Environmental Justice

I wasn’t able to make it in time to the symposium where this topic was discussed, but I was able to picked one or two things from the question and answer session, and also from handbooks that were shared at the end of the panel discussion. From the handbooks, I noticed that there was one word that kept recurring—rights. Everybody is entitled to enjoy the human rights. However, it is the function of the government to ensure that the rights are implemented in fairness. If the government fails, the whole concept defeats its purpose. For example, Michele L. Roberts spoke about the failed implementation of human rights after Hurricane Katrina occurred. The government failed to substantially remedy the destabilizing effects of the disaster on the inhabitants of the Gulf Coast Region—quite unfortunate. However, the people that survived that tragic occurrence are saying there must be a climate change treaty which would subsequently lead to a healthy environment. Besides protecting human rights, the government should make legislations to reduce carbon dioxide waste, to mandate the use of clean energy, to make everyone contribute in drastic decision making, to stop racial, ethnic and gender discrimination, and to generally improve environmental, health, educational, and economic conditions. Again, the government plays the main role in making the United States a better place environment-wise. Therefore, justice on the path of the government would ensure environmental justice for all.

Self-Assessment

During the past six weeks in my Freshman Composition course, I learned a lot about blogging. It has since been another way for me to communicate to the outside world and express myself accordingly. Also the blogging experience made me to delve into issues I was previously uninterested in before. For instance, I was not a fan of political or social issues, but lately, I find myself reading newspapers and magazines so as to keep myself up-to-date. In essence, the whole blogging experience has broadened my horizons. However, not only has my freshman composition class exposed me to blogging, but it has also been influencing my writing.

Writing papers has always been my most-hated task in school. I am rather a “Mathematics” person so to say, but I usually did very well in my English papers. However, my experience in my English class has helped me sharpened some of my skills in writing. I have learnt to develop a good thesis, to set out a well-organized outline, to do a lot of research and cite sources, to effectively use transition words to connect paragraphs, and to wrap up my essay with a good conclusion. It has been a whole new level of writing. Therefore I am proud to say that I have become a better writer.

Political Correctness

Political correctness is a major issue that should be addressed in a school and even in the country at large, because it serves as a yoke from progress. “It is time to come out of the cocoon and broaden the things that we admire and the things that we expect” (Carson). In a modern society like ours, everyone should not be scared or shy to air their opinions about a particular issue. In the 2010 Howard University Convocation ceremony, Ben Carson gave an example of a bird who supposedly could talk, sing and dance, but was eaten because he remained silent, and couldn’t defend itself. The anecdote implies that if people fail to air their intuitive opinions, they would not make progress, and therefore remain unaccomplished. Ben Carson also pointed that his generation is full of negative and ignorant people who keep arguing with each other, instead of drawing out reasonable ideas from each other’s opinions. Hence, as a promising generation, it is definitely time to “think out of the box” (Carson), so that we can make progress and outshine the achievements of the former generation.

Carson, Ben. “2010 Howard University Convocation.” Cramton Auditorium, Howard University, Washington, DC. 24^th September 2010. Speech.