Ok, so my last article didn’t go over so well. Now that I think of it, I guess it makes sense that people get offended when I infer that they are evil to some extent.

The point of the article was this. If I walked up to almost anyone, and asked them what they would do to ensure that their children lead good, happy lives, they would most likely say they would do a lot. However, these same people would then turn around and not take easy steps like drive less, flick off lights when not using them, turn off the TV when not using it, etcetera. Now maybe you’re not going to end up screwing over your children, or even your grandchildren. But, why would you gamble? Why play with fire when it’s so easy to help get on a safer side?

I agree with comments that yes, we contribute to global warming rather than completely cause it ourselves. However, evidence basically states that we do in fact contribute. It’s not a myth anymore. It’s also a fact that IF, global warming does indeed exist, it can be catastrophic for our planet. Melting icecaps could mean serious problems for anyone remotely close to the ocean. There is strong evidence that global warming leads to stronger storms (a la Katrina).

Here’s a quiz that can tell you whether or not you are a hypocrite.

1. If you could make small personal sacrifices so that your children and grandchildren could have better lives, would you?

2. If you knew that without making personal sacrifices, there would be a reasonable chance your children and grandchildren would lead more difficult lives, would you be alarmed?

3. Are you aware that scientific evidence strongly points to the fact that global warming IS caused by human beings AND detrimental to the entire human race?

4. In turn, are you aware that if everyone is not willing to make personal sacrifices, we will continue to make Earth hotter and hotter?

5. Were you devestated by the deaths caused by hurricane Katrina?

6. Are you aware there is strong evidence that global warming leads to stronger storms?

7. Would you be willing to save many lives and improve the livelihood of the entire planet AND save money at the cost of not being lazy?

8. Does this mean that you are willing to turn off lights, computers, televisions, and other such things when you’re not using them?

I was talking to my close friend Trevor Cable last year about what he did over breaks from school. Trevor was a senior at William and Mary last year. He told me that pretty quickly after high school was over, high school circles of friends would dissolve. People who used to be close friends would, sometimes purely out of convenience, forget about each other, or simply let the relationships slip away.

I didn’t believe Trevor at first. There was no way my circle of friends would break apart. But now, I know that he was right.

I will be a senior at William and Mary next semester. This is incredibly exciting. However, I was also looking forward to coming home for one last summer and being able to spend it with some of my high school friends before we all permanently went our separate ways. Unfortunately, for the most part, this isn’t happening. Many of my close friends are not coming home at all. Not because of scholarly pursuits or wanting to change the world, but simply because they didn’t really try.

I had the occasion to read through the founding history of the Psi Upsilon, and was struck with the similarity of today’s small group dynamics — blogs, forums, etc, particularly led and focused on collegiate interests and subjects. From their history page:

In the early 1800’s, as at other schools, literary societies played an important role in the life of Union College. These groups were encouraged by the faculty; they presented debates and orations, produced plays and maintained libraries. They also provided forums for discussion and social interaction which could not be found in the classroom. There was much rivalry for membership, literary supremacy, and political dominance on campus. The oldest of these, the Adelphic Society, was founded in 1792 and lasted into the nineteenth century. The Philomathean Society, which began in 1798, still exists.

The Delphian Society was started in 1819 and was known as more secretive and close knit than other societies. In 1833, five sophomore and two freshman members had become close friends. Their names were Samuel Goodale, Sterling Goodale Hadley, Edward Martindale, George Washington Tuttle, Charles Washington Harvey, Merwin Henry Stewart, and Robert Barnard. By the fall of 1833, the group of seven men had begun to meet regularly to read poetry and to exchange essays they had each written. It became a tradition to meet one night each week for these literary exercises. One night, after a particularly enjoyable session, Samuel Goodale said to Sterling Goodale Hadley, “Goodnight thine cordially.” In response, Hadley said, “Goodnight thine always.” This unique farewell was repeated at each session thereafter.

gimme-five will be sporting an advice column now. To ask questions simply go here and ask away. The advice columnist is also gimme-five’s first ever female author, Jessica, who also happens to be my girlfriend. Thus, because comments seem to get heated, I will abstain from commenting on her advice column. Anyways, feel free to ask her a question.

Also, I guarantee that this column will be better than the “Ask Doug” advice column of old (shudder). Anywho, enjoy folks.

Also, here is a picture of Doug and Jessica at the Passing The Torch Ceremony for gimme-five’s advice column.

Love,

George