Keeing Freedom of Speech Alive (FD4)

Alexander Lau

12 Aug. 2011

FD4

Keeping Freedom of Speech Alive

Freedom of Speech is one of our basic rights as Americans. The right to free speech allows Americans to express their thoughts in verbal, visual, and written form. [Thesis] Citizens of the United States such as Ward Churchill, have the right to express their thoughts regardless of the negativity of their words. [Thesis]

Our right to speak freely is an important aspect and basic right as US Citizens. The First Amendment in the Bill of Rights allows for, “the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances” (The Bill). There are, however, certain instances where speech can be prohibited. According to Cornell Law School, “The Supreme Court has also recognized that the government may prohibit some speech that may cause a breach of the peace or cause violence.”

Ward Churchill is the author of “Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens.” His paper and speeches are seen as controversial. In his paper, Ward Churchill writes about how the attacks on the World Trade Center were just “chickens coming home to roost.” Throughout the paper, Ward Churchill makes adamantly clear that he feels the American people need to understand and be held responsible for the actions of their country, regardless if those citizens had any direct influence or not. In his paper, Ward Churchill quoted a line in a movie, “that when you push people around, some people push back.” The attack on the World Trade Center was just a country pushing back or in other words “chickens coming home to roost.”

In his paper, Ward Churchill calls the victims of the World Trade Center “technocratic,” and also refers to them as little Eichmanns. He called them technocratic because the WTC is full of people who are technical expects of global finances working for the United States. He also refers to the WTC victims as little Einchmanns because in WW2 Eichmanns were Germans that kept rails and services running throughout the Nazi campaign. The people working at the WTC are likened to little Einchmanns is because they helped fund America’s wars overseas. As long as the country keeps moving the wars can conintue.

Ward Churchill’s ideas and how he has expressed them has gotten him in hot water. His words have angered a lot of people in the country, especially the victims of 9/11. He is fully aware of the contents of his paper and defends those ideals to this day. Therefore, he offers no apology to those that feel he should. Ward Churchill is a man willing to express his ideals to others regardless of the consequences that follow. Craig Gima has quoted Churchill as saying, “I never wanted to be a poster boy for academic freedom. You can’t give an inch. If you let this one down, you’ve lost it all.” Without people like Churchill, we maybe never hear about the true or think about a situation differently.

Despite his insensitive words of choice in his paper, Ward Churchill has the right to express his thoughts. The First Amendment gives him that right. Freedom of Speech protects many other people like Ward Churchill from being persecuted or censored against. Without the First Amendment, anything written or spoken could be censored by the government for material they deem inappropriate. However, the forefathers of America knew how important the people’s voices are and added our right to speak freely under the First Amendment within the Bill of Rights.

The victims of 9/11 also have their right to free speech by protesting against Ward Churchill. They feel what Churchill says is wrong and he should apologize for those words. They are well in their right to express their anger, but Churchill himself feels he did nothing wrong to warrant an apology. Churchill is right. No matter how insensitive Churchill is, the First Amendment protects him.

The feelings of the 9/11 victims are understandable. Freedom of Speech can be abused at times. For this reason, people like Churchill really need to take responsibility for what they say and write. The First Amendment is not just a right, but also a responsibility we must be concerned with when we do exercise our right to speak freely.

There are, however, certain situations where Freedom of Speech needs to be censored. The phrase “too much of a good thing” can be applied to Freedom of Speech. There are times where Freedom of Speech is taken advantage of, and one of those times is hate speech. Hate speech is an attacking on an individual or group to encourage violence or prejudice against certain human characteristics, such as race, religion, and gender.

Ward Churchill’s paper is not hate speech. The words he uses are not the most appropriate, but there is no intent to encourage violence or prejudice against any individual or group. He just wants to inform the audience of his views of the situations between the U.S. and the world. Thanks to the First Amendment, Ward Churchill is able to express those views. Whether you like him or not, he has the right to speak his mind.

