Intelligence vs. Entertainment

news

 [nooz, nyooz]  

noun (usually used with a singular verb)

a report of a recent event; intelligence; information: 

His family has had no news of his whereabouts for months.

Today in class, after finishing Good Night, and Good Luck, we had a discussion about how news has changed overtime. One change we talked about was the presence of segments on life, style, and entertainment. Being curious, I searched the actual definition and got what you see above.

In the sentence given as an example of how to use the word, "news" means information. But now when we turn on the news, we are told which movies to go to or what hotspots we should hit downtown. Even when you go to CNN- "FBI releases Russian spy ring video" is found right next to "Actor, vet, breakout ballroom star" (CNN.com). Learning about an actor slash vet slash ballroom dancer does not make the cable-viewing world more intelligent about their surroundings. Learning about Russian spy ring taking action within the US that could possibly very close to us? That is something that is good to know. While it may not affect us personally, it affects Americans. The actor-vet-dancer doesn't even affect America as a whole. He's just on another reality talent show. 

Maybe I'm part of a minority, but I would much rather know what is going on in the world than watching 10 minutes of weather. But you decide. Would you rather watch a segment about spies that could really affect us, or a segment about a dancing and acting vet?

5 More Minutes.

When my alarm goes off each and every morning about 6 hours after I went to bed, I find myself wishing for just 5 more minutes of sleep. Just 5 minutes would make such a difference. Just 5 minutes would give me that extra energy I need during the day. But I can't sleep for 5 more minutes. I have to get up and get ready for school so that I can be on time to class in order to receive more homework and better my education. But recently I've been thinking, does homework nowadays really better our education?

According to the NEA, 11th graders are supposed to spend only 110 minutes on homework each night. That's an hour and 50 minutes. I think it is safe to say that Freshmen spend that much time on homework on a day that they hardly have any. Yes, it's all about how you manage your time, but the truth is that even with time management skills we are seriously burdened with homework. I know people who are staying up until the wee hours of the morning to finish (or start) an essay. Add extracurriculars to the equation and you have yourself a sleepless night.

Because homework is so much of a burden, it has been my understanding that all students want to do is get it over with. This mentality does not help us improve our learning skills. Most of the time, we complete a math assignment by peeking in the back for the answers or we write a reflection that we would not be able to tell you anything about the next day. In addition, staying up late to finish homework is taking a serious toll on our sleep needs. While adults may be able to run well on just a few hours of sleep, teenagers aren't. Biologically, we are programmed to need more sleep so that we can grow. Adults don't need that extra growing time. The consequences of sleep deprivation are undisputed: lack of concentration, drowsiness, delayed reflexes, depression. The American Psychological Association even says that 100,000 car accidents per year are because of fatigue at the wheel, and more than half of those accidents included teens.

Maybe we feel we have to get all of our homework finished on time and to the best of our ability because the competition is so extreme at school. Or maybe some people just don't know how to manage their time. I don't even know if I'm one to talk, since I am posting this near 11 pm. But whatever the case, the increase of homework time and decrease of sleep time benefits no one. I fear the future when I'll have even more homework and even less sleep.

Unhealthy Competition

While reading Act I of The Crucible, I couldn't help but draw a parallel between their views and the present-day views of Americans. 


The literature states,  “…while there were no witches then, there are Communists and capitalists now, and in each camp there is a certain proof that spies of each side are at work undermining the other" (33). The idea that each group works to undermine another was ever-present then and continues to be ever-present today. Especially in America, where competition can be found at its nastiest. 

There is a need, in America, to be the best. To be at the top. This mentality is seen everywhere: schools, workplaces, social groups. The list goes on. A little competition is healthy. It pushes people to do their best, but when competitors cross the line into being underminers, we run into a problem. 


The problem is this: America calls itself a safe environment where everybody can succeed and everybody is a winner. The truth is that there are only a select few who can succeed. Survival of the fittest, if you will. People come to America expecting a fair fight to the top, but like The Crucible says, "spies of each side are at work undermining the other." 


A clear example of this is seen in political campaigns. Take the campaign ad seen at the bottom left targeting President Obama in the 2008 election.


Notice the small caption at the bottom that says, "PAID FOR BY JOHN MCCAIN." This shows the slandering of a name in order to reach the top. If people running for the highest office in the United States can't even play nice, how can students and business people be expected to?

Times of Peril?

In class this past week, we've been talking about perilous times. What defines a perilous time? Are we, as Americans, going through a perilous time right now?

A perilous time in America means that people are not able to live the "American Dream." During past wars, families have not been able to stay together because of drafting and the extra work women had to take on. That broke up the American Dream. People have become poor due to funding for the war or have come back from the war to no money. That means that they cannot buy a nice house for their family or educate their children. That has broken up the American Dream.

In order to be secure and out of peril, a family must have their white picket fence and college education. This ensures a home and a bright and prosperous future. This is so true, that insurance companies are making their profit by guaranteeing the protection of the American Dream. Take American Family Insurance (click on link for American Dream commercials from AmFam). They sell the idea that by investing in their insurance company, the life they want for themselves and their children will be secure. And of course the life they want is the true life of an American.

