The War against the Flu

Besides the news, it has become pretty obvious from every single person I've talked to that a Swine Flu has been given from pigs to humans, and while no U.S. citizens have died from it yet, there have been enough Mexican cases to instill a serious fear in everyone, causing people to go so far as to wear surgical masks around daily.

What interested me the most was how something like a possible epidemic can show strange similarities to war. For example, according to the Wall Street Journal, the Dow Jones transportation average has tumbled 5%. Both diseases and war can instill the fear of travel, the fear of being unsafe no matter where you go. People are experiencing this now, afraid to catch the flu from anyone, and those in the Vietnam war were afraid to go anywhere and become an innocent and unwilling victim.

Another interesting thing is that the Mexican Peso dropped 4% verses the dollar, which represents inflation, something that happens very often during wartime. In fact, during WWII money became so worthless that people would burn it for fuel, and it cost less than buying wood.

Obviously war and disease are not the same, however, some similarities are undeniable. They are both fighting against an enemy that needs to be stopped using the right strategy. Hopefully the U.S. will be able to contain the Swine flu, before it spreads and places seige on the rest of the country.

Is War ever Worth it?

In American Studies class, we started a unit on war, and one of the leading questions is if it is ever worth the consequences. At first, the answer may seem like an obvious yes or no, but every story has more than one side, and I decided to look at war from both. I took a more recent war, the Iraq war.
When America was pondering the decision of whether or not to go to war, there were many pro-war and many as well who were anti-war. The evidence in favor of going to war was that The United States had the authority to use force against Iraq, and they had the capability to make weapons of mass destruction. Saddam had a terrible human rights record, and deserved to be punished for all the misery he'd caused, and Democracy could have stood as an example to surrounding countries. Also, the cost of containment would actually be higher than war itself. All this, as well as the fact that Bush and United States' role as the fixer were at stake, was good reason to go to war.
While this may make the answer seem obvious, one has to take a look at the other side. The evidence against going to war with Iraq included the fact that there was no hard evidence of weapons of mass destruction, as well as all the innocent civilians and soldiers who would be killed. There was possibility that weapons would be launched at alli countries, and also that there could be vengeful attacks from terrorist groups.
While all this evidence is very persuasive, both sides just seems to make it confusing. Maybe the only thing there is to learn from this, is that when looking at war, there is never an obvious answer to whether or not it's worth it.

Looking between the Black and White

Last week, we read a section from "Everything's an Argument" about visual arguments, and how to see through them. In class a couple of days ago, we learned a lot about reading political cartoons, and detecting political satire. One of the things we looked at was a cover of "The New Yorker", which included Barack and Michelle Obama dressed as terrorists, doing the "terrorist fist-bump" with a burning American flag in the oval office. Obviously this was satirical, and it was making fun of of the rumors flying around that Obama was muslim, based only on the fact that his middle name was Hussein. I found another political cartoon that was quite interesting, on the same topic.
This one features a small Barack Obama and the iconic Uncle Sam, doing the fist bump as well. I think that this is actually based off of the cover of "The New Yorker", therefore satirizing an already satirical piece. However, this comic has a positive message that America approves of Obama, and that he will do a good job as President. To understand this comic, you would have to have previously known about both the controversy and the magazine cover. It's so interesting how a visual aid can look meaningless, but with a little previous knowledge it can mean so much more.

Changing Times, Changing Advertisements

A few weeks ago in class, we did an activity where we decoded advertisements from magazines, and found out how they were actually manipulative, targeting groups of people with the quality they specifically want. For example, an advertisement for Verizon played on teenagers's needs to be included, by showing a group of people enclosed in a circle all with verizon phones, while one is on the outside. Another phone advertisement appealed to people who have retired, wanting a more relaxed lifestyle. They chose to show this by having the phone opened to a recently called list, with "The Club" listed as a frecuent contact. This played on the percieved want of a lifestyle that will allow people to go to their country club often. However, these advertisements really seem to work, regardless if whether a phone can actually provide this or not.
I found a great example of this same concept, but instead of playing on a specific age group, the advertisement is specifically focused on those affected by the enconomic situation. Take a look at this Domino's pizza ad. First off, the ad uses David Brandon, the CEO of Domino's as the seller to add automatic ethos. The advertisement uses lines such as "I'm bailing out you hardworking people on main street", to give his target buyers the sense of security they want. What's interesting is how strange this seems, when you think about it. One pizza clearly won't help your financial situation any more than another kind, even if it does cost a little bit less, but when a CEO tells you it will you almost believe him. It's interesting to think about just how much advertisements affect the products we buy every day.

What Characterizes Wealth?

When I was reading the Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald this weekend, I noticed all the different things used to characterize great wealth and affluence, as well as the different levels of it. For example, the narrator, Nick, talks a lot about his home in the West egg. Although he appears quite wealthy, he describes the neighborhood as what we would call "striking it rich", and therefore looked down upon by the more affluent East egg. People who live there, such Nick's cousin Daisy and her extremely wealthy husband Tom Buchanon, look down upon the West egg because they have come unto money by inheritance, the much more respectable way in the 1920's.

This made me think a lot about how much attitudes regarding affluence have changed throughout the years. In the 20's the old money way was simply viewed upon as better in society, and those who came upon it on their own were just lucky and undeserving of the same lifestyle. However, in modern times it is truly the self made man who earns respect. The "American Dream" has become to earn a living on your own, and it has even gone so far as to be more respectable to come from a difficult background growing up. Society also views people who have inherited money, such as Paris Hilton, as silly and ridiculous. It's so interesting how much views have changed, and so difficult to say if it will continue to stay this way far into the future.

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.