Is the American way of life fragile or sturdy? Most Americans find their way of living non-negotiable. “Americans don't seem to find anything wrong with them. It seems that the American public agrees. Our way of life is so special, so unique, so satisfying that it must be protected at all costs” (www.faulkingtruth.com). Protecting the American way of life has been evident for the past centuries when ‘America’ was The average American feels that their way of living is supposedly the ‘right’ way of living and that every person should live in that particular way. Of course the average American can also agree that the American way of life is to also strive to be successful and to make money; a positive way of living by benefiting one’s self.
A way that Americans strive to be successful to make money is through capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system that involves laborers who help produce and sell the supply that is within the ‘free market’. Three main parts of capitalism is the land, labor and the capital. The land represents the natural world; everything one would use to make stuff—out of raw materials. Labor is the all of the work necessary to produce and sell the product. Capital is the money or tools used to make profit. Supply and Demand play a role in which supply is produced by the laborers, land and capital and is sold for any price, meanwhile the amount of supply stays the same. Demand is the amount of products purchased by the consumer, at all prices. The process of supply and demand is the profit motive to invest money through private ownership where goods and services are distributed.
A person familiar with the hip-hop culture is a Hispanic teen who explains that the American way of life involves three things, “Money, power and respect.” In his opinion, he finds that having respect by gaining a ‘title’ in society, or among friends, will help one survive for being known for what they do. Similar to Capitalism, Money and power are alike in ways that the more power one has, the more money he/she receives for having that kind of power. The Hispanic teen adds that it is some what of a privilege to have the power, the ability, to do something he/she is good at and get paid for it, and it is likely that after one gets paid, it is priority to provide for others whether it is for family or friends, before one’s self. In most cases, in society, money does buy happiness, only when it involves food, shelter and education—a good aspect about the American way of life. Within Capitalism, companies are only ‘happy’ when they find a way to make profit/power by adjusting the company’s supply and demand.
However, in the process of making profit through Capitalism—or any given situation, competition does occur. Competition creates an opportunity, for most companies, to expand and make money. Globalization, a comparative advantage, is a process that allows companies to expand their businesses to other countries by trading across seas to make more profit compared to what they would usually make in the states. To a certain extent, competition has its downfall towards American businesses because it gives American citizens less opportunity to having a job. Although Capitalism may benefit most monopolies, in some way it creates a disadvantage towards others companies below monopolies when trying to make money.
EBay is an example of capitalism and how little and big companies work. Within EBay, there are sellers who are, I would say, have the most bidders and least amount of bidders-more demand than other 'companies', which plays a big role on how successful a person can be with selling their product. All of what people actually do to the product is cause inflation by constantly raising the price in the matter of hours. In any given situation of buying and selling, one can agree with the phrase, 'time is money'.
My 'EBay experience' was rather annoying than it was ‘fun’. This was the first time I used EBay to bid on an item that I could have possibly wanted. At first I didn't know what to bid on, so for the hell of it, I bid on a pair of ballerina flats that were $19.99 (plus shipping).
I started to bid on the item on Monday of last week. The bid was coming to a quick end, in about two hours. At first the shoes were auctioned for $5.99. At the time I bid higher just in case someone were to outbid me. LITERALLY, one minute later, I was out-bidded by a random user. I bidded again, 2 dollars higher than the previous bidder, and once again I was outbidded by the same user. I honestly was not going to wait around to hope that I hopefully won the bid, so I stopped trying to out-bid the user and went looking for the same pair, for just $19.99. I was the first bidder, and the auction was going to last two days later.
To my surprise, after the two days, I won the bid. At the time I did not use any strategy to try to win a bid. I asked Tyler Scrima what he does to win bids, since he has been buying and selling off of EBay since the 8th grade. He told me to wait till the very last minute to place a bid, however when I tried doing that, previously, somebody was still out-bidding me. It was annoying to the extent where I had to try to out-bid other people to get this one item. But after realizing that it is a website where people actually bid or buy items for cheap, which explained to me why people spend a great amount of time trying to find bargains--not that it is a bad thing of course.
On the day after Thanksgiving, most Americans consider that day as a holiday known as "Black Friday". During that time of year, most chain stores, such as Wal-Mart, sell their products for more than 50% off. On that day, shoppers are obligated to buy whatever they can get, even if they do not exactly 'need' that product. What's frustrating about black Friday is that after buying so many things, shoppers put themselves in a position where they have to pay all these bills after maxing out their credit cards. In the end, most of them are wondering where their money had gone. It comes to show how materialistic Americans have come to be.
With my experience on Black Friday, my family and I spent our time in the Poconos, where we actually did not shop for anything. We live in Reeders, PA which is a five minute drive from the outlet, and 15 minute drive from the mall. Because I had a basketball tournament that same day, my parents actually drove all the way from PA to NY to make it to the game in the Bronx. My cousin also tagged along because she was staying i New York City for the next two weeks. While I was playing in my basketball game, my family toured the city, visiting the Empire State Building.
In regards to 'Buy Nothing Day', if people were to actually follow up on that day, the economy would shift in terms supply & demand. Even though Americans are aware of the consequences for buying an excessive amount of products, people are still go about their way to do something that affects them in a negative way-which in my opinion is ridiculous.
On the day of Black Friday, a man who went by the name Jdimytai Damour was killed while working at his job in Wal-Mart. In the morning of Black Friday, Damour and other workers were assigned to barricade the Wal-Mart doors, until the store opened-which was at 5:00am. Witnesses say that "he was bum-rushed by 200 people" (NY Daily News) which unfortunately lead to his death an hour later when he arrived in the hospital.
It is more pathetic than it is outrageous that the people who were involved with the shopping spree were selfish enough to not realize that they were running over a man. It is explainable that if only one person to stop, and try to help him, then that same person would have been ran over as well--however, that would not be the case if everybody realized what was really going on below their feet.
Shoppers "took the door off the hinges", "Chant[ed] 'push the doors in", and when Wal-Mart employees tried to close down the store, after the death of Damour, shoppers were yelling, "I've been on line since Friday morning!"
The American way of life, based off this incident, shows how much concern Americans have over saving a little over $100 than a life of a person. "Whats funny about this is that they bum-rushed into the store, took the door off the hinges, and in the end did not steal anything" (Ben Sherry)-- which is ironic because that is usually something a robber would do when trying to steal something from a store. The anticipation and the rush of Black Friday show how fiend people are to get 'material items' such like your flat screen TV, or laptops and such--Not even realizing they had killed a person in the past 24 hours.
