As the title suggests, we started school back up today. Yes, that's pretty much a good thing seeing as how we've been out four weeks, but I'm not complaining about length of vacation time. ;) (Oh and for those of you who say that's not fair we got such a long break, we are denied a spring break to make up for that. hehe). Anyways, I had a pretty good first day back until I got to measuring angles in geometry. Don't get me wrong, I normally enjoy this subject, but angles just about get me every time. I try to convince my mother that I will probably have no need of the knowledge of how to measure angles when I grow up, but it hasn't worked well so far. ;)
Besides school, things aren't so busy at the moment, but in the next few months things are going to be pretty hectic (at least by my standards). Our church is going to a handbell festival next month, I'm probably going to have to be in more voice recitals (oh joy), and a retreat in March. *sigh* I guess I'll just have to take things as they come. ;)
Monday, January 14, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
Jews During WWII
Here is a paper I wrote about the Jews and Hitler last semester. Not one of my best, but thought I'd post it anyways. ;)
The Jews During WWII
World War II affected people all over the world, but harmed no one more than the Jews. They received horrible treatment at the hands of Adolf Hitler– the dictator of Germany– whose Nazis attempted to take over Europe. My question is,"Why did Hitler treat the Jews this way?" The Jews never caused harm to anyone and certainly had no reason to be treated like animals. I simply do not understand how someone could be so evil to this peaceful group known as God’s chosen people.
No one bothered the German Jews until Hitler came to power in the 1930's. For some strange reason, Hitler hated Jews and always tried to make their lives miserable. As his reign progressed, he made up ridiculous laws to suppress Jewish freedoms. Jews couldn’t participate in political elections, couldn’t raise the German flag, and couldn’t marry other Germans. I don’t see Hitler’s reasoning here. I can see how he might not want Jews to vote, since they would almost certainly vote against him. However, they might not have voted against him if he hadn’t treated them so badly in the first place, which brings us back to the original question of Hitler’s horrible treatment of the Jews. Maybe Hitler knew that the Jews would be the only Germans who could see his true evil self, so he wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible. After all, when Hitler first came to power many Germans viewed him as their liberator and as a great man. I doubt the Jews ever did. They looked to God as their leader; not Hitler.
Hitler soon began ordering the sterilization of those "imperfect people" in society, and most of the people Hitler sterilized turned out to be Jews. Hitler seemed intent on wiping out the Jewish population and establishing a perfect Aryan race in Germany. Why did Hitler consider the Jews as less perfect than everyone else? Just because the Jews believed differently from everyone else in Germany doesn’t make them any less human. If we’re "ranking" humans here, the Jews seem to be better quality than Hitler and his "perfect race". After all, at least they have morals. Perhaps this reason encouraged Hitler to get rid of them in the first place. Maybe he felt guilty for not having morals, (though that’s really hard to believe).
When war broke out in 1939, the Jewish plight worsened. Hitler threatened not only German Jews, but Jews all over Europe. After Hitler invaded Poland, he killed many of the Jews there and sent others to concentration camps. Reporters uncovered the atrocities of one of Hitler’s worst Polish camps in 1944. Many of the people there (many of whom were Jews) were herded into small rooms and gassed. The Nazis recycled their ashes into fertilizers for German farmers. How could anyone be so base as to do something like that? How could any human have the heart to act this way against an entire group of people? Perhaps some Nazis didn’t actually want to participate in these activities, but simply followed orders as a means to survive Hitler’s reign. Maybe the ones who actually enjoyed torturing Jews had had the idea of the Jewish race being evil drummed into their heads much of their lives, and thus acted on these beliefs. Perhaps Hitler had deceived still more into believing that exterminating the Jewish race would help "purify" the German race.
Besides being treated badly by the Germans, the Jews found themselves treated badly by other countries as well. Boatloads of Jewish refugees that turned up at the United States found themselves turned away. No one wanted to accept the Jews or find a place for them. It seemed as if everyone had a little bit of anti-Semitism about them. Of course they didn’t treat the Jews like Hitler did, but the prejudice seems to be there. Why? Maybe some people thought of Jews as nuisances who couldn’t do any good in the world. Maybe Hitler’s anti-Semitism rubbed off on a few people. Though most people claimed they abhorred Hitler’s practices, maybe hearing so much about Hitler’s attitude toward the Jews planted the same kind of idea of Jewish inferiority in their heads as well.
