Friday, February 20, 2009
Reaction to Clips
Wow and eww were the only two words running through my mind when i was watching the videos. I watched the Dolfin give birth first, it seemed calm the mother just swam around in circles waiting for the baby to come out. What I thought was interesting about that one was that there were hundres of people watching the dolphin give birth. I wondered if that affects the mother of the child in any way because it it a drastic change from their natutal habitat. Then I watched the giraffe give bith and it seemed to be very similar to the way that dolfins give birth. Very calm and docile. The mother stays with the baby, caring for it and nurturing it until it was able to walk on its own. Then I watched the C-section video...gross. It looked so horrible. The doctor to the right looked like he was pulling the baby out by the head. It was terrible. All I could think about was the mother and how awful she must have felt. I wonder if she knew what they were doing and if she didn't know i wonder if anyone would tell her. It makes you want a natural birth..
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Answers to Selected Questions from Selected Groups
Questions on How people get pregnant, birth control, abortion and adoption:
Q- How available is birth control to people of all ages?
A- "There is no legal age you can begin taking birth control when you begin your period you can start because that is the time you can start to have babies. Keep in mind, though, that while there may not be legal prohibitions on birth control in young women, there are mental and physical health risks to birth control methods and to early sexual activity. Talk to your doctor, parents, or other trusted adult."
(http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_legal_age_to_start_taking_birth_control)
Q- What percentage of pregnant women had abortions?
A- "Summary: It is estimated here that, as of 2008, about 28% of U.S. women ages 15-64 have had abortions. This figure has risen from 2.8% in 1973 to 11% in 1980, 19% in 1987, 24% in 1994, and 27% in 2001. In 2008, of women ages 40-55, about 40% have had abortions in their lifetimes.From 1967 to September 2008, approximately 50,200,000 abortions occurred in the United States; of these, about 30,260,000 or 60% were to women with no prior abortions [1,2]. In other words, 30,260,000 different women had one or more abortions from 1967 to the present in the U.S.Given that there were 101,314,000 women ages 15-64 in the U.S. in 2007, this implies about 25-28% of women ages 15-64 in the U.S. today have had at least one abortion in their lifetime."
(http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/uslifetimeab.html)
Q- What is the average age of pregnancy?
A- "Over the last three decades, women have been waiting longer to become moms. In 1970, the average age for a first-time mother was about 21. In 2005, the average age of first-time moms was 25.2 years."
(http://www.babycenter.com/0_17-surprising-facts-about-birth-in-the-united-states_1372273.bc)
Questions on Professionalism & Techniques/Technicalities of Birthing Process
Q- What complications can arise from pregnancy/labor?
A- "Low Birth Weight- Caused by poor nutrition and substance abuse,Gestational Diabetes- Can happen during pregnancy when the woman's body isn't making enough insulin,Preterm Labor- When the mother's body is trying to deliver the baby before she has reached full-term (37 weeks) ,Group B Strep- Group B Strep is the leading cause of infections in newborns. Not group A strep (strep throat),Rh Negative Disease- Rh factor is determined by the presence of a protein surrounding red blood cells. Without the protein, a woman is considered Rh negative, Ectopic Pregnancy - # Ectopic pregnancies can be caused by an STD, such as chlamydia, or an infection, such as pelvic inflammatory disease. Women who have undergone sterilization procedures or have been diagnosed with endometriosis or other female reproductive disorders are also at risk. If the fallopian tube is getting tighter, or more narrow, the egg is fertilized outside the uterus, and in the tube, thus the name: 'Tubal pregnancy.'."
(http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancycomplications/commoncomplications.html)
Q- How much do doctors (gynocoligists) get paid per birth?
A- "Obstetrics-Gynecology $350,455" it didn't say how much they get per birth it only recorded a ballpark figure.
http://mmdoe.blogspot.com/2005/10/how-much-do-doctors-get-paid.html
Q- Can a doctor force you to get an abortion if your baby will be disabled?
A- "Legally, no one can force you to have an abortion" Doctors can influence you greatly to make this choice but thats about it.
http://yorkpregnancy.accountsupport.com/choices.php
Q-What percentage of woman develop gestational diabetes?
