Memorial Day

I was reading this article about Memorial Day to get an idea of what kind of ceremonies would be taking place today, because I've never really done anything special in the recent years because I'm pretty sure finals have fallen around this time every year. President Obama will not be at Arlington National Cemetery's wreath-laying ceremony. Vice President Biden will be taking his place and Obama will be attending a similar ceremony at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery outside of Chicago.

Apparently, it's a big deal that Obama is not going to be in Virginia and is here today. This reminds me of how some find it odd that Obama doesn't say "I love America!" in every one of his speeches. All Major League Baseball games will stop at 3 pm, the National Moment of Remembrance as deemed by Congress, to remember our fallen troops. The moment was chosen because it is the time when most Americans are enjoying themselves on Memorial Day. The baseball players will also be wearing hats with stars and stripes.

It seems to me that Memorial Day is kind of artificially constructed. Is this the only way you can display your patriotism to your country? Is Obama preferring some troops over the other by not being at Arlington today?

At the end of the article, it says that what most kids know about Memorial Day is that it's the day when the pools open. Perhaps Congress and politicians are more concerned with the appearance of the day than the education that comes along with it.

For example, I didn't even know that seven CIA personnel were killed in December in a suicide attack in Afghanistan. They will be honored at Arlington today.

How many of you will stop whatever you're doing at 3 pm? How many of you have done something over the years to honor the fallen (not bbqs)?

I would be very interested to know. Post please!

"Iran makes a KILLING every day we wait"

The American Values Network has recently launched a new set of advertisements on the sides of buses that read "Iran makes a KILLING every day we wait" with a picture of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's face and hand in obesiance. Next to the words, there is a barrel of oil and American money.

The American Values Network is attempting to promote the end of oil dependence in Iran and clean energy legislation. However, Iranian-American groups are offended by the attacks because they feel that the ads are representing an ulterior motive - some think they are too provocative and promote war against Iran.

We have been working with the idea that word choice is the most powerful tool in making your argument since our Trivial Pursuits activity at the beginning of the year. This is why this article interested me so much. Eric Sapp, the creator of the ads, responded to the requests to remove the adds in a variety of quite frankly, contradictory ways.

To me saying that "Every day the Senate waits to pass clean energy legislation, Iran makes $100,000,000.00 more on the global oil market." does not say "Hey, we love the Earth." Partly because it associates Iran with its leader and only its leader, and our dependence of oil is not linked only to Iran. To me, it goes more along the lines of what Sapp later said, "[Iran] are clearly a threat. They're responsible for the bullets and bombs that kill our troops." Sapp also mentions that what they are doing is the "right" and "patriotic" thing and that Iran is one of our "enemies".

It seems as though this was ineffective ad as it tackled more than one issue, and then tried to get away with it. On the AVN website, their belief is that they should "actively participate in building up the American family and community values that have always been at the core of our successful efforts to create a “more perfect union.”' Successfol efforts? I'm not really sure if this ad campaign is considered successful considering the opposition and the unclear message it presents. What do you think?

There is a heavy link to the American Value Network's beliefs and Scripture. They say, "Our failure to answer the calling to be good stewards of God’s creation has consequences." I promote clean energy legislation no matter where it came from but I think that much of these "global" initiatives are being promoted in order to make the lives of Americans easier: "As food, water, and land become scarce due to climate change, millions of people here at home and globally are suffering and American security is endangered by the the threat of political destabilization in regions around the world."

This website reminds me eerily of the American Tea Party one because the language is so caught up in preserving the values of our founding fathers that I don't know quite what they believe in. In this case, I don't know whether the environment or foreign policy is being discussed.

What do you think about the word choice? What was the American Values Network trying to get at?

"An American Nightmare"

I was browsing around the CNN website and found a video of an NYU graduate, Ryan Durosky, who is nearly 300,000 dollars in debt after deciding to attend The New York University instead of going to a school that offered him a scholarship.



At the time, the decision made sense to him because of the amount of doors that could be opened after gaining a business degree at a prestigious school such as NYU. But, now Ryan calls his debt "depressing" as he was laid off almost immediately after business school due to the current economic crisis and must commute two hours a day to get to and from his job. Kurt Andersen, the author of the article we read in class today, titled "The End of Excess: Why This Crisis is Good for America" claims that the United States has "required a couple of centuries for the most extravagant version of the American Dream to take hold: starting with the California Gold Rush in 1849" and that we have been "in favor of the fantastic idea that anybody, given enough luck and liberty, can make a fortune overnight." At the beginning of the video, Ryan says he went to NYU for the opportunity and for the success he would find in business in Manhattan. At the end of the video, Ryan states that he wishes he could actually be living the American Dream - having a house, getting married, and having kids.

