December 4, 2012

Vol. 6 Issue 4

Religion and Pride

a Mix that Creates ConfliCts
By Gabe Modder
Most of the conflicts that have happened in the Middle East have been caused by both religion and pride. In the Middle East there are two key groups: the Jews and Muslims. The Muslims believe that Jerusalem is their holy land and they should be in control of it. The same is true of the Jews who are in current possession of Jerusalem. Each of these two people groups is willing to fight for their beliefs and religion for their gods. Radical Muslims believe with a passion that for the sake of Allah, they should be allowed kill the infidels that have infested their lands. Everyone has their own beliefs and believes that they doing the will of their god. Because of religion and pride there are current groups of Muslim terrorists who think they are just simply following their religion. Take for example the Hezbollah, who are an organization whose mission is to achieve two goals. Onne is to remove Israeli troops from the border of southern Lebanon. The other is to establish an Islamic government in Lebanon. This group is also accused of terrorism acts against the U.S and other nations. Currently in the Middle East there have been bombings coming from both Israel and Pakistan in the Gaza Strip. Pakistan is an Islamic government. Hamas was the organization that started it and they are also an Islamic organization. All of this is because people cannot accept the others ideas because of their religion and pride. This is intolerance and it is expressed in two ways, one is passive and the other is aggressive. To solve this and avoid conflict is extremely hard, but a step towards achieving this is to accept other peoples ideas without giving up our own and still develop our own opinions. This is one step everyone can do to help avoid conflict. This will not solve the conflict in the Middle East, but the most important thing we can do is pray for God to help the people in the Middle East to be able to work out a solution.

Student Council Corner

By Nathan Mulder
The high school is getting pretty pumped for December 7. Lets celebrate with the boys and girls basketball team as they go for the win, and afterward you can join the student council as we host an amazing game night from 7 to midnight. We will be playing games from dodgeball to never have I ever to lots of other fun things. Your ticket to come in is to bring a snack. Freshmen bring salty snacks, sophomores bring sweet snacks, juniors bring the drinks, and seniors bring sweet snacks as well. Also, join us for our first formal winter dance of the year. We will be hosting this dance on December 15 at Blaine for an amazing night of fun, friendly dancing to some great music chosen by our student council members. The tickets are $5, but believe me, it will totally be worth it.

Editor: Lydia Marcus

Ian Krueger, Andrew Thomas, Nathan Bonnema, and Lydia Marcus

Staff

WThere was snow,inter W ishing hite W but where did it go?

Minnesota; there is something special about our weather, snow in May, near sixties in January, but normal winters bring us snow. If you drive 75 mph to get out of a snow drift, then you live in Minnesota. If your car has less mileage than your snow blower, you live in Minnesota.You get the point, it snows a lot here, but Minnesotans have mixed feeling about the snow. Snow has become something that Minnesota either dreads or enjoys because of potential stress or pleasure coming. People who dont live in northern areas where conditions are right for snow, or where it can snow, dont get a chance to experience it. To some who have seen it, it gets boring year after year, but is something new to see if you never have experienced it before. It can be very beautiful to look at on a night when the moon is out, and when the sun shines off of it. At CCHS, we have exchange students who have seen snow before, and some who havent. Varynda, a sophmore, hasnt seen snow before

By Andrew Thomas

Writers: Gabe Modder

Advisors: Miss Branderhorst Contact: thecougarstale@gmail.com The Cougars Tale is a publication of Calvin Christian High Schools journalism class. Students get the experience of interviewing people and writing articles for viewing by others. Questions, comments, or publications should be directed to Miss Branderhorst and will be relayed to the journalism class.

The Cougars Tale is now online. To find more news articles about events around CCHS, please check out our blog at: http://thecougarstale.blogspot.com/

Dont Forget!

she came to the U.S, and experienced the few flurries that we had. The first thing that she plans on doing going sledding. Why? Varynda, Im going to take you sledding near my house! You too Sunny! Marta spontaneously announces, ready to enjoy snow with Varynda. Sunny, another sophmore exchange student, has seen snow before outside of the US, but is thrilled to see it outside her home country China. She plans to make snowballs, maybe for snowmen, or for throwing. Hao, a freshman exchange students, saw snow last year in the United States. But does he like it? No, Im going to stay inside, keep warm, and play games! A good idea-hibernation, but being cooped up prevents you from experiencing the fun. Its getting colder. Snow will begin to blanket the ground with white crystals that will last for the winter months. Those who enjoy the sight of snow and the pleasure it can bring will be waiting eagerly, but those who despise the sight of it will wish for spring to come soon.

