While on Ebay looking for an item to bid on i tried to bid low at the beginning or at the very end and keep from constantly bidding during the auction like i did during the auction in class. Waiting for the auction to end i was anxious because i was competing for the item i wanted to the best price. While i was on Ebay i was surprised to see the prices they were selling these items that i would normally buy store bought for a much higher price which i now understand why so many people are addicted to this website. Thankfully for me, i have good will power and know when to stop.
This is very similar to the concepts of capitalism. Customers on Ebay are very literally competing for the item of their choice for the best price, being the market price but in this case the seller is willing to sell it for the highest the consumer is willing to pay, the demand. Then there's opportunity cost, when i lost one of the bids i went on to the next best thing. Scarcity is also another aspect i saw when i was making a purchase on ebay. There was one item that i really wanted but it was not on sale on ebay and there was limited supply on certain items and the limited price is that we as the consumers have a limited amount of money we are willing to spend. Generally, bidding on Ebay is an effective experience in seeing how capitalism is run in our American society.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Insights on Capitalism to Add To The Big Paper
For capitalism you can add to the big paper insights into how it affects what we do, what we think about, what we hope for, how our lives are shaped that draw from the auction and your early work on the Ebay assignment:
Capitalism is a big aspect of our lives whether we see it or not. As we saw at the capitalism simulation in class at the auction. When two people want the same limited item they compete for better prices and how much they are willing to pay for the item with the limited credits we earned from doing our homework or working in class. This is and example of scarcity, limited supply and limited price. Market price was another aspect of capitalism presented during the auction. The market price was he highest bidder. And the opportunity cost is the second best thing the consumer wanted. If a student did not win what they bidded on as their first choice, whatever they spent on what they wanted next would be their opportunity cost. The customers would demand the best price they could get and if others were willing to pay more they would continue to compete for the best price available. This is closely related to the American way of life because getting money is the main goal to sustain yourself in society which means fending for you and/or yourself depending on your situation.
Capitalism is a big aspect of our lives whether we see it or not. As we saw at the capitalism simulation in class at the auction. When two people want the same limited item they compete for better prices and how much they are willing to pay for the item with the limited credits we earned from doing our homework or working in class. This is and example of scarcity, limited supply and limited price. Market price was another aspect of capitalism presented during the auction. The market price was he highest bidder. And the opportunity cost is the second best thing the consumer wanted. If a student did not win what they bidded on as their first choice, whatever they spent on what they wanted next would be their opportunity cost. The customers would demand the best price they could get and if others were willing to pay more they would continue to compete for the best price available. This is closely related to the American way of life because getting money is the main goal to sustain yourself in society which means fending for you and/or yourself depending on your situation.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Response to Pard D of Jacara's Blog
Responding to part one, it was unclear to me about what you were saying about the constitution and the amendments. I didn't quite grasp what you were trying to prove about the amendments. I understand that you were saying that if had the amendments not existed the American life as it is now would be completely different but I don't see the connection between that and how you would amend the constitution.
The second part I completely agree with, I wrote similar notes on my blog about how the government tries to be really fair about things but it is not as fair as it looks and it tries to cover up a lot of things that they do not want the citizens to see.
The third part I disagree with, I think that the constitution is very much related to the American way of life, it might not be very clear but, how I did it, looking at the aspects of the American way of life and seeing how they are at least somewhat related to how we live today. You say that without the knowledge of the constitution, your life would not be any different but I think that it is something we were born into, we were born her in America and expected to live by these laws without even thinking about the origin of it. So I think there is a connection, it may not be easy to find but it is there.
The second part I completely agree with, I wrote similar notes on my blog about how the government tries to be really fair about things but it is not as fair as it looks and it tries to cover up a lot of things that they do not want the citizens to see.
The third part I disagree with, I think that the constitution is very much related to the American way of life, it might not be very clear but, how I did it, looking at the aspects of the American way of life and seeing how they are at least somewhat related to how we live today. You say that without the knowledge of the constitution, your life would not be any different but I think that it is something we were born into, we were born her in America and expected to live by these laws without even thinking about the origin of it. So I think there is a connection, it may not be easy to find but it is there.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Part D
1. How would you amend the constitution?
America as it stands now is not as "Ruled by the people" as its thought out to be as we discussed in class on November 7th. Andy asked us to write down a law we would add to the constitution if we had a chance to. For most of it it was diffcult to come up with one. He then asked us to rate from 1-10 how difficult it was, 10 being the most difficult, I gave it an 8, which is a pretty high rating. We came to a conclusion that as Americans we accept all the laws we already have and do not think to come up with any of our own which contridicts the constitution which by the 1st article is supposed to give the people the right to some sort of power to the nation. But in reality the only people who have this power are the legislators and members of congress.
Because this holds true in America today, if I had a chance to amend the constitution I would try to come up with some way to allow the people (citizens of America who live the American way of life (do legislators live the American way of life?)) to have a say. As it is now im sure we are allowed to write suggestions to the members of congress or something along those lines but truth be told, they will not take what we say or any other middle or lower class citizen's ideas into consideration just because of who we are and what out social status is. Generally, I would try to have some sort of system where average American citizens can have a say in society, more than their single vote every four years.
4. Tendency of the constitution:
Generally, I think the government tries really hard to make things fair for the majority. For example, the 6th article states that religion will not be used against citizens of the United States which benefits the citizens who practice or do not practice a religion that would defy them a job. But for those who would like to be tested by their religion might not agree with it. Also in the 9th amendment made after th civil rights movment allowing all races to vote and then later on, the 19th amendment allowing women to vote. These amendments represent the government allowing equality of all races and genders which is very beneficial for them because before this, they would not be able to get a job or have their own type of freedom. But of course, there's always a catch, while the former slaves and the women can have jobs, thet are taking the jobs away from the richer white men. If the white man is offered a job but then a woman or former slave is willing to do it for less, they steal the white man's job who would have otherwise gotten the job had these historical events and amendments not happened.
Overall, I think the constitution has its way of making things fair but there is never a way to make everyone happy. There will always be a group of people who will disagree and want things in society to go differently. I do not necessarily think the constitution is "good" or "evil" but I do think the government and even society today makes it look a lot more fair than it actually is. It covers up the bad parts. For example, in the preamble the first seven words are "We the people of the United States" when in actuality it was 45 white men who came up with the preamble and the first parts of the constitution. At the time period it was created in, there was slavery and women were not treated as they are treated today meaning that neither of those groups were able to have a say in what they wanted the constitution to be.
5. Relating to AWOL:
From what I have collected from family members, students in the class, random people on the street and other Americans, the main aspects of the American way of life are, freedom, social class, education, work, and opportunity. These aspects can directly relate to the American constitution and government. The government tries to make things as free as possible for the American cititzens and like as mentioned before as "Ruled by the people as possible" which is the reasoning behind the inclusion of the first article being the Legislative branch which is closest to the people. Which does not seem close enough because depending on which social class you are in, you will be payed attention to more closely. If you have lots of money the members of congress will most likely take into consideration what you have to say but if you are a middle class citizen, there is less of a chance that the legislators will pay attention to your thoughts and ideas.
