The Decline

The following essay is a critical response to Margaret Atwood's essay "A Letter to America" written for my comp class. before you read the essay, i would like to credit Josh Healy with the definition of Faux Patriotism. 

Margaret Atwood is a true patriot. She does not exhibit faux patriotism, which is becoming widespread in America today. A faux patriot is someone who blindly follows his or her government and supports its every move because it is the country they live in, and as such should be supported. Rather, she speaks with true patriotism in her essay “A Letter to America.” She calls for change when necessary as our founding fathers did, to make America a better nation. This is needed now more than ever as America descends the downward spiral that it has begun within the past several years.  Atwood compares the nation of fifty years ago to the nation of today. She explains the greatness that America once inspired, but implies that the only thing it inspires today is paranoia. She attributes the recent decay of our nation to the imbalance of the most basic core values. The disregard of important core values and unneeded emphasis of others has helped propel America into this decline, and, until the balance is restored, America will be unable to reclaim its once hailed status.         

            Trust and privacy have been sacrificed for safety and national security. All four are equally important values, and should be treated as such.  Two unrelated values being compared and unjustifiably given different levels of importance causes problems to arise. Who gets to decide between privacy and national security? Both are equally important in a democratic nation. Due to rising threats of terrorism, residents’ mail can now be spied on for increased national security. The government can now track every move made by its people. Records can be searched. Sure, this makes America a safer place, but at what cost? How safe can a country be whose government cannot trust its people? A government that does not trust its people should not be trusted in return. This is one of Atwood’s reasons for calling for a change in the way this country is run.

            In addition to trust and privacy, equality and material comfort are also being sacrificed. This sacrifice, again, yields heightened national security. With inflation and increased government spending, maintaining a happy lifestyle is becoming more and more difficult. The American middle class is dying. Economic standing was never at a state of equality in America, and never can be in order for the free market to function properly. However, at the rate the economy is going, this state of equality will be so much worse that how people are treated will be based solely on their economic status. America may be coming to, as Atwood puts it, “a few megarich King Midases, with the rest being serfs.” Spending in America has been reckless for the past few years, leading to a major recession which prohibits Americans from the material comfort that they once enjoyed. Possessions once considered everyday commodities are now luxuries, even Starbucks and fast food are being cut from Americans’ budgets as money grows tighter and tighter. Yet with the economy in such terrible shape, the national debt continues to increase to more than ten trillion dollars. Rather than using money to stimulate the dying economy, it is spent on a seemingly never ending war. The drastic decay of the economy is another reason that Atwood calls out for change in her country.

            The change she calls for is the rebalancing of basic core values. She calls for America to regress to the balance of values it once had. Yes, safety and national security are important, but are they important enough to totally revoke a right to privacy? Should we have to trade in equality and material comfort to achieve safety? Atwood calls America to call upon its “great spirits of the past” to help guide it back to greatness. “Summon them now,” she says, “to stand with you, to inspire you, and to defend the best in you.” America needs to recall those leaders and ideals that once led it to attain greatness. The values need to be rebalanced. A country cannot run smoothly without the trust, privacy, equality, or comfort of its people, and a country with a poor economic status can not run at all.

            Margaret Atwood is one hundred percent correct in her assessment that America is in a decline. The values of the past have been deemed unimportant and have been replaced with those that yield governmental gain, an unhealthy road for a country to travel. A democracy cannot function properly without the accordance of its people. If America plans to remain one of the greatest countries, it needs serious change. 

Insomniaaaa

It seems I have an epic case of insomnia. I am very tired, yet can not sleep. Seriously, it is about 5 in the morning and I'm blogging, and a few minutes ago i was doing homework. As much as I would like to be sleeping right now, I can not, but some good seems to be coming from this in that it is giving me time to think. I was sitting here working on my project for MIS (Management Information Systems) and I seemed to have had a moment of clarity regarding what I want to do with my life. Deep, right? I realized how much I don't want to work with excel for the rest of my life. I kind of like it now because it's easy mindless work, and compared to the rest of my school work, it's fun. But I would never want to do this as my profession. I realized that I do not want a job that requires me to learn a task and repeat it, sitting at a desk like a mindless drone doing the same thing over and over. I want to create. I want to take my knowledge and use it to better this world, not just sit and crunch numbers or push papers, etc. So it looks like that whole business major thing might not work out so well. Maybe I'm just not thinking right because of lack of sleep. Who knows?

