I believe in music. It is the thing that makes kids jump, salivate, and hit one another in a violent orgy known as a mosh pit. It is the thing that makes people in elevators nervous, although it is known as easy listening. It is the thing that made people walk around nude at Woodstock. It is oftentimes calm and tranquil. It is a universal language that knows no barriers and causes all nations to unite. Music has been present since the earliest existence of mankind; the cavemen hit objects with animal bones and sticks; the British played their fifes; the Americans created jazz, a freeform art whereby the artists can play any note of the chromatic scale and call it right. All kidding aside, music is a means of expression- a way of having a conversation without opening the lips.



I have been involved in instrument circles where one evokes a true smile from another, or heads bob in sync with one another, or inquisitive looks are shot from one musician to another, without ever having to utter a word. The truth is that music profoundly affects most people in this world. Have you never gotten goose bumps after hearing a particular phrase or progression? Why do horror movies have such dissonant, dynamic, and cacophonic soundtracks? Their music builds suspense. Without it, the film would be dull and make the viewer chuckle rather than feel fear. It urges the viewer to pull his face off.

There are no protocols or boundaries in music; no one can say, “oh you did not play that correctly.” Whatever sounds euphonious to the ears of that musician is correct. This is the means by which rock and roll came about and how jazz was invented. These artists diverged from the common trail to create a new, different type of tune. Their inhibitions never held them back from their dreams. It is interesting and highly uncommon to hear folk instruments intertwine melodies with metal guitar. Well, that is precisely what happened this past weekend. I played my banjo amidst the swirling, distortion ridden sounds of two electric guitars. This innovative type of music was inspiring to all partaking in the jam, as evidenced by the tapping of feet and lengthy nature of it.



Music has the effect of evoking any number of feelings in the human body. For example, it has been proven that heavy metal makes a driver travel faster than normal in a vehicle, while classical music has the opposite effect. The new music will constantly continue to have an effect on its generation. As Roger Daltrey of The Who said, “talking to my generation.”

It is a melancholy object to hear of these tales in which the college students emerge with a degree in their respective fields who cannot locate a job to pay back their $200,000 worth of loans. The nation’s middle class is being strangled by taxes and by the price of college education. Of course the wonderful financial aid system does little to mollify the plight of the middle class student. The higher class student’s parents will fund his education without fear of being drowned in debt. The lower class students will receive plentiful financial aid in the form of need-based grants. Where does this leave the middle class student? He is left in between a colossal loan and a hard place. This financial burden is not left solely on the middle class student; it is also placed on the backs and minds of his parents who are unable to provide for their child. There is no feeling worse than the feeling of inadequacy in providing for one’s progeny. Failure will descend and conquer faster than the loan statements.

I think it is agreed by all parties that the workforce is becoming increasingly difficult to penetrate, especially in times of economic crisis. Numerous people have found themselves jobless and unable to provide for their kin. It is imperative that we have an intelligent managerial and administrative workforce. Below these administrators and executives, numerous positions are required to perform the work necessary for this great nation to prosper. The commonwealth will benefit from this modest proposal.

My intention is to provide intelligent youth the positions they rightfully deserve and those less than stellar students the positions below those residing in academia. In addition, it would reduce the financial burden of college education on those families suffering currently. Finally, starvation and the constant need for clothing and shelter will be obliterated.