There are two conflicting opinions regarding the essence of the American Dream present. Granted, there are probably millions of interpretations. But to me, it boils down to money and happiness. Physical, tangible success and emotional and mental success. At what point will our generation be subject to compromising one of the two?

The two views made me wonder, when does the American Dream start to change? Only when things start to go wrong? Andersen argues that "Of course, when addicts finally quit, it feels awful for a while, and that's where we are now". It seems to me that Andersen argues that we should be happy we're off this drug and look for a new, advanced, equally as powerful one.

Are the cycles present in the article plain fact or an excuse to be equally as destructive as we have been, but this time under the umbrella of past withdrawal?

So many questions. Post please!

Junior Theme: The Home Stretch

Well, I haven't blogged for a really long time. I think the last time I did was over spring break because I was so excited about all of my research. I am still excited about all of my research, but to be honest, I have been scared out of my mind about junior theme. I am very glad I chose a topic that I am very interested in, but I have found that forming my claims was the hardest part of junior theme. My topic is U.S. intervention on genocide, and though I found so much information on the reports of killings, humanitarian aid, foreign policy conflicts, counter-terrorism vs. counter-genocide, and Holocaust awareness, etc., etc., I still could not come up with a sort of thesis type answer for why the United States has not intervened other than it did not want to. Today, I talked with Mr. Bolos and he told me to find excuses has used as to why the U.S. hasn't intervened, and so I'm doing that. I'm glad I took more of a why it doesn't intervene vs. why it does stance because I think it allows me to make my argument stronger, bolder, and more aggressive, something that Clay Shirky and Mr. Bolos encourage in the young female population. Overall, I think that despite the recent increase in stress levels (in not only me, but my family?), junior theme has actually taught me so much. I may not be the biggest fan of researching, but the learning throughout this entire experience was invaluable, as it encourages me to push myself and others to really advocate for genocide prevention and intervention. Also, it's really hard to read about genocide for hours on end and not be really happy about your life. It has certainly made junior theme an easier process.

Good night and good luck, friendos.

^...who said that again?

The Invention of Genocide

Though the first few days in the library were quite stressful, I think I have finally found my why question: Why does the U.S. selectively involve itself in Genocide?

I am really, really enjoying my book by Samantha Power, titled "A Problem From Hell" : America and the Age of Genocide. Power is a very, very intelligent women who was a war correspondent in Bosnia during the genocide that took place in 1995. She discusses the origin of "genocide", and follows its history throughout Cambodia, Iraq, Bosnia, Rwanda, and more.

Over spring break, I was visiting some schools in D.C. so I decided it would be a good idea to visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. I remembered how powerful our trip was in 8th grade, and felt more and more excited to research when I went to the museum on Tuesday. I had just read about Raphael Lemkin - a Polish Jewish laywer

and a newfound hero of mine who devoted his life to stopping genocide after witnessing the Armenian genocide take place and seeking refuge in the United States during Hitler's regime. He had worked very hard to come up with a name for a crime that would not be mistaken for anything else, and mentioned the word "genocide" for the first time in a novel of his. Then, I saw his picture on a display commemorating his lifelong devotion to humanity. In Boston, upon visiting BU, I learned that Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and author of Night is a professor there. Power discussed how it was difficult for Wiesel to find a publisher for his book because Americans were not ready to openly address the Holocaust, especially in pop culture or literature, for years. After flying into Dulles International Airport, I learned that John Foster Dulles was the Secretary of State during the Eisenhower administration and was against any human rights "covenant...for consideration by the Senate" according to Power (70).

All of the pieces just fit! I feel like this will come together just fine, as long as I can find a narrow enough thesis.

Googling Google

"Don't be Evil." If Googled Google's Code of Ethics, this would be the first thing you would read. In Business Management, we have just concluded our Ethics unit. We looked up the Codes of Ethics of many companies - from Enron to Nike to Google. I have heard about some new policies that may take place between Google and China recently and came back to the subject today. In China, there is censorship on some pornographic and political content on Google.cn. Google has recently found that they are disagreeing with the policies they once upheld regarding censorship, and want to discontinue their services in China, even though it would mean a great loss in profits. China still wants to regulate what viewers will see, but advertisers are fearing for a great loss in profits. So, both sides of the conflict have been waiting impatiently since January.

