"Slacktivism"

Madonna in Africa

We often see celebrities out on the news magically turn into a major humanitarian. Whether it is supporting education in Africa or the stop of vaccines, every celebrity seems to have some cause they are fighting for. It seems suspicious that a celebrity will talk about Africa for a few months, spend about a month in Africa, taking pictures with kids and then come back talking about what a lifetime experience they had. Sure, they might have donated a lot of money, but to what extent are they actually helping to get better education or end world hunger. They are fighting for great causes but they really aren't doing anything helpful to stop the issue. They portray Africa as a helpless place which calls help from everywhere except the country itself. This New York Times article, "Celebrities Should Not Victimize Africa" compares these celebrities to the old Christian Ministries, which ended up turning Africa into a place of "racial hierarchy" and "economic exploitation."

The ways of these celebrities have seemed to rub off onto many high school students. I have seen many kids go on to do a service trip in South Africa or Thailand. They go for 2 weeks at a time, and get credit for helping out, but what can be really accomplished in 2 weeks. Everyone is looking now to be a humanitarian, and are willing to take large strides to get there. The largest example of what I have heard as referred to as "slacktivism" was the Kony 2012 campaign. Middle Schoolers and High Schoolers everywhere changed their Facebook statuses to promote catching Kony. Many people didn't even know who Kony was or why they wanted to catch him, but it sounded like a good cause and something good to do.

With this new trend of "slacktivism," it could potentially lead to results of people thinking they're being helpful when they aren't. What are some potential results of this? What are some real solutions that people could do? Is there something kids could do if they really wanted to get involved?

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

I recently came across an interesting blog/website called Humans of New York, a photo blogger, Brandan Stanton, who spends everyday wandering the streets of New York to capture pictures of everyday New Yorkers. He finds people who seem interesting, talk to them for a little bit and then take their portrait. He then posts the portrait on his blog along with a caption, either from him or a quote from the subject. It is his aim to really capture the spirit of New York through all of the different people the public never hears or sees about, the average American just like us.

Through spending a lot of time looking through many of his portraits, I really felt that I could get a feel of someone, a snippet of their life. I was also able to get a feel of what Stanton wanted us to get out of his photos. For example, he posted the photo of a family reading at a train station with the caption, "The Readertons." From this photo, I was able to see a family reading in a train station, see that it is probably a mother, a father, with two similarly aged daughters. I can also see that they all hold a book. I am also able to interpret Stanton's message from this image. I noticed that he framed the family inside of closing train doors, and to me it seems to imply that we, as Americans are closing our doors or shutting out the processes of reading, and instead turning to other things. While this may not be the message that Stanton intended, the ability to interpret photographs differently allows for different, interesting viewpoints.

Because photographs can tell us so much either about the photographer, the subject, or society, it let me to wonder what photos are chosen to display in the media. Often, the front page of any given news website is a photograph of a politician or a celebrity of some sort. Instead of focusing the public's eye to real issues in America by showing photos that make us think, we are left with photographs that nearly go along with a story. According to Neil Burgess, who runs his own picture agency, NB pictures, the art of photo journalism is dying. Publications "no longer fund photojournalism. They no longer fund photo-reportage. They only fund photo illustration." We are no longer supplied with photos that provide insight, but maybe through higher quality photographs, it would be possible to direct people's eyes to see the bigger picture instead of  just tiny parts.

Additionally, more and more people are going away from newspapers because they are unwilling to read the articles when they could just watch T.V. According to a 2012 study, only "23% of Americans say they read a print newspaper the previous day." This percentage continues to decline. It is possible however that newspapers could draw a readers attention, while maintaining the quality of journalism, by inserting photos that tell us something interesting about society that require thought and interpretation.

What benefits do you see in valuing high quality photo journalism? To what degree do you believe that adding better photojournalism to newspapers could help stop the decline of newspapers?

Required Saftey?

