He has sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people He has plundered our— ravaged our— destroyed the lives of our— taking away our— abolishing our most valuable—
This is referring back to when the Declaration of Independence was signed. This describes the intentions of Britain's North American colonies to break away from the country.
In the third age, money became a god. It was all-powerful, and out of control. It began to talk. It began to create on its own.
They said money became a god because based on certain beliefs people are able to hear god as he gives advice for everyday. The article said "It began to create on its own." because as we started growing up we started to learn about other things that were created in the world.
We could not eat this money, wear it or burn it for warmth; but as if by magic it could be changed into such things. The money was mysterious, and we were in awe of it. If you had enough of it, it was said, you would be able to fly.
Money plays out a big part in everyone's lives. I agree when it says "If you had enough of it, it was said, you would be able to fly." because if you make a lot of money and are successful you will be able to have whatever you want.
Whereas if it’s something happening this weekend, and you’re like ‘How’s this date going to go?’—those things, people just anguish over them and really come up with these detailed simulations.”
I agree because when you try to predict something that is going to happen in the future there is no telling how it's actually going to go. It's better not to try and predict certain things because if it doesn't happen the way you want it you might just be disappointed.
“When somebody’s preparing for a date with someone they’ve never been on a date with before, or a job interview—these situations where we don’t have past experience, that’s where we think this ability to imagine the future really matters,”
I remember preparing for my first job interview. I knew it was something I never done before which is different than what I'm used to doing. It was hard to predict what was going to happen between getting asked questions and talking about past experiences. But after all that I got the job with no problem and I answered every question perfectly.
But memory also helps people predict what it will be like to do things they haven’t done before.
This line reminds me of how I do almost the exact same thing over and over every single day between daily routines, going to class, and going to work. So it would be easy to predict what happens next. But if we are talking about years from now it might be a little less likely that everything will be the same. I know years from now I will be doing something I never done before.
The theme you choose may change or simply elude you, but being your own story means you can always choose the tone. It also means that you can invent the language to say who you are and what you mean. But then, I am a teller of stories and therefore an optimist, a believer in the ethical bend of the human heart, a believer in the mind’s disgust with fraud and its appetite for truth, a believer in the ferocity of beauty. So, from my point of view, which is that of a storyteller, I see your life as already artful, waiting, just waiting and ready for you to make it art.
In this section Toni is saying that everyone tells their own story just by how they respond to their choices and the things that go on around them. I agree with her because you can tell your story just based off of tone and how you define yourself as a person. I think she makes a lot of good points throughout her entire speech.
That is to say, I’m not certain that somehow, perhaps, a burgeoning ménage a trois of political interests, corporate interests and military interests will not prevail and literally annihilate an inhabitable, humane future. Because I don’t think we can any longer rely on separation of powers, free speech, religious tolerance or unchallengeable civil liberties as a matter of course. That is, not while finite humans in the flux of time make decisions of infinite damage. Not while finite humans make infinite claims of virtue and unassailable power that are beyond their competence, if not their reach. So, no happy talk about the future.
In this section Toni says she doesn't like to predict the future because to her it is uncertain if the future will exist because of our government. She also says we can't rely too much on our separation of powers and our free speech. I agree with her because after everything that is happening today there is no telling if there is a future ahead of us.
Now, of course to the graduates I could make reference to things appropriate to your situations–the future, the past, the present, but most of all happiness. Regarding the future, I would have to rest my case on some bromide, like the future is yours for the taking. Or, that it’s whatever you make of it. But the fact is it is not yours for the taking. And it is not whatever you make of it. The future is also what other people make of it, how other people will participate in it and impinge on your experience of it.
What she tries to say is that each student makes a difference in their own future. When she says "the future is yours for the taking. Or, that it's whatever you make of it." she is saying each student will have their own goal and they will take that goal and make it achievable. There is another part where she says how other people will impact on your future. That is also true because everyone has a friend or a family member that is going to stick around for every step a person takes in their life.
This course is designed to be a gateway of exploration for further writing and research you will do in your courses at Baruch. I invite you to open your mind, be ready to engage with me and your classmates, and expand your thinking about what it means to be a good writer this semester.
To better improve our writing skills and to explore other courses at the school. This is a new thing to me which is very interesting and I think I'm going to like this way.