Google goes on to say in their Code of Ethics,

"Yes, it's about providing our users unbiased access to information, focusing on their needs and giving them the best products and services that we can. But it's also about doing the right thing more generally -- following the law, acting honorably and treating each other with respect."

Is this an advertisement or this the truth? Would Daniel J. Boorstin call this good advertising and news? Would leaving be Google's very own Declaration of Independence? Is this a move that will bring profit despite the great losses because people love to support the Freedom of Speech and Anti-Communist ideas?

What do you think Google will do? Consider its past and the way it treats their employees (they have a dog policy in that code, I love it).

Sudan Sham 2010

Today is Illinois' day during the Sudan Sham 2010. The main goal of this campaign is to get all 50 states to address their politicians and President about the upcoming elections in Sudan. Along with the fact that Obama did not mention Darfur in his State of the Union Address, according to this article from the Washington Post, "The U.S. special envoy to Sudan warned Wednesday that efforts to bring peace to the country's troubled Darfur region could become less of a priority for the Obama administration if a full-fledged peace agreement is not reached before Sudanese elections scheduled for mid-April."

These elections are very hopeful as years have passed without one with more than one party, and there is a possibility that South Sudan can secede from the state, but the U.S. is not being wary enough. Millions of our taxpayer dollars are spent on elections that may not be fair, and there was a tentative peace agreement put in place in February that has not prevented violence from occurring in Darfur.

Some states have not even signed on to the campaign, so it is very important that everyone from Illinois participates in its actions.

Here are our actions:

Text Secretary Clinton at 90822:
“Stop support of Sudan Sham elections! Work for the peace, protection and justice the civilians deserve.”


Call Senator Durbin at (202) 224-2152:
“I urge you to stop support of Sudan Sham elections this April and instead focus your attention on working for FAIR and FREE elections in Darfur.”


Call the White House at (202) 456-1111:
"This April, Sudan will hold its first elections in 24 years, yet its current political conditions prevent free and fair elections from taking place. With violence and human rights violations escalating in Sudan, unlawful elections will force the country even farther from peace. We cannot allow our government to support these elections and legitimize a corrupt government."


Sign online petition at: www.sudansham2010.org.

How legitimate is an indicted war criminal, after he steals an election?

Sophomore Sports Cut at CPS

Today in Business Management I found out that only freshman and varsity teams at CPS would be able to begin practice today, and that all sophomore spring sports would be cut. I have not an athletic bone in my body but I've found myself very shaken up by this. We have recently discussed in class the importance of art programs, and how in times of economic crisis, they are usually the first to go. But sports?! For thousands of athletes? Hundreds of schools and thousands of students and employees make up the Chicago Public Schools district. If cutting Art programs is unthinkable to us at New Trier, how are thousands of talented athletes supposed to deal with finding out that they don't have practice after finding out they made the team moments earlier?

The article above states that superintendents have been abusing the state's pension system. I guess the reason why I cared so much is because there is no way New Trier would have any of this, and in reality, CPS students are not very different from us. Test scores, graduation rates, and athletics are also very high and competitive. Unfortunately, however, CPS is in a multi-million dollar deficit, and we were discussing a possible multi-million dollar referendum in weeks past. Several times this year we have discussed Illinois' policy on school funding; income property taxes determine how much money a school gets. It was hard for me to decide whether or not this was fair at first. Now, I'm even more confident that there is no possible way that it is.

Kids living so near us, especially those that depend on scholarships based off of sports in high school, should not suffer while we sit here and refuse to give to them a second thought. In complete honesty, I do not know how well Mayor Daley has taken care of CPS in the past, but I believe that more money should be spent on education.

How would you react if this happened to you? Is this even fathomable in an upper class area such as the North Shore? I came home and told my dad "We should do something." Is there anything we can do - who has to step up and take care of this? Do we truly "have a moral obligation to help people less fortunate than ourselves" (think back to the opinionnaire)?

CNN's Very Own Huck Finn?

I came across this video today about CNN reporter Neal Moore. He decided to trek down the Mississippi River, from Lake Itasca to New Orleans, where Huck Finn was headed himself. Moore's path was similar to Huck Finn's; he canoed by himself, camped on islands, and was one with nature. He went to a powwow, lived on a farm, and visited Samuel Clemen's hometown, Hannibal, Missouri.