As I grew up, I was oblivious to what the First Amendment was, let alone knowing what Freedom of Speech is. Even to this day, I find myself thinking whether the right to freedom of speech actually affects me. After writing this paper, I find myself thinking and appreciating a lot more about our First Amendment. I realized, thinking about how the First Amendment affects me alone is just shallow thinking. The First Amendment affects every U.S. citizen. And, because of this right I am able to read papers, articles, poetry, and books without censorship. I found Ward Churchill’s paper to be controversial yet intriguing, but if the First Amendment was not established I would not have been able to read such a paper.

After spending the time to do a little research for this paper, I realized, I do use the First Amendment a lot and have never thought twice about the right to free speech. I am not a particular fan of how the government is being run at times, and I do engage in discussions occasionally with my peers about our government. If I were not protected by the First Amendment, my views would probably be seen as treasonous and be jailed for them. I’m glad we were given Freedom of Speech as our topic as I would of taken our right for granted.

In our discussion on attacking Ward Churchill, Chelsey Mcdonald argued, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” There are times where Chelsey is right, such as hate speech. However, playing nice does not always convey our views to the audience. If we played nice, there would not be any arguments on controversial topics because no one would want to hurt other people’s feelings. Truly expressing how we feel through our views is important. We want to convey our passions in our views. If being bad and hurting people’s feelings is the only way to get our point across then we do what we need to do. At times, not playing nice is necessary, and the First Amendment allows us to so.

In defending Ward Churchill, Kalea Perry states, “He writes and speaks about what he believes in and as an American Citizen he has this right.” Kalea is right. America’s First Amendment allows for Americans to express their views and beliefs. Kalea also mentions about how Ward Churchill and people like him help to keep a balance of information. Without people like Ward Churchill, ordinary people might never be informed about controversial issues, such as how our government is being ruined. Kalea also writes, “Those entities love to talk about Professor Churchill, often times, he is the news.” I found this important because news thrives on controversies such as Ward Churchill and his paper. Because of this, people are aware of Churchill’s paper and position. This creates awareness and discussion.

The First Amendment and our right to free speech is a very important right we have as American Citizens. People such as Ward Churchill, are allowed to express their views despite how controversial they may be. Ward Churchill may not have used the best words to convey his views, but thanks to the First Amendment people will be able to read his paper and decide for themselves whether they support Churchill or not. This is important because different views allow for discussion and helps spread awareness. As long as what we say does not encourage violence, we have the right to say or write whatever we want despite how other may react because as Americans we have our right to free speech. However, we must also acknowledge the fact as individuals we alone do not solely hold those rights and those rights are shared freely with all American Citizens and we must respect their right to express their views freely even if we disagree with them. Therefore, as American Citizens, we can better understand and criticize each other in a harmonious manner to help improve upon ourselves and those around us.

Works Cited

"First Amendment: An Overview." N.d. Legal Information Instiitute. Cornell Law School. 5 June 2003. 9 Aug. 2011  [http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/first_amendment.html].

Gima, Craig. "Churchill Attacks Essay's Critics." Starbulletin.com 23 Feb. 2005. 9 Aug. 2011 [http://starbulletin.com/2005/02/23/news/index2.html].

Mcdonald, Chelsey. “Attack Churchill.” Online posting. 5 Aug. 2011. Laulima Discussion. 9 Aug. 2011 [https://laulima.hawaii.edu/portal/site/KAP.35103.201140/page/eb4947ce-d356-43a3-b5fc-927bacb6d070].

Perry, Kalea. “Defending Ward Churchill.” Online posting. 8 Aug. 2011. Laulima Discussion. 9 Aug. 2011 [https://laulima.hawaii.edu/portal/site/KAP.35103.201140/page/eb4947ce-d356-43a3-b5fc-927bacb6d070].

"Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens." N.d. _Dark Night Press_. From _Pockets of Resistance_, 11 Sep. 2001. 9 Aug. 2011 [http://www.darknightpress.org/index.php?i=news&c=recent&view=9&long=1].