On Monday a tornado devastated much of Oklahoma, and destroyed many homes and uprooted thousands of people. Many people also faced serious injury or death as a result of the tornado. Now, we can only attempt to restore what is left of the towns, as we can not go back in time in order to prevent the disaster. It is impossible, however, to avoid all of the what if questions. What if more safe shelters were required in Oklahoma? Would there be far fewer casualties? Probably yes. That is why we have to consider now whether shelters should be required in tornado prone places.

The aftermath of the Oklahoma Tornado

Yes, shelters are difficult to build and are very important, but isn't the safety of our citizens worth the extra expense? We are willing to put billions of dollars into the armed forces in order to protect our country from foreign countries, so shouldn't we be willing to pay in order to protect our country from natural disasters, which have proven to be much more dangerous and frequent?

It might seem like the tornado was extremely rare, and now that it has passed, nothing as bad will happen again. Because of this perception many places don't feel they need to require shelters at this time. But if we look to 1999, when another devastating tornado hit, according to the NY Times, it was said, "If another storm comes, “there’s only a less than 1 percent chance of it being as strong and violent as what we experienced” before." So while the chances of another equally devastating storm may be unlikely, its better to be safe than sorry.

What else do you think could be done to prevent such devastation from natural disasters? Do you think the government should provide a role in requiring certain safety precautions?

Restrict Speaking Out

A new law is being proposed at an attempt according to this New York Times article to "silence the whistle-blowers" working for the government. This would disable employees from being able to make a report if they notice that something is wrong. The legislation uses very vague language when it defines what jobs have this restriction. "The proposed rules are exceptionally vague, defining such jobs as any that could have “a material adverse impact” on national security — including police, customs and immigration positions." By using this vague language, it allows the government to restrict many job positions from being fairly reported. An adverse impact could apply to anything that would need to be reported.

If this legislation goes through, it could result in more corruption in these jobs that this law would apply to. If every mistake becomes privatized, it can be dealt with under wraps and corrupt officials can get away unpunished. This seems to go against the system of checks in balances that we value in America. If there is no checks on these jobs, the people are loosing a lot of control and have to put a lot of trust into these positions?

What could be some additional affects of this legislation being passed? Do you see any potential benefits?

$200,000 Head Piece: The Great Gatsby

Lately, with the Gatsby movie coming out, many companies have been using Gatsby as an excuse to help sell there products. One of these companies doing this is Tiffany's. Tiffany's is selling a tiara with many diamonds, which is marketed as Daisy's tiara, for a shocking price. It is being sold for 200,00 dollars! It is really a ridiculous price, and we speculated a little on who would buy such a thing.

You can see the head piece on the Tiffany and Co. website, here.

One of my ideas was that it could potentially be a ploy from Tiffany's to seem even more high and then they already are. When people see that they are selling something that is worth the price of a house, and they see a high class celebrity endorsing it, then they can equate themselves to being high class or being a celebrity if they buy something else from Tiffany's. While another product from Tiffany's might go for a much lower price, it will be equated with the brand that sells a $200,000 piece of jewelry, so it would automatically seem high class.

It is interesting however, that this piece that is being marketed with The Great Gatsby, seems to go against everything the book's message is trying to portray. While the book looks down upon how much our society seems to value class, and how rigid of a class structure there is in America, especially in the east coast, this product seems to encourage a class divide. By someone wearing this, they are clearly advertising that they are high class. I think it is extremely interesting that even a story demoting the class structure can be used to strengthen the class structure.

Why do you think the head piece is so expensive? Also, do you think that the class structure is more or less rigid than it was in the 1920's when The Great Gatsby took place?

Media and Diseases

It has recently been a very important issue as to what the media chooses to show and display of certain topics. For example, the media will focus on the coming out story of a popular male athlete, while it would give no attention to a female athlete or an athlete from an unpopular sport.

