Lost Children Of Rockdale Country Analysis

Who or what are the forces or influences that shape who we are and how we think about ourselves.

A small town in Kentucky nestled along the Appalachian mountains, long forgotten by the outside world. The town people only have each other to rely on and will take anything to forget where they are and how horrible their conditions are. In the video, Hidden America Children Of The Mountain, the main point was to bring awareness to the situation that the people who live in the Appalachian Mountains are being faced with. A half million people are living in poverty in the mountains. Even the football star of the town lives in his truck because of his family’s poverty. When Americans hear about poverty, they think of it as far away and as something that will not affect them, they do not think about it being in their own back yard. In reality,

A care worker who holds certain religious or moral values about abortion may face a dilemma when trying to assist a person receiving care who becomes pregnant and wishes to have an abortion.

I sensed the schools were hiding something, drugging us with false morality so that we would not see, so that we don't ask why”(Coates, p 26).

In Quindlen’s essay she talks about when she was sitting in a clinic in the poorest neighborhood in New York City. She sat with a group of young teenagers who amazed her with their knowledge of sexuality. Quindlen talks about someone mentioning the thought that sex education in school would lower or prevent teen pregnancy, but students will do whatever they want to do. Even though it is good to teach young teenagers about sex and possible risk of the act, it could create confusion in students, wondering the class is teaching them about contraceptives or abstinence. The essay explains how half dozen young teenage girls show off that they are having sex, getting pregnant, and having babies.

As a catholic-born child, I was brought up with very strict rules laid out before me that would help me with choices such as the holy sacrament of confirmation and marriage to the very controversial choice of abortion. Since I’ve been Catholic all of my life, I am a firm believer in the pro-life choice, which is advocating full legal protection of embryos and fetuses along with high opposition to the legalization of induced abortions. A baby is a baby is a baby. Whether it is an embryo, fetus, or almost a full term baby, it is still considered life. That is how I like to view this topic. This semester I plan to research why abortion is morally wrong

St. John argues that when individuals fear change, it creates more problems and conflicts. However, if people were to embrace change, then this would enhance the lives of all people involved.

In an article titled “Why Kids Sext” Hanna Rosin, tells stories of teenagers who have had recent experiences with sexting. Rosin speaks about a High School in Virginia where there were Instagram accounts containing explicit images of teenage girls of “Every race, religion, social, and financial status in the town. Rich, poor, everyone. That’s what was most glaring and blaring about the situation. If she was a teenager with a phone, she was on there,” said Major Lowe (qtd. In Rosin 388-389). Lowe who worked at the High School, speaks of how over the years he had received many calls from furious parents whose daughters had photos pop up after a breakup with an old boyfriend. This time, however, he knew he had a much bigger

The Saints hid many of their reckless acts and while around the community they put on faces which would make them seem like the best of men. The perception of the community was that of young men who did well in school and sports, even though they had their fun, and were the models of every day students. With this fake perception the Saints could get away with more acts including cheating on tests or speeding through a stop sign. Police officers, teachers and more only wanted obedience from these students. The students though seemly giving obedience in fact used deception to only

Kevin Baker uses many of the techniques in "When Rockport Was My Own." I admire his usage of specific detail. "For most of my childhood we lived, very cheaply, in a two-story, wood-frame house, with a yard full of trees and a wood behind us. We ate wild blackberries straight from the bushes that grew along the edge of our backyard, spent the summers swimming in abandoned granite quarries and skated over their black-green depths in the winter." I admire Baker's usage of the specific detail because it furthers the mental image of the reader. The reader is able to now visualize an old, two-story, run-down house with a yard containing many trees and a wood behind the property. From Baker giving more specific details, the reader is also given a glimpse into the childhood of Baker. The reader knows that he spent his time finding and eating black berries, swimming in granite quarries and skating over them in the winter. Because the author shares this information, the reader not only gets a glimpse into his childhood but has the opportunity to make connection between the Baker's childhood and their own. The specific details, like the one quoted above, makes the story more interesting, engaging, and enjoyable for the reader to read.

The personhood of somebody on the edges of life is a major controversial issue resulting from the modern advancements in medicine and is one of the main concerns of bioethics. Society seems to be split on the issue of whether individuals in the fetal or brain-dead comatose state are defined by the term of persons. While these individuals are in fact humans in the factual, biological sense, the controversy people have is whether they satisfy the evaluative term of a person which would grant them the right to life. As a result of this disagreement of the personhood status of these individuals, there is in turn disagreement on how they should be treated medically and whether and under which circumstances is it morally acceptable to perform an

Giving someone the right to die has been debated on both moral and religious grounds. Many believe that people have the right to choose what to do with their own bodies. The opposition to this argument is that as a society, humanity should work to preserve all life. Those against assisted suicide also believe that if it is legalized, the service would be abused and people would be trapped, unable to change their minds after deciding to die and possibly being unable to express their thoughts. Religion, Catholicism in particular has a strong view opposing physician-assisted suicide. Pope Francis has stated that he views euthanasia as a part of today’s, “throw-away culture,” that it puts social pressure on the elderly and sick to die and stop draining their families as stated by The Telegraph. Catholicism also views assisted suicide as a sin against God and creation, as publicly stated by Pope

As a result of this, many Catholics agree with the Catholic Church’s views on the topic of euthanasia in accordance with their faith. However, as the right of any human, a person can gather their own opinions on certain subjects, and there is also a presence of Catholics who are in favour of euthanasia. As with any human being, our decisions are based upon our moral beliefs and conscience, and this is likewise with Catholics. As stated in the Catechism, a person’s conscience is a very personal and important thing, and is also considered to be God’s voice acting within a person. Although contradictory to the Catholic Church’s teachings about euthanasia, there are also Catholics who approve and encourage euthanasia due to their

The Documentary “The Devils Playground” follows the lives of a few Amish youths as they go on a journey called rumspringa and attempt and decide whether or not to devote their lives to the Amish church. This documentary clarifies that the Amish religion is in fact a branch of Catholicism in which the members do not get baptized until they are adults. The reasoning behind this difference is that the Amish live a very minimal and secluded lifestyle and they feel that before committing one’s life to the church and to Christ a person must be old enough to know what exactly that promise entails. The Amish community is one that values work; they take pride in living life without many of the advantages available to them, including electricity and cars. When an Amish youth turns sixteen they are able to go on what is called rumspringa, which is a time when they are able to abandon their core values and live like a normal American for the first time. This journey, in a way, exposes these kids to a sociological imagination, which allows them to, “Understand the larger historical meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals.” (Mills 1959). This means that these Amish kids are able to see how their life’s play into the bigger picture of society and how a majority of non-Amish people live. The point of rumspringa is to push these kids right in the mix of the world with no previous exposure in order to scare them into thinking the real world is too

The Roman Catholic Church is presented as an institution of knowledge and power, influencing the lives of the people. The clear boundaries in catholic society are presented here, by the “right and wrong”, indicating that there was little variation in beliefs and practice in those following Catholicism. However, even though religion is presented as an important part of life, determining people’s decisions and behaviour, it is also presented as something which is taught, rather than followed willingly, indicating that while children, such as Frank, may have no wish to become “good Catholics”, they were forced to do so by society; their parents and teachers. Frank presents the attitude towards religion in school through the following quote, telling the children to: “Know and remember all the questions and answers in catechism, became good Catholics, to know the difference between right and wrong, to die for the Faith if called on”