How “Designer Babies” Goes Along with My Moral Codes By: Tanzim Ahmed

There are about six billion human beings on this Earth but surprisingly, we are all different. There is not a single person living on this earth that is the same as another person and that is what makes all of us special. Unfortunately, scientists say that, in the near future, parents can choose what traits their child can possess. This totally goes against my moral codes. I don’t believe we should ever change the genetic make-up of a person. A child should have the traits that it was meant to have, not what another person wants it to have.

First and foremost, the genes of a fetus should never be altered. Many parents might want their children to be more unique which is fine, but this should not be achieved by changing their genes. In the article “Designer Babies” by Patricia Smith, Josephine Johnston says, “‘it’s hard to know how you would resist the temptation to do those things because they are the things that promise to give your child the edge in a competitive world’”.  Her statement about temptation is true but the rest isn’t. Sure this genetic alteration would change give your child an edge in this competitive world, but for how long? Other parents would do the same for their children as well and in just a few years, your child’s edge would be gone.

A moral code that I live by is to not change things that were meant to be. Your child was made to have certain things, don’t take or add anything extra. When you do this, it doesn’t make your baby special anymore. Even though changing the genes of a fetus for extra traits is against my moral codes, changing genes to prevent genetic defects is a whole different story. If replacing unhealthy genes with healthy ones is required to create a healthy child, then I would be willing to bend my moral codes a little bit. Since twelve million Americans suffer from genetic defects such as hemophilia, altering their genes for a healthy America wouldn’t be too bad.

All in all, changing genes for a “perfect” child is against my moral codes. I believe that things that were meant to be shouldn’t be tampered with unless they can help save lives. When parents decide to genetically alter their fetus, their child becomes not a blessing, but a subject for scientists.     

Who's Responsible For The Death of Romeo and Juliet By: Tanzim Ahmed

           William Shakespeare has written one of history’s greatest plays, Romeo and Juliet. Romeo, who is the only son of Lord and Lady Montague, has fallen in deep love with Juliet, the only daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet. One night, Romeo attends a party he wasn’t invited to and then meets Juliet. Instantly, they fall in a dangerous and unforgettable love. Unfortunately, they are both very young and impatient. At the end of their long journey to be happy, they both end up committing suicide. This wasn’t anyone’s but their own fault. Their inpatients caused them both to lie dead in a cold and dark tomb.

            Romeo is a young boy and still hasn’t fully matured. In a brawl between Tybalt, Romeo’s enemy, kills Mercutio, Romeo’s best friend. Romeo is distraught and full of anger so he decides to avenge his friend’s death and kills Tybalt. His ingenious and immature actions caused him to be exiled by the Prince of Verona. Later, after he hears his sentence he rushes to Friar Lawrence who had promised to wed him and Juliet. There he bawls like a child.   

“ROMEO. What less than doomsday is the Prince’s doom?                                                             

FRIAR LAWRENCE. A gentler judgment vanished from his lips: Not body’s death, but body’s banishment.

ROMEO. Ha, banishment! Be merciful, say “death,”For exile hath more terror in his look,

Much more than death. Do not say “banishment.”

FRIAR LAWRENCE. Hence from Verona art thou banishèd.Be patient, for the world is broad and wide.

ROMEO. There is no world without Verona walls But purgatory, torture, hell itself.

Hence “banishèd” is banished from the world, And world’s exile is death. Then “banishèd,” Is death mistermed. Calling death “banishment,”Thou cutt’st my head off with a golden ax

And smilest upon the stroke that murders me. (3.3.10-24)”

These lines show how immature and unprofessional Romeo is about his situation. He is whining and throwing a rant, he put himself into that problem but now he can’t deal with it. Romeo didn’t think about what he was doing and didn’t think about the consequences or the outcomes. Now he must suffer with the after-math that he created.

            Juliet is also responsible for their deaths. After she learned that she was going to have to marry Paris, she became extremely upset. Unfortunately, her nurse, and confidant, said something that made Juliet feel even worse.

“NURSE. Faith, here it is. Romeo is banishèd, and all the world to nothing That he dares ne'er come back to challenge you. Or, if he do, it needs must be by stealth. Then, since the case so stands as now it doth, I think it best you married with the county. Oh, he’s a lovely gentleman.

Romeo’s a dishclout to him. An eagle, madam, Hath not so green, so quick, so fair an eye

As Paris hath. Beshrew my very heart, I think you are happy in this second match, For it excels your first. Or if it did not, Your first is dead, or ’twere as good he were, As living here and you no use of him. (3.5.213-226)”

In these lines, the Nurse tells Juliet to forget about Romeo. This infuriates Juliet because she now feels betrayed. The Nurse was supposed always be by her side and was supposed to always support her ideas, but now the nurse has turned her back on Juliet. After hearing the Nurse’s advice Juliet fires back at the nurse after she leaves.

