The most difficult facet of this question, in my opinion, is choosing among a wide slew of very idealistic values that this country was founded on and/or has developed throughout its history.  Given the proper argument and thought, I believe that just about any of the high-level values that many associate with our society as a whole would be easy to justify as one of the “most fundamental.”  For example, given the choice between freedom of speech and freedom of religion, which do you think is more “fundamental” or more important?  It truly is hard to say- and often, this choice is dependent on the context of breaches of these freedoms.  I’m going to think of some odd examples here, that might not be well suited fore eachother… which is worse- the notorious lack of religious freedom in countries such as Saudi Arabia, or the fact that there have been multiple arrests in various U.S. states over the right to videotape a police officer against his or her consent in public?  Given the vast array of rights and other various values established by documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, it is hard to make definitive calls on which ones are the “most fundamental.”  However, this three values give my best attempt to do so:

1.  Freedom of Speech- I believe that freedom of speech is particularly important because in my personal value system I greatly value individualistic thought.  Repressing the right to express such thought quickly generates particularly negative consequences.  Interesting examples abound, even when freedom of speech is legally allowed, but not appropriate in a given context.  You have probably seen a good example yourself.  Have you sat in a class lecture and wanted to ask a question, but been too ashamed to do so out of fear of judgement by your classmates?  I believe that this is a great example because it shows the insidious nature of the repression of thought- in a large group of people, this can develop quickly, and naturally lead to “groupthink.”  Taken further, when laws prohibit freedom of speech, people will live in a constantly uncomfortable state, where their own thoughts are at odds with the world around them.  The novel 1984 provides an excellent end case for such a broken system.  Due to the intellectually-destructive nature of violations of freedom of speech, I find its protection within U.S. law and public opinion to be paramount- thereby clarifying my belief that it is one of the three most essential values.

2.  Individualism-  This value in particular is one that I carry close to my heart, and one that I have noticed to be in constant flux throughout the course of U.S. history.  This country was founded in strong individualistic roots, and this passion has waned over time.  I believe that “The American Dream,” where one can pull oneself up by one’s own bootstraps to success, is still one of the primary motivations for a large handful of everyday people in the U.S, but I also feel that individualism is, by its very nature, at a sharp contrast with socialist policies.  An excellent example is recently passed legislation forcing every American family to buy private health insurance, or to otherwise face a tax punishment- this is effectively a move by the government saying that it does not trust you as an individual to make your own health choices.  However, this is an extreme case- most policies and social trends that move against individualism are far more subtle.  Simply taking part in a large group activity that encourages homogeneity, versus participating in an activity that emphasizes the importance of individual effort, will change an individual’s stance towards individualism.  It is also generally true that living in an urban environment will lessen one’s individualism, as it tends to discourages self-reliance.  The “flux” that individualism goes through will never completely eliminate it as a fundamental American value, however.

3.  Equality- Definitely an important value here.  There are few people that on face value think that equality is a bad thing, but there definitely is a lot of discrepancy between people about how it should be achieved.  Good examples abound.  Although the Libertarian and Communist parties are relatively small in this country, they probably represent two opposite cases: both are groups that value equality in the utmost, but they go about it in completely different ways- Libertarians believe you let people have equal opportunity by removing the greatest number of governmental restrictions possible, and Communists believe that government should be a force in trying to actively impose equality among people.  The larger groups in current American politics believe in varying combinations of these two methods in order to achieve equality in different regards.  I believe that the importance of equality comes a priori with the well understood value set outlined by our founding documents- any true Democracy comes with equality as a given, due to the fact that it ascribes equal merit to the actions of all individuals within the nation.

Existentialism is all about the individual, choices than an individual makes, and the consequences of those choices.  Existentialism claims that existence is “both freedom and despair” (Cotkin).  The phenomenon of existentialism is experienced when an individual sees the world without meaning or purpose and realizes that one is completely free to act and choose anything.  The individual makes choices and not acting is also considered a choice.  An individual cannot escape making a decision.   The result of having this complete freedom causes a person to experience despair and “most individuals are afraid to confront the responsibility entailed by radical freedom” (Cotkin).  Existentialists argue that this despair is a necessary evil that everyone must experience in order to overcome it and grow as a human being and find meaning in one’s world.  When an individual has overcome the despair and found meaning in life, that person is said to be authentic.  An authentic person knows what his or her meaning in life is.  An unauthentic person does not know what his or her meaning in life is and is still in the state of despair and distress, searing for the meaning of life (Swanson).

