American Studies Blog

Who Can You Trust?

2010-05-31T19:10:00.002-05:00

In recent years, the public has learned more and more about the sex scandals in the Catholic Church. Testimonies have now shown that children had been sexually abused by priests as early as the eighties. Long story short the priests were using their upstanding reputations in the community to convince children and their parents to arrange personal meetings between them and the children of the community. Needless to say these meetings had very little to do with bible readings or practice for communion.

However the current scandal is the fact that the Vatican and the Catholic church has sort of turned its back to the situation. The church feels that every priest and religious figure should represent the church unconditionally, as it should be. But the sex scandal was clearly not what the church is hoping for in terms of good publicity, and therefore there has been a sort of silence in the Vatican. Now the heat is beginning to fall on the Pope for not adressing the issue of the past sexual abuses by Catholic priests.

This is, I guess just a coincendence that we were reading a scence in the Kentucky Cycle on roughly the same topic. In order for Joshua to work in the mines, he needed a birth certificate that said he was fourteen, and he was twelve. So the priest came over to sell him a forged birth certificate for a few bucks. This is unforunate that this is such a recurrent thing that the men that are appointed to guide the the world spiritually, are so often involved in morally wrong behaviors.

TV Tokenism

2010-05-22T11:50:00.002-05:00

In class this Friday, to add closure to Mr. Bolos' Am Stud Day presentation, we revisited the idea of tokenism in television. We watched clips of network dramas and thought critically about them. The overlying theme is that minorities rarely play central characters in these programs, and that oftentimes the minorities are treated more poorly by the other white actors on the program. This treatment results, according to Mr. Bolos, in an increased racist attitude in viewers. Clearly I am not a psychologist and wouldn't be able to prove anything for or against that. But among the series of questions we were challenged to answer, I was most drawn to one:

Is there a problem with TV Tokenism? Is it wrong?

My answer is yes, I think that it is wrong. I think that what we, and the networks should strive for is equality among races. When we label a character as a token, it is as if they are just space fillers that are there as a sort of affirmative action, which is not something I really want to be contemplating while watching Jack Bauer track down the IRK president. I think that television should just be in the market for making the best possible show, although we have learned that is is simply a money making operation. I think that if the quality of the show will be bettered with a predominantly black cast, then so be it, and the same goes for a white cast. I see a good connection with the Herstory project we did, where my group looked at the Equal Rights Amendment. The women behind the bill just wanted the same rights as men, for better or worse, and not random amendments for better pay or a shorter work day. Overall, I think its frustrating that race is still such a problem in the US that even television has to be political, not that I'm forgetting the past racial injustices this country has and still does see.

The Data Cycle

2010-05-17T20:00:00.007-05:00

Reading the Kentucky Cycle a few days ago, I realized there was a precarious connection to be made with another topic we have been discussing, the existence of a data driven society.

The topic arose when Mr. Bolos blogged on the Am Stud Blog about how the world, particularly schools have come to value, and even depend on data. Colleges have begun to define students with a few numbers that they claim assess student's worth. There was a transition at some point from where students were not only guaged by a brief numerical summary of academic success but a more in depth report.

I noticed a parallel between the Kentucky Cycle and this concept. On pg. 91 Jeremiah Talbert is swindling Patrick Rowen out of every last dime of his estate after Jeremiah bought the debts from a downed bank (Sound Familiar). The quotes that really struck me were:

"Land is just dirt Mr. Rowen. It's worth only what the market is willing to pay for it. No more, no less"

"Land don't tolerate no fools. I know that don't mean nothin' to no bank man pushin' his little peices of paper"

The land, that Patrick Rowen had lived on his entire life, and had grown to learn was the most valuable thing in his life, was simply deemed worthless by Jeremiah and the courts. The land, which had been well taken care of, was now worth considerably less because some bank thinks so. This value system is where I see the parallel to the data driven society. Colleges see the value of a student through a few numbers and very little less, even though it is sure that those students are far more complex than a few numbers can possibly summarize. Its a shame that our society has been reduced to this but it's a reality today. If our society came to value more than just the data, how would it be different? Do you think there is any truth to the data our society chooses to value?

Kentucky Derby

2010-05-02T16:02:00.002-05:00

I know I'm breaking the mold of our class to blog about something other than Junior Theme, but I thought I'd give it a try.

For those of you that didn't know (me included), the Kentucky Derby was Saturday. Now I don't know very much about horse racing, nor am I an equestrian in any way. My desire to blog about this is simply out of curiosity.

I can understand that there is a deeply rooted history associated with the Kentucky as it is the oldest annual sporting event in the US today, this year being the 136th running of the event. I can respect the tradition of the event, where the women wear UFO sized hats and the men wager tens of thousands of dollars on horses who have the best sounding names.

But besides these people who are part of the tradition, who else really follows the Derby? There are only three televised races a year that compose the Triple Crown: The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes and The Belmont Stakes. How can someone really be invested in a sport that is only on television three times a year? Could it be that viewers like the idea of the event more than the actual quality of sport? Any other ideas?

Burqa Ban

2010-04-23T12:50:00.003-05:00

France has been dealing with a problem that most Americans would find strange. The country is currently in a struggle to find its true "identity". Huge numbers of North Africans have immigrated to France in the pursuit of a better life, and the problems have evolved from there. The issue has become so large that the government is even forced to get involved. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is now proposing a ban on a traditional Muslim clothing, the burqa. He is suggesting that the burqa not be allowed in any public venue.
The country is rather divided on the issue, conservative people feel that the Islamic influence on the country is too great and that it should be limited. More liberal people however feel that a blend of cultures is healthy for the nation's indentity.
Sarkozy, who was elected in 2007, won the vote by gaining the approval of a rather conservative constituency. In turn he is acting, for the most part, in the interest of conservative France.
Having already been familiar with the political and social issues in France, I am not shocked by these recent developments. But as a kid living in the states I can imagine that most Americans would be rather shocked by these events.

Do you think a ban on religious attire could exist here, despite the freedom of religion granted to all Americans? Also consider the debate of the French idendity. What do you think is the American "identity", and how did it come to be?

Ninjas!

2010-04-22T12:45:00.003-05:00

The picture may be inspiring some less than serious reactions, but a country in the Pacific has managed to be overrun by "ninjas". East Timor, a neighbor of Indonesia in the Pacific Ocean has been in a virtual civil war with these masked assailants. These "ninjas" are essentially a militant anti-government group trying to gain power in the country. the grips of a six-month campaign aimed at curbing "ninja" activities. "Any ninjas that want to take us on, your final stop will be the Santa Cruz cemetary." I can't help but laugh but this just wreaks of the kind of bad drama that unfolds in a childrens comic, and its happening in a real country!

