Dolphins

After class today I came back to my dorm and read the thoughts about dolphin killing I found on the internet to see what kind of arguments people had for and against it. I found that like in life there were extremes ranging from boycotting Japanese products until Japan stopped killing whales and dolphins to America being a "cultural imperialist". I would agree that America does have a habit of forcing it's moral values on other countries but just because America does that does not mean that those morals are wrong or right.Every time an issue of morals comes up anywhere in the world there will always be this separation of society because of our moral diversity.

Any argument is crap in the end because there are always people on both sides so who is right? The main point is no one knows for sure but why does that give anyone the right to be cruel and hurtful to anything in this world? The only thing that guides our moral compasses in this world is what other people might think of what we're doing and even then it doesn't work. I can give you plenty of examples like how in Sparta many centuries ago it was completely acceptable to kill a deformed infant until people decided it was wrong then it wasn't done anymore, or when in America there was the slaughter of Native Americans or Slavery or Segregation or Sexism etc etc....

Until the world as a whole can completely decide on what is right and wrong then issues like is it ok to kill whales and dolphins will come up, because there are countries like America that think dolphins are cute and intelligent and deserve compassion because they can feel pain and panic and then there are countries like Japan that think that dolphins are just another fish that eats the fish they like to eat so who gives a shit if it's cute or intelligent. Personally I agree with the American way of thinking about dolphins and if someone were to try throwing the whole "well Americans eat pigs and cows and chickens which are the same right?" at me then I'll say the following: Yes there are plenty of Americans that eat those things and plenty that don't eat meat at all and yea there are probably some people that eat other people so what! I'm not saying that you're right or I'm right I'm just saying that I personally like dolphins and don't want then killed cause I thing the world is a better place for having them swimming around then being eaten.

Role of the Parents

When it comes down to the importance of one parent vs. the other I believe that there will never be a unified answer. There are a few reasons for this but the most prevalent reason would be that everyone's home life and parents are different from other people's home life and parents, especially in this day and age with the whole nuclear family ideal fading away, divorce rates high as ever and the inclusion of homosexual couples with children. Now I can't be sure about Japan but I know that in America these kind of situations are quite frequent making it difficult for people to get on the same page with this kind of question, but I think in the end every child will need two roles from the parents to have a healthy childhood. The first role is that of the motherly comforting role which is very important for the child to learn compassion and if the child is a girl they would obviously need advice about their transition into womanhood from the mother role who should know about this matter. The second role is that of the fatherly supportive role, this role is used to teach the child responsibility, accountability and of course if the child is a boy the same rule applies as the girl. In the end it doesn't matter if the fatherly role is played by a woman or not and visa versa as long as both are present in the child's development. Obviously there would be complications with homosexual couples being able to inform the opposite sex child about puberty with examples from experience but as long as the parent playing the appropriate role knows plenty on the topic then there shouldn't be any problems. The only time I can see a problem with a child's development is when he/she is missing one of the vital roles (i.e. Divorce, Death of one parent) or when they have two of the same roles (i.e. Two parents trying to perform the same role). As my last word I'll say that in the end having both the mother and father roles is equally important for the healthy development of a child and whenever you become a parent, making sure your child has a healthy childhood is the most important responsibility you have in this world.

Trip

As far as where we should go for our trip I'm all for the place where we could do Japanese crafts. I think that not only is that an educational venture but it's more fun then just talking to people about diseases.

Sex Drugs and Rock and Roll

Our second class last week went more towards relationship differences between Japan and the other countries represented in the class. My particular group talked mostly about one night stands and how frequent and acceptable they are in Japanese society. One student mentioned how in the UK one night stands are fairly common and accepted as a normal part of society, I agreed, saying that in the U.S. it is the same if not more abundant. In Japan, however, it seems that even though they have such things as "Love Hotels" things like one night stands aren't very common at all or if they are it's almost taboo to talk about it in certain circles or situations. I believe that in the end topics dealing with such sensitive subjects as sex are going to get little to nowhere in a classroom setting and if anyone seriously wanted to find out about sexual habits or norms in Japan they'd be much better off finding a boyfriend or girlfriend here and asking them.