A- "Almost 9 percent of women in the US have diabetes, but about one third of them do not know it. Women with diabetes have an increased risk of pregnancy complications. In addition, 2 to 3 percent of women develop diabetes during pregnancy, called gestational diabetes."
http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/uvahealth/peds_hrpregnant/gesdia.cfm
Ways of Giving Birth Questions
Q- What percent choose to take drugs during pregnancy?
A- "The survey found that an estimated 113,000 white women,75,000 African-American women, and 28,000 Hispanic women used illicit drugs during pregnancy." Im not sure if this is what the question meant but this is what google gave me.
http://www.drugabuse.gov/NIDA_Notes/NNVol10N1/NIDASurvey.html
Q- Where do they give birth squated?
A- "some of the indigenous people in Central and South America have a tradition of giving birth standing up or sitting."
http://www.daddytypes.com/2008/07/14/true_story_they_give_birth_standing_up_in_panama_peru.php
Q- what is the percent of women that give birth at home?
A- "In the period 2005–2008, 29 percent of deliveries in the Netherlands occurred at home, as against 35 percent in the period 1997–2000."
http://www.cbs.nl/en-GB/menu/themas/gezondheid-welzijn/publicaties/artikelen/archief/2009/2009-2696-wm.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedmethodenmethodenmethodencijferspublicatiescijferscijferspublicaties
Q-What is the most common method of bith?
A-"Doctors and midwives should recommend natural child birth as part of an NHS drive to reduce the number of births using epidurals and caesarean sections, according to the Government’s health watchdog."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/yourview/1564248/What-is-the-best-way-to-give-birth.html
Q-What percentage of C- sections are elective?
A-"About 36 percent of women were delivered prior to 39 weeks, electively by Caesarean,"
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_73577.html
Q- How available is birth control to people of all ages?
A- "There is no legal age you can begin taking birth control when you begin your period you can start because that is the time you can start to have babies. Keep in mind, though, that while there may not be legal prohibitions on birth control in young women, there are mental and physical health risks to birth control methods and to early sexual activity. Talk to your doctor, parents, or other trusted adult."
(http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_legal_age_to_start_taking_birth_control)
Q- What percentage of pregnant women had abortions?
A- "Summary: It is estimated here that, as of 2008, about 28% of U.S. women ages 15-64 have had abortions. This figure has risen from 2.8% in 1973 to 11% in 1980, 19% in 1987, 24% in 1994, and 27% in 2001. In 2008, of women ages 40-55, about 40% have had abortions in their lifetimes.From 1967 to September 2008, approximately 50,200,000 abortions occurred in the United States; of these, about 30,260,000 or 60% were to women with no prior abortions [1,2]. In other words, 30,260,000 different women had one or more abortions from 1967 to the present in the U.S.Given that there were 101,314,000 women ages 15-64 in the U.S. in 2007, this implies about 25-28% of women ages 15-64 in the U.S. today have had at least one abortion in their lifetime."
(http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/uslifetimeab.html)
Q- What is the average age of pregnancy?
A- "Over the last three decades, women have been waiting longer to become moms. In 1970, the average age for a first-time mother was about 21. In 2005, the average age of first-time moms was 25.2 years."
(http://www.babycenter.com/0_17-surprising-facts-about-birth-in-the-united-states_1372273.bc)
Questions on Professionalism & Techniques/Technicalities of Birthing Process
Q- What complications can arise from pregnancy/labor?
A- "Low Birth Weight- Caused by poor nutrition and substance abuse,Gestational Diabetes- Can happen during pregnancy when the woman's body isn't making enough insulin,Preterm Labor- When the mother's body is trying to deliver the baby before she has reached full-term (37 weeks) ,Group B Strep- Group B Strep is the leading cause of infections in newborns. Not group A strep (strep throat),Rh Negative Disease- Rh factor is determined by the presence of a protein surrounding red blood cells. Without the protein, a woman is considered Rh negative, Ectopic Pregnancy - # Ectopic pregnancies can be caused by an STD, such as chlamydia, or an infection, such as pelvic inflammatory disease. Women who have undergone sterilization procedures or have been diagnosed with endometriosis or other female reproductive disorders are also at risk. If the fallopian tube is getting tighter, or more narrow, the egg is fertilized outside the uterus, and in the tube, thus the name: 'Tubal pregnancy.'."
