Will The Depression Be Good For America?

The other day we were talking about how material possessions and technological advancements do not necessarily lead to happiness, shown by the fact that many impoverished countries rank higher on a supposed "happiness scale" than America does. When Mrs. Logan suggested that the new depression could possibly be good for America in the long run, i was intrigued to see if anybody had already written about this online. I ended up finding an post from a liberal news and opinion site called OpEdNews. The post, written by Gene Messick, talks about how when the first great depression came, it forced Americans to reflect upon how they conducted their lives, not only in a business way, but in how they were willing to live without what they had been taking advantage of beforehand. The author argues that out of greed and laziness, the lessons learned from the first Great Depression were forgotten, and once again we have managed to end up in the same situation.
The post is not pessimistic, however, it talks about how this time round, we are better equipped as a country to deal with the depression and learn from it, and how it may teach us to be more responsible with the way we live our lives. Maybe as a country we will start to detach ourselves from greed, and live comfortably instead of extravagantly. Or maybe not. Either way, the depression is a vehicle driving us to actually reflect upon ourselves instead of living in ignorance and neglect.
This idea, along with the idea that people can actually be happier with less "stuff" makes me feel like in the long run this depression will be good for Americans. A quote from one of my favorite movies, "Fight Club", states that "The things you own end up owning you". I think that people get more worried the more they own, for they are constantly dealing with their upkeep and security, dealing less with their own lives, and more with the focus on their belongings.
Hopefully this depression works as a wakeup call that maybe the materialistic way of life is not the way to happiness, and Americans can start to change their ways for the better of themselves, the economy, and the environment.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Why-a-Depression-Will-Be-G-by-Gene-Messick-081224-679.html

Lincoln Vs. Obama

In celebrating the bicentennial birthday of Abraham Lincoln, many comparisons have been made between our new president, Barack Obama, and Lincoln himself. One video i found on MSNBC listed similarities from their political backgrounds to their physical appearances, being tall and lanky. Another article i found had listed America's presidents from best to worst, based on the opinions of several historians. While this didn't didn't make any references to Obama, it did list Lincoln as the best president in history, Buchanan as the worst, and president Bush as 36th worst.

I found it interesting that the worst president, Buchanan, was directly preceding the best president in history, Lincoln. Seeing as president Bush didn't rank much higher than Buchanan, it's interesting to compare the situations that they were both in. Buchanan was faced with the problems of territorial expansion, the threat of the south succeeding, a failing economy, war, and a stalemate in the federal government. George Bush actually faced many of the same problems, though in a very different time.

In the case of both George Bush and James Buchanan, the problems arising in their presidencies were very possibly going to happen regardless of their actions, but were accentuated by decisions that they made.

If history is cyclical, lets hope that Obama's presidency resembles that of Lincolns, solving the problems arising in Bush's presidency as Lincoln did of the one's from Buchanan's. Hopefully the similaities pushed on us by the press are as close as they suggest.

How Much Do We Really Need In A Cell Phone?

I was recently browsing through CNN when i came across a couple videos regarding new "innovations" for cell phones. One of the videos was all about new motion sensing software that can be programmed into phones that allows the user to control it by tilting and moving it. While this may be cool, it does seem rather unnecessary. Since when is a cell phones primary function to play videogames and surf the web, not to actually make phone calls? It seems that as a society, Americans tend to romanticize their gadgets, especially their phones. All these new things that we can do with our phones are described as "groundbreaking" or "revolutionary", but in reality, most of them are just glorified ways for us to waste our time. The actual importance of these things seems to have been lost in an obsession for all things new and technological. This point is best said by the famous comedian George Carlin, who commented that “Nobody questions things in this country anymore, nobody questions things. Why? People are too fat and happy. People are way too f****** prosperous for their own good. Everybody’s got a cell phone that’ll make pancakes... now”. The other video that i found on CNN was showcasing a new phone that is a watch. The man showing the watch/phone to us compared it to gadgets from James Bond or Dick Tracy. Yeah, great, well as much as i want to talk into my wrist all day, i think i might leave the novelty factor for the movies. All i need in my phone is the ability to call people and send the occasional text message. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/podcasts/showandtell/site/2009/02/04/st.ces.eyeball.cnn,

