The "Experiment"

"Serving in Florida" was a very descriptive story about the hardships that many people face. The introduction dissuaded me from reading it, because it seems I have heard this speech at least a million times in my life, and one more might just drive me to drop out. The thing that was most interesting about this reading was the description of this lifestyle. I have grown up in a very luxurious lifestyle, and the way of living described here is unacceptable to me. That is why this story has had more of an effect than the million others I have heard. It makes me feel really privileged to have the opportunity to go to college, and become what I want to be.

I found some humor in this story in that the author did this as an experiment, and realized that she could not deal with this lifestyle, and walked away from it feeling horrible. She believed that she could live like that, and in the end, could not handle it. She had "an overwhelming dank sense of failure." Now she goes back to her normal lifestyle after this little "experiment" realizing what life could be like. The thing that she fails to mention is that the people living this way cannot just go back to their own life if it does not work out. She felt a sense of failure when she could not go on anymore. The true failure of this story is that the people living this lifestyle do not have the option to quit, and must continue in this downward spiral of failing

Hey! Must Be the Money

The first poem "Money" was very entertaining to me. It reminds me of my family, and all of the crazy things that they say. They use a lot of these sayings and I just found it funny. The real message of this poem is that actions are what really matters in life. People are always concerned with money, and this poem is explaining that money is not the most important thing. The second poem "From Seven Floors Up" has a similar meaning. It portrays someone observing a homless man in central park from a motel. He then realizes that you can be happy no matter what, and this is his new way of living life, laid back and easy. His "Easy Birth." I think the message is not to worry about too many things in life and just enjoy it

Sharing is Caring...

Word on the street was that our reading, "Changing American Families" by Judy Root Aulette was going to be a bit boring. While reading it, however, I found myself mildly entertained. Call it a bad sense of humor or whatever, but I found it almost humorous that some people's prejudices actually went as far as the Moyniham report. I can also take a look back and see how far our country has come since then, and that something like this would be condemned in today's society.

The Moyniham report suggested many different things about African American families. One of the main points stated that black families were dominated by women, and that was the reason that the majority of these families were below the poverty line. This report had a huge effect on how the public viewed African American families, even though it seems to have been based off of opinions and not that many facts. In our reading, Aulette counters the Moyniham report by presenting the research of Carol Stack. This research shows that African American families were more of a network that worked to benefit everyone, instead of a basic nuclear family that we are used to. This research pretty much discredits the Moyniham report.

With all of these flaws, how could the Moyniham report become so popular? I believe that the average american had not been exposed to the black community, and therefore was somewhat ignorant of it. This would cause the middle class to believe what they heard about African American families. Another big reason that the report gained so much momentum was the fact that it came from our government. During these times, the level of patriotism was quite extreme compared to today. When people believe that their government is so great, why would anyone question a government report about a culture that most people knew nothing about? The Moyniham report was obviously flawed, and it should teach us a lesson to not belive everything we hear.

The first cartoon is about the current financial crisis. This cartoon was drawn in September of 2007, but what is portrayed is even more relevant to the economic situation today. Lenders are currently being bailed out because they gave out too many loans that fell through. Doing this is supposed to help stimulate the economy by keeping these lenders in business, keeping the jobs that these firms offer, as well as keep providing there services to the people.
This cartoon portrays the lending companies as an evil shark amongst people stuck in the water. The water represents foreclosures, and eventually bankruptcy. A lifeguard represents the federal government, and shows the lenders being saved from the waters of bankruptcy; all while the people are left to drown. The main point of this cartoon is to show that helping out the lenders in this situation is not the same as helping the people.
This cartoon simplifies what is really going on in our economy right now. It shows that although the lenders are getting bailed out, the people who need that money are being left to drown. The cartoon is showing that in reality, bailing out the lenders doesn’t mean that the people will be able to reap the benefits.



The second cartoon is a depiction of many different Americans swimming across the Rio Grande to go to Mexico. Behind them are the wife and kids yelling out, “If you find work, send home those pesos!” This cartoon is exaggerating the deficit that the economy is in. The purpose of this cartoon is to make a statement about the economy, as well as poke a little fun at the immigration issue.
The economy is in a very bad situation, and it seems like it might get worse before it gets better. There is no reason to believe what is portrayed in this cartoon will actually come to pass, but there is reason to believe that the standard of living for most families will go down.
There is really no bold political statement in this cartoon. It was simply drawn to poke fun at the situation that the economy is in, and the people that are saying that we are going into another depression. The author does not believe that things are really this serious, and is pretty much saying that things could be worse.

Who Uses Colons Anymore

When are you supposed to use a colon? Does anyone really know?
The thing with colons is that they seem like they have a lot of potential, but no one ever really uses them. I think that people just don't know how to use them, and therefore don't. They don't want to risk sounding stupid.
The correct time to use a colon is after an independent clause that could stand on its own. The purpose of the colon is to expand on that clause, and also could be used to list things about that clause. Think of a colon as a gateway to more information about that topic.

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/colon.htm

When Would you like to grow up?

The two stories "Looking for Work" and "What We Really Miss About the 1950's" both describe life in the 1950's. "Looking for Work" was about the author, Gary Soto, as a nine year old boy. it describes a day in his childhood life. It describes him going out to find work, as well as swimming and eating with his family. Beyond all of this he brings up certain social issues, such as racism, that was taking place while he was growing up. This is a story of coming to terms with these issues. He describes that what he wants is the families that he sees on television. He realizes by the end of the story that this cannot be a reality. Soto is indirectly telling us that life in the 1950's was a lot more challenging for minorities, as they did not have the perfect atomic family.

"What We Really Miss About the 1950's" was another piece that described how different life was from the way many people think about it, especially for minorities. This work was more challenging for me to read, because of its use of just facts. I was constantly rereading things because my mind was wandering. It never really captured my attention. That being said, the piece was very well researched, and it delivered a strong point with a lot of supporting evidence.

Both works challenged the idea of family life in the 1950's, and they both did a good job of it. Life could have been like many popular television shows for some people, but the lives of others from different walks of life could have been very different. I think that this applies not only to the 1950's, in that there will always be a different side of the story, and there will always be some good and some bad depending on the time when someone grows up. The 1950's seem so good because it was the time where there was really no big issue dividing America.

What is America?

America represents many different things to many different people. To me, America is a symbol of freedom. People are free to pursue their dreams, and not only that, but they are also given a formula to make those dreams a reality. There is a lot of structure in our country that allows for this. If you wish to become an engineer or a doctor, all the knowledge you need is out there for you to obtain. There are even apprenticeships available for many careers that do not require college. The only thing that determines success is yourself, and therefore anyone can be successful in America. This cannot be said for many other parts of the world.

I am not saying that America is the perfect place, there are all kinds of things wrong with it. The beauty of America is that the people have the power to change things that are not working. This is the reason that I believe America is the greatest country in the world. Opportunities are limitless in America for those who work hard enough. America gives us all these freedoms and opportunities, and all it asks is that we make sure it continues to provide us with them. Being an American citizen is performing your duties, whatever they may be.

I am very patriotic if you have not already figured that out. The introduction of Rereading America described different "myths" or presumptions about America, and asks us to analyze and think critically about them. Doing this might be a little hard for me, because of my belief system already in place. It seems that the book is going to encourage us to think critically by challenging many opinions that we have. I think that after all is said and done, I will still believe the things that I already do. The book will, however, challenge those opinions, and will prove how strong they are, and it will show me what I truly believe