Education also plays a big role in the American way of life because without a good education, it is highly unlikey that you will get a well paying job. And in the typical American way of life, money tends to be the main goal. Which realtes to the constitution, Amendment 10 allows the states to create their own educational alliance and curriculum. The ones controling this (congress) have made education a huge aspect of the American way of life being what a typical American spends the first 20 or so years of their life doing. Once they are done with their education, they will most likely get a job to sustain themselves in society, buy whatever necesities they need. But nowadays there's lots of competition for jobs because of the equality in society mentioned before about the 19th amendment. and the 9th amendment.
Another large player in the American way of life is the idea of opportunity. Most people come to America looking for opportunity, immigrants looking for a job and a better life than the life they were living in the previous country they were living in. Relating to the government trying to give Americans the opportunity to even change the American society relating back to the first article of the constitution. Overall, the American way of live is very relative to the Constitution and the government which is also related to capitalism in America. Economy and government being the two dominant frameworks of the American way of life, all three of these systems are relative to one another.
America as it stands now is not as "Ruled by the people" as its thought out to be as we discussed in class on November 7th. Andy asked us to write down a law we would add to the constitution if we had a chance to. For most of it it was diffcult to come up with one. He then asked us to rate from 1-10 how difficult it was, 10 being the most difficult, I gave it an 8, which is a pretty high rating. We came to a conclusion that as Americans we accept all the laws we already have and do not think to come up with any of our own which contridicts the constitution which by the 1st article is supposed to give the people the right to some sort of power to the nation. But in reality the only people who have this power are the legislators and members of congress.
Because this holds true in America today, if I had a chance to amend the constitution I would try to come up with some way to allow the people (citizens of America who live the American way of life (do legislators live the American way of life?)) to have a say. As it is now im sure we are allowed to write suggestions to the members of congress or something along those lines but truth be told, they will not take what we say or any other middle or lower class citizen's ideas into consideration just because of who we are and what out social status is. Generally, I would try to have some sort of system where average American citizens can have a say in society, more than their single vote every four years.
4. Tendency of the constitution:
Generally, I think the government tries really hard to make things fair for the majority. For example, the 6th article states that religion will not be used against citizens of the United States which benefits the citizens who practice or do not practice a religion that would defy them a job. But for those who would like to be tested by their religion might not agree with it. Also in the 9th amendment made after th civil rights movment allowing all races to vote and then later on, the 19th amendment allowing women to vote. These amendments represent the government allowing equality of all races and genders which is very beneficial for them because before this, they would not be able to get a job or have their own type of freedom. But of course, there's always a catch, while the former slaves and the women can have jobs, thet are taking the jobs away from the richer white men. If the white man is offered a job but then a woman or former slave is willing to do it for less, they steal the white man's job who would have otherwise gotten the job had these historical events and amendments not happened.
Overall, I think the constitution has its way of making things fair but there is never a way to make everyone happy. There will always be a group of people who will disagree and want things in society to go differently. I do not necessarily think the constitution is "good" or "evil" but I do think the government and even society today makes it look a lot more fair than it actually is. It covers up the bad parts. For example, in the preamble the first seven words are "We the people of the United States" when in actuality it was 45 white men who came up with the preamble and the first parts of the constitution. At the time period it was created in, there was slavery and women were not treated as they are treated today meaning that neither of those groups were able to have a say in what they wanted the constitution to be.
5. Relating to AWOL:
From what I have collected from family members, students in the class, random people on the street and other Americans, the main aspects of the American way of life are, freedom, social class, education, work, and opportunity. These aspects can directly relate to the American constitution and government. The government tries to make things as free as possible for the American cititzens and like as mentioned before as "Ruled by the people as possible" which is the reasoning behind the inclusion of the first article being the Legislative branch which is closest to the people. Which does not seem close enough because depending on which social class you are in, you will be payed attention to more closely. If you have lots of money the members of congress will most likely take into consideration what you have to say but if you are a middle class citizen, there is less of a chance that the legislators will pay attention to your thoughts and ideas.
Education also plays a big role in the American way of life because without a good education, it is highly unlikey that you will get a well paying job. And in the typical American way of life, money tends to be the main goal. Which realtes to the constitution, Amendment 10 allows the states to create their own educational alliance and curriculum. The ones controling this (congress) have made education a huge aspect of the American way of life being what a typical American spends the first 20 or so years of their life doing. Once they are done with their education, they will most likely get a job to sustain themselves in society, buy whatever necesities they need. But nowadays there's lots of competition for jobs because of the equality in society mentioned before about the 19th amendment. and the 9th amendment.
Another large player in the American way of life is the idea of opportunity. Most people come to America looking for opportunity, immigrants looking for a job and a better life than the life they were living in the previous country they were living in. Relating to the government trying to give Americans the opportunity to even change the American society relating back to the first article of the constitution. Overall, the American way of live is very relative to the Constitution and the government which is also related to capitalism in America. Economy and government being the two dominant frameworks of the American way of life, all three of these systems are relative to one another.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Part C
Does the 14th combine with the earlier "no religious test" clause to guarantee a vision of a diverse and equitable soviety with no government discrimination?
The 14th ammendment stating that no laws can be made to go against people's lives, liberty, and property. This ammendment was made to make it for for the former slaves, they say all people as in all races aiming for equality between colors. From 1868 forwatd, all people were to be counted equally. Similar to artible 6 of the constitution stating that religion will not be used against citizens for qualifications of any office or public trust. The government was aiming for equality for religions. They avoid any descrimination against religion, race, and now gender.
Ammendments 12, 13, 14, & 15 are often referred to as a magjor turning point in US government policy. Explain the importance of these ammendments:
The 12th ammendmentd stating that the candidates for the president are elected by the electoral college. Whoever wins the vote 1st place is a presidential candidate and second place is the vice president. 13th forbides slaery, 14th states that laws cannot deprive citizens of their lives, liberty, or property. And the 15th ammendment saying that nothing can deny a citizen's right to vote (allowing all races to vote but no women at this point, that's not up until the 19th ammendment). These four ammendments represent the turning point for America I think because these ammendments were created when slavery ended and America's goal for was to achieve equality. This was the beginning of allowing everyone to have the same human rights. First was race and later on they ammended the constitution for gender equality.
Describe the amendment from the rest of the list (16-27) that you find most significant and make an argument for why we should consider it especially important:
I think the 19th ammendmend is especially important because in addition to the 14th ammendment allowing other races the right to vote, this one allows women the right to vote. This ammendment represents yet another step towards equality. This ammendment not only represents equlality but a historical event; women's suffrage as the 14th ammendment represented the end of slavery. These two ammendments show what America went through in the past and what the government has learned and accomplished.
The 14th ammendment stating that no laws can be made to go against people's lives, liberty, and property. This ammendment was made to make it for for the former slaves, they say all people as in all races aiming for equality between colors. From 1868 forwatd, all people were to be counted equally. Similar to artible 6 of the constitution stating that religion will not be used against citizens for qualifications of any office or public trust. The government was aiming for equality for religions. They avoid any descrimination against religion, race, and now gender.
Ammendments 12, 13, 14, & 15 are often referred to as a magjor turning point in US government policy. Explain the importance of these ammendments:
The 12th ammendmentd stating that the candidates for the president are elected by the electoral college. Whoever wins the vote 1st place is a presidential candidate and second place is the vice president. 13th forbides slaery, 14th states that laws cannot deprive citizens of their lives, liberty, or property. And the 15th ammendment saying that nothing can deny a citizen's right to vote (allowing all races to vote but no women at this point, that's not up until the 19th ammendment). These four ammendments represent the turning point for America I think because these ammendments were created when slavery ended and America's goal for was to achieve equality. This was the beginning of allowing everyone to have the same human rights. First was race and later on they ammended the constitution for gender equality.
