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(03/19/12 10:37pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Anyone who has watched more than 30 seconds of television in the past year, especially the so-called “History” channel, will know that the end of the world is fast approaching. In fact, we apparently won’t even be able to make it to the end of this year. This is all thanks to the popular notion that the Mayan calendar predicts the end of the world to fall on Dec. 21, 2012.Actually, it didn’t. People have just consistently misunderstood how the Mayan calendar works.Without explaining the intricacies of the Mayan calendar, such as what a “b’ak’tun” is, the “end” of their calendar is a little like the “end” of our own.Unless the Y2K virus threatens to unravel society, we usually don’t freak out every time New Year’s Eve rolls around, and neither would the Maya.If they were still around, the Maya would probably mark the occasion by getting seriously hammered and just generally make bad decisions.Like many human civilizations, the Maya took every opportunity to party hard. But all of this brings about the question of why people are so obsessed with the end of days. Why, when awesome stuff such as “Doctor Who” and fried chicken exist in the world, is everyone so obsessed with the end of it all? Why can’t we just be happy without preparing bomb shelters and buying enough Kraft Macaroni & Cheese to sink a small air-craft carrier?I don’t know the answer to these questions, but I know it needs to stop.Just look at the track record of all the apocalyptic predictions that never happened. Most of us remember at least some of the hype around Y2K, and of course the doomsday radio personality Harold Camping and his craziness are still pretty fresh in our collective mind.And there have been plenty more predictions in the past that obviously never came to fruition. In fact, the Jehovah’s Witnesses alone have had more than 10 apocalyptic predictions under their belt.Anyway, there is literally zero evidence that something will happen on or around that fateful day of Dec. 21. There isn’t an asteroid rocketing toward Earth, a nearby star isn’t going to go supernova and there probably won’t be some sort of zombie apocalypse (sorry “Walking Dead” fans).Even if the Maya did predict the end of the world, which they didn’t, who cares? There have literally been countless predictions between Dec. 21 and the creation of their calendar. What makes the Maya special? They never progressed past using stone tools.We’ve been to the moon. We know what we’re talking about.So don’t worry about the world ending later this year. In fact, you should probably do what I do and flat-out deny the fact that you’re ever going to die. It makes day-to-day life much easier.— kevsjack@indiana.edu
(03/04/12 9:34pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With the presidential election looming on the horizon, candidates are bringing to light problems with the American economy, foreign policy and even contraception. But one topic that has been largely ignored is the American prison crisis.A 2008 study showed that while the United States contains only 5 percent of the world population, it has about 25 percent of the world’s incarcerated population. And this huge percentage isn’t just terrible for its own sake. Every year, the U.S. spends about $60 billion on its prison system.These numbers are absolutely ludicrous. I know we love to be number one in everything, but this is not one of those times we need to be on top.And in addition to that, 60 percent of the inmates will commit another crime after being released. All of this begs the question: What the hell are we doing wrong?The answer is actually pretty simple: We’re focusing too much on punishment.A majority of our penal system focuses on punishing, with the idea that jail should be so horrible that no one will ever commit a crime for fear of being sent there.But the thing is, professional psychologists say this isn’t even close to helping. Many psychologists agree that positive reinforcement is a better way to teach. In many cases, consequential punishment backfires and causes the prisoner to resent any sort of rehabilitation or retaliate in negative ways.Basically, we send criminals to places notorious for rape and violent crimes, and then we act completely surprised when they come out even worse than when they went in. How could they not?I’m sure a few of you are thinking that I have some sort of soft spot for killers and other prisoners, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Harming another human being in any way is something I find completely disgusting, and it doesn’t make it any better when our prison system does it.We need to work on ways that not only treat prisoners humanely, but also help to rehabilitate them to be functioning adults in the real world. I’m not saying we should let serial killers off with a stiff warning and a journal for them to write about their feelings. But what we’re doing isn’t working.A country that’s taking rehabilitation seriously with great results is Norway. With cooking courses, larger windows for the viewing pleasures of inmates and much more humane treatments, Halden prison in Norway seems like an absolute vacation.But with only 20 percent of criminals returning to prisons after their stay, this vacation-destination appears to be actually doing something.Of course, Norway’s crime problems are much less prevalent than America’s. Nevertheless, with results such as those at Halden, America should probably be taking notes.Who could have known that treating people like human beings would actually make them act like one? — kevsjack@indiana.edu