Existentialism started in France and started gaining ground in Europe after World War I (Cotkin and Bell).  Existentialism also has beginnings that can be traced back to Russia, Denmark, and Germany.  One of the greatest contributors to existentialism was French intellectual, Jean-Paul Sartre (”Jean-Paul Sartre”).  Sartre attempted to combine the ideas of Marxism and existentialism.  Sartre believed in Marxism and communist ideas however, refused to officially affiliate himself with the communist political party (Bell). Sartre proscribed capitalism and democracy, affirmed atheism and communism, and contradictorily, called for “personal freedom and moral duty” (”Jean-Paul Sartre”).  Sartre was subject to a horrid life in Paris, living under the Nazis and their oppression.  Sartre believed that “everyone is responsible for what he or she does and for what he or she becomes or makes of oneself, no matter what the conditions, even in war and in the face of death.  Sartre later insisted that he never ceased to believe that in the end, one is always responsible for what is made of one” (Solomon).  This is the basis for all of what existentialism is today.  William Faulkner, an existential writer, often wrote about situations in his fiction that Sartre experienced in real life.  Faulkner wrote about people in “dire circumstances-his characters were often on the verge of disgrace, insanity, despair, or social or financial ruin” (”Existentialism in Literature, 1930-1950″).  Along with Sartre, Søren Kiekegaard greatly contributed to existentialism. 

Søren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher that, like Sartre, greatly contributed to the philosophy of existentialism. Kierkegaard’s father, Michael Kierkegaard, was greatly respected by the public.  With the standing of Kierkegaard’s father, Kierkegaard was under strict rules and was shielded by many things that normal people experience, especially considering how weak Kierkegaard was because of various illnesses.  Kierkegaard’s father was friends with many teachers and professors and many of them were at their house at any given time.  It is said that “discussion and debate were as familiar as the furniture” (”Søren Aabye Kierkegaard”).  Kierkegaard’s father worked with him on a regular basis and made sure that Kierkegaard’s imagination was exercised and well developed along with writing skills.  Kierkegaard was always encouraged to express his opinion and he took up writing.  Kierkegaard had always wondered why his father was so depressed and on his twenty second birthday he found out and it shattered Kierkegaard’s earth.  Now, his father is not who he always thought of him to be, he was not the perfect man that did no wrong.  Kierkegaard found out about his non-biological mother, that she was actually a mistress to begin with.  This drastically changed Kierkegaard and contributed to the negative attitude that he took on life.  Kierkegaard when on to study philosophy later in life and developed his writings about philosophy and existentialism that were eventually translated by a minister in the United States after Kierkegaard’s death (”Søren Aabye Kierkegaard”). 

Walter Lowrie, a retired minister, started working diligently to bring existential thought to America in the late 1920s.  Lowrie looked up to Kierkegaard, a Danish religious thinker and began translating his writings.  By the late 1940s, Lowrie had translated most of Kierkegaard’s writings (Cotkin).  It is ironic that Lowrie took such an effort to translate the works of Kierkegaard because during Kierkegaard’s lifetime, his works were not popular.  Kierkegaard paid for the publishing of his works with his inheritance and his works received virtually no response or interest from the public. Even though his work was not popular in his own time, his work ended up being extremely influential in the twentieth century. If it were not for Kierkegaard’s writings, existentialism may not ever have become what it was in the twentieth century (”Søren Aabye Kierkegaard”). 

The translation of Kierkegaard’s works greatly impacted the way and the speed that America caught onto existential philosophy (Cotkin).  Existentialism became popular in America after World War II largely because the mood of existentialism matched how Americans were feeling at the time.  Many Americans were depressed not only from losing family and friends in the war but the country was also stricken by depression, chaos, and poverty.  The Cold War and nuclear age were large contributors to the mood and feelings of the people of the world, not only Americans which caused “French existentialism [to become] a worldwide vogue” (Cotkin). Another reason for existentialism’s popularity was the desire for a new way of looking at things.  After the war, the world just wanted a new start, a new way of life (”Existentialism in Literature, 1930-1950″).

Existentialism concerns itself with many parts of society such as ethics, philosophy, literature, religion, personal values, and the meaning of life.  Existentialism stresses the importance of individual and personal responsibility.  Although many existentialists such as Sartre are atheist and “seem to avoid ethics,” they are among the “most moralistic [and] moralizing philosophers of modern times” (Solomon).  Existentialists claimed that Western ethics and morals are “slave morality” (Solomom).  This may be because the main existentialists did not believe in institutional ethics, only individual ethics, which makes sense because existentialism is all about the individual.  Martin Heidegger, another major contributor to existentialism, stated that “existentialism was not an ethical philosophy” (Solomon).  For Heidegger to say existentialism is not a moral or ethical philosophy contradicts the entire idea of existentialism, which is personal responsibility.  Not all existentialists are atheistic, Kierkegaard subscribed to Christianity, claiming that not all choices in life can be rational. Kierkegaard was not sure why he chose to follow Christianity. Kierkegaard claimed that there were no rational reasons for him to choose religion, for which it is purely for one’s “personal necessity” and “desire for passionate commitment” (Solomon).  Existentialism does not throw out religion and many of the main contributors were religious.  Existentialism is present in many writings whether the author wants the writing to be considered existential or not.  If a fictitious literary work focuses on a character overcoming a challenge and finding one’s inner self, also known as becoming an authentic person, that work can be considered existentialist.  There are many examples of authors and works that are considered existentialist.  Ernest Hemmingway and Albert Camus are among the most popular writers that can be considered existentialistic.  The Catcher in the Rye, The Guest, The Stranger, Bartleby, The Sun Also Rises, and even The Wizard of Oz can be considered existentialistic works (Sawnson, “Hemingway as Existentialist”, and Meyers).