Why, hello there

So I never really did an into or anything so I think I will now. Probably should have been my first post, but deal with it. So I never really was into the whole blogging or writing thing until recently, when it was suggested to me by a friend. It's interesting how he suggests people get blogs, and the next day everyone has one. But hey, I've been thinking about writing more for a while now, but haven't for some reason unknown to me, so this gives me an excellent opportunity to do so. Also it will be a much welcomed distraction from school and other things. So hopefully this will be benecicial for both of us; I get to write about all the randomness that I think about and my school work, and you get to learn. 

Chiropracticology

Interview for comp. 

Benefits of Chiropractic

            I have always seen a chiropractor on a regular basis, so I know the basics of why this specialized medical care is beneficial. I know that in addition to helping your neck and back feel good, it also helps the rest of the body by keeping everything in line, however that works. I wanted to learn more about how chiropractic affects the entire body and why it is so necessary to being well, so I visited Dr. Lisa Aston D.C. at her  office to ask her myself.

There are many myths, misconceptions, and false ideas about chiropractic. Chiropractors are seen by many as alternative or fake doctors, who just crack your back. Some even think that all chiropractors do is massage the back until it feels better, making them nothing more than a masseuse and only doctors nominally. These ideas could not be farther from the truth. Dr. Aston explained to me that chiropractic has many benefits beyond just making your back and neck feel better.

When I asked her how else chiropractic can affect the body, she told me, “It can maintain the integrity of the nervous system, which is the control system of the body, allowing all systems to function optimally, therefore improving overall health.”  This defeats the idea that chiropractors are not real doctors, but how exactly does chiropractic do this?  How can just a simple chiropractic adjustment keep the whole body functioning at its full potential?

            Generally, problems in the nervous system develop from a simple subluxation, “a misalignment of the spinal vertebrae that puts pressure on the spinal nerve root, thereby affecting the nerve flow to and from the organ muscle or whatever it innervates and causes a functional illness, like nerve pain, or ‘dis-ease’,” explained the Doctor. This can easily be corrected by adjusting the slight misalignment of the disc that is causing the subluxation, causing the problem to cease. She said that most times after an adjustment there is immediate relief, unless the patient has a long term condition.

If I do not feel any pain or have a subluxation should I still visit a chiropractor? I asked her, “is it important to see a chiropractor regularly even if I do not experience pain or other ailments?”

            “Absolutely,” she said.  “Subluxations are cavities; you don’t know you have them unless they cause symptoms. Chiropractors can detect and fix them before they cause symptoms.”

            Chiropractic care sounds like it would be rather expensive, and I know I could not afford it if I had to pay out of pocket. Luckily, however, Dr. Aston told me that insurance companies, with the exception of HMOs, Health Maintenance Organizations, will cover chiropractic care, so there is nothing to worry about. She said that HMOs will not cover chiropractic because it is considered a specialty treatment, which means patients must pay more out of pocket. This is to discourage patients from visiting chiropractors, because regular visits to a chiropractor can keep patients healthier and out of the medical doctor’s office, meaning less money for the doctors and the HMOs.           

Beyond just pain relief for the back and neck, chiropractic is a system of wellness. Unlike the medical community, chiropractic actually solves the problem, rather than prescribing drugs to numb the pain or fix symptoms alone. Chiropractic care can solve the problem that causes the symptoms, without turning to drugs or surgery. I asked Dr. Aston if being a chiropractor had influence on the choices she makes outside of work.

She said it absolutely does. “The philosophy of chiropractic is to find the cause, not eliminate the symptoms. It has taught me to be a critical thinker and make decisions based on all the facts.” This philosophy proves that chiropractic is more than a profession, but a way of life. It leads to healthy choices and a healthy lifestyle for both patients and doctors. 

 

 Actual Interview, for more information on the benefits of chiropractic:

