Sandy.
I really enjoyed reading your final essay, you made sure to cover some very important and insightful thoughts. While reading i noticed that you continuted to conntect everything back to this idea that "The general American way of life is like a factory, there is a certain procedure that needs to be conducted in order to save lots of time and money." I never really thought of it that way but i see where you are coming from, we try and get what needs to be done as fast as possible and will go to any means to do it for the least amount of money and time. You also said that "the poorest person in England will live longer than the richest person in America because of the "factory"-like lives we live which are unnatural and unsustainable." I liked the connection you made, like a factory which is dirty, and has many problems getting up and running, that is similiar to the way we live. It is unnatural in the sense that everything is product to supply the masses, we use chemicals and other resources to speed up the process. I also found it very interesting how you connected the "factory" idea to our unit on birth, after a baby is born it can not even spend time with their mother. Instead they are rushed off and tested, similar to the way products being produce are. Overall this essay lead me to think deeper about the units convered this year. GOOD JOB! :)
Lauren,
You made some really good points, looks like you expanded you thoughts cause i saw a first draft! I agree that the heath care system in the United Sates in "stupid" i might even be a little harsher and say criminal. The american governmnet is greedy, just like everyone else they just care about money. I think its an amzing idea to move to canada (Can I come?!?) You started a great point but i think there is alot you could have said about how we deal with it. Maybe including some information form the movie SICKO or even just sharing personal experiances. You brought up another great point that we are using a decreasing resource way too much. Fossil fuels are used in almost everything we do in out daily lives, to think we might one day not beable to flush a toilet! (kinda gross!) GOOD WORK! :)
Cindy,
I thought you did really good and soild job on covering most of the units we talked about over the course of the year. I agree we are very much controlled my the government, i really liked this point you made; "When power is not granted to the citizens of America, we citizens become scared. We are scared because we cannot fight back." I think that we have stopped fighting for what we believe in, we have been defeated because of the idiotic desisions the pervious president and party has made. They have made life for americans even worse. Hopefully with a new found sense of relief this country will start to see some needed change. GOOD JOB! :)
Friday, June 12, 2009
Final Essay- "How I make sense of the American Way of Life?"
Before this year I never really questioned why I lived life the way I do and what my motives were behind the life I lived. Overall I find myself to enjoy the way my life is run, but I don't know if I could say the same thing if i was being brought up in a small town in the south. I feel privlliged to live in New York City were I am surrounded by a wealth of culture and diversity although my life seems normal, it is not typical in anyway.The majority of americans grow up in the subarburbs were cars are needed to get everywhere, children and teenagers travel back to forth school participate in extracirculars and for fun meet at the local towns mall or find a free house and use it to their atvantage. I am lucky that thoes are not my only options, new york does not fit the norm of everywhere else. In gerneral we live in a country based on wealth that relies too much on the media for how to live the "american way of life" Commercials, magazines, tv shows, news stations,and newspapers are sublimity feeding us preceptions on how our lifes should be run. We base our lives on what will make us "look cool" and "fit in".
Every America has there own definition of their American way of life, a lot has to do with their background and experiences. Every one wants to achieve the “America dream”, but what defines that. We live in a land of opportunity and most want to take advantage of it. Status is very important to most people and it is most of their goals in life to make it to the top. America is supposed to be a place where everyone, people born dirt poor or filthy rich are given the same chances and opportunities to succeed in life. Financially it has become very difficult to support American family lifestyles “at this point in time the economic system is horrible. The Richer are getting Richer, the middle class is becoming smaller and more people are becoming poorer and poorer.” (Taylor) How much freedom and opportunity do we actually have? Generally speaking the lower class seems to have a much larger struggle.
Does everyone living in American dream the same dream? Is it to“ work hard, start families, try and make money, and pass down tradition and values to the next generation.” (Fanning) Is that the typical American Way of Life? Who is the one who determines the way we choose to live our lives? People all around the world go to great lengths to get to America because of the “freedom” and “opportunity” they hear we Americans have.
Population seems to be growing at a alarming rate, part of being an american is rasing a family. Little girls grow up caring for babydolls, playing house in a plastic model in their back yard or learning to cook from there mothers. From a young age we are surrounded by parternal instict and we out even relazing it we begin our training. Mothers always say it has always been their dream to "Finally" become a grandparent, and most women say they had always known their job in life was to be come a mother. In the united states their is controversy surrounded around the topic of Birth,what is the "American Way of Birth" ?
Child birth and the job of raising a child is a life experience that should not be missed. Women are born with this amazing ability, your body is made to do it so we should take advantage,Women are following the social norm. Once we are married the next thing people expect is for a couple to have a baby, Family Pressure: Mothers want to see there sons and daughters having kids of there own. Grandchildren become a competition, the proud grandparents want to show off how "beautiful and perfect" there newest additions are, lastly teens think it seems like the "cool" thing to do, something to dress up and play around with. They see all the celebrities are want to follow in the same footsteps, not realizing how big a responsibility it is.
How many of the women in the world specifically in the united states are having kids for the right reasons? One idea that was tossed around was the theory that all people have some sort of "deep physical hunger" (something they cant live without), in this case it would be sex. According to Andy "Birth happens because of irrational reasons, a deep physical hunger for sex. People do not give birth because they want to have babies, but because they want more sex.
Why has the AWOB become so alienated? Technology has advanced us in ways that allow childbirth to be easier less painful, but that could lead to the reason why women today are having so many more children. In general women are scared the pain of going though a natural childbirth will cause them, that why they take medication, "its not natural, but its normal." The American way of birth has now become a battle between the "normal" vs. "natural" way to deliver babies into this world, it is becoming harder and harder to find couples that have have a "natural" birth and harder to find couples that have not have a "normal" one.
Years ago in the united states midwives where represented as dirty, unsafe, germ filled, poor people, they made sure to use propaganda to make everyone think that was true. So it is not a new idea in America that hospitals are the "safer" place to have a child. Are the American women the only reason for this dramatic change in the way we give birth or are the doctors to be blamed? American doctors are only taught one way, according to Susan Hodges from the Documentary The Business of Being Born "Very few doctors have ever seen a natural birth in medical school." Like in the tittle of the documentary, birth had become a business, it had become this very impersonal experience that is being rushed by doctors who want to make as most money in a days work as possible. If the mother's cervix is not dilating fast enough the doctors will speed things up, by inducing them with medicine, they want to get them in and out as fast as they can. A women interviewed said they liked the doctor aspect "surgery is easy, its a one, two, three step process." I think it goes unrecognized how manipulated the doctors really are, most of the time they have no real reason for injecting the women with medicine, inducing labor or calling for an "emergency c-section". in reality they are the ones putting the baby though distress causing things to go wrong. In most counties around the world their "normal" way of birth is our natural birth. according to Marsden Wagner an M.D "every where else in the world that's what they do. They lose less mothers and babies where midwives are used."
In our culture birth is considered a crisis, the women have got themselves in this mind set that they will not be able to go through the experience with out the help of medicine or the "comfort" of a doctor. In times of crisis, human beings (soon to be mothers) tend to do what the alpha male tells them to do, they follow the orders of ones in charge (the authority figure). Referring back to the documentary a source who's name i did not catch said "the medical field had convinced most women that they can not birth." The American way of birth has become this high paced rush for both mother and doctor, bright bright lights, medication and unnatural birth positions, its a race to see who can get out faster.
The media will go to any length not only influence us to do what is 'normal" they will sraight out lie to us, to get their way. Connecting this to another unit we covered which was the "American way of food" Everyone wants to enjoy what they eat, the smell, the appearance and the overall taste is what attracts people to their food, but do they really know where what they are eating comes from? what did they use to make is taste so good? but most importantly how healthy is actually is for your body? Taking trips to grocery stores is a weekly trip most people make, before hand; they raid there pantry's and empty refrigerators and begin making there lists. The average American household shops based on the price not the quality, everyone is looking for the best deal and the majority of the time its the concentrated foods that are sold for cheap because they are made in enormous quantities produced my major corporations.
While reading Micheal Pollan's book called The Omnivores Dilemma, he brought up a very interesting point that the average American has too many choices of food. To support that thought on a trip we took in class to a local supermarket we were asked to count the amount of a certain product, the numbers were really surprising, walking down the cereal isle i counted 76 different brands and types, the same thing happened when i counted the different types of pickles (37). Walking into a supermarket it is very hard to come across any fresh produce at an affordable price, people see the expensive price tags and walk the other way. We consume because it is in front of us, in actuality it is not curcial. We shop for packaged foods that come in bulk or is sold for a considerably cheaper price. Organic food seem to be harder to find, i think most people find the labels on the products comforting cause they think they know where its coming from when the reality is that its mostly lies.
In order to keep of with the demand major corpurations use large factories to produce there product. Chickens and turkeys are crammed into tiny cages, while the cows and pigs live in similarly horrible conditions, they are fed antibiotics to speed up there developmental process and "help" them to stay strong despite the conditions they are put through. When it is time to kill them they are put into machines where they roll out dead or knocked out. They are slaughtered by being slashed in the throat or cut in half while they are still alive. These animals never see the sunlight or get to run around and smell the fresh air.
Like every other american, i did not think before putting food in my mouth, when you are little you eat what is put in front of your face. I am older and wiser now and can make my own desicions when it comes to the foods i put in my body. It has been about 9 years since i have had a peice of beef and pork, i made that desision based on thinkng the amimals were "too cute to eat" i am very happy that i made that desision, but i understand why is more important know. Although they are cute, the real reason i contiue to not eat them is cause i dont stand for how they are treated, they deserve a like just like humans. In the next year i am setting a goal to stop participating in the typical american eatting norm, and i will stop eatting mean all together.
Everything that we have studied and analyzed has lead to the last unit in this class, collapse (although it was short, it was very helpful in understanding the direct effect of how we live the way we do, and what it all really means) The word collapse can be imterpreted in many ways. In our class there was a little confusion as to which one we were refering to; Global warming, humans starving to death or the one "where everyone just dies and the world blows up" ? The possible collapse of the American society is a probable one and a sad reality at that. We like in a greedy nation where we value prosperity and anything that helps us gain more money (the wealthier the better!). Large demand leads to exploitation of our resources, oil is has been at its peak for many years in the united states and continues to decrease in not just this country but many other major oil countries. Oil seems to be what keeps out planet spinning, but at the same time is destroying it.
Fossil fuels are limited! but we do not treat them and preserve them like we are worried it will run out anytime soon. Almost everything you can think of involved the use of fossil fuel. What will we do when it runs out? Will the world turn to completely mechanical machines? and how will we be able to keep up with the demand if our resources and machines are slower? No matter how you look at it oil will be needed (even a little) for the human population to live.
The united states was a very subborn nation and made a mistake by not listening, we reached our peak oil in 1950, which is the point at which we have produce the maximum amount of oil. That may have seemed good at the time but from forever after that the amount produced each year will continually decrease. It is becoming harder and harder to find out most valuable resource, other countries have reached there peak as well and it will start to take affect on us negativly.
Although i dont believe the earth will blow up and everyone will die a tramatic death in the year of 2012, i do however believe we will face a major change in the way out cvilization lives. In class the other day we disccused possiblities for the future, a "loooooooonnnnnnnnnggggggg ression" the ecomony will stop growing. when we get out of college there will be less jobs for way lower wages. Massive inflation will affect everyone, things that once held value will become worthless. The key systems in the united states will start to break down. It is important that we prepare for it as best we can, having a set of back up skills will come in handy. Occupations that directly benfit people will be the most sucessful.
Every America has there own definition of their American way of life, a lot has to do with their background and experiences. Every one wants to achieve the “America dream”, but what defines that. We live in a land of opportunity and most want to take advantage of it. Status is very important to most people and it is most of their goals in life to make it to the top. America is supposed to be a place where everyone, people born dirt poor or filthy rich are given the same chances and opportunities to succeed in life. Financially it has become very difficult to support American family lifestyles “at this point in time the economic system is horrible. The Richer are getting Richer, the middle class is becoming smaller and more people are becoming poorer and poorer.” (Taylor) How much freedom and opportunity do we actually have? Generally speaking the lower class seems to have a much larger struggle.
Does everyone living in American dream the same dream? Is it to“ work hard, start families, try and make money, and pass down tradition and values to the next generation.” (Fanning) Is that the typical American Way of Life? Who is the one who determines the way we choose to live our lives? People all around the world go to great lengths to get to America because of the “freedom” and “opportunity” they hear we Americans have.
Population seems to be growing at a alarming rate, part of being an american is rasing a family. Little girls grow up caring for babydolls, playing house in a plastic model in their back yard or learning to cook from there mothers. From a young age we are surrounded by parternal instict and we out even relazing it we begin our training. Mothers always say it has always been their dream to "Finally" become a grandparent, and most women say they had always known their job in life was to be come a mother. In the united states their is controversy surrounded around the topic of Birth,what is the "American Way of Birth" ?
Child birth and the job of raising a child is a life experience that should not be missed. Women are born with this amazing ability, your body is made to do it so we should take advantage,Women are following the social norm. Once we are married the next thing people expect is for a couple to have a baby, Family Pressure: Mothers want to see there sons and daughters having kids of there own. Grandchildren become a competition, the proud grandparents want to show off how "beautiful and perfect" there newest additions are, lastly teens think it seems like the "cool" thing to do, something to dress up and play around with. They see all the celebrities are want to follow in the same footsteps, not realizing how big a responsibility it is.
How many of the women in the world specifically in the united states are having kids for the right reasons? One idea that was tossed around was the theory that all people have some sort of "deep physical hunger" (something they cant live without), in this case it would be sex. According to Andy "Birth happens because of irrational reasons, a deep physical hunger for sex. People do not give birth because they want to have babies, but because they want more sex.
Why has the AWOB become so alienated? Technology has advanced us in ways that allow childbirth to be easier less painful, but that could lead to the reason why women today are having so many more children. In general women are scared the pain of going though a natural childbirth will cause them, that why they take medication, "its not natural, but its normal." The American way of birth has now become a battle between the "normal" vs. "natural" way to deliver babies into this world, it is becoming harder and harder to find couples that have have a "natural" birth and harder to find couples that have not have a "normal" one.
Years ago in the united states midwives where represented as dirty, unsafe, germ filled, poor people, they made sure to use propaganda to make everyone think that was true. So it is not a new idea in America that hospitals are the "safer" place to have a child. Are the American women the only reason for this dramatic change in the way we give birth or are the doctors to be blamed? American doctors are only taught one way, according to Susan Hodges from the Documentary The Business of Being Born "Very few doctors have ever seen a natural birth in medical school." Like in the tittle of the documentary, birth had become a business, it had become this very impersonal experience that is being rushed by doctors who want to make as most money in a days work as possible. If the mother's cervix is not dilating fast enough the doctors will speed things up, by inducing them with medicine, they want to get them in and out as fast as they can. A women interviewed said they liked the doctor aspect "surgery is easy, its a one, two, three step process." I think it goes unrecognized how manipulated the doctors really are, most of the time they have no real reason for injecting the women with medicine, inducing labor or calling for an "emergency c-section". in reality they are the ones putting the baby though distress causing things to go wrong. In most counties around the world their "normal" way of birth is our natural birth. according to Marsden Wagner an M.D "every where else in the world that's what they do. They lose less mothers and babies where midwives are used."
In our culture birth is considered a crisis, the women have got themselves in this mind set that they will not be able to go through the experience with out the help of medicine or the "comfort" of a doctor. In times of crisis, human beings (soon to be mothers) tend to do what the alpha male tells them to do, they follow the orders of ones in charge (the authority figure). Referring back to the documentary a source who's name i did not catch said "the medical field had convinced most women that they can not birth." The American way of birth has become this high paced rush for both mother and doctor, bright bright lights, medication and unnatural birth positions, its a race to see who can get out faster.
