Sunday, January 8, 2012
Monday Matters 14
Overall, Charles M. Blow seems to have a currently negative view about society; however, he does believe that change can be brought about. He includes many calls to action in his articles, and although he thinks that we are far from where we need to be, he's hopeful that if we unite we can change it. Unity seems to be the overall goal he is trying to relay through his writing. The first article I monitored from him was explicitly about that, "Decline of American Exceptionalism". In it he stated the dyer need for a stronger sense of nationalism in the United States. His next column was an attack on Newt Gingrich, however he was reaching out about a bigger issue, that many of the poor people in America are working very hard but their situations still aren't changing. He believes that the Republican party needs to alter some of the images they are relaying about the poor in America. This is a situation where a need for unity, to help the poor, is called for. The next column, "The Brutal Side of Hazing" was about how it's important to put an end to this awful practice that is still going on and harming kids at college. He says, "We must end the “conspiracy of silence." The only way that can happen is by working together. The last column of his that I read was called "Inconvenient Income Inequality" and was about how the gap between the rich and poor in America is becoming a large problem, even though most don't see it. Blow seems to view society as too nonchalant when it comes to problems that are huge issues now and will only get worse as time goes on. He wants people to open up their eyes and realize that this nation is far from perfect and to start questioning what they can do to change that. He seems to be striving for fairness, and sticking up for the underdogs, such as the poor.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Monday Matters 13
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/opinion/blow-inconvenient-income-inequality.html?ref=charlesmblow
In Charles M. Blow's column, "Inconvenient Income Inequality" he discusses the gap between the rich and poor in the United States. He starts off by saying that according to Americans, more see themselves as better off than not. However, this is not a true view. According to the Associated Press, the middle class in America is shrinking and 1 in 2 Americans have fallen into poverty. He also reiterates the fact that the gap between the rich and poor in the United States has "reached its highest level in 30 years." All of these points lead up to his biggest one, that this income inequality could be economically awful for the United States. He believes that if the United States continues to believe that this income inequality is normal, that that is living in denial and could be very economically dangerous for this country.
In Charles M. Blow's column, "Inconvenient Income Inequality" he discusses the gap between the rich and poor in the United States. He starts off by saying that according to Americans, more see themselves as better off than not. However, this is not a true view. According to the Associated Press, the middle class in America is shrinking and 1 in 2 Americans have fallen into poverty. He also reiterates the fact that the gap between the rich and poor in the United States has "reached its highest level in 30 years." All of these points lead up to his biggest one, that this income inequality could be economically awful for the United States. He believes that if the United States continues to believe that this income inequality is normal, that that is living in denial and could be very economically dangerous for this country.
Monday Matters 12
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/10/opinion/blow-the-brutal-side-of-hazing.html?ref=charlesmblow
In this column by Charles M. Blow, "The Brutal Side of Hazing", he discusses the hidden and alarming realities of college hazing, and the recent death of a college student who was a victim of it, Robert Champion. He discusses how college hazing is a common thing in the country at colleges, and that most of it is truly dangerous. Many officials choose to pretend that this stuff isn't happening, and turn their attention away from it even though they know that it is happening. Students put themselves through all of this trauma simply to "fit in", and that mindset needs to change, as the practice of dangerous hazing is ridiculous. Blow believes that we need to end hazing as the prices that people pay for it are not worth the "barbaric physical and psychological trauma" students face to prove they are strong. His main way of communicating this point is through is persona experience with hazing when he was young. Adding in this narrative gives him credibility because he truly does understand the brutality of hazing and the stubborn mindsets of its participants. He starts of the column with an abrupt paragraph "The tragic loss of Robert Champion may be another sad case of a college student literally dying to belong". This grabs attention, because there has recently been a tragic young death, and the reason stated for his death seems very pitiful. In order to show how hidden in the background the harshness of hazing is he says, "And we weren’t Animal House-like alcoholics and louses. We were campus leaders. The fraternity prided itself on receiving the high-G.P.A. award, and I was the freshman class president." He says this to show how when you're young and have the desire to belong, it doesn't really matter how smart or driven you are, you can become a victim. He refers to the 2008 study by researchers at the University of Maine, that stated that 95% of kids involved in hazing don't report it. He then goes on to say "I certainly didn't." This should alarm the reader because he described in such detail just how brutal and unimaginable his experience with hazing was, and how much pain he was in. Yet, he still didn't feel the need to report it, as most college students don't. This sad point aids his call to action that "We must end the “conspiracy of silence.”" Outside help of more enlightened people who have lived on this earth for longer than the youth is needed. These horrible acts of hazing will only be put to a stop if it is no longer allowed, and if its illegality is enforced.