After thinking back over all the reasons I previously mentioned, I believe Hitler abused the Jews because of his pursuit of power. Once he got the Jews out of the way, he could have earned almost unlimited power since the rest of the country would probably back him up. I’m sure other minor reasons probably played a part in Hitler’s treatment of the Jews, but I believe Hitler’s thirst for power mainly caused his base actions.
The Jews During WWII
World War II affected people all over the world, but harmed no one more than the Jews. They received horrible treatment at the hands of Adolf Hitler– the dictator of Germany– whose Nazis attempted to take over Europe. My question is,"Why did Hitler treat the Jews this way?" The Jews never caused harm to anyone and certainly had no reason to be treated like animals. I simply do not understand how someone could be so evil to this peaceful group known as God’s chosen people.
No one bothered the German Jews until Hitler came to power in the 1930's. For some strange reason, Hitler hated Jews and always tried to make their lives miserable. As his reign progressed, he made up ridiculous laws to suppress Jewish freedoms. Jews couldn’t participate in political elections, couldn’t raise the German flag, and couldn’t marry other Germans. I don’t see Hitler’s reasoning here. I can see how he might not want Jews to vote, since they would almost certainly vote against him. However, they might not have voted against him if he hadn’t treated them so badly in the first place, which brings us back to the original question of Hitler’s horrible treatment of the Jews. Maybe Hitler knew that the Jews would be the only Germans who could see his true evil self, so he wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible. After all, when Hitler first came to power many Germans viewed him as their liberator and as a great man. I doubt the Jews ever did. They looked to God as their leader; not Hitler.
Hitler soon began ordering the sterilization of those "imperfect people" in society, and most of the people Hitler sterilized turned out to be Jews. Hitler seemed intent on wiping out the Jewish population and establishing a perfect Aryan race in Germany. Why did Hitler consider the Jews as less perfect than everyone else? Just because the Jews believed differently from everyone else in Germany doesn’t make them any less human. If we’re "ranking" humans here, the Jews seem to be better quality than Hitler and his "perfect race". After all, at least they have morals. Perhaps this reason encouraged Hitler to get rid of them in the first place. Maybe he felt guilty for not having morals, (though that’s really hard to believe).
When war broke out in 1939, the Jewish plight worsened. Hitler threatened not only German Jews, but Jews all over Europe. After Hitler invaded Poland, he killed many of the Jews there and sent others to concentration camps. Reporters uncovered the atrocities of one of Hitler’s worst Polish camps in 1944. Many of the people there (many of whom were Jews) were herded into small rooms and gassed. The Nazis recycled their ashes into fertilizers for German farmers. How could anyone be so base as to do something like that? How could any human have the heart to act this way against an entire group of people? Perhaps some Nazis didn’t actually want to participate in these activities, but simply followed orders as a means to survive Hitler’s reign. Maybe the ones who actually enjoyed torturing Jews had had the idea of the Jewish race being evil drummed into their heads much of their lives, and thus acted on these beliefs. Perhaps Hitler had deceived still more into believing that exterminating the Jewish race would help "purify" the German race.
Besides being treated badly by the Germans, the Jews found themselves treated badly by other countries as well. Boatloads of Jewish refugees that turned up at the United States found themselves turned away. No one wanted to accept the Jews or find a place for them. It seemed as if everyone had a little bit of anti-Semitism about them. Of course they didn’t treat the Jews like Hitler did, but the prejudice seems to be there. Why? Maybe some people thought of Jews as nuisances who couldn’t do any good in the world. Maybe Hitler’s anti-Semitism rubbed off on a few people. Though most people claimed they abhorred Hitler’s practices, maybe hearing so much about Hitler’s attitude toward the Jews planted the same kind of idea of Jewish inferiority in their heads as well.