(http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancycomplications/commoncomplications.html)
Q- How much do doctors (gynocoligists) get paid per birth?
A- "Obstetrics-Gynecology $350,455" it didn't say how much they get per birth it only recorded a ballpark figure.
http://mmdoe.blogspot.com/2005/10/how-much-do-doctors-get-paid.html
Q- Can a doctor force you to get an abortion if your baby will be disabled?
A- "Legally, no one can force you to have an abortion" Doctors can influence you greatly to make this choice but thats about it.
http://yorkpregnancy.accountsupport.com/choices.php
Q-What percentage of woman develop gestational diabetes?
A- "Almost 9 percent of women in the US have diabetes, but about one third of them do not know it. Women with diabetes have an increased risk of pregnancy complications. In addition, 2 to 3 percent of women develop diabetes during pregnancy, called gestational diabetes."
http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/uvahealth/peds_hrpregnant/gesdia.cfm
Ways of Giving Birth Questions
Q- What percent choose to take drugs during pregnancy?
A- "The survey found that an estimated 113,000 white women,75,000 African-American women, and 28,000 Hispanic women used illicit drugs during pregnancy." Im not sure if this is what the question meant but this is what google gave me.
http://www.drugabuse.gov/NIDA_Notes/NNVol10N1/NIDASurvey.html
Q- Where do they give birth squated?
A- "some of the indigenous people in Central and South America have a tradition of giving birth standing up or sitting."
http://www.daddytypes.com/2008/07/14/true_story_they_give_birth_standing_up_in_panama_peru.php
Q- what is the percent of women that give birth at home?
A- "In the period 2005–2008, 29 percent of deliveries in the Netherlands occurred at home, as against 35 percent in the period 1997–2000."
http://www.cbs.nl/en-GB/menu/themas/gezondheid-welzijn/publicaties/artikelen/archief/2009/2009-2696-wm.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedmethodenmethodenmethodencijferspublicatiescijferscijferspublicaties
Q-What is the most common method of bith?
A-"Doctors and midwives should recommend natural child birth as part of an NHS drive to reduce the number of births using epidurals and caesarean sections, according to the Government’s health watchdog."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/yourview/1564248/What-is-the-best-way-to-give-birth.html
Q-What percentage of C- sections are elective?
A-"About 36 percent of women were delivered prior to 39 weeks, electively by Caesarean,"
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_73577.html
Monday, February 9, 2009
Birth Stories
Mother A, had gotten pregnant at the ripe-old age of 25. It was sort of expected but not completly. It was early spring when she began having her contractions. She complained to me during the questioning how she had gotten an ear infection just days before she was due. Mother A called her mother (Grandma A) and told her that she needed to go to the doctor. Grandma A came over to get Mother A and accompinied her to the doctors office. Then the Evil Doctors told Mother A that she needed top stay in the hospital so that she can be monitored. She complanied about all the weight she had gained and how her face had gotten fat. Her Husband, Father A was at work when Mother A had found out that she was almost ready to give birth. "Father A was so convinced that the baby was going to be a boy" she told me. Baby A had come early, about 2 weeks early. She told me she always knew it was a girl and never doubted for a moment. Mother A had gotten an Epidoral and could not get up or eat. "It was so boring!" she said. Mother A was hooked up to several monitors, the Evil Doctors would come in and check on her frequently. Father A had gotten to the hospital by now and sat with Mother A for 20 hours. The next day, Friday apx 9:00am Father A had gotten up to stretch his legs. "The moment he left, the doctors came rushing in telling me that Baby A heart rate was lowering" They rushed her in to the delivery room. "The room was cold and dark and had blaring lights to the 200th power and it was about 0 below and all i had on was a thin gown" Sucks I thought.
Group Members: Me,Amanda,Margaux,Aja,Kati
Group Members: Me,Amanda,Margaux,Aja,Kati
Questions for Comparing Birth...
1. Are there any rituals other countries use during,after or before birth, are they similar or different to American "rituals"?
