People Should Know About Investing

       I feel as though it is very important for most people to know about the correct way to invest their money.  It is something that many of us don't think about on a regular basis, but if done correctly, it could be the most profitable thing in your life.  However, investing can also be devastating to your pocket.  Investing in the wrong products or companies could cause you to loose a lot of money.  This is why it is crucial to properly manage and keep track of your investment decisions.
       Nearly any amount of money, no matter how small or how large, can be invested.  Whether it be in stock (shares), bonds, or mutual funds, money accurately dispersed into these categories can provide the investor with nice amounts of additional income.  All of these options allow investors to diversify the areas in which they choose to put their money.  Investing is essentially risk taking.  That is why diversifying investments into a portfolio helps to manage risk and hopefully reduce it.
       Endless amounts of strategies are used to invest successfully.  Nobody can predict the future, so usually the best way to determine what companies to invest in is by looking at the stock market.  It allows you to look at the history of companies and see how there have progressed, or digressed over time.  Prices of shares of stock can be viewed to allow investors to determine exactly how much they will be able to spend.  Prices can also help when determining the amount of shares to buy, incase the company unexpectedly goes down the tubes.
       Although it is risky and unpredictable, smart investments can bring almost anybody significant returns. However, diving into stock markets with minimal knowledge about share trading can be extremely dangerous.  So invest wisely and start risk taking.

Can There Be World Citizenship?

According to the dictionary, a citizen is someone who is vested with the rights, privileges, obligations, and duties as an individual member of society.  Elise Boulding was born in Norway, and moved to the United States when she was only three years old.  She grew up when Hitler invaded her country of Norway and realized that no place is safe unless the people of that country make it so.  Boulding stated that, “The more states that follow the pattern of assimilative nationalism as a model of good citizenship, the more the prospect of increasing violent conflicts lie ahead.”  Obviously, this method of world citizenship is one that she does not believe is the most efficient or effective.

          As a result, Boulding thought of a three-fold citizenship concept for every human being.  These three citizenships would include local, state, and the United Nations.  Founded in 1945 after World War II, the United Nations main purpose is to control international law, security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and world peace.  Nowhere in that sentence does it claim that their intent is to try and make world citizenship.

Boulding believes that the most successful way to move from a national interest citizenship to a citizenship based on our belonging to one human family spread across the planet, is to work together with the United Nations.  This idea seems too extreme and far-reaching to be a professional way of dealing with the thought of world citizenship.  I believe that citizenship can be extended as far as the human race wants to.  As to what the correct and most successful method is, I don’t think anybody really knows the answer.  Evidently, world citizenship is entirely what the planet wants to make of it.

Generation Y

       In the articles, the authors stated that "the next great generation," may not be that great after all.  They claimed that all who were, "born between 1982 and 2002 are know as millennials and whiners who have been spoiled by parents who overstocked their self-esteem, teachers who granted undeserved A's and sports coaches who bestowed trophies on any player who showed up.
       This raised a couple of questions for me.  First, what are those who were born before 1982 or after 2002 classified as?  Second, how and by whom is the cutoff for age groups determined?  I feel as though anybody could come up with a certain name or title for any age group just based on what most of the population thinks of them.
       One of the hot spots which caught my attention in the text was when it talked about how the labor market is the worst since the Great Depression, and yet many young students who recently graduated think that they will receive the "perfect job" which they desire.  This Generation Y needs to open their eyes, stop being a "nation of wimps," and realize that they will have to work much harder than past generations in order to achieve the same goals and defeat unexpected obstacles.
       I both agreed and disagreed with the articles on the topic of how sport coaches would give trophies to any player who showed up.  When I lived in Fresno, I was on a soccer team which was very competitive, and our coach would give whoever scored a goal a candy bar.  However, when I moved to Chico, I played CARD soccer which was basically a complete joke, and coaches here would give kids high-fives and say good job for being able to complete the most basic tasks.  I did notice a decrease in the competitiveness of the games, but I believe the level of babying the players depended all on the style of coach.

The Ways We Lie

Stephanie Ericsson wrote about ten different ways in which people lie.

White - "assumes that the truth will cause more damage that a simple, harmless untruth"
An example of a white lie could be if your parent asked you if you did your homework and you just said yes because it would be easier that way and avoid getting yelled at.

Omission - "telling most of the truth minus one or two key facts whose absence changes the story completely"
An example of omission would be sending in your broken phone for a free new one because it randomly broke, when really you smashed it in order to receive a newer version.

Deflection - taking an offensive side in an argument and assuming that you have revealed all of the necessary information
An example of deflection could be if somebody accused you of doing something, and you changed the subject matter to make it sound as if they were the lier or more negative person.

Façade - "seducing others into an illusion" as a way to convince or deceive

An example of a façade would be when you go into an office for a job interview in a nice suit and tie, when really about twenty minutes before you were relaxing and wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt.

Delusion - "tendency to see excuses as facts to filter out information that contradicts what we want to believe"

An example of delusion could be filtering out the facts that soldiers really die in the war because you don't want to believe that it is true since it is a touching subject and you are really emotional.

Dismissal - being told something which is untrue to "dismiss feelings, perceptions, and raw facts"

An example of dismissal would be if you told your friend that you were tired.  They might say no your not, because they want you to hang out with them longer, or participate in more activities.

Out and Out - a lie which can be "easily confronted" and the truth behind the lie is usually known

An example of an out and out lie could be if you asked the child you were babysitting who broke the lamp, and they told you that they didn't, when you actually saw them do such actions.

Stereotypes and Clichés - "often shuts down original thinking, giving those hungry for the truth a candy bar of misinformation instead of a balanced meal"

An example of stereotyper and clichés would be telling a really obese person that they looked skinny as a way to make them feel better or boost their self-esteem.

Groupthink - "psychological phenomenon within decision-making groups in which loyalty to the group has become more important than any other value, with the result that dissent and the appraisal of alternatives are suppressed"

An example of groupthink could be telling somebody in your group project group to do all of the work in order to allow free time for the other members.  However, you find out they didn't do anything and the whole group suffers from the lack of material and everyone receives a zero.

Ignoring Plain Facts - "the real issue is forgotten" and the focus becomes something which is more interesting

An example of ignoring plain facts would be when judges must not be racist and ignore the fact of the skin colors of different criminals in the court system.

Rants

       Complaining has always been something rather easy for me to do.  This ability may be good or bad, but I believe it all depends on who you ask.  Sometimes when we realize that something is not normal, many of us will not stand up and say what we believe.  This is mainly because we are either afraid, or don't want to be "that person".  I usually try my best to avoid ranting about things that bug or irritate me.  However, when something really gets me going, it is very hard for me to stop.
       When grocery stores advertise products as being, "Family Size," I and most others shopping expect these items to contain much more of the certain product.  Yet, they do not.  The bag or object holding the product is instead filled half way, if that.  Nearly fifty percent of the bag is filled with air.  This makes me rather angry because the company is trying to convince the average buyer that there is really more product. The "Family Size" could easily be transferred into either a large or medium size and be full.  No confusion, and the consumers don't have to check the price per ounce tab which most people would need a magnifying glass to see.
       I know there are many people just like me who rant about this exact grocery product placement decision.  Nonetheless, most will not say anything to the store or company because they are fearful or feel as though their power is nonexistent.