Aside from the death of Jdimytai Damour on Black Friday, it is often that people view the American way of life as a negative lifestyle. One of the major issue/concerns Americans have while living in America is the way the government is structured and the actions taken while in the war with Iraq. Anthony, a middle-class teen, believes that the American way of life is to “stabilize America’s economy and the social issues concerning the war in Iraq.” American citizens go out of their way to not only survive in society, but to also clean up the government’s “dirty work”. In any given situation, “Americans try to help themselves, but by doing so, they are hurting other people in the process.”—similar to how the shoppers at Wal-Mart tried to help themselves, but by doing so, they killed a Wal-Mart employee.
On November 4th, 2008, history was made when candidate Barack Obama was elected President of the United States for the Next four years. His successful win did not surprise me when he won most of America’s vote; however I was much concerned on how the polls could have changed in the next few weeks. Because Obama is a Democrat, I felt that votes were going to be recounted, in reference to what had happened years ago with Al Gore and then four years later with Kerry, assuming that the same ‘incident’ would happen again with McCain.
Not to offend those who support Obama, but I feel that this year's election has gone way out of hand. I feel that ever since Obama was recognized, he has been some kind of icon where his face is on every wall, every t-shirt, pin, bag, pencil, you name it. Of course there is nothing wrong with advertising the next 44th president, however in my opinion, I feel that it has been some kind of popularity contest where everybody is voting for him ‘just to get on the band-wagon’.
I knew two republicans in our school, even during Bush's eight years of presidency, they both still supported him. And ever since Obama came along they had surprisingly switched sides, and started to support Obama. It is great that Obama is now the President-elect, but in my opinion, I believe the two previous-republicans switched parties because 99.99% of their friends are Obama supporters. They could have still supported McCain... he hasn't done anything quite as dramatic as Bush, but he still is a republican, yet they still changed their vote for Obama.
"For many of these Americans, the explanation was rather simple... the news media, completely enamored with Obama, simply refused to do their job."
(http://www.howobamagotelected.com/)
Regardless of who was going to win the election, it should not have been a popularity contest--people can agree that they did have some similar changes they wanted to make, but it’s all about ‘who is going to ACTUALLY make that change and clean up all the mess that Bush has made for the past eight years?’ Either Obama or McCain would struggle to try to fix that up, but because the U.S. is already messed up, I assume that Obama [in this case] is just going to leave things the way they already are and just tweak things up--just a bit.
The race has not only been some kind of popularity contest, but as well
Bottom line, It is great that Barack Obama is the President-elect, but I do not think that people had the right reasons for voting for him, majority of the people at least.
On Inauguration day, President elect Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States. In front of millions of people, he made an oath, swearing that he will serve his country. In school, the juniors and seniors, along with a few teachers, got together in classrooms to watch him make his oath. Soon after he made a twenty minute speech on how he was going to make change, and unite as one in order to make that change.
In his speech he stated
"In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labour, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."
Obama specifically talked about a person’s struggle in society, and how one tries to maintain strength in order to work to succeed in America. We, as a country, have come a long way from slavery and imperialism, and Obama wants to make a change by working together to as one. From past generations that have worked their way up to provide for future generations, like ourselves, to survive and grow. According to Obama, (he basically) explains that for the past eight years we have abused our the oppurtunities and advantages given to us to make the United States a better place for all people of different races & mixed races.
The election this year played the common theme of serving others in the country and to try to repair the damages made due to the past years. In relation to Hegel and his philosophical ideas, he believed that history was a process for the world to turn in a point in time. Our American History turned our country into a power hungry government, trying to take control of other parts of the world while we are in debt. By trying to pay off the debt, the government taxes U.S. citizens, meanwhile, citizens struggle to maintain a living in the U.S. by paying off their own debt. Karl Marx, a philosopher and analyst of Capitalism, believed that "The philosophers have sought to understand the world. The point however, is to change it." Many have studied the cause and affects of America's actions towards a certain handful of situations. After January 20th, 2009, Barack Obama became president in order to make that change across the country. Now let’s hope he keeps his promise.
Aside from U.S. Politics, a middle-class Asian mentioned how the American way of life in the city is different, in comparison to those who live in the suburbs. “The American way of life in the city is career oriented, while in the suburbs, the way of living is more family oriented.” Geographically speaking, a person’s way of living is different in a certain households; their way of living is the way he/her survives in the American society. He says that “in the past, the American way of life was for families to immigrate to the states and to live freely.” Now, “Most people are working hard for money, usually taking the money they make for granted.”
One of the good aspects about the American way of life is the “opportunities one has when trying to pursue a career, or dream.” In comparison to those who live in third world countries, the American way of living would consider to be a ‘great’ way living, in terms of having a job and providing for him/her self. The Asian male added that he “feels lucky, in a way, to be able to walk outside freely.” With that being said, he added that “people sometimes abuse the American way of life by taking advantage of the materialistic things”. People do not realize how privileged they are to live in America, while others are actually struggling in other parts of the world.
Karl Marx, a man living in the 1800s, would think otherwise.
Karl Marx, known for his book The Communist Manifesto, with Friedrich Engle, a radical capitalist, tried to understand capitalism and how it developed; a process known as the Dialectic. The dialectic is the method of looking at different situations that could have led to an event/phenomenon; the way things changed due to collisions. Within the dialectic is the thesis (the original situation)→ anti-thesis (developing contradiction): higher synthesis (Capitalism). The Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, another philosopher at the time, believed that the change in quantity, in any given situation, lead to a different kind of reality. He thought that history was a process that the world was most likely going to turn into in a point in time; a physical reality. In relation to Marx’s dialectic process in Capitalism, it was believed that Capitalism was a process that helped others become socialists. The “division of labor necessarily draws after it greater division of labor, the employment of machinery greater employment of machinery, work upon a large scale work upon a still greater scale” (Marx). In Capitalism, it was also a process that showed how the owners got richer while the worker of the company remained poor.
The division of labor, within the capital, also defines Marx’s Primitive Accumulation of the Capital. The Primitive Accumulation of the Capital is “a small percentage of the population obtained possession of the necessary resources to start businesses which employ people and gain profit” (Wikipedia). The process in which the capital creates businesses/companies is through the laborers. Capitalism also seeks for “competition by restlessly introducing further subdivision of labor and new machines, which, though more expensive, enable him to produce more cheaply, instead of waiting until the new machines shall have been rendered obsolete by competition” (Marx). Marx felt that overall; capitalism was fundamentally irrational for workers. In order for the owners to obtain the machinery, land, farms, etc. to make the commodity, the owner had enslave and create genocide, by exploiting people who were and are still willing to alienate him/her self to work for the capital.