Albert Camus is an author that expressed his existentialistic ideas through his literary work.  Camus’s work addresses absurdities in life.  Most of Camus’s work was published after World War II, during the time that existentialism was becoming prominent in the United States.  Some of Camus’s most popular work is The Stranger, The Guest, and The Myth of Sisyphus (Solomon).  Camus is notorious for portraying double meanings, paradoxes, and reversals in his writings.  “The original French title of this story, ‘L`Hôte,’ means not only ‘the guest’ but also ‘the host.’ There is no English word that conveys the double meaning of the French word” (Powell).  Camus creates tension that cannot be resolved easily and ambiguity that exists as a reference to the uneasiness felt by individuals experiencing the phenomenon of existentialism, which is when one realizes they are completely free and responsible for choices made (Powell).

Ernest Hemmingway is another author that has existentialist tones in his stories and works.  Although Hemmingway did not call himself an existentialist, many critics have considered his works as existentialist because of the writing style and the unusual journeys that his protagonists go through in order to find their meaning and reason for existence (Swanson).  Hemingway’s works portray “themes of disillusionment, futility, despair and the inevitability of death. His heroes are usually tragic ones; his exotic settings often host scenes of violence and brutality, and his spare writing style is often notable for the anguish it leaves unexpressed” (”Hemmingway as Existentialist”).   Hemmingway sends his protagonists through profound journeys, battling beasts, armies, and self indulgence in order for them to find their “meaning, happiness, and peace” (”Hemmingway as Existentialist”). 

Gabriel Marcel is an existentialist writer and thinker.  Marcel’s most known works are his three essays regarding existentialism, “On the Ontological Mystery,” “Existence and Human Freedom,” and “Testimony and Existentialism.”  “On the Ontological Mystery” is an overview of Marcel’s philosophy.  “Existence and Human Freedom” is a critique of Sartre’s work and philosophy.  Lastly, “Testimony and Existentialism” is a description of Marcel’s thoughts on existentialism.  These essays were written between 1933 and 1946.  The first essay, “On the Ontological Mystery” describes the difference between what Marcel believes to be problems and mysteries of life.  According to Marcel, “problems are questions that are, at least in theory, resolvable.  However, … the sense of being is not a problem, but a mystery” (Bankston).  In “Existence and Human Freedom,” Marcel agrees with Sartre’s idea of choices being made in freedom.  Marcel claims that there is no reason for one to make one choice over the other because “there is nothing inside of things or behind them, and this is what gives existence its quality of provoking vertigo and nausea” (Bankston).  Since there is no reason to choose one thing over another, there is no foundation for evaluating or critiquing the choices that others have made.  In Marcel’s third essay, “Testimony and Existence,” Marcel expands and elaborates on his own personal thoughts of existentialism.  Marcel continues to compare himself to Sartre.  For example, Sartre had a negative view on other humans and felt as if other humans were out to destroy each other.  Sartre felt that “a gift is a strategy to possess and ultimately destroy others” (Bankston).  Marcel viewed a gift as a symbol of friendship and friendly human interaction.  The two thinkers have their differences but the two both agree on the fundamental values of existentialism such as personal responsibility and liability as well as self-control and personal morality.  (Bankston).

In summary, existentialism is a philosophy that was started by European thinkers, first in France.  Existentialism was contributed to by three major thinkers, Søren Kierkaarg, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Gabriel Marcel.  All three had lives that consisted of tragic events or twisted turns that greatly transformed their way of thinking and eventually led to what existentialism is known as today.  Existentialism is a philosophy that states an individual is totally and wholly responsible for all actions and decisions that are made.  An individual is responsible for making the best of one’s life situation and an individual is ultimately responsible for what has been made of oneself.  The philosophy became prominent in Europe after World War I and then popular in the United States after World War II.  Existentialism has had an enormous impact on the way that people think and existentialism has had a profound impact on literature in the time period that it was popular.  Whether agreed with or not, existentialism is an important part of American and world history and should not be overlooked. 

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Works Cited

Bankston, Ill, Carl L. “The Philosophy Of Existentialism.” Masterplots II: Christian Literature (2007): 1-2. MagillOnLiterature Plus. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.

Bell, Vance. “Existentialism.” St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 2. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. 50. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 17 Apr. 2012.