2. Is there really an "exact way" to have babies in America?--Does it vary depending on social class or race?
3. How often does the AWOB change? ex(C-Section, Midwife)
4. Is aboriton frowned upon in other countries or accepted/tolerated similar to how it is in America?
5. How many people adopt in America ns. Europe,China,Russia,Africa...?
6. Does media play large roles in birth in other countries as much as it does in America? ex( Brad and Angelina)
7. How does age play a part in birth? ex( young vs. old)
8. How does the way people view pregnant women change depending on age,marital status...?
9. How has medicine improved since the 1900's and 2000's?
10. Do cultures prefer genders? Do they try and control this?
11. Does the AWOB compare or contrast to other methods?
12. What aspects of birth in America, if any, have been adopted from other cultures?
13. What percentage of women opt to have C-Sections over Natural Birth per year?
*14. Do you think that "Scheduled C-Sections" is just another way to control pregnant women or is it really out of care for the baby?
15.What percentage of women opt to have fancy sh-mancy birth test? Is this available elsewhere in the world?
2. Is there really an "exact way" to have babies in America?--Does it vary depending on social class or race?
3. How often does the AWOB change? ex(C-Section, Midwife)
4. Is aboriton frowned upon in other countries or accepted/tolerated similar to how it is in America?
5. How many people adopt in America ns. Europe,China,Russia,Africa...?
6. Does media play large roles in birth in other countries as much as it does in America? ex( Brad and Angelina)
7. How does age play a part in birth? ex( young vs. old)
8. How does the way people view pregnant women change depending on age,marital status...?
9. How has medicine improved since the 1900's and 2000's?
10. Do cultures prefer genders? Do they try and control this?
11. Does the AWOB compare or contrast to other methods?
12. What aspects of birth in America, if any, have been adopted from other cultures?
13. What percentage of women opt to have C-Sections over Natural Birth per year?
*14. Do you think that "Scheduled C-Sections" is just another way to control pregnant women or is it really out of care for the baby?
15.What percentage of women opt to have fancy sh-mancy birth test? Is this available elsewhere in the world?
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Paragraph on Birth
Right now I don't like the idea of birth. Frankly I think its rather nasty at this age. The having the baby part seems painful but then again "Its not gonna hurt forever" thats what my mom always says. The thing that scares me is the after part. Once you have walked around wih this kid for nine months and then 20+ hrs of labor and then you get it out of you...then what? At this afe teen pregancy isn't so un-heard of. But taking care of it and providing for it is the part that scares me the most. I mean yeah I want to have a family and all but it seems like it only takes away from the woman..physically. And at 16 its just not for me.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Random Rant
This past weekend my uncle came over to my house, the family spent some quality time eating burgers and fries. And you'll never guess what happened then, somehow in this screwed up universe President Obama was yet again brought up. I know that the guy has made history and all that good stuff but he's everywhere it seems that a day can't go by without hearing his name..
But anyway.. My mother starts talking about how she is so proud that we (our people) has finally seemed to rise above to such a high standing in power. I mean i see where she is coming from but, i don't see why people ignore the Caucasian side of him. He is not by any means just black he is also whit. But if you wanna get technical he's not even African American, his heritage is traced back to Kenya! The media has seemed to completely overlook this and phase it out and so conveniently managed to slide in the term "African American". I wonder why he never corrects them.. maybe he wants other black people to feel like we finally matter..
I saw this calender that highlights the great leaps in African American history. Martin Luther King Jr, Obama, Harriet Tubman... I looked through all 12 months and I noticed that one vital African American was missing. Malcolm X. It confused me for a bit, I had to ask myself why they left him out.. Then it hit me, Obama face was plastered on the cover of the calendar along side Martin Luther King's and one word came to mind: Peace. Uh huh, Why in the world would anyone want to put a picture of Malcolm X next to the godly saint Obama? We wouldn't want to mess up his lovely image now would we?
But anyway.. My mother starts talking about how she is so proud that we (our people) has finally seemed to rise above to such a high standing in power. I mean i see where she is coming from but, i don't see why people ignore the Caucasian side of him. He is not by any means just black he is also whit. But if you wanna get technical he's not even African American, his heritage is traced back to Kenya! The media has seemed to completely overlook this and phase it out and so conveniently managed to slide in the term "African American". I wonder why he never corrects them.. maybe he wants other black people to feel like we finally matter..
