AIDS videos.

My first reaction when I found out that I had to watch a fifteen minute video on AIDS, I was dreading it because it's usually just the same old stuff about how terrible it is. As I was watching it though, I found it to be so interesting and so awful that things like that actually happen in the world. It just doesn't even seem right that such ignorance and lack of knowledge exists on such a serious and life threatening issue. As you would hear some of the women talk about themselves having to have a sexual relationship with the guy catching the fish just so she could feed her family because of having no source of income due to her husband passing away from the disease is heart wrenching. My prayers really go out to the families that have to experience this. Especially the kids who are 14 years old having to take care of their brothers and sisters because they lost both of their parents to AIDS. These poor children see that and that ends up being their destiny. I knew that the virus was bad in Africa but I had no idea that it was to this extent. God bless the man attempting to educate groups of people in Africa that this is definitely not a curse but a deadly disease that can be prevented simply by wearing a condom or properly wearing a condom. Hopefully he will be even the slightest bit successful to save these people from the virus.
I believe that the effects of the AIDS virus is so much more massive in Africa then they are in the United States because there is such a lack of knowledge and education of the disease. Also, there is such a large amount poverty and these are so desperate to survive that they feel as though they have no other choice but to sell themselves for their life and their families lives. The knowledge that I had about this virus before watching there videos was pretty great in regards to how so many people were so uneducated and how there was so much poverty that it created a greater spread because African people wanted to survive, but I had no idea that it was to this great of an extent. These poor women have sex with men that catch fish so they can feed their family of six, a meal for only one. The culture that was created in Africa keeps getting passed on to the children because when a family member that was having sex for food dies from the virus, their children become vulnerable to the same actions just to survive because there is no other source of income for them. To be completely honest with this issue, I don't think there are a lot of different options as far as solutions to this epidemic. I think the man that goes around telling people about how this can be prevented is the best option. Maybe if more people participated in this and really pushed the issue that it is a permanent virus that will eventually kill you and not a curse, African people may have the opportunity to get this all under control.

US response to hiv/aids.

I honestly think that the US is doing as much as they can to help find a cure for this disease. Even though they've been unsuccessful, they really rate trying to help the people that get infected with this disease. They can't really control that over 40,000 people in the US that are infected with this disease become immune to the medication that is prescribed to them. Even after this occurs, they prescribe them medication that may even help in the slightest degree. In Uganda and Thailand, the reaction was made quickly and research was done but there was such a lack of information it was not taken as seriously as it should have been. It was also not treated as it should be. The US definitely reacted in a better matter than Uganda and Thailand, even though they didn't come up with a cure, they did/do a better job of controlling the spread and they have a better grip on what it is and what can keep a person alive.

hiv/aids.

As far as I'm concerned, HIV and AIDS is a big epidemic in America that should really be monitored more closely than it already is. Something has to change because the rates are constantly increasing rather than decreasing. These life long diseases have not directly affected me and don't mean much to me other than protecting myself against them. It's really scary that a lot of people that have HIV don't even know that they have it in the first place and can easily transmit it to anyone else. I have a friend that everyone in her family is HIV positive because her mom was a drug user and all her kids were born with it but she's the only one who doesn't have it. I was talking to her about it one time and she made the comment, "I wouldn't even care if I did get it." That really spoke to me in regards of how unknowledgeable the world really is about HIV and AIDS and how it can affect your life and just about everything you do. This isn't something that can just go away, you are prescribed medicine that you have to take every single day. Medications for these diseases are incredibly expensive and most people don't even have the money to afford it. If they can't afford it and don't take it, it's an automatic death sentence. So, really HIV/AIDS doesn't affect me directly, but definitely could because of how many people don't even know that they have it and because of how common this disease really is. Not that I would ever get involved with anyone that would have that kind of track record, but you never know because they might not even know. America definitely needs to keep a closer watch on this epidemic within and without our country.

gay marriage.

Gay marriage debates have been going on for as long as I can remember, I think it's about time something is finalized. In this passage, I don't agree with the man who is doing this debate because I believe that gay marriage should in fact, be legal. There is no logical reason as why two people of the same sex can't love each other, just like two people of the opposite sex can. As far as I'm concerned, everyone should have this right. I think that people get too wrapped up into the sexual end of it and don't really take into consideration that the sexual intimacy comes from really caring and loving someone when you are talking about marrying that person. No one can help who they love and who they find attractive, so why should homosexuals be penalized or looked down upon for doing just that? There is no true definition for marriage, there are many floating around, but no true definition. I believe that until that definition comes about, no one should have a say in who someone can fall in love with and desire to spend the rest of their life with being happily married to them. It says in the passage that it's not necessary for this to happen, but if this isn't necessary, why does anyone get married then? If it's not necessary for one, why the other? I feel like there is a lot of double standards and contradicting while these debates go on. As a final opinion, it's not fair and two people of the same sex should be able to marry each other if that's what they desire.

whitehead review.

