Blog Post #7

 Anti-War

Seeing so much information out there on the internet about how the USA gets involved in other conflicts around the world tends to cloud our judgement on whether or not doing this is just as Americans. We're getting fed a narrative that we are the American saviors, that other countries rely on us to help them fight, that we go abroad to fight for democracy, etc. In reality we are being deceived by our government, who is fighting and funding these wars for their own economical benefit. 

Lesser known  media outlets such as Antiwar.com, really highlight the voices against us as a country involving ourselves in situations we don't necessarily belong in. Looking at it today, majority of the articles talk about the Israel/Gaza Conflict, and updates on what's going on in middle eastern countries such as Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. There's also a lot about Russia/Ukraine, South Korea, Africa, and Wars at Home. 

What I found particularly interesting was that they had two separate sections on Israel/Gaza and Israel/Palestine. It's all very one sided, only talking about what's going on in the West Bank, instead of the full picture. This honestly makes me question the validity of this blog to be so completely honest. I understand the stance of being anti-war, no one is pro-war besides weapons manufacturers and the government. But, war is something that happens across the globe, and to paint it as a genocide is absolutely absurd to me. This isn't just specific to this site either, this is a narrative drawn all over the liberal media. There is a stark difference between war and genocide and I think people are forgetting the definition of a genocide. 

Looking at another news source like The American Conservative, the news reported on is very broad, it's articles on Mexico and the impact of Trump, The USA's impact on Ukraine, Diplomacy vs. Invasion within Iran, Syria Collapsing, and the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. It's definitely a major difference from Antiwar.com as it looked a lot more professional, the pieces were still very opinionated but obviously leaning more conservative. But they didn't seem to have as much written, it was kind of bare, I also noticed that all of their writers were men, and that only one woman served on their entire project. I think this closes off an entirely different perspective on any variety of topics. I also saw that Tucker Carlson sits on the advisory board which does give the blog a little more credibility in my eyes. 

I think you have to seek out these obscure sites to find these antiwar voices for multiple reasons, one it's against the government's agenda to have these people speak out against what they do. Obviously, they can't silence the press as per the first amendment, but they definitely can make it more difficult for larger media outlets to report on it. Personally, though I wouldn't look into these sites again for my news, because I don't necessarily trust that the information I'm getting it properly fact checked, and don't care to hear random people's opinions on whether or not a war is just or our involvement is needed. I rather learn my information from multiple, reputable sources from both sides of the aisle and form my own opinion.

Final Post

Final Post

My relationship with technology has always been, and probably will always be a little complicated. We grew up in a society relatively reliant on technology, even though it wasn't at it's prime during our early development. We still were able to grow up where going outside and playing on the playground was our recess, or toys were our stimulation, when the most amount of screen time we were exposed to was during barney reruns. Now, kids the same age are exposed to the online world almost straight out the womb with iPads for entertainment, and toddlers know how to surf Youtube to find their favorite creators. It's an absolutely crazy world where 2-4 year olds have youtube content creators. 

My relationship with technology has always been one of major awareness, my parents worked in the technology field so my knowledge on the subject was always a little more advanced than others my age. I knew all about the dangers online, how companies track my online activity, and the dangers of being too open with strangers online. This being said I still had my own phone by age seven, I was taught early on how to navigate this world responsibly, which has definitely shaped my relationship with technology and the internet now. 

My relationship with technology and my relationship with media kind of coincide, similarly to technology I was extremely educated on what goes on in the social media world before ever entering it. As opposed to my peers at the time, I first joined instagram in the eighth grade, much later than everyone else. I signed a mini contract with my parents on what was acceptable to post, my privacy settings, etc. I was never allowed to get a snapchat as kid, that was one of their biggest things. Now, I do have one after starting college I decided I preferred having a snapchat instead of giving my number out to people in classes / new people in general. Not the entire world needs to have my cell, you know? 

I'm very intentional with what I post, repost, like, comment, chat, because everything lives on the internet, nothing goes away no matter what people believe. When looking at my personal digital footprint, I started with looking myself up. My instagram pops up, my linkedin, the SGA website, and a couple articles written about me from both during my time here at HPU and prior; after that things get a little random. I also asked chatgpt who I was, obviously some of the information was learned from me using it for speeches / applications and such; but some of the information was pulled off of this blog which I found funny.  

I think my relationship with technology is relatively healthy, I don't use it irresponsibly or rely on platforms to get my assignments done, I don't use it to entirely take up my free time; but most things I do in a day rely on technology to get done. Doing my homework needs to be done online for the most part now, communicating with my family has become a daily activity I do over facetime, calls, and texts, I rely on technology like gps and my vehicle (an electric car) to get on and off campus, or even when I'm winding down late at night by watching Grey's Anatomy on Netflix or watching TikToks before I go to bed. It's everywhere, but it's not everything to me. I prefer the days where I'm on my phone less, when I'm having such a good time on a walk or spending time with someone that I don't even think to check my phone. I've recently also been tempted to try observing Shabbat while at home turning down my electronics for a full 24 hours. It's all about moderation, like anything in life. 

Blog Post #8

 EOTO Reaction #2

The second round of EOTO presentations, I got to hear a very informative presentation on the spiral of silence. I thought it was incredibly interesting and challenged me to think about a new concept I hadn't heard of before but could instantly put into practice. 

To start, the Spiral of Silence was created by Elizabeth Noel Newman, the theory outlines how "people's willingness to express their opinions on controversial public issues is affected by their largely unconscious perception of those opinions as being either popular or unpopular." It's a highly prevalent issue, especially in today's political climate. We saw it with the election this past November, the republican party won with huge margins while it was not an entirely projected win. Most polling and media coverage was in favor of the democratic candidate, conversations among peers and communities were overwhelmingly in favor of Harris, but that was because of the spiral of silence.

When people feel judged for their opinions, when they are made to feel stupid, or uneducated about a topic because they disagree with the louder group they tend to keep their mouths shut. The election of 2024 was the American people's way of saying we are tired of being quiet and we are tired of being shut down.

This is just one example of the spiral of silence in action, there's also much smaller scale examples like being the odd one out in a friend group when it comes to liking something. I know that right now, I hate Wicked, and like everything to do with it; but I haven't said anything about it, or when it's brought up I just nod my head because I just don't feel like dealing with people pressuring me to like it. 

The spiral of silence is a reality whether or not we want to admit it, but people are much less likely to actually voice their opinions now due to fear of isolation, having their opinions not get recognized as valid, inability to handle criticism, and fear of judgement or embarrassment. We are silencing ourselves to conform to the norm, and we must stop.