The country might find itself in a little bit of a pickle, as this corps of ninjas is reportedly in the ballpark of 90 thousand strong, nearly ten percent of the population of East Timor.

What I am a little confused about is who decided to coin these mysterious criminals as "ninjas", seeing as "no one in the country would ever self-identify" as a ninja." Clearly there is someone that is just mocking the situation and therefore added a juvenile twist to the story. It is anything but funny considering several people have been victims of the ninjas, several people have been murdered this year. Especially when the country has just ended a 24 year period in which they were occupied by Indonesia, where an estimated 100,000 people died. My questions is why did this country's problem become some kind of joke? Is it the media's fault? (see for yourself)? The government's?

Schools Shellin Out Cash

2010-04-12T17:44:00.005-05:00

In class today, as an introduction to the soundless video, we discussed the concept of monetizing school, work, and life itself. I, prior to this discussion had read the most recent TIME magazine which included an article on the monetary compensation of students in struggling schools in predominantly inner city neighborhoods across America. Studies were run in Chicago, New York, Dallas and Washington. A different approach was taken in each city. Chicago rewarded students for good grades, Washington for good behavior and attendance, NYC for test scores, and the only unanimously positive result, Dallas rewarded students for each book read during the initiative.
The initiative was launched by Roland Fryer, an economics professor at Harvard, who scoured the country looking for schools to participate in the study. The feat was not as easily said than done. The majority of schools stuck to their moral guns saying that students should learn for the love of learning, despite the majority of these schools testing well below state standards.
The result of the study showed that some incentives worked better than others. The only city that showed extremely positive results was in Dallas where they paid students per book read, and consequently test scores in reading increased. The interesting part is that Dallas had the lowest amound earned per student at $13.81 versus Chicago students that on average earned a whopping $695.61. This statistic alone lead me to believe that there was no correlation between compensation and grades and standardized test scores. Whats your first impression? Did you, like me say "of course it will help"? Would such an initiative have an impact at New Trier?

Tiger's Icebreaker

2010-04-11T19:42:00.003-05:00

After the emotion of Phil Mickelson's three shot victory at Augusta, whose mother and wife are both suffering from breast cancer, the attention naturaly still landed on the PGA's greatest and most notorious icon. Tiger found himself in the hunt through 63 holes of the Masters but a few costly back nine errors in the final round put him a few shots out of contention. These errors included a missed one foot tap in for par that he uncharacteristically slapped at only to see it lip out. Tiger, after 72 holes, finished at 11 under, five off the lead.

What troubled me was the post round interview with CBS's Peter Kostas, where Woods didn't tone down his incredibly competetive mindset saying that he was dissappointed for not winning after his five month hiatus. Part of me wants to believe that Tiger is in a constant winning mindset and he truly feels that he will win every tournament he enters (which most of the time he delivers), but during this Masters I found this hard to believe. He has been away from the game, letting the news of his wrongdoings simmer and his image as the posterboy for professional sports is in shreds. The cynical part of me says that Tiger was simply using this year's Masters for exposure, to remind the world that he will be coming back to the tour, and that people better get used to it. The fact that he finished tied for fourth was simply a bi-product of his attempt at exposure. Although this is a scary thought that a player who hasn't played a professional round in five months contended in the most important and prestigious tournament on the PGA tour, this is just a testament to why he is "arguably" considered the best to ever play the game. Did Tiger do this to improve his image? Was he approaching this tournament for the same reasons as he did pre-scandal?

Huta Who? Hutaree

2010-04-04T12:24:00.002-05:00

This past week eight arrests were made of the leaders of the extreme right wing group called the Hutaree Militia. This Michigan based group had been monitored for years by the FBI but not until now had any arrests been made.

The word Hutaree, although not found in any English dictionary, means, according to the members of the group "christian warriors". The investigation revealed that the main goal of the militia was to assassinate any local or federal law enforcement. The FBI's files show the Hutaree's plan of attack included:

-killing a member of law enforcement after a traffic stop

-killing an officer at their home

-ambushing officers in rural communities

-luring an officer to a false 911 call

-attacking a funeral procession of a downed officer

Clearly these people should not be on the streets, as the rationale for such acts of violence is not attainable by any sane person. The thing is that all eight people are being put in jail awaiting trial. Normally people are innocent, and therfore free, until proven guilty, but not in this instance. Although they have only been found conspiring these plans, they are considered a threat to all. I believe that these people should be in prison awaiting trial but a part of me thinks back to the civil liberties aspect of our class. Is this right? Is it a violation of their civil liberties to put these people away who have not even been convicted of anything thus far?

A Preview of John Dos Passos

2010-03-17T21:11:00.005-05:00

What intrigued me about John Dos Passos besides the fact that both of my teachers hold him is such high regard, was his journey to success. I couldn't fathom how someone could seemingly choose random subjects, throw in some indentations, and this work ultimately become globally renowned. Though, after reading one of his works Newsreel XVII, I came to acknowledge Dos Passos' work not as nonsense but writing of a rare creative sophistication. A passage I thought was completely representative of this creativity came in the third full paragraph:

"Austrians leave hot rolls in haste to get away giant wall of water rushes down valley professor says Beethoven gives the impression of a juicy steak"

Its actually like a game reading Dos Passos' work. It's a puzzle of sorts where one subject ends and another begins and the reader must decipher when that occurs.

Believe it or not Dos Passos was not just a weird guy trying to play around with sentence structure. He was the one of the founding fathers of the lost generation, possibly one of the most important eras of American literature. The other key figures of the lost generation include F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway. This "lost generation" was a result of World War I, as the morale of most Americans at the time following the war was low, this prompted the eccentric writing from writers of the time.

Is there a new "lost generation" of today? What circumstances do you feel would create such a thing? Would Dos Passos' style of writing, if reproduced by writers today be appreciated?

Vick in the Shadows

2010-03-14T23:36:00.002-05:00

Surfing the channels, something caught my eye that I was not really expecting. The Michael Vick Project, which premiered a few weeks ago, documents Michael Vick's journey from an NFL icon turned convict to a normal law obiding citizen. But seeing this on television got me thinking about the publicity that Vick has gotten since his release from the federal penitentiary. I think it would be fair to say that if you don't follow the NFL and didn't see Vick playing for the Philadelphia Eagles this year, you may not even know that Vick was out of prison.