In my opinion, we are kidding ourselves. In America, over 20% of American children are living in poverty. The number of impoverished children has gone up by 2 million in 2 years. If this doesn't define perilous times, I don't know what does. Yes, the majority of children are living the American Dream. But when we have to say that 1 in 5 children doesn't have a secure home or a proper set of meals, something has to be wrong. Maybe we aren't going through perilous times in the sense that people are being drafted for war, but we are living in perilous times if there is a large percent of our population that has no security.    

Till Text do us Part

In advisery on Wednesday, we watched the following video on texting and driving:

What gets me in this video is that it was a simple "yeah" that caused a family to be one less; a routine "lol" that distracted someone so much that they took the life of an innocent person. I blame the fast-paced world of technology. It's a time when you can get directions sent to you on your phone or easily communicate with someone miles and miles away from you. Sometimes, this can be beneficial. Oftentimes, this leads to disaster. But what compels us to put our lives in danger just so that we can open a text? Maybe it's the fact that American life has become so fast-paced. We are constantly being pushed to finish first.

With all this new technology, we can multitask in so many other ways with our phones that will allow us to be faster. Some people engage in conversation while texting. Students navigate through crowded halls while texting. People, especially teenagers, believe that since it is so easy to multitask with texting in these ways, it can't be much harder in a car. That's where they have it wrong. When engaging in conversation, you don't need your hands- they are free to text. When walking through the halls at school, you don't need your hands- they are free to text. When driving a car on any road, it is essential that you use your hands- they are not free to text.

A recent article in National Geographic called 'Teenage Brains' brings up an interesting fact: 

"Teens take more risks not because they don't understand the dangers but because they weigh risk versus reward differently: In situations where risk can get them something they want, they value the reward more heavily than adults do." 

Texting while driving is becoming a real issue- people are losing their lives. But is this taking a risk that will get these teens something they want? Or is it a careless example of multitasking?     

People and their Masks

This week in class, we had a very interesting conversation about the masks people wear. The discussion got me curious: what drives us to "put on" a certain mask?

My theory is that our masks have to do with the way we want to progress in society. The way we act is driven by how we want our peers to view us, how we want our family to view us, and how we want our educators to see us. In addition, our masks act as a way to shield others from catching a glimpse of our vulnerability.



In my research for this blog post, I found a poem called 'We Wear the Mask' written by Paul Laurence Dunbar, an African-American poet who wrote in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The stanza that spoke to me the most goes as follows:

    Why should the world be over-wise, 

    In counting all our tears and sighs? 

    Nay, let them only see us, while 

            We wear the mask.

This selection could not be more true of what people are always subconsciously thinking. It puts people in the lower hand if others are able to see how they are truly feeling. If society is able to "count all our tears and sighs," then society knows more about us then we want it to. 

In a sense, this is Social Darwinism. We want to appear better and stronger than everyone else. This is especially true in American societies. When we identified the stories we tell ourselves as Americans, one of the first things a student said was that we feel that we are better than the rest of the world. If America appeared vulnerable to the rest of the world, we would not be the "exceptional template" for other countries that we are today. 

In the end, our choice of mask will always have to do with our community. No matter where someone fits, or doesn't fit, in society, they will have a mask on. It's too risky to take it off.  

"One Nation Under God"

In 1954, the phrase "one nation under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance, much to the dismay of Francis Bellamy who wrote the original patriotic lines. Thus marked the beginning of a great controversy. I would like to write about this line by linking together Jon McNaughton's painting and the idea of the American Dream. 

The painting:

"One Nation Under God"

McNaughton identifies the people behind Jesus as great American people who have dedicated their lives one way or another to our country. The people in the bottom left of the painting are "looking toward the lord" and the people in the bottom right "are all turning away" (McNaughton's website). Among the people depicted as following God, there is a child with a disability, a preacher, a schoolteacher, a farmer. Among the people who are facing away there is a lawyer, a liberal news reporter, a man who has made a living in Hollywood, Satan. 

The message of this painting is clear to me. Those who are following Jesus are living the ideal American Dream and the ones who are painted as not following Jesus don't have a white picket fence. But isn't this painting a bit outdated? As America has evolved, so has it's proverbial dream. The doctor on the left worked hard for his job. He went to college and made his way to the top, as did the Supreme Court Judge on the right. The judge probably had to start in a District Court before he even began to think about the Supreme Court. Then think about the occupations that have been tagged as something a Satan-follower would do. The news reporter is most likely very passionate about her job. This painting is saying that she had a choice: either do what she loves and follow Satan, or do something she hates and follow Jesus. That's not fair- she loses no matter what she picks! 

The understanding now is that if an American has worked exceptionally hard, they have achieved the American Dream. Where is God in that definition? America is no longer solely a Christian nation. Judaism is present, Islam is growing, there are Atheists, Bahai, etc. To be an American means to be free (the soldiers) and to be just (Supreme Court building), to name a few stories from today's class discussion. America has labeled itself as a "nation under God." That doesn't acknowledge the other religions that America claims are free to worship as they please, which doesn't seem just. 

I guess what I'm really trying to figure out is when did being "one nation under God" stop being such an essential part of living the American Dream? Or is it still a part of the American Dream, just in a unique way to each person?