Cotkin, George. “Existentialism.”Dictionary of American History.Ed. Stanley I. Kutler.3rd ed. Vol. 3. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2003. 279-281. Student Resources in Context.Web. 12 Apr. 2012.

“existentialism.” Merriam Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1995. Academic OneFile.Web. 12 Apr. 2012.

“Existentialism in Literature, 1930-1950.” Historic World Events. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Student Resources in Context. Web. 2 May 2012.

“Jean-Paul Sartre.” DISCovering Authors. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resources in Context.Web. 12 Apr. 2012.

Meyers, C.D. “‘If I Only had an Essence!’ Existentialism and The Wizard of Oz.” The Midwest Quarterly 53.1 (2011): 95+. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.

Powell, David. “The Guest.” Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition (2004): 1-3. MagillOnLiterature Plus. Web. 23 Apr. 2012.

“Sartre, Jean Paul (1905-1980).” Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.

Solomon, Robert C. “Existentialism.” New Dictionary of the History of Ideas.Ed. Maryanne Cline Horowitz.Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2005. 761-765. Student Resources in Context.Web. 12 Apr. 2012.

“Søren Aabye Kierkegaard.” Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale Power Search.Web. 12 Apr. 2012.

Swanson, Roy Arthur. “Existentialism In Literature.” Identities & Issues In Literature (1997): 1-3. MagillOnLiterature Plus. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.

1.  the internet

2.  modern agriculture

3.  the automobile

I do have several values that conflict with these technologies.  The conflicts that I can most easily identify all relate to the internet.  The internet, although it allows for great strides in productivity in many cases, a value I correspond with, is also a personal source of sloth.  It is easy to get on youtube or a multiplayer online game, for example, and waste hours of any given day.  This lost time spent in passive enjoyment conflicts directly with my desire to be productive.  I want to be able to spend my time completing challenging, existentially satisfying work that builds my value as a person and allows me to reach my goals and leave a personal legacy in what I have done.  The internet therefore enables me to give in to the vice of sloth, draining me of my productive potential and creating a value conflict.  Additionally, the internet has dehumanized a great deal of social interaction.  Many activities that formerly required face-to-face interaction are now accomplished by filling out online forms.  This contrasts directly with my highly prioritized value of human interaction.  I believe that our creative capacity as humans gives us one of the greatest true sources of value in the world, and that to gain personal value, meaningful interactions with other individuals should be encouraged.  The internet has allowed us to deprive ourselves of such interactions- however, over time, this may change.  As online video calls and other forms of online media that allow full and expressive remote communication grow in application, the internet will allow a greater amount of fulfilling social interaction.

Modern agriculture only raises slight value conflicts for me.  As a system, it has fundamentally alienated most people from the very food they consume.  It has done this by completely separating the consumer from the sources of production, such that they often never interact.  I do not know exactly where the food I eat on a daily basis comes from, and I do not have any grounds to feel a valuable connection to it.  Former, closer to home agriculture may have given people a greater intrinsic link to the food they consume, allowing them a greater source of emotional fulfillment.  However, I do recognize the fact that modern urbanization has created a need for such a system.  Ultimately, the value trade-off between the need to feed the masses and the desire to know the source of one’s food will lean toward a highly distributed system such as the one we have in place today.

The car is very important to me, in that it is a very effective means of transportation.  It corresponds with my value of independence- with a car, I can go anywhere I want, dependent upon no other person, in a short amount of time.  Additionally, I have been able to foster my independence by gaining the mechanical skills and knowledge to perform my own automotive maintenance.  However, in other regards, the car conflicts with the very same value. I have become dependent on the automobile, and would not be able to perform the same without it.  I would not be able to transport myself or enjoy products that would otherwise be difficult to deliver.  Furthermore, as globalization of manufacturing has increased, I have become more and more dependent upon a wider and wider number of people to manufacture parts for my automobile.

It is difficult to establish exactly where my value of independence stems from.  One of the likely causes is a history of other people letting me down in certain situations.  Many of these let-downs have been emotionally painful, damaging to my long term goals, or damaging to my friendships.  These situations would likely make me want to push other people away in order to be able to function on my own.  However, the cause of my independent nature is mostly due to other factors.  I have often come to the conclusion, upon introspection, that being a self-reliant individual is a favorable position.  When you are not dependent upon others, you are capable of reaching your goals in a more clear and practical way.  Additionally, the independent individual always has the option to ask for the help of others, if he wishes.  Those who are not independent do not have the option of suddenly becoming independent, as they have not cultivated the skills to do so.  Therefore, choosing a more independent path will tend to broaden your horizons, as you tend to become more capable over time.

A second value of mine conflicting with independence is empathy.  I want to emotionally connect with other people on a fundamental level, and to have meaningful social interactions in doing so.  This stems from the fact that I enjoy the companionship of others (as do most people, I suppose), and that I want to learn from other people’s life stories.  However, it conflicts with my value of independence in the fact that the more emotionally connected I become to a person, the more I feel dependent on them.  Once that occurs, I have an urge to become more emotionally distant from them.