"The Bill of Rights." N.d. NARA Webpage. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. 20 June 2004. 9 Aug. 2011 [http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/bill_of_rights_transcript.html].

Log of Completed Activities
__X__ Aug. 3- Intro to Paper #4. Read the Guidelines for Paper #4.
__X__ Aug. 4- Complete readings for paper #4.
__X__ Aug. 5- Laulima Discussion: Attack Ward Churchill
__X__ Aug. 8- Laulima Discussion: Defend Ward Churchill
__X__ Aug. 9- Submit RD4. [50 pts] Review the Review the guidelines.
__X__ Aug. 10- Submit three RD4 evaluations [50 pts] Review the guidelines.
__X__ Aug. 11-14- Submit FD4 [150 pts] Review the guidelines.

I Just Don't Care (FD5)

Alexander Lau

12 Aug. 2011

FD5

I Just Don’t Care

We live in a world full of hate. Our hate toward someone could be as petty as the way they dress to something more serious as their race. Whatever our reason to hate is, they do not justify committing crimes against other people. Hate is in all of us. We are human beings after all. And as human beings, we have emotions; anger, sadness, happiness, etc. Hate is one of those emotions. We hate because we care about ourselves and others. [Thesis] Emotions are the foundation to our hate, so the best solution to ridding this world of hate is to rid the world of emotions. [Thesis]

Hate crimes are acts of violence, either verbally, visually, or physically toward another person due to differences in human characteristics. Those human characteristics could be race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc. Like it or not, we are all capable of committing hate crimes or being a victim of a hate crime. The only reason why we haven’t is because the emotions inside of us weren’t strong enough to make us care.

Take for example, Mel Gibson and his run in with a sheriff’s deputy for a DUI. During his arrest, Mel Gibson said, “This is not about a film, nor is it about artistic license,” then goes on to say, “This is about real life and recognizing the consequences hurtful words can have. It’s about existing in harmony in a world that seems to have gone mad.” Mel Gibson isn’t wrong; our world has gone mad, mad with emotions. We live in a world where we must think carefully as to the words we use as not to offend other people due to their nationality, gender, religion, or other reasons. What Gibson said was wrong, but only because the Jewish community cared about being hurt by his words.

In the world we live in today, anything we say could be taken out of context. Accidentally blurting out a word like “gay” could be interpreted as “I hate homosexuals.” The gay community seems to care a lot about the usage of such words. But, those same people that cry out for justice are in their own circle allowed to use the word and not be chastised. The gay community is but one example of people caring too much and being overzealous about being hurt. The same could be said about blacks and the word “nigger,” and Chinese being called “chinks”. There are many more examples, but all are the same. All those words are meant to be offensive so to hurt people’s feelings, which make us care if the word is used against us or others because no likes being hurt.

However, words, gestures, and physical attacks aren’t the culprit here. The source of hate crimes are emotions within individual people. Everyone has their own reason to hate on another. Some feel threatened by others due to an incident. They then act out aggressions toward those individuals or groups. In an article, Tori DeAngelis wrote, “When people face a crisis, they often revert to an unfortunate human tendency: to protect their own while finding a scapegoat to blame the problem on.” For example, the day the World Trade Center towers fell due to terrorist attacks. Americans were informed the terrorist were from the middle-east. People were already suspicious and somewhat afraid of middle-eastern people, but after the WTC towers went down, those emotions that were kept in check become overwhelming for some. Those people began to act on their emotions, which brought fear to those of middle-eastern heritage or even looked middle-eastern. But, fear is just one reason people do what they do.

Fear isn’t the only emotion that leads people to commit hate crimes. Some people find joy in hurting others. The fear they bring to their victims is fun and leaves a good feeling within them. Others feel some sort of pride when they commit hate crimes against others. Like white supremacists, and the pride they feel defending their ethnicity. Also, the feeling of power can be quite addicting to some people. Like bullies, they thrive on creating fear in others because they can. There isn’t just one emotion that causes hate crimes. Every emotion a human being can exude could trigger a hate crime.