In pondering this necessary subject, I am satisfied that this plan is far more useful and fair than that of my colleagues. This will prevent the need for affirmative action and be based solely on one’s mental capabilities. In this proposal, any student scoring below a 1050 or with a GPA lower than 3.1 will not be admitted to college, unless they have the means to fund it without federal aid. The federal aid will be henceforth provided to students scoring above 1050 and with a GPA greater than 3.1. These more intelligent students will have their college fees paid for by the government, so these fees need not be a burden on themselves or their parents. Those with higher scores will automatically be chosen to attend one of the more prestigious institutions on their list. For example a student scoring a 1540 on the math and reading section and a GPA of 3.85 will automatically be able to chose from Yale, Harvard, Stanford, and so forth. Should the student dislike the school they chose to attend, they will be allowed one transfer to another comparable institution. Once graduating from college, the students may pursue graduate programs or be placed in an available position in their field. The graduate programs will also be funded by the government in order to further promote intelligence in the U.S. The job placement system will create endless opportunity to those with intelligence and dedication. No longer will college students be without a job to repay those immense loans. Those students who score below 1050 on the critical reading and math section will be appointed jobs under their more intelligent peers, unless they have a means to fund their education. This implementation will create jobs for most of the country and will fulfill the needs of this democracy. In order to further open job markets people above age 65 will have to relinquish their jobs and accept social security if they so desire. Those citizens unwilling to accept or unable to retain their job position will be given 5 years to find a job they are willing to perform. If they decide against working for the betterment of their family and mankind, they shall be relocated to another nation of their choice. For example an undesirable may defect to the Netherlands to smoke all the marijuana he desires. These undesirables being evicted from this great nation will allow for less consumption of food and clothing, thus reducing the percentage of those in poverty. Wishing not to contribute to the US economy, they would apparently better suited to a nation not based on capitalism and consumerism. Should there be an individual with a disability, mental or physical who is unable to perform work, their basic living expenses shall be covered by the government. In addition, the very rich who need not work, may pay a sum of $400,000 to the government to waive their citation for removal.

Some of you may be asking foolish questions to yourselves. What if those countries do not wish to have former Americans permeating their borders? I would merely say that many angry countries and terrorist groups are hungry for American hostages. You may be asking what happened to the American prospect of self determination. I would merely say that those people unqualified to attend college had the right of self determination for 18 years- they relinquished that by making a joke of their grades. You may be asking what of these citizens older than 65 who still wish to work. I would merely say that they are in denial and having worked all their lives, they must be becoming senile. There are obviously no real flaws in this proposal.
The Obama administration apparently agrees that this proposal is the best course of action it has yet heard of to aid the economy and college price crisis. Beginning in spring 2010, President Obama will implement the new proposal. He even went as far as saying, “the very nature of this plan is ingenious. In fact it is with regret that I cannot contribute it to myself.” The President is not the only individual enthralled with the plan. The president of Harvard, Dr. Drew Faust said, “while I need not fret over the intelligence of those in my institution, I have, in my discussions with other vociferous professors at various institutions learned that the influx of college bounds students is becoming increasingly stupid and irrational. The need for intelligent students should supersede the infinitely high college education costs.” I profess that the this proposal is solely designed to aid this great country and its great citizens. Of course I will be attending a fine institution in the fall, because I scored above a 1050 on my SATs and have a GPA higher than 3.1.

"Utopia is the good place that doesn't exist," Sir Thomas More once said. Writers like Huxley and Orwell proved this assertion with their satirical, forward-looking novels Brave New World and 1984. These visions have actually bore fruit in the years following their release. Many of the outlandish events and items have become realities. Contemporary social critic Neil Postman asserts that Brave New World is more relevant to today's society than 1984. While Brave New World is more pertinent to today than 1984, Orwell's vision has not been left in complete abandon. Some ideas in 1984 currently ring true, although these are outweighed by the true prophecies in Brave New World.

After 9/11 some of the prophecies of 1984 became realities. Orwell crafted a totalitarian society in which microphones and telescreens are emplaced to weed dissenters from society. This is comparable to the Patriot Act, which allows the US government to tap phone calls, search emails, and invade medical records. This legislation was emplaced to weed out terrorists, domestic and foreign. While terrorism is far from dissension, the Patriot Act is another way of monitoring private matters to ensure security, exactly like the telescreens. Another parallel can be drawn to the matter of torture, which the US has employed for years and most recently at Guantanamo bay. Big Brother and his regime also tortured many dissenters throughout the novel. Obvious are the parallels between today's society and 1984, however they are more numerous when analyzing Brave New World.

