Think before you Laugh

During the concluding paragraph of the book, Postman discusses the distinction between thinking and laughing. He references the characters in Brave New World and how they did not know what they were laughing about and why they had stopped thinking. Yet, Postman made it very clear that the problem was not they were laughing instead of thinking. This is very true of our culture today, we tend to laugh about things that might not even be very funny, but everyone around us is laughing, so we will go along with it and laugh. Another serious problem in our culture is that we sometimes don't think at all which causes us to say things that we will later regret. This last paragraph in the book helps to prove Postman's view on technology and the effect it has on our brains which can sometimes be negative. Some television shows are mindless and do not allow any thought process. Therefore, Postman thinks that our culture expects most forms of entertainment to be mindless and should not cause us to think.

A Day with no Words....

Having a day with no talking but only drawing pictures or acting out what you want to say is very challenging. One interesting experience I had today was at lunch when all my friends and I were trying to communicate by drawing pictures. One of my friends tried to ask me a simple question which was if I am going to the dance on Saturday. She started by drawing a picture of girls with their arms up and music notes in the background and a giant question mark over the picture and I could not figure out what she was trying to tell me. She tried to give me a further explanation but I still could not understand. This caused her to dance in her seat, which was quite comical.Then it finally clicked and I shook my head to let her know that I am not going. It is very hard to convey an accurate message with only drawing pictures and acting out what you want to say. It was also very frustrating that I interpreted others' messages the wrong way and others' interpreted my messages the wrong way, and others have absolutely no idea what I was attempting to tell them using no words.

Neil Postman's Speech

In his speech at Calvin College, Neil Postman uses some of the same examples that he used in his book. He quotes the author of the book Being Digital who predicts that in the very near future we will be more comfortable talking to inanimate objects than other people. In fact, he thinks we will communicate more with technology than with humans. This parallels with how Postman views technology and communication. He said: "...when we consider the great number and variety of tools for conversation that go beyond speech." This proves that he feels that our society is moving toward or has already reached a point where we do not actually talk with people face to face, but converse with them using technology. Another example from Postman's speech that relates to his book is when the author of Being Digital says that "we need to adapt to our technological future". He states that we adapt very easily to things, so we can adapt to the way that communication will change. Indeed, our future could include communicating less and less with real people. In Chapter 1, Postman says that "our languages are our media, our media are our metaphors, and our metaphors create the content of our culture." This statement is very true because our culture revolves around media. This statements parallel with each other because our technological future includes media being the center of our culture. Society today relies on being able to find out information right away, without any delay. The future of our society is that technology will keep improving which will lead to more impatience. We adapt to new technology because it is faster and better, so he feels that it will be very easy for us to "adapt to our technological future."

Civility Not Censorship

In her first 6 words, Chavez argues that she feels that civility is important in public settings. Chavez explains how certain words- “bellicose metaphors” that might offend some had nothing to do with the shooting in Tucson. Indeed, “bellicose metaphors” are a part of our national conversation. Chaves is attempting to persuade the reader to believe that it is not the words themselves that hurt others, but the context of the words and the hate behind them. The best example that proves Chavez’s point is: “It would be a good thing if all of us, not just politicians and pundits, learned to think before we speak -- but being thoughtful doesn't mean we have to be bland.” I agree with Chavez because words do hurt others but it is also how we say them that cause emotional destruction and anger.

Conserve, Reuse, Recycle

“Quite simply, use what you have until it can no longer function.” This sentence clearly depicts Semrau’s point. The intent of this essay is that “reuse” is the most beneficial of the 3 words, “conserve,” “reuse,” and “recycle.”  Semrau uses a unique writing style which includes leaving out important information. This way of writing is effective in his essay. Semrau discusses how he is going to go to medical school at the age of 75 which would cause the reader to question how that is possible. Near the end of his essay, Semrau says that once he dies, he is going to be a cadaver for Harvard Medical School. This is very effective in proving his point because it is the perfect example of recycling. He is not saying that we all have to go to that extent, but that is how he chooses to be green. Semrau says that we all have things that we no longer use, but someone else can find some way to use it. So by donating our old things to a charity, it is benefiting someone else.  Towards the end of the essay, he says “please consider joining me.” By including this sentence, he hopes that we will consider being a cadaver also.

Luther's theme of "Savior of the Nations Come"

Luther's theme of the hymn "Savior of the Nation's Come" is that Jesus came to earth,  humbled Himself and became a man to save us from our sins. His birth was not a royal birth that He deserved, but in a humble stable surrounded by dirty and smelly animals. His mother was the virgin Mary who was just an ordinary woman. Despite that, God still chose her to give birth to the Savior of the world. Jesus was rejected by the people He came to save. Jesus dealt with pain and suffering, so He could understand our struggles. Luther used diction by using the word "wondrous" to descibe the birth of Jesus. By choosing to use that specific word, Luther showed that even though the birth of Christ was humble and simple, it was still wondrous because Jesus was coming to save the world from sin. Luther could have used words such as "amazing" or "beautiful" but those words would not create such a powerful effect. Luther also uses the language tool of compare/contrast. He contrasts that Jesus was disowned by the world, but He will still be enthroned in Heaven. Also used by Luther is description. He describes the manger as " shining" with the love of Jesus.

Rev. Borghardt's Sermon Diagnostic

1. Rev. Borghardt used "Christ" 25 times in his sermon. Borghardt uses the verbs lives, makes, took, died, rose, reigns, makes, set apart and smiles to reveal what Christ does for His children.

2. The theme of Borghard’ts sermon is that one day we will be healed from everything that hurts us. It is easy to think that this world is full of suffering but Jesus came into this world to take away all our pain. Borghardt also emphasizes that because Jesus died, tears and mourning are tiny things compared to the big thing which is that God’s saints are still alive and can never die.  The theme of Edward’s sermon is that we should repent and turn to Jesus who saved us out of fear of God’s wrath which is burning against us.