Obama v. King

Comparing the two texts, one by Obama and one by King Jr., I've found many good and bad points from each. On one hand there are many modern views of racism brought to the table by Obama. This makes things much easier to understand for the people who were not around in Kings' day. He also brought up points about how we are all, in a way, racist, not just the whites or just the blacks. There are hardships that we all face from the prejudices of each other and Obama does well by pointing this out. He says that America is in a racial stalemate. There really is only one flaw I could identify (I read through it quickly), and this was the fact that he could possibly be saying all of this as a tactic in his campaign. I know he has a good deal of personal feelings involved but by including this speech during his race to the White House, he has weakened the grip that this subject could take.

King on the other hand was well written. He has quite a large vocabulary and it may be intimidating or just simply not understandable to some people. I'm not quite sure if this is just a sign of the time he came from or more of the fact that he was actually very well educated. King was in the middle of a revolution of sorts and the text reflects this. It is more aimed at the beginnings of racial movement rather than Obamas' progression of it. One downfall about Kings' letter is that he is mainly speaking to one person and is only supporting the viewpoint from black eyes. I find it hard to relate to the man because he seems to come off as rather prejudiced or racist himself against the white community.

Both men have a really great understanding of racism and are very intelligent as both texts imply. Obama would certainly be a bigger influence in the American society today, simply because his views and ideas are modernized and attack problems concerning America today, rather than a number of years ago like Kings' ideas for his own time.

What's in a Family?

My family originally consisted of a nice group of four. My mother, father, sister and obviously myself were the original members of the Cook household. Now my parents are divorced and both have remarried which has added a considerable amount of people to the group of people I call family. The divorce happened when I was 12. Both parents remarried within a couple of years and now I have one full-blooded sister, one half-sister from my mother and my step-father and seven new step-brothers and sisters!

I moved with my father at fifteen years old to New Richmond, WI where I graduated and got to know my step-mother, Rita, through the years. This was pretty fortunate because when my dad passed away from a heart attack in 2005, I was living with them at the time. I was able to help Rita through the troubles and she in turn helped me.

I still talk with my mother but usually once a month or so on the telephone and I see her only a few times a year. I don't know my step-siblings all too well but I've grown accustomed to them and when I see them we have a pretty good time. they range in age from 12 to 36. This lends to some interesting conversations, fun and games at the family events. I've grown to learn and love my family regardless of blood or marriage relation.

Argumentative synthesis..

Well, I have to be honest. I've been sick for a week and I haven't thought of a solid topic. There aren't really any concerns on my part other than finding an appropriate topic but I know I will do fine with that. I am feeling much better lately so I will be able to go ahead and proceed with everything I need to.