Describe the amendment from the rest of the list (16-27) that you find most significant and make an argument for why we should consider it especially important:
I think the 19th ammendmend is especially important because in addition to the 14th ammendment allowing other races the right to vote, this one allows women the right to vote. This ammendment represents yet another step towards equality. This ammendment not only represents equlality but a historical event; women's suffrage as the 14th ammendment represented the end of slavery. These two ammendments show what America went through in the past and what the government has learned and accomplished.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Wal-Mart Worker Trampled Analysis
In class on December 1st `08 we just came back from thanksgiving weekend which included black friday, being the day where Americans go out and buy what they want for bargain prices. Andy presented to us an article talking about a man who worked at a Wal-Mart and opened the store early Friday morning for black Friday, he was trampled by the customers which ended up killing him. After reading this article I just thought, this just goes to show how capitalism and sales affects the citizens of America, Americans act like "savages" to get what they want for a good price. Competition and the idea of "Every man [or woman] for himself [or herself]" has been drilled into the minds of Americans and they live by this phrase causing "madness" and "utter chaos" as described by the Daily News article. Even if not everyone has this belief in their mind they are influenced by it, they are being "bum rushed from the back" as Andy desribed it. People are being forced into things because the rest of society has a predominant influence on them. Competition is part of the idea of capitalism and its forcing Americans to compete for everything such as, job offers, money, social status, bargained priced goods in this case, or even some recognition at their school, job, home etc. Part of the American dream I have noticed is fame, which is recognition that people compete for, artists compete to be on the top of the charts, and even students like myself compete to get recognition from colleges to get a better chance of getting a good education.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Analysis of Thanksgiving and Black Friday/Buy Nothing Day and AWOL
Thanksgiving being the day where we (most Americans) spend time with our families eating turkey and lots of other foods and being thankful generally for the food we eat and the family we have. This holiday traces back to the slautering of natives which does not quite match up. Then the day after thanksgiving, (most Americans) go out to all the sales and buy things they maybe did not really need until it was on sale. Families rush out early in the morning to their favorite stores and buy as much as they can afford or as much as they can get their hands on. Black Friday is closely related to one of the dominant frameworks of America, capitalism, the more money we spend, the higher the increase of our gross domestic product which is everyone's income or the amount of money everyone spends, and if lots of people spend lots of money on black Friday, the GDP will increase. Also relating to one of the main components of capitalism, the free market, the person selling the items can make their prices as low as they want as long as they still make profit, if the prices are low and affordable, more people will buy. But not only do Americans spend money on black Friday, they also spend money of the food they plan to eat on thanksgiving, the costumes they dress up in on halloween, the christmas decorations, the christmas presents, the super sweet 16s, the chocolates, roses, and cards on valentines day. In general, it seems to be that America looks for reasons to spend money, so these holidays and traditions are thrown at us so we can increase the GDP. This also relates to another dominant framework of the American way of life, government, considering that the government controls the flow of money in our economic system, they play a part in this family based holiday. Lincoln even created this holiday as the president, as part of the government. This holiday, and other holidays in addition, relate to the American way of life which is built up of mainly, economics, and government.
Part B
Deeper In The Constitution
The “Full Faith & Credit” provision in Article 4. What does that mean for gay marriage?- This part of article 4 means that congress is responsible for allowing each state to have their own legal actions. Which means that each state can have a set of laws that can be different or similar from the other states, Congress gives the states that freedom. For gay marriage this means that a couple can get married even if they are living in a state that does not allow it but they will have to get married in another state that does allow it. They are able to go to that other state and be legally wed in that state because this article of the constitution allows it to happen.
What is the Supreme Law of the Land? What is the significance, in your opinion, of the “No religious test” clause.-The supreme law of the land is that all decisions are made under the authority of the United States. There is no religious test to qualify for any office or public trust under the U.S. (being apart of the authority of the U.S) This is important because it shows that this country is not religiously based (or appears to be)and does not let religion get in the way of a citizen's success. This article allows the people of the United States to follow any religion they want and does not hold their decision against them when looking for qualification in any office or public trust under the U.S.
Is the 4th Amendment contradicted by MTA, library, and/or airport searches?- The 4th ammendment being that the government is not able to search a persons items or house, and they are not allowed to take a persons items without a good reason. It also states that the goverment cannot search items or arrest a person without a warrent. As we notice when we make our exciting trips to the library (sometimes we take the subway to get there) or go fly to an exhotic place (or not so exhotic, whatever your preference), first we must go through the (sometimes)long and tedious searches where they look inside any bags you carry and sometimes they take items that seem suspicious (they are more strict at the airport), for example, my cousin had her baby lotion taken away from her and she was not too happy about that, perhaps it had some sort of sentimental value or maybe she just had really bad skin, I dont know, but she I know she did feel violated. But the reason that the goverment takes such actions is because they are suspicious and paranhoid about terrorist attacks and do not want to relive 9/11, to make sure this does not happen they feel that they have to search every person that goes on a flight. The ammendment does say that the goverment must have a good reason to search or take items. Whether their reasoning is a good one or not is debatable. The answer to that and to whether this contridicts the 4th ammendment is a subjective one, depending on who you are talking to, you will get a different answer. But I cannot see any other alternative to ensure safty when at an airport, library, or subway. It has its advantages and disadvantages.
What do the 6th & 7th Amendments show about US fears of a bad government which would use its powers to unfairly arrest and convict innocent people?-The 6th ammaedment says that a person who is accused of crime can call a speedy and public trial within the district, the accused must be told its consequences if found guilty and be present when witnesses testify against them. They also give the accused the right to a lawyer to represent them. The 7th ammendment says that Lawsuits based on common law, the people involved have a right to trial by jury, the jury who have no biased view of the case must decide who is guilty and who is innocent. These two ammendments reveal the fear the government have of unfairly arresting or convicting innocent people. Specifically, they allow each side of the case to have an attourney, giving them equal rights and making sure that the one who is guilty is being punished. They also make sure that the jurers do not favor one side over the other before the trial which would give them a slanted view of the case and making it unfair. These two rights make sure the one who is guilty pays the consequences and the one who is innocent remains.
The “Full Faith & Credit” provision in Article 4. What does that mean for gay marriage?- This part of article 4 means that congress is responsible for allowing each state to have their own legal actions. Which means that each state can have a set of laws that can be different or similar from the other states, Congress gives the states that freedom. For gay marriage this means that a couple can get married even if they are living in a state that does not allow it but they will have to get married in another state that does allow it. They are able to go to that other state and be legally wed in that state because this article of the constitution allows it to happen.
What is the Supreme Law of the Land? What is the significance, in your opinion, of the “No religious test” clause.-The supreme law of the land is that all decisions are made under the authority of the United States. There is no religious test to qualify for any office or public trust under the U.S. (being apart of the authority of the U.S) This is important because it shows that this country is not religiously based (or appears to be)and does not let religion get in the way of a citizen's success. This article allows the people of the United States to follow any religion they want and does not hold their decision against them when looking for qualification in any office or public trust under the U.S.