This leads me to believe that he has a team of publicists working tirelessly to build Vick's image somehow back to the level it was when he was playing in Atlanta. He was, as Doc Oc said in his August post compared to "another Hitler" by some clearly irratic critics and is now taking a more gentle approach to his integration back into the limelight of professional sports, that is if he can find another team to take a moral leap and sign him after his 1-year contract with the Eagles expired.

I also think it is interesting the outlet Vick (or his publicists) chose for his "redemptive" series. The series is airing on Black Entertainment Television, or BET. I don't know if Vick is trying to speak to a specific audience by airing the show on this network, or if BET was the only channel to take on the show.

I personally feel that Vick is taking the right approach to the "reconstruction" of his image. I won't dive into my feelings of his initial arrest but I certainly feel Vick deserves another chance. He has done his time and I believe, has the talent to make it in the NFL today.

What do you think, does Mike deserve another chance? What do you think of his attempts at integration and the rebuilding of his image?

Brainwashed? Not Me

2010-03-14T19:26:00.002-05:00

I'll be the first one to argue that advertisements have no bearing on how me personally as a consumer. I will admit to watching numerous hours of television as a child and being exposed to the billion dollar industries of brand development. I have been making these claims for years but only through reading this recent article that we were assigned did I really contemplate the truth of my assertions.

The article more or less dives into the neurological aspect of commerical consumption by people today; "the amygdala, the hippocampus and the hypothalamus are dynamic switchboards that shape the decisions people make." The brain is entirely responsible for decision making, including the decisions we as consumers make on the types of things we will buy. If the trigger to our decision making lies in our brains, then that is where the marketing wizards of the worlds biggest corporations will aim their advertisements. Sound like brainwashing yet!

If you're not convinced consider this other bit from the LA Times Searching for the Why of Buy. Pepsi and Coke, two of the largest brands on this planet, have been perpetuating their advertisements for decades on the nation's youth. But what we rarely think about is: Pepsi and Coke are the same thing! They are like the article said, "based on a single sensory theme: sugar and water." So why do people ever get in the habit of buying coke rather than pepsi or visa versa, when despite minor taste differences, they are essentially the same thing. Unfortunately, this compulsion to buy a certain way boils down to one thing and one thing only, ads. Reading this LA times article has made me less adament in believing I am immune to advertisement because when I think about it I have numerous brands that I prefer to others. This lead to think why I would ever think I was immune to advertisement when I was clearly not. Are you immune, and do you, after reading this, consider advertisement to be a socially acceptable form of brainwashing?

Why Can't Illinois Get it Right?

2010-03-08T19:21:00.004-06:00

In today's discussion Doc Oc briefly touched upon the corruption that this country has seen even in the past year. I am always appalled to find out of the new scandals in government. I decided to take a look at our great state of Illinois, which has argueably, in the past 10 years encountered more political contreversy than any other state.

Recent Illinois scandals began with Dan Rostenkowski in 1996, who served thirty-six years in Congress representing Illinois. He was convicted for mail fraud, but was specifically known for sending government payroll checks to non employees that did him personal favors. He was sentenced to seventeen months in federal prison.

There was also Governer George Ryan who was charged with awarding business friends state contracts for projects in exchange for gifts and money. He was indicted in '04 and in '06 was sentenced to six and a half years in prison under the official charges of racketeering, conspiracy, tax fraud, mail fraud, and lying to the FBI while under oath. His legacy plagued Illinois politics until he was one up-ed by his predecessor, Rod Blagojevich. We'll call him Rod for typing's sake. Rod, in a spontaneous fit of genious, decided to auction off Barack Obama's vacant seat in the Senate to the highest bidder. Needless to say this isn't quite legal. He is now awaiting trial and sentencing.

My only question is why Illinois. Is it the cows, the plains, or the vast expanses of corn fields that prompt corrupt politicians to come here. Maybe the policies are more lax here and allow for such corruption to occur. Something must be wrong as nearly all corruption related political contreversies have taken place in Illinois in recent years.

Which Light is Turned On?

2010-02-26T15:08:00.004-06:00

Is your light turned on? The green one of course. This figurative "green light" is in reference to what drives you, or me rather since this is my blog. After starting to read The Great Gatsby and experiencing the incredibly vivid color descriptions of F. Scott Fitzgerald, our class was presented this question by our teachers. This was also supplemented by a recent New York Times article that referenced Fitzgeralds novel, posing the question, what is your green light?

Sadly, the only thing I can think of that truly drives me is my future, which would somewhere along the way include a level of financial success. This is not to say that happiness will be compromised, but both components play a part. As awful as it sounds all I really want to do is get into the best higher education institution possible and get the best possible job I can out of college. Laying it out in this manner makes my future sound depressing and devoid of any enjoyment, but I really don't see myself striving for a nobel peace prize.

The Rise and Fall of Cairo

2010-02-08T17:40:00.004-06:00

Cairo, Illinois has been at the heart of the Midwest during the 19th century, but after the civil war ended and trading by boat subsided, this seemingly insignificant Midwest town has fallen by the wayside.

Hopefully my classmates have already made the connection, Cairo was the original destination of Huck and Jim in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

There was a mystique about Cairo in the story, created by the anticipation of Huck starting a life anew and Jim being reunited with his family. This aura of mysticism made me envision Cairo as a quaint Midwestern haven on the banks of the Mississippi. The truth is that Twain was not at all misleading at the time.

Quaint was probably not quite the word to describe the town, but it was certainly a noteworthy place. Cairo, during the early 1800's, as a result of its location on the river, was among the most important trading posts in the Midwest. The Mississippi and the Ohio Rivers unite on the banks of Cairo, which forced Cairo to become an industrial town. The Illinois Central Railroad also ran through Cairo, so it was just inevitable that Cairo would be at the heart of Midwestern trade.

Cairo was also a Union stronghold during the civil war in the 1880's. It served as an important supply base and a training center. By the 1900's, Cairo was at its all time high, as population would spike in 1907 at 20,000 people.

Most would assume that the Industrial Revolution of the 1900's would help an industrial town such as Cairo, yet that was all but true. Cairo was mainly at the heart of river trade, and trade by rail second. With the Industrial Revolution came the car and its introduction into the mainstream. It was not long until American business' came to realize that trade by car was more efficient than any other option. So when the entire country experienced a boom

Cairo was witnessing its own downfall.

And there lies the demise of Cairo. After 1910, a gradual decline in population began and has not stopped to this day. The population in Cairo is currently hovering around two and a half thousand. Cairo was at one time, a focal location in the Midwest, but now is steeped in poverty. 60% of schoolchildren in the Cairo Unified School District 1 are living under the poverty line, a figure that places them in the top twenty in the nation in this category.