Of course ridding people of their emotions is a wild idea. There is no way to do erase emotions from a person other than to may be operator on their brain. But, as long as we have emotions, we as human being will continue to hate others that are not like us. Also, even though emotions are what triggers hate crimes, there are just too many types. One solution to one emotions or individual won’t work for another. Some might object to my proposal, but as logical thinking minds, there is no way to rid this world of hate with conventional means. If a religion happens to disappear, there is still gender to feed our hate. There will always be race issues and the feeling of being different.

I was born and raised in Hawaii. I’m a first generation American-Chinese. My community, school and neighborhood, was largely Asians. Some would think hate crimes wouldn’t happen because of whom I am and the neighborhood I lived in, but that isn’t true. All Asians are stereotyped as being smart. Being smart was one trait I lacked from then to now. Not to say I was stupid, but I definitely wasn’t on par with the other Asian students ever since elementary. Whenever some people in class looked at me, they always assumed I was smart and asked if they could copy my homework. Sometimes I would refuse and the persistent ones would try to take it from me. This happened quite often throughout high school. This probably isn’t your typical instance of a “hate crime,” but I sure felt discriminated because I was Asian. Even to this day, when people tell me I’m smart, I feel like they are mocking me.

Emotions can be powerful; enough so to commit crimes, such as hate crimes. Hate crimes are attacks on individuals or groups based on their race, gender, religion, and sexuality. Everyone is capable of committing a hate crime. All it takes is one emotion to run wild and a target to let out that emotion out at. In order to stop hate crimes we must eliminate the cause of all this hate, which are our emotions. Once we are able to rid ourselves of emotions we will care for nothing and no one, which will essentially rid ourselves of hate and hate crimes.

Works Cited

DeAngelis, Tori. “Understanding and Preventing Hate Crimes.” Monitor on Psychology 32.10 10 Nov. 2001. 12 Aug. 2011 [http://www.apa.org/monitor/nov01/hatecrimes.html].

“Gibson: ‘I Am Not an Anti-Semite.’” CNN.com. 2 Aug. 2006. 12 Aug. 2011 [http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movies/08/01/gibson.dui/index.html].

Keeping Freedom of Speech Alive (RD4)

Alexander Lau

9 Aug. 2011

RD4

Keeping Freedom of Speech Alive

Freedom of Speech is one of our basic rights as Americans. The right to free speech allows Americans to express their thoughts in verbal, visual, and written form. [Thesis] Citizens of the United States such as, Ward Churchill, have the right to express their thoughts regardless of the negativity of their words. [Thesis]

Our right to speak freely is an important aspect and basic right as US Citizens. The First Amendment in the Bill of Rights allows for, “the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” (The Bill) There are, however, certain instances where speech can be prohibited. According to Cornell Law School, “The Supreme Court has also recognized that the government may prohibit some speech that may cause a breach of the peace or cause violence.”

Ward Churchill is the author of “Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens.” His paper and speeches are seen as controversial. In his paper, Ward Churchill writes about how the attacks on the World Trade Center were just “chickens coming home to roost.” Throughout the paper, Ward Churchill makes adamantly clear that he feels the American people need to understand and be held responsible for the actions of their country, regardless if those citizens had any direct influence or not. In his paper, Ward Churchill quoted a line in a movie, “that when you push people around, some people push back.” The attack on the World Trade Center was just a country pushing back or in other words “chickens coming home to roost.”

In his paper, Ward Churchill calls the victims of the World Trade Center “technocratic,” and also refers to them as little Eichmanns. He called them technocratic is because the WTC is full of people who are technical expects of global finances working for the United States. He also refers to the WTC victims as little Einchmanns because in WW2 Eichmanns were Germans that kept rails and services running throughout the Nazi campaign. The people working at the WTC are likened to little Einchmanns is because they helped fund America’s wars overseas.

