Thoughts on the nature of revoluton

Once again I return to my blog because I feel the need to say something, though once again, I'm not sure what. Well, yes I do. Why do we, as humans, get so horribly angry, determined to destroy what is with no thought for what we will put in place of what we hate? For instance, take the revolutionary mindset. When an evil dictator and his henchmen are breathing down your neck, the easiest thing might seem to be to raise up opposition and throw him down. Viva la revolution! Right? Wrong. Time and time and time again we see that revolutions almost invariably conclude in the rise of a new dictator. But why? I strongly suspect that it's because instead of working towards something better and making an honest plan for an improved world, a plan that fully takes human nature, selfishness, greed, self-interest and such into account, any revolution will fail. So long as the primary goal is to knock down the existing order and create a "new order" without any honest plan or thought to what will come afterward or how the nation, the region, the government will be rebuilt and made to be better than the first, any revolution is doomed to fail. I honestly believe that one of the key reasons why the founding fathers of the American nation succeeded in the aftermath was because they had something that most don't. They,first off, knew how to govern, and knew what the problems were with their rulers. Secondly, they had a commitment to setting up a government that would last, that could not easily be turned to corruption. They deliberated for ages, arguing passionately, examining in excruciating detail every word they wrote lest it be misused, thinking of every possible outcome and eventuality that might follow from what they proposed. They had a thought to the future, they had integrity, and they knew how to govern. It wasn't simply a revolution for the sake of demolishing the existing order, but, rather, for the sake of establishing an order that didn't exist due to a government that prevented the effective execution of the rule of law. Not just because they wanted the tyrants to die. Just some thoughts on the nature of revolutions. And that's all I have to say here for today. ^ ^

Making exscuses

What do you do when a series of unfortunate major life events throws you off your stride? What if you asked for a bit of extra time on an assignment once or twice because you simply didn’t pay attention enough? (Or at least, that’s how it feels even if you had a good reason.) What if you feel like all your “get outta class free cards” are used up? And then something serious happens? Well, that’s something like what happened to me. I fell a bit behind in one class while trying to keep up in the others. And I tried to keep up. But here’s the thing: When something big happens, even though the time might have been there, sometimes, you just can’t do it. But what then? Don’t make my mistake; I tried to keep up and pretend like nothing happened. Well, not quite, but I tried to put of dealing with the situation at hand to try to keep up on school. That, I think, might have been a mistake. I should have asked ahead of time for some extra breathing space assignment-wise… before the night before a test. Before a paper was due. But I didn’t… in the end, I had to choose between a paper and a test… I took the one I was most likely to get done in time… and, as a result, I may have a lower grade. So what’s the point? The point is, if you really do have something huge and horrible happen, say, like, in my case, my grandma’s death… just five months after her husband, my grandpa, died… And for me, that meant staying with family friends from church for a week. Ask if you can take some extra time if you need it right away. Don’t try to tough it out and get it all done. Chances are you won’t, and if you do, it won’t be as good as it should be. So take my advice: Ask early. Even if it’s a no, it can’t hurt. Just something to think upon…

loss...

Fear not, I'll attempt to keep this out of the emotional muck that such things usually drag anything on this subject into... I consider 98% of writing such as "chicken soup for the soul" mush. That isn't to say it's bad, but it's not useful. Now, you may be wondering what I mean by loss. Well, what do I mean? I mean something very real: I mean loosing people. I mean loosing them to death. I’m not surprised if you're starting to think you should shut off the internet window and look at something involving Bilbo Baggins and Spock on YouTube... Like that... and go if you wish, it's quite worth the watching, but I ask that you return when you're done. Are you done? Good. I'm glad. On with the post now. Or not. Now that I looked at the video, I feel less inclined to look into deeper matters myself... Humans... this is what we do: We drown ourselves in what interests us while the deeper things lie dormant... Like loosing two grandparents in 5 months... The funeral today I cannot attend... like a sister's friend, shot and killed on the anniversary of the worst occurrence of your life... like fears and woes, insecurities and things that we all deal with... but I seldom speak of anything of myself, and, considering the fact that this is a public post, I don't think I shall delve too deeply... After all, if I don't trust anyone outside of my friend the notebook and word doc to hear me and not to speak, how can I trust those I don't know? There's a thought to leave with you who blog your deeper feelings and angry rants... If you wouldn't say it to anyone else in real life, why say it online?

Physics

If you have a 3kg sled pulled by two snowmobiles going north with the rope on the snowmobile on the right side 30 degrees to the west and the angle on the other rope 45 degrees to the east, what is the force each exerts to pull the sled? Feeling like reading something else? I'm not surprised. I trudged through two semesters of the stuff. But it's not as bad as it sounds. Ok, yes it is, but that's beside the point. It's worth it, even if you never have to use the specific formulas. In fact, that's probably the best part. Once you learn it, you don't have to keep the stuff in your mind, but the basics stick. At least, they do for me. Which is good, because I am the one and only physics tutor at the Anoka Ramsey Cambridge Campus. But oddly enough, though there is a full class of students, I've only had two physics students ask for my help. Why? Why don't most people use the tutors? If they had physics tutor while I was in that class I would have been in the academic support center constantly. I understand why most feel apprehensive about coming in. After all, you're going to ask a complete stranger to help you with something that you feel like you should understand on your own. How humiliating, right? Wrong. No matter how you might feel about the place, a good grade is more important that misplaced pride. The fact of the matter is that good students come here because they know that it will help them get a better grade. What I find is that often we can use our experience from trudging through the classes the hard way, figuring out what works, to help make it easier for others. For example, one student was having a hard time with physics. All it took to help her out was to write the information in a slightly different way and a few pieces of advice for keeping track of formulas. If I had known what I told her before I started my course, I might have managed an A for the first half instead of a C. Knowing how to study a specific subject is almost half the battle. So if you have trouble with a course, come on in! That's why we're here. We won't make fun of you, we don't mind if you don't understand. You're not the only one, and we all worked through this stuff once. If we can help, we will. What's there to loose but a bit of time and your ill-advised aprehension?

