#8. Howard Zinn- Seeing the Bigger Pictue.

After watching the videos in class about Howard Zinn, there were alot of things that I learned. However, the one thing that stuck out to me the most about him, was the fact that he was passionate in what he believed, regardless if his previous actions may contradict his beliefs. He would do anything to educate people in what he believed to be true, even if it jeopardized his job by being invloved in controversial things at that time, such as the civil rights movement.

He was a professor at Boston University, an anti-war activist, and a socialist. He had atually been to war, and bombed enire cities from far above in planes. Entire cities were destroyed, and he helped to do this. However, I respect this man. After seeing what he saw in the war, he was able to take his knowledge, and educate the public about it. He didn't believe it was right to bomb women, children, and families; especially since everyone knew the war was almost to an end, and were just waiting for it to be over.

He taught more than just Political Science, and his teaching hasn't stopped yet. I believe that I respect this man so much because he goes against what society tells us to do, which is very difficult with society being a bigger influence than ever today. He wrote many books, and gave talks to others about what he believed in. In the video, the students were talking about how much they enjoyed what he had to say, because he looked at the world through many cultural lenses.

He put himself in other's shoes, and saw history how the African American's did, how the Japanese did, how the poor did, how the rich did. He saw us as people, not as racial minorities segregated into class systems and by the color of one's skin. History happened, and it affected people in many different ways. People tend to get caught up in their own problems, instead of seeing the bigger picture.. he did.

#6: Malicious Propaganda.

Monsanto is a company that produces products for genetically modified crops, to the public eye. Because of the widespread propaganda, such as billboards with titles “America’s Farmers Grow America,” people do not know of their wrong doings. There are not billboards posted mentioning them being sued, taking lives, and trespassing onto organic farmer’s farmland.

Monsanto’s RoundUp products help kill weeds that may appear on farmer’s land, without harming the crops. Sounds like a great idea, for those who do not want to grow organically. However, many American’s want to eat healthy, and organic crops are a necessity. Monsanto has been suing local farmers of organic products due to finding traces of their genetically modified products on organic grower’s land.

Organic growers do not want these products, clearly. What Monsanto is doing is totally wrong in my viewpoint. Due to the recent law suits pressed against farmers, people have been taking their lives, and their children have been taking their lives as well. Farmers rely on their crops to grow and sell to make a living. With a law suit going on, their business is corrupted. Monsanto tests farmer’s products for traces of their GM products. Of course, how these products got here, isn’t due to the farmer’s placement of it.

What about wind storms, and changing weather? This surely could account for it. Organic growers count on their products to be organic! It is not their fault that a small trace of their product is found in their fields by sneaky investigation. Monsanto, to me, seems like a very malicious company. Why post billboards trying to act supportive of local organic farmers, when they’re the people behind the ruining of organic farmer’s lives by robbing them of their jobs? It’s all linked to propaganda, once Monsanto’s wrong doings were in the public eye, they quickly tried to rebound with positive billboards. It seems to me that they know of their wrong doings, and are now, like the organic growers, trying to save their business.

#7: Sources.

Agger, Ben. Body Problems. NY: Routledge, 2011.

PubMed Health. "Anorexia Nervosa." MD: A.D.A.M Inc, 2012. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001401/ (2/13/2012)

Kelley, Weber. Health Assessment In Nursing Fourth Edition. PA: Lippincott and WIlkins, 2010. Chapter 12, Pages 150-160.

Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. NY:Houghton Mifflin, 2001.

Bittman, Mark. Food Matters. NY: Simon & Schuster, 2009.

Lankford, Ronald D. Is Organic Food Better? MI: Greenhaven Press, 2011.

#5: SlutWalks.

Propaganda was used to relay the wrong message when the media got involved in “SlutWalks.”  SlutWalks were started after a police officer in Toronto said “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.” SlutWalks encourage women and men of all ethnicities, background, and ages to come and support them by wearing whatever clothing they choose because they want people to know that there is not a dress code for sexual harassment/assault.

However, when the media got involved, there were pictures of white women dressed in provocative clothing such as fishnet stockings, knee length boots, short skirts and dresses, some with their undergarments exposed etc. This gave the impression that the goal of SlutWalks was to have girls come and dress like sluts and parade down the street. This is completely the opposite reason for doing SlutWalks.

When the writer of this article (SlutWalk: Does The Media Make The Message) attended one, she noticed women of all colors and backgrounds. Some were dressed eccentrically; others wore simple jeans and a t shirt, sweat pants, and everyday clothes. There were also just as many men attending as women, who she says proudly used the word feminist. There were mothers and children attending together as well.

This goes to show that simply by leaving things out of a story- such as pictures of men and children at the SlutWalks- that the public can get a skewed view of what is really taking place in their community. It was for a really good cause, going against the words of the Toronto police officer, letting people know that it is not the victim that is to blame for sexual assault.

#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.