A Just War?

Check out this article. First of all let me say that I am in no way endorsing the site on which this article is found. However, it does bring up a topic that we discussed in class last week. Was WWI a just war? What were we fighting for and what did we achieve? Were the individual and collective sacrifices that were made worth what was "won"? To make this argument more relevant to our lives lets extend it to the current War on Terror. The same questions apply: What are we fighting for? Is it a just war? Will the sacrifices being made by the men and women in uniform be worthwhile or in vain? What do we hope to achieve through our actions in Iraq and Afghanistan? The site that the above article is posted on is calling for the abolition of war. Is war always wrong or is it a necessary evil? What things in life are worth fighting for or is there nothing that warrants this course of action? What would you be willing to fight for, if anything? Finally, what about the premise of this website that is calling for the abolition of war? Is that a possibility or is that a Utopian dream that ignores the realities of life on this planet? Let the debate begin.

Genie

From the moment she was discovered nearly 40 years ago the girl that the world would come to know as "Genie" captivated the attention of many. The details of the abuse, neglect, and nearly total isolation that she had suffered at the hands of her own father were difficult to comprehend. Unfortunately for Genie her case also represented a once in a lifetime opportunity for neurologists, linguists, psychologists and others to test their theories of human development and socialization. Many in the academic and scientific communities hoped that the case could shed some light on the age-old nature vs. nurture debate. The concept that would eventually be known as tabula rasa, that humans are a "blank slate" at birth with no innate mental content and must gain all knowledge through experience, can be traced back to Aristotle. However, others believe that heredity (nature) plays a more important part in human development than environment (nurture). Genie's unfortunate upbringing, or lack thereof, provided a unique chance to investigate the influence of these forces on an individual's development. Of particular interest was the acquisition of language. Is the potential to develop language an innate aspect of the human brain, hardwired in at birth, or does the development of language rely solely on education received during one's formative years? Members of the Genie team, as the researchers working with her were often called, thought that Genie could either prove or disprove the critical period hypothesis, which had been popularized a few years before Genie's discovery by Eric Lenneberg's Biological Foundations of Language (1967). Unfortunately, many believe that in their zeal to perform groundbreaking research the Genie team lost sight of what was best for Genie. Her case leaves us with so many questions. Who deserves most of the blame for the condition that Genie is in today? Her father? Her mother? The Genie team? Does her brother deserve to share any of the blame? What can her case tell us about the importance of heredity and environment, or nature and nurture, on the development of a human being? Would Genie have been the way she is today regardless of her upbringing, as we can't rule out the possibility that she was in fact mentally retarded from birth (as her father was told and evidently believed)? Did her case prove the legitimacy of the critical period hypothesis or did the team give up on her too soon? Finally, and most importantly, how could this case have been handled differently and what could still be done for Genie today? What say you? I would love to hear your thoughts on this matter.

Secession?

Sould Vermont return to its former status as an independent republic? From 1777 until 1791 Vermont was known as The Vermont Republic. The Second Vermont Republic believes that a return to this status would solve a lot of our current problems. Check out this article and let me know what you think of this plan. What would be the positive and negative aspects of such a move for Vermont? Better yet, is such an action even possible? Would the federal government allow this to happen? I thought we answered this question back in 1865.

Economic Woes

Despite the best efforts of the Obama administration , the economic woes across the nation continue to grow. The news in Vermont is disturbing at best and other states are in dire straights as well. Check out this article and let me know what you think should be done to get the US economy back on track.