Even Our Heroes Are Not Perfect

Today I noticed something quite important while I was attending the memorial for Joe Paterno.  Amongst the Bryce Jordan Center, I felt a sense of unity.  It was the identity I felt with Penn State from the beginning when I first chose to come to Penn State.  During all the speeches and emotions that were expressed throughout the memorial, I came to conclude that, aside the scandal that was revealed a couple months ago, Joe Paterno impacted the university tremendously in many ways.  He influenced the lives of many, not just his football players, but people he did not even know.  He donated and invested so much into the university as a whole.  He donated money to buildings, the library and helped to start the Paterno Fellows Program.  That program helps and allows students to achieve greater success.  It was founded on his belief of “success with honor”.  I am currently a Paterno Fellows aspirant and never have I felt more proud of my university and for all that Joe Paterno did for the school.  One of the speakers, Phillip Knight, who is the co-founder of the sports brand Nike, said that throughout his life he had heroes and for the last eleven years Joe Paterno was his hero.  It was then and there that I noticed the rhetoric in all of this.  The irony to everything that followed this is that no human is perfect.  Even someone as loving, charismatic, generous and unique as Joe Paterno can fall.  Until then, I was one of the few there that resented Paterno for knowing what Sandusky was doing and not having done enough to stop it back in 1999.  Maybe my beliefs on the molestation of children to be worst crime known to man influenced that belief and maybe I came to see this irony because I was influenced by the many sadden by his loss because there was something there in the air.  The celebration of his life and legacy allowed me to see that the mightier and bigger they are, the harder they fall.  No one is perfect and unfortunately Joe made a big mistake but that doesn’t necessarily make him a bad person.

http://www.gopsusports.com/blog/2012/01/a-memorial-for-joe-honors-a-legend.html 

Is Civic Engagement Really in Decline?

Throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, there was much concern regarding the amount people that participated in society.  Things such as the percentage of people writing letters to newspapers to express their concerns and signing petitions to voice concerns to representatives in Congress declined steadily through to the beginning of the twenty first century, but is civic participation is still in decline?  Is the tireless phrase, "the land of the free and the home of the brave" now just some words on paper because Americans are showing apathy with the world around them?  I beg to differ.  In fact, I believe that most people are turning to the internet to stay engaged in society.  As we move further with technology, more people are looking to more convenient ways of staying engaged in society.  Many people, especially in this country look to search for news online in the digital age.  Many people now have technology like smart phones that have apps which provide news at the touch of a screen.  Blogs like this one and social networking sites such as twitter and Facebook provide a medium for people to communicate their concerns with others.  However, there are others that feel the internet should not be a method of civic engagement.

Currently there is legislation in Congress that if passed, may constrict people to what they may say or do on the internet.  This may affect the more modern approach to being an active citizen in society.  Yesterday many internet websites had "blackouts" to voice their concerns to the public about the intentions of some politicians on Capitol Hill. Many websites wanted to show their visitors what the web maybe like if Congress passes such legislation.  Wikipedia pages were restricted to this image on every one of their pages.

(Source: Dylan Love/businessinsider.com)

Wikipedia used the rhetoric device pathos to convey their opposition to the bills.  "Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge" is powerful and emotional.  It makes the observer think of future censorship of the internet.  The color of the background helps to insinuate a "world" that is dark and cold.  The outlook of future censorship of the internet does not look to foretell something positive.  This and other efforts really proved that people are not passive and indifferent to the thought of Civic Engagement.  Other websites such as Google also played a role in helping to oppose SOPA and PIPA by getting over 7 million signatures through their online petition in just one day. The awareness made by these websites really did help to express and maybe accomplish the goals of those that played active roles.  Due to these recent efforts by active citizens, some members of Congress have rethought their support of the bills.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts-law/after-wikipedia-blackout-lawmakers-struggle-to-keep-anti-piracy-bills-on-track/2012/01/19/gIQAqc9ZBQ_story.html