The media will go to any length not only influence us to do what is 'normal" they will sraight out lie to us, to get their way. Connecting this to another unit we covered which was the "American way of food" Everyone wants to enjoy what they eat, the smell, the appearance and the overall taste is what attracts people to their food, but do they really know where what they are eating comes from? what did they use to make is taste so good? but most importantly how healthy is actually is for your body? Taking trips to grocery stores is a weekly trip most people make, before hand; they raid there pantry's and empty refrigerators and begin making there lists. The average American household shops based on the price not the quality, everyone is looking for the best deal and the majority of the time its the concentrated foods that are sold for cheap because they are made in enormous quantities produced my major corporations.
While reading Micheal Pollan's book called The Omnivores Dilemma, he brought up a very interesting point that the average American has too many choices of food. To support that thought on a trip we took in class to a local supermarket we were asked to count the amount of a certain product, the numbers were really surprising, walking down the cereal isle i counted 76 different brands and types, the same thing happened when i counted the different types of pickles (37). Walking into a supermarket it is very hard to come across any fresh produce at an affordable price, people see the expensive price tags and walk the other way. We consume because it is in front of us, in actuality it is not curcial. We shop for packaged foods that come in bulk or is sold for a considerably cheaper price. Organic food seem to be harder to find, i think most people find the labels on the products comforting cause they think they know where its coming from when the reality is that its mostly lies.
In order to keep of with the demand major corpurations use large factories to produce there product. Chickens and turkeys are crammed into tiny cages, while the cows and pigs live in similarly horrible conditions, they are fed antibiotics to speed up there developmental process and "help" them to stay strong despite the conditions they are put through. When it is time to kill them they are put into machines where they roll out dead or knocked out. They are slaughtered by being slashed in the throat or cut in half while they are still alive. These animals never see the sunlight or get to run around and smell the fresh air.
Like every other american, i did not think before putting food in my mouth, when you are little you eat what is put in front of your face. I am older and wiser now and can make my own desicions when it comes to the foods i put in my body. It has been about 9 years since i have had a peice of beef and pork, i made that desision based on thinkng the amimals were "too cute to eat" i am very happy that i made that desision, but i understand why is more important know. Although they are cute, the real reason i contiue to not eat them is cause i dont stand for how they are treated, they deserve a like just like humans. In the next year i am setting a goal to stop participating in the typical american eatting norm, and i will stop eatting mean all together.
Everything that we have studied and analyzed has lead to the last unit in this class, collapse (although it was short, it was very helpful in understanding the direct effect of how we live the way we do, and what it all really means) The word collapse can be imterpreted in many ways. In our class there was a little confusion as to which one we were refering to; Global warming, humans starving to death or the one "where everyone just dies and the world blows up" ? The possible collapse of the American society is a probable one and a sad reality at that. We like in a greedy nation where we value prosperity and anything that helps us gain more money (the wealthier the better!). Large demand leads to exploitation of our resources, oil is has been at its peak for many years in the united states and continues to decrease in not just this country but many other major oil countries. Oil seems to be what keeps out planet spinning, but at the same time is destroying it.
Fossil fuels are limited! but we do not treat them and preserve them like we are worried it will run out anytime soon. Almost everything you can think of involved the use of fossil fuel. What will we do when it runs out? Will the world turn to completely mechanical machines? and how will we be able to keep up with the demand if our resources and machines are slower? No matter how you look at it oil will be needed (even a little) for the human population to live.
The united states was a very subborn nation and made a mistake by not listening, we reached our peak oil in 1950, which is the point at which we have produce the maximum amount of oil. That may have seemed good at the time but from forever after that the amount produced each year will continually decrease. It is becoming harder and harder to find out most valuable resource, other countries have reached there peak as well and it will start to take affect on us negativly.
Although i dont believe the earth will blow up and everyone will die a tramatic death in the year of 2012, i do however believe we will face a major change in the way out cvilization lives. In class the other day we disccused possiblities for the future, a "loooooooonnnnnnnnnggggggg ression" the ecomony will stop growing. when we get out of college there will be less jobs for way lower wages. Massive inflation will affect everyone, things that once held value will become worthless. The key systems in the united states will start to break down. It is important that we prepare for it as best we can, having a set of back up skills will come in handy. Occupations that directly benfit people will be the most sucessful.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Extra Credit -THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA
Chapter 2 - Michael Pollen the author of The Omniviores Deliemma talked about how he investigated first hand how the corn feilds were run. He met with a farmer named Geore Naylor who worked as a corn husker. One of Pollans many observations was that his motions were almost hypnotic, plowing the corn and gathering it up day in and day out. Pollan also notice the quality of the corn which he described to be growing in very fertilized soil. In the midwest where the weather is not always so great pesticides and other unatural procducts are used to speed up the process. The chemicals used act as the sun and give off the false impression that they are grown the "natural" way According to Pollan, this is why there is hardly any "ecological" process of farming crops these days-it takes too long for them to be produced and the crops aren't sold and become wasted food. Pollan also talks about the economic toll it takes on the farmers who are in charge of growing the crops. An example would be if the price of vegetables drop, corn for instance, used to be $3 and now its $2 therefore the farmers are making less money than they produce the price of the food. There is major competition between farmers in areas that are mainly farmland. The farmers see who can get most of the profit and sell the most amount corn. Farming is hard work and a slow process if done the right way.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The Big Collapse - Assignment #2
When the topic of "collapse" is brought up, controversy is begins to brew. What collapse are we talking about? Global warming, humans starving to death or the one "where everyone just dies and the world blows up" ? The possible collapse of the American society is a probable one and a sad reality at that. We like in a greedy nation where we value prosperity and anything that helps us gain more money (the wealthier the better!). Large demand leads to exploitation of our resources, oil is has been at its peak for many years in the united states and continues to decrease in not just this country but many other major oil countries. Oil seems to be what keeps out planet spinning, but at the same time is destroying it.
Fossil fuels are limited! but we do not treat them and preserve them like we are worried it will run out anytime soon. Almost everything you can think of involved the use of fossil fuel. What will we do when it runs out? Will the world turn to completely mechanical machines? and how will we be able to keep up with the demand if our resources and machines are slower? No matter how you look at it oil will be needed (even a little) for the human population to live.
To bad for all of us, the united states reached its peak oil, which is the point at which we have produce the maximum amount of oil. That may have seemed good at the time but from forever after that the amount produced each year will continually decrease. It is becoming harder and harder to find out most valuable resource, other countries have reached there peak as well and it will start to take affect on us.
This can very easily be related to the collapse of Easter island, they continued to cut down tress because they thought there were more "over the hill", just like them we continue to drill barrels and barrels (enough to touch the moon 250 times a year) of oil thinking there is more in another place. Like the people of Easter Island who did not think their resources would run out. They cut down trees for stupid reasons (rolling large statues from place to place). although we do not use the resources for completly useless reasons we could learn to use them is a more efficient way.
Fossil fuels are limited! but we do not treat them and preserve them like we are worried it will run out anytime soon. Almost everything you can think of involved the use of fossil fuel. What will we do when it runs out? Will the world turn to completely mechanical machines? and how will we be able to keep up with the demand if our resources and machines are slower? No matter how you look at it oil will be needed (even a little) for the human population to live.
To bad for all of us, the united states reached its peak oil, which is the point at which we have produce the maximum amount of oil. That may have seemed good at the time but from forever after that the amount produced each year will continually decrease. It is becoming harder and harder to find out most valuable resource, other countries have reached there peak as well and it will start to take affect on us.
This can very easily be related to the collapse of Easter island, they continued to cut down tress because they thought there were more "over the hill", just like them we continue to drill barrels and barrels (enough to touch the moon 250 times a year) of oil thinking there is more in another place. Like the people of Easter Island who did not think their resources would run out. They cut down trees for stupid reasons (rolling large statues from place to place). although we do not use the resources for completly useless reasons we could learn to use them is a more efficient way.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Extra Credit -THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA
Chapter 5 - The Processing Plant: Making Complex Foods
In this chapter Michael Pollan investigates how corn is processed, i was very surprised to see how big of a staple corn is in our diets and most of it we don't even realize we are eating. Although most Americans don't actually eat a lot of corn, we consume it is ways most would not expect. Some of the many examples include the cattle we each such as chickens, turkeys, pigs, and the cows were are feed corn, many alcohols are made from corn, a lot of the fried foods we eat are cooked in corn oil and last but not least fossil fuels. More specifically corn enzymes are broken down carbohydrates that start of as a long chain of different organic compounds. Pollen also talked about how corn is found amongst most processed food; when reading the back of any product just look for glucose, fructose, maltodextrin and methanol, if you come across any of those just to name a few, think corn! Because so much corn is needed a lot of energy is used to keep up with the high demand, if a tractor is run about ten calories of fossil fuel is burned (that's a lot) that will only produce about a ton of corn, that may seem like a lot but not in the big picture. The most interesting thing i read in this chapter was about how the large corporations will straight out lie to the consumers and are able to get away with it, without any consciences. Its all a trick, if the cost of soy or corn goes up they (the company) will switch to cheaper ingredients (fats) but call it the "natural" stuff. If on the back of a box it says something like "contains one or more of the following..." listing three or more things they just don't want to be specific with which one they used, most times its the ingredients that cost the company the least amount of money to produce. The longer the list of ingredients on the back of the box means the less healthy is actually is. Cheaper products are used to re-create the final outcome. Overall there is not a lot of truth on the back of any box, they mix ingredients to make it appeal more to the consumer. Companies to not like to share there secrets because they don't want other people (companies) to steal their tricks.
In this chapter Michael Pollan investigates how corn is processed, i was very surprised to see how big of a staple corn is in our diets and most of it we don't even realize we are eating. Although most Americans don't actually eat a lot of corn, we consume it is ways most would not expect. Some of the many examples include the cattle we each such as chickens, turkeys, pigs, and the cows were are feed corn, many alcohols are made from corn, a lot of the fried foods we eat are cooked in corn oil and last but not least fossil fuels. More specifically corn enzymes are broken down carbohydrates that start of as a long chain of different organic compounds. Pollen also talked about how corn is found amongst most processed food; when reading the back of any product just look for glucose, fructose, maltodextrin and methanol, if you come across any of those just to name a few, think corn! Because so much corn is needed a lot of energy is used to keep up with the high demand, if a tractor is run about ten calories of fossil fuel is burned (that's a lot) that will only produce about a ton of corn, that may seem like a lot but not in the big picture. The most interesting thing i read in this chapter was about how the large corporations will straight out lie to the consumers and are able to get away with it, without any consciences. Its all a trick, if the cost of soy or corn goes up they (the company) will switch to cheaper ingredients (fats) but call it the "natural" stuff. If on the back of a box it says something like "contains one or more of the following..." listing three or more things they just don't want to be specific with which one they used, most times its the ingredients that cost the company the least amount of money to produce. The longer the list of ingredients on the back of the box means the less healthy is actually is. Cheaper products are used to re-create the final outcome. Overall there is not a lot of truth on the back of any box, they mix ingredients to make it appeal more to the consumer. Companies to not like to share there secrets because they don't want other people (companies) to steal their tricks.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Response to Jared Diamond - Easter Islands Collapse
The article on Easter Island was very boring to me, that could be because i either did not really understand the points that Jared Diamond was trying to make or because i found it to be very repetitive and it did not seem to catch my interest. It took a lot for me to focus on the reading but overall i was able to find a few interesting things he had to say. It was interesting to see how the people of Easter island is similar to ours, In the article Diamond mentioned that the island was insufficient in their supply of foods and lacked a lot of natural resources for food. The water did not have very many coral reefs and there were no lagoons which meant that fish and shellfish was extremely limited. The people of Easter Island ate mostly carbohydrates which was not a balanced enough diet to be considered healthy. Although we are exposed to protein foods like chicken, pork and fish a large part of most Americans diet consists of unhealthy carbs that are very high in calories and bad for your health. There lack of nutritious food caused the natives to suffer from many health problems from a young age, one of the biggest challenges they had was incidents of cavities and tooth decay which were at an all time high. If the had access to more protein (meats) and fruits the problem most likely would have gone down significantly. It sounded like there priorities were a little questionable, their competitive nature could have possible lead to their collapse, Instead of keeping the crucial resources for themselves they used them to make bigger statues (just to prove a point). One of the first things i noticed when i picked up the article was the picture of the large statues, they had me thinking about the kind of civilization they lived in was like but the people who were descried my Diamond did not seem like the people who would spend all there time building something like that. Similar to the United States there were a society that valued wealth and status before anything else. In America we show out social and financial status by expensive houses, clothes, jewelry and properties that we brag about. "the bigger the better" For them their source of status were the statues, putting that before anything else. Is it too late for us to do something about the collapse that is headed out way? We bring so much media attention to controversial topics like global warming, and we say we will do something to change it and make it better but nothing seems to happen. Why do we wait until the problem is to great to fix it? We take for granted the warning we have a head of time. We live in a extremely selfish world where we only care if it effects us or the people closest to us.
Extra Credit - Wildman Steve Brill
I found the trip to be pretty fun and very interesting, I meet up with everyone on the Conner of west 72ND and central park west and was really surprised to see how many people had heard about the tour and more importantly were actually interested enough to spend most of the day with a man who seemed kinda weird. He greeted everyone with a bizarre song (if you can call it that) using his mouth and a clapping motion, in one hand he held on to all the gear he would need for the journey he was about to lead us on and in the other hand he pushed his five year old daughter Violet in a stroller while taking long odd steps through central park.
Wildman Steve Brill definitely knew everything there was to know about what was growing in central park, he knew the good plants from the bad and was able to show us by identifying very small but significant details. One of the first plants we stopped at was about 100 feet away from the busy city streets It was known as the poor mans pepper, it is a member of the mustard family. Not only does its spicy flavor and leafy texture go good in salads and in sandwiches its medicinal purpose is extremely affective preventing peoples chances in being diagnosed with cancer.He brought up a good point he said you would be better off eating the stuff in central park than buying the industrialized food that you find in all of the supermarkets. Who knew you could survive on what is literally in our "version of" a backyard. That made me think, why do we insist on buying produce that is overly produced in chemically and artificially made factories when we could eat food that is grown in small amounts the right way? As Americans we eat the way we are taught and what is put on our plates, for hundreds of years the "normal" way is to eat is the commercial way. If When the population was smaller and families were living off the local farms foods was instilled as technology advanced we may have been less dependent on industrialized foods.
Some of the other plants we stopped to take a closer look at were called the common spice bush; Wildmans advice was that it was best used as tea, taking a handful of leaves of the steams crushing them in your hands and then sticking them in a pit of boiling wait for about 20 minutes, it medicinal purpose is that is can help cure fevers. This plant was ironically 15 feet from a hot got stand. Another plant we saw prevented gas and flatulence and served as helpful aids during pregnancy and child birth. Throughout the tour he dropped useful hints for anyone who loved the outdoors and spends a lot of time exploring "natures possibilities". For example he said the best time for finding mushrooms is after heavy rain, they tend to grow well when surrounded by wood chips, or under trees. While walking along the bike path we came across a plant found on a grassy hill,little did we know it would have to do a lot with out unit on industrialized foods. The plant (although i can not recall the name) was originally discovered by the Johnson brother,after they were bitten by mosquito's. They needed something to relieve the itchiness and irritation. That one small discovery made in the woods by natural resources turned out to become a multi million dollar corporation known as Johnson and Johnson, who know not only have one product but thousands.
I was really surprised to see how much there was to learn about our natural environment and resources. I was only with him for a few hours and learned more in that time than i have in my life anywhere else, i cannot imagine how much more there is to know. If people were to eat from only things that they could find in parks, forests and the woods it would take a lot of time to learn what is okay for your body.I think most Americans see it as a commitment to eat the natural way, people hear the word "vegan"or "vegetarian" and think it will take too much time out of their "busy and hectic" schedules to take the time and shop a little differently to in the end benefit their health. We as Americans are really lazy even when it comes to out health.