I saw this calender that highlights the great leaps in African American history. Martin Luther King Jr, Obama, Harriet Tubman... I looked through all 12 months and I noticed that one vital African American was missing. Malcolm X. It confused me for a bit, I had to ask myself why they left him out.. Then it hit me, Obama face was plastered on the cover of the calendar along side Martin Luther King's and one word came to mind: Peace. Uh huh, Why in the world would anyone want to put a picture of Malcolm X next to the godly saint Obama? We wouldn't want to mess up his lovely image now would we?
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Big Paper
America, I don’t understand how this place hasn’t devoured itself by all its greed and power hungry people in power. The American Way of Life has become so tiring and predictable over the years. What is really interesting is how commercial everything here is. They (media) still strive to make America seem so united and democratic and equal when it’s so far from. America in simplest terms is basically run by rich, greedy power hungry people who work the hell out of the poor people in this world. Honestly, America is run by money.
Individually, American’s have their own way of living, and they quite commonly think that they are so different from every other American, but that’s where they are wrong. In a way, we all have pretty typical lives. We go to school, we go home, we stuff our faces while watching senseless shows, we wake up and get educated some more, they eventually help the ever-loving flow of capitalism by working for the rich. So we all basically have the same lives with MAYBE one or two exceptions. It seems like all of America value’s the same things and that in a way makes us dismal.
When interviewing Americans, one has to be almost insistent about it. We asked people in the street what they thought the AWOL (American Way of Life) was. It took most people by surprise because its not a very normal question to be asked by a swarm of teenagers. Some replied “Well, uh to go to school, get a job, get married and have some kids”. That’s the life of many many Americans (see what I mean…typical). We would nod and quickly blurt out “Do you think you live a typical AWOL?” The person would smile and say “No I think I live a little out of the ordinary”. We’d ask how and they would give some long explanation about how they got their job or how they lost their job. Something, that quite honestly sounded quite typical. Our last question was the one I desperately wanted answered “So, what do you think the most important aspect of AWOL is?” The expected answer was schooling or family, but that’s not what we got. “Money”. Almost every person we had interviewed said that money was the most important thing. It really shows how capitalism has really infected the lives of all American’s.
How much power do we really have here in America? I mean, everything is kind of already decided, we only get to vote once every 4 years, we have to work, we have to go to school and we have to pay taxes. That doesn’t sound like “we the people”. America is just a front to hide what really goes on in this commonly mistaken “great nation”. If the people don’t like who is in office, yea we can do something but that would be along rigorous process in which many people would probably give up. In order to make a stand here you need to be rich, in office or have a badge. Yes, our fellow police officers aren’t rich, they aren’t in office but that have those shiny things and a badge that make us listen to them. But the problem with people who have authority is that sooner or later they abuse their power. If a police officer on any given day decides that he wants to commit a crime just for the hell of it he can, and get away with it. Because honestly, who you gonna believe? The lovely cops that we have all been filtered to love or the beat up civilian. Exactly.
The constitution, the lovely foundation of out beautiful nation. I would bet that most people don’t know what the constitution really says. This document, on the surface gives the Legislative, Executive and Judicial Branches power. It balances and distributes the power of the government equally throughout all the branches. There is a delicate system that keeps each branch from gaining too much power. It is said that the constitution was written “in favor of the people”. But I would disagree. The foundation of this country was in the fate of a few rich white guys who probably all had slaves. That says a lot about our country, a bunch of old RICH white guys making the laws according to them and no one else.
It seemed for a long time that everything was about rich Caucasian people, well it still is but with a twist. Now that we have a black president everything is gonna change…right? Now why would anyone question this godsend? Well it’s been established that 99.9% of Americans hat bush and blame him for all this bad s**t. But Mr. Obama just happened to be working with Bush. Bush even helped to raise more money for Obama’s inauguration “President George W. Bush on Tuesday declared an emergency in the District of Columbia that will let the nation's capital tap deeper into federal coffers for Barack Obama's inauguration.”(pwtenny.newsvine.com). Hmm…Makes you wonder. So many people are so proud that now we have an African American representing America now. For a while I was under the haze of the man who is going to make history. But then I realized a whole lot of s**t. Obama is not 100% black. He’s only ½ Black and half White. But media or his many supporters don’t realize that, and if they do they always ignore it. It makes me feel like; yes even though his skin color is black he really isn’t fully black. Many people think that up until now we have evaded another white president but…not really. Obama is talking about feeding more money back into the economy, but they spend millions of dollars on his inauguration “Money Spent: $488,334,933” (projects.washingtonpost.com). When I mentioned it to my family they replied “Oh, we’ll get it back”. But will we?
