#4: Politics from my Point of View.

I don’t know much about politics, aside from the two simple words- democrat and republican. Ask me whose running, and I can only repeat the name of the current president. However, the reason I do not follow politics is because presidential elections- or any sort of politics for that matter- seem almost pointless to get involved in. It’s all about what the promise to do, but can never commit to doing so. It’s about social stature, and propaganda. The media feeds us lies about what the next guy will do to make the United States so much better than the previous president, however- it never fails that society is constantly disappointed.

From my limited political point of view, I believe that the people of society should be the number one priority. We make up this world; we work here, live here, and die here. Why not listen to the people? Our generation will set the stage for those to come, and without a voice, we are just another person in the crowd that will have little effect- if any, on modern society.

I do favor a democracy; however, voting can cause quite a spurious result. The people are asked to pick who they want to be elected for office, and that is it. Of course, it would be nearly impossible for someone to look at every single voter’s reason as to why.

Overall, I believe that making the people happy is a top priority. I believe in the rights we have, and that people should be expected to abide by laws and follow the rules of society. But we need to have freedom. One may say that we do have freedom, but do we really? Why is something that can cause no harm to anyone, such as gay marriage, be illegal in most states? In fact, I believe it causes emotional harm in those who favor having a same sex relationship. Should they be denied the right to marry whom they love?

Overall, it all boils down to something so simple, yet so complex- the people. Our government should be favorable and desirable to us, since those elected will further shape society as we know it.

 

#3: The Age of Enlightenment.

The Age of Enlightenment changed the way the society functioned completely, and determines the way society still is today. The question I had after reading the article on Wikipedia and watching both RSAnimate videos was “Is this how it should be?”

Now that things are based on science, and the way the world around us works, versus the church, religious views, values etc. we as people tend to adapt to society, instead of having society adapt to us. We roll with the punches, so to speak, instead of being closely knit to those who share the same values as us.

Knowing that the culture today determines many of our daily actions will help us determine our wants from our needs. We need to keep in mind that The Enlightenment did not happen yesterday. Things have changed since then. Culture today does not tell us we need transportation, it tells us we need to look nice while driving a nice BMW or Mercedes. This is a want, not a necessity. By being aware of our cultural surroundings we can better determine our wants from our needs.

In the time period of The Enlightenment, education was as easily accessed as it is in today’s era. Therefore, a stress was put on education. In the RSAnimate video, the cartoonist draws “EDUCATION EDUCATION EDUCATION!” in bold capital letters to emphasize this. But what about empathy? We learn information in school, how to calculate, how to read, but we do not learn how to interact and feel the way another is feeling in the real world. Where is the focus on empathy? This is something that should be more important, however, it is not stressed enough to possess this trait in today’s society.

Since The Enlightenment, our society has stayed almost constant. We still tell our children that they need to grow up and go to college to get a high paying job, we still have our children in schools that group them by age (not by ability), and no one has strived to change it. The world has changed; there have been much technological advancement since then. How can we not change the way society works? That’s when the end of one of the RSAnimate videos pops into my head, where the four founders of the Enlightenment are sitting at a table together. It’s a simple picture really. Which is why I question the reason as to why we have not changed the way society works today, since just a mere four people did before us.

#2: The Deception in Persuasion.

In the excerpt from Rushkoff's "They Say," he talks about how others, whether it be in the media, via internet, in your local shopping mall, or in any plain text can completely possess your mind, and cause you to succumb to whatever it is that they want you to. Everything has a reason behind it. He has the reader think of how shopping malls are set up. I envisioned Abercrombie & Fitch, when you walk in, the newest (and most expensive) items are displayed at the front of the store. The clearance items take their place at the back. After putting two and two together, the reason is really quite simple. If the clearance racks were at the front, people would find many items they wanted to purchase, and might not continue through the rest of the store where the more pricey items are. Wal-Mart even puts the small knick knacks, gum, various candies, and other things that no one necessarily needs right at the checkout counter. This is because these items cannot be overlooked while waiting in a checkout line, while your three year old screams over the "Big Pak" of Juicy Fruit gum or a "King Sized" Hershey’s bar.

