International Listening Association

The document was interesting to read because I had no idea that a human brain processes listening three times faster than it processes reading. It was also the truth that most of the high schools do not require any speech training or any kind of speech class. I agree that there should be a class about speech which should be mandatory in the high schools for graduation requirement. I agree because speech is very important in today's life where there is competition present in finding any kind of job. I agree with the speaker that listening is useful because when we listen we start thinking that if that information we listening is worth or not? We start thinking if there is anything we can take n account that can change our lives. I don't know if most of us do it but at least, I agree because I do this and it helps. IN college we listen to lectures, instead of taking notes if we listen more and note down less points, the important ones, only listening to lectures can get us have good grades. The bad listener are always those who say communication is bad because I think it is a great and important aspect of life.

Pseudo Listening

Pseudo listening is the common listening part of my communication. I am a pseudo listener because when I am in class or with friends, most of the time I will be listening to them but my mind is set at something else. For example, sometimes I will be in class but my mind will be set to think about the plans for the evening. I will be thinking about homework and prioritizing which homework to do first. Every time I do this I tend to lack in the class I am sitting in. Therefore, I am trying to make a plan to overcome this situation. I am going to buy a daily planner and plan everything out in the daily planner. Instead of me thinking about my plans and homework in class, I would note them down in the diary as soon as they hit my mind. In this way, I will be able to concentrate in class and be able to focus on my other homework and plans also.

Mindful Listening

This chapter in a whole explains the importance of listening in our lives. The starting quote between mother Teresa and an interviewer explains that even so many decades ago listening was an important part of people at that time. The topic that I liked was that when we listen there are always internal obstacles that distract us and I totally agree with the author. For example, it happens to me and I am pretty positive it might be happening to a lot of other people that when we listen, we start thinking about something else. We might be thinking of class homework, the family re-union in the evening, friend's birthday party or a fraternity volunteer. It just fascinates me that how mind can be in class and think about random topics. Sometimes, I fall behind in class because of the distractions and as a result I have to go professor's office hours. It is fun to think but sometimes I think we need to control our mind processing according to the location we are present at.

Hate Speech

Hated speech is basically an incitement to hatred primarily against a group of persons defined in terms of race,   ethnicity, national origin, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and the like. Hate speech can be any form of expression regarded as offensive to racial, ethnic and religious groups and other discrete minorities or to women. It can be taken off the web by administration if rules and regulations are applied on the content being published on web. But as the web is so big not only rules but ethics will be more helpful. I think we all need to speak out against expressions of intolerance and hatred whenever they occur.  We need to educate people, especially young people, so that they do not develop intolerance or hatred toward any group. It should be censored because even such things as computer games, cartoons and so on, if they contain offensive remarks against other groups, may lead hot only to conflicts within the country, but to international ones. For example, such computer games as “Intervention into Iran” and Danish cartoons of the Muhammad led to a new wave of terrorism in Europe. So, if we make hate speech a crime, we can bring tolerance to society. If we avoid such conflicts, we will improve social welfare. No it would not violate our freedom of speech right. WE can control it by creating awareness of respect and discouraging hate speech.

Metaphors

If we ask anyone about what is American society? The first thing that come in a persons mind is multicultural society. I agree with it because most of the people in America are immigrants and they come here for a better future. I personally think Jesse Jackson's metaphor of united state as a family quilt is a great metaphor to express the diversity of cultures in the society. It is like a quilt because quilt considers if many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes and all of them are together with a common thread. In that same manner all of the cultures and communities count to make America a great country.The metaphor I would propose for american society is that it is like a "salad bowl". Like salad bowl has lettuce, cheese, croutons, onion, tomatoes and many more sauces and we love to eat it, in the same manner American society is mixed with multicultural people. All are from different race and cultural with different beliefs and just like we love salad bowl because it has so many ingredients, people from other countries love America because we are such a diverse country.  Most of us are here because we love freedom and Unites States is best country to enjoy freedom. Therefore, all citizens should get along because we all are Americans. All of us are here because want to enjoy freedom, not to be sad or get punished for having different cultural belief.

Language can Degrade others

Most of us think that language is just for communication but it can sometimes degrade others. Like in the text author gave example of children taunt each other by name-calling. That is one of the forms that degrade language. We all know that language is way more powerful than the real life fist fights. This is the reason someone proudly said, “Pen is mightier than the sword”. It is because only few can see the fist fight but once the article is posted millions of people can access it. Language is the most important and common way of communication between human-beings. But some people don’t appreciate it. My best friend’s father is a stroke patient and is suffering from aphasia. A person suffering from aphasia can understand others but cannot express himself through speech or written form. I understood the importance of language through my friend’s father because every time he needs something, instead of speech he has to explain what he needs through gestures and sometimes my friend is able to understand it right away and sometimes it takes him hours to figure out what his father wanted. Therefore, we all should appreciate language and use it in a better way so society as a whole can be a better living place.

Generation gap

I talked to mygrandparents and my parents. For my grandfather, he was born in south Asia allof the students around the age of 20, boys and girls had separate schools.There was no co-education system at the time of 1960's. Also, in that societygirls were considered inferior compared to boys. The marriages were arranged byparents and they did not have any right to choose their own partner. Parentswould also not like to give higher education to the girls rather they wouldlike them to get married and go to in-laws home. On the other hand,when my dad was twenty in about 1980's (also in south Asia),co-ed high schools were introduced in the society. He personally went to theco-ed high school in India. Colleges were also co-ed but most of the elderlypeople wanted their sons to go to Men College and girls to Women College. Also,love marriages were happening at that time, older generation did not appreciatethat but they were happening at that time in South Asia. Compared this to mygeneration we have co-education since kindergarden. Every parent wants toeducate their children no matter if that is a boy or a girl. Also, as I am in Americastudents in 20’s have freedom of marriage and can marry anyone they think isgood partner for them.

Is race important?

Race is a way of classifying humans on the basis of their origins. But does it really matter in 21^st century where we have multi-cultural society? There is no right or wrong answer. I personally think that race is not a way to classify a personal identity because we have a 25% African-American, 25% white, 25% Hispanic mixed with 25% Vietnamese. How can this person describe himself or herself as part of one origin? There is no way, because Freedom is a right in America. People come here to enjoy freedom and have fun. If a Chinese boy person fell in love with a African-American girl nobody can say it is wrong because everyone is free. Therefore, I don’t think so Census Bureau should allow people to check multiple races to define themselves. Because in America most of immigrants come for better future and they look for an educated partner. I don’t care about race and I think most of my classmates will agree with me too because we all are future of United States. 

sexual orientation

One of the important aspects of identity is sexual orientation. Whenever we fill any job application we are required to disclose our sex as either male or female. This fascinates me that sometimes sex orientation can make a great difference in making a decision of hiring a person. People's beliefs about sexual orientation vary and are based on their religious, cultural, and family values. While some families already discuss this topic, for others the topic may be difficult. When talking about sexual orientation, many different terms may be used. Heterosexual (or straight) refers to a person who is attracted to and falls in love with someone of the other gender. Homosexual (or gay man or lesbian woman) refers to a person who is attracted to and falls in love with someone of the same gender. Bisexual refers to a person who is attracted to and falls in love with someone of either gender. My uncle owns a liquor store and whenever he thinks about hiring someone the first part he looks at is the sex. I asked him why? He said because men are stronger than women. I understand that, maybe men are stronger but that doesn’t mean women are weak. We see women in wrestling and many other games that require a lot of strength. I almost argued for one hour with my uncle on this topic that he is sexist.