I would definitely most have to agree with the liberals view of the whole situation. In my opinion, there is no way that the things that they conservatives are saying would lead to a dysfunctional family or even corrupt a child's upbringing. Abortion is someone that is discussed between two people and an agreement comes about between those two people to abort the pregnancy. Now of course we don't live in a perfect world, so sometimes it goes without being mentioned or one persons opinion really doesn't matter and they're going to do what they want. But I would say on a whole, if you are a family it is discussed between the two people in the relationship. Illegitimacy would also not destroy a family because in my opinion, labels are for soup cans. Everyone has this view that every person someone gets involved in, they need to put some sort of label like boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, husband. Love is love, and if two people want to be together and have kids together and live together in a stable home, it shouldn't matter whether they are married or not. As long as they can care for their child and provide  stability for them, they can still be a functional family. Also, homosexuals can create a family, just like anyone else can. They can show love towards each other, not like the "norm," as if there is one; but they can love each other and they DO love each other. They, like everyone else, deserve the chance to create a family and have the love for a child that a heterosexual couple can have. There is no logical explanation as to why having homosexual parents would destroy a family. That baby/child would grow to love them as his/her parents and would actually be more open minded to people, like people should be. On the other hand is what the liberals have to say about this. That is that domestic violence could destroy a family, I definitely agree with this because violence should never exist within a family. It's not fair to the parents and it's not fair to the children that they bring into the violence. Eventually it would tear the family up and cause hatred between them and the family would get destroyed by all of that. Economic insecurity could also be harmful to a family's happiness. A family needs to be healthy in a variety different ways, socially, physically, emotionally, financially, etc. All of those things fall under economic security, if not, it could be damaging to a family because they wouldn't be happy with themselves, they would probably be harmful to themselves and other family members and they wouldn't have a social life to really become a happy person. That destroys a family because no one wants to be around a person like that. In addition to that, having adequate public supporters would be helpful to a family. I wouldn't go as far to say that it would tear a family apart, but could potentially help them out. Everyone could always use some extra support. So all in all, I would have to agree with the liberals opinions in this family situation. 

marriage.

Honestly, this article shocks me, some of the things mentioned in the article, I was completely unaware about. The comment that stuck out to me the most was about the new generations that in the older generations, it wasn't really always that hard to get a divorce (for only some places). That the man could just dismiss his wife, the wife could file for a divorce, or perhaps they could even make it mutual to get divorced. When I thought of old generation marriage, I thought of the words, arranged, no divorce, children, etc. I thought that marriage was just something that everyone had to go through back then whether they knew or liked the person or not. Although, some of the things that I thought of, were actually true. Things like the role of the women was just to reproduce and to take care of the things that needed to be done at home. The things that were mentioned in this article doesn't make me view today's traditions any differently, because in my opinion, it can be put in a very twisted view to some people. I don't think that women should be put in the situation to do everything at home and just be used as a reproducer. That just doesn't seem right to me. No personal attack to anyone, but as I mentioned in my about me, I'm from lancaster county where many of the Amish come from. When reading this article, that's exactly who I thought about because that's how those poor women are treated. Sometimes I wonder if their husbands even view them as a person or an object. Even though I feel like society has come a long way with the wives not being treated as they should, I still feel like a lot needs to be realized by a lot of people. I know even talking to some of my friends, they have what they think is a reality in their heads that they are going to graduate, get a job, get married, have kids, and do everything around the house like cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. Meanwhile the man just works and takes advantage of his wife? That for one, doesn't make sense to me. For two, it just shouldn't be like that. Everyone deserves the time to themselves, and it's only fair that duties to support a family are cut directly in the middle so no one gets overwhelmed. Also, no one should feel like they are tied down, ever. Back then, in some areas, getting a divorce was nearly impossible to get granted for you. Men and women don't deserve to live miserably because they don't like the person that they are married to. Which makes me believe that arranged marriage is ridiculous and doesn't make any sense at all. 

about me.

Hey, I'm Morgan Mastriania. I'm from Pennsylvania, down where the Amish people live. I've lived there ever since I was born, absolutely hating it since day one. I currently attend Coastal Carolina University on scholarship for softball. I've been playing softball for as long as I can remember now, it's my passion and the biggest goal in my life has been to play D1 softball. So, here I am. My family and friends mean everything to me and I wouldn't be where I am today without them. Special shout out to my favorite coach, Dan DeMarco, who I consider my second dad. I have an obsession with tattoos and piercings, for non-fad purposes only, that is. Anyway, enough about me. I'm creating this blog, not because I want to, but because I have to for English 101 here at CCU. It doesn't seem to be bad so far, good thing I like to write. I don't really know what I can tell you as far as what to expect, but anything that we discuss in class, I will blog about on here. My thoughts will probably 98% of the time be different then everyone else's, I tend to think of things very differently then the average person. I expect this class to be fairly interesting for the most part, so making my posts as interesting as possible will be my goal every time I blog about something on here. But just remember, I didn't take this course because I wanted to, I'm taking it because I have to in order to eventually graduate. Good news is, I like English and I like writing. So keep up with me and see what cool things you can read about on my page!
Okay, bye!