I found it interesting and even more sad that this town, which was so well portrayed in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has fallen from its height as an industrial and trading powerhouse of the Midwest, to a dismal rural pit. All this is a result of the Industrial Revolution, possibly one of the most important things to happen in this country's history, which is certainly responsible for molding the US into what it is now. This makes me wonder what if. What if the Industrial Revolution never came? Would the US be a third world country stuck in the 1890's? Could our lives actually have been comprable to Huck's?

Obama and Small Business

2010-01-30T11:43:00.002-06:00

In President Barrack Obama's 2010 State of the Union speech, many topics of great importance were discussed such as the cost of education and rampant unemployment in the US. But one of the topics that really took center stage was that of small business in the states.
I like many other students in our American Studies class, am the child of a small business owner. My parent's company was at it's peak 12 people, but because of the recession it has shrunk to 7. The company manufactures athletic clothing for small children, and then distributes it to megastores such as Wal-Mart, Kohl's and Target. My step-dad, the owner of the business, voted for Obama but has been feeling the repercussions of Obama's "just tax it" mentality. I sat down and we discussed exactly Obama has done to hurt small business.
The first thing he made clear is that all companies are divided into two main categories (each of which have several branches), S-corp (small business) and C-corp (larger business'). C-Corp companies are often publicly traded or belong to a group of investors, therefore they are liable for any collapse of the business. S-corp companies are often on a much smaller scale and are owned by five or fewer (in most cases) people. C-corp companies are directly taxed on their income, whereas S-corp companies do not encounter a corporate tax. Now here is where the twist comes. The income that comes from the business is absorbed by the owner(s) if the business, so it appears that the money belongs to the owners but in reality it stays in the business to pay the expenses of the operation and only a portion of that initial money is pocketed by owners. So in conclusion, small business owners appear to be much wealthier on paper than they actually are. Now most people that are aware of Obama's policies known of his plan to tax the nation's highest earners, 250,000 dollars and up. So this poses a problem for my small business owners. They appear to make more than that amount on paper, and are consequently taxed on money they don't have.
Obama is also proposing a new health care plan that he intends to have the top tax brackets to pay. So again, small business owner are going to get slammed by additional taxes if the health care plan gets passes.
The third thing Obama is doing to hurt small business, ironically enough, is to stop what Bush had started. Bush was infamous for lowering taxes on the nations highest earners, a policy that is set to expire this year, which Obama has the ability to renew. By doing this, small business owners that appear to be among the nation's wealthies people, will get taxed again.

Although Obama is attempting to appeal to the hearts of average Americans by trying to help small business, he is instead raising taxes three times over for small business' that employ more Americans than any other type of business. I was, as most were, mesmorized by Obama's incredible public speaking. It is often hard to think critically of his ideas when they are worded so eloquently, but Obama's new pledges to help small business are not going to compensate for the damages that have already been done.

Where the Wild Things Are

2010-01-07T09:06:00.004-06:00

I think that most kids that did not live under a rock during childhood, knew and adored the story of Where the Wild Things Are. To revisit the story, it is the tale of a boy names Max. Max is never happy and resorts to being mischevious by dressing up in a wolf costume. His mom, as punishment sent him to bed without dinner. While in his room, Max dreams up a wild realm where the "wild things" run free. This realm was created by Max's imagination but it temporarily becomes a reality for him. He is at first scared of the wild things but then shows them some courage by staring them in the eye, and he is consequently deemed king of the wild things. He then gets lonely in a place that is not his home, and sails back to his room. When he gets back to his room, he finds a nice hot meal waiting for him, most likely from his mom.

The hidden message, I believe, is that even when kids feel something unfair is happening to them and they want to rebel, that is simply not the answer. Max rebels by going away to this other magical land but in the end he becomes lonely and he wants to go home. He also comes home to find a hot plate of food waiting for him, which would mean his parent still did really care for him. So the author may have been trying to say that even when parents punish their kids, it is for a reason, but that they will have compassion in the end. It is also important to note that there is never really a mention of the father. It is the mother that disciplines the child in the home, but it is also her that cooks the meal that is left in his room upon his return.

What other hidden messages can you find in this story? Do these messages correlate at all to the theme of women and children in American society?

Sidenote

2010-01-03T09:41:00.002-06:00

I had written the previous four posts over the course of the break but was forced to post them all now for a very interesting reason. I was told that the french government monitors the internet looking for anything descriminatory. I was told there could be fines and other minor consequences for posting hateful material on the internet. Although I do not feel as if what I said was offensive, I decided to wait until I got home to post these blogs. I think this just speaks to how strict France as a country has become, going as far as sensoring the internet, things that I thought only really happened in Communist countries like North Korea and China. This is not really intended to be a post but rather just something I thought should be shared along with the posts.

Those Americans...

2010-01-03T09:36:00.000-06:00

It has always bothered me that people from other countries, notably Europeans, have a somewhat negative opinion of the US and its inhabitants. So one goal of mine while over there was to find out what exactly the French thought of the states.

One thing I learned quickly is that the French find Americans a little afraid to speak their minds, especially from a political aspect. It is common for there to almost daily debates over politics, most of which are for the sake of conversation and rarely become heated. I learned that the French think that Americans are afraid to discuss real issues, whether national or global because it is seen as taboo to really express opinions so publicly. They see, that as a result of this reluctance, conversation is often superficial and limited to essentially unimportant topics.

A second thing that I learned is that the French are troubled by the similarities between the political parties here. In France, the left and the right try to contrast themselves as much as possible. If the right is for something, it is almost systematic that the left will find a reason to be against it, and the opposite is true as well. So French people are a little confused at the fact that republicans and democrats can even at times agree on certain issues.

The third thing that I learned is more of a social issue. In France, you go to high school in your town, if your lucky you go to college, which will almost definitely be local, and you will then move back somewhere around where you grow up. With this said, it is normal for people to have the same friends from childhood well into adulthood. The same is not always true in the states. It is common for Americans to move around throughout their lives and consequently lose friends and then make new ones in their new location. When people move to new place, they will make friends based on common interests, if one person likes to play golf, they may make friends that like to play golf as well. This also serves to gather people with similar opinions, so by moving around and finding friends with the same interests, they are creating a kind of microcosm in which everyone they know feels the same way they do.

Although it would have been fun to run into these people, I did not meet anyone that was intensely anti American. For the most part, people that have been to the states think more highly of it then those who have not. Ask yourself what you think foreigners might think of Americans? Were you surprised by any of the things that French people saw in Americans?