Speaking of spending money, back to our economy. In the simplest terms capitalism is basically the business of making money and spending money. That’s all American’s are really good for. There is a simple website that very accurately depicts America (sad isn’t it?). EBAY! Yes this lovely website lets you buy and sell all the crap you could ever want or need in 3 lifetimes. The catch to buying is you have to bid on what you want and obviously if you want it you have to win. You and however many people also want what you want have to continually try to undercut each other until time is up. Sounds fun doesn’t it?. Well my ultimate source of income (mother) was not to pleased about the whole idea of bidding good money on useless junk, not only that but the small fact that you and another stranger are virtually fighting until the (cue in the dramatic voice) death. So we had a falling out, I explained that we had to do it for school but she wasn’t going for it. So I simulated an E-bay auction for myself and watched how people like vultures, virtually fought for ultimately useless crap. Wow, imagine corporate America.
Gobble gobble, Oh the start of the holidays. American’s eat it up…literally. This is the holiday where you and your family get together and stuff you faces. Its like heaven to America, no school, no work just food and TV. It’s sad that it’s just another way to make money. People rush to the deli and the supermarket to buy shopping carts full of food. They spend hundreds of dollars flying in family members and they spend money renting movies to watch when the family arrives and let’s not forget that con Edison bill that gets run up from all the lights being on and all the TVs in every room on day and night. And what’s genius about Thanksgiving is that Corporate America is making money and the poor workers aren’t. Because the rich capitalists don’t spend time with family they keep their fat asses in their leather chairs making sure the stock market doesn’t crash. They make their money from the poor people spending quality time and not to mention quality cash on family time, the plot is evil but oh-so genius.
Ho-Ho-Ho Merry Cashmas...Wait that’s not right. To the rich capitalists it is. Let’s see, Jonas Brothers Cd: $13, Obama T-shirt: $7.50, The feeling the rich capitalists get from the constant cash flow all through December: Priceless. This holiday is for spending money. I mean the kids want toys and really that puts parents between a rock and a hard place. The sweet look on a child’s face is adorable on X-mas morning is adorable, I wonder about the sweet look on the faces of the members of the board for Toys R Us when they make millions of dollars for an entire month. No one realizes this but we spend all this money on stuff that we won’t use and we only make ourselves poorer in the process! Does no one get this? They probably do but its just out way of life and we wont apologize for it . I wonder how we all complain about how the rich get richer and the poor get much poorer when in reality by spending our money we are only helping them. Every single holiday is made to spend money:
Valentines Day – Lovers spend big bucks on chocolates and roses
Easter – Peeps, Chocolate covered eggs not to mention the $15 egg coloring kit
Thanksgiving – More money for food!
Christmas – More money on gifts
New Years – More money spent at bars and useless 20.. glasses and hats
Halloween – More money spent on costumes
4th of July – More money spent on Fire crackers (whoop)
Black Friday – Cheap crap for only a few hours.
And lets not forget B-days – The Amt of $ you spend depends on your age
It may be that American’s don’t know how not to spend money. Take Buy Nothing Day for example. What the hell is that? I had never heard of such a day in my life until I was shown a short video of people promoting the idea of not buying anything on Black Friday instead of buying of everything. I completely understand what they mean by saving your money and I understand where they are coming from. But still I couldn’t resist a sale. People get crazy when money is involved and even crazier when there is a chance to save money. There was a guy who got killed on this day, trampled by a crowd of people trying to make it into the store before all the good useless crap was taken by other crazy sleep deprived money saving people.
