to come with publicity. Below is my interview.
My Interview
new_recording.m4a | |
File Size: | 1661 kb |
File Type: | m4a |
Voices From the Animas Project Reflection
Voices From the Animas: Project Reflection
The purpose of this project was to get a more human perspective on the tragedy that was the Gold King Mine spill last August. My fellow classmates and I interviewed members of the community, ranging from locals to city officials. This range in the interviews helped our class develop a more human perspective without all the blame or other games to come with publicity. Overall, the most memorable thing from this project was understanding how this spill affected everyone, whether it was not being able to use it for recreational use, or something more drastic like not being able to water your crops. I think that this has been one of the most meaningful projects I have participated in because of how relevant this situation was, and when you're learning about something while it is happening it is just very easy to get engaged.
At the beginning of this project I didn’t really know a lot about the spill or the history of mining in Silverton and so I thought (like a lot of other people) the EPA broke open a mine and 3 million gallons of acidic sediment was floating through the Animas as a result. However through this project I learned how this situation was a lot more complicated than I had originally thought. I learned that the mining companies only sped up the process of the sulfuric acid escaping through the mine,(because it is a process that occurs naturally) and the EPA was only trying to plug up the mine so that there wasn’t as much of the acids leaking into the river. Another big part takeaway from this project was how not everyone was in favor of superfunding Silverton. For example some people felt like the only way for Silverton to grow as a town was to reboot the mining industry, and others felt like the only way to really put an end to the river polluting solution was to superfund the mining operations in Silverton. Lastly, understanding how the river spill affected everyone was also unique. Through this project the story corp interviews allowed us to develop a variety of perspectives because our class interviewed people from fishermen, to county commissioners. The river spill affected everyone and we did our part to gather as many perspectives from the community as possible. I thought that I would mostly hear about how people weren’t able to play or raft in the river, but instead I also gathered perspectives about how farmers in the Navajo Nation weren’t able to water their crops because some irrigation between the river and crops was stopped for a little while. Another unique perspective was one that I got from an interview with a Silverton local, he talked about how even though the spill happened in his town he felt as if it didn’t effect Silverton as much because they get their water from a different source than the Animas, about the people downstream where it was affecting more, for example rafting companies that depend on the water.
In my interview I published with Carolyn Hagen, I wish that I could have planned to do one with her in advanced. She participated in the interview exhibition night and so a lot of it was improvised. I didn’t know who exactly I was going to interview so I only had a couple of general questions I could ask, then I tried to keep the interview alive. I tried to get several interviews with people but they all failed, the only other interview I was able to record was one with a Silverton local, but he didn’t have a lot to say, and the interview wasn’t very well conducted on my behalf, there was just a lot of background noise in the restaurant, and because I didn’t have a lot of background information the interview wasn’t very long at all. Carolyn felt really bad about how the rafting companies suffered due to the spill, and I learned that her and I share the same perspective on that the best thing for the river would be to superfund Silverton. I learned that the next time I’m interviewing I should try to gain as much background information about the person I’m interviewing so I can have some really strong base questions and then improvise the rest of the questions. I learned that the more personal questions have a longer response and that the more general questions usually had a more general and basic response.
This was a different exhibition because even though I was there and involved I didn’t really feel like I had to present anything and show off my project because the audience was mostly sitting at a computer listening to the interviews. I really enjoyed how I was able to gain a lot of information just by sitting at one computer because all of the interviews were found all on the digital archive. The purpose of this project was to develop a more human perspective on the spill, and because a lot of the interviews were really personal and planned out they got deeper and more interesting overall. I gathered some really interesting information from Garrett’s interview was that the county commissioner was really open to working with the EPA to finding the best solution for the river problem.
Throughout this project I relearned how important it is not to believe everything that you hear. Earlier in the summer when the spill happened, I didn’t do any of my own research and I really just listened to what my friends and what social networks were saying about the spill. This was hard when I came back to school because all of the information I thought that I had learned from the spill was wrong. A lot of the information was being contradicted in what I would personally research, for example my understanding was that EPA knew the danger of what they were doing, and almost did it on purpose, however I now know the whole situation is a lot more complicated, and I personally don’t blame the EPA. This was a great refresher of why credible sources are important, because if they aren’t you will have to do twice as much to catch us what you missed the first time. Through this project I also learned to appreciate everyone’s perspective more, the storycorps interviews helped show how everyone has a story to tell and sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is just listen, and just because they aren’t a public figure or spokesperson doesn’t mean their opinion isn’t valued.
