Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Is love possible?


Near the end of Act II, in Translations, we see an exchange of words between Maire and Yolland. These two characters speak two completely different languages, yet seem to "fall in love" with each other. I put this in quotes because I do not believe it is realistic. A huge part of two humans connecting and relating is being able to communicate. Maire knows a few words in Yolland's language, and vice versa, but this is not enough to form a bond for any sort of relationship. I think they are infatuated with one another's language and looks, but they would need a stronger foundation to fall in love. I've heard of love stories like this, but I don't think that this is a common thing that would have a high chance of lasting. I believe in love, but I also believe you need a strong base for a successful relationship, mostly driven by the ability to communicate needs, wants, and interests, etc... While Maire and Yolland seem to be thinking relatively the same thing, the two characters have a hard time expressing it so that the other can understand. The kiss that the two share is acknowledgment that they understand, but for them to love each other would take much more.

Power in the U.S.


Our country runs on a system of justice that revolves around the offense or crime committed. Regardless of what a person may claim as morally right or wrong, the law stands above and dictates what people can and can't do. Justice is not fair from state to state, which we can see based on penalties given for the same crime state to state. Judgement is given on behalf of a jury and judge and sometimes citizens from the community. Laws are decided by people in office, experiences from the community, and sometimes from common sense. I think our system does a pretty decent job. It could use some help in creating a uniform system across the states, but overall, we do an ok job. In the novel, Power, we see a court scene after Ama has broken the law passed about killing endangered species. Regardless of whether she were charged in Florida or for killing a different endangered species elsewhere, I believe her case would have been treated the same in a different state. Again, it doesn't matter if she thought is was ok, she still broke a law and had to stand in court. This is just an example of how the U.S. justice system works and that people will always be held accountable if caught.

This is an interesting article about what people think about or justice system. It's an older article, but has many applications to today. http://www.abanet.org/media/perception/perceptions.pdf