1. Other than eliminating back pain, what are other benefits of chiropractic care?
1. “It can maintain the integrity of the nervous system, which is the control system of the body, allowing all systems to function optimally, therefore improving overall health.”
2. Is chiropractic an effective alternative to back surgery?
1. “Yes, most times chiropractic care prevents the need for surgery.”
3. How is it able to do this?
1. “If the pain is caused by a subluxation, a slight dislocation of the vertebrae, correcting that subluxation can alleviate the symptoms and pain.”
4. What exactly is a subluxation?
1. “It’s a misalignment of the spinal vertebrae that puts pressure on the spinal nerve root, thereby affecting the nerve flow to and from the organ, muscle, or whatever it innervates and causes a functional illness, like nerve pain, or ‘dis-ease’. A long standing subluxation can develop into disease.”
5. What is your stance on vaccinations?
1. “I believe vaccinations do not immunize you against disease. Natural immunizations are superior. Vaccines bypass your first line of defense and take an enormous amount of effort from our immune system, weakening it. We never heard of things like sudden infant death syndrome, severe allergies, autism, before mass vaccination. Also, vaccines have toxins in them, such as mercury, formaldehyde, and antifreeze.”
6. What do you mean by the term “natural vaccinations”?
1. “This is acquired when you get a disease, your body’s immune system is programmed to fight that disease, or recognize it so that it does not manifest. There have been many outbreaks of measles, in which cases most children had been vaccinated. Artificial vaccinations do not work.”
7. What do you think of the current health care system in the United States?
1. “It is an utter failure.”
8. How do you mean?
1. “Because, as an industrialized nation, the U.S. spends the most on health care but has the sickest population. It is a money machine and all they care about is profit. We need to focus on prevention and properly educating people.”
9. Do you agree with President Elect Obama’s plan?
1. “I don’t disagree that all people should have access to health care with insurance, but right now we have a sick care system, not a health care system. Now you don’t enter the system unless you’re sick.”
10. Isn’t it normal to not seek care without symptoms?
1. “Socialized health care doesn’t work. It clogs the system. In Canada it takes 18 months to get a mammogram; someone with breast cancer could die in that time. For this to work, people need to be educated to care for themselves so that they can stay out of the system.”
11. Would you consider chiropractic to be an alternative form of medicine?
1. “It is an alternative to medicine in that it is natural healthcare without the use of drugs and surgery.  That is not to say that you don’t need medical attention in a crisis, because they are best suited to offer care in such a situation. We educate out patients in how your body works and how to take care of it, and wellness. The medical community does not do this; they offer drugs for different symptoms rather than fix the problems.”
12. Will my insurance company cover chiropractic care?
1. “Yes, unless you have an HMO.”
13. Why don’t HMOs cover chiropractic?
1. “They consider it a specialty, so patients have to pay more out of pocket. This is to discourage patients from going to chiropractors, because patients who see chiropractors need to see medical doctors less often.”
14. Are there any dangers of chiropractic care?
1. “No, even based on malpractice insurance we pay, which is a fraction of that of a medical doctor. It is safe from ‘cradle to grave’.”
15. How soon will a patient feel different after an adjustment?
1. “Most times it happens by the time they get off the adjusting table, unless it is a chronic condition such as arthritis, in which case it takes longer. Sometimes relief doesn’t last unless you correct the subluxation, which can be like training a bone to stay in a new position and can be difficult with out the use of braces or other apparatuses.”
16. Is it important to see a chiropractor regularly even if I do not experience pain or other ailments?
1. “Absolutely. Subluxations are cavities; you don’t know you have them unless they cause symptoms. Chiropractors can detect and fix them before they cause symptoms.”
17. Are there different types of chiropractic care?
1. “Sure, there are specialties. Some specialize in sports injuries, pediatrics, or rehabilitation, and there are different adjustment techniques; some for pain relief rather than wellness. This is a drawback to the profession: that we are not as standardized as the medical profession, but it’s also an advantage. The scope of practice varies state to state, while medical care does not.”
18. Scope of practice?
1. “In Michigan, we can only adjust the spine, not extremities. We can’t do physical therapy with ultrasounds or anything like that.” 
19. So basically, rules on what you can and can’t do vary from state to state?
1. “Right.”
20. What is the most common misconception about chiropractic care?  
1. “That chiropractic is only good fro back and neck pain. People don’t realize that we can help things like allergies, asthma, or ulcers by removing nerve interference.”
21.  Does being a chiropractor influence the choices you make outside of work?
1. “Yes.”
22. How so?
1. “The philosophy of chiropractic is to find the cause, not eliminate the symptoms. It has taught me to be a critical thinker and make decisions based on all the facts.” 

(yeah, I took the easy way out and interviewed my mom)

Novel in the Making

This is a story I wrote for my comp class. It isn't as developed or as detailed as I would like it to be, but I was limited to 1,000 words(which I exceeded). I do think it has a decent, but very basic storyline, which I would like to expand on eventually. 