A similar idea can be seen in the way the media chooses to show different diseases. Many diseases, such as autism and breast cancer have various walks, and celebrities raising awareness, and raising money. However there are many diseases like dystonia, that a New York Times blogger, Allison London, talks about in this article "Disease and the Public Eye." She contemplates why certain diseases get to be so well known while others no one has ever heard of, even though they may be less rare. "Dystonia is quite rare but, by some estimates, there are more people who have it than have Huntington's Disease, A.L.S. and Muscular Dystrophy combined." Dystonia deserves much more awareness for the amount of people who suffer from it. Because of the lack of awareness, London has to deal with weird looks in public places because people don't know about her disease.

I think a possible reason the media chooses to highlight certain diseases, is because they might think some diseases appear more "glamorous" than other diseases. While distonia causes people to hunch over and spasm, a cancer patient can gracefully loose their hair. Obviously, cancer or any other diseases are not glamorous in any way, but it is easier for the media to portray them in that way.

Why else could the media only choose to focus on certain diseases?

Gambling and Suicide Rates

As I've been researching suicide rates and what is making them rise, I've come upon some pretty interesting ideas that could definitely contribute to the rise. However, I'm pretty sure these causes aren't great enough to make a huge impact, but it is interesting nonetheless, as small causes can add up to one large cause. One idea I came across on the New York Times, is that the rise in gambling could be a potential cause of the rising suicides. Dr. David Phillips claims here, that the suicide rates in Atlantic City, Reno, and Las Vegas (all very large gambling cities) are four times as great as the suicide rates in cities of comparably sizes where gambling is not prominent.

One reason for this, may be because gambling causes many people to be put into financial crisis. After they gamble all of there money away, they may be left with little to nothing. And I have found in my research, that when people are dealing with financial crisis, they are much more likely to commit suicide.

Another possible reason may be that compulsive gamblers often have many other problems such as drug and alcohol abuse. These are often also accompanied by depression, which in turn leads to higher suicide rate. So many people who have depression and abuse alcohol and drugs, may be moving to gambling cities because of their issues.

Do you think gambling could have a real, noticeable effect on suicides, or is it more of a happenstance that people already susceptible to suicide move to places where they can frequently gamble?

A.D.H.D Medication: The Brain's Steroids

The number of people diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (A.D.H.D.) is higher than ever. According to the New York Times in "A.D.H.D. Seen in 11% of U.S. Children,"  nearly 1 in 5 high school boys are diagnosed with A.D.H.D. in the United States. While many people think that this is a good thing, it is also possible that children are being diagnosed purely to help their behavior and perform better in school. Therefore, many children may be unnecessarily taking medication. Because there is no definitive test, doctors can give the medication to anyone who they feels may be affected with this disorder after taking an oral and behavior test.

Many people though are largely disregarding the health risks of these medications. People who take these are susceptible to abuse and dependence. Also because the medication can improve concentration and performance, many students with the medication will give some out to friends. It goes on in many schools, because many students are willing to do anything for a potential to better their grades.

I know that especially during finals, dealing of Adderall, a medication prescribed for A.D.H.D., is very common around my school. Students think that the Adderall will help them focus to study for their finals. This, in my opinion, is a form of cheating. People without A.D.H.D. are giving themselves unfair advantages on tests. I think that A.D.H.D. medication is equivalent to steroids for sports, a drug that can drastically improve performance.

What do you think needs to be done about the number of people diagnosed with A.D.H.D? How can the amount of medication given out be slowed?

Growing Gap between Classes

The gap between the poor and the rich has been growing rapidly in America, and we can clearly see this through the many families left homeless in Orlando Florida. Nadia Shira Cohen, and Paulo Siqueira began a project called "Motel America," aimed at capturing photographs of families left homeless who resort to living in motels. According to the New York Times Photo Blog, the "idea that financial ruin could devastate a family so quickly was the driving force behind the project." They took the idea that one event could determine a families fate and use photography to expose that to the rest of America.

It is most interesting to me, that the motel at which the photographers are tracking the families is only a few short miles from Disney World. Disney World, an expensive travel destination, is an American symbol for the ideal family life. Only fairly wealthy families are able to make the trip where children are spoiled and treated like princesses and princes for the duration of the trip. There is a stark contrast between the children enjoying themselves at Disney World and the children struggling to live at the motel a few miles away.

