GMO Paper Outline

Link to Outline

Response to human nature paper

Why You Truly Never Leave High School

 Paragraph 22, "Until the Great Depression..."

This practice of separating us by age for school creates an unnatural environment, one that never used to exist. This decreases our interactions with adults, therefore removing a large variety of role-models to learn from and along side with. Before the institution of school (here, specifically, high school),  kids grew up in their own way, but now we all go to school and partake in the social experiment. Back 50, 100 years ago, you could take an available job, you could look after your siblings, or you could attend school if your parents were wealthy enough--all different paths to growing up, most that had daily interactions with  a variety of people of the same interests, and of different ages. In our own world of social norms, hierarchies, and values we are separate from the adult culture. We don't have the same responsibilities and experiences as them, so our priorities are different. Also on the topic of child labor, in some cases in is more instrumental that a child help out his starving family by making money at a job no matter their young age, as going to school will not help their food situation then and there. I do believe that restrictions should be in place for the type and duration of the work, but also there should be some leniency, as it is for the greater good, and they will be more healthily socialized afterwards.

Baja's Value as a Tourist Destination

Baja Mexico. A place I know well in the winter. We come here for tradition, wind, different experiences, and family. The town we go to, Los Barilles, has slowly over the last quarter-decade turned into more and more of a tourist town, although it still retains some of it's authenticity for now. When we are down in Mexico, it's clear to see the popularity of Los Barilles, as on any given windy day from the middle of December to the middle of January, there are some 50 kite boarders and 5-10 windsurfers on the water. There is even a "Lord of the Wind Showdown" with thousands of U.S dollars for prize money, as a testament to the "consistent north winds blowing and the warm water", which attracts beginners and experts alike. There really are prime conditions, as evidenced by the handful of Kite board schools and participants.

(View of the beach with two kites ready for use)

Hotels and restaurants prosper at this time of year with the influx of sports enthusiasts, and each year more and more restaurants pop up. Baja Expeditions tells of many other activities to do as well, and they help in facilitating these adventures. Whale watching, kayaking, camping, and sailing are all popular activities to participate in while visiting Baja, thanks to the natural wildlife and habitats. Don't go to Baja to relax in a posh hotel, because then you are missing out on the reality and the point of the trip--you are there to experience the rawness of the nature (wildlife, the elements, ect.). Interact with with the sea life, go snorkeling, ride an ATV across the beach.
You can also go fishing, but for this the prime season is in the summer. The Sea of Cortez is abundant with Marlin, Dorado, Tuna, Roosterfish, and all other types of desirable sporting game. At all times of the year you can hire a boat to take you out to sea to fulfill all the fishing dreams you have. Companies like Awesome Sportfishing are locally staffed and ready to help you catch the best fish out there for prices around $100-$300 per day. Los Barilles is a very small town, yet many people whom I've talked with about our vacations know about the town, and a good portion have been there themselves. They talk about fishing for and catching Marlin, and even my cousin has been there in a way totally unrelated to us (she went with a friend). Every neighbor who fishes (neighbors in the campground) has many stories and pictures about the time they caught eight Dorados in a day, one after another. Anyways, it is a prime location for sport fishing, and it draws a lot of people. I even caught a fish even though I was fishing off-season and from the beach.
 
(Small Needlefish which I caught off the beach)

Baja, and specifically Los Barilles is a great place to experience the natural world, except with less regulations than anywhere in the U.S. ATV rental shops, gift shops, restaurants, kite boarding schools, hotels, and assorted services make Baja a very inviting and welcoming place for tourists. The natural wildlife, overall geography, and Mexican culture do the rest. So come on down, with bar, camera, pole, spear, or board in hand. (But don't tell anyone else about it, we don't want it getting too crowded.)

My View On National Security

Even though I had been flying once a year for the first years of my life for our family's annual vacation, I don't have much recollectionm of pre-9/11 security at airports. It amounts to realizing when I was 6 or 7, "huh, my dad can't come as far into the airport as before (he would drive)", and seeing added scanners and longer lines. So, in general, I haven't been personally affected much at all by beefed-up security, not past the hour earlier we would leave each rare occasion to the airport.
Linda Chavez and Adnan R. Khan both have great points in their essays regarding racial profiling, but I feel I resonate more with Chavez because I prioritize our National Security (I know it's easy to say when it is not my sacrifice). It is a necessary evil for the safety of the whole, and it only makes sense to pay attention to the common attributes of terrorists when checking passengers. To not notice and act on these similarities would be foolish. Then again, if race and skin color are the only similarities, than there is not a strong enough warning sign to stop, question, and frisk the person. Objectiveness should be used at all times.
Zara Gelsey, author of "The FBI is Reading Over your Shoulder" presents a weak case against the USA Patriot act by leaving out facts that detail the act's limitations, and therefore exaggerating the FBI's presence. First of all, if you are innocent of any crimes ( not that the FBI can prosecute you of lesser crimes based solely off the info), then why should you care if you are being examined? It makes me feel safer, it definitely doesn't "inhibit my thinking". Gelsey seems to dramatize the FBI's role as more invasive than it is. You have to ask yourself, "would I rather be safer and have some less privacy or have my privacy but be unprotected by psychos in the library?" I choose safety.