Is the 4th Amendment contradicted by MTA, library, and/or airport searches?- The 4th ammendment being that the government is not able to search a persons items or house, and they are not allowed to take a persons items without a good reason. It also states that the goverment cannot search items or arrest a person without a warrent. As we notice when we make our exciting trips to the library (sometimes we take the subway to get there) or go fly to an exhotic place (or not so exhotic, whatever your preference), first we must go through the (sometimes)long and tedious searches where they look inside any bags you carry and sometimes they take items that seem suspicious (they are more strict at the airport), for example, my cousin had her baby lotion taken away from her and she was not too happy about that, perhaps it had some sort of sentimental value or maybe she just had really bad skin, I dont know, but she I know she did feel violated. But the reason that the goverment takes such actions is because they are suspicious and paranhoid about terrorist attacks and do not want to relive 9/11, to make sure this does not happen they feel that they have to search every person that goes on a flight. The ammendment does say that the goverment must have a good reason to search or take items. Whether their reasoning is a good one or not is debatable. The answer to that and to whether this contridicts the 4th ammendment is a subjective one, depending on who you are talking to, you will get a different answer. But I cannot see any other alternative to ensure safty when at an airport, library, or subway. It has its advantages and disadvantages.
What do the 6th & 7th Amendments show about US fears of a bad government which would use its powers to unfairly arrest and convict innocent people?-The 6th ammaedment says that a person who is accused of crime can call a speedy and public trial within the district, the accused must be told its consequences if found guilty and be present when witnesses testify against them. They also give the accused the right to a lawyer to represent them. The 7th ammendment says that Lawsuits based on common law, the people involved have a right to trial by jury, the jury who have no biased view of the case must decide who is guilty and who is innocent. These two ammendments reveal the fear the government have of unfairly arresting or convicting innocent people. Specifically, they allow each side of the case to have an attourney, giving them equal rights and making sure that the one who is guilty is being punished. They also make sure that the jurers do not favor one side over the other before the trial which would give them a slanted view of the case and making it unfair. These two rights make sure the one who is guilty pays the consequences and the one who is innocent remains.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
The Preamble and First Three Articles of The Constitution
The Preamble:
The Preamble is the part of the constitution before it begins to talk about the regulations and laws etc. it basically summarizes the goals for the constitution and what the constitution will help America achieve. It says that, as a nation, we want a country that is a perfect union: in order to do this, we must be fair, be peaceful and without chaos, defend ourselves, stay healthy, bless ourselves and the coming generations, and create a constitution to make this happen.
Powers and Responsibilities of Legislative Branch:
-Assemble with the congress annually
-Make a record of progress, what was said and accomplished
-Determine rules and punishments for breaking these rules
-Create bills to then become a law
-Deal with taxes, pay debts, and ensure protection for the country
-Regulate bankruptcies and immigration issues
-Regulate the value of money
-Establush post offices and post roads
-Copyright protection
-Deal with issues relating to war
-Protect the citizens from being punished for something they did not do
-Regulate the amount of money the government spends
-Come to conclusions as a congress
(The Legislative branch is most important because it is closest to the people, a group of 45 year old white men in a basement we call our founding fathers decided that our nation should be citizen based where people of the United States can have a say in society which is why this branch has many responsibilities while the other branches do not have very many)
Powers and Responsibilities of The Executive Branch:
-Make decision (with consent of senators)
-Provide information for congress
Powers and Responsibilites of the Judicial Branch:
-The have jurisdiction over cases involving forign conflicts, conflicts between two states, and conflicts between citizens of different states
Description of My Feelings About The Constitution:
When I was taking notes and reading about the constitution I found it very tedious because there was so much to it that did not seem very significant to me. I feel like the way it was worded was somewhat challenging but once I understood what it was saying, it sounded so simple and it made me wonder, why didn't they just say that to begin with?...unless I have it interpreted incorrectly and its actually as complicated as it sounds, if that were the case, just disregard that last comment. But overall it was just tedious and boring for me.
Insights and Questions:
-Is the constitution effective? Does it achieve the goals stated in the preamble?
-Has there been situations where the articles have not been abided by and the government got away with it? (Bush vs. Gore election?) if we can't abide by it then what is the point of it? is there anything we can do to change that?, Personally, I think that there is very little we can do but because we have such little power in society (which completely contridicts the first article, trying to have the citizens involved with government decisions as much as possible) so people will not pay attention to what we have to say (even congress people)
-What's good about the constitution? What's bad about it? What should be changed? and how will the alteration benefit America? What would the consequesces of these benefits be?...there's always a catch
-Is it possible for citizens to be involved in the government as much as possible wihtout having chaos?, I would imagine that there would be many disagreements causing conflicts
-Is it possible to follow meet the standards that the preamble holds for America?
The Preamble is the part of the constitution before it begins to talk about the regulations and laws etc. it basically summarizes the goals for the constitution and what the constitution will help America achieve. It says that, as a nation, we want a country that is a perfect union: in order to do this, we must be fair, be peaceful and without chaos, defend ourselves, stay healthy, bless ourselves and the coming generations, and create a constitution to make this happen.
Powers and Responsibilities of Legislative Branch:
-Assemble with the congress annually
-Make a record of progress, what was said and accomplished
-Determine rules and punishments for breaking these rules
-Create bills to then become a law
-Deal with taxes, pay debts, and ensure protection for the country
-Regulate bankruptcies and immigration issues
-Regulate the value of money
-Establush post offices and post roads
-Copyright protection
-Deal with issues relating to war
-Protect the citizens from being punished for something they did not do
-Regulate the amount of money the government spends
-Come to conclusions as a congress
(The Legislative branch is most important because it is closest to the people, a group of 45 year old white men in a basement we call our founding fathers decided that our nation should be citizen based where people of the United States can have a say in society which is why this branch has many responsibilities while the other branches do not have very many)
Powers and Responsibilities of The Executive Branch:
-Make decision (with consent of senators)
-Provide information for congress
Powers and Responsibilites of the Judicial Branch:
-The have jurisdiction over cases involving forign conflicts, conflicts between two states, and conflicts between citizens of different states
Description of My Feelings About The Constitution:
When I was taking notes and reading about the constitution I found it very tedious because there was so much to it that did not seem very significant to me. I feel like the way it was worded was somewhat challenging but once I understood what it was saying, it sounded so simple and it made me wonder, why didn't they just say that to begin with?...unless I have it interpreted incorrectly and its actually as complicated as it sounds, if that were the case, just disregard that last comment. But overall it was just tedious and boring for me.
Insights and Questions:
-Is the constitution effective? Does it achieve the goals stated in the preamble?
-Has there been situations where the articles have not been abided by and the government got away with it? (Bush vs. Gore election?) if we can't abide by it then what is the point of it? is there anything we can do to change that?, Personally, I think that there is very little we can do but because we have such little power in society (which completely contridicts the first article, trying to have the citizens involved with government decisions as much as possible) so people will not pay attention to what we have to say (even congress people)
-What's good about the constitution? What's bad about it? What should be changed? and how will the alteration benefit America? What would the consequesces of these benefits be?...there's always a catch
-Is it possible for citizens to be involved in the government as much as possible wihtout having chaos?, I would imagine that there would be many disagreements causing conflicts
-Is it possible to follow meet the standards that the preamble holds for America?