The 2nd and 15 photos on the photo blog clearly illustrate this point. In the first photograph we see a 10 year old girl who is a resident of the motel. She is standing alone in a very nice gown in an unorganized, messy motel room. Clothes are strewn over the beds behind her and two washed out paintings lay crooked on the wall. The washed out paintings and messy room help shows how unorganized and dull her life is. She is also alone, and we find out from the caption that her father has just gone through brain surgery.

In the second photograph we see a young girl on what appears to be her fathers shoulders at Disney World onlooking the Cinderella Castle. Like the young girl in the first picture, she is pictured in a gown. However, unlike the young girl in the first photograph, she is pictured with her father and many other people in the background. She is also onlooking a castle which can represent her fantasies and hopes. Both girls aspire to be princesses in gowns, but while the girl in the motel in the first photograph is limited to a dank motel room, the girl in the second photograph is in the bright outdoors onlooking a castle.

Comparing these photographs displays the gap in America. While some families are thriving others are struggling to live. While some children are allowed to have aspirations with intentions to achieve their goals, others never dare to dream of being successful.


What other examples can you think of that show the gap between classes? Do you think it is possible to narrow the gap again? Or will the gap keep growing? What can be done to prevent that?

New Pope Crosses Over

This week, a new Pope was voted in, and he happens to be the first ever Pope from the Americas. This has been a very historical time for the Vatican, as a Pope has not resigned in 500 years, and a non-European has never before been Pope. The new Pope, Francis is from Argentina, and hopefully this is evidence that Catholicism is moving forward.

A cartoon drawn by Patrick Chappatte displays the pope crossing over the oceans from South America to Europe. It appears to be referring to the Bible story of Jesus walking on water. Because the Pope is a symbol of Christianity, along with Jesus, it makes sense for the cartoonist to link the two figures.

However, the photograph also reminds me of the photos of the ice age. I see a very close resemblance between the Pope crossing over from the Americas to Europe as we see in photos of people during the ice age moving over to the Americas. I think this interpretation could show how prehistoric the traditions of the Catholic religion are.

What are your interpretations?

Alternative Options Senior Year

As 2nd semester progresses, I have seen a lot of my senior friends develop "senioritis." Even the hardest working students have begun to slack off in school and stopped doing much of their homework. It seems pretty harmless, but it is interesting to think about how seniors are wasting almost an entire year. While they are going through the motions of high school, many are no longer gaining much from it.

This New York Times article suggests a potential cure. A reader suggests that seniors look for alternatives their senior year. Instead of taking regular high school classes, they could begin college earlier, or they could get a job. I think alternative options senior year are a great idea, as students would be much more productive with their time.

I think senior project senior year is a great example of an alternative option to a traditional 12th year of school. Students can choose to do anything they are interested in and shadow a professional or have an internship, or even do independent research. By doing this, they gain a lot more than they would by slacking off in classes.

What is your opinion on alternative options for seniors?

Incentive for Fuel Efficient Cars

Gas Prices have been skyrocketing recently, and many Americans are struggling financially because of it. However, the op-ed writer for the New York times, Richard A. Daynard, suggests we increase gas prices even more by creating larger taxes on gas in this Op-Ed piece. He suggests that by doing this, it would encourage more Americans to turn to fuel efficient cars that benefit the environment. 

While, it is important to help the environment, and fuel efficent cars are a great alternative, I think that by raising gas prices even more, we would be harming many Americans. Many people may no longer be able to afford gas if the prices are so high, but they might also not be able to afford a new, more fuel efficient car. Because of this, they could have consequences of not being able to transport themselves to their job if they cannot afford gas.

I think there has to be some other incentive to buy fuel efficient cars other than rising gasoline prices. While I fully support cutting on gasoline usage, harming many Americans, and their ability to transport themselves to work is not the best option.