Problems from Across the Pond 2

2010-01-03T09:34:00.006-06:00

This is the second installment in a series concerning the problem of immigration in France. This issue takes place principally with the group known as the Maghrebins which is a blanket term used for people of Algerian, Moroccan or Tunisian descent. The figure now hovers around five million of these Maghrebins in France, a country of sixty million people.
France has worked to paint itself as a beacon of light in Europe by adapting a socialist political ideology. There are a couple reasons why the Maghrebins choose to come to France. The first and most important reason that they come to France is the security that the government affords immigrants. This security comes not only from an economic aspect but a social one as well. Somehow, either the government or society has made it such that it is acceptable to be an undocumented person living in France and reaping the benefits of a socialist government. Over the past few decades this topic of immigration has become taboo, thus making it less likely that the issue will be discussed seriously in a political forum. France has a system of social security that gives money to people unable to provide for themselves (similar to the American system but on a much larger scale). They also have a very loosely monitored universal health care system. What I mean by loosely monitored is that basically anyone that may be able to get their hands on documentation of some sort, whether legal or not, could head into any hospital unannounced and receive medical attention for little to no cost. If I were an immigrant is a third world country this would sound awesome, free money and health care. The French people see a problem with the fact that people can just come to their country and easily benefit from the tax money that they contribute each year. There is an even larger issue that goes along with this, the issue of national identity which French President Nicolas Sarkozy has launched a campaign to define, which will be the focus of my next post.

This previous viewpoint was explained with information provided by a very conservative older, and natural born French person. But I am attempting to cover both sides of the issue, so I found a family friend who is 17 to give me his opinion on the issue. He began, interestingly enough by telling me that me referring to it as an issue or a problem was getting off on the wrong foot. He sees no problem at all, the situation is all just a matter of circumstances. In France, the bad neighborhoods form in the outskirts of major cities, this term is commonly referred to as the banlieu. Poor immigrants, when looking for a place to immigrate to in France gravitated to these already struggling neighborhoods. It just so happened that a very good percentage of the people immigrating happened to be of Arab descent, thus forming a relatively large Arab population in France. The 17-year-old proceeded to explain to me why crime became a staple of the banlieu. The reason is simply that there is nothing to do there, so people resort to crime to pass the time. So, when all these circumstances are taken into consideration, Arab crime is just a product of the environment. Crime occurs in the banlieu because there is nothing else to do, and it just so happens that there is an overwhelming Arab population so they get a lot of heat for being the cause of crime in France.
These are the two contrasting viewpoints on the issue, coming from both ends of the political spectrum. I won’t give my opinion just yet, but I will share in the third and final installment in this series of posts.

Problems from Across the Pond 3

2010-01-03T09:34:00.005-06:00

With the previous two posts I have only given background to the current problem that is taking place in France. The issue can be summarized in two words, national identity. The immigrants that come to France and take advantage of the socialist governmental system refuse to refer to themselves as French. The Maghrebins for some reason flaunt the fact that they live in France and take advantage of it, and still refuse to assume a French identity. Like I said before, government officials are not able to single out this particular group because that would be an outward act of racism, and therefore not an action that can be taken by a modern government such as that of France. So this leaves the French government between a rock and hard place, unable to solve this problem because it would leave them looking unprofessional. President Nicolas Sarkozy has launched a campaign to define national identity, a kind of indirect way of attacking this issue. He has to attack it indirectly because of this issue of political incorrectness. Because this specific group of immigrants is not agreeing to have themselves seen as French, Sarkozy has started this initiative to answer the question of what being French really means.

In my opinion, this fight is really not worth fighting. Natural born French people are renouncing their country, something that I see no point in, but they should nonetheless be allowed to say whatever they want. But this should not be made a racial issue, like most people in France are making it. If people are renouncing their country that is their problem, but if they are committing crimes they should be punished and even more severely if it is done blatantly to spit on their country. Although France doesn’t exactly abide by the same constitution as the states do I think freedom of speech should be protected. This issue should not be racial, because if someone does something illegal, they should be punished, but if one were to say something that wasn't exactly ideal in the eyes of the government, that should be protected

Problems from Across the Pond

2009-12-30T15:21:00.001-06:00

I am spending my winter break this year in France and I am shocked every time I come back at how different Europe even feels to the States. This is generally attributed to the fact that cultures are in stark contrast in many aspects.

While driving to dinner in downtown Lyon, my grandparents ask me if I ever see burnt cars on the side of the road back home. I answer a little put off, that no I didn’t think that I ever have. Curious, I ask why they would pose this question. They told me that around Christmas time ever year, it is common for young people to burn cars on the street overnight. They told me that it wouldn’t be unheard of for over a thousand cars to be set aflame on the night after Christmas. Naturally, I was shocked to hear this because a crime of this nature I don’t think would ever be allowed in the states, let alone in mass. This has become a national occurrence across all of France, and is leaving a lot of people distressed. In my opinion it’s crazy that people have to fear getting their car razed in their sleep, during what is supposed to be a time of peace. This led me to wonder why something like this would ever come to be a tradition in the eyes of the youth. The answer lies in one of the biggest, and most unspoken problems in France today. Just like in the states, rampant immigration is an issue in France. The investigations have shown an overwhelming percentage of immigrants of North African descent as suspects of these cases of arson. This issue has become unspoken due in large part to consistent rioting and demonstrations from these immigrating communities have left government officials reluctant to attack the issue, but also France has intentionally created a haven for struggling immigrants. There have been little efforts to confront this issue of immigration in France, until recently. I have decided to make this topic a series of posts, in which I will elaborate on issue, explain differing viewpoints on the topic and the roll the government is playing in all of this.

Night League Blog

2009-12-11T15:00:00.005-06:00

I have recently been taking advantage of my blogspot account, but not to contribute to this blog. I, along with American Studies alum Jimmy Slovitt are currently running a Night League blog, specific to the 2011 class. Slovitt, the founder, made the blog to follow in the foot steps of senior night league blogger Michael Hermanson, and also to share the wealth of night league with thoset that were not able to participate The blog covers the spectrum, with individual game reports and player highlights. We discuss every thrusday (Night League is held weekly on Weds.) the week's results and decide MVP rankings for individual players. All facets of the game contribute to MVP rankings, including points, assists, board, leadership and the general understanding of the sportsmanship associated with Night League. We also confer on weekly rankings of the teams and also analyze each week's matchups highlighting a couple games as the games of the week.

