In the Essay "Idiot Nation". by Michael Moore it states how America is becoming lazier and is being filled with idiots. The reasons this is occurring is because our country is being influenced and trained to surround their everyday lifestyles with technology. Before technology existed, almost everything was done by hand and people actually worked hard in their jobs and in everyday activities, but in our world today we rely on machinery and technology to do our work for us. Even children are being given toys that do not acquire the use of imagination or self involvement, everything is being done for them with the help of technology. Many of us are reading out of computers now and sadly books are being forgotten. In our world we are given three chances to gain education and they are; elementary, high school and college, many of us take advantage of this but sadly a large amount of us do not even care to explore it. We are given these education opportunities to make our nation smarter and for us to succeed, but as Micheal Moore states "our world is becoming an idiot nation". This is due to the fact that our society is not being motivated to learn and do better in life and gain greater accomplishments. The ones paying the consequences will be our children because they are growing up in a environment that is taking an easy way out, we are not learning things on our own but instead we are letting technology do the work for us. Education in America is becoming a joke to many, because other countries are learning advanced information that is twice our level. For example, a great amount of our children are learning pre-Algebra in the ninth grade, while children in china are already in geometry. Many countries know more about our cultures, lifestyles and our education than we do of ourselves, I think that is really bad especially coming from the country believed to be the land of dreams and higher hopes. Also, another point would have to be the environment and conditions of our schools. Many of these schools are in poor condition, crowded and limited in materials, this being said; of-course our children are not going to want to put any effort in something they do not even enjoy being around. It is also true that Americans have become lazy and have lost the passion for books. Americans nowadays are being surrounded and powered by technology, many are too lazy to do things by hand and have become reliable to machinery and gadgets. One of the biggest reasons why America is being filled with idiots is because, Americans are filling up their brain with useless information about the next "gossip", when in fact we should be filling our brains with useful information such as; our politics, our future and our environment. I truly believe that Americans take a large amount of things for granted in their lives. We do not see the struggles that many have to go through in order to get what we have in our lives today.There are many unfortunate people out there that wish they had the lifestyles that we have or the education that we are being offered. Education should not be something taken for granted because there are many children and even adults who do not know how to read, write or even analyze things because they do not have the privilege of owning a book or even be able to afford to go to school. We are the ones that will set the standards for our children and societies future, so why not educate ourselves and make a better life for our country and its opportunities?. i know that technology is tempting and we have gotten lost in how easy it makes things, but we must not forget that we need some time in our lives to do things on our own and feed our brain with new information everyday.
In the essay "The End of White America", by Hua Hsu, it states reasons on how and why whites are becoming a minority in America. It states that nowadays being white is not the greatest thing or the best thing to be proud of, because they are becoming underpopulated. A part of this has to do with immigrants and interracial couples. Back in the twenties if you immigrated into the United States and wanted to be considered white or American, you had to blend in and follow the lifestyles and traditions that whites had. You had to dress and speak like whites, you had to also go to the same schools, the same churches, the same groceries stores. In other words, you had to look and act like a white to make America look "good". In today's world if you want to become an American you just fix your papers and pay taxes, you do not have to blend in with the whites, in fact whites are beginning to blend in with Hispanics. Also, Interracial marriages and couples are bringing a different variety of skin color with their children, our world is not only focused on white with white and black with black, therefore; children are more likely to come out with colored skin. It has also become difficult for the white women to get modeling or acting jobs, because beauty today are Hispanics or Latin looks and they are what our world calls "the style of today's world". For the men, white are considered to be mean and unfair with Hispanics when in fact they can usually be helpful but since Hispanics are increasing in popularity, whites believe that they have to fight for themselves and for their respect. A great amount of Popular television shows and music are mostly all Hispanic or black related, because it is what our society is interested in the most. When before many of the popular music groups were white, such as; Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys. I believe that our world is becoming a Hispanic or Latin community, because many are immigrating into the United States looking for a better life in a world that was known as a white and rich community. With all these immigrants coming to the United States it is making us the majority race, and with all the white people moving away they are giving us the opportunity to overpopulate and put the standards high for whites to accommodate to our lifestyles. I believe that throughout the years, races will all have their chances in population and high power, because it all depends on what race is growing and succeeding at that time. I do not think that whites will become a minority because as i stated before, we all have a time when a race is higher than others and when some are lower than others. If that day does come when whites become minorities, then I sure hope they get the thrive to come up again because i believe that for a country to be successful it needs all types of cultures, races and ethnicity.
