Which is more important- Happiness or Self-respect?

Two different concepts, two different mentalities, both of these words have a different meaning. Which one is more important? I say self-respect, because to me happiness is fleeting or temporary, however if one has self-respect that will always be with them until they go to the grave. I also believe that self-respect strongly defines one's character and sets a standards for those around that person to follow if they have self-respect. One other reason why self-respect is more important is because if one person does not have that, then what is the point of that person even living, they are only making themselves subject to other people's will making them no better than a lifeless doll. To me, that is one of the worst ways to live life, being at the beckoning of other people, which is absolutely disgusting.

As for the concept of happiness, it is always fleeting, not everyone can achieve it or can be allowed to experience it. It is also temporary, as it can either be related to someone or something else and if that something or someone goes, so does one's happiness. As for the emotion, well emotions do not last forever, although it may feel that way to certain people, but even happiness can be swayed as well and to be honest I would not hold my breath for something that is temporary, ever.

Back to self-respect now, to me the word self-respect means "respecting yourself" (although that is an obvious definition) and to hold yourself to a high standard. It also helps me shut out those who try to use me to satisfy their superficial whims and to set an example that I am not some clone like nearly every other person that exists around me. However if one person allows to be deluded by their own self-respect that is called being "conceited", which consists of over-confidence, arrogance, and narcissism usually. If one where to adopt this type of behavior and force the above mentioned traits upon other people that person will lose integrety and be considered just another (insert description here).

I have a lot of self-respect, too much for some people. But that just shows how little they know of me and the type of life I have led. If someone from my high school saw me as I am today and had not seen or heard from me since then they would think I was a different person, but that is fine with me, I do not like being as I was in high school because it sucked. I also do not believe in adopting a fake happiness, or pretending to be happy and nice to other because that is not how I live my life. Unlike most people I am honest with my character and I always say what I feel like saying without any sugar-coating because that will only just inhibit my own style and I also have way too much self-respect to lower myself to everyone elses' half-witted standards.

Nonverbal Behavior

Nonverbal behaviors can explain a lot about one's personality if you are able to discern their actions. Although I do not know how often people in general rely on nonverbal cues, but for me they can tell me what type of person they are, or what they want to let on. When I have a conversation with someone I always pay attention to three critical factors, 1. Eye contact: if they cannot look me in the eye while talking then they are not worth my time. 2. Voice consistency: if they hesitate while telling me something I will assume that the other person is lying. 3. Tone of voice: the most important key factor to me, if the person is trying to "talk at me" instead of "talking to me", I will not listen to a single word that comes out of their mouth.

As for the words spoken by the other person, if they are using words in a sentence consecutively while trying to explain something that each have no relation to the subject, I am going to assume that the other person does not know what they are talking about. Also if they use "mainstream words" I will begin to lose interest in listening to the other person, eventually tuning them out. Conversely if the other person uses too many big words in the same sentence throughout the conversation I am going to assume that the other person is trying to show off how smart they are, and that will prompt me to just turn my head away from them showing the utmost disinterest in the other person.

Are my own nonverbal cues influenced by my gender? I believe so, I am a male and I express myself as a male would. I usually express my own nonverbal cues too much if I am disinterested in what the other person is talking about, or if the sound of the other person's voice irritates me. As I said in my Nonverbal Cues- My Gestures and Signals blog I wave the back of my hand which translates to either "go away" or "not interested", which was influenced by my ego treating whichever issue or person I do not like as if they were a bug telling them to go buzz off somewhere else.

Overall I believe that the influence of nonverbal cues lies within not only a person's gender, but a person's personality, lifestyle, or media influence. I say so because not all of my gestures were invented by myself, although sometimes I would like to think that way. There are many types of influences that can integrate into a person's nonverbal behavior and each person has a unique set of nonverbal cues and are all executed at varying intervals and each could have a different meaning than what it generally translate to. But that is just what makes the subject of nonverbal behavior so complex, because if every person used the same gestures and each meant the same thing that would be really boring.

Nonverbal Cues- My Gestures and Signals

According to most communications professors; body language is the strongest form of nonverbal communication. Body language sends out numerous amounts of signals to those around you, however each individual's reaction will vary due to cultural background differences. However when it comes to my own body language I try to make my gestures as unique and clear as possible so other people can understand what I am trying to say without verbally saying it. For example, if I am waving my hand in a back-hand waving motion I am telling someone to either "go away" or I am saying "not interested". Another one of my gestures is how I bid farewell, I do so by giving a two-fingered salute facing away from the one I am parting from.

