Washington's Virtues By Lauren Leakan

                Lauren Leakan

3rd and 4th hour

Blog

Washington’s virtue of self-restraint was evident in early America because early Americans, when creating this nascent nation, took into consideration the long term effects it would create. The long term effects could make or break the new nation.  Washington himself even used this virtue when he was relinquished power as Commander and chief of the army instead of asking for a higher office or political power. The only thing he asked was to be allowed to return to his private life at Mount Vernon. He also showed restraint when he didn’t accept to become king of the New World, as suggested by Lewis Nicola. Washington believed that each citizen should be able to control or restrain themselves otherwise they would need a state police. Washington addressed this virtue in his First Inaugural Address by stating “Labor to keep alive in your breast the little spark of celestial fire called conscience.” He wanted to stress our conscience knows the difference between right and wrong.

                Self –restraint in our society today is still practiced by some Americans, like Gabby Gifford for example. Gabby Gifford recently resigned from her position as an Arizona Representative. After the 2011 shooting incident, Representative Gifford was hospitalized due to a shot to her head while holding a public event outside. She is slowly regaining her motor skills and realized that the state of Arizona might be better off without her as their representative. She decided to resign to help the state in the future. This is self-restraint because she humbled did it for the betterment of others and not just because she wanted the job as Representative. She still has humility even after the terrible incident that happened to her and that has affected her family. This is exactly what Washington was talking about when he said “each citizen must be able to control or restrain himself. Gabby Gifford is a present day example of self-restraint still being practiced in America.

                I apply self-restraint in my own life by listening to my conscience to help me determine what is right and wrong.  I also apply self-restraint in a different way, I look at how fortunate I am compared what it could be. An example of this would be if I was at the store I could by a new outfit for me, or I could give that outfit, or the money I was going to use to buy it with to someone less fortunate that I am. I have had some humbling experiences in my life that have brought me to realize what self-restraint really is. I practice self-control.  I can apply self-restraint in my own life more often however. When my mother tells me I can’t go somewhere or hang out with someone because I have to do chores or visit my Grandma I can resist my urge to become mad at her. I can understand why she isn’t letting me go, or maybe I could even suggest we go visit my Grandma more or offer to do something. I can use self-restraint to control my emotions for my selfish needs and become more selfless.

Swaziland

Fun facts (:
-Swaziland was a british protectorate in 1921.
- They had several leaders even thought the country is so small.

      http://africanhistory.about.com/od/swaziland/p/SwazilandHist1.htm

Myths

All the myths are connected because they make people out of clay, dust, or mud. Also they always make two people because the first person gets lonely. Like in the Catholic version there is a man named Adam and he got lonely in the garden all by him so while he was a sleep God cut him open and took his rib to make a woman as his companion. They also make people out of clay. They did this by making a shape and letting the clay dry, or blow wind into them. Some of these stories talk about floods or wiping out the entire race because they "messed up" on making the world's creatures. So then they start the world all over again by putting the animals, plants, and people back onto the Earth. Also a region can determine how the story will play out. If the people live near water it would be a way different story than if people live in the middle of a country that is land locked. Most of these stories include something about a tree. It represents knowledge in most myths. Like in Adam and Eve God told them not to eat from the tree of knowledge and they did. In World on a Turtle's back there was a really big tree that was one like no other tree in the forest. In the Chinese creation Pan-gu made trees in China. I also found a similarity between stories because when the first people, or person, are on the earth then they typically want something to eat. Adam had the whole forest, Ymir drank milk to make him grow, and Pan-gu grew ten feet every day. The gods in these stories also had very similar personalities but they were very different from each other. Yin and Yang were completely opposite Tepeu and Gucumatz were opposite and left-handed and right-handed twins were opposite as well. It seems one is nice or more clam and collected than the other one is. Water has a big part of this as well. It seems water is there before anything else or it is made first  over than people, animals, plants, etc. The gods must have known the world, and it's people need water to survive.