"Brave New World hasn't gone away...On the wilder fringes of the genetic engineering community, there are true believers prattling of the gene rich and gene poor-Huxley's alphas and epsilons-and busily engaging in schemes for genetic enhancement"(Atwood). Huxley crafts a society, where humans are cloned and created through mechanized processes. Batches of babies are born in Huxley's vision; this is directly akin to the in vitro fertilization, cloning of animals, and genetic engineering of today. Scientists now have the ability to implant 8 babies in the womb through in vitro fertilization, create a carbon copy of a lamb, and to locate the genes that cause certain traits through the human genome project. Could Huxley have been much more accurate than his vision in Brave New World? Worldwide there is a cooperative effort to cure all diseases known to man, many of which have been depleted through vaccinations for illnesses like smallpox and tuberculosis. In Brave New World, "the inhabitants are beautiful, secure, and free from diseases and worries"(Atwood). While we have not yet cured all diseases, such as AIDS, we are well on our way through the advanced medical procedures. In addition to this, Huxley also envisioned a method of birth control(before the pill) called the "Malthusian drill" to allow recreational sex without unwanted pregnancies. And what do we have today? We have millions who use contraceptives to prevent pregnancy and allow recreational sex with whomever they please. Huxley also envisioned a society where the movie will create an experience where "feelies" and smells are transmitted through the screen to the viewer. At the moment engineers are developing a means of transferring scents through the screen to the viewer, which will essentially place him or her in the screen, albeit without touch at the moment. 3 of the 5 senses will be transmitted through a screen to the viewer! Frightening how accurate Huxley's vision is.

The prophecies of Huxley and Orwell have been validated over the past few decades. The dystopias created by these literary geniuses force us to question how long we have until we become slaves of the government and technology or if we have become slaves already. In both 1984 and Brave New World the society defeats the protagonist and demonstrate the impossibility of a Utopian society. Remember that "the Communist regime in Russia and the Nazi takeover of Germany both began as Utopian visions"(Atwood).

George Orwell began life as the son of a British official living in India. At a very young age he moved to Britain, where he was enrolled in various schools. Because corporal punishment was permissible, he was often hit and was also beaten for urinating in his sleep. This probably sparked his hatred for authority. Orwell then attended Eton School in Britain, which was known to be one of the most exceptional institutions in all of the Isles. After attending Eton, he returned to India, settling in Burma to serve in the Indian Imperial Police. It was during this time that Orwell penned "Shooting an Elephant" and " A Hanging". His extreme distaste for colonialism/imperialism became apparent when he resigned from his position in Burma and moved to various parts of Europe. Orwell decided to resist against Franco along side the United Workers Marxist Party militia, when he was shot in the throat. He then began to be hunted by Stalinists on his own side. These events certainly solidified his hatred toward communism, authority, fascism, the class system, as well as imperialism. He became an advocate of democratic socialism, where socioeconomic classes are non existent and the people live communally for the benefit of each other. Why have I provided a short biography? Well, because it is essential to understand the events that led to his hatred of authority, whether it be national authority, political authority, or economic authority. Various works by Orwell display his detestation towards authority, but " A Hanging" and "Shooting an Elephant" point directly towards the faulty nature of an imperialistic system. Colonialism, to Orwell is a terrible policy because it forces a nation, whom the ruler does not understand, to live, under a total rule by controlling its economic, militaristic, and political policies.

Almost every literary work by Orwell is about the resistance against authority, whether it be totalitarianism or imperialism. His abusive schooling experiences set the stage for this resistance
and continually throughout his life, his opposing views became ever clearer. In Burma, Orwell clearly demonstrates his views on the humanity of imperialism, or lack thereof. In his essay "Why I Write", Orwell writes, “First I spent five years in an unsuitable profession (the Indian Imperial Police, in Burma), and then I underwent poverty and the sense of failure. This increased my natural hatred of authority and made me for the first time fully aware of the existence of the working classes, and the job in Burma had given me some understanding of the nature of imperialism...The Spanish war and other events in 1936-37 turned the scale and thereafter I knew where I stood. Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I understand it.” The short stories penned in Burma are clearly against the imperialistic nature of Britain at the time. Britain would conquer and exploit a nation for economic gains, as well as hurling their world power reputation ever higher. Orwell resists against the ideal that the sun never sets on the British Empire with a prevailing attitude that it should.