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Response to 2008 Election
I thought it was really interesting to see the different people who voted for each candidate. Generally I noticed the families with more money rooting for McCain and the working class families voting for Obama. But I did also notice that there were family feuds where half wanted McCain and the other wanted Obama which was also interesting. I also noticed how each candidate advertised their campaign. Obama had a very formal way of getting people to vote for him in his advertisement, saying what he plans to change in American whereas, McCain had citizens speaking for him and talk about why they want to vote for him and getting it from a different point of view. Obama's seemed to be more straight to the point and specific as to what he had planned as president and McCain's was repetative when it came to what the citizens were saying to emphasize that he plans to do good things for the country.
After Obama won the election, other people's reactions to the win was interesting as well. Those who supported him were screaming and very excited about him becoming president especially since history was made and he is the first black president. The next day at school many of the students were representing him and reciting "Yes we can" from his speach. Obama seems to have set high expectations for himself as president and he promised a lot for the country and I am curious as to if he can live up to these expectations and if American can handle that he may or may not keep his promises.
After Obama won the election, other people's reactions to the win was interesting as well. Those who supported him were screaming and very excited about him becoming president especially since history was made and he is the first black president. The next day at school many of the students were representing him and reciting "Yes we can" from his speach. Obama seems to have set high expectations for himself as president and he promised a lot for the country and I am curious as to if he can live up to these expectations and if American can handle that he may or may not keep his promises.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Dominant Frameworks of AWOL (With intro and new sources)
Americans live in a particular way just as any other living being would. As Americans we normally do not notice the way we live or why we live the way we do because we have grown to understand that's just the way it is. When studying about the American way of life, we can conclude that the dominant frameworks are capitalism and demorcracy. The main reasons us as Americans live the way we do is because of the economic system and the political system we follow and use to our advantage in our every day lives.
Most people abide by the basics of capitalism and look at it as a positive way to run our economic system, people favor it for the "freedom" it allows us to have. Capitalism provides the free market, opportunity for private property and profit motive. The free market, having the freedom to get into the business and sell what you want for the price you want (profit motive) and the freedom to buy from any businesses you want. To sell what you want, you have to opportunity to own factories and property to produce what you want to sell (private property). The three main components of business are, capital, labor, and land. Land being, the natural resources used to help the produce products and sell products, labor being the people working for the business and the work that is put into the production and selling of products, and the capital being the things used during the process that are not sold for example, the machinery used to produce a pencil.
Those who own businesses are free to sell their product for the price they want. But their main goal is to gain profit of at least one penny. One penny more than the amount of money spent on the process to make and sell the product. They can sell it for as high as they want but the consumer might not be willing to buy it for that price. The balance between the highest the seller wants to sell the product for and the lowest the consumer is willing to pay is called the market price. The seller wants to make as much money as possible while the consumer wants to spend as little money as possible, leading to supply and demand. Supply being the total amount of resources for sale that will be bought at all prices and demand is the amount of people willing to buy a product for a certain price. The graph above (argmax.com) shows the curves of both supply and demand in relationship with quantity and price, the point where supply and demand intersect is the market price or the equilibrium price. Variabilities causing either or both of the curves to alter causing a shift in the market price. If the market price is restricted from changing it could cause a shortage which is when consumers have the money for products but there are no products for sale.
Generally, in America businesses keep their prices fairly low and this is because of competition. Two companies who sell the same product (commodity--an interchangeable product that can be bought or sold) compete for the customers and most customers would buy for the cheaper price, making companies sell for the lowest they are willing to sell to attract more customers. This competition occurs because according to Milton Friedman, a famous economist, everyone wants a special advantage or more freedom than others, so business owners compete for the advantage of more customers and more profit.
The main players of capitalism are, households, the factor market, businesses, and the product market. Househlds are people selling their land, labor, and capital to the factor market to make money which then gets back to the household when they purchase stock and gain profit other companies make. The factor market gives its products to businesses which costs money for the businesses who sell the prodcts to the product market. The product market then buys from the households costing them money. This is the main cycle that capitalism goes though. This cycle can go out of whack when the distribution of money is not even, causing a depression or a resession. This can be fixed by the government balancing the cycle.
Conflicts in the economic system such as a resession or depression require help from the government. But other conflicts such as, competition in the free market are taken care of by "the invisible hand" which is, essentially, a situation taking care of itself without help from anywhere else, competition in the free market will just happen if two companies are selling the same product. They are naturally going to compete for more money and it is in the company's self interest to do better than the other company to get more profit.
Generally, most Americans agree with the idea of capitalism. A main reason could be the whole idea of being able to go from "rags to riches", having the chance to improve one's social status, or at least having the insentive to want to rise one's social status and having the freedom to move up the social laddar. Whereas in the government, already starting at the top of the social ladder, in cases where society believes they waste money which leads citizens to believe the leaders of the country are incompetent of leading the country and they are allowed to speak out and say their disagreements living in a democratic society. (Friedman)
Most people abide by the basics of capitalism and look at it as a positive way to run our economic system, people favor it for the "freedom" it allows us to have. Capitalism provides the free market, opportunity for private property and profit motive. The free market, having the freedom to get into the business and sell what you want for the price you want (profit motive) and the freedom to buy from any businesses you want. To sell what you want, you have to opportunity to own factories and property to produce what you want to sell (private property). The three main components of business are, capital, labor, and land. Land being, the natural resources used to help the produce products and sell products, labor being the people working for the business and the work that is put into the production and selling of products, and the capital being the things used during the process that are not sold for example, the machinery used to produce a pencil.
Those who own businesses are free to sell their product for the price they want. But their main goal is to gain profit of at least one penny. One penny more than the amount of money spent on the process to make and sell the product. They can sell it for as high as they want but the consumer might not be willing to buy it for that price. The balance between the highest the seller wants to sell the product for and the lowest the consumer is willing to pay is called the market price. The seller wants to make as much money as possible while the consumer wants to spend as little money as possible, leading to supply and demand. Supply being the total amount of resources for sale that will be bought at all prices and demand is the amount of people willing to buy a product for a certain price. The graph above (argmax.com) shows the curves of both supply and demand in relationship with quantity and price, the point where supply and demand intersect is the market price or the equilibrium price. Variabilities causing either or both of the curves to alter causing a shift in the market price. If the market price is restricted from changing it could cause a shortage which is when consumers have the money for products but there are no products for sale.
Generally, in America businesses keep their prices fairly low and this is because of competition. Two companies who sell the same product (commodity--an interchangeable product that can be bought or sold) compete for the customers and most customers would buy for the cheaper price, making companies sell for the lowest they are willing to sell to attract more customers. This competition occurs because according to Milton Friedman, a famous economist, everyone wants a special advantage or more freedom than others, so business owners compete for the advantage of more customers and more profit.
The main players of capitalism are, households, the factor market, businesses, and the product market. Househlds are people selling their land, labor, and capital to the factor market to make money which then gets back to the household when they purchase stock and gain profit other companies make. The factor market gives its products to businesses which costs money for the businesses who sell the prodcts to the product market. The product market then buys from the households costing them money. This is the main cycle that capitalism goes though. This cycle can go out of whack when the distribution of money is not even, causing a depression or a resession. This can be fixed by the government balancing the cycle.
Conflicts in the economic system such as a resession or depression require help from the government. But other conflicts such as, competition in the free market are taken care of by "the invisible hand" which is, essentially, a situation taking care of itself without help from anywhere else, competition in the free market will just happen if two companies are selling the same product. They are naturally going to compete for more money and it is in the company's self interest to do better than the other company to get more profit.