Are there any other ways to create incentive for fuel efficient cars?

Budget Cuts

As the government is preparing to make their $85 billion budget cuts, they may be harming the poor families of America the hardest. Annie Lowrey wrote "As Automatic Budget Cuts Go Into Effect, Poor May Be Hit Particularly Hard" In the New York Times. She wrote "housing programs would be hit particularly hard, with about 125,000 individuals and families put at risk of becoming homeless."


I think it is really a shame that we are putting low income families out on the streets with the budget cuts. There are so many other areas to cut back on our budget, so putting American families out on the street should be the last resort. For example, in class we have seen the extremely large budget put into law enforcement for stopping drug use. We have also seen all of the money going into prisons. It seems that not all of that money is necessary as we are locking up many fairly innocent people.

In what other, less harmful places, could budget cuts be made?

Minorities in Television

Recently, we have talked a little about how popular television shows and movies have very few minorities. I watch shows every day and don't really think about how the majority of characters are white, as a white person myself, it doesn't really stick out to me. Reflecting on the shows I watch, I can not think of a single T.V. show where the majority of characters are a minority.

However, many shows and movies do have a "token" minority. They are often cast just to show that the show does cast minorities. It is interesting to notice though, that the token minority often plays a stereotype of their minority for comedic value. For example, in Modern Family, Gloria, a hispanic woman, has a very strong accent, and does typical hispanic things.

Do you think their could ever be a popular show with a cast of mostly minorities?

AS Final: Is Anything Really Candid?

This Photo of Rahm Emanuel on a train strikes me as a very important contemporary American artifact, as it portrays the themes of reality versus perception and politicians reaching out to the middle class.

At first glance, we see Emanuel on a train speaking on the phone. According to the caption tweeted out by ABC News’s Dan Lopez, a “woman was on the phone being interviewed for a job and this guy took her phone to put in a good word.” I think a very important point to note however, is that while we can judge the photo on what it appears to be, we have to think deeper to fully understand what is going on. For example, it is very hard to believe that Rahm Emanuel just happened to be on a train next to a woman on a job interview, who he felt he knew well enough to give a recommendation to, when an ABC news person was sitting just across the way. I remember Mr. O’Connor posing the question earlier “Can a photo really ever be candid?” To answer that question, I don’t believe anything really is. Both Rahm Emanuel and the woman both most likely saw the man with the camera there, so the picture therefore, was posed. We learned through the death of Spiro Bolos assignment, that by looking at an artifact at first glance, we cannot truly know the full story behind it.

Another interesting point to notice in this photograph is the motivation behind Rahm Emanuel’s riding of the train. While the public transportation system is the most convenient way of transportation for most common Americans, Rahm Emanuel could easily find a quicker, more private way of transportation. We can clearly see in the way he dresses in his nice suit and tie, compared to the assumed middle class woman sitting next to him in a t-shirt, that he is not a simple, average American. While the way he dresses may show clear differences between Emanuel and the middle class, by riding the train, Emanuel may be attempting to relate to the middle class. Also, in the caption, Lopez refers to Emanuel as “this guy.” By calling Emanuel this guy, it brings attention to the fact that Emanuel is just another guy, while in fact; he is the Mayor of Chicago. It is also interesting to note that this photo was tweeted, a method of distribution in which many average Americans would see the photo. We have studied many politicians in class who attempt to reach out to the middle class, including Andrew Johnson, who was picked for vice president for his ability to relate to the middle class.

We have learned through history that it is very important for politicians to reach out to the middle class, as the middle class carries a lot of power in numbers. For example, Charles Schenk was able to worry the government by riling up the middle class by claiming WWI was “in the interest of Wall Street’s chosen few.” By claiming the war was in interest of only a select wealthy few, Schenk was able to upset the middle class enough to worry the government. So politicians have learned that reaching out to the middle class allows them to keep the majority of Americans under control.

