Kamehameha

Dear Followers,

Positive Peace Theory And Me

History is loaded with individuals who have shaped it. From the upholder of justice named Martin Luther King Jr. to the symbol of tyranny and oppression named Hitler, there are thousands of individuals whose actions have changed the world. Even today, contemporary figures like Barack Obama are changing the modern world, deconstructing traditional modes of thought. When asked the question about whom I would choose have a conversation with, my choice would be Chris Cuomo, the Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In her book, “The Philosopher Queen: Feminist Essays on War, Love & Knowledge,” Cuomo lays out the framework for the theory of “positive peace.” Cuomo has changed the way I view the world, acting as a springboard sending me into the world of philosophy.

The way Cuomo structures her argument is through a criticism of the traditional framework in which we place large scale, state-sponsored violence or war. In the modern world, we view war as an event with a definite start and end. When we isolate war outside of the events of everyday life, we no longer understand the reasons for why conflict starts in the first place because we assume that the conflict was produced in a vacuum. This view of war is known as “negative peace,” and this view prioritizes war over the structural problems that recreate war, masking the real problem. Only when we recognize the constant nature of militarism and how militarism permeates all aspects of society can we refocus on the systemic problems like poverty, environmental destruction, the oppression of women, and the “otherization” of marginalized groups. We can then understand the context into which wars are produced and find new ways to approach and fix the problems that produce them.

In debate, we evaluate policy through two modes of thought, one more pragmatic and one more abstract. The materialization of the abstract mode of thought is known as the “kritik,” relying on the ontological, epistemological, and methodological value of action to weigh arguments against the other team. Cuomo’s theory was the first that I understood as debater. Reading and understanding the arguments that Cuomo made helped give me the confidence to delve into the philosophic work of Nietzsche, Zizek, Freud, and Derrida. While Cuomo only discusses her theory in context of state-sponsored military action, her theory has allowed me to develop a new mode of thought for the ways in which I view other aspects of the world. I can now understand that we cannot isolate anything in terms of an event, because doing so undermines the causes and reasons for why the event happens in the first place. For example, in history class I now do not separate the events that happened in each of the original British colonies, but instead understand that similar forces were involved in each.

Overall, Cuomo has been a pivotal source of knowledge in my lifetime. Not only has her theory of “positive peace” allowed me to reshape my own thought process, but the knowledge she has given me has served as a starting point for my journey into the world of philosophy. I have so many questions to ask Cuomo. From asking about the origins of her argument to discussing the relevance of viewing militarism as a constant in the context of modern day wars would be invigorating. What she would have to say about our conception of the War on Terror would be particularly interesting to hear. I would need to choose my words with care however, because Cuomo does not appreciate how her theory is used in modern debate. A conversation with Cuomo would be an opportunity to give my thanks, and spend a day with my favorite political philosopher.

Team Rocket Is Blasting Off Again,
Noel

Shining Finger

Dear Followers,

The simple truth is that writing is scary. In many ways I have always been categorized as the intellectual because of my highly mathematical mode of thought. There is no doubt, I am an intellectual. While this statement seems narcissistic on face, describing myself as an intellectual serves not to quantify my capability for thought but rather to describe my process of thought.

The use of intellectual in this sense matches very closely matches what Didion does in her own essay of the same topic. My thought process is best described as having a close eye for particularities while not fearing the nature of abstractions. I prefer what cannot be known, what cannot be seen, what cannot be broken down.

The common relationship between the intellectual and the writer is traditionally one of enmity. The modern conception in which writing and mathematics are mutually exclusive leads to falsely constructed stereotypes. One cannot be a well-established writer so long as they have the mental capacity to delve into the meticulous abstractions of math and science.

These stereotypes and categorizations have held back my relationship with writing to one of mere acquaintance. Writing is the other classmate. I know and interact with this classmate everyday yet have no genuine connections with them. I know them by name, I know how well they do in school, I know what they like and dislike, but my knowledge and relationship only extend to the superficial.

These interactions are limited to the sphere of the classroom, the symbol of our educational systems. These interactions are in a way forced upon me by the fact that they are a component of my classroom. In the same way, writing has been forced upon me.

My only exposure to concentrated writing has been through school. Only under the framework of the assignment have I ever accessed real focused writing. My only drive for writing has been the pursuit of a grade. Never have I taken up writing by myself, through my own action, for my own enjoyment. The way that education has constructed writing is why students stray away from writing.

Students are never given the space to analyze and construct writing because they are never given the chance to just write, to write without having a preconceived framework of reference to limit a work. Social networking websites that have become an integral part of our everyday lifestyle are the new forum to express oneself. There are several informal pieces of literature that I will publish on these networks, but none of these pieces expand past the one line “status” or “comment.”

With all this in mind, the only question left to cover is why I write. As long as I find myself within the framework of an educational system with a focus on reducing the complex entity of the student to a single number or letter, I will write for my own educational advancement. This is a fact. That is not to say however that I cannot add in my own style, my exterior motives for writing.

Today in class we discussed essays by Orwell, Didion, and Goldberg concerning the reasons for which they write. Without a doubt, Orwell was the author who most connected with me. Didion may be on the complete other side of the spectrum in terms of writing and we never got to Goldberg.