My current resolution to this conflict is to keep a large, loosely knit group of friends.  I can then socialize with many of them without feeling to dependent on any person in particular, and it leaves me capable of recovering easily if I have a falling out with any friend in particular.  However, this is not an ideal solution.  It leaves the potential for an emotional void that may be harmful, as may prevent me from having deep emotional connections.  However, this approach does have some benefits.  I gain a great deal of social skills by associating with a wide variety of people- in the past few years, I have grown to be an excellent conversationalist, for example.  Additionally, it allows me to meet new people, and to learn life stories from many of them (albeit, not as in depth as I would learn from exclusively keeping a small group of friends).  I also can meet more friends to keep in contact with through the future, and to see how their lives progress.

I met a woman back in Y2k.  With women I can relate with, I am sort of a comedian.  However, no matter how hard I tried this particular woman would not laugh at my jokes.  She would hear them, but completely ignore them.

This was starting to bug me. Then one day I got her to laugh.  We are both from Mexico.  She is more emotionally tied to that country than I.

However, I told her, “Sometimes when I am talking to people, I tell them you can tell I am not from America.  I came over on the Titanic.”  I give the person several seconds to ponder  what I am talking about.  I am not old enough to of been on the Titanic.  Then I say, “Yeah I had to swim most of the way”.  This time she laughed.  I laughed also.

Before this woman I had met a sweet, darling, adorable, woman who I consider my best friend in the world.  I made her laugh a lot.  One day we were talking about food.  She said something and I responded that I love McDonalds.  As always she gave me her questioning and curious look.  I then said,’ Well I mean the Big Mac.  It is not like I am going to take one of their buildings, place it between to buns, and eat it”.  We both laughed at the same time. Then we tried to stop laughing.  However, she or I would start laughing again and both would just keep laughing.

I do not lie when I say my life has been a torturous hell.  However, this great friend was able to fill my heart with joy, with nothing more than her smile and her beautiful eyes.

Today, I sit here trying to write about the beauty in life because maybe we are confused about what us Traditional Values people are fighting for in this year’s US presidential election.  Life is joy, happiness, love, and intimacy.  We are fighting for the right to live our lives in a good, decent, and righteous manner.

Every single person that thinks they can rob people by demanding their money in taxes fails to understand one thing.  The money I earn is the money I can use to enjoy life with while I am alive.

Okay, some will say you cannot buy happiness.  I will agree.  However, when there is money for bills, rent, and groceries people are in a better mood.

Bureaucrats only waste the tax payer’s money.  All governments exist only to administrate basic services and protect the public welfare.  A threat has to be a real threat not a perceived threat created by people who gain financially by promoting the threat, like Global Warming theorists.

Our society is a mess because some people are trying to hold me to their misguided standards.  Most of us are born with the same brain.  We can either be positive or evaluate our environment in order to find a way to a desirable life or we can be negative and find excuses for failure.  No amount of money is going to help people change their attitude and start working for them.

At the end of personal thought is misery or joy.  The attitude we confront life contributes to our mood.

After my letter to God, some may wonder how I dare to write an article on the beauty in life.  When I started writing my goal was to help people overcome their pain and suffering.  I forgot this goal.  I assigned myself this mission.

In the last days, I realized why it is I am into Traditional Values. Freedom from stress comes from being able to meet the challenges of life.  When we are able to keep the majority of our money and have a rich economic environment we are able to meet the challenges of life.

I do not need Obama or anyone else to give me what I can provide for myself.  I am not afraid of long hours.  I will tolerate any human at the office as long as I am working towards my goals.

However, we are in a world of serious negativity. People do not know the life’s pursuit that will bring them true joy in life.  We have lost sense of life.

Now, I am not wiser than anyone else. However, I am more in tune with being positive and enjoying life with the simple pleasures of life, such as Coca Cola, good music, and working to accomplish my personal goals.

Life has so much to offer.  Circumstances are not excuses. I cannot say that because I am not making enough money, I have the right to rob a bank or violate a country’s borders.

I believe that Mr. Romney will respect the hard earned money of hard working Americans.  In addition, I say with good confidence Mr. Romney will not spend 7 trillion dollars.  Mr. Romney has stated that he will work to repeal Obama-care. Mr. Romney has stated he believes in the strict enforcement of all illegal immigration laws.

Therefore, there is a great difference between Mr. Romney and Mr. Obama.  Romney is a positive optimist.  Obama is a negative cynic.  Romney believes in respecting the individual.  Obama thinks he knows better than all of us.

Mr. Obama is not my spouse.  Mr. Obama is not my sibling.  Mr. Obama is not my religious leader.  Mr. Obama is not my good friend.  Therefore, why does Mr. Obama think he knows better than I do how to spend my hard earned money?