In "Shooting an Elephant", Orwell writes, "for at that time I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner I chucked my job and got out of it the better. Theoretically, and secretly, of course-I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British...In a job like that you see the dirty work of an Empire at close quarters. The wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages of the lockup, the grey, cowed faces of the long term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been flogged with bamboo-all these oppressed me with an intolerable sense of guilt." Orwell continually employs the imagery of the thousands of naked human beings living in poor bamboo huts to show the exploitation of this country and village by imperialism. The massive elephant had attacked the village and killed a man. At this point, Orwell acquires a rifle and carries it as a means of self defense. However when the Burmese villagers saw the rifle, they followed Orwell in hot pursuit, waiting for the spectacle to arrive. "And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me and I had to do it. I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly. And it was at that moment, as I stood there with the rifle in my hands, that I first grasped the hollowness, the futility of the white man's dominion in the East... I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys. He becomes a sort of hollow, posing dummy, the conventionalized figure of a sahib. For it is the condition of his rule that he shall spend his life in trying to impress the natives"(Orwell). As Orwell fought to impress the natives by shooting the elephant, he was mirroring the British empire trying to impress the world with its imperialistic tyranny. As he states this is a futile effort which ought not be attempted. Also, is the elephant not symbolic of the Indian nation whose slow, torturous death was inevitable? Orwell is representing the British Empire, slowly but surely murdering India, like the elephant which had crumbled down on itself.


In " A Hanging", Orwell is a prison guard and the superintendent is a British man controlling the camp and carrying out the death of the Indian prisoners. These prisoners are routinely being hanged and it's interesting that the British superintendent and Orwell have the ability and duty to preside over the hangings. An obvious parallel can be drawn to the imperialistic nature of Britain at the time and their control over India. Just as the British superintendent had the ability to end another man's life with one word, the British empire had the power to manipulate like a puppet, an entire Indian nation to its every whim. The control of the prisoner's entire life is in direct connection with the domination of India's entire life.

Imperialism is an evil which, according to Orwell, cannot be justified by any means. It dominates nations and cultures for its own gain, while the host nation suffers indescribably. The prisoner dies according to a word from another, "superior" being. The Burmese villagers are immersed in poverty while the British are exploiting all of the Indian people and their resources. The very nature of imperialism is based on the economic gains and the gains in stature.

Is this our senior year?

"Senior year is the best time of your life. Enjoy it while it lasts, because once the time has been lost, it can never be found again." If I had a gallon of water for every time I heard this, I could flood the Sahara desert. This sentiment seems to be very common and thus far in my senior year, I am not certain I would wish to find that lost time again. Stress and labor have seemed to be two of the most prominent things occupying my life. Between cross country, and peer counseling, and a never ending supply of homework, and college applications, and standardized tests, and work, among numerous other things, my mind is slowly being constricted by the stress. The more the pressure builds in my cranium, the more I loathe attending school and any other activity that involves getting off my rump. Why all of a sudden do I abhor school? Can I survive another four years of this torture? When expressing my sentiments to my friends, they seem to mirror my feelings. This proves the fact that I am not all by my lonesome and there is an underlying factor causing these feelings. Has senioritis set in already? Surely we cannot be plagued by this illness yet, can we? This stress is a result of the rigorous college application process, which seems to be a life and death situation. It is also a result of the academic expectations we are responsible to meet and the virtues we are held to uphold. But frankly this is tiring and futile because we should only try to please ourselves. So I will no longer remain complacent in a society where I am expected to fulfill others' expectations. Oh...wait...I am writing this blog for a grade. So much for that notion.