An example of Americans alienating theirs selves is Americans being “fueled by the media”, which is could be a negative aspect of the American way of life. The same Asian male argued that the American way of life “is relied on the media, and how it is sudden that hip-hop became a new ‘culture’ opposed to being Asian, Hispanic, or other ethnicities.” In each culture are certain morals, while in the new culture of hip-hop persuades one to ‘brand’ his/her self with expensive clothing. The person who strives to be a part of the hip-hop culture is much concerned about he/she carries his/her self, to try to impress others of what they have, while other cultures are morally involved with family and religion. The average American alone alienates their self by looking for a certain image to follow in order to have a higher self esteem to fit within the American community.
In Capitalism, one is capable of alienating his/her self by selling the time and energy to make money. Workers who are easy to sell his/her labor-power, “their ability to work” (Ollman), to capitalism are known as ‘Proletarian’. An example that used to take place, and still exists today is prostitution. Women who seek for money use their own body as the product of their own ‘company’ are known as prostitutes. They sell their body by having sex with men (or women), and get paid in return of their ‘deeds’ that were made.
“Life itself has become a show contemplated by an audience. That audience is the proletariat. Reality is now something we look at and think about, not something we experience.” In society, Capitalism controls reality. The citizen of society is the audience in which they are eager to sell their labor power to the capitalist. By doing so, the audience is first influenced by the capitalist, similar to how the audience is influenced by the media. In both given situations, the audience soon alienates itself by working for the capital. Reality is soon an illusion to those who are ‘working for a living’; the proletarians.
The process of people becoming proletarian is due to “The Spectacle”. According to The Spectacle: A Skeleton Key, the Spectacle is “a social relation among people mediated by images… The spectacle in general, as the concrete inversion of life, is the autonomous movement of the non-living… the liar has lied to himself” (A Skeleton Key). The Spectacle is a fake world; a constructed reality. In capitalism, the Spectacle is made by convincing people with the false reality of capitalism, and to work for the capitalists. However, according to Howard J. Ehrlich, there has been there is a kind of division made between capitalism and the state, in this case, the state would be the people working for the capitalist. He says that “It exists in our minds, and we produce it in our day-to-day existence. The banalities of everyday life, the meaninglessness of most work, our profound isolation from others, and our being treated—these are not byproducts of capitalism: they are key mechanisms of social control” (Ehrlich). It seems to Howard J. Ehrlich that Alienation is not caused by the capital, but instead is caused by oneself for deciding to dedicate his/her labor-power to the system. This falls back into the a cycle where people are used to following daily routines in which they work for the large businesses to earn money. Because people chose to work for the capital, “life is divided between ‘work’ time and ‘free’ time. But we sleep on, buying back in our ‘free’ time what we produced in our ‘work’ time. Real life is elsewhere” (A Skeleton Key). It is to those who consider working for the capital the reality of how people survive in society in order to gain money and ‘make a living’, when IN REALITY, it is the way people are actually hurting their selves in society by creating this illusion of making progress in one’s life.
In relation to capitalism, laborers sell their selves to the capital by “[maintaining] the total of his wages for a given time by performing more labor, either by working a great number of hours, or by accomplishing more in the same number of hours” (Marx). Regardless of how great or little the pay is for a large amount of hours worked, laborers are more willing to sacrifice what they would normally do at home, or maybe school, to make money and provide for his/her family, which is common for the average American.
Because of the binary opposition of Reality vs. the Essence in Capitalism, people are unaware of the spectacle that is causing one to alienate his/her self from their original life. Even though alienation is considerably “good for business” by “[multiplying] needs” (A Skeleton Key), Marx would agree that it is a manipulating way to abuse laborers who are trying to survive in society. And because laborers have no choice but to work, depending on the class of the laborer, the capitalist has an advantage to create a spectacle where it causes the laborer to alienate him/her to become proletarian, and thus forever a part of the system until that person dies. Unfortunate, but that is the American way of life, to a certain extent.
However, a Hispanic teen explained how it is more of a racial issue to survive in America than it is about being in a certain class. He said that the ‘white man’ in society usually is viewed to have more power than the ‘black man’ who strives to be as successful as the ‘white man’. It is difficult in most situations when a black-male, or female, is underestimated for what he/she does, because of the color of their skin. Though laws have been passed against discrimination, unfair judgment still exists today, even outside of working class citizens.
Aside from defining the American way of life, I asked the same people whether or not they lived the American way of life. Among the three people who answered the previous question, two of which agreed that they do while the Asian male said he would like to distant himself from living the American way of life. He felt that although he has many privileges in America, the way of living does not seem to be as ‘great’ as most people may view it. He thought that it does not seem to be a great way of living when people in America are taking the things that are easily given to them, for granted.
Meanwhile, Anthony, a middle-class teen, and the Hispanic teen feel that they do live the American way of life for the simple fact that they are young adults living in the country. Who is to deny the American way of life, while living in America? America has opened a wide range of jobs for people to work and places for people to live. There are many organizations, public and private, that provide for those who need help, which supports one’s needs.
However, it is a totally different story when it involves mother giving birth to babies—not understanding the mishaps than occur in the hospital while in labor. Many mothers across the nation are not as familiar with having a natural birth versus having a normal birth in a hospital. In a blog post, I posted on March 18th, 2009, I mentioned:
“In the United States, normal birth has been a form of alienation where women are unaware of the kind of connection they could have had with their child through natural birth. Though, because majority of women in U.S. choose to have hospital births rather than having a natural birth at home or in a birthing center, women are less likely to experience a warm and comfortable birth.
Normal birth can be defined as a woman giving birth to her child in a hospital. The catch about having a ‘normal’ birth is that doctors, nurses and tools that the medical ‘professionals’ use intervene with the process of delivering the baby; epidural, episiotomy, lithotomy, cesarean, drugs, anesthesia, risk of hemorrhage, delivering the baby on the doctor’s time, etc. (Class Notes).
Opposed to normal birth, natural birth, According to Teaching Normal Birth Interactively by Barbara A. Hotelling, is when “labor begins on its own, freedom of movement throughout labor, continuous labor support, no routine interventions, non-supine (e.g., upright or side-lying) positions for birth, and no separation of mother and baby with unlimited opportunity for breastfeeding.” Natural birth was known as the ‘normal’ way of giving birth until technology was invented to disturb the process of a woman’s body of giving birth in the natural and humane way.”
