a. What are the essential truths (belief statements) of your -Ism? You should have between 7 and 10 belief statements that outline the goals of your belief system. (i.e., I believe that all humans have the capacity to make the world a better place. Or, I believe that people are essentially evil and must be made good through a well-structured society. You must use Idopia as a place to host these belief statements.)
   
    1. Christianity and Creationism- I believe in Christianity, as this core value suggests. I also believe that God created everything. (I oppose scientific theories on the origin of the world.)
    2. Intelligence and Education- I believe that intelligence is a very important thing as intelligent people usually go far in this present world. Also, I believe that educating other people is a good thing because it builds other people's intelligence levels.
    3. Kindness- I believe that kindness is good because, without kindness, the world would be full of hatred and hard feelings towards others without any kind thoughts or feelings.  In a way, kindness partially dilutes hatred. (Other factors can dilute hatred as well.)
    4. Family- I believe that families, if built up well, can be very powerful and reliable "places of refuge and support". In other words, I believe that families are one of the "bases" of life.
    5. Friends- I believe that friends, if kind and supportive, can build up their friends, and, in turn, be built up by their friends. Also, in the case that families cannot give support, friends can temporarily replace the family.
    6. Uniqueness and Equality- I believe that everyone is unique and that everyone is equal. Therefore, I oppose racism and other related topics and beliefs.
    7. Perfection- I believe that, for every living being on earth, perfection is impossible to achieve.
    8. Hard Work and Accomplishment are Good but Play and Relaxation Need to Complement Them- This belief is the main topic of my belief statement essay (see bottom of page).

b. How do you act differently because of your beliefs?

 

I think that my beliefs greatly impact my life. However, when I follow my beliefs, it is almost second nature to me. Anyways, due to my beliefs in Christianity and kindness, I am usually nice to others and I usually respect other people and objects. (I only usually do these things because I, like every other human being, am not perfect. This is another one of my core beliefs.) Also, due to my beliefs in intelligence and education, I value school, for the most part, and I value intelligence. This ties into my eighth core belief, in that I work hard in school and I usually need relaxation to complement this hard work. Thirdly, due to my beliefs in family and friends, I value my family and friends and I respect them, for the most part. Finally, due to my beliefs in uniqueness and equality, I respect other people's "uniquities" and I treat others equally.
 
c. What is the purpose of life according your –Ism?

 

The purpose of life according to my -ism is basically to live your life to it's fullest potential while still enjoying it. It is also to help others do this as well.

d. How does the rest of the world differ from your core beliefs? Why are you right? (Why do you keep your beliefs in the face of others who do not share them?)

 

The rest of the world differs from my core beliefs in that they can oppose my beliefs or hold other beliefs than mine. I believe that my beliefs are right because, in my opinion, they are all morally right and I strongly hold them. Also, I keep my beliefs in the face of others who don't share them because I want to stand up for them and, in other words, protect them.

e. What beliefs do you you share with others? (What common ground do you see between your -Ism and others' -Isms)

 

I share a few of my beliefs with others, such as beliefs 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7. Most of these beliefs are held by many people, including people all over the world.

f. Which core belief do you think is the central one that all other beliefs revolve around? (You can create a concept map of one of your Core Beliefs using Bubbl.us, Inspiration, or Gliffy)

 

This is the link to my concept map: http://bubbl.us/view.php?sid=101447&pw=yaqYUaoRlhDMINjBvbW5wSXlEQ3BNYw
 

a. What is your role in society according to your -Ism? (How do you fit in among your peers?)

Among my peers, I fit in as sort of a "nerd" since I am in the Discovery Program. I am also shy to some people, such as people that I don't know or other people that are shy. (When I am around other people that are shy, it usually makes me feel strange as hardly any or no conversation is exchanged between us.) Finally, I am someone that is usually thought of as a good person.

b. What is your method of connection to others? (Are you part of a greater whole? Do you use emotions? Are you able to relate to others through a common experience? Do you see yourself in groups or cliques?)

I think I "migrate" between groups of people often. For example, I am sometimes associated with the "nerdy" kids and at other times I am associated with the "cool" kids. The group that I am in at the time really depends on how I feel and what is going on in my life. Finally, I use emotions and common experiences to relate to the other kids that are in my "group of people" at the time.

c. How much do you care for yourself vs. other people? (Is your –Ism more concerned with selfishness or giving?)

 

My -Ism is somewhere in-between caring for myself and for other people. It has come to be this way for a few different reasons. First of all, my beliefs strongly support kindness and, in turn, giving. Secondly, I also want to support myself as if I don't support myself, I will most likely begin to feel bad about myself over time. Furthermore, I think my -Ism is almost perfectly balanced between caring for myself and for other people.

d. What is the prevailing metaphor or image that you would use to describe progress? Why would you define your –Ism with this image? (A ladder, a mountain, a treadmill, etc. Feel free to get an image from Morguefile or describe this metaphor through a bubblr strip. or Voicethread)

 

 

e. How do you view major social institutions (government, welfare, religion, etc.)?