This thanksgiving was the longest one ever one because my dad just got home from Kansa city and he was really tired from working all week and he had a lot of clothes and tools to unload for work. He was really tired the whole day and my mom was mad because he was crabby. My whole family was just in a really bad mood and it was a really long day. When we got to my aunts house at like three to eat it was pretty fun me and my cousins Kathryn and Megan made everybody a turkey necklace because Kathryn’s second grade class made some in school. Megan’s hands were the smallest because she’s only four. After we made them my tow year old cousins Emma and Ava wanted to play puppy I agreed to this not knowing what I was getting myself into. I was voted to be the puppy so they tied a rope to me and I had to be a puppy. After that we ate dinner I sat by Kathryn and Megan and we got barely any turkey because we were the last ones to get it, but we filled up on pretzel salad and my cousin Chris’s mashed potatoes. It was really yummy and we were really full after than so we decided to play jail n I had 2 stay in my “cell” (under the table) until Emma and Ava broke me free.  I was stuck under there for a while until my aunt called us from the other room because we were having my aunt, uncle, and cousin’s birthday cake. It was really good! We opened presents after and I had to entertain the little ones while everybody cleaned up from dinner and dessert. We decided to go and dance upstairs. We got bored of that and colored. By that time it was time fro everybody to go home. So we took our left over food and left. When we got home we sat by the fire and watched TV the rest of the night. That was my thanksgiving this year.

Walkabout and Rabbit Proof Fence

This week we watched a movie called Rabbit Proof Fence, it is about three girls, Molly, Gracie, and Daisy, who are half-castes which mean they are half white half aboriginal. They are forced to go with these white people to a camp for half-castes and are forced to learn English and become sex slaves for white men. Molly is the oldest and she is fourteen, so she takes care of Gracie and Daisy thought the whole journey back to their home. Molly finds the fence and takes it all the way back home but on the way Gracie was told her mom is in a town not to far and she could get there by train. Molly knew it was a trick but Gracie insisted on going to see her mom. She was found on a bench and was captured and brought back to the camp. Molly and Daisy got back to their village safe and sounds though. They lived there for a couple years and were captured again but Molly escaped again. Her youngest daughter is the only one who didn't make it back after her second time being there.

We also read a book called Walkabout it's about these two children whose plane crashes in the deserts in Australia and they have to survive on anything they can use. They meet and aboriginal boy who they call the "bush boy" and he teaches them how to get food, water, make a fire, and build a shelter. He teaches the younger boy, Peter, all the ways to survive that the aboriginal knows. He notices that Peter comes down with a cold and the bush boy thinks he's going to die from it. The bush boy ends up getting Peters cold and ends up getting very ill from it. He sits under a tree until he finally dies. But he told Peter, before her died, that he just had to make it over the hills and then he will make it to where his uncle is. So he and his sister, Mary, go through the mountains and we assume they make it to their uncle's house.

Halloween Blog

Every Halloween me and my friend Sophie go our trick-or-treating together and get a ton of candy from our neighbors.  We usually go to at least twelve blocks and sometimes more. This year we went as a broken heart. My half of the heart said”BEST”, and Sophie’s half said “FRIENDS”. Every house we went to the people at the door said “Oh you girls are so cute”! Sophie and I thought we had the best costumes out of anybody, even the little children dressed as Scooby-Doo, Buzz Light Year, Elmo, and a little black cat. We also saw some pretty weird costumes like these four girls wearing all black and bright tutus, and that wasn’t even the worst part! Their “friend” was on a leash! I thought that was really weird and Sophie agreed too.

We followed the strange leash girls to the next house where we heard them scream “She gives out cotton candy!” and Sophie and I ran to the door. We had about six people in front of us and we waited eagerly to get our cotton candy so we could eat it later on. Sophie and I counted the people in front of us and found out that there were only three more people a head of us. We got so excited, but just as we were about to scream “YES!” the lady in the house said “There are only three bags of cotton candy left.” When we got to the door there was no more cotton candy left and we got Carmel corn instead. We took a bit of it and spit it right back out because it tasted nasty. I felt bad because Sophie had never had Carmel corn before and I don’t think she ever will again because that shows bad this Carmel corn was.

Another house we went to had a creepy old lady inside who screamed “hello” when we arrived at her door. She said “oh you guys are so cute what are you going as”? Sophie and I confused out of our minds said “a heart.” The lady said “hello” again and gave me and Sophie the candy, but as she did she started to sing some random song to us. So we turned around and left her porch but you could hear her call out one last time “hello pink boys” to us. What a Halloween we had this year!

Current Events

The Chinese leader should let Liu Xiaobo out of prison so he can accept his Noble Peace Prize and the 1.5 million dollars.

Liu Xiaobo is a Chinese activist who protest, along with other Chinese people, about converting China from a communist China, to a China with more freedom. On Thursday October 15,2010, a letter was sent to the ruler of China asking for Liu to be released from prison. The letter was signed by more than 100 activists. ABC news states that "dozens of activists have reported being detained or harassed by police over the peace prize." The Chinese people are not so happy about him winning this prize. They will porbablt not release him from jail but the should.

Source:

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wirestory?id=11887131&page=1