The way of giving labor now-a-days is not necessarily limited to just having births in a hospital, where most Americans assume most births are taken place.
This leads into the topic where most births that cost a lot in hospitals in the U.S. do not cost at all for births taken place in the U.K. According the movie SiCKO, the U.K. just provides the rooms for patients to be treated in and a cashier where patients are actually offered money for any necessary reason to feel better after being treated by the doctor. The U.K also has doctors that travel to people’s houses rather than having the patient coming to the doctor’s office, where it may be more difficult to travel due to his/her condition. Based on a blog post I posted up on April 19, 2009, I explained my own experience of having to pay the hospital for my own knee injury and how it differs from other countries that do not have to pay anything at all:
“My family's experience with health care was not dramatic as the stories taken place in the movie SiCKO. Through my dad's job, my family [all four members of us] is covered by a private health insurance company called HealthNet. My mom also works for the board of Ed, where she is offered health insurance, however she does not use it due to the fact that she is covered through my dad's job. The health insurance that we are currently using is through a family package.
Between all four members of the family [including myself], I would have to say that my dad and I are the only people in the family who often uses insurance due to his heart condition and my knee injury in the past years. Based on my experiences, I have spent a long time in the emergency room just to get my knee checked out and x-rayed. The first time I went to the emergency room was in 3rd grade, in the hospital of joint diseases. I remember spending about 30-60 minutes to get my broken arm checked out. In my sophomore year of high school, I dislocated my knee for the first time in the middle of basketball practice. While i was laying helplessly on the gym floor, my coach called for an ambulance, which came 20-30 minutes after i dislocated my knee. I arrived at the emergency room in Beth Israel on 16 street and was waiting for about two hours just to get an x-ray and then was brought to another room another hour later for the doctor to take a look at me. The whole process took about 5 - 6 hours. Insurance payed for the emergency room , though there was a co-pay of $25. Insurance also refused to pay for the ambulance, which caused my mom to pay $500 for my dislocated knee to be driven from SOF [on 22nd street] all the way to 16 street--6 blocks and some avenues away from school...wtf.
The second time i dislocated my knee this past January, was taken place in Staten Island. Once again, the coach [from the opposing team] called an ambulance to pick me up--taking about 30-45 minutes for the ambulance to arrive (keep in mind that was the first time in was snowing in NY). The ride to the ambulance, in comparison to my last ambulance ride, was about 20-30 min longer than the 5 minute ride in Manhattan. The time i spent in the emergency room was about 20-30 min (x-rays taking an additional 10 minutes) and was taken into another room to rest & wait for my family. In all it took about 1 hour in Staten island, while it took 5-6 hours in Manhattan. Once again, insurance covered the time i spent in the emergency room, & there was still a co-pay, and refused to pay for the ambulance, though this time, my mom payed only $250.
My family never got to experience heavy bills that could not be payed or was denied treatment, unless you consider refusing to pay for my ambulance bill, then yeah. And never have i experienced a 'loving' doctor who took care of me in the most comfortable way. All the doctors who have taken care of me in the past, including my current knee doctor, all seem to be in a rush to see the next patient. There is never really a time where the doctor took his/her time to make sure and reassure that things were 'okay'.
My experience in the past hospitals differs from the experiences taken place in the movie SiCKO for the only reason that some people did not have health insurance and was forced to different ways to pay for the medical bills, while others [more towards the citizens of other countries] did not pay a single penny for health care at all. I thought it was amazing how so many countries provided free health care to all people. Specifically in the UK, the doctors work for the government where they get 3 times the amount of salary than government workers in the US. In the hospital, patients do not have to pay a fee either, instead they are given money, if needed, at a certain station called the 'cashier'. It ironic how the UK and many other countries have the time and money to provide for [almost] every individual while America continues to be greedy with the poor man's money. Because of WWII and the many wounded civilians and the fact that Britain became very poor, everything, including health care, was free. Although the US did not become a wreck like Britain, the US is still experiencing the recession. Because America has damaged more than a handful of different areas in the economy, it would be risky for anybody to do anything to try to fix health care because of all of the hidden connections made with the capitalists of our country."
Alongside Poverty is the American way of Food—how people eat. Although poverty and food do not really intertwine, both topics have issues between each other whether it be about those who are in poverty not able to afford food, or those in poverty buying cheap food which is unhealthy for a person’s way of living, etc. Although, aside from poverty, food overall has been another main issue for many Americans where many are so self conscious about his/her own weight/health. In a blog post i posted on May 13th, 2009, I talked about how food is a major issue and how it is an unstable habit for Americans to want to eat unhealthy meals, over sized portions or skipping meals to try to 'stay fit':
"According to Pollan's, 'Omnivore's Dilemma', "we as a culture lack a stable food culture like the Italians or French, are obsessed with health, are confused and anxious about food, and therefore easily succumb to various expert-directed food fads." This does not really apply to my family. My family is one of the many people who are concerned about their health,however the idea of 'eating healthy' is not as affective to us than it is to many people. On a daily bases, most adults watch what they eat by counting carbs, calories, sodium--pretty much what ever is on the nutrition facts of every product. My family rarely looks at the nutrition facts. Although it may be very convenient for us to read what is exactly in our food, [i think i speak for everybody in my family that] we feel that it is important to eat the three meals a day--and to make sure you finish what is on you plate-- just as long as they are small portions. I am not saying that we eat shit out of our asses and eat what ever we see, we do actually 'watch what we eat', although we are not as cautious as 'most Americans'--as my dad would say. My parents [in this case] do not read health books that regard 'how a healthy person should live' or follow what scientists, journalists, chefs, commercials or nutritionists propose in how to live a 'healthy life'. Although all sources may be provided [for my dad specifically due to his past heart attacks], my parents are honestly ignorant to pay attention to those and would rather follow their own diet-- which I do not think is necessarily a 'bad' thing to do.
Ever since my dad had his 4th heart attack, he has been very cautious about what he eats. Now-a-days, he has been cutting out of his strict diet and has been eating foods that he actually enjoys eat--Filipino food. Because Filipino includes a large amount of meat and vegetables, he has learned to eat smaller servings/portions. With that he was able to lose 30-40 lbs in just 2-3 weeks after his heart attack.