Most people would just wonder why I would ever want to spend time on something that really yeilds nothing in return. The answer lies in the aura of night league, something that can only be experienced by participating. It all comes from that half hour of competition. It all comes from knowing that every wednesday night during the winter, there is something to look forward to This energy that derives from Night League is what makes me want to spend my time contributing to this blog. This post doesn't really criticize the world around me and frankly doesn't really bring a lot to the table for most people that will read this. I honestly just wanted to share on my AIS blog, a somewhat relevant and interesting thing that I am doing at the moment. Check out the blog at http://ntjnl.blogspot.com/.

Obama's Empty Promises

2009-12-06T23:07:00.003-06:00

President Obama ran on a platform designed entirely to do exactly the opposite thing that George Bush had done in his two terms. While the health care system sucked the money from the sick people's pockets, Obama promised to devise a health care system to fix that, which he has tried to do, however poorly. Obama promised a troop withdrawal from Iraq after five years of stagnant military action. He has, as of recently, announced troop withdrawal, only to have them shipped right next door to Afghanistan. But Obama also promised to stop the Constitution-shredding that took place during the Bush administration. This post was derived in largepart from a post I read online concering Obama's civil liberties track record. My dad directed me to a blogger he knew of on salon.com , named Glenn Greenwald, who blogged religiously about current civil liberties issues. Here is the quote that really inspired me to write this post:

"Of all the things for an incumbent President of the United States to take political risks fighting for, obviously reducing the power of the executive branch is going to be dead last on the list. If you want to see civil liberties championed, that’s going to have to come from congress."

There are several big ticket items that Obama had on his agenda coming into this term, but for me to think that enforcing the very constitution that he swore to uphold is last on it was very troublesome to me. I understand that fixing these issues takes time, so I will not pass any harsh judgement yet, but I think we're letting Barrack off the hook a little too easy. In my mind, filling the gaps of the consitution that had been drilled into by the Bush administration is a high profile issue, and has to be taken care off. Is it just me, or should civil liberties be taken more seriously by the president? What topics on Obama's agenda do you consider the most important? Consider what topics you should would like to see focused on in Washington. These are all important questions to wonder as we will all be eligible to vote in the 2012 elections.

Golf God Above the Law?

2009-12-01T13:23:00.004-06:00

This past week, the world's only billion dollar athlete, Tiger Woods was involved in a slow moving one car accident outside of his home in Orlando. A neighbor called in the incident at approximately two twenty five on the morning after November. (quite strange that Woods' neighbor was so alert and ready to call incident in at such an hour, but thats beside the point). Woods, somehow ran into a fire hydrant just outside his driveway, and left himself unconcious. New information has divulged that he was badly bruised and had sustained many cuts in the incident, and for some reason barefoot. His wife then supposedly ran out of the house, golf club in hand. This is where the media takes hold of the story. One rumor is that Woods and his wife, Swedish supermodel Elin Nordegren had been having a dispute that evening and Woods left the house and she followed him out and proceeded to smash the windows of his car. The other rumor, one that I personally believe is that alcohol was involved, and he crashed his car. Those are the simplest and most believable circumstances I can see. The story for me takes a turn when the police attempted to assess the situation. Woods refused to comment or even subject himself to alcohol testing. He made no public statement for several days and had no apparent contact with the police either, despite their numerous visits to his home in the ultra exlusive gated community of Isleworth, FL. My only hesitation with this story is why was Woods allowed to defer any questioning from the police. He's a normal law obiding citizen just like me, but I think that if I crashed my car outside my house I couldn't just keep all the information to myself. This leads me to suspect that Woods, simply for being a celebrity was afforded different treatment. How could we justify this when every day people are arrested for very similar offenses, and Woods can just defer all the heat until he is ready?

Did To! Did Not!

2009-11-22T14:48:00.002-06:00

"Why the Statesman's publication was delayed The Chicago Tribune on Thursday, November 19 posted an article implying that Stevenson High School delayed publication of its student newspaper over concerns that it contained articles harmful to the school’s reputation. The charge is false. Students in the past have run articles related to smoking and drinking, teen sexual activity, and crime, and they will in the future. The Statesman’s publication, originally scheduled" (d125.org)

"Administrators at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire spiked Friday's edition of the school's award-winning newspaper because of concerns about stories on drinking and smoking by honor students, teen pregnancy, and shoplifting, the editor said." (Chicago Tribune).

The first quote was taken directly from the Stevenson High School website. This was released as a statement from the administrators. The second quote was the first paragraph of the Chicago Tribune article in Friday's morning paper.
I write about this because if you look at this issue with an unbiased perspective, there is certainly a civil liberties issue underlying. SHS is claiming that they postponed the release of this weeks edition because the paper itself was not fit to be released and not because of inappropriate content. They argued that topics such as underage drinking, smoking, and sex have been prevalent in the past, and will continue to be present in future publications of SHS's "The Statesman".
On the other hand, the article from the trib says that the school chose to put its foot down finally, barring these inappropriate topics from the paper. The article sees it as a violation of the student's freedom of press and speech.
Initially, the rebel inside of me sided with the tribune, believing that our schools are always trying to subdue everyone and protect its image at all times. But I tried to be a cynic for once, and discovered a very logical way of explaining these events.
The paper has been publishing these stories for years according to the statement from SHS. I consider then that someone at the tribune was opposed to the publications of such taboo topics, and maybe tried publishing this article in order to stop SHS from printing these stories.

I was wondering if anyone could think of any other reason why these events took place? Who was right or wrong in the situation. Should the media have the right to make potentially harmful accusations such as these?

Dueling Tragedies

2009-11-12T18:54:00.005-06:00

This past week the US experienced another tragedy, this time in the form of a mass homicide at Fort Hood Military Base in Killeen, Texas. Thirteen were pronounced dead in the shooting. The events proximity to the Veterans Day holiday has lead to mourning across the country.

I first learned about this incident on my Yahoo homepage. I was shocked at Yahoo's decision of making this headline a secondary story, overshadowed by an article about "the ten best suburbs in America". I could not understand the reasoning for this order. I looked on and read a three sentence long report of the incident, this only added to my disbelief. Our country had endured a great loss and all Yahoo has to say about it is three measly sentences. These circumstances by which I learned of this horrific story generated a terribly impersonal rationale for this occurrence. I have a hard time admitting this now, but I essentially looked past the incident, thinking that because soldiers had died it wasn't so bad. I had gotten myself to believe that soldiers were in a line of duty, and death was a bi-product of their work. After thinking about the incident more deeply I realize the exact opposite was true. Soldiers are a beacon of heroism for this country, and should be immensely valued and respected for their commitment to their nation

But I could not let this go. I began to wonder how I let myself come to this conclusion. I'm not a bad person and I support our military completely, how could I have justified such a horrible crime? I drew a connection very quickly to the Virginia Tech shootings. It was a shockingly similar situation. Two individuals, both deranged, and both motivated by a dislike of their standing in society and the ideals of the country they lived in. Despite the similarity of the massacres, I had a very different reaction to the VT shootings. Basically, when I learned about the shootings, I was scared. I learned of this incident in a similar manner, except TIME had don't a little better job than Yahoo. I remember the headline in all caps across the entire page, with an image of the victim's family members crying.