Ward Churchill’s ideas and how he has expressed them is what has gotten him in hot water. His words have angered a lot of people in the country, especially the victims of 9/11. He is fully aware of the contents of the paper and defends those ideals to this day. Therefore, he offers no apology to those that feel he should. Ward Churchill is a man willing to express his ideals to others regardless of the consequences that follow. Craig Gima has quoted Churchill as saying, “I never wanted to be a poster boy for academic freedom. You can’t give an inch. If you let this one down, you’ve lost it all.”

Despite his insensitive words of choice in his paper, Ward Churchill has the right to express his thoughts. The First Amendment gives him that right. Freedom of Speech protects many other people like Ward Churchill from being persecuted or censored against. Without the First Amendment, anything written or spoken could be censored by the government for material they deem inappropriate. However, the forefathers of America knew how important the people’s voices are and added our right to speak freely under the First Amendment within the Bill of Rights.

The victims of 9/11 also have their right to free speech by protesting against Ward Churchill. They feel what Churchill says is wrong and he should apologize for those words. They are well in their right to express their anger, but Churchill himself feels he did nothing wrong to warrant an apology. Churchill is right. No matter how insensitive Churchill is, the First Amendment protects him.

The feelings of the 9/11 victims are understandable. Freedom of Speech can be abused at times. For this reason, people like Churchill really need to take responsibility for what they say and write. The First Amendment is not just a right, but also a responsibility we must be concerned with when we do exercise our right to speak freely.

There are, however, certain situations where Freedom of Speech needs to be censored. The phrase “too much of a good thing” can be applied to Freedom of Speech. There are times where Freedom of Speech is taken advantage of, and one of those times is hate speech. Hate speech is an attacking on an individual or group to encourage violence or prejudice against certain human characteristics such as, race, religion, and gender.

Ward Churchill’s paper is not hate speech. The words he uses are not the most appropriate, but there is no intent to encourage violence or prejudice against any individual or group. He just wants to inform the audience of his views of the situations between the U.S. and the world. Thanks to the First Amendment, Ward Churchill is able to express those views. Whether you like him or not, he has the right to speak his mind.

As I grew up, I was oblivious to what the First Amendment was, let alone knowing what Freedom of Speech is. Even to this day, I find myself thinking whether the right to freedom of speech actually affects me. After writing this paper, I find myself thinking and appreciating a lot more about our First Amendment. I realized, thinking about how the First Amendment affects me alone is just shallow thinking. The First Amendment affects every U.S. citizen. And, because of this right I am able to read papers, articles, poetry, and books without censorship. I found Ward Churchill’s paper to be controversial yet intriguing, but if the First Amendment was not established I would not have been able to read such a paper.

After spending the time to do a little research for this paper, I realized, I do use the First Amendment a lot and have never thought twice about the right to free speech. I am not a particular fan of how the government is being run at times, and I do engage in discussions occasionally with my peers about our government. If I were not protected by the First Amendment, my views would probably be seen as treasonous and be jailed for them. I’m glad we were given Freedom of Speech as our topic as I would of taken our right for granted.

In our discussion on attacking Ward Churchill, Chelsey Mcdonald argued, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” There are times where Chelsey is right such as, hate speech. However, playing nice does not always convey our views to the audience. If we played nice, there would not be any arguments on controversial topics because no one would want to hurt other people’s feelings. Truly expressing how we feel through our views is important. We want to convey our passions in our views. If being bad and hurting people’s feelings is the only way to get our point across then we do what we need to do. At times, not playing nice is necessary, and the First Amendment allows us to so.

In defending Ward Churchill, Kalea Perry states, “He writes and speaks about what he believes in and as an American Citizen he has this right.” Kalea is right. America’s First Amendment allows for Americans to express their views and beliefs. Kalea also mentions about how Ward Churchill and people like him help to keep a balance of information. Without people like Ward Churchill, ordinary people might never be informed about controversial issues such as, how our government is being ruined. Kalea also writes, “Those entities love to talk about Professor Churchill, often times, he is the news.” I found this important because news thrives on controversies such as, Ward Churchill and his paper. Because of this, people are aware of Churchill’s paper and position. This creates awareness and discussion.