As for the "vibes" I give off, I usually give off a "don't bother me" type of vibe because I am not interested in most people within my community. This vibe of mine was also developed because of the way I grew up and how much my personality clashes with most others, which has prompted some to deem me "unapproachable" or "abrasive". However I do not let other people's thoughts about me change my perspective because they have no right to do so. There is only one me and I will not let any other person sway me from my path.

My facial expressions usually state what I type of mood I am in or what I am thinking about something. For example; if I am disgusted with something or someone I will either turn my head and not look that direction, or I will openly display a disgusted expression. This has also created friction between me and certain people because I am too "blatantly honest" and I also do not believe in hiding my thoughts or putting on a fake expression because that does not blend within my discipline.

My dress style, now this one is a kicker, is not what you would usually see a "Black guy" wear. Despite being 25% Japanese along with three other heritages people will either silently stereotype me or openly question my style. To be honest I say that they are just plain ignorant and need to see past their own noses, if they are capable of doing so that is. This was actually an issue I had to deal with frequently throughout my high school years and lead to numerous conflicts with my so-called "peers". However this is now just dust in the wind, it has came and it has gone away.

As for my mental attitude, I try to adopt a "neutral" type of attitude, not allowing my emotions to cloud my logical reasoning or judgment. Once again this has also been a main cause of friction between me and other people because I do not think like every other person nor do I desire to. I can also be very "snippy" if someone tries to aggravate me, because if you say something insulting to me I'll do it back and ten times harder. Why so sensitive? Call it sensitive if you want, but I call it "not taking 'you-know-what' from other people".

English the "lingua franca"

Out of the over 6 billion world population, approximately 915 million speak the English language which is between 15 to 17 percent. However, if a native English speaker comes across someone who speaks a different language the English speaker will usually berate the the other person, in English, for not speaking the English language. Why is this such a critical issue? Not every single person on this planet can speak a general language, and native English speakers have no right to berate other speakers for not speaking the same language. There are about 7,300 languages that exist throughout the world, yet those who speak English as a first language somehow made it a requirement that every single person speaks English to them or else it is impossible to communicate.

Personally I would like to berate those who berate others who do not speak English because what they are displaying when doing that is called "ignorance", such a thing that knows no bounds in a certain country, which I will not say in this blog, because the ones who are native speakers of the English language who berate others who cannot speak English are closed-minded, ignorant, and are unable to establish common ground with foreign speakers. This is an issue that exists not only on the outside world but also on the internet as well, although not perfect there is something called a "translation site" to at least help someone understand what someone else is saying, but no, to those close-minded native English speakers: every one must speak English.

I am actually surprised and disappointed that they berate foreign speakers for not speaking English over the internet as well and what is even worse is when an native English speaking customer or worker berates the foreign speaking customer or worker in the workplace. Now this just unprofessional and plain rude because certain native English speakers will always have a high expectancy level that every single person within that workplace speaks English, and if they do not then they have no right of being there. This is also an issue throughout society as well, ranging from a social gathering to an educational setting and this is an issue that knows no bounds and there is no sight of an ending either unfortunately.

I don't know how or why English became the "lingua franca" (frank language) for communications between native English speakers and foreign speakers but honestly, those close-minded native English speakers have absolutely no right to treat foreign speakers in such an unacceptable manner. To end this rant blog I would like to leave those with a piece of wisdom: if you, a native English speaker got lost in a foreign country that did not adopt the English language as a set of spoken languages and you attempted to communicate with someone who did not speak English and they berate you for not speaking their language, how would you feel then? Put yourself through someone else's perspective before forcing your own on other people and expecting them to accept it.

Slanted Reporting

There are usually two ways to judge an innocuous or an unharmful object, it is either judged favorably or unfavorably and this is called 'slanted reporting'. Why I chose to post a blog about this topic is that most people that I come across always almost immediately pass judgment to something or someone just by appearance alone without thorough analysis. For this blog I am going to analyze the pros and cons of an article of clothing; specifically my leather police-styled jacket. This jacket that I purchased for myself around the previous Christmas season holds a lot of meaning to me for two reasons; 1. I'ts my first jacket I purchased without any objections from any of my family members and 2. It looks cool and it goes with my style perfectly.