Racism In America

Many have said that the election of an African American means that America is moving past its racist history, but does it really mean so? If we are so proud of the fact that we have reached a stage where enough people can look past the color of a man's skin and elect him to be president, why is it that Arabs and Muslims now receive many of the same oppressions. When a "random" security check at an airport is done, why is the man wearing a turban far more likely to be stopped than the white Florida native behind him? The point is that while America prides itself on being an inclusive society, the seemingly inescapable human tendency to oppress lingers. It seems that wherever we gain ground, we lose it somewhere else. You see it in all levels of society, from a boss to his workers, from a jail warden to its inmates, even within school systems and sports environments. When a person or group ends up in a position of power, they will more often than not use it against those around them to make sure that they remain on top. Look at how long it took for womens rights to come about. Men were in power and i'm sure they liked it that way. So before we begin to fantasize about a racism/oppression free America, lets remember that oppression doesn't just lie between blacks and whites, but between all groups and societies.

Simplify Things and Enjoy the Ride

I just happened to come across an article about a man who, since his marriage had ended, and his kids had gone off to college, wanted to live life a little, and chill out for a while. The result; a 16 foot wagon built at home, and 4 horses to pull it around the country. Apparently, life just got a little bit too crazy for the man, Bob Skelding, so he decided to cut some things out of it. "I got to the point where I could take the things I really don't like, like taxes and bills and a regular job, and shelved them," Skelding said. "(I) took the stuff I like in life, which is travel and meeting people and horses, and I rolled that all into a big pile and made the wagon."
I couldn't help but immediately think of Emerson and Thoreau while i was reading this article. Many of their writings concerned cutting out all the things in life that you don't need or want, and how you will be much happier with a simpler life. While many may not have the option of dropping everything and taking a trip around America just for fun, it just lets people know that there is more to life than hard work and paying taxes. Intrigued to find out what Skelding's view on life was, i went to his website, and found a page he wrote about his philosophy. He listed his ten most important things in life, the first three being, friends, family and the well-being of his fellow man, and the last being money. It's nice to see people recognize that money isn't everything, and that you can still be happy without much of it.

Civil Disobedience In Greece

Because we had been talking about Civil Disobedience in class, i wanted to to find a current example of it and see if it followed Emerson's ideas. While looking through the Chicago Tribune online, i found an article explaining protests and riots going on in Greece. A little over a week ago, Alexandros Grigoropoulos, a 15-year-old, was killed in a police shooting incident, which triggered the outrage of thousands. Though the riots/protests began regarding distrust towards the police, it expanded to be a protest of the entire state of Greece. The protests are about the economy being bad, politicians being corrupt, and the general decay of their society. It is hard to know what Emerson would have thought about these riots, for while they are protesting a failure on the part of their leaders, they are also injuring innocent people, causing millions of dollars worth of damage, and not pausing to offer a solution to the problem. I think that Emerson would have disapproved because this is not civil disobedience in the effort of creating a greater good, it is just a display of anger by an unhappy populace. Though the country will undoubtedly rethink how they are operating, i don't think that angry riots are the best way to accomplish anything, peacefull protests should be done instead.

Carlin on Progress

I was really in the mood to watch something funny last night, so i went down to blockbuster and grabbed, a George Carlin DVD. I had never seen any of his stuff before, but i picked it because i remembered that he had died recently, and was intrigued to find out what this comedians work was like.
The DVD was great, but even while Carlin had my crying in my seat i was laughing so hard, he actually had a rather profound message to tell his audience. Like what we've been reading in Emerson and Thoreau, he talked a great deal about our modern society and how in many ways we havn't progressed at all. After talking about how the modern parent "abuses" their child through heavy scheduling, and how really the rights that our government gives us are just privileges, he goes into saying how Americans never question the ways of our society. He said "We don’t question things because everyone is fat and happy. Everyone has a cell phone that’ll make pancakes, so they don’t want to rock the boat. We went for gizmos, toys and gadgets. All we want is to have as many things as the guy across the street". After this i couldn't help but think of Emerson and Thoreau because it touches on many of their ideas. It brings up the danger of material wealth, of conformity, and of the unwavering complacency of many people in dire situations. I think i agree with Carlin here, for i do worry about the material obsessions that our society has on a whole, and i do believe that it really is something that hinders our progress as a community. I think that conformity slows down our ability to progress, because as Carlin says, "nobody wants to rock the boat", and try to change things at all. Different ideas and questions are essential to progress.