Numero Cinco - ¿En caso de que la sociedad moderna se criticó por ser demasiado materialista?

Should modern society be criticized for being materialistic?

I'm gonna make two arguments for this because as usual, I can't decide.  But pretend they're two different entries:

No, society should not be criticized for being materialistic.  Society is an ever evolving entity.  It changes with the ideals and the available technology, and the available materials in history have formed the thoughts of society.  In the prehistoric ages, stone and clay allowed neanderthals to worship fire and jotting down events on the walls of caves.  The printing press, invented around the 1500s, brought the movement of ideals, and science and knowledge became a value in the society.  The industrial revolution brought a time of work and business. In today's society, the ingenuity of humankind has created technology that allows material goods to be a prominent part in society, and something so inevitable cannot be criticized; the materialism of our current world is only a side effect of the beauty of creativity, and the appropriate use of human and his ideals.
      Naturally, humans seek to invent and create.  Both bored and curious, humans make things they believe will make life easier or more fun; thus, the current generation and society came into the world immersed with materialism.  Society cannot criticize what it has created.  Current society values center around what is available.  Instead of being criticized for valuing the material goods, society should be appreciated for the use instead of taking what is available for granted.

OR

Yes, society should be criticized for being materialistic,  Surrounded by technology and celebrity, society has learned to value things as opposed to people.  We have heard countless stories of the typical teen, stuck in bed staring at electronics instead of cherishing the family around the.  In this way, materials block society's ability to form strong relationships and realize what is truly important in life; therefore, society should be criticized for being materialistic.  The materials will one day perish as they cannot stay attached to the owner, but people can love each other in a much better bond than any other.

 

Numero Ocho - Escribe acerca de algo en las noticias que te interesan

 Number 8 - Write about something in the news which interested you

   

     On Yahoo news, I briefly skimmed an article on Kelly Clarkson and her inability to find work.  The fact that Kelly Clarkson could not find any collaborator did not interest me; rather, it made me think of dreams and their expiration dates.
     Many artists like Kelly Clarkson have made it.  They've worked hard and started with nothing to end up with all they could imagine.  After they've made it, what happens next?  Maybe that's the foil of reaching your goals.  It'd be bittersweet but maybe the best time to die is a short while after you've had it all.  You have the chance to enjoy the loveliness of it all, but it you leave it all before it get's old.  Maybe that's why they say the rich are unhappy.  They have so much yet it never seems to be enough, ironically.  So in this sense, maybe happiness comes from continuous achievement.  Maybe we intentionally hold ourselves back because we are afraid of what comes after the prize, what comes after the absence of challenge.  
     I'm trying to decide which is scarier between reaching a goal and looking for a new one or never being able to reach a goal.  Because on one hand, you have success, but in ways it's empty because the great feeling can only last for so long.  On the other hand, there is no success, but there is no feeling of grief over a lost passion.  It's probably really pessimistic to say, but after you've achieved something, what's the point of doing it again.  Maybe repetition brings affirmation to the skill, but after so many times the special feeling floats away.
     We seem to be a people of continuous movement, looking for something to stimulate the vast capacity of our brains.  My favorite moments, in this chase of continuous achievement and success, happen during the inbetweens.  The moments during the cycle (working towards a goal, achieving a goal, finding a new goal) following the temporary success are the moments that I feel I have it all.  I feel satisfied, and I am not chasing for anything new or anything more because I don't need anything more in the moment.  Kinda cliche, but they're the moments I'd be okay if I died in, the moments without a pull or obligation to something else.  But undoubtedly, the moments pass, and I again look for a new challenge.
     

-People seem to be adding pictures, so I'll add one too. (I searched flower shop on Google images and all the pictures made me angry for some reason, so it's a painting)-

Numero Cuatro - ¿Es Necesario Limitar la Libertad de Pensamiento y de Expresión?

Is it necessary to limit freedom of thought and expression?

     It is in no case necessary to limit freedom of thought and expression.  If anything, it is cruel.
     Freedom of thought and expression shapes the character and diversity of people and the world.  With limitations, monumental changes in history could not have occurred.  Frederick Douglas, a freed black save, wrote journals expressing his resentment toward the slavery system.  Formerly limited by the white man, he could not advertise his abolitionist thought.  However once freed, his thoughts and expression through writing kick started a long fight against enslavement of people.
     To limit freedom of thought and expression would be an act of fear.  In the book Fahrenheit  451, citizens cannot read books as the government fears it would instill dangerous thoughts in the minds of the people.  The government acts as this limitation.  However, as the book unfolds, readers find those who still read books are peaceful and only yearn to remember the stories.  The government banns book despite the fact books will do no harm in the society.  Banning books proved unnecessary.
     For me, and many of my friends, I know freedom of thought and expression allows us to survive.  Without the diversity in thought conversations would be boring; curiosity and interest would not exist, only apathy, which would result in an unmotivated world.  Without all possible forms of expression, there is no appreciation, and again no drive to impress others or do better.  I have a friend who draws and paints beautifully.  The arts give her an outlet to create the beauty she wishes to see more of in the world.  If someone limited this freedom, she would no longer have an outlet, but only a cruel world in her eyes.  Her life would lose it's meaning, as she would suffer having a talent she could not use. 
     People need the chance to express their thoughts as fully as possible.  One cannot put any restrictions or limits on the vast possibilities of the human mind, as it would risk shutting down thoughts or arts that can help people survive or help movements arise.  Don't limit others.

Numero Seis - ¿Puede el Conocimiento Sea una Carga Más que un Beneficio?

     At times, knowledge can be a burden rather than a benefit.  At times, knowledge can bring more pain and loneliness than happiness and insight.  With the classical example of the know it all, one knowledgeable person tends to over correct others and is bored with peers because they are not as intelligent as him.  Competitions are never a challenge.  In this extreme example, the knowledgeable only experiences loneliness despite his intelligence.  Further, knowledge can bring fear.  In 2012, many thought the world would end in December.  Because of this incorrect insight, many began to fear the end, and took drastic measures to avoid this.  This knowledge brought stress.  Without it, many would have continued their happy, simple lives.
     Knowledge, brings a lack of surprise and wonder.  While it does fulfill curiosity, it ends curiosity as well.  And ending curiosity is equal to the death of a new soul.