The First Amendment and our right to free speech is a very important right we have as American Citizens. People such as, Ward Churchill, are allowed to express their views despite how controversial they may be. Ward Churchill may not have used the best words to convey his views, but thanks to the First Amendment people will be able to read his paper and decide for themselves whether they support Churchill or not. This is important because different views allow for discussion and helps spread awareness. As long as what we say does not encourage violence, we have the right to say or write whatever we want despite how other may react because as Americans we have our right to free speech. However, we must also acknowledge the fact as individuals we alone do not solely hold those rights and those rights are shared freely with all American Citizens and we must respect their right to express their views freely even if we disagree with them. Therefore, as American Citizens, we can better understand and criticize each other in a harmonious manner to help improve upon ourselves and those around us.

Works Cited

"First Amendment: An Overview." N.d. Legal Information Instiitute. Cornell Law School. 5 June 2003 [http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/first_amendment.html].

"The Bill of Rights." N.d. NARA Webpage. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. 20 June 2004 [http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/bill_of_rights_transcript.html].

"Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens." N.d. _Dark Night Press_. From _Pockets of Resistance_, 11 Sep. 2001. 14 Nov. 2006 [http://www.darknightpress.org/index.php?i=news&c=recent&view=9&long=1].

Gima, Craig. "Churchill Attacks Essay's Critics." Starbulletin.com 23 Feb. 2005. 23 Feb. 2005 [http://starbulletin.com/2005/02/23/news/index2.html].

Mcdonald, Chelsey. “Attack Churchill.” Online posting. 5 Aug. 2011. Laulima Discussion. 9 Aug. 2011 [https://laulima.hawaii.edu/portal/site/KAP.35103.201140/page/eb4947ce-d356-43a3-b5fc-927bacb6d070].

Perry, Kalea. “Defending Ward Churchill.” Online posting. 8 Aug. 2011. Laulima Discussion. 9 Aug. 2011 [https://laulima.hawaii.edu/portal/site/KAP.35103.201140/page/eb4947ce-d356-43a3-b5fc-927bacb6d070].

Keeping the Future Honest (FD3)

Alexander Lau

3 Aug. 2011

FD3

Keeping the Future Honest

We live in a world where lying is common place. At times, we feel lying is easier to tell than the truth because of the negative consequences that could follow. Those lies we tell could be for selfish or unselfish reasons. But, a single lie is enough to tarnish who we are even if the lie was for good intentions. Lying shows others who we really are, disrespectful, dishonest, and irresponsible. Being honest can be hard, especially if the truth hurts others. [Thesis] As future parents and leaders, we must show others that honesty is important, especially when the truth impacts people around us. [Thesis]

As we go through life, many of us will eventually become parents. As parents, you need to be honest, especially with children at a young age. Children are very receptive to what parents do even when they have no understanding of the action. They like to copy what their parents do, so being honest with the people around you will help your child develop a sense of honesty.

According to Dr. Timothy Quek, fear is one of the reasons why children lie. Timothy states, “Consider the child who lies because she fears that her mother would ‘blow up’ at her, or that dad would take privileges away, or that the teacher would send her (or her friend) to the principal’s office.” As a parent, you need to show your child what honesty is and the importance of the attribute. The fear children have is justified. No one likes being punished for being truthful. Parents will need to work hard to help their child understand that there are times when withholding the truth could make the situation far worse.

 Timothy mentions an old proverb, “What parents do in moderation, children do in excess.” He also states, “One potent source of modeling, however, is from within the home.” At a young age, children are in contact with their parents constantly. The way you act will rub off on the child, so setting a good example early is important. As they grow and meet more people, you will not have the ability to know who they meet or learn from. However, the home is an environment you can control. This is where you need to create a good environment and set good examples for your child.

Lying, cheating, and stealing are all traits of a dishonest person. No one likes to be around a dishonest person because no one will know if they can be trusted. Honesty is important, not just to others, but also to each of us. No one likes to be lied to. John Kaminaka wrote, “To lie would only make life harder.” Lying to others just makes us feel guilty, which makes life harder. Telling the truth is not always easy, but life becomes much easier when the truth is out. Being honest not just makes life easier, but also sets a good example to others.