A lot of people have had their homes foreclosed while Obama has been in office.  There are still 20 million people looking for work.  Obama spending 7 trillion dollars has helped none of them.  In the three years Obama has been in office many Americans spend their days tortured by their personal economic situation.  Many Americans have given up looking for work, are under employed, and/or could only find a part-time job.

Americans are worse of three and half years later.  The people who used good philosophies and pursued life with a positive and optimistic attitude are not responsible for Obama’s failures.  Mr. Obama can criticize Republicans and the wealthy all he wants.  However, Mr. Obama is the reason Americans are worse of today than they were three years ago.

The beauty of America is her freedom.  People have the freedom to choose better leadership.  I have come to the conclusion that the power in all nations is best in the hands of its citizens.  Societies succeed when its members are personally responsible and self-reliant. The best government is a small government, with a low tax system, and minimal regulation of the free market.

Now, I am aware of the stress the current economic crisis is causing people.  The solution to this distress is not more Obama spending.

The individual has to define his or her life.  Then the individual uses the resources in his or her environment to meet the challenges of life and pursue joy and happiness. I know when we all start handling our business in life in America will improve.

Life begins at conception.  Approximately, nine months later, a child is born.  Many parents fall in love with their children before their birth.  They take joy in watching them grow.

Through life a child has many steps.  They go from a creature that kicks and tastes everything to a thinking and acting been.  aS LONG AS there is no abuse, a child grows up nice, polite, decent, and good.

At High school graduation, the parent shines with joy from looking upon the adult they helped form.  The road to adulthood is filled with music, crushes, jokes, and some disappointments.

Then these new adults start their own families and the cycle of life begins again.  Each day is one filled with endless possibilities for fun, joy, laughter, happiness, love, and intimacy.  People who are of a good attitude get the most of life.

Life is supposed to be a joy, even in difficult times.  However, in our world we are brainwashed to a bad attitude. 

I am a firm believer that most people know what is right and wrong.  This presidential election all the people, who know about the beauty of life and the delicate balance between government and the citizen, need to get involved and vote.

At your college you will be able to make choices that reflect the values ​​you have. Although the main purpose of college is learning about new ideas. However, the process of making those decisions can also build the character himself.

College is a time where we have a higher responsibility level than the high school students. Students decide for themselves whether he would go to class or not even in the ITB average each semester Presence of at least 80%. You have the opportunity to use 20% for the fixed tuition or used for other things that you think is much more interesting. This definition is then pulled should  traced further because this is where your responsibility is tested. You think of any maturity can be seen from the decisions you make.

Let us discuss more about Skipping Lectures (BK). Why this is so important to be discussed because of this we can learn a lot. When you decide to calculate BK with good things. How many dollars have you wasted because you did not come to college. How likely you BK affects your test scores. How large an influence on your friends get annoyed because you always borrow the lecture notes. Here, you calculate the sacrifices you have to pass for 20% of the opportunities that exist. Your maturity will be formed to make decisions if you are able to optimize 20%.

In the lecture you should be able to participate actively and sportsmanship. What is meant by the active participation? I hear, I forget … I see, I know … I wrote, I remember … I do, I understand is one reason why we should participation active. Remember college is different from high school. If we just follow the flow of the success we achieve will be the same with others, nothing special. If we want to succeed, we must work harder. Sacrifice will produce different results.

Participation sportsmanship what the heck? That unsportsmanlike means to accept defeat and victory as well. The nature of sport is important when we want to build success in college. Sportsmanship can also be interpreted to do the best we can in accordance with the norms or values ​​that exist.

Do not ever think that success can be achieved in an easy way. One of the characteristics of a success is hard work. If you still believe that success can be achieved simply by turning the palm of the hand or temporary success. Many are fooled by the success of students while they thought was a great success.

If you believe that the GPA of the cheating is a success then you’ll know the difference when you enter the world of work, when your skills are tested, when that is before you is no longer a matter of quadruple integral but a business transaction of 50 million or 120 million worth of production machinery. If your GPA is not able to prove your ability and the money worth 50 million will be lost or machinery for the production of 120 million will be broken away without tangible results. You can see that the price of a sportsmanship, may be worth 50 million or 120 etc..

Lecture is an opportunity for you to learn many things. Learn about science, about the soft skills, of norms and values, about success, about failure, about hard work. If you can take advantage of the existing values ​​as well your college days with optimal then you’ve started your struggle to achieve success earlier than others.

Each community has different standards and values​​. example, the standard ‘if someone is good or not’ in the school with the group sepermainan certainly different. In school, for example, someone called good if the value ulangannya above seven or never late for school. While the group sepermainan, well if someone called in solidarity with friends or helping each other. Differences in standards and values ​​were not independent of an existing type of socialization. There are two types of socialization. The second type of socialization is as follows.

formal

This type of socialization occurs through institutions authorized under the applicable provisions of the state, such as education in schools and military education.

informal

This type of socialization have on society or the nature of family relationships, as between friends, friends, fellow club members, and social groups that exist in society.