Marx! The guy who was completely against capitalism. He was all for a socialist society and believed that the workers should have more benefits than the non-workers. Capitalism to him was evil and was not needed. He realized that without workers, ultimately Capitalism would fall. Workers out number bosses and all workers hate the idea of making some rich white guy more money than he needs but no one will do anything about it…Yet (End Scene—Cue Inspirational scenery and music) And –Cut!
Sources:
http://pwtenny.newsvine.com/_news/2009/01/14/2309376-bush-declares-emergency-for-inauguration?threadId=469848
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/finance/candidates/barack-obama/
http://library.thinkquest.org/18802/usholi.htm
Individually, American’s have their own way of living, and they quite commonly think that they are so different from every other American, but that’s where they are wrong. In a way, we all have pretty typical lives. We go to school, we go home, we stuff our faces while watching senseless shows, we wake up and get educated some more, they eventually help the ever-loving flow of capitalism by working for the rich. So we all basically have the same lives with MAYBE one or two exceptions. It seems like all of America value’s the same things and that in a way makes us dismal.
When interviewing Americans, one has to be almost insistent about it. We asked people in the street what they thought the AWOL (American Way of Life) was. It took most people by surprise because its not a very normal question to be asked by a swarm of teenagers. Some replied “Well, uh to go to school, get a job, get married and have some kids”. That’s the life of many many Americans (see what I mean…typical). We would nod and quickly blurt out “Do you think you live a typical AWOL?” The person would smile and say “No I think I live a little out of the ordinary”. We’d ask how and they would give some long explanation about how they got their job or how they lost their job. Something, that quite honestly sounded quite typical. Our last question was the one I desperately wanted answered “So, what do you think the most important aspect of AWOL is?” The expected answer was schooling or family, but that’s not what we got. “Money”. Almost every person we had interviewed said that money was the most important thing. It really shows how capitalism has really infected the lives of all American’s.
How much power do we really have here in America? I mean, everything is kind of already decided, we only get to vote once every 4 years, we have to work, we have to go to school and we have to pay taxes. That doesn’t sound like “we the people”. America is just a front to hide what really goes on in this commonly mistaken “great nation”. If the people don’t like who is in office, yea we can do something but that would be along rigorous process in which many people would probably give up. In order to make a stand here you need to be rich, in office or have a badge. Yes, our fellow police officers aren’t rich, they aren’t in office but that have those shiny things and a badge that make us listen to them. But the problem with people who have authority is that sooner or later they abuse their power. If a police officer on any given day decides that he wants to commit a crime just for the hell of it he can, and get away with it. Because honestly, who you gonna believe? The lovely cops that we have all been filtered to love or the beat up civilian. Exactly.
The constitution, the lovely foundation of out beautiful nation. I would bet that most people don’t know what the constitution really says. This document, on the surface gives the Legislative, Executive and Judicial Branches power. It balances and distributes the power of the government equally throughout all the branches. There is a delicate system that keeps each branch from gaining too much power. It is said that the constitution was written “in favor of the people”. But I would disagree. The foundation of this country was in the fate of a few rich white guys who probably all had slaves. That says a lot about our country, a bunch of old RICH white guys making the laws according to them and no one else.
It seemed for a long time that everything was about rich Caucasian people, well it still is but with a twist. Now that we have a black president everything is gonna change…right? Now why would anyone question this godsend? Well it’s been established that 99.9% of Americans hat bush and blame him for all this bad s**t. But Mr. Obama just happened to be working with Bush. Bush even helped to raise more money for Obama’s inauguration “President George W. Bush on Tuesday declared an emergency in the District of Columbia that will let the nation's capital tap deeper into federal coffers for Barack Obama's inauguration.”(pwtenny.newsvine.com). Hmm…Makes you wonder. So many people are so proud that now we have an African American representing America now. For a while I was under the haze of the man who is going to make history. But then I realized a whole lot of s**t. Obama is not 100% black. He’s only ½ Black and half White. But media or his many supporters don’t realize that, and if they do they always ignore it. It makes me feel like; yes even though his skin color is black he really isn’t fully black. Many people think that up until now we have evaded another white president but…not really. Obama is talking about feeding more money back into the economy, but they spend millions of dollars on his inauguration “Money Spent: $488,334,933” (projects.washingtonpost.com). When I mentioned it to my family they replied “Oh, we’ll get it back”. But will we?