Wildman Steve Brill definitely knew everything there was to know about what was growing in central park, he knew the good plants from the bad and was able to show us by identifying very small but significant details. One of the first plants we stopped at was about 100 feet away from the busy city streets It was known as the poor mans pepper, it is a member of the mustard family. Not only does its spicy flavor and leafy texture go good in salads and in sandwiches its medicinal purpose is extremely affective preventing peoples chances in being diagnosed with cancer.He brought up a good point he said you would be better off eating the stuff in central park than buying the industrialized food that you find in all of the supermarkets. Who knew you could survive on what is literally in our "version of" a backyard. That made me think, why do we insist on buying produce that is overly produced in chemically and artificially made factories when we could eat food that is grown in small amounts the right way? As Americans we eat the way we are taught and what is put on our plates, for hundreds of years the "normal" way is to eat is the commercial way. If When the population was smaller and families were living off the local farms foods was instilled as technology advanced we may have been less dependent on industrialized foods.
Some of the other plants we stopped to take a closer look at were called the common spice bush; Wildmans advice was that it was best used as tea, taking a handful of leaves of the steams crushing them in your hands and then sticking them in a pit of boiling wait for about 20 minutes, it medicinal purpose is that is can help cure fevers. This plant was ironically 15 feet from a hot got stand. Another plant we saw prevented gas and flatulence and served as helpful aids during pregnancy and child birth. Throughout the tour he dropped useful hints for anyone who loved the outdoors and spends a lot of time exploring "natures possibilities". For example he said the best time for finding mushrooms is after heavy rain, they tend to grow well when surrounded by wood chips, or under trees. While walking along the bike path we came across a plant found on a grassy hill,little did we know it would have to do a lot with out unit on industrialized foods. The plant (although i can not recall the name) was originally discovered by the Johnson brother,after they were bitten by mosquito's. They needed something to relieve the itchiness and irritation. That one small discovery made in the woods by natural resources turned out to become a multi million dollar corporation known as Johnson and Johnson, who know not only have one product but thousands.
I was really surprised to see how much there was to learn about our natural environment and resources. I was only with him for a few hours and learned more in that time than i have in my life anywhere else, i cannot imagine how much more there is to know. If people were to eat from only things that they could find in parks, forests and the woods it would take a lot of time to learn what is okay for your body.I think most Americans see it as a commitment to eat the natural way, people hear the word "vegan"or "vegetarian" and think it will take too much time out of their "busy and hectic" schedules to take the time and shop a little differently to in the end benefit their health. We as Americans are really lazy even when it comes to out health.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Grocery Store and Habitual Food Assignments:
The majority of the time my family shops at wholefoods which is very convenient because it a block and half away. When my dad gets around to it he shops on the upper east side at stores like zabars and fairway or his favorite family run Italian store in little Italy. For things that we need In bulk like laundry detergent, toilet paper and paper towel we order from fresh direct. If my parents go shopping we will normally eat from what is in the fridge for a few days but if not we order in. Typically my mom buys pretty basic foods (staples) for the week like bread, fruit, vegetables, eggs and milk, whereas my dad buys the more exotic food.
On a weekly basis these are the fruits and vegetables we have in our house (they are not always eaten):
Mango
Pineapple
Raspberry
Banana
Avocado
Tangerines
Grapes
Cantaloupe
Pomegranate
Apple
Orange
Cucumber
Tomato
Garlic
Onion
Lettuce
Carrot
Corn
Mushrooms
Green beans
Parsley
On a weekly basis these are the fruits and vegetables we have in our house (they are not always eaten):
Mango
Pineapple
Raspberry
Banana
Avocado
Tangerines
Grapes
Cantaloupe
Pomegranate
Apple
Orange
Cucumber
Tomato
Garlic
Onion
Lettuce
Carrot
Corn
Mushrooms
Green beans
Parsley
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The Big Paper -- Industrialized Foods
Large companies and corporations will go to any length to maximize their profits:
Around 630 pm is when people start getting hungry for dinner, it can take a few silly arguments over where to order in from
or what to make for dinner, but the end result is what everyone looks forward to. Whether or not you sit at a formal dinning room table with your whole family or slouch over the couch watching the local news or sports. what's on every ones mind is where there dinner is! Everyone wants to enjoy what they eat, the smell, the appearance and the overall taste is what attracts people to their food, but do they really know where what they are eating comes from? what did they use to make is taste so good? but most importantly how healthy is actually is for your body? Taking trips to grocery stores is a weekly trip most people make, before hand; they raid there pantry's and empty refrigerators and begin making there lists. The average American household shops based on the price not the quality, everyone is looking for the best deal and the majority of the time its the concentrated foods that are sold for cheap because they are made in enormous quantities produced my major corporations. Every since i was young i have been an animal lover, my dream job was to become a vet. When i was eight i stopped eating mean for a little less than a year, but was told i needed some sort of protein so i slowly began to eat chicken and fish. I choose not to eat most meat cause i thought the animals where too cute to eat, but now i choose not to eat most meat because of the way they are raised and treated on the farms (if u can call it that). We have been brainwashed and blinded by the ways of corporate food industries, they put millions of dollars into teams who's only job is to promote the image of their brand to make it seem as if the product they are selling is the best quality of its kind. While reading Micheal Pollan's book called The Omnivores Dilemma, he brought up a very interesting point that the average American has too many choices of food. To support that thought on a trip we took in class to a local supermarket we were asked to count the amount of a certain product, the numbers were really surprising, walking down the cereal isle i counted 76 different brands and types, the same thing happened when i counted the different types of pickles (37). Walking into a supermarket it is very hard to come across any fresh produce at an affordable price, people see the expensive price tags and walk the other way. They end up shopping for packaged foods that come in bulk or is sold for a considerably cheaper price. Organic food seem to be harder to find, i think most people find the labels on the products comforting cause they think they know where its coming from when the reality is that its mostly lies.
Americans fall too easily into this trap, they believe what they are being told is the truth. They see the commercials for things like orange juice and see the happy mother stick her hand into a shelf and on the other side it is a sunny farm with middle aged white men picking the oranges and handing her a carton of the "freshly squeezed juice." in reality the oranges are grown in a over sized greenhouse where mechanical devices are run on tracks run by poorly treated emigrants striving to make ends meet on less than minimum wage, trying to support their families. The machines run back and forth spraying the plants with pesticides. This is done in order to speed up the process to meet up with the over whelming demand. They spend so much money on trying to give there company and product a good name. They will go as far as not to be honest and lie to maximize there profit and make as much money possible.
When people are younger they have much less control on what they put into their bodies, they eat what there parents throw on their dinner plate and don't have much of a say. When i was little everything seemed to be tasty and i was not afraid to try anything. Like most Americans i ate to survive but not necessarily the healthiest possible way for my body. I remember seeing this clip on Peta.com about the abuse animals went through to produce a rich heartless person with a warm fur coat for the winter, the clip continued and showed how the animals raised for food were treated exactly the same if not worse. I could not help but look away and felt sick to my stomach, if that was the chicken i was eating, i did not want to eat that anymore. Most of the meat we eat started off as baby cows, pigs, chickens and turkeys who quickly discovered the fate of the lives they would forcefully be living. Thousands of chickens and turkeys are crammed into tiny cages, while the cows and pigs live in similarly horrible conditions, they are fed antibiotics to speed up there developmental process and "help" them to stay strong despite the conditions they are put through. When it is time to kill them they are put into machines where they roll out dead or knocked out. They are slaughtered by being slashed in the throat or cut in half while they are still alive. These animals never see the sunlight or get to run around and smell the fresh air. A movie we watched in class called Our Daily Bread is a perfect example of how the food we eat is treated, keep in mind that movie was made in Europe so conditions in the United States is way worse.
Not only are the animals we eat treated horribly, but the fruit and vegetables are grown un-naturally. Going off first hand experience when i was about 10 i was visiting my grandmother in Florida, we decided to go to a strawberry patch to hand pick the strawberries. At first i was amazed to see the mile long rows of ripe and tasty looking strawberries, which to my eyes looked like they were being grown the natural way. Little did i know they were anything but, 10 minutes into picking the berries i was cover in itchy red hives from my hands past my elbows. Thinking about it now, if just touching the fruit gave me such a bag reaction what would have happened if they were in my body. Not only are they bad for your body they can cause serious illnesses for little kids. Referring back to the movie Our Daily Bread the workers are exploited, the director does a very effective job at portraying their emotions though sounds, they looked extremely bored and over worked, there was a scene where the weather conditions were horrible but they were still working just as hard. It almost felt like a prison type scenario because the worker were being over looked by "the boss man" and his binoculars to make sure the workers were not slacking. There was always that sense that the workers were on a very low level compared to the man who was in charge, the director used a obvious technique by always filming from above, another example was when the workers had to get on their knees to receive their paychecks. Many of the friendly run farms are being put out of business because of the larger corporate companies. Another movie we watched in class was called Vrroooomm!!!! Farming for Kids, although they were trying to come across as a friendly farm to little kids it was easy to tell that the produce was being mass produced giant tractors, with huge wheels picked up thousand of cabbages and potatoes by the minute.
Around 630 pm is when people start getting hungry for dinner, it can take a few silly arguments over where to order in from
or what to make for dinner, but the end result is what everyone looks forward to. Whether or not you sit at a formal dinning room table with your whole family or slouch over the couch watching the local news or sports. what's on every ones mind is where there dinner is! Everyone wants to enjoy what they eat, the smell, the appearance and the overall taste is what attracts people to their food, but do they really know where what they are eating comes from? what did they use to make is taste so good? but most importantly how healthy is actually is for your body? Taking trips to grocery stores is a weekly trip most people make, before hand; they raid there pantry's and empty refrigerators and begin making there lists. The average American household shops based on the price not the quality, everyone is looking for the best deal and the majority of the time its the concentrated foods that are sold for cheap because they are made in enormous quantities produced my major corporations. Every since i was young i have been an animal lover, my dream job was to become a vet. When i was eight i stopped eating mean for a little less than a year, but was told i needed some sort of protein so i slowly began to eat chicken and fish. I choose not to eat most meat cause i thought the animals where too cute to eat, but now i choose not to eat most meat because of the way they are raised and treated on the farms (if u can call it that). We have been brainwashed and blinded by the ways of corporate food industries, they put millions of dollars into teams who's only job is to promote the image of their brand to make it seem as if the product they are selling is the best quality of its kind. While reading Micheal Pollan's book called The Omnivores Dilemma, he brought up a very interesting point that the average American has too many choices of food. To support that thought on a trip we took in class to a local supermarket we were asked to count the amount of a certain product, the numbers were really surprising, walking down the cereal isle i counted 76 different brands and types, the same thing happened when i counted the different types of pickles (37). Walking into a supermarket it is very hard to come across any fresh produce at an affordable price, people see the expensive price tags and walk the other way. They end up shopping for packaged foods that come in bulk or is sold for a considerably cheaper price. Organic food seem to be harder to find, i think most people find the labels on the products comforting cause they think they know where its coming from when the reality is that its mostly lies.
Americans fall too easily into this trap, they believe what they are being told is the truth. They see the commercials for things like orange juice and see the happy mother stick her hand into a shelf and on the other side it is a sunny farm with middle aged white men picking the oranges and handing her a carton of the "freshly squeezed juice." in reality the oranges are grown in a over sized greenhouse where mechanical devices are run on tracks run by poorly treated emigrants striving to make ends meet on less than minimum wage, trying to support their families. The machines run back and forth spraying the plants with pesticides. This is done in order to speed up the process to meet up with the over whelming demand. They spend so much money on trying to give there company and product a good name. They will go as far as not to be honest and lie to maximize there profit and make as much money possible.
When people are younger they have much less control on what they put into their bodies, they eat what there parents throw on their dinner plate and don't have much of a say. When i was little everything seemed to be tasty and i was not afraid to try anything. Like most Americans i ate to survive but not necessarily the healthiest possible way for my body. I remember seeing this clip on Peta.com about the abuse animals went through to produce a rich heartless person with a warm fur coat for the winter, the clip continued and showed how the animals raised for food were treated exactly the same if not worse. I could not help but look away and felt sick to my stomach, if that was the chicken i was eating, i did not want to eat that anymore. Most of the meat we eat started off as baby cows, pigs, chickens and turkeys who quickly discovered the fate of the lives they would forcefully be living. Thousands of chickens and turkeys are crammed into tiny cages, while the cows and pigs live in similarly horrible conditions, they are fed antibiotics to speed up there developmental process and "help" them to stay strong despite the conditions they are put through. When it is time to kill them they are put into machines where they roll out dead or knocked out. They are slaughtered by being slashed in the throat or cut in half while they are still alive. These animals never see the sunlight or get to run around and smell the fresh air. A movie we watched in class called Our Daily Bread is a perfect example of how the food we eat is treated, keep in mind that movie was made in Europe so conditions in the United States is way worse.
Not only are the animals we eat treated horribly, but the fruit and vegetables are grown un-naturally. Going off first hand experience when i was about 10 i was visiting my grandmother in Florida, we decided to go to a strawberry patch to hand pick the strawberries. At first i was amazed to see the mile long rows of ripe and tasty looking strawberries, which to my eyes looked like they were being grown the natural way. Little did i know they were anything but, 10 minutes into picking the berries i was cover in itchy red hives from my hands past my elbows. Thinking about it now, if just touching the fruit gave me such a bag reaction what would have happened if they were in my body. Not only are they bad for your body they can cause serious illnesses for little kids. Referring back to the movie Our Daily Bread the workers are exploited, the director does a very effective job at portraying their emotions though sounds, they looked extremely bored and over worked, there was a scene where the weather conditions were horrible but they were still working just as hard. It almost felt like a prison type scenario because the worker were being over looked by "the boss man" and his binoculars to make sure the workers were not slacking. There was always that sense that the workers were on a very low level compared to the man who was in charge, the director used a obvious technique by always filming from above, another example was when the workers had to get on their knees to receive their paychecks. Many of the friendly run farms are being put out of business because of the larger corporate companies. Another movie we watched in class was called Vrroooomm!!!! Farming for Kids, although they were trying to come across as a friendly farm to little kids it was easy to tell that the produce was being mass produced giant tractors, with huge wheels picked up thousand of cabbages and potatoes by the minute.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Response to Pollan- The Omnivores Dilemma
In The Omnivores Dilemma, Michael Pollan argues that as individuals we don’t have a good enough idea of how we choose to eat and what foods we are eating. Most of the food we consume is advertised by the media, providing us with little information on where it comes from and how healthy it actually is. We are reliant on other people to run the way we eat, even if we are not aware of it. I agree with many of Michael Pollans ideas, you can go to a bookstore and find thousands of dieting books, search online the newest trend in how to lose weight or watch TV and see commercial after commercial on diet supplements and pills to take in order to lost the most weight in the fastest period of time. Most diets don't work for everyone but people continue to follow them, many fall into this trap just because they like the results they see being advertised, they are convinced they will one day looks just like what they see.
I would consider my family to fall into the trap that everyone else finds themselves in, but not to the extreme of most. We don't have diet pills laying around the house or follow the south beach or zone diet, just to name a few. A lot of the advice my family takes is from our doctors. there are numerous time where i will see my mom reading an article in the newspaper about a new product in the market and will run out to try it cause she thinks its the "healthier" thing to do. Getting older I have found the best way to eat for me. When i was younger i would only want the food that looked cool or what every kid wanted in their lunch box but their parents would not buy. In elementary school it was common for kids to switch lunches because it was so important to have the lunch that appiled to them, if it was not what their mom or dad packed it was something else that another kid had.