Both formal and informal socialization socialization remains a child lead to personal growth to match the values ​​and norms prevailing in the environment. In a formal environment such as in school, a school student hanging out with friends and interact with teachers and school employees. In these interactions, he experienced the socialization process. with the process soialisasi, the students will be aware of the role of what he should do. Students are also expected to have awareness in him to judge himself. For example, if I was good, including children and your friends like it or not? Do I have perliaku worth it or not?

Although the socialization process of formally and informally separated, but the results are very suluit to split up because people usually have formal and informal socialization as well.

History should be the foundation of human learning. Our understanding shall at all times stays curtailed exclusive of the knowledge of history.

One should make out something of the past; societal and political circumstances widespread then so as to be grateful for the works of that epoch.

Devoid of the knowledge of history one cannot declare himself appropriately learned either as a citizen or as a scholarly and creative being. Tourism too turns out to be enthralling and appealing if one holds some past knowledge.

At present the world is a community of nations. A lot of nations are got into close contact with each other. It is necessary that each nation should know somewhat about one another’s past practice and credibility.

It is not compulsory to go into detail about them, but as a minimum the wide sketches of the societal and political circumstances, which have given to each nation its current disposition. Knowledge of history develops better understanding among nations.

One more enormous value of the history is that it enlightens us as how did the current shape of things developed out of the past? With the help of history we get several thoughts regarding the derivation of organizations, values, behaviors and discriminations of a range of people of the world.

History casts glow on the informal and growing aspect of the past of humankind. It facilitates us to find out what life was akin to in different ages. It shows a straightforward rebuilding of the historic status of civilization. History assists us to recognize about the accomplishments of man at diverse phases.

Knowledge of history stirs up our mind’s eye like literature. It provides lyrical enjoyment to the readers. The lyricists are much enthralled by the puzzling item. The focus issue of a historian is also strange. While we go through history we are gone astray in the secrecy of the past.

By Muhammad Irfan Zafar

Content Writer

Lloyd is a few months away from turning 18, and his high school graduation and 18th birthday coincide. At this point of his life, his main concern is the best way to spend his one-year vacation. As approved by his parents, he will be spending a year away from home before entering college. Lloyd’s family is not particularly rich. Lloyd must just be lucky that he is the only son of two thrifty business partners. Paradoxically, these cost-conscious parents are willing to spend for Lloyd’s one-year break to explore the world on his own before entering college life.     

The strong influence of family on the crucial life decisions of early adults, however, does not necessarily mean that that the family is the sole factor that determines these adults’ preferences. This can be explained by the three levels of analysis, which include “values, approaches, and behaviors”, set by the model called Career Active System Triad (CAST) of Baruch (2004). It is the values, which include culture, morals, and principles, that form the underlying roots. The next levels emerge these roots as the values turn into approaches, which end up in behavior. For individuals, the values express the goal, which concludes to behavior or action. 
It is the values of Lloyd’s parents that formulated his approaches that eventually translated to his behavior, the manifestation of his life decisions. This indicates that whether an 18-year-old has truly transitioned from adolescence or not, the final decision will always be made by the individual. An early adult by age who still significantly depends on his or her parents have two choices to make, which is either to continue depending on the parents or to finally stand on his or her own. By age, Lloyd is about to leave adolescence but his ability to make his decisions and face its consequences without depending on his family will establish him as a real adult.

Values, traditions, pre-determined formulas of years, the sayings of the old, proverbs, golden sayings even the universal truths, today nothing is 100% for sure. The yesterdays theory can be proved false today and today’s experience can be proved wrong tomorrow. The advancement of science and education has changed the structure of the world.

Now people are following new thoughts, imaginations and modern philosophy such as in the Europe and in many developing countries, physical expression is considered more effective than verbal. Especially in the elite class “body language” has acquired the shape of a regular art. Who would bother choosing the adequate and beautiful words from the store of millions of words, is it not better making use of smile, shaking hands or embracing excitedly? Now this way is becoming customary.

The communication professor George Foster of Washington University also determines “body language” the successful method of the present era. She says, “You cannot recollect such effective and beautiful words in few seconds that can give you required results, whereas the hand-shake of few seconds can produce results beyond your expectations. The reason for it is that every person seeks full attention and sincerity from his opponent regardless of his rank and that is certainly expressed from stepping ahead and shaking hands.”

Similarly, one of the public relations experts woman of Britain Salena Arthur who teaches methods of communication and renders services of uplifting the latent capabilities of the business community says “You cannot achieve tenacity in your relations unless your palm does not touches the opponent’s palm completely.”

Petty Wood says that “It takes only 90 seconds for any person setting any concept about you in the first meeting and if these 90 seconds are those in which you are shaking hands excitedly then this act will go into your favor, especially if you are going to deal some business matters, it would be a first ladder of your success.”