Speaking of spending money, back to our economy. In the simplest terms capitalism is basically the business of making money and spending money. That’s all American’s are really good for. There is a simple website that very accurately depicts America (sad isn’t it?). EBAY! Yes this lovely website lets you buy and sell all the crap you could ever want or need in 3 lifetimes. The catch to buying is you have to bid on what you want and obviously if you want it you have to win. You and however many people also want what you want have to continually try to undercut each other until time is up. Sounds fun doesn’t it?. Well my ultimate source of income (mother) was not to pleased about the whole idea of bidding good money on useless junk, not only that but the small fact that you and another stranger are virtually fighting until the (cue in the dramatic voice) death. So we had a falling out, I explained that we had to do it for school but she wasn’t going for it. So I simulated an E-bay auction for myself and watched how people like vultures, virtually fought for ultimately useless crap. Wow, imagine corporate America.
Gobble gobble, Oh the start of the holidays. American’s eat it up…literally. This is the holiday where you and your family get together and stuff you faces. Its like heaven to America, no school, no work just food and TV. It’s sad that it’s just another way to make money. People rush to the deli and the supermarket to buy shopping carts full of food. They spend hundreds of dollars flying in family members and they spend money renting movies to watch when the family arrives and let’s not forget that con Edison bill that gets run up from all the lights being on and all the TVs in every room on day and night. And what’s genius about Thanksgiving is that Corporate America is making money and the poor workers aren’t. Because the rich capitalists don’t spend time with family they keep their fat asses in their leather chairs making sure the stock market doesn’t crash. They make their money from the poor people spending quality time and not to mention quality cash on family time, the plot is evil but oh-so genius.
Ho-Ho-Ho Merry Cashmas...Wait that’s not right. To the rich capitalists it is. Let’s see, Jonas Brothers Cd: $13, Obama T-shirt: $7.50, The feeling the rich capitalists get from the constant cash flow all through December: Priceless. This holiday is for spending money. I mean the kids want toys and really that puts parents between a rock and a hard place. The sweet look on a child’s face is adorable on X-mas morning is adorable, I wonder about the sweet look on the faces of the members of the board for Toys R Us when they make millions of dollars for an entire month. No one realizes this but we spend all this money on stuff that we won’t use and we only make ourselves poorer in the process! Does no one get this? They probably do but its just out way of life and we wont apologize for it . I wonder how we all complain about how the rich get richer and the poor get much poorer when in reality by spending our money we are only helping them. Every single holiday is made to spend money:
Valentines Day – Lovers spend big bucks on chocolates and roses
Easter – Peeps, Chocolate covered eggs not to mention the $15 egg coloring kit
Thanksgiving – More money for food!
Christmas – More money on gifts
New Years – More money spent at bars and useless 20.. glasses and hats
Halloween – More money spent on costumes
4th of July – More money spent on Fire crackers (whoop)
Black Friday – Cheap crap for only a few hours.
And lets not forget B-days – The Amt of $ you spend depends on your age
It may be that American’s don’t know how not to spend money. Take Buy Nothing Day for example. What the hell is that? I had never heard of such a day in my life until I was shown a short video of people promoting the idea of not buying anything on Black Friday instead of buying of everything. I completely understand what they mean by saving your money and I understand where they are coming from. But still I couldn’t resist a sale. People get crazy when money is involved and even crazier when there is a chance to save money. There was a guy who got killed on this day, trampled by a crowd of people trying to make it into the store before all the good useless crap was taken by other crazy sleep deprived money saving people.
Marx! The guy who was completely against capitalism. He was all for a socialist society and believed that the workers should have more benefits than the non-workers. Capitalism to him was evil and was not needed. He realized that without workers, ultimately Capitalism would fall. Workers out number bosses and all workers hate the idea of making some rich white guy more money than he needs but no one will do anything about it…Yet (End Scene—Cue Inspirational scenery and music) And –Cut!
Sources:
http://pwtenny.newsvine.com/_news/2009/01/14/2309376-bush-declares-emergency-for-inauguration?threadId=469848
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/finance/candidates/barack-obama/
http://library.thinkquest.org/18802/usholi.htm
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