With all honesty, I think it is pathetic how so many people can watch what they eat. It may be 'healthy' in some cases to eat a less amount of calories/carbs etc etc, but Pollan is right, "Whatever native wisdom we once have possesed about eating has been replaced by confusion and anxiety" (Pollan 1). People are overly concerned about what is in their food rather than just enjoying the food that is in front of them--& to those who just eat to energize are also too ignorant to realize that they have 'the power' to stop the bad habit. It is also unfortunate how many Americans become bulimic or anorexic, [& i may be one minded for expressing this] when the main issue should not be about not eating anything at all. In my opinion, people should eat what ever they please to eat--just stay away from the fast food restaurants-- and to stay active, and eat smaller portions! "Super-sized portions are an important reason why 66.3 percent of Americans are overweight. Large portions contribute directly to the number of calories we consume."
I also mentioned on June 3rd, 2009, how McDonalds is an example of Americans continuously eating fast food where the salads and other healthy greens to substitute a big Mac or other fried-meals:
"In reference to the movie ‘Supersize Me’—a documentary about the industrial fast food restaurant McDonalds, shares fact about how McDonalds could be a danger to your health if it is constantly being eaten. The man behind the documentary, Morgan Spurlock, emphasizes that McDonalds is in fact bad for ones health. He proves this common theory—made by other Americans as well—by setting himself to eat McDonalds every day, for one month to show the great effects McDonalds has on the human body. In the process of showing viewers the cons about industrial fast food restaurants, like McDonalds, Spurlock notices how McDonalds is now trying to make their menu a little more healthier by adding salads and meals that may help one’s diet, though, “at the same time, […] they also masterminded one of their fattest sandwiches to date: the McGriddle. A pancake-wrapped creation […] but can pack as much fat as a Big Mac, and have more sugar than a pack of McDonaldland cookies. In fact, their new premium ranch chicken salad with dressing delivers more calories than a Big Mac and 51 grams of fat, 79% of your daily fat intake. Over the course of my McDiet, I consumed 30 pounds of sugar from their food. That's a pound a day” (Morgan Spurlock – Supersize Me)."
Over all I feel that the way American way of life is portrayed through birth, food, and poverty has come to show how people are so vulnerable to do anything in their power to do what they think will make them assured about how they live their lifestyle and how it may be accepted or rejected by society. With that being said, America, to me, is just one big high school made up of so many different people of different races', social status, weight/health issue, way of giving birth, etc., is all one transition to become something that is not necessarily a healthy way of living [mentally and physically]. There are so many risks involved when taking the wrong step that could lead you into poverty or a terrible time in the hospital or weight/health issue. Though, because Americans love to criticize each other, most Americans are obsessed with being accepted by society by changing their 'way of living' to the AMERICAN way of living--not a good look.
All different lifestyles have affected most Americans to an extent where they have felt unhappy, insecure about their way of living, which gives me a sense of unhappiness for how most Americans live their daily lives by paying off their debts, trying to work their way around a capital, how a mother had given birth, how one eat, all affects Americans in many ways where it becomes an even greater issue than it already is.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
AWOL - Collapse Assignment 2
TEOTWAWKI - The End Of The World As We Know It
In class, many ideas have been brought up to how America or other countries similar to America, will eventually collapse. Ideas of the government falling--an economic collapse-- which could lead to a political strike, creating stress on the government, is one huge domino affect to the economy falling. Other factors that may contribute to a collapse in our civilization is the theory of 2012 and the end of the world, religion and the rapture (The book of Revelations - THE BIBLE), "resource depletion" (Ben Sherry), the food chain falling apart, drastic changes in the weather, corrupt leaders, etc. Regardless of it being a slow or fast process, possibly anything, in my opinion, could lead to a collapse in our civilization.
Now, let’s be more specific. Ben brings up how resource depletion that will cause a collapse in our society--also known as the lack of resources. Because America has this kind of addiction where we like to take advantage of the given/ stolen resources that are offered to us, it has caused many of us to be unaware of the serious consequences that could happen if all of the major resources were used. Oil being a major issue in America has affected many of those who use oil on a daily basis, especially to many car-drivers across the country. Gas prices have instantaneously increased roughly between the years 2002 and 2008:
http://zfacts.com/p/35.html
Many Americans do not realize that being so dependent on the use of oil for almost everything can and currently is damaging our way of living, which will lead to a collapse later in life. According to the Chicago Tribune, "the consequences would be unimaginable. Permanent fuel shortages would tip the world into a generations-long economic depression. Millions would lose their jobs as industry implodes. Farm tractors would be idled for lack of fuel, triggering massive famines. Energy wars would flare. And carless suburbanites would trudge to their nearest big box stores, not to buy Chinese made clothing transported cheaply across the globe, but to scavenge glass and copper wire from abandoned buildings" (http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/) In relation to the cars, which use about To many hybrid cars and cars that only run by electricity, it would take twice as more oil for a company to make a hybrid car in comparison to making a regular car just because much more is needed for a hybrid/electric car start up. Because everything is made up of/by oil, it would be almost impossible for society today to try and readjust itself to not using oil. In the whole world, oil if being divided between various countries where an amount is offered to use among the people and through businesses. However, according to the movie Crude Awakening, 25% of oil is being used currently by the U.S. when only 2% should be used. Many people are in desperate need to understand the many cons in HAVING to use oil as major resource. America has this mind set on motivating the people of America to think they have so much being offered when actually there is almost little to none that is available for the country. In Crude Awakening, the movie almost mentioned how "Humans are inextinguishable--Americans will always have more solutions". If there is an issue with how nature is interfering with modern technology and 'America's way of living', then America will try to make their way around the situation by eliminating the issue from their goals. If that creates another issue, America will find another way to fix the problem. ---But what happens when all the oil is lost?
"the world may never know"
In class, many ideas have been brought up to how America or other countries similar to America, will eventually collapse. Ideas of the government falling--an economic collapse-- which could lead to a political strike, creating stress on the government, is one huge domino affect to the economy falling. Other factors that may contribute to a collapse in our civilization is the theory of 2012 and the end of the world, religion and the rapture (The book of Revelations - THE BIBLE), "resource depletion" (Ben Sherry), the food chain falling apart, drastic changes in the weather, corrupt leaders, etc. Regardless of it being a slow or fast process, possibly anything, in my opinion, could lead to a collapse in our civilization.
