Their poverty leads to our privilege

During American Studies class a couple days ago, we were asked to look at something we use everyday, and then ask a deeper question and find the answer. When I went to complete this assignment, I was shocked at the results.

I chose my North Face winter coat, something I wear everyday and rarely even think about, simply throwing it on to keep warm. I found information from the National Labour Committee, which exposes the horrible working conditions to make the jacket I wear without a care in the world. I wondered who made my coat, and found the answer to be women in El Salvador, and when they sew a coat that will ultimately be sold for 165 dollars in the U.S., they are paid 94 cents for each one. They can't afford basic needs like milk and food for their children, many having to take them out of school to help pay for these necessary items. In addition to the extremely low pay, the women are sometimes forced to do 47 hours of overtime a week in a room with no ventilation, and it can get up to 100 degrees! To make the matter even worse, they are completely denied rights to the freedom of association, immediately getting fired if they join the legal workers union.

These conditions are clearly reminicent of the Chicago factories during the 20's, and I would have no idea about them if not for digging just a little bit deeper into the jacket I would normally think nothing of. This whole assignment also made me think more deeply about poverty and privilege; if not for the workers' poverty in other countries, we wouldn't have some of the privileges of material wealth we enjoy today. If we all thought more about the items we take for granted, we would truly realize how much work, even poverty, goes into making them perfect, just so we can use them mindlessly.

Modern-Modern Times

In American Studies class the other day we watched Modern Times, a Charlie Chaplin satirical comedy that came out during the Great Depression, a poverty stricken time that's comparable to the economic crisis today. Apparently movie fans in New York City had the same idea, because this month, according to CBS news, they have been lining up for a showing of Modern Times, with tickets being sold at the depression-era price of 35 cents a ticket.
Of course one of the purposes of the showing was to be simple fun, and get people's minds off of the current financial crisis. This is demonstrated by the old newsreel reports, the band playing "Depression-era tunes", and even the bread handed out on the sidelines to get people in the right mood for the movie. However, it also served a deeper purpose. These movies serve as a common activity for people during a time when they feel so alone. They can come together and be supportive, even through just sitting in the same theater. According to Patron Perry Grumman, "People wanted to team up because there was too many people out of work, too many people who were suffering, and they kind of looked out for each other." Perhaps the producers of these movies are smarter than we thought, and the element of unifying the people is something we need in our current times.

Is Black History Month Unnecessary?

The world has been in a daze of happiness ever since Obama has been elected president, and there is nothing wrong with being hopeful about the face of racism in America. However, people seen ti have taken it a step to far, suggesting that we stop having Black History Month. Phillip Morris, a columnist from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, wonders: "At what juncture, then, does Black History Month run the risk of becoming a pointless exercise in race chest-bumping?" He represents all of those who believe that at this point, Black History Month is only reminding us of racial tensions and increasing separation.

While I see the logic in Morris' point, I must strongly disagree. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, "students still learn more about white achievers than they do about black ones." Yes, Obama's win was a huge step, it will surely continue to produce this much excitement for years to come. However, I could never truthfully say that there's no racism left in the world. Steps still need to be taken in order to achieve complete equality, and I think Black History Month is a great aid in this task, and should definitely not be cancelled. Even Obama himself has said that Black History Month is "a chance to examine the evolution of our country and how African Americans helped draw us ever closer to becoming a more perfect union."

Yes, America has made leaps and bounds in decreasing racism since reconstruction, but we can't get so full of ourselves that we get rid of the very things that help us continue to do so.

UnderRomanticized?

The other day I was buying a pack of peanut M&Ms when my friend stopped me, saying "make sure you don't get salmonella!" Despite the fact that the plants with the infected peanuts have been shut down, the hysteria continues on. According to the Plainview Daily Herald, the outbreak has caused more than 600 illnesses, and 9 deaths.