In this column by Charles M. Blow, "The Brutal Side of Hazing", he discusses the hidden and alarming realities of college hazing, and the recent death of a college student who was a victim of it, Robert Champion. He discusses how college hazing is a common thing in the country at colleges, and that most of it is truly dangerous. Many officials choose to pretend that this stuff isn't happening, and turn their attention away from it even though they know that it is happening. Students put themselves through all of this trauma simply to "fit in", and that mindset needs to change, as the practice of dangerous hazing is ridiculous. Blow believes that we need to end hazing as the prices that people pay for it are not worth the "barbaric physical and psychological trauma" students face to prove they are strong. His main way of communicating this point is through is persona experience with hazing when he was young. Adding in this narrative gives him credibility because he truly does understand the brutality of hazing and the stubborn mindsets of its participants. He starts of the column with an abrupt paragraph "The tragic loss of Robert Champion may be another sad case of a college student literally dying to belong". This grabs attention, because there has recently been a tragic young death, and the reason stated for his death seems very pitiful. In order to show how hidden in the background the harshness of hazing is he says, "And we weren’t Animal House-like alcoholics and louses. We were campus leaders. The fraternity prided itself on receiving the high-G.P.A. award, and I was the freshman class president." He says this to show how when you're young and have the desire to belong, it doesn't really matter how smart or driven you are, you can become a victim. He refers to the 2008 study by researchers at the University of Maine, that stated that 95% of kids involved in hazing don't report it. He then goes on to say "I certainly didn't." This should alarm the reader because he described in such detail just how brutal and unimaginable his experience with hazing was, and how much pain he was in. Yet, he still didn't feel the need to report it, as most college students don't. This sad point aids his call to action that "We must end the “conspiracy of silence.”" Outside help of more enlightened people who have lived on this earth for longer than the youth is needed. These horrible acts of hazing will only be put to a stop if it is no longer allowed, and if its illegality is enforced.
Monday Matters 11
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/opinion/blow-newts-war-on-poor-children.html?ref=charlesmblow
This column of Charles M. Blow was entitled "Newt's War on Poor Children" and was a criticism of some statements the former House speaker, Newt Gingrich, has made. He basically said that poor children do illegal things, and have no working habits whatsoever. Blow was quick to come to the defense of "America's most vulnerable" - the poor. His main point was that many of the nation's poor, are in fact, employed. 3 out of 4 poor working aged adults have jobs, and therefore most poor kids have at least one working parent. He argues that Gingrich's statements aren't backed up by any facts at all, and that the true facts contradict everything that he's said. And the last point he touches on is that people who are in lack of money do not necessarily lack morals. Just because someone is poor doesn't mean they will steal and fall into other illegal activities, and he backs this up by in recent years America's overall crime rate, especially among juveniles, has dropped even though the poverty rates have gone up. After shooting down all of Gingrich's claims with facts, he criticizes the current status of the Republican party as it is becoming increasingly less compassionate and accurate in the information it preaches.
This column of Charles M. Blow was entitled "Newt's War on Poor Children" and was a criticism of some statements the former House speaker, Newt Gingrich, has made. He basically said that poor children do illegal things, and have no working habits whatsoever. Blow was quick to come to the defense of "America's most vulnerable" - the poor. His main point was that many of the nation's poor, are in fact, employed. 3 out of 4 poor working aged adults have jobs, and therefore most poor kids have at least one working parent. He argues that Gingrich's statements aren't backed up by any facts at all, and that the true facts contradict everything that he's said. And the last point he touches on is that people who are in lack of money do not necessarily lack morals. Just because someone is poor doesn't mean they will steal and fall into other illegal activities, and he backs this up by in recent years America's overall crime rate, especially among juveniles, has dropped even though the poverty rates have gone up. After shooting down all of Gingrich's claims with facts, he criticizes the current status of the Republican party as it is becoming increasingly less compassionate and accurate in the information it preaches.