I was impacted by the VT shootings more than the ones at Fort Hood simply because I was selfish. The tragedy at Fort Hood occurred on a military base, a context that is foreign to me. But the murders at Virginia Tech, on the other hand, took place in a school, a realm that I experience on a daily basis. I had, however naively, come to believe that schools should be, and were immune from the horrors of violence. This assumption was shattered by the events at Virginia Tech. This left me demoralized, and even slightly scared that the possibility of such a thing happening at my school. But where had all these sentiments stemmed from? My initial reactions of both the shootings had come from the media. Those initial reactions to these shootings led me to rationalize poorly, and even made me think inhumanely. This makes me wonder if the media should really be charged with dispensing such news if the manner in which they do it can affect a persons own humanity. Do we charge the media with too great of a task? Do we even trust the media to deliver such information?

The Rights of a Petitioner

2009-10-28T17:11:00.003-05:00

We were asked to blog about a specific right that petitioners should or should not be afforded. The right in question is that of the publication of the results of certain petitions, should peoples names be shared with the public along with their vote. The issue that was briefly discussed was that of Gay Rights. The specific example that was provided was :if somebody voted against gay rights, should that vote be made public?
My answer to this question is yes. First of all, if anyone is so adament about an issue that they wish to voice their opinion via petition, then they should be prepared to defend themselves (verbally of course!). I answer yes mostly because people should be proud of their political standpoints, ridiculous or not. If someone were to argue in the other direction they would be arguing that it is an invasion of their privacy for their vote to be made public. But I see it in the completely opposite way, if somone were to go out of their way to voice their opinion then everyone should have the right to know. The truth is that anyone that would vote in favor of keeping petitions private is most likely a coward, trying to avoid conflict but at the same time prohibiting people from living their lives with a single signature.
It is hard for me to clearly say what I am thinking in this post because the sheer thought of anyone arguing against gay marriage aggravates me beyond comprehension. The point I am really trying to make is, if you want to prohibit people from living the way they want by way of petition, you gotta man up and stick to your guns.

American Censorship

2009-10-22T18:16:00.008-05:00

My step brother just began his new job as a teacher in Tulsa, OK... Very random right. Well thats the point. He recently got the job after a rigorous selection process. The only difference between him and the other teachers is that he got his job through the Teach for America program. This program takes bright, fresh out of college students and sticks them in the middle of blue collar America to shape the minds of the youth. This program was established when it was discovered that teachers with experience degrees had no desire to teach in lower income areas.
Anyways he was set up with housing and a job and will now spend the next three years of his life in Oklahoma.

He is a former New Trier graduate who lived a pretty typical North Shore life and is now being transplanted directly into the "real America". With these circumstances, it is understandable that he may experience strange things that he wants to share with friends and family. For this reason he chose to make a blog.

Making a blog about being a teacher in a disadvantaged community, while being a Teach for America employee is not as easy as it sounds. There are so many politics involved, that the second he began posting things about his class, T for A was all over it. They made him take it down immediately. My only problem with this is that this became a political issue, that he would in the long run say something that would make the program look bad. I haven't doubt in my mind that nothing but constructive and humorous stories would come from this blog, and yet it is disbanded within days of its creation. It is simply because everything is too monitored. Let's say he did make a comment about something that was seen as "politically incorrect" (HOLY MOLY), his superiors would immediately correlate his behavior to the T for A program, something they could simply not allow. Potential suspensions, punishment and drama, etc. would ensue and the situation would become a mess.

It sickens me to think about how limited our society it is the status quo to be politically correct all the time. There are probably hundreds if not thousands of publications that could be public if it were not for their lack of conformity. This only makes me think about the knowledge and the stories that we are all being deprived because of these standards. Even in a country that is renowned for freedom of speech, I still see it as overly censored.

I also see a deep correlation to the civil liberties issues that we have studied. The Teach for America program is essentially restricting its participants from speaking their minds, maybe in attempts to prevent dissent as past US administrations have.

So in conclusion I pose the questions: Do you think the US has too much censorship? Why is it that we have a standard for behavior in the US? Who is responsible for that? Is this type of incidence a violation of civil liberties?

The College Rejection Process

2009-10-15T15:02:00.002-05:00

I, for a change will not scour the web for intresting tid bits, but I am rather intrigued to write about some new developments that I am experiencing right now.
As a first semester junior I am beginning to think about the college admissions process a little more as the time nears will I will have to narrow down the establishment that I want to give ten years of savings away to. My problem is not with the absurd amounts of money that these schools are raking in, but rather just the stress which it puts on the participants and their families.
The story is that I have been playing tennis since I was about 9 and have loved it my entire life. But recently I have lost my passion for being out there on the court. I walk around the court just counting the minutes until I get off. I have however played tennis at New Trier my freshman and sophomore years and had always planned on continuing to do so as an upperclassmen. The only problem is, if you cannot connect the dots, that I now have no desire to play, I instead want to quit and play another sport.
I chose to divulge these sentiments to my parents recently and did not recieve the reaction I was hoping for. The dilemna is that they believe that the idea of committment is important to colleges, thus making my desire to quit undesirable. My parents are simply not willing to let that happen. So not only am I contending with pressure from potential colleges, but the famous parental pressure simultaneously.
Let me make it clear that the sheer thought of playing tennis everyday for 2 months straight makes me nauseous. I am forced to ponder cliches nonstop, the most common one being "Life is too short to do things you don't love".
The important thing here is that it is insane that colleges force these things on students, although not directly, and there is nothing that anyone can do about it. Especially not me. I bought new strings this weekend.

Limbaugh Claws his way into NFL

2009-10-14T16:49:00.002-05:00

The recent interest from conservative radio show host Rush Limbaugh to buy the struggling 0 and 5 St. Louis Rams, has players and the public yearning for intervention. This development began when Mr. Limbaugh decided to partner up with St. Louis Blues owner Dave Checketts.