Saturn and the Rings of Change

It's now 1990. I'm forty-three years old, which would've seemed impossible to a fourth grader, and yet when I look at photographs of myself as I was in 1956, I realize that in the important ways I haven't changed at all. I was Timmy then; now I'm Tim. But the essence remains the same. I'm not fooled by the baggy pants or the crew cut or the happy smile—I know my own eyes—and there is no doubt that the Timmy smiling at the camera is the Tim I am now. Inside the body, or beyond the body, there is something absolute and unchanging. The human life is all one thing, like a blade tracing loops on ice: a little kid, a twenty-three-year-old infantry sergeant, a middle-aged writer knowing guilt and sorrow. (236)


Tim O'Brien feels his life is one thing and his body is unchanging. You shall forever be who you once were, although you gain new knowledge or gain new experiences and these mold you around the basic principle of your original being. Your original self is like the planet Saturn and these new experiences are the constantly forming rings around the planet. Your stagnant being is who you are. Your eyes and name are distinctive unchanging qualities. The changing or moldable parts of your life can be transfigured by the experiences you encounter. Oftentimes the outer rings are what you predominantly show and are also the most important piece of your character. One experience which really molded O'Brien's life was the Vietnam War.

In his quote, O'Brien in his young years was the "Timmy smiling at the camera... with the baggy pants and crew cut and happy smile"(O'Brien). However now he is the "middle aged writer knowing guilt and sorrow"(O'Brien). Has his attitude and life not changed due to his experiences, namely in the Vietnam War? "The central incident-our long night in the shit field along the Song Tra Bong-has been restored to the piece. It was hard stuff to write. Kiowa, after all, had been a close friend, and for years I've avoided thinking about his death and my own complicity in it. Even here it's not easy. In the interests of truth, however, I want to make it clear that Norman Bowker is in no way responsible for what happened to Kiowa. Norman did not experience a failure of nerve that night. He did not freeze or lose the silver star for valor. That part of the story is my own"(O'Brien 161). In the previous chapter, O'Brien says Norman Bowker could have won the silver star and felt as if Kiowa's death was his responsibility because he lost his nerve. He states how Norman Bowker "could not talk about it and never would. He was folded in with the war;he was part of the waste"(O'Brien 153). This was not Norman Bowker's experience, but rather the author's. After manipulating the reader, O'Brien makes it clear that the story was his own. Has O'Brien not changed? He still cannot bear the thought of Kiowa's death and his responsibility and his silver star he almost won. His manipulation and duplicity is because of embarrassment and shame and speculation. O'Brien still is sorrowful and has not healed from the atrocious war in Vietnam. While his name and eyes may not have changed, his experiences have certainly transfigured his rings, the most important piece of Tim O'Brien.

Why I Write by Ishmael Beah

Why do I write? Is it for the monetary compensation? Or is it for the fame I envision? No, when you have seen your family trapped in a smoldering coffin and imagine their faces running off their bones, these matters are downright minuscule. When you have sliced a man's Adam's apple with a bayonet in a competition to see whose prisoner would die the fastest, these are meaningless. When you see your friends with numerous geysers spouting blood into a river of death, these matters are absolutely futile. And when you are awaken from the haze of drugs and butchery into the clarity of sobriety, citizenship, and scholarship, you realize these are devoid of any meaning whatsoever. No I write to make people aware. To make them aware of the children affected by war. Surreal as it may seem, I was an executioner. I am mortified to say this, but if I save one child from the torment I endured by sharing my story, then my writing was not in vain. Today we have wars similar to the conflict I lived in Sierra Leone and the world must know of the atrocities of war and genocide. Oftentimes I awake in the dark of night to see the men I murdered slowly emerging from the bushes with their gaping wounds spewing blood uncontrollably. The sinews of their body are dangling and torn and I wake up in a puddle of my sweat, trembling. I wonder how many of these rebels had families like mine who will forever mourn the uncertain, yet definitive death of their relatives. These dreams from the inferno of Hell and the migraines accompanying them I fear will never subside. It is my sincere goal and wish to educate the world about these conflicts where the sun never rises and the children cling to their guns like childhoods they never had. My writing is also to thank the UNICEF and people who saved me from my irreversible demise: my uncle, relatives, friends, Leslie, and most of all Esther, my first true love. When I contently felt and believed all was lost to my AK, you resuscitated me. You awakened my eyes to the larger world, peace, Freetown, and literature. You led me to life.