After thinking back over all the reasons I previously mentioned, I believe Hitler abused the Jews because of his pursuit of power. Once he got the Jews out of the way, he could have earned almost unlimited power since the rest of the country would probably back him up. I’m sure other minor reasons probably played a part in Hitler’s treatment of the Jews, but I believe Hitler’s thirst for power mainly caused his base actions.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
It's Me Again
We finally made it back from vacation yesterday, and I finally have access to the internet once again. (No I didn't even bother with my grandfather's dialup) ;). Anyways, we had a great trip, and we actually saw some snow (a truly miraculous sight for those of us in the south). I also enjoyed lying around and doing absolutely nothing (except laughing my head off about once every day), which I will not be able to do starting next Monday when school starts back up. *sigh* Don't get me wrong. I normally enjoy school. I still have to complain a little about it though. ;)
Well that's it for now. Hope everyone had a great New Years, and I'm sure you're all loving getting back in routine. Aren't I right about this? ;) Ttyl
Well that's it for now. Hope everyone had a great New Years, and I'm sure you're all loving getting back in routine. Aren't I right about this? ;) Ttyl
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Vacation time
Just wanted to let everyone know that we're leaving for my grandparents house tomorrow afternoon, and won't get back till the 8th or 9th. (I'm not sure exactly which one). So, as I say every time, I won't be blogging till we get back as doing anything involving my grandfather's computer can get extremely tiresome. ;) hehe. If you could keep us in your prayers as we're traveling, I'd really appreciate it. Now we just have to hope I can survive a car ride packed with brothers, luggage, and an annoying talking parrot (just don't even ask). Over and out.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Another great Christmas
I have to say this Christmas has been one of the best ones yet (for me at least) ;). I hope everyone else had a great one as well. I thought I'd just mention a few of the things I received.
*One of the main things I got was a new bike, which I have been enjoying immensly. Previously I had to ride my brother's bike, which was so low it made me feel like a midget (I probably looked pretty ridiculous riding the thing). This bike is much bigger, and even happens to be my favorite color which is red (you should know that you know). ;) Besides the bike, I've also enjoyed riding my brother's electric scooter (I probably ride it about as much as he does. haha). That thing can really take off I'll say that.
*As last thing, I ended up getting some tycoon computer games which are extremely addicting. The first one, Lemonade Stand Tycoon, is very fast-paced,and fun as you get to tweak your lemonade recipe, your location, the price, etc. The customers are a little odd as they are really to walk around town and buy lemonade in the pouring rain, but hey, more power to them. ;) I also got Railroad Tycoon which is pretty tough, but a lot of fun (except it has a very annoying narrator). I got Airport Tycoon as well, but unfortunately the disc simply would not work (after many extremely frustrated attempts on my part), so I'll just have to put off controlling the airport industry for a while. ;)
*Novel wise, I received a three-part series on the love between a vampire and a normal girl. Verry interesting, and quite hard to put down. I'm already through the second one, as I am hopelessly horrible at savoring any book I have interest in. ;) The books are really well written, the details are great, and there is a great balance between reality and fantasy.
That's all for now.
*One of the main things I got was a new bike, which I have been enjoying immensly. Previously I had to ride my brother's bike, which was so low it made me feel like a midget (I probably looked pretty ridiculous riding the thing). This bike is much bigger, and even happens to be my favorite color which is red (you should know that you know). ;) Besides the bike, I've also enjoyed riding my brother's electric scooter (I probably ride it about as much as he does. haha). That thing can really take off I'll say that.
*As last thing, I ended up getting some tycoon computer games which are extremely addicting. The first one, Lemonade Stand Tycoon, is very fast-paced,and fun as you get to tweak your lemonade recipe, your location, the price, etc. The customers are a little odd as they are really to walk around town and buy lemonade in the pouring rain, but hey, more power to them. ;) I also got Railroad Tycoon which is pretty tough, but a lot of fun (except it has a very annoying narrator). I got Airport Tycoon as well, but unfortunately the disc simply would not work (after many extremely frustrated attempts on my part), so I'll just have to put off controlling the airport industry for a while. ;)
*Novel wise, I received a three-part series on the love between a vampire and a normal girl. Verry interesting, and quite hard to put down. I'm already through the second one, as I am hopelessly horrible at savoring any book I have interest in. ;) The books are really well written, the details are great, and there is a great balance between reality and fantasy.
That's all for now.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Longest Day of the Year
Well the longest day of the year has finally arrived. (If you haven't guessed why that is, then you might need some help or something. ;) haha). Anyway, since I'm about bored stiff, I thought I'd let you know how our program went last night.