Now, let’s be more specific. Ben brings up how resource depletion that will cause a collapse in our society--also known as the lack of resources. Because America has this kind of addiction where we like to take advantage of the given/ stolen resources that are offered to us, it has caused many of us to be unaware of the serious consequences that could happen if all of the major resources were used. Oil being a major issue in America has affected many of those who use oil on a daily basis, especially to many car-drivers across the country. Gas prices have instantaneously increased roughly between the years 2002 and 2008:
http://zfacts.com/p/35.html
Many Americans do not realize that being so dependent on the use of oil for almost everything can and currently is damaging our way of living, which will lead to a collapse later in life. According to the Chicago Tribune, "the consequences would be unimaginable. Permanent fuel shortages would tip the world into a generations-long economic depression. Millions would lose their jobs as industry implodes. Farm tractors would be idled for lack of fuel, triggering massive famines. Energy wars would flare. And carless suburbanites would trudge to their nearest big box stores, not to buy Chinese made clothing transported cheaply across the globe, but to scavenge glass and copper wire from abandoned buildings" (http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/) In relation to the cars, which use about To many hybrid cars and cars that only run by electricity, it would take twice as more oil for a company to make a hybrid car in comparison to making a regular car just because much more is needed for a hybrid/electric car start up. Because everything is made up of/by oil, it would be almost impossible for society today to try and readjust itself to not using oil. In the whole world, oil if being divided between various countries where an amount is offered to use among the people and through businesses. However, according to the movie Crude Awakening, 25% of oil is being used currently by the U.S. when only 2% should be used. Many people are in desperate need to understand the many cons in HAVING to use oil as major resource. America has this mind set on motivating the people of America to think they have so much being offered when actually there is almost little to none that is available for the country. In Crude Awakening, the movie almost mentioned how "Humans are inextinguishable--Americans will always have more solutions". If there is an issue with how nature is interfering with modern technology and 'America's way of living', then America will try to make their way around the situation by eliminating the issue from their goals. If that creates another issue, America will find another way to fix the problem. ---But what happens when all the oil is lost?
"the world may never know"
Monday, June 8, 2009
AWOL - Collapse Assignment 1
In the Easter Island reading, I thought it was interesting how the islanders "owned no cranes, no wheels, no machines, no metal tools, no draft animals, and no means other than human muscle power to transport and raise the statues" (Collapse - Page 1). The thought of having no use of machines that involves the use of oil-the fundamental base of the world's economy-to survive seems possible for the fact that other places/countries, like Easter Island, have survived for a great amount of years without the use of oil-machinery. Researchers "found that 50 to 70 people, working five hours per day and dragging the sled five yards at each pull, could transport an averaged-sized 12-ton statue nine miles in a week" (Collapse - Page 6). Easter Island's civilization differentiates from the way we live our life in America or other countries who are technologically more advanced by being extremely dependent on the use of computers, television, transportation vehicles: cars, trains, planes, boats, in order to survive in the world. Although Polynesians and other native islanders in the past were reliant on boats and possibly the use of wagons, never has it occurred to them to use oil to fuel boats and other transportation vehicles until the mid 1800s. At this point, it has made me question if our civilization would be any different to Easter Island's civilization.
The Polynesians have had a successful way of living until the "Easter Islanders got into difficulties, there was nowhere to which they could flee, not to which they could turn for help; no shall modern Earthlings have resource elsewhere if our troubles increase" (Collapse - Page 13). Aside from having the lack of resources to provide for the Polynesian community, the people-in my opinion-were not exactly aware of having a collapse anytime soon. As disagreements were being made about leaders and the sizes of their statues, the island as a whole started to disintegrate, causing many Polynesians to kill each other as well. Imagine our civilization as it was hundreds of years ago when America was limited to just traveling by horse or by wagon--with a horse, or a boat with sails. Obviously, as the years progressed, America's technology has grown til this day, but lets say that America was as limited as it was on Easter Island. If you place a handful of America's Government, a huge handful of American citizens & 'undocumented' people, and a couple of animals, what kind of society would 'mini-America' become? & lets also substitute the Easter Island statues with monuments of presidents past. Honestly, the collapse of 'mini-America' would be just as similar to how the Polynesians collapsed. Although they were not exactly aware of killing off every living thing that was on the island by cutting down trees and killing people, their only purpose of doing so was in order to survive and to show their disapproval of their way of living under leaders and their religion. The Polynesians did not PURPOSELY kill off everything to produce some kind of 'new economic growth'--as America would call it. 'Mini-America', on the other hand, would have ignorantly cause a collapse by corrupting every living person on the island to supply and serve the 'government' that is placed on the island---keep in mind that the people on 'mini-America' have no use of any kind of modern technology. Because the people of 'mini-America' are not able to adapt to 'the wild'--as many would call it, civilization will slowly come to an end unless a compromise is made, which of course, with America, it is less likely to happen.
"Thanks to globalization, international trade, jet planes, and the internet, all countries on Earth today share resources and affect each other, just as did Easter's dozen clans" (Collapse - Page 13).
The Polynesians have had a successful way of living until the "Easter Islanders got into difficulties, there was nowhere to which they could flee, not to which they could turn for help; no shall modern Earthlings have resource elsewhere if our troubles increase" (Collapse - Page 13). Aside from having the lack of resources to provide for the Polynesian community, the people-in my opinion-were not exactly aware of having a collapse anytime soon. As disagreements were being made about leaders and the sizes of their statues, the island as a whole started to disintegrate, causing many Polynesians to kill each other as well. Imagine our civilization as it was hundreds of years ago when America was limited to just traveling by horse or by wagon--with a horse, or a boat with sails. Obviously, as the years progressed, America's technology has grown til this day, but lets say that America was as limited as it was on Easter Island. If you place a handful of America's Government, a huge handful of American citizens & 'undocumented' people, and a couple of animals, what kind of society would 'mini-America' become? & lets also substitute the Easter Island statues with monuments of presidents past. Honestly, the collapse of 'mini-America' would be just as similar to how the Polynesians collapsed. Although they were not exactly aware of killing off every living thing that was on the island by cutting down trees and killing people, their only purpose of doing so was in order to survive and to show their disapproval of their way of living under leaders and their religion. The Polynesians did not PURPOSELY kill off everything to produce some kind of 'new economic growth'--as America would call it. 'Mini-America', on the other hand, would have ignorantly cause a collapse by corrupting every living person on the island to supply and serve the 'government' that is placed on the island---keep in mind that the people on 'mini-America' have no use of any kind of modern technology. Because the people of 'mini-America' are not able to adapt to 'the wild'--as many would call it, civilization will slowly come to an end unless a compromise is made, which of course, with America, it is less likely to happen.
