Sources

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article395529.ece

http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA417332

http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/summary.cfm?q=752

http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/uscoin/counterinsurgency_redux.pdf

Florida State Seminoles

The issue  the writer of the article raised was that the Seminole tribe is being disgraced by the Florida State University's mascot which is an Indian and if the NCAA has a right to make them change mascots. The author argues it could be disrespectful that people recognize the Seminole as the mascot and that it embarrasses them. The Seminoles were some of the few Indians that never surrendered to the United States and have a lot of pride. The question that was raised was, "Is it a good or bad thing that Florida State's mascot is a Seminole?" It could be seen as disrespectful to turn their culture into a college mascot when they still live independently and were never asked about the name by the school. Yet at the same time it can be seen as an honor because they never did surrender and they were chosen as a mascot out of respect. The natives of the Seminoles can be honored that they have a team that represents them. The college can stand for the people that never gave in and proudly stand for the independence of one of the last remaining Indian tribes. The Seminoles get a lot of attention off of the whole situation and they don't seem to care that the mascot is a Seminole. Because of this the NCAA doesn't need to step in and change the name if no one is being hurt by it. 

Is the Internet Making us Stupid?

With the invention of the internet, the way people read and research has changed dramatically. Instead of reading long, famous books and researching in the library, people have turned to the internet. Instead of looking through the dewey decimal system or reading in their room people browse Google. They can watch videos and movies whenever, chat with their friends, or find information on any subject imaginable. With this wealth of information being so convenient and plentiful the use of books is becoming obsolete. Unfortunately, as the author feared, so has actual reading. With all the interesting links that each article has its very difficult to read an article all the way through before moving on to something else. People may read as much as they used to but they read in the form of skimming through many things. With all of the features that the internet gives few people are going to sit down and read a long book or article. People have become too easily distracted and will read many short convenient portions of whatever looks interesting. I don't think this makes us stupid, but it does hurt our intelligence a little bit. Because of the internet no one will go through the grueling library research when they can just look up a few articles on the internet. No one in school will read full books when they can spark note the assigned chapters. This could be potentially harmful down the road as people grow up with these lazy habits and short attention spans. The author is not right as of now, but in the future he can easily proven that Google and the Internet has made us dumb.