The essay " Bros Before Hos" by Micheal Kimmel, made me really change my views and opinions about boys and their behaviors. In this essay it states that many times boys are following a "guy code" in order to fit in. Boys are suppose to be seen as tough and masculine in order to be considered as normal or acceptable by others. A question was asked to a group of boys on what does it mean to them on being a man. The responses:"do not cry, take it like a man", surprised many but they did not surprise me. It did not surprise me because, from a young age boys are being taught that they should not cry and they need to "man up" and not show emotions. Growing up hearing all these demands and myths, this is what makes boys get the " I do not care" attitude, when in fact they may have a different opinion inside. They may be hiding many emotions and secrets that they do not want others to know or else they may get bullied or seen as an outsider. Many times boys are bullied because they do not meet the criteria in being a tough guy and are called names such as; sissy, girl, skirt, mommas boy. If you ask a group of teenage boys what is the first and worst thing to get bullied on, they will say that it is being called gay for the way a student acts, dresses, walks and expresses themselves. This action can lead to them loosing friends, a social life and their self esteem, because they become overwhelmed with all the pressure and with all the things they have kept in to themselves. Sadly, as a result of this many boys become aggravated and feel depressed, humiliated and leads to them not putting any effort in communicating with others, not paying attention to their school work, dropping out of school or even worse suicide. I think that Boys want to keep their manhood and pride because they are being harassed and pressured their whole life's about this topic, therefore; they see it as a necessary everyday struggle instead of an option. Boys get pressured about it at school, work, with peers, in sports and even withing their own family members. A large amount of boys are not able to turn to their families for help or for a melt down, but when a girl gets hurt or has a problem, they are able to cry and ask for help because it is what is seen as "okay" for them. But, if a boy does the same thing, then that is when the questions begin, is he gay? is he okay? whats wrong with him?. Since a large amount of a boys life they keep everything in and become distant from others, they usually break down through violence or self petty, that way they are still seen as the cool guy or the tough guy. In my opinion i think boys should be able to express themselves freely and speak their mind just as girls do because it is what keeps our mind and soul sane, the more they hold it in the more it accumulates in the long-run. if we give them more of a break with the pressure in manhood, then I do believe that they will be more sensitive and understanding towards others and themselves.
The article "Stephen Cruz" by Studs Terkel, made me really think about our society and its business world. Stephen Cruz is a thirty-nine smart business man, growing up he knew that all the money came from engineering and that's what he pursued his life goals to. Things were looking up for Stephen, he was getting many job offers and greater pays. At first he did not realize that "business" wanted him because he is Mexican, it made the companies look good for having a minority as an employee. Stephen was searching and working hard to live the "American Dream". As time went by, Cruz began to notice that the "American Dream" is nothing of what he expected it to be. Yea sure he is getting large amounts of money and is providing a great life for his family, but people around the world (including him) are being put down or held back due to discrimination and racism. He experienced his first racial act when he had hired a black woman, he believed she was perfect for the secretary job, but when he came back from his vacation the woman was gone. he then asked what had happened but was never given a reasonable answer. After this experience and after years of climbing the business latter, Stephen decided to leave the business world and work somewhere that will appreciate him and his achievements. That is when he got into teaching and began to enjoy his job very much, it did not pay as much as his previous jobs but at least he was not discriminated or looked down on. I do believe that there are many times when people are rejected or looked down on just because of their race and gender. Many times businesses and jobs do this because they do not want to seem sloppy and they do not want their reputation to become a problem. There are many Hispanics who are overachievers but are not being given a chance because of their cultural background. Our societies view of a perfect business world is to have someone who will make the company look good and in preference a white man or female. It is sad to think that there are many Hispanics, blacks and many other races that can be successful and may provide great ideas to companies. But, since they are not being given the chance to speak out more than what they are being told to, then many do not even bother trying to step up and prove that they are better than what others make them seem. Many come to the United States expecting a "New Life" or as Stephen Cruz stated "The American dream", when in fact we are being blind sighted by those on top making us all believe that if you work hard you will get success, when many times it is not like that at all. If you have "connections" or the "Look" then that is what will get you to a higher and better job. Hopefully someday our society will change and we will all be treated fairly, those who work hard will be rewarded for their success and determination, and those who try and cheat through life they will get the jobs they deserve and live life the proper way.
In class we have been discussing an essay by Malcolm-X that is titled; "Learning to Read". This essay impacted me the most out of the essays we have been reading and discussing, because I am able to relate to it the most. Malcolm-X spent seven years of his life in prison, that is were he became inspired to learn how to improve his reading and writing skills. Growing up Malcolm did not finish his education, therefore; his writing and reading skills were what he calls "slang", in other words not proper. He became frustrated of not being able to write his letters in a proper and organized way. Malcolm-X then stumbled into a dictionary and that is were his life and vocabulary changed. Malcolm began to read and copy the dictionary word by word, he became dedicated to learning new words and to broaden his vocabulary usage. As time went by his skills increased in both writing and reading and it became a lot easier as well. As time went by he began to read a larger variety of books, it is because of these books that he gained a deeper knowledge about the different religions, cultures, races and even slavery. Reading this essay made me realize that we take our writing and reading skills for granted. There are many out there in our country that do not know how to read or write and wish so bad that they could learn, when we are here not using our knowledge and putting it to waste on unnecessary things. An example would be my aunt, she has been trying to learn English for years but she does not put any effort in her studies, instead she just mingles and goes out to eat with her classmates and in result she has not gone really far in learning. But on the other hand, Malcolm-X had determination and the willingness to improve. Even if he was in prison and did not have as much "freedom",
he still did not let anything stop him not even the guards that lingered the halls at night. He could have easily given up but he kept working hard and accomplished his goal in improving his writing skills. I became inspired by Malcolm-X and realized that if i have a goal, I must not let anything stop me to achieving it and to keep pursuing it to improve. Sadly in our society today many have become lazy and unwilling to improve their writing skills, because with all the gadgets and technology out we have relied on it to do things for us and to make life easier. But as a result of this a lot of our dictionaries and books are being abandoned in shelves not being picked up once, and our minds are not getting the knowledge it needs or the imagination for children to learn and grow. Children today and even adults are being programed to be educated by technology, with the i-pods, computers, electronic dictionaries and books. That in mind, I think that Malcolm-X being in jail all those years was a blessing in a way, because if he was out in the "streets" hustling then he would have never gained that thrive and excitement on reading books and writing every word in the dictionary,
instead he would of been sucked into technology like many of us have in today's society.
