By July 20th: Post a reply to the blog entry on the home page of this site. Remember that you are posting in an online environment and be sure to make posts that are thoughtful and make your best possible virtual first impression. You may want to first draft this in word so that you can edit it before you put your post live. Remember to comment on another student’s post when you are done!
In your post, I would like you to write about each of the following prompts in separate paragraphs:
-Say your name, year, and a little bit about your personal background (where you grew up, your interests, what you are doing for the summer).
-Describe your political feelings WITHOUT using any language about which party or candidate you identify with. Instead, describe your basic beliefs about the role of government with regards to economic issues, social issues, foreign policy, and justice. This part of your response should be at least 250 words long.
-Separately, respectfully respond to another student in a brief, 20-40 word acknowledgement of and response to what they said in their post.
hamiltonbla 
My name is Edney Pierre-Louis and I am senior. I was born and raised in Boston, MA but both of my parents are from Haiti. I have two older brothers. I like to play basketball and football. I really like learning- I have always been a curious person. My hobbies include drawing and just relaxing- but not too much. This summer I took math classes at Northeastern University; I played basketball and went to the gym to work out. I tried to find a job but I was unsuccessful.
While reading through the students post, I found the following comment by Eda Kaceli interesting: “I believe that in the upcoming election, President Obama will win re-election…because although the economy has not improved in the rate which we hoped that it would, President Obama has done a great job lowering the unemployment rates around the country and saving the auto industry. In addition, I think that he is more concerned about helping the middle class than Romney is, thus he will gain more support from voters.” I found this interesting because those are also the major reasons why I think Obama will get elected.
I think the government’s fundamental job is to guide, protect, and do what is best for its people. In terms of economics, I believe that government should have an important role. Based on the fact that we have representative democracy and we elect the people who share most of our same values, government should not run politics but, it should be more of a guiding force. Basically economy should have free enterprise but the government should have more authority regarding making economic regulations. I think that government should have a justifiably large role in social issues. I think this because if the government wants to shape its society it should have as much power as it needs. Another reason I believe this is because it has done a good job so far like with child labor and retirement policies. At the same time the government does not always no what society wants like in terms of discrimination and marriage. The government should be completely in charge of foreign issues because it the people should only be worried about what is going in their country and not anywhere else. Lastly the government’s role in justice should uphold the values of the people and at the same time it should be as impartial as possible.
In the post askabout jasmine says “I learned some very basic information that should be known by all American citizens. The knowledge that I’ve gained from taking this class will forever remain useful to me.” This comment stuck out to me because I hope I am lucky enough to have same experience as her.
I am Maryan Sharif and a senior. I am of Somali decent despite being born in Kenya. I moved to America when I was a little less than 2 years old. My family moved around a lot but I consider Portland, ME my hometown as I spent my 6 years of elementary school there. My interests include reading, watching sports and having a great time with friends. Last summer I participated in my 3rd and final summer at the Crimson Summer Academy for 7 weeks effectively passing 2 college courses.
While reading through past students response, a comment from Jasmine stuck out to me. She wrote, “I can honestly say that I have benefitted from AP Government the most this year. I learned some very basic information that should be know by all American citizens. The knowledge that I’ve gained from taking this class will forever remain useful to me”. Her words reminded of my goal for this class. I would also like to be able to, years from now, to hear something and think to myself I remember when I learned that in AP Government. I want to gain knowledge not only to do well on the exam but also for situations later in life. I know I will not remember everything I learn in this class but the few facts, that I will remember, will make taking this class worthwhile.
I believe the role of government is to act on behalf of its citizens as a whole. Obviously there is disagreement amongst the people over every issue making the role of government that much more complicated and difficult. With respect to the economy I believe the government should be able to regulate businesses. I am also a proponent of proportionate taxes. A flat tax does not make sense to me because the worth of money like most things is relative. For example $1000 might not mean anything to someone making over $250,000/yr but it means a lot to some one who is barely getting by. Regarding social issues, I think the government should not heavily involve itself in the personal affairs of its people. It makes things less complicated. My beliefs on foreign policy are similar to my beliefs on social issues. Government should only interfere in other countries if is strictly necessary. For example if their property is at stake or if it is saving another government from its own people. The government’s role in justice should be the most straightforward. People who break the law should be punished quickly and accordingly. There is nothing more frustrating than a broken judicial system.
Georgina Dominique and Kathiana said that they interested in how the election plays out in Massachusetts considering their history as a blue state and their ties to Mitt Romney. Personally I think Obama will carry this state mainly because Governor Romney and candidate Romney are not the same people. Romney had to take on more conservative ideas in order to get support from the far right.
Hello fellow class mates and Ms. Hamilton, my name is Leslie Centeno. I am soon going to be a junior, which I am very excited about. I am eager to get the “real” experience of high school, such as PROM!, class presidents, AP classes, college tours and more. I am a very enthusiastic person. I am also very hard working. My parents always made it clear that education comes first in life, and I stuck through with their beliefs. At times, yes I do want to hang out with friends instead of homework, but I have always had that balance. My priorities are set straight. My standards are high for myself, but only because failure in life is my biggest fear. I am not psycho about school work, but I do try my best. My goal for junior year is to improve my GPA. The past few years of high school, I slacked off in some way. I didn’t do bad, but I knew I could have done better. My GPA is not where it needs to be, but the upcoming school year I am determined to change that.