update on article 1

Well, so far, there isn’t much to tell. I looked up the teen center and found that they claim to get quite a few kids coming in each year, that they’re underfunded because their budget has been frozen for the last few years, and that they provide some services in addition to their activities and programs, free of cost… I know what they say; I’ve seen their “Brochure” so to speak, but what I’m wondering is what the reality is. After all, those “35000” kids that come through might include repeats… or not. How can I tell if I never go to see how they keep records? Also, $3,500 is almost as much as their yearly budget. What do they intend to do with this temporary windfall of a double funding? Will they invest it, or, instead, will they create something that they can’t sustain? Just talking to a representative doesn’t seem to be the way to go for me. If I want to see the real deal with this place, as I intend to, I should go around the talk and what they say and see it for myself. After all, that’s our job, isn’t it? To check our facts and sources to see if they match up with reality. I may go, I may not, but in any case, I think this warrants a closer look. And, when I have accomplished my goal, I hope to shed some light on this “Teen center” I never realized they had.

Another inbetween....

So, does anyone else actually look at the other blogs? (Aside from katherine of course. ) I read all of the other post-caucus posts and noticed the same, stark lack of feedback that I find on my own site. Perhaps most of you just aren't interested in hearing what your classmates have to say, or, are simply too busy to notice, or, perhaps you just never think to check your comp and your blog... I suggest we start looking at the writings of those in this course we know are active participants in this experiment in the odd, evolving art of blogging. Or, perhaps I'm wrong. Perhaps you're just waiting for someone to comment on your blog so you can reply. I admit, that was what I was doing: Waiting for someone else to take the initiative and post a comment on my blog, proving that they had done something since the first assignment, before checking out their blog and commenting on it myself. So I decided to be the one who took the initiative. I always say I want to back up my fancy words with actions, right? Well now I have, this time. Thanks for anyone who reads this, comment, and I will comment back. Or, if you instead decide not to take part in a community that we're trying to achieve here, there isn't much I can do, aside from focusing on those who actually speak. I can't listen when there are no words, and neither can anyone else. So now you have listened. Will you speak?

The craziest caucus Wyoming's ever seen (in a good sort of way)

In the past, caucuses for Wyoming MN were pretty mundane. We had about 14 people show up, we discussed the resolutions, then we (almost) all signed up to be delegates, closed up shop, and waited for the real thing. (That is, for the countywide meeting, where the really important stuff happened.) This Tuesday Evening was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. As my Mom and I walked in, shortly after 6, we already had more people sitting in the room than we have ever seen at a caucus before, including ourselves. As we proceeded to organize our papers and thoughts, the room slowly filled as we pulled out more and more tables. We ran out of ballots and so were forced to improvise by taking a scissors to a thick pile of plank paper. The straw pole commenced as my Mom and chairman Montzka tried to get the proceedings under control and under way. The results were astounding; as the township residents left for their separate caucus, the results came in. Rom. 68 Mc. 37 Huck.27 Paul 7 Taylor 2 (And, because of some confusion over the procedure, we had three votes for local candidates hoping to be endorsed by the party. We had two mayors vying for endorsement for the same seat, one from Chisago, the other, from Wyoming herself. We allowed them to make their speeches early, for, you see, our current mayor, for charity fundraising reasons, was obligated to return to a tent on a roof after making his short speech.) It was incredible. There were ten times the number of people we usually have. One Hundred and forty sat in that room, supporting the Republican Party… Or, rather, supporting what they believed the Republican Party needed to see, to hear, to know and to do. Most came for one reason and one reason only: They wanted to stop our party from walking down the left-ward road the candidates seem to have taken. After we broke up into two groups, the city and the township of Wyoming, we proceeded to explain to these newcomers what the duty and opportunity of the delegate is. We filled every single slot we were allotted and then some. These people, along with the long time, hard working conservatives, will join me at the county level, to discuss resolutions and help decide who moves to the next level… and who out party will endorse. We will choose whether we think that the candidates will follow the platform. The people from the city didn’t bother with resolutions… what’s the use of resolutions when the candidates will ignore what they claim to stand for? Though the township had the pressing matter of the annexation issue to grapple with, most of the newcomers are interested more in finding a way to support those candidates who will follow the platform than in changing it. What’s the use of changing the platform for the city, county, state, or anything else if they don’t bother to follow it? This turnout is, still, a great thing. It may have been caused by a problem, but we may finally have stepped toward a solution. Finally, people are getting up and doing something instead of sitting back and complaining. For that, I suppose I have to thank those such as Jason Lewis and other talk show hosts who exhorted people to get out and come to caucuses. I don’t care if you don’t like politics, or if you think there’s nothing you can do to change it all. If you care, then get up, get to caucuses, find the people you know and trust, then elect them. If not for a local office, then elect them to go and support the right candidate at the next level, to be one more vote in the right direction toward endorsing the people who you think really should be there. It’s not the system that’s the problem, or the “republican party.” It’s the fact that normal people who care enough to refuse to vote don’t bother to get up and try to fix it. True, “just one person” doesn’t seem to make a difference. But for every person who made the commitment to serve as a delegate, that’s one more vote against a bad candidate, against a bad proposal, and one more vote for the right ones. When we sit back and grumble, those willing to work get what they want at our expense. But when we get up and do our duty and take the reigns, they have to listen. Or else they’ll never make it into office. And that’s the way I believe it should be.