Lydias Soapbox

Editorials

Ethical GaminG
GamEs, sociEty, and mEdia
By Ian Krueger

Thanksgiving Break marked the end of Trimester One, and weve already begun to delve into new subjects. For those of us taking PSEO, Semester One will end shortly. The weeks leading up to Thanksgiving Break were spent preparing for final projects or exams and reflecting upon what we have learned. Sometimes, when we are done with a class, we have completed all the in-classroom learning for that subject we will receive. Yet, apparently, you learn something new everyday. I dont believe there is a time in your life when you cease to learn. Even if you will no longer take classes on a certain subject, that doesnt mean you know all there is to know about that subject. As you grow in your understanding of a topic, you may even develop more questions about it. In some ways, learning is like a staircase. If you learn a bit about a certain subject, you are able to ascend to the next step and learn new things. Once you are on this step, you are able to reach the following step. And after that step, there is another. As individuals, will never know all there is to know. This is a bit daunting. Even if we learn something new every day, we will only scratch the surface. But who says we need to know everything? Our salvation does not depend on our head-knowledge, and our future employers will not expect us to be experts on anything and everything. Instead of being overwhelmed by all there is to know and our incapability of learning it all, we should have an attitude of awe. If we dont look at learning as a task or burden, learning can be quite exciting. There are so many things to discover; even if we spend all our days studying, we will not be experts on everything! Who can say life is dull when there are so many new and different things waiting in the world to be uncovered? In giving us the world, God gifted us with a sort of treasure chest. The world is full of things intricate, immense and interesting. It is our privilege to dip into the treasure chest and experience the wonder of Creation.

The video game industry is a large part of our society today, and it continues to grow and spread thanks to digital media. But with new things come controversy, and the gaming industry is filled with just that. Content in video games has been accused of being too violent, too sexual, featuring characters taking drugs and other addictive substances, and using coarse language. In the gaming world, it is important to ask, What is okay to experience, and what is not? In 2009, Modern Warfare 2 was condemned for its controversial No Russian level, where the player slaughtered innocent civilians in an airport. Similarly, the first DOOM game was criticized by religious organizations of being a murder simulator. Are these games evil? Should we not play them? When asking these questions, what we need to realize is that what is unacceptable for some people may be permissible for another. Also, many games that have extreme violence, such as Dead Space 2 (the combat requires de-limbing of enemy aliens), are in fact discussing serious issues such as suicide and depression. Gaming ethically, or experiencing any kind of media ethically, isnt really about stopping when there is violence, sex, etc. Its about analyzing whether it is affecting you for better or worse, and acting accordingly. Judging whether or not you should play a game, or enjoy any kind of media, is not about simply sticking a label on it and saying whether it is bad or good. It is about carefully analyzing whether it is hurting you, or whether it is making you think about something in a new way or wrestling with a difficult issue. Games are not something that are explicitly good or bad. They are a complicated shade of grey.

Mark Whitcomb

Freshmen Highlights

Rachel Wallace

Birthday: December 9, 1997 Biggest Fear: Snakes Bucket list: To go to Antarctica Favorite TV show: Curious George If you had a time machine, where would you go? To the early 1900s Describe yourself in five words: Lazy, Annoying, Fun, Weird, Confident If you could vacation in any country, which would it be? China

Birthday: October 4, 1997 Biggest Fear: Heights Favorite quote: With God all things are possible Bucket list: To go to Paris Favorite TV show: White Collar If you had a time machine, where would you go? To the future Describe yourself in five words: Awesome, Fun, Energetic, Good Listener If you could vacation on any continent, which would it be? Europe

Destiny Smith
Birthday: March 21, 1997 Biggest Fear: Rottweilers Favorite Quote: Anybody can get slapped day. Bucket list: To go on a cruise to Puerto Rico Favorite TV show: Proud Family If you had a time machine, where would you go? To Chocolate Land in 54 B.C. Describe yourself in five words: Loud, Exciting, Happy, Comedian, Fashionista If you could vacation in any country, which would it be? Mexico, because they have real quesadillas there.

Levi Vande Kamp

Birthday: October 3, 1997 Biggest Fear: Being squashed by a big animal Favorite Quote: There are few things to enjoy in life, and food is one of them. Bucket list: Skydiving Favorite TV show: White Collar If you had a time machine, where would you go? Early Old Testament times Describe yourself in five words: Fun, Loving, Problem Solver, Mathematical If you could vacation on any continent, which would it be? Europe 2