America is Falling

Every four years American citizens have a decision to make about what president that will represent our country. Many Americans vote for the person that promises their desires. However, most politicians will not hold their word once their in office.

Before next year we will hear many politicians make promises about how their services can fix America. The problems that should be talked about most are America’s workforce consisting of skilled workers, high school education, higher level intelligence in mathematics and science, and healthcare. These are innovations that America started and now fall behind in. We as a nation need to consult the problem and fix it before we lose all competitiveness in the global economy.

America needs skilled workers because this gives us the competitiveness edge in the global economy. We should also welcome highly trained and skilled immigrants to the United States. These highly trained and educated people could keep us fix any kinks we have in our technology. It will only help the economy and allow America’s economy to increase. This will guarantee the most talented people will work and live in America.

Education in high school has to be reformed. America has one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the industrialized world. This hurts America competitiveness and hurts our efforts to improve technology. Without a high school education one can not get a job that will support the average lifestyle of an American. Also without and high school education people do not have the skills and intelligence to win noble piece prizes.

Increasing scores and intelligence in mathematics and science are necessary for a competitive America. Top engineers are highly skilled in mathematics and science. We need students skilled in these subjects to have scientists and doctors that find cures for diseases. This increase in intelligence will help us by developing new ways to increase people’s life expectancy. Also we need the higher level educated people because these jobs have large incomes. With these educations and incomes, it will be easier for America to become specialized in services. Also with more money in the economy will bring better opportunities for many Americans.

Healthcare in America needs to be more affordable for all people. Healthcare agencies are making millions of money off American citizens. Healthy Americans will only benefit America’s competitiveness because as long as people are working, money supply in the economy is growing. Families all around America do not have health insurance because they can not afford it. To be able to compete with the global economy we have to have healthy citizens.

These ways will only better the United States and bring us back on top in the industrialized world. In our next president election we need to be looking for the president that will better America. Not better one group of people’s lives but a nation as a whole. If we better our nation then each individual’s life will become better. There is no room for selfishness in the next election. We need to stick together and pick the right president for the United States.

Can We Trust the Government?

Baron’s article states “negative psychology works with children, works with speed limits, and worked in the Garden of Eden.” Do people really use negative psychology to make us do certain objectives? Yes, I believe that the government uses negative psychology in people’s daily life. The government tries to persuade that smoking is bad with the anti-smoking ads. Also the government tries preventing smoking but the truth is the government wants people to smoke. The average deaths a year from smoking are 440,000 in the United States. If this many people died before they drew their social security checks, just imagine how much money would be saved and used for pork barrel projects by politicians. The largest debt in the government’s budget is social security. It would be unfair for the government to just drop social security all together. President Bush came up with the best solution for the problem but no one wants to listen to what our President says. So what better way can the government fix this problem then using negative psychology on American citizens. If it works then the politicians win if not then the politicians will just use more of the tax payer’s money for pork barrel projects.

I do not agree 100 percent with negative psychology but in this situation I believe it is working. When the government makes a mistake they will not omit to their error. Instead the government tries to cover it up. Just like this situation, there is a mistake but the government will not omit to the mistake. They would rather people die off to save them money. One person has the best plan to resolve all of the issues with social security but since he is our President we should not listen. Instead we should let the politicians get away with their dirty work.

That’s Not Our Right

After reading George Orwell Shooting an Elephant, Orwell tells a story about shooting an elephant in a small town of Europe. Although the story is clearly about shooting an elephant, Orwell has an underlying meaning. I think in the story Orwell’s point is, who has the right to murder someone else because they have killed someone. He makes this clear in his statement, “And afterwards I was glad that the coolie had been killed; it put me legally in the right and it gave me a sufficient pretext for shooting the elephant.” In the quote Orwell means that since the coolie was murder that society allows for the elephant to be killed.
I was raised learning “eye for and eye, tooth for a tooth.” This saying holds a lot of truth but has limitations. However this is only true to the person it happens too. After Orwell shot the elephant he became the murderer but since society views that as legal, he knew he would not get punished.
I do not think people have the right to kill someone because they have committed a crime such as murder. It is not moral and is unjust. Orwell knew that killing the elephant was wrong but the law allow it. In my eyes I consider Orwell now a murderer.

Television: Friend or Foe?

The short reading by Marie Winn’s book, “The Plug-In Drug: Television, Children, and the Family”, she discusses different subjects about television. She mainly focuses on how it harms parents and children. She strongly believes that the television has hurt more then it has helped.

Winn relates the television with children, moms, and dads. She talks about how the parents just put the children down in front of the television to take the responsible off of them. Parents are using the television as a baby sitter or second parents. Winn also discussed dads coming home from work and watching television instead of playing with his children or spending time with his wife. She also gives an example of the mom just putting a child in front of the television so the child would be bothering her or wants to relax doing other things.

Winn’s argument in the reading is how the television has ruined family rituals and activities. Family’s used to spend time playing random games, sparing jokes and stories, and talking to each other about there day. In today’s family children play games or talk with their parents on daily bases. Winn understands that occasionally parents take there kids on a vacation or to the zoo on one day but it is what goes on daily that has a lasting affect.

I agree with Winn on her book “The Plug-In Drug: Television, Children and the Family.” I think the television has corrupted many minds of America’s. It has taken away originality from people and tells them how to think. If people want to keep up with what is going on around the world there are many newspapers that have knowledge to educate.

Un Believeable

In "Confessions of a Recovering Admissions Officer", Rachel Tools is trying to convince the readers that honestly means more then lying to impress someone. Tool’s very persuasive in the article because she has been around applications that are fraud. She gives a first hand experience of having a fraud application sent to her. She discusses how she felt emotionally about the fraud application. This helps the audience realize what her job is like and what she deals with when students are dishonest. The moral of this article is to convince people that lying not only hurts the person but can hurt others as well.

The Shocking Truth

In “Binge Drinking as a Substitute for a ‘Community of Learning” by Kenneth A. Bruffee is trying to convince the student body at college campuses that friends can be made without joining a fraternities and sororities. Bruffee used several ways to try and convince the readers. One persuasion technique he used was giving his personal experience. He discussed how he felt going into college and how a fraternity showed him a friendship. He explained that if the professors would get students more active inside the classroom then the students would not look to binge drinking to make friends. Another persuasion technique that is being used is facts. Bruffee gives statistics to let the reader understand that this is not just an opinion. I find the article very convincing and I think Bruffee did a great job on constructing the article.