These people (as Rushkoff refers to them as) seem devious in their plots against humanity. Simple people being hoodwinked into spending money that they do not have in today's declining economy. That is when Rushkoff mentions the internet, as a wonderful thing where we can share our ideas, where those who never had a voice in the public, could express their feelings towards certain issues, and receive feedback from others across the globe. Seems like a wonderful revolution, where the younger generation was more up to speed on the newest technology. The older crowd could no longer trick them into doing something, since they were less familiar with the internet.

However, whether it be in a clothing store, or on the web, Rushkoff knew there were many other ways people could be influenced. See, "these people," Rushkoff says are like hunters. They know how to disguise themselves to catch their prey, and will go to any limits to do so. Rushkoff wrote about "Mutant Media" and hackers simply to inform, however, his book was not used the way he intended it to be.

These people thought that just as those who hacked into the internet, and spread viruses, they could use the same tactics and decieve others effectively. That's when the reader is fully engaged in Rushkoff's writing thinking that those who advertise, or sell us anything are "the devil in disguise." He says because of this, we are afraid to answer our phones at night because it could be a telemarketer, or even accept gifts from our neighbors since many who claim to be giving something away, usually have strings attached.

That's when the story changes. Rushkoff has actually been the one drawing the reader in, to believing what he has to say and seeing things from his point of view. We have just become victims to his persuasion, and I believe he did this very effectively. It's amazing the influence one individual can have over another just by their tone of voice, even if we are simply reading it and not hearing it directly. This is exactly what Rushkoff was trying to inform us- and warn us- about. Overall, I do believe he succeeded.

#1: Things Will Remain as They Always Have.

In Micheal Ryan's "An Introduction to Criticism," he talks about the depth and complexity of society as we know it today, and the ideas and beliefs that help shape the world. These ideas and beliefs have grown over time into how society works and functions on a day to day basis. But while reading, it had me (and I'm sure others as well) questioning whether the way society works today is fair, and whether or not it based upon what is best, or simply based on fables that we have come to know and accept as "right."

Michael Ryan compares people's roles in society to a "social pyramid," on pages 169-170. The upper class (people of wealth/those who own industries/people of power etc.) are at the top of the pyramid. Those who have some power etc. have their place in the middle, and those considered lower class (those who work for those in power) have a demeaning spot at the bottom of the pyramid. This analogy really stood out to me as I read it. I work hard for every dollar I make, I have nice things, but there is always something lacking.

Without people such as myself to work for those in power, no one would hold it. Ryan explains power, as something so intangible, but yet it holds so much value and meaning. If those of us at the bottom of the pyramid were to stop working for those at the top, those in power would no longer hold it. However, Ryan also compares the working class to slaves, though we are not bound nor shackled, we are trained enough to continue to work, because it is what society tells us we should do.

Social order is of vital importance to us as well as wealth. Money in the world today can also translate into power. Yet it is just a piece of paper. People put meaning behind things, but if no meaning behind such simple things like paper money was given in the first place, the "pyramid," as Ryan describes it, would look more like a flat rectangle. Doesn't this seem like a far more fair society for the people who live in it? Why is society like this? It's all about social order.

We base our opinions of how society should be on mere stories told and passed down, that we establish as truth and believe. Doesn't it seem completely ignorant to base something as large as our society on a story? Reading what Ryan has written has changed my entire perspective of how society is based. Our entire social order is based upon power, false meaning, wealth, and class.

Ryan describes how history has determined how our society works today. Have we lived in the middle ages? Have we actually experienced any of these historical events that shape our entire society as we know it? No. Seems a bit crazy to me. However, we as the people do not strive to change it, since it is what we know, and change is often unwelcome. It would become disruptive to social order, so we continue to do the same thing that we've always done, while things remain as they always have. Those in power maintain it, and those without it, struggle trying to climb the steep walls of the pyramid.