Credibility in the Media

I recently commented on Patrick S.'s post "If Everything is Credible, Then Nothing is Credible". It is a very well-written blog about the status of our nations media and the political bias that comes with it.

"...One nation (under God)..."

          Many changes have taken place throughout our society in the past century. From technological advances like the colored television to the institution of gay marriage in the state of California, these things have all shaped the culture we live in today. One change that I would like to address in this blog post is the topic of political correctness. Now trust me, I am a huge advocate of political correctness and believe that it needs to be taken seriously, but when does it go to far?
          A few days ago, I came across a website called "Restore the Pledge". This website was put up in order to dispute the fact that the words “under God” should be used in our United States Pledge of Allegiance. The writer of the website believes that the Pledge of Allegiance is not politically correct if the words “under God” are used in it. After looking through this website I do understand the argument that “under God” refers to a deity that only certain people in the United States worship and that there is a large percent of people whose religions are not represented by this pledge of allegiance to our nation, but I believe that the Pledge of Allegiance should stay as it is and the words “under God” are representative of our nation’s history.
          The first six generations that came the America were of the Christian faith (the majority being Puritan). These early settlers set the standard for moral codes and work ethics for generations to come. Many people have said that Puritan morals and work ethics are still prevalent in our culture today, and some even go as far as saying that they are what drive America to be as great as it is (anyone can make a name for themselves if they work hard enough).
          The words “under God” was not put in the Pledge of Allegiance in order to offend those who do not worship God, or to ensure that no other religions were able to be worshiped. It was put in place to represent the history of our nation and taking it out would be like taking out a piece of our nation.

Underage Drinking Laws

I encourage you all to look at my comment on Theblogger2's blog about underage drinking laws in the United States.

BCS: "Beyond Common Sense"?

For many, college football is not just something to do on a Saturday when your wife is out shopping with the kids, it’s a lifestyle that lasts from Labor Day to the first few weeks of January. For the many of us who do view college football as a lifestyle, we all know about the BCS Bowl system controversy.

            The controversy is over the substitution of a playoff system with “The Bowl Championship Series.” The bowl system is as follows, the top two teams that are ranked first and second at the end of the year in the BCS standings will play in the National Championship game. The champions of the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, and the Southeastern conferences each receive automatic bids into a BCS bowl game after the regular season. Champions in Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, or the Western Athletic Conference will earn a bid only if they are ranked in the top 12 of the BCS standings or ranked in the top 16 if they are ranked higher than a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic bid.

            Personally, I see this system as completely unfair to teams outside of the “Big Six.” There is no reason that any team should receive automatic bids to BCS bowl games. It causes too much controversy and uncertainty over who is actually the best college football team in America.

            The only solution to this 10-year, ongoing problem is a collegiate football playoff system. This system would last just as long as the current BCS bowl system lasts and would take the champion of EACH of the 11 division 1A college football conferences. The 5 conference champions ranked highest would receive automatic bids into the playoff and the other 6 conferences would play one game with another conference not in the top 5. They would take up 3 spots in the playoff, which would make it an 8-team playoff. This playoff system is described in more detail at this website.

            I believe that this playoff system, if instituted, would create a much better atmosphere for college football and would silence any doubt over who the best team in the nation is. Therefore making the National Championship game that much more exciting.