Besides reaching out to the middle class by being like the middle class, in this photo Emanuel is directly helping the middle class with one of the most important topics in contemporary America: jobs. As we saw in analyzing a NY Times photograph of the most used words at the national conventions, the most used word, besides “Romney” and “Obama” was Jobs. It was used frequently by both the Republicans and the Democrats, as one of the things they both agree on is lowering the unemployment rate. By helping a woman out with her interview, Emanuel shows that he is working towards that goal.

This photograph displays themes for today and the future. I believe that politicians reaching out to the middle class will become even more important in the future, so it will be extremely important to think critically about what we see to examine what is really happening.

Religious Schooling in America

The issue of deficient public education has been all over the news lately, but the decline of successful catholic schools hasn't been talked about much. According to a NY Times Op-Ed, "Catholic Education, in Need of Salvation," "enrollment has plunged despite strong demand from students and families." Catholic schools have been receiving less funding from churches, which causes the price of enrollment to skyrocket. And frankly, not many people are able to afford to attend these schools. This is causing Catholic schools to only survive in very affluent neighborhoods. While Catholic schools once thrived in providing a good education for children living in less than ideal situations, they are now becoming inaccessible for people who do not come from wealth.

The author of the Op-Ed argues that the failing of the Catholic schools is a very negative thing because without them there is a lack of options other than public schools. However, I think with all of the successful charter schools starting to emerge around the nation, we are loosing the need for the Catholic schools. You could read more about charter schools here. 

Many people would still argue that a major benefit of a Catholic school is that parents get to give their children a religious upbringing. However, more and more Americans are beginning to bring children up without a religious affiliation. It is becoming more popular to let children choose their own identity. A blogger for the New York Times, wrote about this issue. She argues that children should be able to find their own place in the community without a preset place from their parents. I honestly think that this is a great progression that our country is making. I think that every person has a right to choose their own faith and beliefs. A person's beliefs, in my opinion, is not hereditary, but a choice. And if a child is brought up in a Catholic school, they do not have as much room to develop their own individual identities. 

In what ways do you think Catholic or other religious schools still play an important role in America? Or is the need for religious schools no longer present? Will charter schools replace the need for private religious schools?

NHL Lockout Unnoticed?

The NHL has been in a lockout for the past several months, and it its finally over, but what I find interesting is that no one has really been talking about it. I think its interesting how little it's been in the news and how few people know about it. The only people who have really noticed are hockey fans. Most people who aren't into hockey had no idea that the NHL was in a lockout.

I definitely would have thought that it would have been in the news more, but I guess with all of the major political events and tragedies going on, that not much attention was put on it. I'm sure that some NHL fans were very upset by the lockout though, and that is why I am a little confused as to why more attention wasn't put on the lockout. I think if the lockout was in the news more, there may have been even more of an outcry from fans, and it could have been resolved sooner.

Why do you think the Lockout wasn't shown much in the news? Would more coverage of the lockout have helped it get resolved sooner?

Illinois Gay Marriage Bill

We have talked a lot about our liberties, and one liberty that has been debated a lot lately is whether gay marriage should be allowed. In Illinois, a gay marriage law may pass in the very near future. While the vote may not happen in the next few days, hopefully in the next legislation there will be a vote. The Washington Post quotes Sen. Heather Steans saying its a matter of "when, not if" the bill will pass. It may be a few weeks before the bill will pass, but everyone seems to be pretty on bored.

ABC7 news says, "A letter was given out to parishioners at Holy Name Cathedral Sunday morning said the church is not against gay relationships, but against gay marriage." If even the church has that opinion, and that is the strongest opposition to the bill, it seems pretty certain that the bill will pass. I think this will be a great step for Illinois to take. Gay marriage bills are slowly working their way through the states, and soon, hopefully the entire country will allow same-sex marriage. It seems crazy that not too long ago interracial marriages were not allowed. That too became a right by working its way through the states. I predict that sometime in the future gay marriage will be as unopposed as interracial marriage. Eventually, most people will come around.

Do you agree that in the near future same-sex marriage will be allowed nationwide?