Earning and Loosing Trust (Spirit Bear Pre-Reading)

I may have trust issues. Well, there's no may to it. I have trust issues. While I do trust some people (Tanner, Erika, Erin, Lily), I struggle with establishing trustful connections with people. I try to be nice to everyone, but I keep my distance from most people in general. This is kind of like a defense, don't put your trust in those who would misuse it, and it's a way of playing it safe. But it has its drawbacks, like the feeling that I don't belong any where (in honors, in school, sometimes even with my friends), but if that feeling means safety, than isn't it worth it?

 

 

That bared in mind, I don't really know how people earn my trust. Tanner and Erin have been around longer than my trust issues, back when it was easy to gain. But Lily and Erika gained my trust through time and experience. I trust them because we've been through a lot, and they've yet to leave. So, I guess that's the way to earn my trust. But at the same time, I question it whenever people actively attempt to gain my trust. I don't know why, but it always made me question their intentions. Maybe that's why I trust Erika and Lily. Maybe it's because it didn't feel like they were trying to earn my trust, but rather it felt like they were just trying to be good friends. That's how you should gain trust, not by trying to earn it, but simply by being a good friend.

 

 

Nevertheless, trust is hard to gain from me, but after you break it, it's even harder. I don't really know how you earn it back, no one has really tried, but I guess with time and persistence, I may forgive you. Try being a good friend, express genuine regret, and with time it may mend. That said, I've had many people try to earn my trust, but no one's tried earning it back, so it's hard to say what people could do.

 

 

One more thing, that is more personal. I want to explain the reasons I have trust issues. Last year, there was a girl (this sounds like the start of a soap opera). She was my best friend, the person I always talked to, and my confidant. Looking back now, I see that she hurt me a lot. She played my emotions, my trust, to her benefit. But I didn't care at the time. I thought she was amazing. I let her walk all over me. Until she did something I won't speak of. That was when I was done. I was through and I pushed her out. But it still hurt a lot, and I found myself with everyone I trusted walking out. There was a girl named Trinity but, she wasn't around for long. Everyone left, except for Tanner and Erin. Tanner may be eccentric, but he's like a brother, and Erin, like a sister. There's Lily and Erika too, which I am always grateful for. I treasure my friends, because they actually, genuinely care. I said before that I constantly feel like I don't belong. Well, my friends give me a place where I do.

Little Brother Post-Reading #2

"We're in a lifeboat now, and once you're in a lifeboat, no one wants to hear about how mean the captain is being." 

 

 

In the event of an emergency, many people say that whomever is responsible for protecting the welfare of the common man must have an iron grip, and unquestionable strength, even if this means being viewed as a tyrant. And for the most part, I agree. In the event of a national emergency, martial law may very well take effect, and while the extent of this is very limited in the U.S. due to congress forbidding it in 1878, this can be changed with congressional approval, and when enough people are scared, they're not worried about their rights, they're worried about who's going to lead them out of the dark, no matter how malicious their means to doing so may seem. In the book, the DHS practically took over the country, which is in and of itself martial law, and rewrote the constitution, which is against the Bill of Rights, so in a real world scenario, this could very well start all kinds of protests, as this would be the government doing more than infringing on our rights, this would be them provoking our rights. But even amongst the protests, I think there would be a large number of people supporting the government, out of fear. "The ends justify the means" is a quote used by Machiavelli in the 16th century to say that no matter how nefarious or malign your methods may be, they're acceptable so long as you're accomplishing good deeds by doing so, but more often than not, these words are used as an excuse. Scientists who worked on Project Manhattan (the making of the first atomic weapon) were asked how they felt about the destruction their invention caused. While several of the scientists, such as Albert Einstein, admitted feeling sorrowful and guilty, others stated that it was simply a means to an end, and one that worked. Several countries use the "ends justifies the means" defense when using martial law, and at times they can appear reasonable, but the ends should never justify a pointless means. But back to the point. In the book, the DHS taking over involves mass invasion of privacy, much of it going against constitutional rights. Peaceful protests were being broken up and gassed unnecessarily, unprovoked searches, going against the 4th right, that were also conducted without a warrant. Government is limited by the people, and in the story, people are now limited by the government. But the common people don't much mind or care so long as they think they're safe, even though they're just becoming bigger targets. Also, Marcus points out that they don't allow trials or attorneys of law, as well as not telling the families of prisoners about their arrest, not having warrants for arrest (again), and threatening them if they told anyone. If this was to happen in real life, I pressure you to speak out against it, as in this case, the government is hurting you, rather than terrorists. You are their enemy.

The Face of Terror (Little Brother Prereading)

 Terrorism is horrific. The idea of causing terror for some ulterior motive has been around for years, and sadly, most forms of terrorist attacks involve an attack on innocent civilians. In the history of the United States alone, there have been several terrorist attacks, such as the Oklahoma City Bombing in the 1980's, and the one that will forever live in infamy; September 11th, 2001.The main purpose of these attacks was just to kill thousands of people and to cause as much terror as possible. See, that's what makes the idea of terrorists so genuinely terrifying. Their enemy is not your military, their enemy is you. The civilian, the innocent that just so happens to be in a country that has a lot of enemies. But we hear so much about terrorism, and the Middle East, we think we'd know what they look like. Right?

 Well go ahead and get rid of the idea I am sure you have. Don't picture a Middle Eastern man with a turban. While Islamic extremists are perhaps the most well known, there not all Middle Eastern. In fact, quite a few of them are British and French. There's also more than just Islamic

terrorists, as there is also plenty of other examples such as the Boston Bombing teenagers. Now that we have that down, what would they act like? I think they'd be of a more nervous, skitterey disposition. It makes sense, as the guilty tend to act as such. But that's not truly what I want to say.

 I believe terrorists are ruled by the same fears that we, the victims, are. Humans are subject to being inducted into orders that they may very well disagree with, such as a terrorist organization, out of fear of the same organization. So before you say that terrorists are all evil, remember the few that are ruled by terror.