I would consider my family to fall into the trap that everyone else finds themselves in, but not to the extreme of most. We don't have diet pills laying around the house or follow the south beach or zone diet, just to name a few. A lot of the advice my family takes is from our doctors. there are numerous time where i will see my mom reading an article in the newspaper about a new product in the market and will run out to try it cause she thinks its the "healthier" thing to do. Getting older I have found the best way to eat for me. When i was younger i would only want the food that looked cool or what every kid wanted in their lunch box but their parents would not buy. In elementary school it was common for kids to switch lunches because it was so important to have the lunch that appiled to them, if it was not what their mom or dad packed it was something else that another kid had.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Internet research:
What is the percentage of vegans and vegetarians in the United States?
Looking at the increased number of vegetarian products now available, there's no question that the interest in vegetarian foods has expanded in the last few years. Burger King now offers a vegetable burger. Most supermarkets carry soymilk and veggie alternatives to meats.
The Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) estimates that 30-40% of the country's consumers are a good market for meatless items. Four to ten percent of Americans call themselves vegetarians. But are are actually vegetarian? VRG over the years has asked in national polls: out the following foods, if any, you NEVER EAT: Meat, Poultry, Fish/Seafood, Dairy Products, Eggs, Honey.
In a 2003 Vegetarian Resource Group Harris Interactive Survey, 2.8% of those surveyed said they never eat meat, poultry and fish/seafood. A majority of the vegetarians said they never eat meat, poultry, fish/seafood, dairy products, eggs, and honey.
Ten percent of 25-34 years olds indicated that they never eat meat. In a different 2000 VRG poll, 10% of 18-29 olds gave a similar answer.
Based on the U.S. 2000 census and 2.8% vegetarians, VRG calculates there are about 5.7 million adult vegetarians in the United States, but this is only an estimate.
Looking at the increased number of vegetarian products now available, there's no question that the interest in vegetarian foods has expanded in the last few years. Burger King now offers a vegetable burger. Most supermarkets carry soymilk and veggie alternatives to meats.
The Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) estimates that 30-40% of the country's consumers are a good market for meatless items. Four to ten percent of Americans call themselves vegetarians. But are are actually vegetarian? VRG over the years has asked in national polls: out the following foods, if any, you NEVER EAT: Meat, Poultry, Fish/Seafood, Dairy Products, Eggs, Honey.
In a 2003 Vegetarian Resource Group Harris Interactive Survey, 2.8% of those surveyed said they never eat meat, poultry and fish/seafood. A majority of the vegetarians said they never eat meat, poultry, fish/seafood, dairy products, eggs, and honey.
Ten percent of 25-34 years olds indicated that they never eat meat. In a different 2000 VRG poll, 10% of 18-29 olds gave a similar answer.
Based on the U.S. 2000 census and 2.8% vegetarians, VRG calculates there are about 5.7 million adult vegetarians in the United States, but this is only an estimate.
Food culture at home vs. Corporate eating:
Growing up in New York with the privilege of have having world traveling parents, i was exposed to numerous types of food from cultures all over the world. When i was younger i was not a very picky eater, i would eat pretty much anything that was in front of me and was not fearful of trying something i might not like. whenever we would travel, we would eat the food "normal" for that country. I remember my mom and I traveling along with my dad and his film students to places like Mexico city, Edinburgh, and London where he would actually grade them down if he caught them eating at a McDonald's or other restaurants that could have been found back home.
Meanwhile back when we where in the states my parents both did a lot of cooking. My dad has always been a little more experimental with his cooking, he is great at following a recipe he sees in a newspaper or cookbook but also amazing at preparing a meal from what we have laying around the house. I remember eating a lot of homemade pasta dishes and the occasional steak. My mom on the other hand follows the same recipes from her family, lots of comfort food; mac and cheese and big soups and stews. When i was younger i do not remember ordering out a lot, but i do remember eating out quite a bit at small family run spots that most of the time where recommend to us by family friends.
I was about 7 years old when i made the conscience decision to eliminate all red meats from my diet. I had the aspiration of becoming a vet because I had such a love for animals. I felt if I was going to be saving them I probably should not be eating them. Around the age of 11 I was set on eliminating meat entirely from my diet but was told my body needed some source of protein so i stuck to a lot of chicken and fish, and the occasional turkey on thanksgiving. It has been a good 9 years since I have had a bite of anything other than chicken, turkey or fish. I sometimes feel the way I eat affects the freedom my parents have to eat what they want, they recently had a porterhouse steak and talked about how good it was and how they missed eating like that.
We order in a lot more than we used to, in out neighborhood it is extremely expensive but there is food from just about every country imaginable. Some of our favorites are Indian, Pakistani, Mexican, Italian and french. It seems that even when we cook at home it still cost us a lot of money. Before wholefoods opened we used to shop at a typical grocery store when there was nothing but completely fake and processed food, the only good thing was that is was relatively cheaper than what we pay now. Whenever I go food shopping with my mom the bill is always over 100 and that is on a day when we do not even buy much. On weekend we try and support out local farmers market at much as possible, buying there fruits and vegetables, sometimes even milk.
Overall I try and eat as healthy as possible, I find that hard to do sometimes during lunch because of the options around the school. last year I used to go to Pax everyday and eat a salad but that has gotten way over priced. I defiantly eat healthier when I am home than when i am out with friends.
Meanwhile back when we where in the states my parents both did a lot of cooking. My dad has always been a little more experimental with his cooking, he is great at following a recipe he sees in a newspaper or cookbook but also amazing at preparing a meal from what we have laying around the house. I remember eating a lot of homemade pasta dishes and the occasional steak. My mom on the other hand follows the same recipes from her family, lots of comfort food; mac and cheese and big soups and stews. When i was younger i do not remember ordering out a lot, but i do remember eating out quite a bit at small family run spots that most of the time where recommend to us by family friends.
I was about 7 years old when i made the conscience decision to eliminate all red meats from my diet. I had the aspiration of becoming a vet because I had such a love for animals. I felt if I was going to be saving them I probably should not be eating them. Around the age of 11 I was set on eliminating meat entirely from my diet but was told my body needed some source of protein so i stuck to a lot of chicken and fish, and the occasional turkey on thanksgiving. It has been a good 9 years since I have had a bite of anything other than chicken, turkey or fish. I sometimes feel the way I eat affects the freedom my parents have to eat what they want, they recently had a porterhouse steak and talked about how good it was and how they missed eating like that.
We order in a lot more than we used to, in out neighborhood it is extremely expensive but there is food from just about every country imaginable. Some of our favorites are Indian, Pakistani, Mexican, Italian and french. It seems that even when we cook at home it still cost us a lot of money. Before wholefoods opened we used to shop at a typical grocery store when there was nothing but completely fake and processed food, the only good thing was that is was relatively cheaper than what we pay now. Whenever I go food shopping with my mom the bill is always over 100 and that is on a day when we do not even buy much. On weekend we try and support out local farmers market at much as possible, buying there fruits and vegetables, sometimes even milk.
Overall I try and eat as healthy as possible, I find that hard to do sometimes during lunch because of the options around the school. last year I used to go to Pax everyday and eat a salad but that has gotten way over priced. I defiantly eat healthier when I am home than when i am out with friends.
Fridge Assignment:
Refrigerator:
vegetarian feed cage free organic eggs
organic strawberries
hummus with roasted pine buts
stony field farm organic low fat mocha latte yogurt
Ketchup
Mayonnaise
grey poupon mustard
homemade cous-cous salad
homemade roasted carrots and potatoes
homemade chicken stew
mozzarella cheese
extra sharp Cheddar cheese
Tropicana orange juice
mountainside farms no hormones added no antibiotics 1% low fat milk
pomegranate juice
sparkling Italian mineral water
mikes hard lemonade
Freezer:
edamame beans
green peas
artichoke hearts
rice
berry medley
mango chunks
sweet white corn
white boule
pizza
haagen-dazs chocolate ice cream
mango fruit bars
vegetarian feed cage free organic eggs
organic strawberries
hummus with roasted pine buts
stony field farm organic low fat mocha latte yogurt
Ketchup
Mayonnaise
grey poupon mustard
homemade cous-cous salad
homemade roasted carrots and potatoes
homemade chicken stew
mozzarella cheese
extra sharp Cheddar cheese
Tropicana orange juice
mountainside farms no hormones added no antibiotics 1% low fat milk
pomegranate juice
sparkling Italian mineral water
mikes hard lemonade
Freezer:
edamame beans
green peas
artichoke hearts
rice
berry medley
mango chunks
sweet white corn
white boule
pizza
haagen-dazs chocolate ice cream
mango fruit bars
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
24 HOUR FOOD LOG:
Tuesday night:
Dinner -- scallops, roasted carrots and potato's.
ate around 730ish, previously i had been sick so my appetite was not so big. It was a home cooked meal that my mom prepared (my dad does most of the cooking but he was at a Mets baseball game). My mom rolled in the food on a table and served my then we both ate on out messy coffee table, stacked with newspaper and magazines that need to be thrown out. As usual i turned on the TV even though my mom would rather eat in peace and quite. we are with a fork and knife i drank my meal with ginger ale to try and settle my stomach ache and my mom had her usual glass of water (a lot healthier than soda) after dinner which took a whole 15 minutes, she cleaned everything up.
Wednesday:
Breakfast -- never eat it, to much to do in the morning, i left my house a little early so i was able to grab a vitamin water in one of the many new flavors.
Lunch -- half of a turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato, mayo and Cheddar cheese (the other half was taken by Binta) and a root beer which i only drank half of cause it was upsetting my stomach. We went out for lunch at Emma's and brought it back to school where we met for a committee meeting, we got back late so lunch felt rushed.
After school -- goldfish and apple juice and a bit of a rice crispy treat but i had to throw it out cause it was disgusting.
Dinner -- Dad cooked a Porter house steak that he bought on sale at whole foods which is still rediculosly expensive, but being as i only eat chicken, turkey and fish (the last time i had red meat was 11 years ago) I had a roasted chicken breast and a glass of water, again i am still a little under the weather so my appetite is not so big. I ate in my parents room in front of the TV while working on exhibitions. they ate in the same place in the living room on the coffee table my mom read her book and my dad listned to the sports channel.
Dinner -- scallops, roasted carrots and potato's.
ate around 730ish, previously i had been sick so my appetite was not so big. It was a home cooked meal that my mom prepared (my dad does most of the cooking but he was at a Mets baseball game). My mom rolled in the food on a table and served my then we both ate on out messy coffee table, stacked with newspaper and magazines that need to be thrown out. As usual i turned on the TV even though my mom would rather eat in peace and quite. we are with a fork and knife i drank my meal with ginger ale to try and settle my stomach ache and my mom had her usual glass of water (a lot healthier than soda) after dinner which took a whole 15 minutes, she cleaned everything up.
Wednesday:
Breakfast -- never eat it, to much to do in the morning, i left my house a little early so i was able to grab a vitamin water in one of the many new flavors.
Lunch -- half of a turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato, mayo and Cheddar cheese (the other half was taken by Binta) and a root beer which i only drank half of cause it was upsetting my stomach. We went out for lunch at Emma's and brought it back to school where we met for a committee meeting, we got back late so lunch felt rushed.
After school -- goldfish and apple juice and a bit of a rice crispy treat but i had to throw it out cause it was disgusting.
Dinner -- Dad cooked a Porter house steak that he bought on sale at whole foods which is still rediculosly expensive, but being as i only eat chicken, turkey and fish (the last time i had red meat was 11 years ago) I had a roasted chicken breast and a glass of water, again i am still a little under the weather so my appetite is not so big. I ate in my parents room in front of the TV while working on exhibitions. they ate in the same place in the living room on the coffee table my mom read her book and my dad listned to the sports channel.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
The Business of Birth video Reflection:
Watching The Business of Birth was very eye opening, and insightful, i never really thought much about the birth process and how it has become so unnatural. There was never a doubt in my mind that i was not going to have kids until this unit, particularly this video, it has changed the way i look at life.For the most part i thought the normal way to give birth was how it was advertised on TV, little did i know that is the wrong way to go about the process “You’re supposed to be afraid, and not know exactly what to do and how to go about it, but everyone always gets through it” This is way many soon to be mothers feel.While watching the movie, I saw successful births where the mothers were expecting the pain, but rather than having an attitude of "i can't" they embraced and welcomed it. To them it was the natural way. The birthing process was easier for them because they believed that they could do it themselves without the assistance of a doctor or medication. I found that extremely liberating to see strong minded women preforming what there bodies are made to do, It was very empowering. After watching some of the births I realized t that giving birth yourself and not letting any doctor assist you or try to take away from the experience leaves you with a better sense of yourself, your body and your mind. They all seemed to be completely satisfied because there birth was natural way.
There were several parts in the documentary that I thought would be important to bring up, the first being how women in labors needs are completely disregarded by everyone including doctors. Doctors do what is simple for them. This is why more women are both choosing and being forced to give birth through c-sections. C-sections bring in more money for doctors and it’s “easier” than vaginal birth because it lowers the risk of medical malpractice. Little do the patients know that it is the doctors who cause most of the complications and distress on both mother and child. More into the video I learned that OBGYN’s have never had a good reputation in the history of birth, with drugs used like Scopolamine and the way that they used to chain women up while they were giving birth.
Overall Watching this video changed my views on child birth completely, i wish more people (especially women) saw this video, i think it is important to bring back the sense of empowerment to women, they should not be scared of the experience they should accept that it is what there bodies are made to do. Doctors have instilled fear in women without them knowing. This video has provided me with invaluable information about the correct way to give birth.
There were several parts in the documentary that I thought would be important to bring up, the first being how women in labors needs are completely disregarded by everyone including doctors. Doctors do what is simple for them. This is why more women are both choosing and being forced to give birth through c-sections. C-sections bring in more money for doctors and it’s “easier” than vaginal birth because it lowers the risk of medical malpractice. Little do the patients know that it is the doctors who cause most of the complications and distress on both mother and child. More into the video I learned that OBGYN’s have never had a good reputation in the history of birth, with drugs used like Scopolamine and the way that they used to chain women up while they were giving birth.
Overall Watching this video changed my views on child birth completely, i wish more people (especially women) saw this video, i think it is important to bring back the sense of empowerment to women, they should not be scared of the experience they should accept that it is what there bodies are made to do. Doctors have instilled fear in women without them knowing. This video has provided me with invaluable information about the correct way to give birth.
AWOB PROJECT:
The American way of birth has now become a battle between the "normal" vs. "natural" way to deliver babies into this world, it is becoming harder and harder to find couples that have have a "natural" birth and harder to find couples that have not have a "normal" one. The majority of American women choose to give birth in hospitals with the pressure of impersonal doctors, unneeded drugs, and dangerous surgeries, rather than the natural and much safer way, based on the relationship you have with your own body, not being told to rush and just having as much help as you want from a Dula or midwife in the comfort of your own home.American women follow what they see everyone else doing, without much thought even if it not what is better for there body.
Unlike the rest of the world the idea of a midwife is extremely rare, in Europe and Japan midwives attend over 70% of births. Dating back many many years ago in the united states midwives where represented as dirty, unsafe, germ filled, poor people, they made sure to use propaganda to make everyone think that was true. So it is not a new idea in America that hospitals are the "safer" place to have a child. Are the American women the only reason for this dramatic change in the way we give birth or are the doctors to be blamed? American doctors are only taught one way, according to Susan Hodges from the Documentary The Business of Being Born "Very few doctors have ever seen a natural birth in medical school." Like in the tittle of the documentary, birth had become a business, it had become this very impersonal experience that is being rushed by doctors who want to make as most money in a days work as possible. If the mother's cervix is not dilating fast enough the doctors will speed things up, by inducing them with medicine, they want to get them in and out as fast as they can. A women interviewed said they liked the doctor aspect "surgery is easy, its a one, two, three step process." I think it goes unrecognized how manipulated the doctors really are, most of the time they have no real reason for injecting the women with medicine, inducing labor or calling for an "emergency c-section". in reality they are the ones putting the baby though distress causing things to go wrong. In most counties around the world their "normal" way of birth is our natural birth. according to Marsden Wagner an M.D "every where else in the world that's what they do. They lose less mothers and babies where midwives are used."