Petty Wood also opines that more effective implications can be put by shaking hands zealously or embracing in the similar manner instead of using thousands of words. By the way it is also comparatively easier and less time-consuming way. An identity of a good business man is that he leaves such an effective impression in his first meeting that compels other to meet him again.

Regardless of the result the first 90 seconds of every business meeting are very important and sometimes these 90 seconds makes you millionaire.

When we take support of words in an interview, the listeners examines our whole personality by judging our expressions, ascending and descending of our voice tone, the acts of our hands etc and determines some opinion about ourselves. Sometimes, in these situations we express some such expressions unwillingly that are not in favor of our business relations.

Although body language itself also does not have expertise in expressing pleasant or unpleasant expressions but there is one quality of this language, you have more opportunities of masking your face or changing yourself according to the circumstances. That means if we wish the opponent would not feel about our displeasure of his arrival or speech, we can conceal it by just keeping silent and shaking hands with the same enthusiasm at the time of departure, this will be considered as a wonderful business tactic.

Actually, physical expression is a regular art, about which few people are aware of. On the other hand, if this method would also gain popularity, it would also lose its effectiveness like verbal expression. People who are aware of the art of body language can read the internal matters of the opponent with his little smile. But, even then the experts of body language can deceit the opponent easily.

There is lot of difference is judging by the saying of any person “I am confident” and judging his confidence by his expressions but the fact is that face is more reliable than words provided you have expertise in reading body language, otherwise you may be risking great cheating.

“Body language” is an ancient art, although researches were carried out in the mid of 20th century, when a book “An introduction to acts and actions” of Ray Berdastal introduced in the market. Afterwards many such books started coming at intervals and gaining popularity, especially Nany Armstrong’s book “How can the human expressions be recognized and conveyed to others?” gain unbeatable popularity. The subject of body language was described in detail in this book.

In this book nature and human habits are also described profoundly. For instance how people overweigh others, how some people show sincerity without having in reality, what is the reason of pressing hand without any reason? What does eye hints and several body actions depicts? All such things are described in this book.

As regards to body language a famous writer Foster also detailed the vague body language. He says,

“What I see the biggest flaw in the expression of body language is the vague body language expression. This method often makes you dubious. It can also develop doubts and false assumptions. Personally I am totally against the vague body language. Today when actions are noted more than words such as when you are giving interview for a job, the members of the board keep an eye on your acts rather than your words, therefore in this case what is the need of using vague expression method? What you want to say, express it openly so that no doubts would be created in the mind of the listener.”

The body language experts have also developed many methods for youth to achieve success by means of body language. For e.g. Wood says, “If you go for an interview at some place, the initial 10 seconds when you go walking and sit in front of the board, your confidence should remain intact during all this time. Your steps should be put at the same place where you want to be and then going and sitting on the chair is utmost important.”

The foundation of your bright future is going to be put from this point. Likewise, soft and friendly smile all the time on your face is a guarantee of confidence. Wood says to shake hands enthusiastically at the time of arrival and departure. This is a guarantee of any successful meeting.

Similarly, according to an expert putting hand on the shoulder is considered to be a childish act but it is not necessary. This act is an indication of confidence as well. Such as some people think about a person, who avoids eye-contact while talking perhaps he is doing so because of respect but in my opinion such a person is suspicious. What is the use of extra respect of any person? Yes, if the opponent is an aged person or a woman, then it can be understood. Foster and Wood both are of the same opinion regarding vague or suspicious way of expression.

In their opinion if any person continue adopting vague way of expression, then there is no harm is asking from him (whether politely) “What he wants to say?” Especially if any man or woman adopt this kind of attitude then may be he is doing so unintentionally and if doing so intentionally, there is no harm in asking him strictly, whereas it is a basic right of every woman.

Today “Body Language” is considered an authentic way of expression all over the world. This custom is also making its root rapidly in developing countries as well. Such programs are broadcasting on the electronic media nowadays where hosts make use of hands and face expressions more than words in order to describe their point of view.

Some while ago this method was not prevailing but today it is considered an identity of a successful host. In this way they succeed in displaying themselves more confident and at any place their tongue fluctuated, liberal hand actions are there to support words.

In order to master this art, you can take help from several books and internet. There is no doubt this art is proving very helpful in proving your importance and getting successes. However, “Smile” and “Enthusiasm” are the basic pillars of it. If you get awareness of using it correctly then other comparatively small milestones are achieved automatically.

We recommend to youngsters to start making effort of reading people faces and then examine your estimations from today and also sometimes speak without using words to see if the opponent is getting to the base of your talk or not. Make yourself habitual, a day will come when you will not only become expert in this art but also start climbing the ladder of success.

Because in today’s modern and hasty world, your body language is also being made the gauge of judging your personality due to shortage of time and if your body language is supporting you then the same act would be the first step of your success.

By Muhammad Irfan Zafar

Content Writer