Year In Review

I have only made one choice to live differently and that is to watch how much I eat. Every time I had eaten before college I could eat as much as I wanted and I would not put on weight. But, back in high school I did a sport and worked out multiple hours a day which allowed me to do that. Now, I do not have the time to work out every day and have gotten out of shape. I started limiting how much I eat to cut back on calories and hopefully lose some weight. It has not really affected me yet, but I hope it helps. I would also like to start working out everyday if possible like I used to, but I am terrible at planning. If I could plan out when to do work and when to workout it would make it much easier to get to the gym to try and lose some weight. I also need to start studying. I just have no idea how to study because I have not had to yet. This is going to hurt me in the future and I need to learn an effective study strategy. All of these changes have been prompted by the college workload. It takes away time from other things that I want to do. I love the outdoors and want to go fishing and shooting more, but college gets in the way. I know that the degree is the most important thing at the moment, but it definitely takes away from the things I actually enjoy doing. School gets old and boring and I plan on doing a lot more of what I want to do next semester when I have my car on campus. I also want to join the fishing team. I have been trying to for awhile now, but they are terrible at responding and getting information to people. I hope to get a hold of them over the summer and be competing in the fall or maybe even over the summer.

I could not execute the Earth Month Action Plan fully. I could only execute the first step of the plan due to time restrictions. I would love to assist the issue over the summer when I have more time on my hands, but right now I cannot find the time. Over the summer, I plan on petitioning and writing to government officials to press the issue. I plan on finishing the action plan when time permits. I still have a lot of work to do to truly make a difference. People have extremely strong opinions on the issue and it will take a lot to sway them. Even with all this effort most people that oppose it will stand firm in their ways even though they have been provided with facts, but that is nothing that I can control.  All I can do is inform the government reps that people are still strongly opposed to hefty gun control and demand action on the issue.

 

 

Mid-Action Plan Check In

The first two weeks of Earth Month have been quite difficult to get things done. School work gets in the way of almost everything that I would like to do and promote, even on the weekends. I have tried informing some people and asking how and why they feel about the issue at hand. Many of the people have felt the same way which is that gun control needs to be increased and it is not strict enough. I think a better way to approach this would be to set up a more professional stand to get the idea across. A guy walking up to someone in blue jeans and a Field and Stream hat seems to come off a bit bias toward the issue, so maybe some slacks and a button down would help carry the argument better. Also, I do not have any extra supplies to help set up a booth or station somewhere because I am broke. This decreases my accountability as an informer. If I could find an easy way to fund my mission then it would make it easier to convince people with the facts and studies. After talking to a few people on campus, I have found out how deeply I feel about my issue. Talking to people who don’t know about the issue and refuse to learn about it gets under my skin. Most people have not even held a gun so I feel like that ruins their accountability on the issue. In the coming weeks I foresee time and money being the biggest issues. With finals week approaching and midterms wrapping up, finding time to go out and petition and talk to more people will be extremely difficult. Also, money is tight while trying to pay off tuition and fees for school, so buying supplies is not an option right now.

Earth Month Action Plan

During Earth Month, the plan is to do a different action each week. The first week the most suitable action is informing the people about the facts and not what they here from the mainstream media. This can be done by setting up a booth on the oval and ask people to learn about the real facts behind the issue. The second week would utilize petitioning and also informing people about what they would be signing. This would give a concrete sample that people feel a certain way to show a government official in week 3. Week 3 would include contacting local representatives and showing them how many people actually support the issue. Week 4 would consist of informing people about representatives views and who to vote for and showing them how they can get involved with the issue. Also, there could be options for getting involved right there and getting there information to let them know how to sign up and what to do.

The most difficult thing about getting support for the issue on a college campus is the already set political beliefs by most college kids on campus. Many young people tend to be Democrats or belong to even more liberal political parties that support heavy gun control. Many of these people only follow extremely liberal news sources and biased outlets that support gun control, so they don’t know the other side of the argument. Convincing these people with facts and actual evidence based on scientific studies is the key to changing their opinions on the issue. I will also have to be ready to be ridiculed and yelled at knowing how some of the people who disagree with my opinion have been acting recently since President Trump’s election. Convincing these people is going to take discipline and determination, but it can be done.

Reflection: Non-profits

After listening to the speakers in class last Tuesday, my opinions about non-profit work has not changed. At the center of every organization lies the need for money to keep going. Obtaining money to continue the organization usually comes in the form of selling a product to make money, but most non-profits do not sell products. They get money through donations and a lot of the workers they employ are volunteer helpers so they do not have to pay them.  Like the farm worker said, he is looking for anyone who can help him and will not slack off.

My biggest take away from class this week was the emphasis that each speaker put on put on volunteer help. I knew that volunteer help was a big part of non-profit organizations, but I did not realize how large of a part it played. For example, the farmer said in the summer he utilizes as many volunteer helpers as he can so he can get them trained and then they can come back to help when they need to volunteer again. The other speaker also touched on the help he gets from volunteers. His organization does not require as much physical labor as the farm does so low skilled volunteer work is not in high demand for them.