Generally, most Americans agree with the idea of capitalism. A main reason could be the whole idea of being able to go from "rags to riches", having the chance to improve one's social status, or at least having the insentive to want to rise one's social status and having the freedom to move up the social laddar. Whereas in the government, already starting at the top of the social ladder, in cases where society believes they waste money which leads citizens to believe the leaders of the country are incompetent of leading the country and they are allowed to speak out and say their disagreements living in a democratic society. (Friedman)
Monday, October 27, 2008
Dominant Synopsis of Capitalism:
Most people look at capitalism as a positive way to run our economic system, people favor it for the "freedom" it allows us to have. Capitalism provides the free market, opportunity for private property and profit motive. The free market, having the freedom to get into the business and sell what you want for the price you want (profit motive) and the freedom to buy from any businesses you want. To sell what you want, you have to opportunity to own factories and property to produce what you want to sell (private property). The three main components of business are, capital, labor, and land. Land being, the natural resources used to help the produce products and sell products, labor being the people working for the business and the work that is put into the production and selling of products, and the capital being the things used during the process that are not sold for example, the machinery used to produce a pencil.
Those who own businesses are free to sell their product for the price they want. But their main goal is to gain profit of at least one penny. One penny more than the amount of money spent on the process to make and sell the product. They can sell it for as high as they want but the consumer might not be willing to buy it for that price. The balance between the highest the seller wants to sell the product for and the lowest the consumer is willing to pay is called the market price. The seller wants to make as much money as possible while the consumer wants to spend as little money as possible, leading to supply and demand. Supply being the total amount of resources for sale that will be bought at all prices and demand is the amount of people willing to buy a product for a certain price. The graph above (argmax.com) shows the curves of both supply and demand in relationship with quantity and price, the point where supply and demand intersect is the market price or the equilibrium price. Variabilities causing either or both of the curves to alter causing a shift in the market price. If the market price is restricted from changing it could cause a shortage which is when consumers have the money for products but there are no products for sale.
Generally, in America businesses keep their prices fairly low and this is because of competition. Two companies who sell the same product (commodity--an interchangeable product that can be bought or sold) compete for the customers and most customers would buy for the cheaper price, making companies sell for the lowest they are willing to sell to attract more customers.
The main players of capitalism are, households, the factor market, businesses, and the product market. Househlds are people selling their land, labor, and capital to the factor market to make money which then gets back to the household when they purchase stock and gain profit other companies make. The factor market gives its products to businesses which costs money for the businesses who sell the prodcts to the product market. The product market then buys from the households costing them money. This is the main cycle that capitalism goes though. This cycle can go out of whack when the distribution of money is not even, causing a depression or a resession. This can be fixed by the government balancing the cycle.
Conflicts in the economic system such as a resession or depression require help from the government. But other conflicts such as, competition in the free market are taken care of by "the invisible hand" which is, essentially, a situation taking care of itself without help from anywhere else, competition in the free market will just happen if two companies are selling the same product. They are naturally going to compete for more money and it is in the company's self interest to do better than the other company to get more profit.
Generally, most Americans agree with the idea of capitalism. A main reason could be the whole idea of being able to go from "rags to riches", having the chance to improve one's social status, or at least having the insentive to want to rise one's social status and having the freedom to move up the social laddar.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
"I, Pencil" response:
The article, "I, Pencil" by Leonard E. Read is mainly about the simplicity of a pencil, or what seems to be simple about a pencil actually relates to many controvercies that we see in our own lives. Read begins the article by talking about how most people take pencils for grated, no one knows how its made even though it is so simple. Then he goes back and talks about the ancestory of the pencil speaking from the point of view of the pencil itself, "My family tree begins with what in fact is a tree, a cedar of straight grain that grows in Northern California and Oregon..." describing how the pencil came to be and what is involved when making it. He then got into the fact that "Actually, millions of human beings have had a hand in my creation, no one of whom even knows more than a very few of the others." sugesting that none of these millions of people understand how to make a pencil completely, they just know a portion of it. Read then talks about the natural resources needed to create a pencil, still speaking from the point of view of the pencil, "I, Pencil, am a complex combination of miracles: a tree, zinc, copper, graphite, and so on. But to these miracles which manifest themselves in Nature at even more extraordinary miracle has been added: the configuration of creative human energies..." then getting into religious ideas of how we got here as human, how we were made and so on, Thus proving how something as simple as a pencil can suggest or imply a controversey such as religion.
The idea of a pencil, where it comes from, how its made, and ideas that come along with it can be related to capitalism, the different aspects of it, and how it works. For example, a portion of the article talks about how the pencil is made, briefly talking about the machinery used which costs $4,000,000, the machine being the capital in the process of selling and buying of pencils and the profit wealthier people get is based on the money they spend on machinery and other costs to make the pencils, their profit has to be at least one cent more than they spent to make the profit in order to stay in the market. Then there is the fact that millions of people have only had a hand in the creation of a pencil, no one really bothers to understand how to make the pencil as a whole, people are only concerned with the part they are getting paid to make. This holds true in capitalism, most workers are not concerned with the work they are doing at all, their main focus is what they are getting paid to do and what will help them make a good amount of money to survive. People working with machines in factories is part of capitalism as well, rich people who own these companies hire people to work the machines for a small amount of money so they can get a good amount of profit from selling pencils. Relating to Andy's definition of capitalism being, "we work for their profit," those who are in the middle or working class work for rich people who get more money from the work the lower classes do. There is also the natural resources brought up in the article which relate to capitalism as well, the natural resources used to make products are considored "land" in the process of capitalism. The article simply talking about pencils can be related to capitalism and how the system works.
The idea of a pencil, where it comes from, how its made, and ideas that come along with it can be related to capitalism, the different aspects of it, and how it works. For example, a portion of the article talks about how the pencil is made, briefly talking about the machinery used which costs $4,000,000, the machine being the capital in the process of selling and buying of pencils and the profit wealthier people get is based on the money they spend on machinery and other costs to make the pencils, their profit has to be at least one cent more than they spent to make the profit in order to stay in the market. Then there is the fact that millions of people have only had a hand in the creation of a pencil, no one really bothers to understand how to make the pencil as a whole, people are only concerned with the part they are getting paid to make. This holds true in capitalism, most workers are not concerned with the work they are doing at all, their main focus is what they are getting paid to do and what will help them make a good amount of money to survive. People working with machines in factories is part of capitalism as well, rich people who own these companies hire people to work the machines for a small amount of money so they can get a good amount of profit from selling pencils. Relating to Andy's definition of capitalism being, "we work for their profit," those who are in the middle or working class work for rich people who get more money from the work the lower classes do. There is also the natural resources brought up in the article which relate to capitalism as well, the natural resources used to make products are considored "land" in the process of capitalism. The article simply talking about pencils can be related to capitalism and how the system works.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
AWOL Essay: Assignment #3
Everyone has their own view of America and the way Americans live. Their perspectives vary depending on experiences they have had, where they were raised, and the country they originally come from. Different events and aspects that come up in their lives influence what their idea of what the American way of life is. Because everybody’s experiences and lives are different, people are bound to have conflicting points of views, specifically focusing on the American way of life.