Over the past few years this sense of fear had been instilled in most women, because technology has advanced us in ways that allow childbirth to be easier and less painful they choose to take the easy way because they know it is an option.In our culture birth is considered a crisis, the women have got themselves in this mind set that they will not be able to go through the experience with out the help of medicine or the "comfort" of a doctor. In times of crisis, human beings (soon to be mothers) tend to do what the alpha male tells them to do, they follow the orders of ones in charge (the authority figure). Referring back to the documentary a source who's name i did not catch said "the medical field had convinced most women that they can not birth." I believe if the women embraces her sexuality and women hood they are more willing to go through with a natural birth,because they have mentally prepared themselves for what to expect, but if they are worried their body will let them down and they do not want to experience the "pain" as some describe it they will go to a doctor where the choice of medication is available. I feel as if the women are forgotten in this process it is supposed to be about the mother and the baby, we were born to give birth, out bodies are designed specifically for that purpose.
Home births or births in birthing centers are a completely different experience for the soon to be mother, midwives give the power back to the women, instead of being told what to do, they figure it out for them self. Women in America need to "rediscover how easy birth can be."
In general women are scared the pain of going though a natural childbirth will cause them, that's why they take medication, "its not natural, but its normal." In America we are spoiled with the option of even being able to control that, in most of the world they do not have that option they are forced to really experience the process to the fullest. It seems much more raw but relaxed and worshiped in other countries than in America. They have the support of family and friends, they are in the natural position and lets the body do what it wants to do, in the way there body feels most comfortable in and they are in a calm serene environments. The American way of birth has become this high paced rush for both mother and doctor, bright bright lights, medication and unnatural birth positions, its a race to see who can get out faster.
We have been discussing our ideas on what the "American Way of Birth" actually is, how it is perceived, and how it has changed over time compared to not only early in American history but world wide (globally). Yesterday the class tried to better understand why it is that Americans want so badly to have kids. Many of the ideas thrown around sounded valid, but the ones that i felt applied to most women were that:
- Child birth and the job of raising a child is a life experience that should not be missed. Women are born with this amazing ability, your body is made to do it so we should take advantage.
- Women are following the social norm. Once we are married the next thing people expect is for a couple to have a baby.
- Family Pressure, Mothers want to see there sons and daughters having kids of there own. Grandchildren become a competition, the proud grandparents want to show off how "beautiful and perfect" there newest additions are.
- Teens especially think it seems like the "cool" thing to do, something to dress up and play around with. They see all the celebrities are want to follow in the same footsteps, not realizing how big a responsibility it is.
How many of the women in the world specifically in the united states are having kids for the right reasons? One idea that was tossed around was the theory that all people have some sort of "deep physical hunger" (something they cant live without), in this case it would be sex. According to Andy "Birth happens because of irrational reasons, a deep physical hunger for sex. People do not give birth because they want to have babies, but because they want more sex." Are a lot of kids alive today a mistake according to there parents? This idea lead to a number of questions yet to be answered leaving us with research to do.
Why has the AWOB become so alienated? Technology has advanced us in ways that allow childbirth to be easier less painful, but that could lead to the reason why women today are having so many more children. How much should the government be able to interfere with families? a specific example, most recently seen all over the news is the case of the women who just gave birth to the octuplets, many people consider her to be selfish, she does not have the money or support of loved ones to care for all 14 of them, why should her kids have to suffer for her "deep physical hunger" for children. Having already had 6 kids, and her doctors fully aware they still decided to fulfill her wishes and implanted all 6 of the embryos, two of which resulted in twins. In an interview on msmbc.com the mother of 14 said "a lot of couples do undergo this procedure and its not as controversial because their 'couples' so its more acceptable to society." Many argue that the doctor is to blame and was completely irresponsible and that knowing her circumstances, they should have not allowed her to go ahead with the pregnancy. Others can argue that its the mothers choice to have as many children as desired. Was this an example of a case where the government should have gotten involved? I believe so because not only is it ecologically horrible for the environment, but she can not support all of them, why should the innocent children have to suffer and why should our tax money go towards paying for her own selfish act.
In general women are scared the pain of going though a natural childbirth will cause them, that why they take medication, "its not natural, but its normal." In America we are spoiled with the option of even being able to control that, in most of the world they do not have that option they are forced to really experience it to the fullest. It seems much more raw but relaxed and worshiped in other countries. They have the support of family and friends, they are in the natural position (the way there body feels most comfortable in), they are in a calm serene enviornments. The american way of birth has become this high paced rush for both mother and doctor, bright bright lights, medication and unnatural birth postitions, its a race to see who can get our faster.
Unlike the rest of the world the idea of a midwife is extremely rare, in Europe and Japan midwives attend over 70% of births. Dating back many many years ago in the united states midwives where represented as dirty, unsafe, germ filled, poor people, they made sure to use propaganda to make everyone think that was true. So it is not a new idea in America that hospitals are the "safer" place to have a child. Are the American women the only reason for this dramatic change in the way we give birth or are the doctors to be blamed? American doctors are only taught one way, according to Susan Hodges from the Documentary The Business of Being Born "Very few doctors have ever seen a natural birth in medical school." Like in the tittle of the documentary, birth had become a business, it had become this very impersonal experience that is being rushed by doctors who want to make as most money in a days work as possible. If the mother's cervix is not dilating fast enough the doctors will speed things up, by inducing them with medicine, they want to get them in and out as fast as they can. A women interviewed said they liked the doctor aspect "surgery is easy, its a one, two, three step process." I think it goes unrecognized how manipulated the doctors really are, most of the time they have no real reason for injecting the women with medicine, inducing labor or calling for an "emergency c-section". in reality they are the ones putting the baby though distress causing things to go wrong. In most counties around the world their "normal" way of birth is our natural birth. according to Marsden Wagner an M.D "every where else in the world that's what they do. They lose less mothers and babies where midwives are used."
Over the past few years this sense of fear had been instilled in most women, because technology has advanced us in ways that allow childbirth to be easier and less painful they choose to take the easy way because they know it is an option.In our culture birth is considered a crisis, the women have got themselves in this mind set that they will not be able to go through the experience with out the help of medicine or the "comfort" of a doctor. In times of crisis, human beings (soon to be mothers) tend to do what the alpha male tells them to do, they follow the orders of ones in charge (the authority figure). Referring back to the documentary a source who's name i did not catch said "the medical field had convinced most women that they can not birth." I believe if the women embraces her sexuality and women hood they are more willing to go through with a natural birth,because they have mentally prepared themselves for what to expect, but if they are worried their body will let them down and they do not want to experience the "pain" as some describe it they will go to a doctor where the choice of medication is available. I feel as if the women are forgotten in this process it is supposed to be about the mother and the baby, we were born to give birth, out bodies are designed specifically for that purpose.
Home births or births in birthing centers are a completely different experience for the soon to be mother, midwives give the power back to the women, instead of being told what to do, they figure it out for them self. Women in America need to "rediscover how easy birth can be."
In general women are scared the pain of going though a natural childbirth will cause them, that's why they take medication, "its not natural, but its normal." In America we are spoiled with the option of even being able to control that, in most of the world they do not have that option they are forced to really experience the process to the fullest. It seems much more raw but relaxed and worshiped in other countries than in America. They have the support of family and friends, they are in the natural position and lets the body do what it wants to do, in the way there body feels most comfortable in and they are in a calm serene environments. The American way of birth has become this high paced rush for both mother and doctor, bright bright lights, medication and unnatural birth positions, its a race to see who can get out faster.
We have been discussing our ideas on what the "American Way of Birth" actually is, how it is perceived, and how it has changed over time compared to not only early in American history but world wide (globally). Yesterday the class tried to better understand why it is that Americans want so badly to have kids. Many of the ideas thrown around sounded valid, but the ones that i felt applied to most women were that:
- Child birth and the job of raising a child is a life experience that should not be missed. Women are born with this amazing ability, your body is made to do it so we should take advantage.
- Women are following the social norm. Once we are married the next thing people expect is for a couple to have a baby.
- Family Pressure, Mothers want to see there sons and daughters having kids of there own. Grandchildren become a competition, the proud grandparents want to show off how "beautiful and perfect" there newest additions are.
- Teens especially think it seems like the "cool" thing to do, something to dress up and play around with. They see all the celebrities are want to follow in the same footsteps, not realizing how big a responsibility it is.
How many of the women in the world specifically in the united states are having kids for the right reasons? One idea that was tossed around was the theory that all people have some sort of "deep physical hunger" (something they cant live without), in this case it would be sex. According to Andy "Birth happens because of irrational reasons, a deep physical hunger for sex. People do not give birth because they want to have babies, but because they want more sex." Are a lot of kids alive today a mistake according to there parents? This idea lead to a number of questions yet to be answered leaving us with research to do.
Why has the AWOB become so alienated? Technology has advanced us in ways that allow childbirth to be easier less painful, but that could lead to the reason why women today are having so many more children. How much should the government be able to interfere with families? a specific example, most recently seen all over the news is the case of the women who just gave birth to the octuplets, many people consider her to be selfish, she does not have the money or support of loved ones to care for all 14 of them, why should her kids have to suffer for her "deep physical hunger" for children. Having already had 6 kids, and her doctors fully aware they still decided to fulfill her wishes and implanted all 6 of the embryos, two of which resulted in twins. In an interview on msmbc.com the mother of 14 said "a lot of couples do undergo this procedure and its not as controversial because their 'couples' so its more acceptable to society." Many argue that the doctor is to blame and was completely irresponsible and that knowing her circumstances, they should have not allowed her to go ahead with the pregnancy. Others can argue that its the mothers choice to have as many children as desired. Was this an example of a case where the government should have gotten involved? I believe so because not only is it ecologically horrible for the environment, but she can not support all of them, why should the innocent children have to suffer and why should our tax money go towards paying for her own selfish act.
In general women are scared the pain of going though a natural childbirth will cause them, that why they take medication, "its not natural, but its normal." In America we are spoiled with the option of even being able to control that, in most of the world they do not have that option they are forced to really experience it to the fullest. It seems much more raw but relaxed and worshiped in other countries. They have the support of family and friends, they are in the natural position (the way there body feels most comfortable in), they are in a calm serene enviornments. The american way of birth has become this high paced rush for both mother and doctor, bright bright lights, medication and unnatural birth postitions, its a race to see who can get our faster.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Internet Research-- POVERTY!
How many Americans (children and adults)are living on the streets?
Why is minimum wage so much lower in this country than most other countries?
Why is it not made more obvious by the government to the poor about the benefits they are offered?
Why is minimum wage so much lower in this country than most other countries?
Why is it not made more obvious by the government to the poor about the benefits they are offered?
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
"Normal" vs. "Natural" what is the AWOB and why is it so alienated?
The American way of birth has now become a battle between the "normal" vs. "natural" way to deliver babies into this world, it is becoming harder and harder to find couples that have have a "natural" birth and harder to find couples that have not have a "normal" one. The majority of American women choose to give birth in hospitals with the pressure of impersonal doctors, unneeded drugs, and dangerous surgeries, rather than the natural and much safer way, based on the relationship you have with your own body, not being told to rush and just having as much help as you want from a Dula or midwife in the comfort of your own home.American women follow what they see everyone else doing, without much thought even if it not what is better for there body.
Unlike the rest of the world the idea of a midwife is extremely rare, in Europe and Japan midwives attend over 70% of births. Dating back many many years ago in the united states midwives where represented as dirty, unsafe, germ filled, poor people, they made sure to use propaganda to make everyone think that was true. So it is not a new idea in America that hospitals are the "safer" place to have a child. Are the American women the only reason for this dramatic change in the way we give birth or are the doctors to be blamed? American doctors are only taught one way, according to Susan Hodges from the Documentary The Business of Being Born "Very few doctors have ever seen a natural birth in medical school." Like in the tittle of the documentary, birth had become a business, it had become this very impersonal experience that is being rushed by doctors who want to make as most money in a days work as possible. If the mother's cervix is not dilating fast enough the doctors will speed things up, by inducing them with medicine, they want to get them in and out as fast as they can. A women interviewed said they liked the doctor aspect "surgery is easy, its a one, two, three step process." I think it goes unrecognized how manipulated the doctors really are, most of the time they have no real reason for injecting the women with medicine, inducing labor or calling for an "emergency c-section". in reality they are the ones putting the baby though distress causing things to go wrong. In most counties around the world their "normal" way of birth is our natural birth. according to Marsden Wagner an M.D "every where else in the world that's what they do. They lose less mothers and babies where midwives are used."
Over the past few years this sense of fear had been instilled in most women, because technology has advanced us in ways that allow childbirth to be easier and less painful they choose to take the easy way because they know it is an option.In our culture birth is considered a crisis, the women have got themselves in this mind set that they will not be able to go through the experience with out the help of medicine or the "comfort" of a doctor. In times of crisis, human beings (soon to be mothers) tend to do what the alpha male tells them to do, they follow the orders of ones in charge (the authority figure). Referring back to the documentary a source who's name i did not catch said "the medical field had convinced most women that they can not birth." I believe if the women embraces her sexuality and women hood they are more willing to go through with a natural birth,because they have mentally prepared themselves for what to expect, but if they are worried their body will let them down and they do not want to experience the "pain" as some describe it they will go to a doctor where the choice of medication is available. I feel as if the women are forgotten in this process it is supposed to be about the mother and the baby, we were born to give birth, out bodies are designed specifically for that purpose.
Home births or births in birthing centers are a completely different experience for the soon to be mother, midwives give the power back to the women, instead of being told what to do, they figure it out for them self. Women in America need to "rediscover how easy birth can be."
In general women are scared the pain of going though a natural childbirth will cause them, that's why they take medication, "its not natural, but its normal." In America we are spoiled with the option of even being able to control that, in most of the world they do not have that option they are forced to really experience the process to the fullest. It seems much more raw but relaxed and worshiped in other countries than in America. They have the support of family and friends, they are in the natural position and lets the body do what it wants to do, in the way there body feels most comfortable in and they are in a calm serene environments. The American way of birth has become this high paced rush for both mother and doctor, bright bright lights, medication and unnatural birth positions, its a race to see who can get out faster.
Unlike the rest of the world the idea of a midwife is extremely rare, in Europe and Japan midwives attend over 70% of births. Dating back many many years ago in the united states midwives where represented as dirty, unsafe, germ filled, poor people, they made sure to use propaganda to make everyone think that was true. So it is not a new idea in America that hospitals are the "safer" place to have a child. Are the American women the only reason for this dramatic change in the way we give birth or are the doctors to be blamed? American doctors are only taught one way, according to Susan Hodges from the Documentary The Business of Being Born "Very few doctors have ever seen a natural birth in medical school." Like in the tittle of the documentary, birth had become a business, it had become this very impersonal experience that is being rushed by doctors who want to make as most money in a days work as possible. If the mother's cervix is not dilating fast enough the doctors will speed things up, by inducing them with medicine, they want to get them in and out as fast as they can. A women interviewed said they liked the doctor aspect "surgery is easy, its a one, two, three step process." I think it goes unrecognized how manipulated the doctors really are, most of the time they have no real reason for injecting the women with medicine, inducing labor or calling for an "emergency c-section". in reality they are the ones putting the baby though distress causing things to go wrong. In most counties around the world their "normal" way of birth is our natural birth. according to Marsden Wagner an M.D "every where else in the world that's what they do. They lose less mothers and babies where midwives are used."