He said that he didn't at first he didn't think of himself as a modern day Huck Finn, but as the media gained more coverage over his trip, he started to agree.

He kept saying he was looking for positive American stories and living others' lifestyles. I believe that his story was incredible, but it got me wondering about whether or not that was what Twain wanted us to see Huck was doing. Was Twain representing positive American stories? To me, his satiric commentary showed me just the opposite.

Huck definitely went out of his comfort zone, and was greatly inspired, but also displayed highly racist attitudes from a young age. This got me wondering about Huck Finn being a coined "classic" - was this video displaying a large bias? Are we trying to preserve the integrity of Huck Finn so people will accept it more? It got me thinking about the letter we got.

There's no way I can get an answer, but I'm wondering how positive Huck Finn's story really was to Americans. What do YOU think?

Thoughts on Reparations for Slavery

Today in class I found myself very confused as we discussed reparations for slavery. But, by the end of it, I came to a more concrete stance.

I do not agree with reparations - monetary reparations, that is. In an article I just came across that says that the National Association of Educators gave the Durham Public School System a grant of 1.25 dollars a few days ago in order to "engage in the never ending quest to save black males from falling into the dark abyss of educational obscurity."

What I was unaware of prior to reading this article was that African Americans have been fighting for reparations for slavery for years and years. It's completely understandable, but what the author, Paul Scott of The Herald-Sun argues that the money never makes it to the black students and becomes lost in the midst of a complex educational hierarchy.

The author poses one question - "How did we get here in the first place?" I found this very interesting because in class today, I came to the conclusion that for descendants of African American to be receive money would be emulating the institution of slavery again, in a way: African Americans would be worth a certain amount of money, and Whites could buy away their guilt in giving it to them. The wealthier would contain the power in this matter, as they did over a hundred years ago.

Some reparations that do not involve money mentioned in the article include the integration of African American literature into curriculums, something I think should be required without using slavery as a reason for it. Open conversations about race are also encouraged, something I found beneficial during our discussions of Huck Finn.

Scott also encourages all African American children to be required to take a course in Afrocentricity - a course that would teach students about Africa. I'm not sure if this is going too far - is a class that only certain children can take going backwards in time?

What do you think? Would monetary reparations get the job done or would reparations that the author suggests help African American people more? Should we give African Americans money if that's what they want?

Small Businesses Galore

In class on Thursday, we discussed Obama's State of the Union in great detail. We wondered why Obama brought up small businesses so much. A few possibilities came up:

1) Small business owners represent a constituency that Obama wants to appeal to.

2) Americans love the idea of small businesses, but shop at Wal-Mart

3) "Small business" is a Republican touchstone phrase. Perhaps Obama wanted to appear more centrist.

It could be all, it could be any, or it could be none. A few days ago, I was watching a random video on youtube, and an advertisement came up. It was promoting the Tea Party Movement, which "calls awareness to any issue, which challenges the security, sovereignty or domestic tranquility of our beloved nation." Immediately, I thought that The Tea Party Movement was a direct hit at Obama's brand; the Coca-Cola vs. Honest Tea idea. Apparently it represented much more. The "Tea Party" is taken directly from the Boston Tea Party - a great rebellion in American History (see second video). The Tea Party movement claims to represent neither a democratic nor republican view (The Tea Party Express gave $380,000 to Scott Brown's Massachusetts campaign, and its logo on the website is, "JUST VOTE THEM OUT!") The protests demonstrate direct attacks at President Obama, as in the video below angry protesters scream "NO MORE CZARS! NO MORE CZARS!" and compare him to Hitler.

That was just the beginning - it has been almost a year, and the movement has been growing, with more and more protests and an upcoming national convention to be held in Nashville this weekend. The most recent protest took place on January 27th, the day of the State of the Union Address. Obama mentioned "small businesses" 14 times in his speech - could it be that these were the people he was trying to appeal to? The Tea Party Movement has been known to rise to the occasion, with protests on Tax Day and the 4th of July - what were they trying to accomplish last Thursday?

How do you think the Tea Party reacted to his address? A nice commercial to leave you with (Digging the Requiem for A Dream Soundtrack use)

Intrinsic Motivation and TED Talks

In my Business Management class, the topic of Extrinsic and Intrinsic motivation comes up quite frequently. Extrinsic motivation refers to some sort of physical reward, whereas intrinsic motivation involves doing something because you want to, or because you should. For example, we had a Holiday Silent Auction for the Make A Wish Foundation in December, and the Business class that brought in the most items to be auctioned would get a pizza party. Our teacher hesitated to lure us in with the party because he thought that it we should help in order to help, and that we should be intrinsically motivated.