When brought up the topic of class, race, and gender relating to the American way of life, my older brother Guido says “generally people in the richer class are white men”, not so much ethnic people or women. This is suggesting that money, wealth, and social class are the main aspects of the American way of life. Similar to a class discussion, Kati and Francesca agreed that social class plays a big role in the American way of life. Richer people get to travel, they do not have to work and they live the “good life,” while the lower classes struggle to get by. Gender and race play a role in determining which Life you’re going to live. Focusing on gender, my grandmother Esperanza thinks that the inequality between man and women specifically in the work force has improved, she says “Before I was the only woman worker, everyone else was male, but now it’s getting better.”
While Jakob disagreed in the class discussion he thought it had more to do with commercials marketing. No matter what class you are in, you deal with capitalism; buying and selling to get the things you want. It is true that what you are buying is different but the process is the same. Similar to another student who goes to School of the Future, Marco (my twin brother) agreed that advertisement and commercial things are a big aspect of the American way of life but he also thinks it is focused more by the culture of America whereas social class is focused on more officially and it seems to be more important.
Jakob’s and Marco’s thoughts on advertisement and commercial things suggest that money also plays a big role in the American way of life mostly in the system of economics. My cousin Amanda and Grandma Esperanza agreed that the economy right now is not in the best place and will be a problem for all social classes thus affecting how Americans live. If Americans cannot go on with their lives without a job or money, the main basis of the American way of life then it will be a problem for them.
Shown that class, race, gender, and capitalism are aspects of the American way of life, the other portion that people seem to agree on as the basis of the American way of life includes “School, college, job, family, same shit every day” (Amanda), “Working, having a family, meeting everyday needs” (Caucasian woman), “Wanting a job and a family which is directed by education,” said the principal of School of the Future, John Fanning who believes that his job ensures the American way of life: educating the next generation. All agreeing that a job/career, good education, and family are basic aspects of the lifestyle of the average American, Tim, a college student thinks that the typical American way of life can differ depending on where you come from. Tim came from a privileged environment, giving him a better education leading him into another path that falls under the typical American way of life.
Mr. Fanning would agree with Tim, thinking that the choices you make, and the opportunities you have affect where you go in life, in the American way of life. Mr. Fanning believes that opportunity is an important aspect of the American way of life, being able to make the decisions you want and taking your life where you want it to be whereas in other countries they do not have that option. We have the option to “challenge authority.”
Coming from a non-American point of view, my grandmother, Esperanza who emigrated from Cuba especially enjoys the freedom knowing what it is like to live without it. When I asked those who live in America they speak of it without the knowledge of the absence of freedom. From a perspective of a man from Switzerland, agreeing with my grandmother thought freedom of speech was a main positive aspect of the American way of life.
Generally, there are many controversies on this topic of how Americans live. Specifically the main controversies that I noticed based on my findings are, class/race/gender’s role in AWOL, money’s role in AWOL, economics, freedom, marketing, a typical way an American lives, and opportunity.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Rough Draft: People's response to AWOL
When brought up the topic of class, race, and gender relating to the American way of life, my older brother Guido thought that generally people in the richer class is white men, not so much ethnic people or women. This is suggesting that money, wealth, and social class are the main aspects of the American way of life. Similar to a class discussion, Kati and Francesca agreed that social class plays a big role in the American way of life. Richer people get to travel, they do not have to work and they live the “good life” while the loser classes are struggling to get by and gender and race play a role in determining which Life you’re going to live. Focusing on gender, grandmother Esperanza thinks that the inequality between man and women specifically in the work force has improved, it is not so bad compared to how it used to be where she was the only female worker when she was working.
While Jakob disagreed in this class discussion he thought it had more to do with commercials marketing, no matter what class you are in, you deal with capitalism and buying an selling to get the things you want, it is true that what you are buying is different but the process is the same. Similar to another student who goes to School of the Future, Marco (my twin brother) agreeing that advertisement and commercial things are a big aspect of the American way of life but thinks of it focused more by the culture of America whereas social class is focused on more officially and it seems to be more important.
Jakob’s and Marco’s thoughts on advertisement and commercial things suggest that money also plays a big role in the American way of life moving towards the system as a whole; the economy. Cousin Amanda and Grandma Esperanza agree that the economy right now is not in the best place and will be a problem for all social classes affecting how Americans live. If Americans cannot go on with their lives without a job or money, the main basis of the American way of life then it will be a problem for them.
Shown that class, race, gender, and capitalism are aspects of the American way of life, there are other portions that people seem to agree is the basis of the American way of life. Including, school, college, work, family and routine things we do every day to get by said by my cousin Amanda, a Caucasian woman, a Caucasian man, and the principal of School of the Future, John Fanning. All agreeing that a job/career, good education, and family are basic aspects of the lifestyle of the average American, Tim, a college student thinks that the typical American way of life can differ depending on where you come from. Tim came from a privileged environment, giving him a better education leading him into another path that falls under the typical American way of life.
Fanning would agree with Tim, thinking that the choices you make, and the opportunities you have affect where you go in life, in the American way of life. Fanning believes that opportunity is an important aspect of the American way of life, being able to make the decisions you want and taking your life where you want it to be whereas in other countries they do not have that option. We have the option to “challenge authority.”
Coming from a non-American point of view, my grandmother, Esperanza who immigrated from Cuba especially enjoy the freedom knowing what it is like to live without it while when I asked those who live in America they speak of it without the knowledge of the absence of freedom. From a perspective of a man from Switzerland, agreeing with my grandmother thought freedom of speech was a main positive aspect of the American way of life.
-->to me it seems like I need to work on maybe ordering it differently like it does not flow very well, and I'm not quite sure how to start or end sooo please take a look and add any suggestions you have thanks :)
While Jakob disagreed in this class discussion he thought it had more to do with commercials marketing, no matter what class you are in, you deal with capitalism and buying an selling to get the things you want, it is true that what you are buying is different but the process is the same. Similar to another student who goes to School of the Future, Marco (my twin brother) agreeing that advertisement and commercial things are a big aspect of the American way of life but thinks of it focused more by the culture of America whereas social class is focused on more officially and it seems to be more important.
Jakob’s and Marco’s thoughts on advertisement and commercial things suggest that money also plays a big role in the American way of life moving towards the system as a whole; the economy. Cousin Amanda and Grandma Esperanza agree that the economy right now is not in the best place and will be a problem for all social classes affecting how Americans live. If Americans cannot go on with their lives without a job or money, the main basis of the American way of life then it will be a problem for them.
Shown that class, race, gender, and capitalism are aspects of the American way of life, there are other portions that people seem to agree is the basis of the American way of life. Including, school, college, work, family and routine things we do every day to get by said by my cousin Amanda, a Caucasian woman, a Caucasian man, and the principal of School of the Future, John Fanning. All agreeing that a job/career, good education, and family are basic aspects of the lifestyle of the average American, Tim, a college student thinks that the typical American way of life can differ depending on where you come from. Tim came from a privileged environment, giving him a better education leading him into another path that falls under the typical American way of life.
Fanning would agree with Tim, thinking that the choices you make, and the opportunities you have affect where you go in life, in the American way of life. Fanning believes that opportunity is an important aspect of the American way of life, being able to make the decisions you want and taking your life where you want it to be whereas in other countries they do not have that option. We have the option to “challenge authority.”
