Refugee Camp

1) What struck you most about Friday?
It was a hot day and my first thought as I walked into the make-shift camp was that I was going to be sweating a lot and I wished that I had not brought my backpack. But then we saw what the refugees have to suffer, and I was suddenly ok wit being hot and a little uncomfortable. I think what struck me most was the lack of health of some of the children. I didn't realize that many of them are toosick to play and move around, which I see as part of what defines them as children.

2) If Doctors without Borders could change anything about their structure, what should it be?
Our guide talked about the water sources that the refugees use and how they are often far away and in dangerous areas, and/or dirty. Doctors without Borders is working to supply them with clean whatre, but I think that it should/should be an even higher priority. I also think that they need to find more engineers to better design the buildings and structures.

Which Party Will I Register For?

I have no idea which party I will register for. That's the problem! Neither Democrat or Republic strikes me as more right than the other. Or rather, neither one strikes me as more wrong, since they both have valid points, How can I possibly make the decision of whether the government should be in charge of social issues such as who makes how much money?! Should the government be allowed that responsibility, or should it have to strick to what it's allowed to do by the constitution? I might reister for the Demorcratic Party simply because Barack Obama might be the change our country needs, but I also don't like the idea of government making so many choices for me. So, I guess that the answer is that I am Independent.

Will I Vote in This Election?

I really do want to vote, for several reasons. First, because I just turned voting age and I was lucky it was during an election year, and second, because this election (2008) is breaking so much new ground. However, I am not positive I will. For one, I still haven't registered, but there's really two main reasons: I am not very politically educated and therefore, I do not have enough of an opion about the "issues" to choose a party. I have discussed politics with both of my parents (one's Democratic and the other is Libertarian), so I do have some basic opions, but I cna't really apply those opions to a party, much less specific candidates. So, if I don't vote, it will be because I don't want to vote for something I don't understand.

EDIT: I VOTED!!!!!

My Declaration of Sentiments

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for an individual to assume further rights to those he/she has occupied, he/she should declare the cause that impels him/her to do so.
I hold these truths to be self-evident; that all adults are created equal; that they are endowed with certain inalienable rights; that among these are the ability to set rules for oneself, independence, and the ability to choose what one wishes to do. It is the right of those who suffer from parents who restrict these rights to refuse to obey them.
The history of modern America is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of the parent toward the adult son or daughter, having directly objected to the establishment of an absolute tyranny over them. To prove this, let facts be shown.
My parents make me obey the curfew set for minors.
There are certain times I may not see my boyfriend, because they don’t trust me, though I am much more sensible and conservative with my actions than many adults much older than I.
They have made me ignorant of my responsibilities and the law by “protecting” me as they did when I was a minor.
I may speak, but they choose not to listen, making my freedom to speak pointless.
Now, because I, an eighteen year old in high school, do feel aggrieved and deprived of my most sacred rights, I insist that I am immediately allowed to have all the rights and privileges which belong to me as a citizen of the United States.
I firmly believe in the Right and the True, and so I sign this declaration.

What Makes an American?

An American can anyone walking down the street. We don't look a like, act alike, pray alike (or at all), dress alike or eat alike. We do, however, all call the land called the United States of America home. In other words, America has not become a complete melting pot, but somehow we are still all brought together.

Firstly, I believe that a American is a legal citizen of the United States. Also, usually a sense of patriotism and a desire to preserve what America has decared that it fights for (freedom, individual rights, fair laws, etc.) come with being American, though it is not a requirement. Similarly, the negative stereotypes of Americans (that we are fat, greed, destroying the environment, etc.) are only, if true, a side effect, not a way to judge. So, put simply, America must emotionally and legally call America home.