Blood Brothers

Blood soaked his shirt. It was spreading fast. Tom had been shot before, but this time was different. The bullet went through his throat. His insignificant life was coming to an end here in this dark alley, behind the dumpstero that had been hiding him. This was too well planned to have gone wrong; it must have been set up. But who would set him up? Tom was so close to everyone involved that he was practically family. He knew he should not have been so trusting, but he let James talk him into it. After all, what other options did he have?

            Tom and his brother, James, were pulled into the gang at a young age. For a couple of kids in their position, there was not much else for them to do. It was either end up like their parents, on welfare in the slums of the town, or turn to crime to make a living. Living in such a terrible neighborhood in the slums of Detroit was no aid in improving their life, so they took matters into their own hands. Unable to afford the things he needed and wanted, he turned to shoplifting. He started small and rarely, but seeing how easy it was, he gradually moved up the spectrum from candy bars to televisions, setting an excellent example for his younger brother. This became an easy, lucrative way of life, and school became pointless for Tom.

            One night as Tom walked out of the electronics store, with yet another TV to sell, he was dealt a hard blow to the head. Tom woke up in a dark warehouse, arms duct-taped together behind the metal chair he was constricted to. His head throbbed. His white clothing made him stand out in the dark warehouse. He looked around and seemed to be alone. Then he heard a voice. A man approached Tom from across the room, dressed in black. He asked Tom, “Do you know who I am?”

            “No,” Tom replied. “Where am I?”

            “Don’t you worry about that,” the man answered. “I’m the man you’ve been stealing from.”

            “I’ve stolen from a lot of people,” said Tom, hoping to defend himself.

            “You’ve taken a lot from me, more from me than anyone else. I own the places you’ve been stealing from. I know all about you: who you are, where you live, why you’re doing this. I know a lot about you, Tom. But there’s one thing I don’t know.”

Tom was scared. “How could this man know so much about me?” he wondered to himself. “Who is he?”

 “How have you been doing this? No one has ever broken into my stores before,” growled Tom’s captor.

            “I’ve had help,” Tom mumbled. He winced as the man approached him.

            “Don’t be afraid,” assured the man. “I’m not going to hurt you. I need you.” Tom was confused. “You and your little brother are the only ones that can help me.”

            The man first made Tom get all of his stolen goods back, which was no easy task. However, Tom was scared to death of the man, so he and his brother had some extra motivation. Once they finally collected all of the man’s belongings, he told them more about who he was and why he needed them. “My name is Mr. Wallace, and you are my newest recruits. You’re a little young now, but you obviously have the experience for what I need you to do. What that is, I can’t tell you until you need to know, but you will be part of my gang until then. You will live a good life, not the hell you’ve been stuck with in this town. I can change all that for you if you just do what I say.”

            Tom and James were scared at first, but, having few alternatives, they did as they were told. The man held true to his word, and the brothers lived like kings together. They had women, cars, money, and anything they wanted. Within just a few short years, they were able to climb to the top of the gang and be Mr. Wallace’s right-hand men. This was the good life. Both brothers had everything they wanted, and couldn’t complain. However, they did forget one thing. Mr. Wallace had a purpose for them, a purpose that they would not know until the day came.

            Today was that day. Mr. Wallace called the brothers to his office, and spoke to each separately about what their next task would be. Tom and James were not to speak to anyone about the information they got from Mr. Wallace, not even each other. Only Mr. Wallace knew what they were to do.

            The next day Tom and James carried out the instructions that they were given the day before. They picked up the items they needed from their apartment that morning, and parted ways. Tom went to the alley behind Mr. Wallace’s electronic store, where he was told to wait until a man came out through the back entrance. Mr. Wallace told Tom that he would be in a meeting with a man dressed in a black suit and sunglasses, and Tom was to shoot and kill this man when he left. This was just another day on the job for Tom; he did not understand why this mission was so different from any other he had done for Mr. Wallace, but he did what he was told. He had been waiting for hours when the door opened.

He stood up and shot at the man, but he couldn’t have been farther from his target. The bullet hitting his neck threw off his aim. His target had fired back. As he lay in a pool of his own blood, the man approached him. Though his vision was fading, Tom recognized the man. It was James. He had been shot by his brother.  

            Mr. Wallace instructed James to wait in the shop until exactly noon, and then exit through the back. A man would be in the alley waiting for Mr. Wallace to leave as he usually did. Mr. Wallace said this man was trying to kill him and would try to kill James too, so James would have to fire quickly. And he did, killing his brother. Mr. Wallace had set them up.