Tiger Woods is an example of how telling the truth would have made life easier. Tiger Woods is a professional golfer and a high profile person in the news. He is in trouble because he was dishonest about his love life. Tiger cheated on his wife and lied to her. The media found out about Tiger and his affair. In a televised speech he told his fans and other watching a lie. People found out about the truth and the situation got worse. His lies have gotten him into big trouble. He has not been playing well mostly because of the distraction of the situation he is in. He is also in money trouble because of his troubles. Sponsors no longer think Tiger is profitable and will no longer back him. Tiger Woods also have two children. He and his wife share joint custody of their children. Those children will certainly have questions as to why their dad is no longer around. In this situation, honesty with the children is important. They need to know what is going on, so they do not manifest ill feeling for what their father did. The children are also young, so they will be influenced greatly by the events unfolding around them. Only if Tiger was honest with his wife and his situation all the trouble he has now would well be different. However, he decided to hide the truth and now things are bigger and far worse than he wanted to have.

Being a leader is no different. You will be responsible for those under you. What you do and say will reflect what others think of you. Your actions will influence those you command. Being a leader is a big responsibility. If anything happens to those under you, you will be held responsible regardless if you were not involved. Showing those under you the importance of honesty is very important. They can be more trusting of you and be more readily to tell you the truth.

One famous leader on television is Barack Obama. He is the president of the United States of America. When he is on television all eyes are on him. Anything he does is scrutinized, whether that is giving a speech or taking a relaxing walk. Since he is the highest authority in the United States political hierarchy, being truthful is very important. Every speech he gives will be looked at and debated over to see what is being said. Anything his staff does will be reflected on him. As president, he cannot afford others to think of him a liar.

You may not have images of being president, but if you plan to be a manager of a company or leading a children’s field trip, eyes will be watching you. People will noticed when they are being lied to. When you are labeled dishonest you become untrustworthy. People will not want to be associated with you. Sarah Hepola wrote, “For some, Blair will be another example of journalism’s ethical erosion, or another high-hopes youngster whose ambition got the better of him. He will be a villain and a liar and a fraud.” She was writing about a colleague who was using fake quotes and was caught. People feel cheated and lied to. That is why honesty is very important. You need people that you know you can be trusted. You also need to let others know that you can be trusted.

Honesty is an important concept everyone knows about, but are not always are. As future parents, teaching your child honesty is important. He will grow up to be trusted by others and become important. As a leader, honesty is just as important. Eyes will be on you scrutinizing what you do. You are responsible for the people you lead. Your action influences others on how to act, which if anything bad should come will be reflected on you. At times, honesty is hard because of the consequences, but you want to set a good example to others for your sake and theirs.

Works-cited:

Hepola, Sarah. "To Tell You the Truth." The Morning News. 16 May 2003. 29 July 2011 [http://www.themorningnews.org/article/to-tell-you-the-truth].

Kaminaka, John. “Discussion #2.” Online posting. 28 July 2011. Laulima Discussion. 29 July 2011 [https://laulima.hawaii.edu/portal/site/KAP.35103.201140/page/eb4947ce-d356-43a3-b5fc-927bacb6d070].

Quek, Timothy. "The Truth about a Child's Compulsive Lying."  Dr. Timothy K. Quek's Webpage. 8 Apr. 2003. 29 July 2011 [http://webhome.idirect.com/~readon/lies.html].

Log of Completed Activities
__X__ July 25- Intro to Paper #3. Read the Guidelines for Paper #3.
__X__ July 26- Complete readings for paper #3 for paper #3.
__X__ July 27- Laulima Discussion #1
__X__ July 28- Laulima Discussion #2
__X__ July 29- Submit RD3 [50 pts] Review the guidelines.
__X__ Aug. 1- Submit three RD3 evaluations [50 pts] Review the guidelines.
__X__ Aug. 2- Submit FD3 [125 pts] Review the guidelines