The purpose of this project was to get a more human perspective on the tragedy that was the Gold King Mine spill last August. My fellow classmates and I interviewed members of the community, ranging from locals to city officials. This range in the interviews helped our class develop a more human perspective without all the blame or other games to come with publicity. Overall, the most memorable thing from this project was understanding how this spill affected everyone, whether it was not being able to use it for recreational use, or something more drastic like not being able to water your crops. I think that this has been one of the most meaningful projects I have participated in because of how relevant this situation was, and when you're learning about something while it is happening it is just very easy to get engaged.
At the beginning of this project I didn’t really know a lot about the spill or the history of mining in Silverton and so I thought (like a lot of other people) the EPA broke open a mine and 3 million gallons of acidic sediment was floating through the Animas as a result. However through this project I learned how this situation was a lot more complicated than I had originally thought. I learned that the mining companies only sped up the process of the sulfuric acid escaping through the mine,(because it is a process that occurs naturally) and the EPA was only trying to plug up the mine so that there wasn’t as much of the acids leaking into the river. Another big part takeaway from this project was how not everyone was in favor of superfunding Silverton. For example some people felt like the only way for Silverton to grow as a town was to reboot the mining industry, and others felt like the only way to really put an end to the river polluting solution was to superfund the mining operations in Silverton. Lastly, understanding how the river spill affected everyone was also unique. Through this project the story corp interviews allowed us to develop a variety of perspectives because our class interviewed people from fishermen, to county commissioners. The river spill affected everyone and we did our part to gather as many perspectives from the community as possible. I thought that I would mostly hear about how people weren’t able to play or raft in the river, but instead I also gathered perspectives about how farmers in the Navajo Nation weren’t able to water their crops because some irrigation between the river and crops was stopped for a little while. Another unique perspective was one that I got from an interview with a Silverton local, he talked about how even though the spill happened in his town he felt as if it didn’t effect Silverton as much because they get their water from a different source than the Animas, about the people downstream where it was affecting more, for example rafting companies that depend on the water.
In my interview I published with Carolyn Hagen, I wish that I could have planned to do one with her in advanced. She participated in the interview exhibition night and so a lot of it was improvised. I didn’t know who exactly I was going to interview so I only had a couple of general questions I could ask, then I tried to keep the interview alive. I tried to get several interviews with people but they all failed, the only other interview I was able to record was one with a Silverton local, but he didn’t have a lot to say, and the interview wasn’t very well conducted on my behalf, there was just a lot of background noise in the restaurant, and because I didn’t have a lot of background information the interview wasn’t very long at all. Carolyn felt really bad about how the rafting companies suffered due to the spill, and I learned that her and I share the same perspective on that the best thing for the river would be to superfund Silverton. I learned that the next time I’m interviewing I should try to gain as much background information about the person I’m interviewing so I can have some really strong base questions and then improvise the rest of the questions. I learned that the more personal questions have a longer response and that the more general questions usually had a more general and basic response.
This was a different exhibition because even though I was there and involved I didn’t really feel like I had to present anything and show off my project because the audience was mostly sitting at a computer listening to the interviews. I really enjoyed how I was able to gain a lot of information just by sitting at one computer because all of the interviews were found all on the digital archive. The purpose of this project was to develop a more human perspective on the spill, and because a lot of the interviews were really personal and planned out they got deeper and more interesting overall. I gathered some really interesting information from Garrett’s interview was that the county commissioner was really open to working with the EPA to finding the best solution for the river problem.
Throughout this project I relearned how important it is not to believe everything that you hear. Earlier in the summer when the spill happened, I didn’t do any of my own research and I really just listened to what my friends and what social networks were saying about the spill. This was hard when I came back to school because all of the information I thought that I had learned from the spill was wrong. A lot of the information was being contradicted in what I would personally research, for example my understanding was that EPA knew the danger of what they were doing, and almost did it on purpose, however I now know the whole situation is a lot more complicated, and I personally don’t blame the EPA. This was a great refresher of why credible sources are important, because if they aren’t you will have to do twice as much to catch us what you missed the first time. Through this project I also learned to appreciate everyone’s perspective more, the storycorps interviews helped show how everyone has a story to tell and sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is just listen, and just because they aren’t a public figure or spokesperson doesn’t mean their opinion isn’t valued.