Bombing of Japan

The apology that I believe American did NOT need to say is the apology to Japan for using atomic bombs at the end of WWII. I believe it was extremely necessary and not at all "extreme". We were in a World War and the US was brought in militarily by the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. This apology to Japan is not necessary and should not be expected. Many people argue that the bombs killed unnecessary Japanese civilians and that the extreme number of 180,000 ppl killed by the bomb is harsh and requires an apology. Compared to the 200,000-300,000 men and women killed by the Japanese during the Massacre of Nanjing and the potential 1,000,000 american lives that would have been lost without the bombing, Japan's measely 180,000 is nothing. HERE is a link showing how insignificant the Japanese causalities by the bomb actually were compared to the rest of the world. My essay will be about how the US does not need and should not apologize to Japan for the bombing. They deserved to be killed, the bombing ended the war earlier, and we saved hundreds of thousands of American men.

Music and Critical Thinking

My process of critical thinking has three stages: 1)obtaining knowledge 2)understanding/validating the knowledge and 3)utilizing it to benefit you the most. In music, this process can help a lot, especially in performing and auditioning situations. For example, when preparing for a seating audition, you are given the excerpt/excerpts that need to be performed, this is the knowledge. Then you must learn it, listen to recordings and talk to people who have previously performed it so you can figure out how it should sound. Then you take all the information you learned and pick and choose what advice you want to take to make the excerpt musical and original to your instrument/skill. Critical thinking definitely helps in the musical setting.

A German Lesson: the Fallacy of One True Path

In Goldhagen's article, he directly compares the state of Germany before WWII with Pope Benedict XVI's way of thinking. He starts off by educating the reader that Pope Benedict (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) came from an "anti-Nazi family" but at age 14 joined the Hitler Youth. Right off the bat, Goldhagen expresses his skepticism towards Ratzinger and continues his article by writing about Benedict's idea of "relativism". He explains that the Germans, before the war, had this idea of "relativism", that there was only one correct world and that world was anti-Semetic. The Nazis believed that all other ways were incorrect. This statement is how Goldhagen connects the Pope to Germany. The Pope declared, in his "open and sincere dialogue" that there is only one correct path to God - through the Catholic Church. This single-minded statement is what prompted Goldhagen to juxtipose pre-WWII Germany with the Pope. Although Germany went to violent extremes in seeing their "relativism" idea come true, the Pope and Germany both believe and proclaim that there is only one correct to live this life. 

Thesis

The last post I put up talked mostly about the general message of the song. However after thinking about my thesis I realized that I didn't know exactly what to argue other than stating the obvious that "California's got more bounce than all y'all combined". As I began to brainstorm about what this song was really trying to say it came to me that this song celebrates the stereotypes of California that most people denigrate. Meaning that this song addresses all of the typical "negative" descriptions of California and turns them around saying that these aren't problems but instead even more reasons to come here. For example, the problem of drugs known in California, especially the LA area, is usually seen in a negative light, however in this song, Soul Kid 1 talks about "pleaking out on ecstasy" as an activity that people should be jealous of because of it's high level of satisfaction and fun. 

My thesis as of now is: "More Bounce in California" celebrates the California dream by turning the negative stereotypes of California into desirable features.

Any comments on the thesis would be greatly appreciated.

More Bounce in California - Soul Kid #1

The song I chose for our Writing 130 California Dream essay is the song "More Bounce in California" by Soul kid #1. Here are the LYRICS.

The general attitude of this song is that California is the ideal place to relax, break the law, and ultimately enjoy life. The constant repetition of the line "we've got more bounce in california" expresses this idea of superiority and pride. This line is then followed by the lines "than all y'all combined", "we like to party all the time", "where the hustlers all reside", and "rollin' easy when we ride" respectively. These four lines in the chorus essentially tell the audience that California is better than all the other states, we know how to have fun, everyone who knows how to have a "good time" lives here, and we have very few cares in the world. 

Now, for some, this definition of any state could seem too free-spirited making life here seem chaotic, confusing, and disorganized. However, the utopia that this song makes california sound like is the one where everyone just lives like there's no tomorrow and does whatever they want whenever they want. Each verse in this song continues to describe California - the weather, the residents, and the activities done in the life of a Californian. Although the descriptions of a "californian" may seem inappropriate to many, the context of this song makes everything sound ideal and surreal. This song describes California in a positive light to those who prefer to have no responsibility and no rules.