Over the past few years this sense of fear had been instilled in most women, because technology has advanced us in ways that allow childbirth to be easier and less painful they choose to take the easy way because they know it is an option.In our culture birth is considered a crisis, the women have got themselves in this mind set that they will not be able to go through the experience with out the help of medicine or the "comfort" of a doctor. In times of crisis, human beings (soon to be mothers) tend to do what the alpha male tells them to do, they follow the orders of ones in charge (the authority figure). Referring back to the documentary a source who's name i did not catch said "the medical field had convinced most women that they can not birth." I believe if the women embraces her sexuality and women hood they are more willing to go through with a natural birth,because they have mentally prepared themselves for what to expect, but if they are worried their body will let them down and they do not want to experience the "pain" as some describe it they will go to a doctor where the choice of medication is available. I feel as if the women are forgotten in this process it is supposed to be about the mother and the baby, we were born to give birth, out bodies are designed specifically for that purpose.
Home births or births in birthing centers are a completely different experience for the soon to be mother, midwives give the power back to the women, instead of being told what to do, they figure it out for them self. Women in America need to "rediscover how easy birth can be."
In general women are scared the pain of going though a natural childbirth will cause them, that's why they take medication, "its not natural, but its normal." In America we are spoiled with the option of even being able to control that, in most of the world they do not have that option they are forced to really experience the process to the fullest. It seems much more raw but relaxed and worshiped in other countries than in America. They have the support of family and friends, they are in the natural position and lets the body do what it wants to do, in the way there body feels most comfortable in and they are in a calm serene environments. The American way of birth has become this high paced rush for both mother and doctor, bright bright lights, medication and unnatural birth positions, its a race to see who can get out faster.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Homework: Re-cap and thoughts on Andy's Analysis of the AWOB
Over the past few days in class we have been discussing our ideas on what the "American Way of Birth" actually is, how it is perceived, and how it has changed over time compared to not only early in American history but world wide (globally). Yesterday the class tried to better understand why it is that Americans want so badly to have kids. Many of the ideas thrown around sounded valid, but the ones that i felt applied to most women were that:
- Child birth and the job of raising a child is a life experience that should not be missed. Women are born with this amazing ability, your body is made to do it so we should take advantage.
- Women are following the social norm. Once we are married the next thing people expect is for a couple to have a baby.
- Family Pressure, Mothers want to see there sons and daughters having kids of there own. Grandchildren become a competition, the proud grandparents want to show off how "beautiful and perfect" there newest additions are.
- Teens especially think it seems like the "cool" thing to do, something to dress up and play around with. They see all the celebrities are want to follow in the same footsteps, not realizing how big a responsibility it is.
How many of the women in the world specifically in the united states are having kids for the right reasons? One idea that was tossed around was the theory that all people have some sort of "deep physical hunger" (something they cant live without), in this case it would be sex. According to Andy "Birth happens because of irrational reasons, a deep physical hunger for sex. People do not give birth because they want to have babies, but because they want more sex." Are a lot of kids alive today a mistake according to there parents? This idea lead to a number of questions yet to be answered leaving us with research to do.
Today in class the discussion switched gears a little bit; why has the AWOB become so alienated? Technology has advanced us in ways that allow childbirth to be easier less painful, but that could lead to the reason why women today are having so many more children. How much should the government be able to interfere with families? a specific example, most recently seen all over the news is the case of the women who just gave birth to the octuplets, many people consider her to be selfish, she does not have the money or support of loved ones to care for all 14 of them, why should her kids have to suffer for her "deep physical hunger" for children. Having already had 6 kids, and her doctors fully aware they still decided to fulfill her wishes and implanted all 6 of the embryos, two of which resulted in twins. In an interview on msmbc.com the mother of 14 said "a lot of couples do undergo this procedure and its not as controversial because their 'couples' so its more acceptable to society." Many argue that the doctor is to blame and was completely irresponsible and that knowing her circumstances, they should have not allowed her to go ahead with the pregnancy. Others can argue that its the mothers choice to have as many children as desired. Was this an example of a case where the government should have gotten involved? I believe so because not only is it ecologically horrible for the environment, but she can not support all of them, why should the innocent children have to suffer and why should our tax money go towards paying for her own selfish act.
In general women are scared the pain of going though a natural childbirth will cause them, that why they take medication, "its not natural, but its normal." In America we are spoiled with the option of even being able to control that, in most of the world they do not have that option they are forced to really experience it to the fullest. It seems much more raw but relaxed and worshiped in other countries. They have the support of family and friends, they are in the natural position (the way there body feels most comfortable in), they are in a calm serene enviornments. The american way of birth has become this high paced rush for both mother and doctor, bright bright lights, medication and unnatural birth postitions, its a race to see who can get our faster.
- Child birth and the job of raising a child is a life experience that should not be missed. Women are born with this amazing ability, your body is made to do it so we should take advantage.
- Women are following the social norm. Once we are married the next thing people expect is for a couple to have a baby.
- Family Pressure, Mothers want to see there sons and daughters having kids of there own. Grandchildren become a competition, the proud grandparents want to show off how "beautiful and perfect" there newest additions are.
- Teens especially think it seems like the "cool" thing to do, something to dress up and play around with. They see all the celebrities are want to follow in the same footsteps, not realizing how big a responsibility it is.
How many of the women in the world specifically in the united states are having kids for the right reasons? One idea that was tossed around was the theory that all people have some sort of "deep physical hunger" (something they cant live without), in this case it would be sex. According to Andy "Birth happens because of irrational reasons, a deep physical hunger for sex. People do not give birth because they want to have babies, but because they want more sex." Are a lot of kids alive today a mistake according to there parents? This idea lead to a number of questions yet to be answered leaving us with research to do.
Today in class the discussion switched gears a little bit; why has the AWOB become so alienated? Technology has advanced us in ways that allow childbirth to be easier less painful, but that could lead to the reason why women today are having so many more children. How much should the government be able to interfere with families? a specific example, most recently seen all over the news is the case of the women who just gave birth to the octuplets, many people consider her to be selfish, she does not have the money or support of loved ones to care for all 14 of them, why should her kids have to suffer for her "deep physical hunger" for children. Having already had 6 kids, and her doctors fully aware they still decided to fulfill her wishes and implanted all 6 of the embryos, two of which resulted in twins. In an interview on msmbc.com the mother of 14 said "a lot of couples do undergo this procedure and its not as controversial because their 'couples' so its more acceptable to society." Many argue that the doctor is to blame and was completely irresponsible and that knowing her circumstances, they should have not allowed her to go ahead with the pregnancy. Others can argue that its the mothers choice to have as many children as desired. Was this an example of a case where the government should have gotten involved? I believe so because not only is it ecologically horrible for the environment, but she can not support all of them, why should the innocent children have to suffer and why should our tax money go towards paying for her own selfish act.
In general women are scared the pain of going though a natural childbirth will cause them, that why they take medication, "its not natural, but its normal." In America we are spoiled with the option of even being able to control that, in most of the world they do not have that option they are forced to really experience it to the fullest. It seems much more raw but relaxed and worshiped in other countries. They have the support of family and friends, they are in the natural position (the way there body feels most comfortable in), they are in a calm serene enviornments. The american way of birth has become this high paced rush for both mother and doctor, bright bright lights, medication and unnatural birth postitions, its a race to see who can get our faster.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
CLASS WORK: Room 101 reseach
Group one - Pregnancy, Birth Control, Abortion, Adoption
1. What percentage of men use contracptives (Condoms)?
Use within marriage. An estimated 44 million married couples use condoms for family planningThe estimate of 6 to 9 billion condoms used worldwide each year is based partly on surveys of actual use and also assumes that, of the 8 to 10 billion condoms produced each year, 10% to 20% are never used.
(http://www.infoforhealth.org/pr/h9/h9chap1_1.shtml)
2. What is the average age of birth?
Women in the United States are waiting longer to have children, health statistics show, presenting challenges for doctors and patients alike. More than 586,000 babies were born to women over age 35 in 2004. That's just over 14 percent of births that year, up from about 5 percent 15 years ago. The average age of women when they gave birth for the first time was at a record high of 25.2 in 2003, the CDC said. That age has increased by nearly four years since 1970.
(http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/21/later.childbirth/index.html)
3.what is the most common form of birth control?
Women prefer to use the pill ahead of other forms of contraceptive according to a new survey by the Office for National Statistics. In 2007/08, three-quarters of women in the 16-49 age group reported using some form of contraception, with 28 per cent of women using the pill, compared with 24 per cent who relied on the male condom. One quarter of women said they did not use any form of contraception in 2007/08, with the most common reason being that they were not in a heterosexual relationship (14 per cent). Three percent said they were not using contraceptives because they wanted to become pregnant.
(office for National Statistics www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/csh1008.pd)
4. Percentage of Adoption in the united states?
Adoption in the United States is the legal act of adoption, of permanently placing a person under the age of 18 with a parent or parents other than the birth parents in the United States. The 2000 census was the first census in which adoption statistics were collected. The number of children awaiting adoption dropped from 132,000 to 118,000 during the period 2000 to 2004 USA Adoption Chart.In fiscal year 2001, 50,703 foster children were adopted in the United States, many by their foster parents or relatives of their biological parents.
(wikipedia)
5. what is the percentage of teen pregnancy? How has it changed?
The birth rate rose by 3 percent between 2005 and 2006 among 15-to-19-year-old girls, after plummeting 34 percent between 1991 and 2005, the National Center for Health Statistics reported.
LOOK AT LINK FOR GRAPH: http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2007/12/06/GR2007120600072.gif
Group 2- Medical technigues and technology of birth
6. What percentage of woman die of Childbirth?
women are dying from childbirth at the highest rate in decades, new government figures show. Though the risk of death is very small, experts believe increasing maternal obesity and a jump in Caesarean sections are partly to blame. The U.S. maternal mortality rate rose to 13 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2004, according to statistics released this week by the National Center for Health Statistics. The rate was 12 per 100,000 live births in 2003 — the first time the maternal death rate rose above 10 since 1977.
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20427256/)
7. What is the percentage of male babies who are circumcised?
Between 2001 and 2003, the percentage of male infants who were circumcised in the hospital decreased from 63 percent to 56 percent, the lowest percentage recorded since 1979. Between 1979 and 2001, the percentage of male infants who were circumcised in the hospital remained relatively constant, ranging between 59 percent and 65 percent. However, between 2001 and 2003, the percentage of male infants circumcised decreased from 63 percent to 56 percent. he percentage of male newborns in the western region of the United States receiving circumcisions has significantly decreased, from 64 percent in 1979 to 31 percent in 2003. This decrease may be reflective of an increase in the proportion of births to Hispanics, who have been found to be less likely to receive circumcisions than are white and black male infants.
(http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/indicators/85MaleCircumcision.cfm)
1. What percentage of men use contracptives (Condoms)?
Use within marriage. An estimated 44 million married couples use condoms for family planningThe estimate of 6 to 9 billion condoms used worldwide each year is based partly on surveys of actual use and also assumes that, of the 8 to 10 billion condoms produced each year, 10% to 20% are never used.
(http://www.infoforhealth.org/pr/h9/h9chap1_1.shtml)
2. What is the average age of birth?
Women in the United States are waiting longer to have children, health statistics show, presenting challenges for doctors and patients alike. More than 586,000 babies were born to women over age 35 in 2004. That's just over 14 percent of births that year, up from about 5 percent 15 years ago. The average age of women when they gave birth for the first time was at a record high of 25.2 in 2003, the CDC said. That age has increased by nearly four years since 1970.
(http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/21/later.childbirth/index.html)
3.what is the most common form of birth control?
Women prefer to use the pill ahead of other forms of contraceptive according to a new survey by the Office for National Statistics. In 2007/08, three-quarters of women in the 16-49 age group reported using some form of contraception, with 28 per cent of women using the pill, compared with 24 per cent who relied on the male condom. One quarter of women said they did not use any form of contraception in 2007/08, with the most common reason being that they were not in a heterosexual relationship (14 per cent). Three percent said they were not using contraceptives because they wanted to become pregnant.
(office for National Statistics www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/csh1008.pd)
4. Percentage of Adoption in the united states?
Adoption in the United States is the legal act of adoption, of permanently placing a person under the age of 18 with a parent or parents other than the birth parents in the United States. The 2000 census was the first census in which adoption statistics were collected. The number of children awaiting adoption dropped from 132,000 to 118,000 during the period 2000 to 2004 USA Adoption Chart.In fiscal year 2001, 50,703 foster children were adopted in the United States, many by their foster parents or relatives of their biological parents.
(wikipedia)
5. what is the percentage of teen pregnancy? How has it changed?
The birth rate rose by 3 percent between 2005 and 2006 among 15-to-19-year-old girls, after plummeting 34 percent between 1991 and 2005, the National Center for Health Statistics reported.
LOOK AT LINK FOR GRAPH: http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2007/12/06/GR2007120600072.gif
Group 2- Medical technigues and technology of birth
6. What percentage of woman die of Childbirth?
women are dying from childbirth at the highest rate in decades, new government figures show. Though the risk of death is very small, experts believe increasing maternal obesity and a jump in Caesarean sections are partly to blame. The U.S. maternal mortality rate rose to 13 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2004, according to statistics released this week by the National Center for Health Statistics. The rate was 12 per 100,000 live births in 2003 — the first time the maternal death rate rose above 10 since 1977.
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20427256/)
7. What is the percentage of male babies who are circumcised?
Between 2001 and 2003, the percentage of male infants who were circumcised in the hospital decreased from 63 percent to 56 percent, the lowest percentage recorded since 1979. Between 1979 and 2001, the percentage of male infants who were circumcised in the hospital remained relatively constant, ranging between 59 percent and 65 percent. However, between 2001 and 2003, the percentage of male infants circumcised decreased from 63 percent to 56 percent. he percentage of male newborns in the western region of the United States receiving circumcisions has significantly decreased, from 64 percent in 1979 to 31 percent in 2003. This decrease may be reflective of an increase in the proportion of births to Hispanics, who have been found to be less likely to receive circumcisions than are white and black male infants.
(http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/indicators/85MaleCircumcision.cfm)
Monday, February 9, 2009
What questions do we need to better understand the American Way of Birth?
Topic ---- How people get pregnant?
Birth control
Abortion
Adoption
1. what % of women get pregnant on purpose?
2. how available is birth control to all people? (teens and adults)
3. what is the % of teen pregnancy? how has it changed?
4. what reasons do women have for getting an abortion?
5. how do the different races compare to pregnancy?
6. what is the average age of birth?
7. reasons for adoption?
8. is abortion or putting your child up for adoption more difficult for the mother?
9. what is the most common form of birth control?
10. what is the safest form of birth control?
11. what %of men use condoms?
12. what is there reason for not?
13. what %of men take responsibility for there children?
4 Birth Stories:
Birth story # 1 - The first person i asked said when they gave birth it was just as expected and "would remember every wonderful moment" they had planned form the very beginning to have a completely natural birth in the comfort of there own home. Months before the birth the two of them attended various birthing classes (a lot of yoga) to better prepare themselves. It was very important for both the husband and wife to feel they were involved in the actual process as much as the professionals. They made sure to have a staff they felt very secure with, both the dula and the OB/GYN were close friends of the soon to be parents. Her water broke in the mid morning, she was in the kitchen making tea, instead of freaking out she said she felt "an enormous sense of excitement, i felt prepared and i was ready for whatever this new little life was gonna bring." After cleaning up the mess her and her husband called their friends (the dual and the OB/GYN) over to there house, while waiting the two of them practiced some of the breathing methods and birth positions while listening to some of there favorite music to take her mind off the pain. "Having a supportive husband made the whole process less stressful, and exciting knowing you have a loved one to share it with." About an hour and a half later the dula and OB/GYN arrived, 3 hours after her water broke the contractions started, and they got set up and comfortable in their bathtub, "Natural birth allowed my son to take his time. When he arrived his umbilical cord was short which explained why I could only push a few seconds before stopping. He needed oxygen in short bursts! It was truly an experience I cherish for the fact that by body delivered when it was ready, not by induction."