For anyone unaware of Limbaugh's reputation, he is an extreme right wing republican radio show host. He has in his years on the airwaves become notorious for remarks concerning minorities, and more specifically African Americans. He once said in regard to the nation's African American population, "they're 12 percent of the population, who the hell cares!"(http://newsone.com/elections/top-10-racist-limbaugh-quotes/).

However his most recent development has taken shape in his desire to buy St. Louis' NFL team, the Rams. Immediately the league, and the public have been in uproar about the possibility of permitting a public bigot to be at the helm of one of the dynastic franchises in NFL history. The only things that must occur for this to actually fall through are the approval from the commissioner Roger Goodell, and a three fourths majority vote between all the current owners.

The owners, as not to even remotely parallel themselves with Limbaugh have been reluctant to comment in where they stand on the issue. The most important thing to see is who really are the NFL owners. The truth is they are nearly all older white republican men, who, maybe not as vocally, share the same political opinions as Mr. Limbaugh. More importantly, these men are all men of business, looking for the next way to make a quick buck. If a person has the interest and most importantly the money, epecially in these times, then it would be perfectly logical for them to allow Rush into the exclusive group of NFL owners.

But unfortunately, I think that in these harsh economic times, money will overpower morality. They will find compromise in telling themselves that one other rich white republican guy can't hurt that much, even if he did wish Obama would run the country into the ground just to say 'I told you so'. This is simply just another testament to the greediness of America's elite, who will only fuel other more complicated problems in our society.

Hannity vs. Moore

2009-10-13T16:52:00.004-05:00

Over the weekend I was flipping through the channels and came upon at interview being held between conservative talk show host Sean Hannity and film-maker Michael Moore. I knew that any combination of Michael Moore and a republican would make for quality television, and I was not dissappointed.

I was particularly interested in this because I have been an avid fan of Moore's films for many years. However I have felt that unchecked, Moore at times manipulates information for a more dramatic effect in his films. I was intrigued to see if Moore could stand his ground against a more then competent adversary in what was for all intents and purposes a debate between conservative and liberal.

After a brief introduction, the drama commenced, and Hannity wasted no time cutting directly to big name topics. Hannity attacked Moore's 2007 movie "Sicko", in which Moore argues for the benefits of univeral health care. He lets Moore begin and within minutes, the two are in a an all out verbal brawl. All I could hear from the TV for minutes was "can you please let me finish", "did I talk when you were speaking!", "that's just ridiculous", "I understand what you're saying but that still makes no sense". After two grown men behaved themselves like mere infants on national television, the part that I was awaiting came. They both laid out the basis of their argument. Moore considered Hannity unpatriotic for not supporting those in need in this own country. Hannity, on the other hand, challenged Moore to give ninety five percent of his income to the goverment, as a display of his patriotism. And to this Moore had no answer.

When the interview finally ended, I was exhausted. This interview was essentially an episode of Jerry Springer with suit wearing men as the stars of the show. However exhausted I was, I sure had enjoyed the show. I enjoyed it nearly as much as anything on television these days, and I have a hard time believing that I am the only one that feels this way. This prompted me to question why we do not have more unformal debates such as these on television these days. It was both interesting and informative at the same time and a perfect way for anyone to refresh themselves on the big topics in politics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0EKWDisi7Y

Obama Seeks to Lengthen School Year

2009-09-28T15:47:00.002-05:00

Obama, following suit after the in-school streaming of his speech to his country, continues in his efforts to change America's education. He is now proposing that school days and years be lengthened in attempts to meet the "global standard of education".

"Young people in other countries are going to school 25, 30 percent longer than our students here," Duncan told the AP. "I want to just level the playing field." This was a quote taken from Arne Duncan, the education secretary for the Obama administation. The aspect of this that interested me was the conclusion that more school would lead to more success. Obama and his advisors see it more as an issue of quantity and not quality. I, as an average high school student, could not disagree more with this idea.

If the government wishes to improve productivity, then they should look into the curriculum instead of the hours. This, as I think about it more and more seems like a cop out by the government, to not make any real change but to rather just take the easy way out.

2009-09-22T09:14:00.002-05:00

Most people that keep in relative touch with current events has heard of the recent incidents at the US Open concerning its 3 time champion, Serena Williams. She, in her semifinal match against a resurgent Kim Clijsters, threatened a USTA lineswomen after a foot fault on a second serve at 15-30. She had also, earlier in the match broken a racket and was issued a warning. Therefore, with the sudden outburst she was issued a point penalty and subsequently give Clijsters a ticket to the finals in Flushing Meadows.
The question, in my opinion is not the ruling on the court or the severity of the punishment. What I found interesting was that a person’s behavior could potentially nix them from the biggest tournament in professional tennis. This ruling is a nationally adapted rule. I, as a competitive junior player dealt with the same rules. One infraction costs a warning, 2 costs a point, 3: a game, 4: a set, and finally 5: The match.
I found this interesting that in a professional, and even moreso individual sport, an individuals behavior could be their downfall. Its not the same thing in soccer, if you get a carded and have to leave the game, there are still 10 other guys out there to finish the game.

A New Theory of Taxation

2009-08-30T17:14:00.007-05:00

Sugar, rum and tobacco are commodities which are nowhere necessaries of life, which are become objects of almost universal consumption, and which are therefore extremely proper subjects of taxation.”

— Adam Smith,

Taxation, ever since Obama laid out his policies has been one of the most talked about topics in politics. Members of opposing political parties returned continuously to Obama's decision to incease taxes across the board, in attempts to illegitamize him as a candidate in the 2008 elections. But maybe the Obama administration just shouldn't be looking directly to increasing property and sales taxes, but rather to other more obscure avenues of taxation.

Just in random conversation during this summer, the topic of a possible soda and sugary beverages tax arose. I also learned that all money attained from this new tax would go directly to the funding of Universal Health Care. Not only would this slowly fund our health care system, but would also help combat another more small scale (no pun intended) issue, obesity. When I heard of this I quickly joked :If this tax actually existed I would be broke within months. I myself consume a fair share of sugary beverages, but I also understand there are millions of americans downing coke after coke throughout the day. I read about the statistics
of US consumption of soda, and I found it simply astounding the number of cans of soda the average american will drink over the course of a year. Which now makes me think about the money that could be made in this tax.

At first I saw this as merely another small supplementary sales tax, but after closer examination I see it is not just something to be looked over. I am confused that legislators have not yet enstated something like this yet. I realize that taxation is a major issue in politics today but if we had a fast food tax, a sugary beverages tax, an ice cream tax and so on we could possibly make begin to beat one of the biggest problems in current politics.

first post

2009-08-28T15:05:00.000-05:00

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