 

I view major social institutions mainly as positive things that build a society. First of all, I view government as something that is necessary to control society and something that either improves or degrades it. Secondly, I view welfare as something that a society should strive for in order for the society to be able to easily advance and develop. Also, I view religion as something that should be highly regarded and something that builds up and develops the soul. Finally, I view school as something that improves the minds of the young of society so that they, the "leaders of tomorrow", will be able to lead the society as strong, intelligent people.

 

Societal Goods	Societal Ills
Charity Equality The Golden Rule (for the most part) Kindness Towards Others Friends A Strong, Structured Family	Racism (In a way, it is like inequality.) Stress Hatred Towards Others Selfishness (In a way, it is the Opposite of Charity) Being Against The Golden Rule "Anti Friendship" Weak, Un Structured Family

 

a. What are the “societal goods” that you promote, and how do you promote these? (charity, equality, etc.)

 

Some of the "societal goods" that I promote are charity, equality, the Golden Rule (for the most part), kindness towards others, friendship, and strong, structured families. I promote them in a few different ways. First of all, I promote them simply by believing in some of my other beliefs. For example, by believing in Christianity, I am promoting Christianity and, in turn, all of the other "societal goods". Secondly, I promote them by stating good things about them and how they can be used, or put in place, to make life more enjoyable.

b. What are the “societal ills” that you try to solve, and how do you solve these? (racism, stress, etc.)

 

Some of the "societal ills" that I try to solve are racism, stress, and all of the "opposites" of the "societal goods" that I promote, such as hatred towards others and "anti-friendship". I try to solve them in a few different ways. First of all, I try to solve them trying to treat everyone equally, trying to make others happy, and trying to make people's lives better, allowing them to have a more positive outlook on life. Secondly, I try to solve them by believing in some of my other beliefs. For example, by believing in Christianity and equality, I am promoting these and, subsequently, trying to solve racism and all of the other "societal ills". 

c. How does your –ism deal with the invisible, but persistent pressures of life (Patriarchy, the pressure to be a success, the pressure to be cool)?

 

My -Ism deals with these pressures of life in a few different ways. First of all, for pressures such as Patriarchy, I don't try to "solve" them but I try to help to improve them by using some of my other beliefs, such as equality. Secondly, for pressures such as the pressure to be a success, I try to support them, because being a success allows you to have a more positive outlook on life and it allows you to possibly become prosperous. Finally, for pressures such as the pressure to be cool, I try to support them as well as "bring them down" because they are good things to strive for but, when some people try to do this, they become "someone else". This ruins their own uniqueness, which contradicts my belief that everyone is unique in their own ways.

a. What are the debates that you are concerned with waging? Why? (Abortion, Equality, Truth, Etc.)

 

 

(This shows that I am concerned with waging a debate on the topic of Christianity.)

 

I am concerned with waging many debates, some of which are on the topics of abortion, equality, Creationism, and global warming. I am concerned with waging these debates for a variety of reasons, such as certain moral issues, my beliefs, my personal thoughts, and my personal opinions.

 

(I have already started to wage a few of these debates on Idopia. Here are the links to a few of them:

Global Warming: http://www.idopia.net/idea/ideaPage.php?ideaId=152

Creationism: http://www.idopia.net/idea/ideaPage.php?ideaId=159)

b. How would you frame these debates so that only your ideas would be seen as right?

 

I would frame these debates so that only my ideas would be seen as right by doing a few different things. First of all, I would make my ideas sound viable and like good things to live by, or follow. I would do this by obtaining a lot of information to back my ideas up and to give reasons as to why they would be good things to live by, or follow. Secondly, I would compare them to opposing ideas and find possible flaws in the opposing ideas, causing my ideas to be seen as right when compared to any opposing ideas.

a. How does your –Ism influence the way you see everyday sights, events, and objects?

My -Ism influences the way in which I see everyday sights, events, and objects in many different ways. For example, I see many of these things, such as the following ones in these images, in these ways due to my individual core beliefs, and subsequently my -Ism.

 

Due to my beliefs, I see computers as objects that can utilize play and relaxation either both at the same time or at different times. This can also utilize my eighth core belief.

 

(I view holding hands as something that can be an act of kindness in some situations.)

Since I follow one of my beliefs, I see this as something that carries out one of my core beliefs. This core belief is my third one.

 

These examples are just a few of the ways in which I see some of my "daily sights" due to my -Ism.

 

b. What is a day in your life like because of your -Ism?

A day in my life is different than a day in some other people's lives because of my -Ism. First of all, I think that I may have a more positive outlook on life daily than some other people due to some of my beliefs. A few of these beliefs are beliefs #1, #2, and #7. For example, belief #2 enables me to have a more positive outlook on life than other people because, since I am intelligent and I follow this belief, I am generally a more successful person than some of these other people. (Success usually leads to happiness, which can lead to a positive outlook on either life as a whole or on only certain aspects of life.) Secondly, I don't get really stressed out that often because of my beliefs. The main belief that exemplifies this is my belief #8. This belief exemplifies this because it allows me to work hard and accomplish tasks and, if I start to get too stressed out, it allows me to play and relax.

a. What are the other defining aspects of your –Ism that are not discussed in the other sections of this Outline?