"Thanks to globalization, international trade, jet planes, and the internet, all countries on Earth today share resources and affect each other, just as did Easter's dozen clans" (Collapse - Page 13).
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
AWOF - Final Food Assignment
In the Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan says "Whatever native wisdom we once have possessed about eating has been replaced by confusion and anxiety. Somehow this most elemental of activities-figuring out what to eat-has come to require a remarkable amount of expert help." The main issue in America is that "we as a culture lack a stable food culture like the Italians or French, are obsessed with health, are confused and anxious about food, and therefore easily succumb to various expert-directed food fads." People are overly concerned about how to maintain a healthier lifestyle when in reality; people are abusing their bodies by eating unnecessary foods that may/can lead to an unfortunate death.
In reference to the movie ‘Supersize Me’—a documentary about the industrial fast food restaurant McDonalds, shares fact about how McDonalds could be a danger to your health if it is constantly being eaten. The man behind the documentary, Morgan Spurlock, emphasizes that McDonalds is in fact bad for ones health. He proves this common theory—made by other Americans as well—by setting himself to eat McDonalds every day, for one month to show the great effects McDonalds has on the human body. In the process of showing viewers the cons about industrial fast food restaurants, like McDonalds, Spurlock notices how McDonalds is now trying to make their menu a little more healthier by adding salads and meals that may help one’s diet, though, “at the same time, […] they also masterminded one of their fattest sandwiches to date: the McGriddle. A pancake-wrapped creation […] but can pack as much fat as a Big Mac, and have more sugar than a pack of McDonaldland cookies. In fact, their new premium ranch chicken salad with dressing delivers more calories than a Big Mac and 51 grams of fat, 79% of your daily fat intake. Over the course of my McDiet, I consumed 30 pounds of sugar from their food. That's a pound a day” (Morgan Spurlock – Supersize Me).
Morgan Spurlock also argues how companies like McDonalds will not change their way due to the fact that McDonalds is a growing company—“Their loyalty isn't to you, it's to the stockholders. The bottom line: They're a business, no matter what they say. And by selling you unhealthy food, they make millions. And no company wants to stop doing that. If this ever-growing paradigm is going to shift, it's up to you. But if you decide to keep living this way, go ahead. Over time, you may find yourself getting as sick as I did. And you may wind up [at a emergency room or cemetery]” (Morgan Spurlock – Supersize Me).
In relation to the idea of people being overly obsessed to maintain a healthier lifestyle, a lot of people do believe that the salads at McDonalds or Wendy’s perhaps, will not affect their diet, when little do they know that that meal is jammed-pack with same amount of calories as a regular cheeseburger and fries. Because of the misunderstanding of how effective fast food restaurants could affect ones health, it has been recent that almost every fast food joint has displayed a nutrition facts poster of how much carbs, calories, sodium, etc is contained in one meal. It is important for people to understand the negative effect fast food can have on a person’s body. Although it is important to enjoy eating food, it does not mean to enjoy eating fast food that has a serving size equivalent to three days worth of food.
The argument against McDonalds is relevant to ‘The Meatrix’—a short film that includes different facts about how animals are treated before they are packaged and sold to restaurants across the country. Similar to the movie ‘The Matrix’, ‘The Meatrix’ introduces a farm animal—a pig named Leo—who is informed by a team of animals led by a cow named Moofeus, tries to explain the reality of packaged foods and how the industry could careless how the animals are treated. “Everyday we get closer to an epidemic that must be stopped […] but it is not too late, there is a resistance” (The Meatrix). Moofeus insists that one can prevent industrial factories from killing animals—through abuse and drugs—by informing others about the how animals are treated through pictures, video, articles, documents and by logging on to this website: http://www.themeatrix.com/inside/ . Unfortunately, Americans are ignorant to understand the real issue animal cruelty within the food industry and how it affects the human body, physically, and how it can dramatically change ones lifestyle by slowly changing his/her eating habits to a more healthier-enjoyable way of eating food. A solution to preventing animal cruelty is to possibly become vegan—“a strict vegetarian who consumes no animal food or dairy products ; also : one who abstains from using animal products (as leather)” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vegan).
.
Similar to ‘The Meatrix’, a video on www.ChooseVeg.com shows a video on how chickens, turkeys, cows and pigs are treated before being slaughtered in the slaughter houses. The video emphasizes how “Life on the farm isn't what it used to be. The green pastures and idyllic barnyard scenes portrayed in children's books have been replaced by windowless sheds, tiny crates, wire cages, and other confinement systems integral to what is now known as ‘factory farming’” (www.ChooseVeg.com). It is sad to see how animal abuse is used to tame the animals to become a necessity in society. The abuse of animals in slaughter houses and ‘farms’ relates back to the idea of humans maintaining a healthier lifestyle by explaining to many people who are on their diets that a possible-successful way live a healthy life is to become vegan, or at least vegetarian—to the extent where the person can understand where their food comes from and enjoy it without having to feel guilty of how it was made or how much calories/carbs/sodium/etc. is contained in the product/meal.
In reference to the movie ‘Supersize Me’—a documentary about the industrial fast food restaurant McDonalds, shares fact about how McDonalds could be a danger to your health if it is constantly being eaten. The man behind the documentary, Morgan Spurlock, emphasizes that McDonalds is in fact bad for ones health. He proves this common theory—made by other Americans as well—by setting himself to eat McDonalds every day, for one month to show the great effects McDonalds has on the human body. In the process of showing viewers the cons about industrial fast food restaurants, like McDonalds, Spurlock notices how McDonalds is now trying to make their menu a little more healthier by adding salads and meals that may help one’s diet, though, “at the same time, […] they also masterminded one of their fattest sandwiches to date: the McGriddle. A pancake-wrapped creation […] but can pack as much fat as a Big Mac, and have more sugar than a pack of McDonaldland cookies. In fact, their new premium ranch chicken salad with dressing delivers more calories than a Big Mac and 51 grams of fat, 79% of your daily fat intake. Over the course of my McDiet, I consumed 30 pounds of sugar from their food. That's a pound a day” (Morgan Spurlock – Supersize Me).
Morgan Spurlock also argues how companies like McDonalds will not change their way due to the fact that McDonalds is a growing company—“Their loyalty isn't to you, it's to the stockholders. The bottom line: They're a business, no matter what they say. And by selling you unhealthy food, they make millions. And no company wants to stop doing that. If this ever-growing paradigm is going to shift, it's up to you. But if you decide to keep living this way, go ahead. Over time, you may find yourself getting as sick as I did. And you may wind up [at a emergency room or cemetery]” (Morgan Spurlock – Supersize Me).