“JULIET. Ancient damnation! O most wicked fiend! Is it more sin to wish me thus forsworn, Or to dispraise my lord with that same tongue Which she hath praised him with above compare

So many thousand times? Go, counselor. Thou and my bosom henceforth shall be twain. I’ll to the friar to know his remedy. If all else fail, myself have power to die. (3.5.236-243)”

Here, Juliet talks ill of the Nurse. She wasn’t thinking about what she was saying so she bailed out a lot of unkind words.  If she would’ve thought the situation through and consulted with her Nurse, she might’ve come up with a way to successfully marry and be happy with Romeo. Unfortunately, because of her youth and rushed thoughts, she closed all doors which led to her happiness with Romeo.

            In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet were responsible for their own untimely deaths. Romeo’s immaturity caused him to put himself into being exiled from Verona. Juliet’s inpatients caused her to lose all hope of being together with Romeo. This young couple was clearly too young and impatient. They didn’t think through their marriage which caused them to die in a cold and painful way. 

Writing Prompt: "Banning a Hated Word?" Should Every Country Has to Establish Certain Value-Based Limits? Yes or No?

        In the article, “Banning a Hated Word?” Rabbi Dou Lipman says that “Every country has to establish certain value-based limits” to free speech. I do agree with him. Many countries have a bloody and dark past and also may have memories that they wish they could forget. Unfortunately, not everyone understands the pain of other people. The word Nazi, used in an inappropriate way can bring back terrible memories of the past for someone such as a Holocaust survivor. The Nazis did terrorize those people and the survivors don’t want to remember all the bad things that had happened to them at that time. Yes countries should have the right for people to express their feelings but they should also set boundaries on how they express their feelings. If a man is angry at a Jewish man he can say whatever he wants to him to let him know how he feels but he should not call him a Nazi or paint the swastika on that man’s house. There are more appropriate ways of getting your opinion out into the world, so banning the use of the word Nazi inappropriately would be the right decision. Every country should be able to set a value-based limit to free speech. You can’t just say whatever you want to a person. Think about how they would feel. Then think about how you would feel if someone had said the same words to you.  

Sonnet: The Madden Life. Tanzim Ahmed

My Madden life has drained my self-esteem.
With every loss I weep like a baby.
My opponent makes me cry in a scream.
Winning the game and then losing barely.
My career has vanished in the thick fog.
What should I do now, I feel very bad.
I am upset so I write this bad blog.
I know, I must beat this big sore wet lad.
Yes that is me, I am no longer free.
I must beat myself like they beat Tanzim.
Take that you scumbag, my sting's like a bee.
I go hard, so call me Tanzim Machine.
I just dominated you with a pow!
So next time, think before you call me cow.

Looking In Depth at the Poems of Martin Espada

          Martin Espada is a poet that can teach clear and meaningful lessons in his poems. He teaches the reader one similar lesson in the poems Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877, Revolutionary Spanish Lesson, and The New Bathroom Policy at English High School. The lesson that Espada teaches is to not discriminate against anybody. He also shows the reader the different levels of discrimination.

          The poem Revolutionary Spanish Lesson displays the lowest level of discrimination. The speaker of the poem is having his name mispronounced. After hearing this the speaker wants to, “…hijack a busload of Republican tourists from Wisconsin, force them to chant anti-American slogans in Spanish, and wait for the bilingual SWAT team to helicopter overhead, begging me to be reasonable.” It can be inferred that the person who has mispronounced the speaker’s name doesn’t take him seriously because he is different. The speaker feels like that he isn’t being respected like he should so he wants to do all the things such as hijacking a bus.

          The next level of discrimination is portrayed in The New Bathroom Policy at English High School. The principal of English High School is sitting in a stall and overhears a group of Latino students talking in Spanish. He doesn’t understand what they are saying but he does hear his name in their discussion. Inferences can be made that the principal thinks that they are talking badly about him. Due to this he bans Spanish in the bathrooms. Espada wrights the poem so greatly that he leaves the reader thinking. The principal is discriminating against those kids and the school’s Spanish community by banning Spanish. He doesn’t take time to try to learn the language or even try to ask the boys what they were saying. He doesn’t have any patience with the boys and their language. The principal in this case is violating the U.S Constitution by not letting them speak Spanish. The boys were talking in the bathrooms, not in the classrooms when a class is in session. They had full rights to speak Spanish, the principal took away their freedom of speech and thought it didn’t matter because they were Latino. He didn’t give them the respect that they deserved and in turn lost the respect of those students.

