Journal 1

Chris Botti

9/4/2010

Journal 1

            I would like to start the first journal by explaining something very unique about myself.  I consider myself a conservative and my parents are very liberal.  This is a very rare situation and I have given a lot of thought on why this might be the case.  One conclusion is a result of a poor relationship with my stepmother over the past year.  My young self wanted to be contrary to everything that she was and believed.  This may have been the start of the formation of my political views.  Ever since I can remember my views are closely related to the Republican Party.

            That being said I would like to talk about environmental philosophy.  I would consider my viewpoint centers closest around the cornucopia philosophy.  That is we will always have resources and science for the human population to strive forever.  That being the case, there are something’s that are not renewable resources (oil) and the human population needs to watch how much they use. 

            Oil is something that the population needs to have.  In no way do I support the stop or dramatic reduction of the use of oil. I think that we need to watch the way that we use it, and make sure not to be wasteful because oil can be a scarcity and not to mention America has to do business in areas of the globe that are not our biggest fans.  Because of my feelings of this I think I can be labeled as conservatism, a person that wants to use resources, but not wastefully.

            Continuing on with my beliefs, I definitely lean with the Republican Party regarding economic policy.  This means I believe that there should be no economic redistribution from the wealthy to the poor.  I think Americans work hard for their money and there is no reason for the government to go and take this money to either give it to the poor or fund government programs.  Because of this, I believe that Obama’s tax hikes are outrageous and they need to be lowered so that Americans can keep their hard earned money in their pockets so that they can spend to help our economy.  The economy WILL NOT rebound with lots of government input.

            I would like to share a story that makes despise the Obama administration even more.  One of my fraternity brothers was searching for a job this past summer.  He needed money to pay rent, food, and fraternity dues.  He was recruited by a government (Obama) created job program to help the less fortunate.  After an interview, he was told he could not be hired because his parents, who are barely making $40,000 dollars a year and sending two boys to college, made too much money.  His parents were not paying the rent.  His parents weren’t funding his food.  His parents weren’t funding his fraternity dues.  Why is the criterion based on his parent’s income when it is he needing the money?  I find this as a good example on why governmental programs DO NOT work.

On the other hand I believe that the government needs to step in a make sure people are doing okay socially.  This means I would be considered conservative with my social beliefs as well.  People cannot be going around doing whatever they want.  The Democrats philosophy is if an act is not hurting others or themselves, go ahead and do it.  The best example of where I disagree is abortion.

I think abortion is a crime.   You wouldn’t kill a baby so you wouldn’t kill a HUMAN BEING inside your stomach.  People need to take responsibility for their actions.  If you are old enough to have sex and make that decision, be prepared for the consequences.  Only under special circumstances do I believe that an abortion is warranted.  In the unfortunate circumstance of rape the woman should have the right to the abortion but only in the first trimester.  Secondly if the baby is causing complications to that woman’s health the option for an abortion should be on the table.

            I think that my beliefs with the environment, economic and social align.  I am fairly confident that my philosophy is correct when trying to address difficult questions.  As a scholar I want to gather as much information possible when making decisions and creating my own personal philosophy.  During this class I am open to all new information presented to me and possibly having a friendlier approach to the environment.