This relates to an article I just read/TED talk above that I just watched: Dan Buettner spoke about "Blue Zone Regions." Blue Zone Regions are regions where people live the longest throughout the world. Buettner mentions that those who live with a sense of purpose are going to live longer. Those that live "rewardingly inconvenient lives" are going to live longer, as he put it quite beautifully. He discusses the U.S. and how it's focus is elsewhere - our environment has become bombarded with competition and stress. I feel as though Americans are constantly looking for a reward, a quick fix. Buettner and his partners decided to make an American town a Blue Zone last year, which involved making walking to school easier, public gardens, and a more walkable and bike-able town. The results proved that the Americans could live just like the Sardinians, given the right environment. "If the trends continue, life expectancy for the average participant would rise about three years and health care costs for city workers would decrease by 48 percent," Buettner says. Maybe the health care debate would not be so heated if preventative healthcare was valued more.

This is where I thought of Barry Schwartz. He encouraged doing things because they were the right thing to do - he said even if your job does not involve skill, it involves compassion.

Do you think it's too late for America to become a Blue Zone Region? What would it take?

Corduroy

Talking about Corduroy brings tears to my eyes. He's really cute.

Corduroy is a bear missing a button, that wants to be purchased so he can leave the department store and find a home. His missing button on his green overalls is the reason why the mother in the story tells her daughter she should not buy him. At first, I thought maybe there is too strong a connection between consumerism and happiness present. It was hard for me to think that there were any underlying messages, but as I was reading about Corduroy and I found that apparently it was not mainstream to have one of the main characters, the girl who wants to buy him, be African-American in children books.

Maybe Don Freeman, the author, wanted people to value acceptance more. I find it interesting that we read all of these books just for fun, and now we can delve into them a bit more - what do you think? Are there any other messages?

Brainwashing and the Taliban

Today in class, questions were raised about whether or not the millions of dollars spent on the advertising industry in order to play with kids' plasticity - or the brain's ability to change based on sensory input and experiences - had negative effects on them. I came across an article that shocked me:

"Almost 90 percent of suicide bombers, if you look at their profile, are 12 to 18 years old," Taliban expert Zahid Hussein says

There have been camps set up in Pakistan that lead parents to believe that their children are going away to receive an education and free food. They are set up so that children can compare their poverty stricken homes to the one that the Taliban promise: Heaven. Paintings of rivers and swans and as the title of the article reads, virgins are hung upon their wall as promises for suicide bombing.

Even though American commercials are not designed to promote suicidal bombings, they are both are designed to work the same way. The children in this compound are told that everything in their life is worthless; the children in front of the TV have wants imposed on them, their sense of value weakened. In both situations, kids want to have a sense of control after some sort of an offset, and the adults or advertisers show them one way, and one way only, to get it.

I begin to wonder, if the way in which we acknowledge the manipulation involved in both of these situations is the same, are not the extra few toys kids get a big deal?

"How did you get caught?"

After hearing Mr. O'Connor talk about the latest University of Chicago college essay scandal, I was intrigued to find out a little more about it. This article was helpful, and showed me the essay that a boy identified only as Rohan, who was accepted early decision, wrote:

“Dear University of Chicago, It fills me up with that gooey sap you feel late at night when I think about things that are really special to me about you,” the essay began. “Tell me, was I just one in a line of many? Was I just another supple ‘applicant’ to you, looking for a place to live, looking for someone to teach me the ways of the world?”

Many students freaked out; one commented about wanting to cry, another was scared cause his followed a similar format. So, Dean James G. Nondorf sent out this e-mail trying to let students know that they could calm down, and have a little fun with this stuff.

The University of Chicago not only encourages but wants you to have fun with their essays. Before I found the news article, I was looking at the University of Chicago admissions site and was noting how interesting their essay questions were; recently, I had been reading a friend's college essays and was surprised to find that almost all of her schools' asked her to write about an activity she did and why she did it.

Some questions at Chicago included "How did you get caught? (Or not caught as the case may be.)", or a create your own. Considering I would probably be the one to comment about crying, I'm happy I came across this article. Today in class we discussed the importance of content in writing, and how it is often overlooked in writing portions of standardized tests, such as the SAT.

Would you prefer to answer prompts such as these or the more generic ones? Did you find the above essay inappropriate? Some argue the University is trying too hard...what do you think?