Birth story # 2 - The second story i got was a little different form the first, it was a little less enjoyable. It was an unplanned pregnancy even though both the mother and father were thrilled with the new, thoughts ran through there head that it might have been a little too soon being as there daughter was just turning one. she was less worried about the process than her plan for after the baby was born. her first pregnancy was faster and a lot less painful than expected, that was not the case with her second one. Her water broke in a little less of a private place, the near by super market in the dairy aisle. she called her husband to meet her and take her to the hospital. 15 minutes later they were in a taxi cab going to the hospital, she described her contractions as "the worst pain ever! nothing could have prepared me for that, there were a few times where i did not know if i was gonna get out of it alive. I wanted to give up and no amount of support or words of comfort could make me feel any better. I needed the epidural as fast as i could get my hands on it!" After she was given the medication it did not seem to be working fast enough but about an hour later she was feeling a little more comfortable, but unfortunately it did not last forever, after a good 43 hours of treacherous labor she gave birth to another baby girl. Although she was over joyed with the newest addition she said "no amount of money could persuade me to go through that again." She stayed true to her word and 11 years to this day she has never been pregnant again.
Birth story # 3 - similar to the first story, the mother cherished every moment of the birth even though it played out a little differently than expected. both the mother and the father had originally wanted to have a natural birth in a hospital. They felt comfortable in that environment but felt it important to have her mother, step-mother and sisters in the room along with her husband. Being as scrap booking was a Hobie of hers, she wanted as many pictures and videos as her loved ones could take, it was "a memory i never wanted to forget!". little did she know complications would change her plan. It was 1 in the morning when her water had broke, she was sleeping and didn't notice anything until she was woken up by the pain of the contractions. After her husband quickly finished packing last minute things, they were on there way to the hospital (20 minutes by car). All her family was on call and left immediately once news had surfaced. In the car ride she said "i had a feeling it was not gonna be as easy as expected, i felt something was a little off and i was just extremely anxious to see my doctor" turned out she had the motherly instinct, 3 hours after being in the hospital she was rushed into an emergency c-section ( the baby's umbilical cord was wrapped around the babies neck. " I knew how much support i had, but i could not help feeling extremely alone." after the surgery was over she was over bared with a huge rush of emotions, seeing the baby for the first time gave her a whole new outlook on life.
Birth story # 4 - Birth story # 4 is not much of a birth story, its only what i have been told about my birth parents and the whole adoption process. I was born on December 8Th 1992 in Corpus Christi Texas. Everyone always asks me how i felt when i was told i was adopted, to be honest i have absolutely no recollection of ever being told, almost as if i always knew (sounds corny). I have never really been told much about my birth parents and i have never bothered to ask cause it always seemed like a touchy subject. I know they were very young and felt they would not be able to support me. I was put up for adoption immediately after birth, I'm not sure if my birth parents ever saw what i looked like. My mother and father received the news the day i was born, they dropped everything and got the first possible plane fight to Texas, we were united when i was two days. I stayed in Texas for two weeks where i meet my grandma, two weeks later i was in Mexico visiting family and friends and then California and Florida, i was about 4 months when i finally got to new york. I often times wonder what my life could have been knowing i could have been given to a number of families, i have never made the attempt to get in contact with my birth parents but i always wonder what they are like and the lives they live now and if they still feel they made the right decision.
Birth story # 2 - The second story i got was a little different form the first, it was a little less enjoyable. It was an unplanned pregnancy even though both the mother and father were thrilled with the new, thoughts ran through there head that it might have been a little too soon being as there daughter was just turning one. she was less worried about the process than her plan for after the baby was born. her first pregnancy was faster and a lot less painful than expected, that was not the case with her second one. Her water broke in a little less of a private place, the near by super market in the dairy aisle. she called her husband to meet her and take her to the hospital. 15 minutes later they were in a taxi cab going to the hospital, she described her contractions as "the worst pain ever! nothing could have prepared me for that, there were a few times where i did not know if i was gonna get out of it alive. I wanted to give up and no amount of support or words of comfort could make me feel any better. I needed the epidural as fast as i could get my hands on it!" After she was given the medication it did not seem to be working fast enough but about an hour later she was feeling a little more comfortable, but unfortunately it did not last forever, after a good 43 hours of treacherous labor she gave birth to another baby girl. Although she was over joyed with the newest addition she said "no amount of money could persuade me to go through that again." She stayed true to her word and 11 years to this day she has never been pregnant again.
Birth story # 3 - similar to the first story, the mother cherished every moment of the birth even though it played out a little differently than expected. both the mother and the father had originally wanted to have a natural birth in a hospital. They felt comfortable in that environment but felt it important to have her mother, step-mother and sisters in the room along with her husband. Being as scrap booking was a Hobie of hers, she wanted as many pictures and videos as her loved ones could take, it was "a memory i never wanted to forget!". little did she know complications would change her plan. It was 1 in the morning when her water had broke, she was sleeping and didn't notice anything until she was woken up by the pain of the contractions. After her husband quickly finished packing last minute things, they were on there way to the hospital (20 minutes by car). All her family was on call and left immediately once news had surfaced. In the car ride she said "i had a feeling it was not gonna be as easy as expected, i felt something was a little off and i was just extremely anxious to see my doctor" turned out she had the motherly instinct, 3 hours after being in the hospital she was rushed into an emergency c-section ( the baby's umbilical cord was wrapped around the babies neck. " I knew how much support i had, but i could not help feeling extremely alone." after the surgery was over she was over bared with a huge rush of emotions, seeing the baby for the first time gave her a whole new outlook on life.
Birth story # 4 - Birth story # 4 is not much of a birth story, its only what i have been told about my birth parents and the whole adoption process. I was born on December 8Th 1992 in Corpus Christi Texas. Everyone always asks me how i felt when i was told i was adopted, to be honest i have absolutely no recollection of ever being told, almost as if i always knew (sounds corny). I have never really been told much about my birth parents and i have never bothered to ask cause it always seemed like a touchy subject. I know they were very young and felt they would not be able to support me. I was put up for adoption immediately after birth, I'm not sure if my birth parents ever saw what i looked like. My mother and father received the news the day i was born, they dropped everything and got the first possible plane fight to Texas, we were united when i was two days. I stayed in Texas for two weeks where i meet my grandma, two weeks later i was in Mexico visiting family and friends and then California and Florida, i was about 4 months when i finally got to new york. I often times wonder what my life could have been knowing i could have been given to a number of families, i have never made the attempt to get in contact with my birth parents but i always wonder what they are like and the lives they live now and if they still feel they made the right decision.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
AMOL Big Paper:
Intro ---
Every America has there own definition of their American way of life, a lot has to do with their background and experiences. Every one wants to achieve the “America dream”, but what defines that. We live in a land of opportunity and most want to take advantage of it. Status is very important to most people and it is most of their goals in life to make it to the top. American is supposed to be a place where everyone, people born dirt poor or filthy rich are given the same chances and opportunities to succeed in life. People from other countries have a painted picture in their head that everything is possible; a lot of their perception is influenced by the American and worldwide media. Through observation and interviews of the American people we were able to discuss as a class many of the dominant frameworks of the America way of life. While closely looking at all the aspects of the AWOL we were able to better analyze it and see how much of it is actually true, and what is made up to be more than it actually is.
Through the eyes of an American ---
What is The American Way of Life? At first it seemed like there would be and obvious answer: “2.5 kids, two cars, a white picket fence and a dog.” However, it turns out that its a little more complicated than that, depending on who you ask. In the beginning of the year on the many trips we took walking and observing our surroundings. Through interviews with peers, family members and strangers on the busy New York City streets, I was able to I gathered an overall idea about what the American Way of Life actually is. Although everyone’s definition of the American Way of Life is different, both Fred Taylor and John Fanning, two middle class white men, were able to agree that they thought it was structured around freedom and the right that people have to persue what they love. They felt it is “Important to live the life you imagined and follow your dreams” (Taylor), and that “People should be able to seek what they feel is necessary in life” (Taylor). It’s interesting that the majority of what they said was similar, possibly due to the fact that they went through some of the same struggles in life; both coming form artistic backgrounds.
The American Way of Life is a never-ending cycle, which involves numerous subjects left open for discussion. Living in America in this day and age has been extremely tough. It a melting pot of different cultures all having different views of what the American Way of Life is, and some of the challenges that go along with it. Financially it has become very difficult to support American family lifestyles “at this point in time the economic system is horrible. The Richer are getting Richer, the middle class is becoming smaller and more people are becoming poorer and poorer.” (Taylor) For the most part everyone that I have interviewed felt America was based on “opportunity,” but with the current government opportunity seems to be getting smaller, and one thing seems to lead to another. How much freedom and opportunity do we actually have? Generally speaking the lower class seems to have a much larger struggle. While walking around the streets I interviewed a lower class Hispanic women who said, “If you are born from a poor family life is harder to get by in life. We do not have the access to the best education, which can make or break our careers.”
People claim you can do anything you want in life, as long as you put your mind to it. But how true is that? Although she felt not everyone was able to seek the “American Way Of Life,” it seems that people agree that education and money play a very important role in the socioeconomic status of Americans. “People who are educated do better in this country” (Fanning). Education seems to be a large part of how successful people become in life. Why were people 40 years ago able to support families without graduating from high school or having a college degree? Why has it changed so much? People who get a lower level of education usually are not able to get highly paid jobs.
Does everyone living in American dream the same dream? Is it to“ work hard, start families, try and make money, and pass down tradition and values to the next generation.” (Fanning) Is that the typical American Way of Life? Who is the one who determines the way we choose to live our lives? People all around the world go to great lengths to get to America because of the “freedom” and “opportunity” they hear we Americans have.
Capitalism ---
Capitalism is more complicated than most would understand, there are many different aspects to the way it is run. The official definition of Capitalism is an economic system in which goods and services are produced, distributed and consumed through the mechanism of a free market based deeply on the right to private property and the profit motive. The three major defining concepts of capitalism are Land, Labor, and Capital. These all have a lot to do with the production of a product. Land (the natural world) is the natural resources the product needs. Labor involves all the work necessary to produce and sell the product, lastly Capital which is the resources (the stuff) used to "re-shape" and sell the final product. People who have money to start off are able to get father in life than people who don't. There is a lot of strategy behind capitalism many companies and businesses try to make the most money possible while spending as little as possible this is also known as profit motive. It the seller and the consumer who both try and get the most out of every dollar they put towards the product, the price of their product set according to the market price. That is the highest price the seller will sell their product for and the lowest price the consumer is willing to pay for (buy low, sell high). Based on supply and demand the market price will shift. If demand of a product goes up price and quantity will also go up, if demand goes down so will the price and quantity. If Supply goes up price goes down while quantity goes up, lastly when supply goes up quantity goes down. A free market economy will cause competition between business because the government does not impose regulations with leaves the market to set its own level, this lack or regulation is what is causing the economic crisis occurring right now. Why do people work as hard as they do? Is it because they want to? The invisible hand is what pushes you to do not always what you want, but what you know you have to do in order to provide a comfortable life for yourself and the people in your life (self interest). One of the most common stories you will hear in American is the "Rags to Riches" one. So many people are drawn to the fact that we have upward mobility, where you can start at the bottom with little money but still make it to the top. That motive knowing you can make something of your life encourages people to continue to work.
Constitution and government---
We studied the constitution and took a deeper look into the meaning behind it, before that it was important to understand the basic concepts.
Pre-Amble
To ensure that America stays free and that Justice is always served, this constitution was created so that laws and rules must be abided by, the constitution serves the purpose of making sure that everyone is unified and domestic peace is kept in place.
• Legislative Branch:
- Made up of Congress, House of Representatives, and Senate
- Makes Tax laws
- Makes laws controlling trade between the United States and other countries
- Representation in senate remains the same, different from the House of Representatives which varies on population of state
- Senate can say yes or no to treaties that president makes
- Approves the production and making of money
- Can declare wars with countries
• Executive Branch:
- Makes sure that laws of US are followed and obeyed
- To be a president, you must be a natural born American and have lived in the US for at least 14 years
- The President has a cabinet that he can turn to for advice. i.e) The Secretary of State and Secretary of Commerce
- The President has the power to approve or disapprove laws that the Congress creates
• Judicial Branch:
- Justices have to be trained in law.
- Supreme Court is made up of 9 justices
- Is The Supreme Court
In the constitution, it states that the supreme law of the land is that all of the decisions are made under the authority of the United States of America. Nothing is based on religion and no test has to be taken in order for a person to qualify for a job in the US office. If this was the case for every situation I think things would be a lot different then they are. This law is supposed to show how the Untied State is not only based on a dominant religion, when Bush was elected president he made the separation between church and state extremely hard to find. Supposedly it does not keep anyone who is not of the prominent religion in the United out of office. It also allows citizens that currently live in the US; practice any religion they choose because there are no consequences. It will not affect them negatively and they can pursue a career in a office of the United States. I think religion had been a huge part of the AWOL for thousands of years and has become a trap, when this law was written I think it was just a cover up tricking people to think that they could believe in anything they wanted and not be effected, but people are judged all the time and discriminated against because of religion preference and beliefs. The constitution was written not to be like any other country assuring people that they were given freedom one of them being the tight to choose and live by their religion.
According to the constitution, the fourth amendment states that the government is not permitted to search a person’s house or take a person’s items with a good reason and a warrant. I think a persons privacy should be respected but I believe it can be broken to ensure the safety of other people/citizens. My only objection is that when the law was written it should have been made more specific, it clearly states that random searches are not allowed. After 9/11 security became more intense and while traveling places more and more random searches started. They were not searching people’s items to make it any less convenient or to intentionally invade their privacy. It was done to ensure the safety of the people around them. Events and situations have taken place in the United States that left a lot of people shaken: terrorist bombings and many alleged plots for future attacks on the US. Looking closely you could conclude that there are exceptions being made towards the 4Th amendment but the reason why are acceptable.
The 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th amendments of the constitution are considered to be extremely crucial because it lead to the US’s change as a government. They introduced the Electoral College and the abolishment of slavery. For many years the white people had all the power, when these amendments where passed the American citizens of color to have more freedom mainly putting and end to slavery. The 12 Amendment changed how both the president and vice president became elected. Instead of electing a president and vice president together they made the decision to put them on separate ballots. Now a day the president makes the decision on who is appointed vice president.
The 13TH, 14TH and 15th amendment are the ones that allowed the United States citizens freedom. When slavery was abolished things seemed to become more diverse, the government now seems to consist of a few different races and backgrounds (Obama). The 14th amendment states that laws can’t be made that rob people of their lives and freedom, the 15th amendment stated that all citizens of any race had the right to vote but women were not allowed that privilege yet. Every amendment was a milestone in American history because they were the first amendments that allowed all citizens (with the exception of women) to be somewhat equal, attempting to bring the country closer.
I think that the amendments where passed around that time because although race was still a heavy weighing issue people were starting to realize that slavery would not last forever. Minorities began to stand up for themselves making it known they too had a voice to be heard. For many years it was the whites that had total control and dictated to everyone “below them”. I think Martin Luther King Jr played a large part in the process of getting equal rights for all people. During the movement, he referred frequently to the constitution and relied on it to help get the idea across to people that all people no matter race should be treated equal. Minorities showed their determination to be free, and probably helped to make it known that many of them weren’t scared of breaking the rules anymore. Although White supremacy was still to be feared, it was slowly becoming less of a threat. Things were changing in the world, and people began to realize that they deserved to have rights that whites only had. More and more Black leaders and speakers began to immerge. Although it would be nice to say we now live in a time where the race card is not played that is not the reality. It has without a doubt become much better but I don’t think it will ever go away completely.
Every America has there own definition of their American way of life, a lot has to do with their background and experiences. Every one wants to achieve the “America dream”, but what defines that. We live in a land of opportunity and most want to take advantage of it. Status is very important to most people and it is most of their goals in life to make it to the top. American is supposed to be a place where everyone, people born dirt poor or filthy rich are given the same chances and opportunities to succeed in life. People from other countries have a painted picture in their head that everything is possible; a lot of their perception is influenced by the American and worldwide media. Through observation and interviews of the American people we were able to discuss as a class many of the dominant frameworks of the America way of life. While closely looking at all the aspects of the AWOL we were able to better analyze it and see how much of it is actually true, and what is made up to be more than it actually is.