Monday Matters 10
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/19/opinion/blow-decline-of-american-exceptionalism.html?ref=charlesmblow
I choose to follow the New York Time’s OP-ED columnist, Charles M. Blow. This particular column was entitled “Decline of American Exceptionalism” and was about how U.S. citizens have developed a pessimistic attitude about the status of America in comparison to other countries. He stresses that we once believed this country was superior while we now no longer have faith in the United States being a leading world power. He notes how the young people of the United States are growing up to not have faith in their country. He believes this nation wise pessimism is faltering away from what once was a great country and that this negativity is dangerous, and must be put to an immediate end. In order to communicate his point, he uses a few rhetorical strategies. The article starts off with historical allusions, “Are we, indeed, the “shining city upon a hill” that Ronald Reagan described? Are we “chosen by God and commissioned by history to be a model to the world” as George W. Bush said?” Using these allusions helps him to start the article off by hopefully re lighting past emotions of strong unity and nationalism as a country. Remembering the positive times adds a contrast to the current negative situation he believes us to be in, and greater allows his readers to want to evoke change. He also raises the question of how God plays into American Exceptionalism, “Was our nation’s greatness about having God or having grit? Is exceptionalism an anointing or an ethos?” He goes on to say that if ethos and grit are the answers, then we need to recapture them. This is an appeal to logic, because many people now a days believes in separation of church and state. So by appealing to “ethos” and “grit” he is more prone to uniting people who read this article. He is very clear on his position that we need to change, and that the only way to is through very hard work and decision making. He uses many statistics to support his point such as only 49 percent of the United States believes their culture is superior to others.He also makes many calls to action, “And that means that we must invest in our future. We must invest in our crumbling infrastructure. We must invest in the industries of the future. We must invest in a generation of foundering and forgotten children. We must invest in education.” This makes him more credible because he isn’t just complaining, but proposing solutions to what he believes are major concerns for this country. And he ends the essay again with the historical reference he started off with, “That’s how a city shines upon a hill”, once again bringing the reader back to a feeling of hope that America can shine as a major world power.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Monday Matters 8
There are many different views and opinions on the topic of illegal immigrants. People who are against illegal immigrants believe that it is a crime, and so these people shouldn't be given opportunities and rights like the citizens of our country. They also believe that illegal immigrants take away from people who are citizens in this country by taking their jobs, and causing a strain on our economic system and health care systems. They don't think that illegal immigrants should worsen our already worry some growing population. On the flip side, people who are not against illegal immigrants believe that these people deserve opportunities like how us Americans have. So many people of the world are not blessed to have opportunities, and it takes a long time to be able to legally immigrate into this country. Plus, so many illegal immigrants bring their young kids here. These kids grow up in this country, work hard in school, and deserve the same rights that other kids have, like getting financial aid for college. After going through all these opinions, it's hard for me to form my own. I do understand the point of view that our population is growing rapidly and so it's going to be very hard to account for all of these undocumented people. However, I think the situations of the lives of these illegal immigrants is a sad one, and that they should be given a chance to make it in this country. I don't think that illegal immigrants should automatically be deported. Many of the kids didn't have a say in whether or not they wanted to illegally immigrate here so after working hard in our school systems, they should be able to go to college and have a bright future in this country.
Monday Matters 7
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/10/16/fewer-babies-for-better-or-worse/downsides-of-high-immigration?scp=5&sq=illegal%20immigrants&st=Search
Our nation's population is growing tremendously every year. One million illegal immigrants enter the U.S. every year. There is no way we will be able to account for this many people, there would be a strain on our resources, and there wouldn't be enough jobs for everyone. There are also many legal immigrants who are waiting their turn to come in, and it's delaying their time with all of these illegal immigrants coming in. The immigrants who come in should be young people who are skilled and willing to work hard to benefit this country. It's also difficult for us to get unemployed Americans back to work when immigrants are taking their jobs.
Our nation's population is growing tremendously every year. One million illegal immigrants enter the U.S. every year. There is no way we will be able to account for this many people, there would be a strain on our resources, and there wouldn't be enough jobs for everyone. There are also many legal immigrants who are waiting their turn to come in, and it's delaying their time with all of these illegal immigrants coming in. The immigrants who come in should be young people who are skilled and willing to work hard to benefit this country. It's also difficult for us to get unemployed Americans back to work when immigrants are taking their jobs.
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