I grew up in Charlestown, a small neighborhood known for its historic events. I can see the Bunker Hill Monument from my bedroom window which is always an interesting thing to tourist. They are amazed by all the history in Charlestown, from the Monument, to the navy yard, and the freedom trail. Growing up, Charlestown was amazing. My mom would take us for walked through the Navy Yard, and we would see all the beautiful statues and boats. In one section of the Navy Yard, there is a dedication to the people who have fought in the war. Right next to it, there is a small park with a swing set, sand box, and a small pool. We spent a lot of time there, it is one of my favorite places of all times. I have two siblings, an older sister, and a younger brother. I was always grateful for them, no matter how annoying they are. In my family, ant close family members are your cousins or aunts. I have about 500 “cousins”, none of them blood related. From my mothers side, I only have 2 1st cousins, and the live in Switzerland. So basically, my brother and sister were all I had. A few months ago we added a new family member to the house hold, my puppy Milo. I have always wanted a puppy, and was beyond excited to have a new “son.” He is so loved in this family, we take him everywhere. My mother is Dominican, and my father is Puerto Rican. When it comes down to baseball games, DR vs. PR, the family divides, we get pretty competitive, other than that, we are all close. I claim my Dominican side more than my Puerto Rican because i was raised as a Dominican, with a Dominican culture.
This summer will mainly consist of soccer training, driving school, hanging out with friends and family, and summer reading. Soccer has become a very important part of my life. The group of friends I have made during soccer season mean a lot to me. We train together, motivate each other, and all attempt to get better. It is a great thing to have the support from your friends in a sport that you love.
Economics from Dominican Republic and Boston have always been compared in my family. As a kid, it always amazed me how different two places economies can be. We were always the average working class, but as we traveled to Dominican Republic, we were beyond rich. People were amazed with our wealth, and admired where we came from, but I never understood why, till now. The economies are completely different. $5 here is a carton of milk, $5 over there, in the poor section, is their life savings. It really made me value how the American government was and how privileged we were compared to other parts of the world. People do have opportunities here, and I believe the government has a huge role in ensure that everyone has a fair chance in life. On social issues, I believe the government can use some help. At times, they are very sketchy, people believe the US government plots against us at times. Also, other countries don’t like us very much because of the image we put out for ourselves, which can sometimes lead to war. Also, in many court cases, they say “white” people can get away with everything, while any colored person can be wrongly accused of a crime and no one would care. Things like that need to be worked on. That also has to deal with the justice aspect of the government. I believe some laws are outrageous, such as the gay marriage laws. I don’t understand why two people can’t just be happily married without having to fight against a whole state if it is illegal to marry the same gender there. There are many things I want to learn about the government, and I believe this class would be a great opportunity to start learning.
Hello! So my name is Gabriela Cartagena and my friends usually call me Gaby. It’s what I have grown up with and grown accustomed too. I am currently a senior and hopefully attending college next year. I grew up in a little Hispanic dominate neighborhood, East Boston, it is right by the Airport. I quit soccer this year so this school year will start off much differently than the past years, I had to make the decision that I did not have enough time in my schedule for soccer anymore. The start of the summer was very chill, I started off by going to Canada for the fourth of July and worked as an assistant junior counselor for a month until I had to spend the second half with my grandparents back in their country. It was pretty cool, having to enjoy nature every day, definitely prefer the city over the countryside.
My belief in regards of our government could be looked as controversial. I do not believe in the way the American government is structured. I personally think it was written with the right intentions but taken action upon the wrong way. The government seems to be corrupted and influenced by some political figure, in the regards of the way the justice is structured. In aspect of justice My thoughts of the death penalty differs from George W. Bush’s ideals. He believes that the death penalty should be kept because he conceives that the death penalty is effective when it is monitored correctly, but having the choice to take someone’s life should not be an option to another human being. I believe people should pass away in a natural state and not through punishment even if is it proved with DNA proof also another proposal Bush made. If someone were to suffer and pay for what they did they should get sent to jail and have them pay the price not just die and live the suffering for a few minutes or seconds. My thoughts on abortion are probably the same as Scott Brown’s though in regards of the social issues of the country. I was so surprised to find that we had similar feelings towards it. He believes in pro choice, but these choices have some limitations. He believes churches should not be obligated to provide birth control nor have partial living fetus’ get aborted which I support completely. I believe abortion should be available especially to women who have been raped and the fact that abortion should be allowed if the fetus does not have a strong lively beating heart. My beliefs in abortion seems to be a very controversial social issue of this nation. What stuns me so much about our economy is how the inflation of our currency has increased yet the minimum wage of the American has stayed the same throughout the years. It’s interesting how the government expects the people to be able to support themselves with a higher cost of life but no increase on their minimum wage pay. 355
In response to Leslie I completely understand you wanting to have a determination in trying to improve your GPA the most you can. I’ve been in that situation once I got out of fresdhman year. No one warned me that ninth grade would be so important and vital to my high school career. It sure it a lot harder to improve your grades than to actually bring them down, doesn’t seem fair at all but it’s just how the educational system is set up.