(02/19/12 9:29pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>If you’ve ever been in a room with someone when a Justin Bieber song plays, you’ve heard one of two responses: the ear-popping squeal of a fan girl or a complaint about how music is quickly circling the drain.Everywhere you turn, there’s always someone complaining about how kids these days just don’t understand what good music is. That, somewhere along the line, the youth of this country lost its way and somehow found itself listening to Miley Cyrus and Soulja Boi.Most of the people who make this criticism tend to come from the older age groups, generations bred to listen to musical greats such as the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. They’ll point to the counter-culture of the 1960s and 1970s and how music during this time actually meant something.It seems like a pretty legitimate argument on the surface. I mean, John Lennon urged us to “Give peace a chance,” while Lil Wayne occupies most of his songs with “Making it rain on them hoes.”But one of the main problems with this whole perspective is that you’re cherry-picking from the best of the best. Sure, it’s easy to think that the ’60s were the best time for music when all you listen to are the musical geniuses of the era.It’s a little harder to make that claim when you listen to “Yummy Yummy Yummy” by Ohio Express. If you haven’t heard it and still think my argument is faulty, listen to it and try to explain to me how the lyrics are any better than Bieber’s “Baby, baby baby oh / Like, baby baby baby no!”Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Pink Floyd and Hendrix. But we can’t just draw a line in the sand and say, “Okay, here’s where good music died.” It’s really elitist, for one, but it also completely ignores the point of music: the definition of “good.”Music exists primarily to entertain. It can and should, promote messages that otherwise would have been ignored, but its first job is to be enjoyed by the listener.And because it relies so heavily on the entertainment of the listener, there will always be different interpretations of what a “good” or “entertaining” song will sound like. It’s all based on opinion.Terrible opinions, just like terrible songs, always have and always will exist. And some of them will be very, very popular. So while railing against the popular music of today might feel good, perhaps the better thing to do is to find music you do enjoy and not worry too much about how bad modern music is.Chances are, it’ll be out of style pretty quick. I’m sure I don’t have to remind everyone that, at one point in time, disco was a thing. — kevsjack@indiana.edu
(02/05/12 9:39pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A few days ago, I had to call my bank due to some charges that had been credited to my debit card. No big deal, just some guy living the dream in Barcelona with my money.I told Lisa, my bank’s representative, my problem. She did a wonderful job of helping me, but as she was talking, I started noticing something.She called me sir even though she was at least 20 years older than me. She was always quick to apologize for things that were not her fault. She sounded panicked about the whole situation.Listening to her, I realized Lisa, in the conversation we had, was a hostage. And while I technically wasn’t holding a gun to her head, I did have the power to negatively effect her career. One wrong move on her part, and I could move my money to another bank.This whole experience got me thinking about politics. Lisa, just like every representative in the political arena, has a job on the line. The only difference between them is that if I don’t like something Lisa says or does, I can’t personally fire her myself.But I can do that with a congressman. Politicians’ careers live and die based on the public’s opinion of them. The system is set up so that when politicians can’t or won’t fulfill citizens’ wishes, they get the boot, and we find a new guy to fill the position. The problem here is that the American public doesn’t seem to understand this. They complain about how American politicians don’t care about the people they represent and how they should all lose their jobs.All of this is pretty consistent with Congressional approval ratings being at about 9 percent. But it clashes horribly with the reelection rates for senators and representatives.The last election, Congress sported an 80 percent reelection rate for incumbents. This means that, while 91 percent of the American population either disapproves of or abstains from approving of what Congress is doing, they continue to vote for the guys who are doing what they disapprove of.Confused? Yeah, so am I.So the next time you’re railing on a certain politician or decrying the state of American politics, remember why those politicians are there. They are voted in by people who don’t seem to understand politics or are merely apathetic.We, as a nation, need to wake up to the fact that we play a role in American politics. We get to vote for representatives. We have the power to make or break political careers. Now, let’s use it. — kevsjack@indiana.edu