          Out of all the three poems, Espada displays the highest level of discrimination in Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877. After the two Mexicanos were hung, the speaker says, “…a high-collar boy smirking, some peering from the shade of bowler hats, but all crowding into the photograph.” This line of the poem can make the reader think about how much the vigilantes hate the two Mexicanos. It can also make them think about why the vigilantes killed the Mexicanos. The discrimination can be understood by the reaction of the vigilantes. If a person were to read this poem, they would need to know a little background information on that time period. During the mid to late 1800’s, African Americans and many different races of people were being discriminated against and lynched. Many of these people committed small mistakes. Unfortunately, the white people used these mistakes as an excuse to hang them. Those people killed two men for committing a microscopic crime. This is the biggest level of discrimination.

          In conclusion, the reader can understand the different ways of discrimination. The levels of discrimination can be something as simple as mispronouncing someone’s name to killing someone because they are a different race, or religion. Discrimination is still a big issue today. People terrorize other people just because of their race, religion, or sexuality. This needs to come to an end quickly. Everyone in this planet is the same, no matter how different they may be.

Looking In To: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Tanzim Ahmed

            I’m almost finished reading this book and it’s just amazing. The pieces of the puzzles are all fitting together and the resolution of the book is peaking out of the window. The protagonist is an example of perseverance. Christopher found out that his dad killed Wellington, Mrs. Shears’ dog, and he also found out that his father lied to him about his mom (read previous post). After he analyzes all this information, he decides to leave and go live with his mom. Unfortunately, his mom lives in London. This is very far away from Swindon, where Christopher lives, so he has to take the train there. There is one thing that you should know about Christopher and that is that he HATES being in crowded places with strangers. Even though he hates strangers and is afraid of really loud noises, he realizes that if he stays with his dad, he might try to kill him like he did with Wellington. His dad also lied to him about his mother which makes Christopher not trust him anymore. This is why Christopher goes through all the hardships of being on a train. After he reaches his mother’s house his dad comes over. He wants Christopher to come home with him but Christopher refuses, still afraid that he might kill him.

            The fear of Christopher can be understood by how much struggle he needs to go through. He goes through overcrowded trains and stations just to be safe. In the book, the author also includes moments of when Christopher is holding his knife in his pocket in public, so he can assure himself that no one will try to hurt him.

            This book showed me what can happen if you don’t tell the truth. Christopher’s dad told him that his mother had died. When Christopher found out what actually happened, his father had lost Christopher’s trust. The book also teaches the reader to perceiver. Christopher had a goal in his mind and he wanted to reach it. He was determined to get to his mother’s house and didn’t let his fear of strangers and loud noises interfere with that. This teaches the reader not to quit and to be strong.  

Looking In To: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Tanzim Ahmed

            Last week I only read forty-nine pages of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. That was enough to pull me in to the book. This week I’m up to page 114 and I am loving it. The author is putting information out in the perfect order. He introduces new scenes by different characters. The author wants the reader to know why something is happening, but he doesn’t come out and say it directly. He says it later on in the story using small clues that he includes earlier in the book. He also opens up scenes in this book accidently. It looks like the main character is about to do something but then stumbles upon something else!

          In one part of this book, Christopher’s father takes the book that he was writing and pretends to throw it away. A few days later when Christopher goes to look for it in his father’s room, he finds the book along with a bunch of letters from his mom. Christopher is now confused. Wasn’t his mom dead? Didn’t his father say she died of a heart attack? After he read a lot of the letters he started to put the pieces together. Before this part, Christopher found out that Mr. Shears, Ms. Shears’ husband, had an affair with his mom. They both left their spouses but Christopher was told that his mom had died. In the letters, that had the date after her death, his mom tells him the entire story. That’s how the author tells the reader what happens.

          This message relates to both teens and adults. A father and his child need to be open to one another. They can’t keep any secrets between each other. Christopher’s dad probably thought that because Christopher was a little abnormal, he wouldn’t be intelligent enough to figure out what happened. His dad kept a big secret from his son, this isn’t good because Christopher deserves to know the truth about what really happened to his mom. This can be applied to teens too. In the letter his mother explains to Christopher why she was angry all the time. He and his mom would always fight because Christopher would never listen to her. This tells teens to appreciate their mother. Now that Christopher doesn’t have a mom, he doesn’t know what a mother’s love really feels like. This tells teens to always be polite with their parents and to not hurt them anyway. Christopher once embarrassed his mom in the mall during Christmas time. She had to drag him home because he didn’t like the nose in the mall. He also threw a plate at his mom and broke her toes. This might have led to why his mother would lose her temper really quickly. The lesson is for the child to be polite to their parents and for the parents to be honest with their kids.