Thursday, March 20, 2008

Genetic Engineering, which should finally work!

Genetic Engineering is one of those things that is just too new to know with any certainty the outcome. Sure in today's age most of the food we eat has been, in some way, genetically altered, but thats food it just gets eaten. Food can be played with, altered, studied, and if something goes wrong, it can just be thrown away however the same principles do not apply with small children. Sure there are some advantages, many could initailly be quite beneficial to society, but in the long run genetically engineering humans is simply a matter of how long before something goes terribly wrong.
One of the biggest issues with genetic engineering today is that people say it is replacing God. To many, if not most religions this may be in fact true, however not everyone believes in God, and this could easily lead to a more religious, ethical debate. For these reasons the focus of this paper will rely more on the direct physical aspects of the concept.
Probably the biggest upside to genetic engineering is the abolishment of nearly any and all diseases and disorders. The certainly sounds like a great idea up front, but in the long run these ailments may be beneficial to society as a whole. Research has been done with tourette's syndrome and shows that a large majority of people with the disease, do not think it should be done away with. While many of these people suffer from severe cases of the syndrome, they feel it is the hand they were dealt and that is has shaped them into the people that they are today. In many ways seeing people with these disorders also allows the appreciation of a healthy life. Without the extreme lows, people may not be so willing to appreciate a more average life. While there clearly are tremendous short term effects to eliminating disease, the long term effects could potentially be much worse.
Another huge problem with genetically engineering humans has to do with similarity. As any good parent would do, people will want the best for their children, smart, good looking, athletic, etc. but eventually people are going to become meer clones of one another. Aside from the obvious problems this presents involving identitiy and individuality, it also exposes one major flaw. If all people are genetically engineered the same, that leaves them all suseptable to the same strand of illness. In the past things such as the black plague wiped out millions of people, from hundreds of thousands of families. Now had these been millions of the same people, who knows what could've happened, but the results could have been far, far worse.
In conclusion I feel that genetic engineering is not something that the world is ready for. There are far too many unknowns, risks, and social issues for it to be done, especially on a large scale. Regardless of the scientific, social, and religious views, the answer comes down to one thing, humans have been around for millions of years on our own, and we're doing just fine without it.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Friday, February 15, 2008

I believe in taking chances

I believe in taking chances. In order to know what you’re capable of, you need to be willing to take risks. Risks make you feel alive, without them, you’re confined to thing you already know. Taking risks can open endless doors, and provide endless opportunities, as well as setting clear boundaries as to what one is capable of.
One memory that stands out when I think of all the risks I’ve taken is the day I almost sunk my truck, yes I said sunk. My buddy and I went out for a day of mudding in my newly lifted Bronco. I was eager to try it out and see what she could really do! So after a few hours of hitting some smaller holes my appetite for became insatiable. As we came out of one of the harder trails I heard two words, “You won’t”! As I came to a stop I looked up and saw that the trail split, to my right a nice easy straight path, and to my left, a hole nearly five feet deep of the nastiest looking mud and water I’d ever seen. The choice was obvious, I had to do it! If I didn’t, not only would I be taunted, harassed, and ridiculed, but I would have to constantly wonder if I could make it!
So Tyler got out, camera in hand, and started filming. As the camera rolled I eased in, the tires dug right in and I gave it a little more gas to keep the momentum going. Then it happened! My front tire dropped, and my back tire rose, the water was now over my hood, it was all over; my dad was going to kill me. Not this time! I put the pedal to the floor and the Bronco crawled its way out of the hole, well almost out. She made it through the deep water like it was her job, but lip at the end was a different story, but it didn’t even matter to me. I made it through the deepest hole I had ever tried, I almost destroyed my truck doing it, but it was worth it. As I got out, I ran and dove head first down a long muddy path. When I got to my feet I couldn’t help but have a big muddy grin, I did it, I made it, and there’s nothing that could change that.
Risks are what make life exciting and fulfilling. Some of the most successful people in the world got where they are because they weren’t afraid to take a chance. If you’re willing to try anything, you’ll never have to regret, and if you do, well then you’ll have one hell of a story to tell.

Friday, January 18, 2008

How to complain...effectively!

First, I would like to start by saying that, although I just began, I am already sick and tired of writing this. I could think of literally thousands of better things to be doing on a friday night, but instead I'm confined this stupid computer, writing this stupid paper, which will probably be too boring to read anyway! However, if for some sad reason this does interest you, theres a few things you should know. Complaining is like a fine art, sure, anyone can do it, but it takes a truely talented person to perfect it. There are, essentially, three crutial aspects to any worthwhile complaint, the literal aspect, the mental aspect, and the creative aspect.

The Literal:
Obviously everyone needs something to complain about! All you have to do is watch the news for five minutes to figure this out. However if you really want to complain well, you need to find something that genuinely strikes your intrest. Something so terrible, so vial, that it could literally make your blood boil! And when you find this wretched thing, you're ready for the next step.

The Mental:
Whats the sense in complaining about something if its not important to you...there isn't one! It may be the school lunches, the annoying kid next to you, or even the horrific pimple on your nose, regardless it is important to convince yourself it is the worst possible thing you've ever imagined. Complaining is driven by strong emotions, and whatever you're going to complain about needs to be connected to something important. If the school lunch was bad, well thats obviously what caused you to have three fumbles in the game yesterday. Clearly if your stomach didn't hurt, and you had a well balanced, healthy lunch, you would've one, in fact you probably would have set some sort of record! Now it doesnt have to be connected to a game, just anything or everything that is important in life. Once you're mad, not even just mad, once you're livid, then and only then are you ready to move on.

The Creative:
This is where the Oscars are won, and an individules sense of humor and style has the opportunity to shine through. The key to the creative portion, is gross, outrageous, ridiculous exaggeration! If you're complaining about a relatively clean dog, that cant happen. That dog needs to become a mangy, disgusting, putrid, lice breeding, waste of air, water, and space! Another part that is vital to any good complaint is the use of big words. Big words just make you seem smart! As much as people may not admit it, when you hear somebody speaking about something with passion, using words that you may have only heard on a vocabulary test, one tends to think they know their stuff. Don't believe me? Quite frankly it doesn't even matter because I'm writing this paper, and I'm right.

At the end of the day it still takes one's own spin on these steps to make a truely effective complaint. But, there is no doubt in my mind that if any of this crappy advice is taken to heart, you will be better at not only comlaining, but whining, and pissing and moaning as well!