My Five Christmas Wishes for the World

      Normally Thanksgiving is the main holiday in our society to think about what we have to be thankful for. I think Christmas should be, too. So many things distract us from the true meaning of Christmas; it has become heavily commercialized, and the current mindset is that the measure of the holiday is based on how flashy or exciting the gifts people get or receive are. The true meaning of Christmas is Jesus. It is a time to be thankful and be with the ones you love, because aren't they the greatest gift in our possessions? On that note, I have five Christmas wishes for the world on this basis of gifts that we have that many people take for granted.
     My first wish for the world is that violence would end. All types. Street violence, wars both foreign and domestic, government brutality, and any other kind I've overlooked. People should not have to live in constant fear for their life. Everyone has the right to life, and freedom from fear. Violence is caused by ill intention, and ill intention can be caused by a lack of perspective. If everyone took the time to see things from others' point of view, the world would be a better place.

     My second wish for the world is that everyone will be well fed. Food is in such great abundance in our country. We waste so much as a nation when in other parts of the world people would gladly go through our dumpsters for the copious waste that goes uneaten. In our country, it is thought that the greatest gifts have to cost a fortune, when to some people a simple meal would mean more than jewelry or cars. Every person has the right not to starve.

     My third wish for the world is that everyone has the opportunity to succeed. This too is a simple right that not everyone that should have it does have it. In other parts of the world, women, gays, the elderly, and certain races are all denied the same opportunities as others. Everyone deserves a chance.

     My fourth wish for the world is that everyone would be free from persecution. Whether it be Christians and Jews in the middle east, or even the unborn in our own nation, everyone deserves to be free from persecution. Persecution goes hand in hand with prejudice, which is caused by a lack of perspective. If the persecutors could see their own people persecuted like the people they persecute, it would never happen. If everyone just had pure intentions for everyone to be happy, the world would be a better place. This is highly unrealistic, but one can always wish, right?

     My last wish for the world is that everyone will be loved and that no one will be alone this Christmas. This is the most important of my wishes, because no one should feel alone. Rich or poor, black or white, Christian or Muslim, everyone should be loved. The feeling of being alone is something that no amount of money can fix. Cars, clothes, houses, possessions can never fill the holes inside. The only way to feel complete is with something money can't buy; the warmth of the love of others and our God. That's the true meaning of Christmas.

Slavery in the Modern Day

In London, British law enforcement has detained a couple for holding three 'extremely traumatized' women captive for more than 30 years. Online, a computer generated little girl attracted 20,000 men, 1,000 of them offering payment for sexual acts. What does this reveal about the world we live in?
Slavery is a big problem. It may not be as open as it was in the 17-19th centuries, but it is still a prominent problem even in the present day. This may come as a shock to some, but there are 20-30 million, yes, MILLION slaves in the world today. Human trafficking is an incredibly lucrative industry, yielding over 15 million dollars each year. How can we as a people come together to end slavery?
As a start, President Obama proclaimed January to be anti-trafficking month. I think it is a good idea, but in my opinion EVERY month should be anti-trafficking month.
Some people may misunderstand the term slavery. Slavery means the state of being bound in servitude in the ownership of another. People being owned by other people. God created all to be equal; slavery is in direct violation of basic human rights. Chattel is a similar term meaning a movable piece of human property. If people fully understood the definitions and just thought of how terrible they are, the awareness for this evil would increase greatly.
Do you happen to like chocolate? Do you like the taste of children's tears? The two are closely associated with each other. Most of American chocolate has been produced with some form of child labor. In Africa, children are either hired or stolen from their families to harvest cocoa. They work grueling tasks for as long as 18 hours a day. Many children are beaten, or get seriously injured on the job, and the children rarely see their families.
The three most important facts about slavery are that at least 14500 slaves are trafficked into the US every year (this is important because the impact of slavery hits close to home on this fact, because the evils of slavery could be right outside your door), the average cost of a slave today is $90 (this is important because it is revealing about just how easy it can be to own a slave), and that slavery can be ended completely in 25 years (this fact gives hope to people that slavery can in fact be ended for good).

Freedom Writers

The movie Freedom Writers is a stirring movie about a group of troubled kids growing up in the volatile environment of Long Beach in the midst of relentless violence. Against all odds and with the help of their caring English teacher, Ms. Gruwell, they turn away from violence and take a turn down the right path, finishing high school and some moving on to college. This movie is perfect for showing in a Catholic Morality class because some difficult moral decisions had to be made. Eva, one of the main characters, is faced with the difficult decision of defending 'one of her own' and doing the right thing when testifying in court. Ms. Gruwell is forced to choose between teaching the kids that she has grown close to and her husband. These are examples of the tough moral decisions made in the movie.
In the movie, Miep Gies comes to the school and talks to the kids. She says two very profound things, the first of which being 'I did what I had to do, because it was the right thing to do." She says this when one of the kids told her that she was his hero. She insists that she wasn't, saying that she only did what she had to, and that she had to because it was right.
The second profound thing Gies says is 'Even a teenager can, within their own small ways, turn on a small light in a dark room.' She says this after denying that she was a hero, and saying that all of the kids were her heroes. They all fight to survive, and that anyone, even them, can make the world a better place.

Response to Bullying

Does being mean make you a bully? Some people would say so, but I for one disagree. There are key differences between being mean and being a bully. 

Being mean is not something you want to be known for, but it is not as bad as bullying. Sometimes people can be mean because of their mood, or things that are going on in their lives. It could be an outlet of frustrations. People that bully are mean, but not all mean people are bullies. Being mean is isolated and not necessarily malicious. It is not done for entertainment or for personal gain.

Bullying is much different. When you constantly pick on the same person(s), it becomes bullying. When you are mean to make yourself look cooler or better, that is bullying. When you are mean to make someone's life miserable to their breaking point, that is bullying. Bullying is purely malicious, whereas being mean is not necessarily so. You can be mean without being a bully, but just don't go too far.

Miss America Thoughts

Nina Davuluri, 24, was recently crowned Miss America in the annual Miss America pageant. She was born in Syracuse, NY, and has since lived in Oklahoma, Michigan, and now resides back in Syracuse. She went to college at the University of Michigan, and received various accolades for merit (Dean's List, Michigan Merit Award, National Honor Society Award). She is an aspiring cardiologist. Before winning the Miss America pageant, she also was the runner up in Miss Teen America.
Because Davuluri is not a white American, it has spurred racist comments on social media sites. Comments were made accusing her of being a terrorist, a member of al Qaeda. Some people dreaded the fact that Miss USA was not white. Despite all of the negative comments, even more were made in support of Davuluri. Many people told her to stay strong, and that no matter what people said about her she was beautiful.
I for one agree with the people who support Davuluri. The people who accused her of being a terrorist are ignorant and hateful. Davuluri is beautiful no matter how many hateful comments are made. To all those who think it's okay to spew hateful words over the internet should think twice. They only made her stronger.

Post Introduction

My name is Joe. I am a junior at Bishop Kearney High School. I run Cross Country and I play hockey. My favorite things to do are lift weights, eat, and write poetry. I want to pursue a career in engineering, and I enjoy traveling. My favorite subjects in school are Physics and Pre-Calculus. I believe in hard work, perseverance, and determination. I am Roman Catholic.