Let me just say the program went wayy better than I had originally thought. We all managed to remember most of the words to the songs, (though I did miss a few now and then), and we managed (once again) not to burn the church down with our candles. (though I did keep getting hit with hot wax). I even got to sing one solo, which surprisingly I was not a whole lot nervous about. (That is really wierd for me since I normally get freaked out at about everything that has to do with performing). Maybe it was a fluke. ;)
The "fun" part of the program, (which was us peforming skits for everyone at the christmas party, basically everyone acting like nuts), went pretty well too. The reindeer skit was pretty hilarious (my brother had the honor of being one of those), and we even pulled off "Nuttin for Christmas", which we had never rehearsed on the stage before. Let's just say we totally winged that one. But it all turned out okay, and luckily I didn't die of embarrassment. ;)
Now that the program's out of the way, all that's left standing between me and Christmas is good ole' Christmas Eve. So far, all my parents have planned for this morning is cleaning (not my idea of relaxation). Oh well. At least it gives us something to do. ;)
Let me just say the program went wayy better than I had originally thought. We all managed to remember most of the words to the songs, (though I did miss a few now and then), and we managed (once again) not to burn the church down with our candles. (though I did keep getting hit with hot wax). I even got to sing one solo, which surprisingly I was not a whole lot nervous about. (That is really wierd for me since I normally get freaked out at about everything that has to do with performing). Maybe it was a fluke. ;)
The "fun" part of the program, (which was us peforming skits for everyone at the christmas party, basically everyone acting like nuts), went pretty well too. The reindeer skit was pretty hilarious (my brother had the honor of being one of those), and we even pulled off "Nuttin for Christmas", which we had never rehearsed on the stage before. Let's just say we totally winged that one. But it all turned out okay, and luckily I didn't die of embarrassment. ;)
Now that the program's out of the way, all that's left standing between me and Christmas is good ole' Christmas Eve. So far, all my parents have planned for this morning is cleaning (not my idea of relaxation). Oh well. At least it gives us something to do. ;)
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Christmas time
So once again I am finally back, and this time I don't plan to stay away from posting for so long ;). Things have been pretty insane, but now that school's out I should have a lot more time to post.
School wise, the year ended well. I finally got through my science semester test (which I had been studying my head off for), but history wise I'm not sure I ever want to hear WWII mentioned again (I studied my head off on this subject as well ;) ). Overall, school is a great experience, but it's always nice to get a break. We don't have to go back till Jan. 14th, so I guess I should stop complaining about school now. Don't want mom hearing this. ;)
As usual I am (very) impatiently waiting for Christmas, but first have to get through our church's annual youth christmas program tomorrow night. If you read my blog about our program last christmas, you'll remember we all had to carry candles while wearing thick, easy to trip over robes. Well this year we're doing that again (with different music of course), so if you hear about a church catching fire from a clusmy maneuver by a robed figure, it's probably ours. ;) Then after the sanctuary part of the service, we go to the FLC for the "secular" part of the program. Let's just say this part involves us acting out the song "I'm Getting Nuttin for Christmas," and a skit based on the song "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." Thank heavens I don't have to be a reindeer. If I did, I probably would have changed my name and moved to Siberia.....Ok just kidding. ;) It should be interesting how all this turns out though. I'll let you know.
School wise, the year ended well. I finally got through my science semester test (which I had been studying my head off for), but history wise I'm not sure I ever want to hear WWII mentioned again (I studied my head off on this subject as well ;) ). Overall, school is a great experience, but it's always nice to get a break. We don't have to go back till Jan. 14th, so I guess I should stop complaining about school now. Don't want mom hearing this. ;)
As usual I am (very) impatiently waiting for Christmas, but first have to get through our church's annual youth christmas program tomorrow night. If you read my blog about our program last christmas, you'll remember we all had to carry candles while wearing thick, easy to trip over robes. Well this year we're doing that again (with different music of course), so if you hear about a church catching fire from a clusmy maneuver by a robed figure, it's probably ours. ;) Then after the sanctuary part of the service, we go to the FLC for the "secular" part of the program. Let's just say this part involves us acting out the song "I'm Getting Nuttin for Christmas," and a skit based on the song "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." Thank heavens I don't have to be a reindeer. If I did, I probably would have changed my name and moved to Siberia.....Ok just kidding. ;) It should be interesting how all this turns out though. I'll let you know.
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