Coming from a non-American point of view, my grandmother, Esperanza who immigrated from Cuba especially enjoy the freedom knowing what it is like to live without it while when I asked those who live in America they speak of it without the knowledge of the absence of freedom. From a perspective of a man from Switzerland, agreeing with my grandmother thought freedom of speech was a main positive aspect of the American way of life.
-->to me it seems like I need to work on maybe ordering it differently like it does not flow very well, and I'm not quite sure how to start or end sooo please take a look and add any suggestions you have thanks :)
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Comments and Some Insight
*Samantha C.:I liked it a lot!! it was really cute, it was really well put together and the music was really mellow which I thought was appropriate for the video :]...I also just really like the song xp
*Kate (from other section): I liked it
but i was curious about your song choice, you make it sound like your life is a "Dirty Little Secret"
which I can see being true..you and your secrets...but please dont stop the music seemed kind of random lol
*Kati:You and your sisters are like so adorable the three of you have amazing voices the song you did was really good, I liked it a lot
you all are gonna be like the female version of the Jonas Brothers lmao..maybe better lol
I thought your video was really well put together with the songs and everything good job! 8-D
*Esther: I love the song you sang with your friend, I will follow you into the dark, i was literally listening to it like minutes before i saw the video!
i liked how you ended it the video, i had trouble ending mine it was sort of abrupt but yours was a good ending. Overall it flowed really nicely and it came out really well! 8-D
*Chloe:I think the video reflected really well on your life. your video was really mellow and simple which I liked because that seems to be how you live your life. i also liked the song you used :]
Something to think about...
Something I noticed in all of the videos its that everyone included friends, and I guess at the age we are at friends are an important aspect of our lives, they entertain us in class (Chloe's) they are with us when we try to make some of our most important accomplishments (Esther's)and generally they are there for many memorable moments in our lives. Because our family isn't always there, physically (they can't really come to school with us now can they?and would we really want them to?)our friends are there to keep us company and we keep them company while we "jump the hurdles" together, avoiding trouble and/or making accomplishments that we choose to make. We make goals and attempt to reach them together. Is that the American way of life as a teenager? The way I look at it yes, because we are forced to go to school by our families this is how most Americans would deal with it, by making friends.
*Kate (from other section): I liked it
but i was curious about your song choice, you make it sound like your life is a "Dirty Little Secret"
which I can see being true..you and your secrets...but please dont stop the music seemed kind of random lol
*Kati:You and your sisters are like so adorable the three of you have amazing voices the song you did was really good, I liked it a lot
you all are gonna be like the female version of the Jonas Brothers lmao..maybe better lol
I thought your video was really well put together with the songs and everything good job! 8-D
*Esther: I love the song you sang with your friend, I will follow you into the dark, i was literally listening to it like minutes before i saw the video!
i liked how you ended it the video, i had trouble ending mine it was sort of abrupt but yours was a good ending. Overall it flowed really nicely and it came out really well! 8-D
*Chloe:I think the video reflected really well on your life. your video was really mellow and simple which I liked because that seems to be how you live your life. i also liked the song you used :]
Something to think about...
Something I noticed in all of the videos its that everyone included friends, and I guess at the age we are at friends are an important aspect of our lives, they entertain us in class (Chloe's) they are with us when we try to make some of our most important accomplishments (Esther's)and generally they are there for many memorable moments in our lives. Because our family isn't always there, physically (they can't really come to school with us now can they?and would we really want them to?)our friends are there to keep us company and we keep them company while we "jump the hurdles" together, avoiding trouble and/or making accomplishments that we choose to make. We make goals and attempt to reach them together. Is that the American way of life as a teenager? The way I look at it yes, because we are forced to go to school by our families this is how most Americans would deal with it, by making friends.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
My Way Of Life
In this video I included some aspects of my life that I thought were meaningful. Some of these include, my interests, what I like to do, those who influence me, and those who play a big role in the life I am currently living in. These aspects relate to how I live my life especially as an American, it reflects some of my values and beliefs.
Some positives about the aspects of my life are being able to do the things I enjoy doing like, drawing, dancing, volleyball, or hanging out with my friends and being able to have people in my life who influence me and advise me when needed. Some bad things are having to choose between the things and people who are positive aspects of my life or being faced with problems that prevent me from being able to do the things I enjoy.
Some things I would like to have included in the video were, a few specific things that I do in my every day life such as, watching TV or being on the computer because those things seem more realistic for me to put because I do spend a lot of time doing those things. Or maybe include some things from school since I spend a lot of time my at school.
My Way Of Life from Sandy G. on Vimeo.
A general pattern I notice in my life is based around groups of people. In Volleyball, I'm on a team, in performances, it's a group of with other performers, I always have family there for me, and I always have my family with me. The only thing I do on my own is sketching. I'm not sure where the direction of my life is going, which is basically what the song in the video is saying.
I think the way i life is similar to the typical American way of life because, just like any other American teenager, I have my friends, my family, my school, and my interests but I live it in my own special way with other specifications that might not be the American way of life. For example, my father is a musician, which I am completely pround of, whereas I would imagine as the American way of life being a father as a businessman. Or living the in the middle of the city and going to a small liberal school. What makes the way I live different from the American way of life is that I do not live in the suburbs, I do own a car but I personally do not use it frequently.
The good and bad things in my way of life fit together because the bad is mostly based on the book, the bad things are bad because it hinders the good things. Some aspects of my life that I find interesting are, my interests in performing and art. I find these aspects of my life interesting because they were influenced by my parents. My father being a musician I grew up with music and performing/performances and my mother who paints a lot in her spare time I was exposed to art. I think these aspects of my life will keep throughout my life but there is a possibility that these aspects will become less important or even more important and become something bigger than it is now.
Some positives about the aspects of my life are being able to do the things I enjoy doing like, drawing, dancing, volleyball, or hanging out with my friends and being able to have people in my life who influence me and advise me when needed. Some bad things are having to choose between the things and people who are positive aspects of my life or being faced with problems that prevent me from being able to do the things I enjoy.
Some things I would like to have included in the video were, a few specific things that I do in my every day life such as, watching TV or being on the computer because those things seem more realistic for me to put because I do spend a lot of time doing those things. Or maybe include some things from school since I spend a lot of time my at school.
My Way Of Life from Sandy G. on Vimeo.
A general pattern I notice in my life is based around groups of people. In Volleyball, I'm on a team, in performances, it's a group of with other performers, I always have family there for me, and I always have my family with me. The only thing I do on my own is sketching. I'm not sure where the direction of my life is going, which is basically what the song in the video is saying.
I think the way i life is similar to the typical American way of life because, just like any other American teenager, I have my friends, my family, my school, and my interests but I live it in my own special way with other specifications that might not be the American way of life. For example, my father is a musician, which I am completely pround of, whereas I would imagine as the American way of life being a father as a businessman. Or living the in the middle of the city and going to a small liberal school. What makes the way I live different from the American way of life is that I do not live in the suburbs, I do own a car but I personally do not use it frequently.
The good and bad things in my way of life fit together because the bad is mostly based on the book, the bad things are bad because it hinders the good things. Some aspects of my life that I find interesting are, my interests in performing and art. I find these aspects of my life interesting because they were influenced by my parents. My father being a musician I grew up with music and performing/performances and my mother who paints a lot in her spare time I was exposed to art. I think these aspects of my life will keep throughout my life but there is a possibility that these aspects will become less important or even more important and become something bigger than it is now.
Monday, September 15, 2008
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