Personally, I believe that petitioning and getting in touch with political leaders is the best way to get active and push my issue. Getting the issue and how people feel about it in front of politicians is the only way to reduce gun control since it is a completely political issue.

Through the Lens: Non-Profits

One of the most hated and loved non-profit organizations is the National Rifle Association. The NRA promotes firearm safety as well as lobbies for and against political candidates and bills. At the heart of the organization lies their main goal which is to protect the second amendment rights of every citizen. Its members do everything from lobby in Washington to running television and magazine ads. Some of the most recent work of the NRA includes pushing legislation for constitutional concealed carry and endorsing many political candidates such as Donald Trump and Ohio’s very own Rob Portman. They endorse candidates that they feel protect gun rights the best no matter the party affiliation. There are many other ways that one can get involved in non-profit work with or without the NRA.

One way to advocate for gun rights is to volunteer at your local gun range. One can get certified to give classes in gun safety and education as well as be a range instructor for first time shooters. This helps educate the public on firearms through hands on experiences and not through phony mainstream media articles that spread misinformation.  Another way to get involved in non-profit work is to become a member of the NRA. From there you can volunteer to do political work, perform educational services, shoot competitively and do many other things. No matter which way one chooses to engage in non-profit work, there always exists one main issue. That issue is money. Joining the NRA comes with a fee so that they can run ads and educate the masses. Becoming range or class certified costs money as well. This drives people away from volunteering because they just want to give their time, not their money. This makes it difficult to maintain non-profit organizations because money is required to do nearly anything and non-profits aren’t selling a product to make money so they rely on donations. Not many people give donations because they usual don’t receive anything significant in return.

There is work being done on each level of the justice oriented citizen model as well. At the first level of model are the people that vote to put people into government positions that they feel will protect their rights the best. These people feel that it is extremely important to protect second amendment rights, but do not want to volunteer their time or research the root causes of the issue. At the next level is the people who go out and petition as well as volunteer to become range safety officers and other equivalent positions. At the third tier of the model lies the people who investigate why people oppose second amendment rights or just flat out hate guns. These people then work to fix this attitude toward firearms and present them with actual facts and information. These people could be independent reporters or even affiliated with the NRA.

During the 2016 Presidential Campaign, the NRA endorsed Donald Trump and Chris Cox gave a speech condemning Hillary Clinton and her views of the second amendment. He spoke mainly about motivating people to get to the ballot box in November of last year to protect our personal freedoms from overreaching government. He called on normal people to take action as he represented his non-profit organization and their message. The NRA normally interacts heavily with the populace around election time because the only way to protect peoples’ rights is to get in the ballot box and inform people on issues revolving around gun rights. This is how the NRA works to protect personal freedoms of every person in the United States.

Community Organizing Reflection

The speakers in class did not really change what I thought of community organizing and how to go about. Before going into that class I thought of community organizing as going around petitioning, handing out flyers and spreading the word on social media. After the discussion, the speakers did not change my ideas at all. For example, the gentleman that spoke frequently talked about signing his petition for his cause. He also talked a lot about getting many of people to contact your government representatives  to give them your opinion on an issue. Local government was also a large part of his discussion. He mentioned many times that you have to inform your local representatives about these issues so that they can make the necessary changes that will most directly affect you. The lady that spoke talked a lot about social media advertisement which is a big deal in today’s society. I knew this before coming into the discussion with how integral social media is in our lives. You can not do anything online now without getting tied into some form of social media so it is one of the best ways to spread your idea.

 

My biggest takeaway from class is how passionate each of these people were about their respective issues. Each person was extremely successful in community organizing their issues and this can not be accomplished  if you do not care about your issue. After this class, I believe the best way to community organize for my issue is to get active on social media, petition and get people to contact government representatives since I believe these are the most effective ways to push an idea into legislation.

Community Organizing

Gun control is a hot button issue that is in the lime light of politics today. America is heavily divided on many issues especially gun control. For the most part, half of the country wants strict gun control laws that limit gun sales and the other half want light restrictions on guns to increase sales to law abiding citizens. At the heart of the movement to decrease gun control lies community organizing efforts. To change public policy, the citizens of America have to come together and tell the government officials that they want to see certain laws changed or abolished. Leaders of the movement have to coordinate efforts to spread their message to the citizens that may be uninformed on the issue or have not had the chance to get out and voice their opinion. One of the largest community organizers and promoters of reducing gun control is clearly the National Rifle Association. The NRA contacts citizens, runs ads and contacts government officials to educate and protect citizens’ their second amendment rights. People can choose to join their organization to help spread the word and protect the second amendment which is being infringed upon.