The pros: this jacket is a small size (size 36-38) and it fits on my upper body perfectly as if I was meant to wear this jacket because it completes my style. I also like the overall design of the jacket as well and it is a type of jacket to look like you are going to fight someone in rather than 'just to look nice' and this is my number one pro, but don't get me wrong I don't have anything against looking nice. Another one of my pros for this jacket is that it keeps me warm even on the coldest of days here in the Antelope Valley. Not everything is perfect though, and I shall explain the drawbacks of this jacket with the cons.

The cons: I can't wear my jacket when it is raining outside because if cowhide leather gets wet it will be ruined, and this my number one con for this jacket. Another thing that irritates me is that every time I put my left arm near the left half of the zipper line, which is cut your skin if you are careless enough, the left sleeve of my jacket gets scratched and I'm unable to figure out a way to prevent that problem other than not folding my arms. The last con that I have is being unable to wear this jacket in high temperature seasons but this is a natural occurance and I cannot alternate the weather so that is a natural drawback, however I could wear it while riding a motorcycle but I do not own one or even have an M-Class license.

This analysis of my jacket shows that not everything is perfect and that there will always be some type of drawbacks in the best of most things. But honestly I appreciate having this jacket for two reasons; the first is that it completes my style and looks cool. The second is that it is mine and it is something I can call my own and it shall always be that way until I'm physically unable to wear it or when I go the grave, whichever comes first. But one fact will never be changed: it belongs to me.

Martin Luther King Jr. - "I Have a Dream"

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech is one of the most prominent events during the Civil Rights Movement in on August 28th 1963, this speech contained power symbolic language that figuratively echoed throughout history and was heard across the nation. Whether if the location was intentional or not the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. served as a natural visual aid for King's speech by using 16th president Lincoln as a reference to the Emancipation Proclamation which abolished slavery on January 1st 1863, one hundred years before King's speech and stated that African-Americans are still not free.

Had King chosen to make his speech in a different location his above statement would more than likely had less momentum for his speech, but he chose the capital of America in order to be heard throughout the nation and to attract attention to the capital's activity. This speech served as a major tool for the Civil Rights Movement, had this speech never been created then Civil Rights Movement would have more than likely failed to change America.

Fortunately this speech did help by serving as a major tool of momentum of the Civil Rights Movement to change America. King also used symbolic yet reality instilled language in his speech such as, "the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity", which outlined the harsh yet actual reality of the African-American population during that time. He also stated the injustices that African-Americans were dubbed upon by America and King said, "America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked 'insufficient funds.' But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice."

This speech has made it's mark in American History and shall remain so throughout the time of the world, this speech shall be remembered as the speech that changed America.

Literary Barriers

I was raised to be able to basic tasks, such as reading and writing. However if I grew up never learning such important abilites I would be labeled as an "illiterate". If I truly was an illiterate I would not be able to discern words that were in text form and would not be able to get through school or accomplish simple everyday tasks that require being able to read. Being unable to read would be dangerous too, because if I could not read a saftey sign I would not know what to do, for example: I see a "Do Not Cross" sign and I walk not knowing what that sign meant, causing chaos for on coming cars.

If I was an illiterate, I would not be able to follow certain instructions that require reading them, such as how to set up a computer or how to put gas in car. Such simple tasks to a majority of people would become a tribulation due to illiteracy and would make me feel regret and anger for not learning how to read and would forever hang over my head like a curse that cast upon me.

If I were illiterate my job opprotunities would be next to zero due to illiteracy, and being able to read is a critical ability a person must retain in order achieve a job. Let alone getting a job, if I were not able to read I would not know how to get to the designated meeting place because I would not be able to read the directions as well, I would not be allowed to get driver's license as well because there are a written portion that requires reading and if I were illiterate I can just forget about being allowed to drive.

Illiteracy is a very impeding handicap to have throughout one's life and being so does not bring any fortune what-so-ever. If I had a child now and still remained illiterate I would not be able to properly provide for my child due to my illiteracy. There would be so many things I could do but they would be vastly outside of my grasp due to illiteracy, and if I truly were illiterate I would not even be typing this blog right now. I would not even know how to use a computer or the internet if I were truly illiterate.

However, I am not illiterate. As I said in the beginning in this blog post; I was raised to be able to do basic tasks such as reading and writing, and I am able to utilize such skills to accomplish tasks in my everyday life and overcome seemingly insurmountable tasks that involve being literate and I admit I do not express appreciation for having these important skills, but if I were illiterate, I would think much more differently than I am now and would give anything in the world just to be able to read and write as a "literate person" and understand words that are written for a reason.