These last couple weeks, we have been lectured about the Cold War, particularly the race for arms with the Atomic bomb.  When the Soviet Union announced they had an atomic bomb, the U.S government implemented plans for citizen’s survival if there were to be an atomic bomb launched on the United States.  These plans included fallout shelters and the “duck and cover” drill.

Just a couple years ago, Kim Jong Un, dictator of North Korea, threatened to launch a nuclear bomb on the U.S.  Instead of preparing for the slight chance it could happen, most went to the internet and made memes and jokes about it (such as the one below).

In my opinion, I find it interesting how at one point in our history, our society was frightened by an atomic bomb and prepared for it in every way possible, but nowadays, we laugh at the idea of a nuclear bomb.

Recently on campus there was a group of religious zealots preaching loudly about how women are whores and wearing v-necks makes you a homosexual, and other such problematic and offensive things. In every history class I have taken, I have learned about some group that experiences religious persecution by another religious group who believes that what they are doing is wrong or sinful. For example, the Protestants, the Calvinists, and the Mormons. Today, I saw that a new group was being persecuted: those who are not necessarily strictly born-again Christians. While this “persecution” is nothing compared to the others seen in the past, it still shows how we are always “haunted by history”.

Tupac should be known as the greatest rapper of all time because of his beliefs demonstrated through his lyrics. Some of his beliefs consisted of; feminism, black panther traditions, and his representation in the media.

Brody Westmoreland

In my essay, I wanted to focus on the era of the twenties. The focus would be on culture, including the music, clothing, and dance, and how these changing aspects of culture changed the attitudes of the men and women of this era. The women took on new roles, including the “right to vote with the Nineteenth Amendment”(HIST, 379). This is when Prohibition was put into effect, and I wanted to look into how these changed attitudes contributed to the rise of alcohol consumption in this era and what led to the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. I believe that the Prohibition laws were ineffective and promoted more drinking, because in this era, people were more likely to go against the grain with their new attitude of freedom and change.

This is my thesis: Woodstock was not just simply one of the most legendary music festivals to occur in history but also changed the dynamics of large music festivals forevermore. Woodstock set the stage for concerts to not only be about listening to the music but also to push the limits of being under the influence of whatever alcohol or drug of choice. In 1969, the Woodstock Festival gave recognition to a counterculture which “tried to ignore social and cultural norms, proposing instead a new moral foundation for American life”(Schultz, 469). This new American life will be recognized throughout my essay as I will progress into our modern society and the concert/drug culture that precedes with it.

 My thesis statement is-Pete Rose was a legend in the game of baseball but was banned from it in 1989 for illegal gambling. Because of the life-time ban, one of the greatest players of all time will not join the great ranks in the Hall of Fame. Pete Rose’s life-time ban should be lifted and allow him to be inducted in the Hall of Fame because the evidence against him was not substantial, his statistics are more than worthy, and his crime is less to that of some other inductees.

For our more beard inclined friends, March is a way to showcase their raw masculinity by growing a killer mustache. For the rest of us, it is a trial of endurance that leaves a faint caterpillar on the upper lip growing at a snails pace. Yes Mustache March is a fantastic time of year, but I was not brave enough to weather the trials, tribulations, and ultimate character building rewards that stem from attempting to grow even the slightest bit of facial hair this year. I did it last year though, all the way until March 31st. And still I couldn’t even see the stache from more than 2 feet away from a mirror. Here’s a picture of my mustache on 3/31/2014 right before I removed this thing from my face, I can’t even see it

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My thesis is, Martin Luther King Jr’s actions created a turning point in history and his efforts are continuously mentioned today through media and movements resulting in racial acceptance. He was able to stand up in a time where no one else would and will forever have his voice heard. He influenced people around the world and gave others the confidence to stand up for what’s right. Hist mentions the massive resistance and black response. It specifically mentions the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and how “King was selected as the group’s leader…embracing a philosophy of peaceful integration and nonviolence” (447).This action, like others, led others to join voices and better our society. It goes on to talk about desegregation in sports and how “Robinson vowed not to retaliate against racist taunts.” This was a movement inspired by King’s nonviolence breakthroughs.

Today in class Dr. Putnam was talking about how people were planning and preparing for an atomic bomb attack. While I was on tumblr.com there was a post I saw about the coolest or craziest homes around the world. One of the homes was created as a bunker in case an atomic bomb attack were to happen.