George Orwell, my pick of the day.

I am not a man of who prides aesthetic beauty and profound emotion. To me, the substance of an essay is above any aesthetic value. This thought is best explained when Orwell says “where I lacked a political purpose that I wrote lifeless books and was betrayed into purple passages, sentences without meaning, decorative adjectives and humbug generally.”

Writing for me is a way to tell people what I am. To put myself into words in a format for other is a reason why I write. In the words of Orwell, writers want “to be talked about, [and] to be remembered after death.” I do not digress from this pattern. Writers are essentially self-centered.

While I share none of Orwell’s indulgence for the nature of words themselves, I can connect with him about the importance of “political” writing. As Orwell describes, “political” is the goal “to push the world in a certain direction, to alter other peoples’ idea of the kind of society they should strive after.” If my writing can do anything, I would want my works to help reshape the way people view the world, the ontology of the masses. And so I keep on writing

That’s Sexist,
Noel

Drill Through The George Bush Highway

Dear Followers,

"The stars at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas"

This weekend was a weekend of fear, fun, and fast speeches. I went down to Dallas-Fort Worth this weekend for the Greenhill Fall Classic debate tournament. You see, my partner and I were sent as back ups because two of our other teams had other things going on. I really have no idea why Devon and Mariah did not go, but Miranda was weighed down like every other child in the United States by standardized testing.

Anyways, on Friday I left for Texas with Alex Bahls, Luke Plutowski, Lina Lee, and the infamous Eric Short. Eric Short is a legend. Don't forget that. Here are the teams I debated with what side they spoke against us:

N - College Prep BY

A - Coppell KM
A - University Prep AZ
N - Gulliver Prep AT
A - Westwood KL
N - Bishop Guertin BD

Today was my last day of debate at the Greenhill. While the tournament had its ups and downs, the experience was phenomenal. Lina was covering my behind nearly every round, and she deserves major thanks for dealing with my inexperienced self.

The one thing that really sucked about this tournament was the realization that I would never again be in a novice round. No longer could I depend on people dropping arguments or defaulting to T in the 2NR. Cuomo made a first showing this tournament, and let's just say I have a lot to work on when I get back to Minnesota. On the bright side, I found Cuomo's webpage.

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Everything in Texas is big, no pun intended. Greenhill must be a school for students with parents who make more money than God. There are exotic Indian birds walking around on the campus, and even though there are probably no more than 200 students the campus is larger than Wayzata High School.

Our hotel room was nothing out of the ordinary. Our roommate, Imonal from SPC, was the bee's knees, and his iPad rocked my socks. Debate never seems like debate without Blake, and watching Kentucky walk around with an Edina hat was priceless. I got to meet new debaters, not to mention Bahls' personal idols, Bill Batterman and Calum Matheson.

Did you know that Bahls had lunch at a certain restuarant in Boston with a certain Indian whose last name ended in "nan" with Calum Matheson, and then he recieved a text message describing how a pronoun without an antecedent though he was a "hard worker?" I heard Russian sea turtles were involved.

One of many exotic peacocks on the Greenhill campus.
Bahls had the honor of catching one of the baby peacocks.

The food here was delicious. On the first night we went to Jake's, the hamburger equivalent of Hooter's. You always need to go with the "Jake's Special" with the hickory sauce. On the second night we stopped by Asia Mint: Asian Fusion Dessert Cafe through a torrent of rain that was escalating by the second. I was disappointed by the lack of Beef Chow Fun, but made do with the Crunchy Pad Thai. If you haven't had Coconut Custard or Green Tea Ice Cream Cake, go eat them now.

How Do We Even Know We're In Texas,
Noel

Just Wild Heaven

Dear Followers,

Konichiwa. This is the first of many, many posts to come as I start my career as a professional blogger. After going professional in facebook and witnessing the Farmville fall of 2010, I thought my career as an internet professional was over. But now, with the guidance of Mrs. Cardona, my AP Language and Composition teacher, I am back on the net.

I see can see this blog heading in several directions. While this blog is for school, who's to say I cannot post what I please? I had wanted to start a blog this summer in order to review anime, but I never got around to doing so. You can expect a TON of Japanese culture on this blog, from manga to videogames, because that is my cup of tea.

You will come to know me as a policy debater very soon. Not only do I love to rant about things that do not really mean anything, but I will pick fights because of my argumentative nature, and because I cannot stand trolls. WARNING: NO TROLLS ALLOWED. I will constantly update arguments I find and things I run throughout the year, but don't expect this to be the 3NR, I am no Bill Batterman. From politics to philosophy I will try to give you the goods.

This is the second day of school for me, you probably don't need to know or even want to know that. My classes right now are AP US History, AP Language and Composition, Study Hall, and Honors Debate. Don't listen to anybody who tells you not to take Study Hall, they are only jealous of the people who do. School is ok, but you will hear me rant about education someday.

That is all I have for you today. Here's a shout out to Erik Sutton, my tennis partner, for staying fly and becoming the first follower of this blog. And this blog > Jeff Zhang's blog. Sayonara!

Dancing In The Shadow,
Noel