This made me think of Romanticizing, the topic we've been learning about in American Studies class. It is when something is made into a bigger deal than it is, the example we talked about was our new President Obama, and how some media falsely portrays him as the answer to all the world's problems. I found the salmonella to be quite a different case. Instead of being romanticized, or made into a big deal, there was almost no coverage in the beginning. I remember seeing a tiny headline in the Chicago Tribune last week about peanut butter being recalled, and it was barely even big enough to be an article.

It made me start to think, what if its underRomanticization led to the mass hysteria now? If the weight of the issue was announced right away, perhaps it would have gained the public's trust, therefore preventing the fear now. Of course this isn't the same situation as most of the examples of Romanticization, but the same principles still apply. It didn't need to be overstated, but if the outbreak was made into a little bit bigger of a deal, we could avoid the problems now, which will probobly continue for a while.

shamWOW!

In American Studies class on Friday, we talked about romanticizing, or making things seem better than they actually are. During our discussion, a commercial immediatly came to mind for me. It's an advertisement for a towel called the shamwow, and after watching it I was pretty tempted to call the number on the screen and buy one.

If you strip away the colorful commercial, the towels are really just extra-absorbant and let you cut them into pieces. However, the over-enthusiastic spokesperson goes on and on for about 10 minutes with a ridiculous microphone, and convinces everyone that the shamwow will be the only cleaning item you ever need. The commercial used lines like "The item pretty much sells itself", making it seem like some undiscovered magic item.

Even though towel choice never seemed that important to me, by romanticizing this item, I was tricked into believing something was much better than it was. It's so interesting that before learning about romanticizing, I was so much more suspectible to falling victim to clever advertisers.

When is Civil Disobedience Worth it?

According to the LAist, There is a plan for civil disobedience at the Festival of Lights in Griffith Park, a holiday light show where cars can drive along Crystal Springs Drive and look at the light displays. In the past few years, cyclists have become upset that they don't have the same rights, and can't drive their bikes down the light show as well.

Their reasoning is that the California Vehicles Code says that cyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as car-drivers on the road, implying they can ride through the same places. It is known that the main reason for the no bikers rule is safety, and that Crystal Springs Drive is a private road.

This brings about the question, when is civil disobedience worth it? Is it worth it to ride your bike if it means getting arrested? Thoreau would argue yes, you need to stand up for what you believe in and make your own personal code of laws. Despite only spending a night in jail, Thoreau didn't follow any laws he found unworthy or meaningless, and urges others to do the same. If everybody followed Thoroeaus advice, the world would surely be a different place. Not everybody would be able to be locked in jail and therefore the government would have to reform completely. This is an interesting concept, but I don't think America is ready to give up on all its laws. The bikers may do as they please, but I wouldn't get arrested just for the right to bike through a light show.

Emerson verses Obama?

When looking at the news online, I came across a website explaining Obama's first steps towards saving our financial crisis. His plan includes making a huge investment in America's infrastructure, as part of a master plan to create 2.5 million jobs. In the long run, this plan will improve schools, reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil, and save billions of dollars. His future plans also include making public buildings more energy efficient by installing better light bulbs and replacing old heating systems.

Yesterday I read a chapter from Howard Zinn, which described the removal of Indians under the earlier presidents. Zinn mentioned Ralph Waldo Emerson, an author we've been deeply studying. The chapter mentioned the letter Emerson wrote to current president Martin Van Buren, in deep disapproval of his removal treaty with the Cherokees. Emerson went so far as to question the justice in America.

Reading about Emerson's opinions led me to wonder what he would have thought about newly elected president Barack Obama. It's hard to say, but I would argue Emerson would like Obama a lot. Obama's plan looks towards the future, but focuses on the present, on what we need now, something both Emerson and his apprentice Thoreau preached. I think that Emerson also would have appreciated Obama's simple and direct plan that gets at the heart of America's problems. There's no way of knowing for sure, but I think Emerson would have liked Obama and respected his ideas.