There are also many challenges while trying to community organize for any issue. The biggest issue is always money. Money is required to buy materials, schedule events and pay people to work for your cause. Money is always needed to organize any event or push any cause, so, trying to get people to donate to raise funds or sell products to help the cause can be difficult. Some people may support the cause, but may not give up money to be a direct part of it and help out. The most important things to consider while community organizing are to keep it cheap and keep it easy. People more than likely do not want to spend copious amounts of money on an issue and will be less likely to participate if the price is too steep. Also, the tasks you are asking them to do has to be simple. If you ask the person to do too much they will more than likely just ignore the offer to help even if they are on board with your ideas.

A social-justice oriented citizen would explore the root issues of why people push for gun control and the reasoning behind their decisions. Inner city gun violence and criminals getting their hands on guns are usually the main issues behind gun control. This citizen would be educated on why some people think gun control is a good thing and be able to counter their argument with solid facts and reasoning instead of an emotionally based argument.

The key takeaway from the video was that many people are highly uneducated on firearms which makes it extremely important to try and inform them to give them a better idea of the issue. Many people could not identify many extremely common firearms let alone have they actually been trained to safely fire one. These people then make assumptions that these tools can only be used to hurt other people and not protect people or one of their many other uses. Educating these people through community organizing would form a more educated voter base to help sway public policy to protect second amendment rights for all citizens.

Sustainability Issues

There are many issues that face our country that I am interested in helping solve. There are three main issues that stand out to me which are gun control, the refugee crisis and political accountability. Researching these issues led me to declare my party affiliation and how I view new issues that show up. Gun control is by far the most important issue to me so it is my number one choice.

Gun control has been a hot button issue so here is my take of it. I grew up in the country so guns were part of our everyday life. We used them to hunt, shoot skeet and defend our property from people and pests. No one ever got hurt and we only saw them for what they are, tools. Pretty much every day there is a shooting somewhere in the country and someone always seems to blame guns. Gun prices have sky rocketed recently because of increased regulation on firearms and most of them are completely unnecessary. I am not saying that any person should be able to buy a gun no questions asked, but the gun control we have at the moment is absurd. With increasing gun control, the only people that get hurt are law abiding citizens. Criminals already bypass the laws so more laws will clearly not stop them.

Reducing gun control also fulfills all three pillars of sustainability. “This means that each year, firearms are used more than 80 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives” (Fact Sheets 1). The first pillar of sustainability is supported by this quote. Every year, law abiding citizens defend themselves from criminals that would otherwise take advantage of them without a firearm. The only people that are not treated fairly are criminals, people with felonies and people with ties to terrorist organizations and for all I care they do not deserve the rights that outstanding citizens have. It is a personal responsibility to learn how to safely operate your firearm so no accidents occur as well.

The second pillar is planet. This is a fairly simple pillar to fulfill. The only way reducing gun control could hurt the planet is increased refining of iron or oil for plastics. With technology advancing we are finding much more efficient ways to extract these from the Earth so our impact on earth becomes less and less. We will eventually find ways to repair our scars on Earth so that it is left unharmed. Besides the resources we took from it.

Lastly, the final pillar of sustainability is profit. With lowering regulations on firearms companies will be able to produce firearms at a lesser cost and, in turn, produce more goods to be sold on the market. This leads to higher revenue which keeps the business in operation. Not only will it keep the business in operation, the business could expand its work force to employ more people with good paying factory jobs that would then be able to add more money into the economy. This gives more money to other business who will then have more money to make business decisions. Lightening regulations on firearms would help out the industry significantly.

 

My second choice for a related issue was the refugee crisis. We take in a ridiculous amount of refugees every day that then live off of our dime since they fled their country. America is always expected to take the lead on helping people even though these people could be potentially dangerous and many of their cultural views are completely incompatible with ours. I always see men fleeing from their country to seek refuge in ours. Why must we send our good men over there to fight their wars while male citizens from there flee as their country is ripped apart. Many middle eastern nations are able to house these refugees and refuse to do so. Saudi Arabia, for example, is a Muslim country and barely helps with the issue. So, stopping the flow of refugees in our country or at least heavily reforming the system, fulfills the three pillars of sustainability.

The first pillar, which is people, will be covered by stopping the refugees. At first it seems like we are hanging out these people to dry, but many of them are military aged men who are more than capable of fighting for their country. Next, our enemies will obviously abuse the refugee system to find a way to our land. It has already happened in our country and it must stop to protect innocent Americans while we find another place for these refugees to stay. The second pillar is profit. Stopping the refugees coming to our land would save a lot in tax payer dollars that could be put elsewhere like feeding our homeless veterans. The last pillar is planet. Islamic Radicals have to be taken care of before Earth can truly be protected in those areas. War tears apart land but once the enemies are gone there can be peace.

 

The last issue I chose was political accountability. Politicians have always been extremely dishonest and it must change. By increasing political accountability, we can fulfill all the pillars of sustainability. First off is people. If politicians followed through on their promises our citizens would only profit from cleaner water and other things. Next up is profit. With political accountability we can more closely monitor where our tax dollars go and distribute and save them more effectively. Lastly comes planet. If politicians are held more accountable for their promises, they will follow through with conservation laws and other things that could protect the planet.

 

 

Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]