Through the eyes of an American ---
What is The American Way of Life? At first it seemed like there would be and obvious answer: “2.5 kids, two cars, a white picket fence and a dog.” However, it turns out that its a little more complicated than that, depending on who you ask. In the beginning of the year on the many trips we took walking and observing our surroundings. Through interviews with peers, family members and strangers on the busy New York City streets, I was able to I gathered an overall idea about what the American Way of Life actually is. Although everyone’s definition of the American Way of Life is different, both Fred Taylor and John Fanning, two middle class white men, were able to agree that they thought it was structured around freedom and the right that people have to persue what they love. They felt it is “Important to live the life you imagined and follow your dreams” (Taylor), and that “People should be able to seek what they feel is necessary in life” (Taylor). It’s interesting that the majority of what they said was similar, possibly due to the fact that they went through some of the same struggles in life; both coming form artistic backgrounds.
The American Way of Life is a never-ending cycle, which involves numerous subjects left open for discussion. Living in America in this day and age has been extremely tough. It a melting pot of different cultures all having different views of what the American Way of Life is, and some of the challenges that go along with it. Financially it has become very difficult to support American family lifestyles “at this point in time the economic system is horrible. The Richer are getting Richer, the middle class is becoming smaller and more people are becoming poorer and poorer.” (Taylor) For the most part everyone that I have interviewed felt America was based on “opportunity,” but with the current government opportunity seems to be getting smaller, and one thing seems to lead to another. How much freedom and opportunity do we actually have? Generally speaking the lower class seems to have a much larger struggle. While walking around the streets I interviewed a lower class Hispanic women who said, “If you are born from a poor family life is harder to get by in life. We do not have the access to the best education, which can make or break our careers.”
People claim you can do anything you want in life, as long as you put your mind to it. But how true is that? Although she felt not everyone was able to seek the “American Way Of Life,” it seems that people agree that education and money play a very important role in the socioeconomic status of Americans. “People who are educated do better in this country” (Fanning). Education seems to be a large part of how successful people become in life. Why were people 40 years ago able to support families without graduating from high school or having a college degree? Why has it changed so much? People who get a lower level of education usually are not able to get highly paid jobs.
Does everyone living in American dream the same dream? Is it to“ work hard, start families, try and make money, and pass down tradition and values to the next generation.” (Fanning) Is that the typical American Way of Life? Who is the one who determines the way we choose to live our lives? People all around the world go to great lengths to get to America because of the “freedom” and “opportunity” they hear we Americans have.
Capitalism ---
Capitalism is more complicated than most would understand, there are many different aspects to the way it is run. The official definition of Capitalism is an economic system in which goods and services are produced, distributed and consumed through the mechanism of a free market based deeply on the right to private property and the profit motive. The three major defining concepts of capitalism are Land, Labor, and Capital. These all have a lot to do with the production of a product. Land (the natural world) is the natural resources the product needs. Labor involves all the work necessary to produce and sell the product, lastly Capital which is the resources (the stuff) used to "re-shape" and sell the final product. People who have money to start off are able to get father in life than people who don't. There is a lot of strategy behind capitalism many companies and businesses try to make the most money possible while spending as little as possible this is also known as profit motive. It the seller and the consumer who both try and get the most out of every dollar they put towards the product, the price of their product set according to the market price. That is the highest price the seller will sell their product for and the lowest price the consumer is willing to pay for (buy low, sell high). Based on supply and demand the market price will shift. If demand of a product goes up price and quantity will also go up, if demand goes down so will the price and quantity. If Supply goes up price goes down while quantity goes up, lastly when supply goes up quantity goes down. A free market economy will cause competition between business because the government does not impose regulations with leaves the market to set its own level, this lack or regulation is what is causing the economic crisis occurring right now. Why do people work as hard as they do? Is it because they want to? The invisible hand is what pushes you to do not always what you want, but what you know you have to do in order to provide a comfortable life for yourself and the people in your life (self interest). One of the most common stories you will hear in American is the "Rags to Riches" one. So many people are drawn to the fact that we have upward mobility, where you can start at the bottom with little money but still make it to the top. That motive knowing you can make something of your life encourages people to continue to work.
Constitution and government---
We studied the constitution and took a deeper look into the meaning behind it, before that it was important to understand the basic concepts.
Pre-Amble
To ensure that America stays free and that Justice is always served, this constitution was created so that laws and rules must be abided by, the constitution serves the purpose of making sure that everyone is unified and domestic peace is kept in place.
• Legislative Branch:
- Made up of Congress, House of Representatives, and Senate
- Makes Tax laws
- Makes laws controlling trade between the United States and other countries
- Representation in senate remains the same, different from the House of Representatives which varies on population of state
- Senate can say yes or no to treaties that president makes
- Approves the production and making of money
- Can declare wars with countries
• Executive Branch:
- Makes sure that laws of US are followed and obeyed
- To be a president, you must be a natural born American and have lived in the US for at least 14 years
- The President has a cabinet that he can turn to for advice. i.e) The Secretary of State and Secretary of Commerce
- The President has the power to approve or disapprove laws that the Congress creates
• Judicial Branch:
- Justices have to be trained in law.
- Supreme Court is made up of 9 justices
- Is The Supreme Court
In the constitution, it states that the supreme law of the land is that all of the decisions are made under the authority of the United States of America. Nothing is based on religion and no test has to be taken in order for a person to qualify for a job in the US office. If this was the case for every situation I think things would be a lot different then they are. This law is supposed to show how the Untied State is not only based on a dominant religion, when Bush was elected president he made the separation between church and state extremely hard to find. Supposedly it does not keep anyone who is not of the prominent religion in the United out of office. It also allows citizens that currently live in the US; practice any religion they choose because there are no consequences. It will not affect them negatively and they can pursue a career in a office of the United States. I think religion had been a huge part of the AWOL for thousands of years and has become a trap, when this law was written I think it was just a cover up tricking people to think that they could believe in anything they wanted and not be effected, but people are judged all the time and discriminated against because of religion preference and beliefs. The constitution was written not to be like any other country assuring people that they were given freedom one of them being the tight to choose and live by their religion.
According to the constitution, the fourth amendment states that the government is not permitted to search a person’s house or take a person’s items with a good reason and a warrant. I think a persons privacy should be respected but I believe it can be broken to ensure the safety of other people/citizens. My only objection is that when the law was written it should have been made more specific, it clearly states that random searches are not allowed. After 9/11 security became more intense and while traveling places more and more random searches started. They were not searching people’s items to make it any less convenient or to intentionally invade their privacy. It was done to ensure the safety of the people around them. Events and situations have taken place in the United States that left a lot of people shaken: terrorist bombings and many alleged plots for future attacks on the US. Looking closely you could conclude that there are exceptions being made towards the 4Th amendment but the reason why are acceptable.
The 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th amendments of the constitution are considered to be extremely crucial because it lead to the US’s change as a government. They introduced the Electoral College and the abolishment of slavery. For many years the white people had all the power, when these amendments where passed the American citizens of color to have more freedom mainly putting and end to slavery. The 12 Amendment changed how both the president and vice president became elected. Instead of electing a president and vice president together they made the decision to put them on separate ballots. Now a day the president makes the decision on who is appointed vice president.
The 13TH, 14TH and 15th amendment are the ones that allowed the United States citizens freedom. When slavery was abolished things seemed to become more diverse, the government now seems to consist of a few different races and backgrounds (Obama). The 14th amendment states that laws can’t be made that rob people of their lives and freedom, the 15th amendment stated that all citizens of any race had the right to vote but women were not allowed that privilege yet. Every amendment was a milestone in American history because they were the first amendments that allowed all citizens (with the exception of women) to be somewhat equal, attempting to bring the country closer.
I think that the amendments where passed around that time because although race was still a heavy weighing issue people were starting to realize that slavery would not last forever. Minorities began to stand up for themselves making it known they too had a voice to be heard. For many years it was the whites that had total control and dictated to everyone “below them”. I think Martin Luther King Jr played a large part in the process of getting equal rights for all people. During the movement, he referred frequently to the constitution and relied on it to help get the idea across to people that all people no matter race should be treated equal. Minorities showed their determination to be free, and probably helped to make it known that many of them weren’t scared of breaking the rules anymore. Although White supremacy was still to be feared, it was slowly becoming less of a threat. Things were changing in the world, and people began to realize that they deserved to have rights that whites only had. More and more Black leaders and speakers began to immerge. Although it would be nice to say we now live in a time where the race card is not played that is not the reality. It has without a doubt become much better but I don’t think it will ever go away completely.
Inauguration Analysis:
I was surprised how emotional this past week was, especially the Monday (Martin Luther King Day) before the inauguration. Talking to family and friends everyone seemed to be amazed that they lived to see the day where "MLK'S dreams became a reality". I stayed home to watch the inauguration with the surprising permission of my parents, they felt it was a extremely historical day that could not be missed. To me if felt like the first day in many years where people has some sort of hope for the country, it was a good feeling to know that a president i actually wanted and many of the people closest too me choose, won!!! because that has not been the case for the past two elections. This election seemed to have a slightly different vibe from previous ones. People seemed more desperate, as if Obama was the our only answer, treated almost as god: he had all the answers to our problems, as long as he is out president we have no more worries. Although i agree that he will lead us in a better direction then McCain, there is only so much he can do in the time he has to get us out of the mess we are in. It seemed to become a trend to show support for him, most celebrities used there power to promote him, appearing in TV specials, commercials, and ads, making it the "in" thing to do.
while watching the news coverage, I was really surprised and inspired to see how diverse the crowd of people (more than 2 million) gathered together in Washington to show support for Obama, many reporters compared it to the march on Washington when MLK gave his most famous "I have a dream" speech. I think it gave many hope that the road to end racism was coming to an end, but in reality there is a long way to go, we have just made a huge leap. when the Bush's showed there face at the celebration i was surprised at how calm to crow was, i was expecting to see more anger and hate in people actions.
I was also really surprised at how much the media took interest in the outfits the Obama family was wearing, it seemed like a very insignificant thing compared to the rest of the day. Everyone was talking about what the new up and coming young designer Michelle was wearing, and J Crew made it very clear that they provided the outfits for Barack, and his two daughter Sasha and Melia.
Overall I enjoyed watching the inauguration, i thought it was very thoughtfully planed out with all of the preformences, and it was a good feeling to see so many people (black, white, hispanic, rich and poor) show their support in the freezing cold weather. That was a historic event that im sure will be talked about in out children's american history classes. All of us can say we had the privilage of watching it live.
Posted by tribeca92 at 3:59 PM 0 comments
while watching the news coverage, I was really surprised and inspired to see how diverse the crowd of people (more than 2 million) gathered together in Washington to show support for Obama, many reporters compared it to the march on Washington when MLK gave his most famous "I have a dream" speech. I think it gave many hope that the road to end racism was coming to an end, but in reality there is a long way to go, we have just made a huge leap. when the Bush's showed there face at the celebration i was surprised at how calm to crow was, i was expecting to see more anger and hate in people actions.
I was also really surprised at how much the media took interest in the outfits the Obama family was wearing, it seemed like a very insignificant thing compared to the rest of the day. Everyone was talking about what the new up and coming young designer Michelle was wearing, and J Crew made it very clear that they provided the outfits for Barack, and his two daughter Sasha and Melia.
Overall I enjoyed watching the inauguration, i thought it was very thoughtfully planed out with all of the preformences, and it was a good feeling to see so many people (black, white, hispanic, rich and poor) show their support in the freezing cold weather. That was a historic event that im sure will be talked about in out children's american history classes. All of us can say we had the privilage of watching it live.
Posted by tribeca92 at 3:59 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Holidays '09 continued...
A few weeks ago in class we discussed how our holidays went and how they relate to the typical American Way of Life. There is an overall trend that people follow when it comes to the holidays especially new years eve. Everyone used it as an excuse to let loose and have fun one way or another. alcohol seemed to be common topic of discussion weather they were at a party or at home with family watching the ball drop. I feel that American teenagers (our generation)especially hypes up the party scene and therefore people follow in there friends footsteps to fit in.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
eBay Analysis:
This was my first time ever buying something from eBay, I had heard a lot about it and knew my mother was familiar with it and had used it a few times to buy stuff but was unfamiliar with putting up things for sale. I had never actually been on the website and I was really surprised to find that they sold just about everything you could possibly imagine (cars, postcards, clothes, books, etc.) I Originally did not have an idea of what I wanted to buy but I found it very interesting that they has a ton of new/never been worn American apparel clothes in one style but in a variety of colors and sizes for half the price of what it cost in the store. I had my eye set on a shirt selling for $11.95 but because there was so many of them it was an easy item to win. Although there was not a lot of competition for the item I wanted, I talked to my mom and she told me about her experience and said there is strategy behind it. like Andy she was telling me about J-bid, you can set the computer to automatically send eBay your final bet seconds before the action will end leaving very little time to out bid you. Although there are lots of good finds, I think there is also a down side if its a hot item that lots of people are interested in than the price will get higher and higher, hopefully people will be smart enough to stop throwing out offers if the price gets to high and it becomes not a good deal anymore. I like the fact that it is like recycling, instead of someone going out a buying a new coat they can buy one that is almost new but from someone else. This can relate back to the AWOL because eBay is yet another place that offers deals and steals for people looking to buy stuff.
Friday, January 2, 2009
2008 Holiday Analysis:
The older I get the less exciting the holidays become. This year seemed to be much more mellow than previous, I saw a lot less of family and noticed my general attitude towards Christmas and Hanukkah changed. Previous years i remember the holiday season being a competition between friends: who got everything they asked for and who got the most expensive gifts. Christmas morning before being able to even enjoy and appreciate what where were being giving, it was spent on the phone, exchanging the full run down of what we had gotten. Thinking back i think it was just a hidden ego boost, making us feel good about what our parents could afford and displaying the amount of love they had for us though the money and thought that was put into all the gifts we received. Most years i would just make wish lists to make one, usually asking for things i didn't really need or want. This year was different than most, I did not expect anything and was happy with whatever i did or didn't get. I discovered a new appreciation for what i have already, compared to most people in America and around the world.
I feel the holiday season has become more about giving and giving then actually taking the time to realize what you have and understand the meaning of each holiday and what it is all about (if you believe in it, spiritually). when and why did religion start and how has the birth of Jesus turn into a day celebrating consumerism and bring companies millions if not billions of dollars. seems to me that it has just become another excuse to buy materialist possessions that most people could live without. Living in American we will always be buying something, it is hard not to because that is what we have all become accustomed too. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that 80% of American live in places other than cities, where they all drive cars and their idea of fun is meeting a group of friends at a mall (normally a place to doing nothing but shop). It is a normal thing for Americans to do, so they continue to do it because they want to fit in (keeping up with the trends and sporting the latest gadgets advertised on TV). Christmas seems to me to just be another day in the AWOL, the only difference is that it is a day where people are expected to give and receive things that where bought for them.
I feel the holiday season has become more about giving and giving then actually taking the time to realize what you have and understand the meaning of each holiday and what it is all about (if you believe in it, spiritually). when and why did religion start and how has the birth of Jesus turn into a day celebrating consumerism and bring companies millions if not billions of dollars. seems to me that it has just become another excuse to buy materialist possessions that most people could live without. Living in American we will always be buying something, it is hard not to because that is what we have all become accustomed too. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that 80% of American live in places other than cities, where they all drive cars and their idea of fun is meeting a group of friends at a mall (normally a place to doing nothing but shop). It is a normal thing for Americans to do, so they continue to do it because they want to fit in (keeping up with the trends and sporting the latest gadgets advertised on TV). Christmas seems to me to just be another day in the AWOL, the only difference is that it is a day where people are expected to give and receive things that where bought for them.
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