In relation to the idea of people being overly obsessed to maintain a healthier lifestyle, a lot of people do believe that the salads at McDonalds or Wendy’s perhaps, will not affect their diet, when little do they know that that meal is jammed-pack with same amount of calories as a regular cheeseburger and fries. Because of the misunderstanding of how effective fast food restaurants could affect ones health, it has been recent that almost every fast food joint has displayed a nutrition facts poster of how much carbs, calories, sodium, etc is contained in one meal. It is important for people to understand the negative effect fast food can have on a person’s body. Although it is important to enjoy eating food, it does not mean to enjoy eating fast food that has a serving size equivalent to three days worth of food.
The argument against McDonalds is relevant to ‘The Meatrix’—a short film that includes different facts about how animals are treated before they are packaged and sold to restaurants across the country. Similar to the movie ‘The Matrix’, ‘The Meatrix’ introduces a farm animal—a pig named Leo—who is informed by a team of animals led by a cow named Moofeus, tries to explain the reality of packaged foods and how the industry could careless how the animals are treated. “Everyday we get closer to an epidemic that must be stopped […] but it is not too late, there is a resistance” (The Meatrix). Moofeus insists that one can prevent industrial factories from killing animals—through abuse and drugs—by informing others about the how animals are treated through pictures, video, articles, documents and by logging on to this website: http://www.themeatrix.com/inside/ . Unfortunately, Americans are ignorant to understand the real issue animal cruelty within the food industry and how it affects the human body, physically, and how it can dramatically change ones lifestyle by slowly changing his/her eating habits to a more healthier-enjoyable way of eating food. A solution to preventing animal cruelty is to possibly become vegan—“a strict vegetarian who consumes no animal food or dairy products ; also : one who abstains from using animal products (as leather)” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vegan).
.
Similar to ‘The Meatrix’, a video on www.ChooseVeg.com shows a video on how chickens, turkeys, cows and pigs are treated before being slaughtered in the slaughter houses. The video emphasizes how “Life on the farm isn't what it used to be. The green pastures and idyllic barnyard scenes portrayed in children's books have been replaced by windowless sheds, tiny crates, wire cages, and other confinement systems integral to what is now known as ‘factory farming’” (www.ChooseVeg.com). It is sad to see how animal abuse is used to tame the animals to become a necessity in society. The abuse of animals in slaughter houses and ‘farms’ relates back to the idea of humans maintaining a healthier lifestyle by explaining to many people who are on their diets that a possible-successful way live a healthy life is to become vegan, or at least vegetarian—to the extent where the person can understand where their food comes from and enjoy it without having to feel guilty of how it was made or how much calories/carbs/sodium/etc. is contained in the product/meal.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
AWOF - Food Recipe
Homemade Sorbet
--I actually make this at home when I am craving something cold to eat. My family does not really stock up on ice cream, though we do have frozen/fresh fruits at home where I am able to make my own sorbet.
You will need:
1 cup of frozen strawberries
1/4 - 1/2 cup of orange or apple juice (any kind of juice would be fine)
A blender
1. Pour strawberries into the blender
2. Pour the juice into the blender
3. Press and hold the mix button on your blender for about 1-2 mins.
Make sure you do not over blend the sorbet, unless you want to have a a kind of smoothie.
-> Add sugar if you would like. I usually do not add sugar because the juice is to help break down the strawberries and act as the sugar to sweeten the sorbet.
--I actually make this at home when I am craving something cold to eat. My family does not really stock up on ice cream, though we do have frozen/fresh fruits at home where I am able to make my own sorbet.
You will need:
1 cup of frozen strawberries
1/4 - 1/2 cup of orange or apple juice (any kind of juice would be fine)
A blender
1. Pour strawberries into the blender
2. Pour the juice into the blender
3. Press and hold the mix button on your blender for about 1-2 mins.
Make sure you do not over blend the sorbet, unless you want to have a a kind of smoothie.
-> Add sugar if you would like. I usually do not add sugar because the juice is to help break down the strawberries and act as the sugar to sweeten the sorbet.
AWOF - Response to Pollan
"Whatever native wisdom we once have possesed about eating has been replaced by confusion and anxiety. Somehow this most elemental of activities-figuring out what to eat-has come to require a remarkable amount of expert help." (Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan)
According to Pollan's, 'Omnivore's Dilemma', "we as a culture lack a stable food culture like the Italians or French, are obsessed with health, are confused and anxious about food, and therefore easily succumb to various expert-directed food fads." This does not really apply to my family. My family is one of the many people who are concerned about their health,however the idea of 'eating healthy' is not as affective to us than it is to many people. On a daily bases, most adults watch what they eat by counting carbs, calories, sodium--pretty much what ever is on the nutrition facts of every product. My family rarely looks at the nutrition facts. Although it may be very convenient for us to read what is exactly in our food, [i think i speak for everybody in my family that] we feel that it is important to eat the three meals a day--and to make sure you finish what is on you plate-- just as long as they are small portions. I am not saying that we eat shit out of our asses and eat what ever we see, we do actually 'watch what we eat', although we are not as cautious as 'most Americans'--as my dad would say. My parents [in this case] do not read health books that regard 'how a healthy person should live' or follow what scientists, journalists, chefs, commercials or nutritionists propose in how to live a 'healthy life'. Although all sources may be provided [for my dad specifically due to his past heart attacks], my parents are honestly ignorant to pay attention to those and would rather follow their own diet-- which I do not think is necessarily a 'bad' thing to do.
Ever since my dad had his 4th heart attack, he has been very cautious about what he eats. Now-a-days, he has been cutting out of his strict diet and has been eating foods that he actually enjoys eat--Filipino food. Because Filipino includes a large amount of meat and vegetables, he has learned to eat smaller servings/portions. With that he was able to lose 30-40 lbs in just 2-3 weeks after his heart attack.
With all honesty, I think it is pathetic how so many people can watch what they eat. It may be 'healthy' in some cases to eat a less amount of calories/carbs etc etc, but Pollan is right, "Whatever native wisdom we once have possesed about eating has been replaced by confusion and anxiety" (Pollan 1). People are overly concerned about what is in their food rather than just enjoying the food that is in front of them--& to those who just eat to energize are also too ignorant to realize that they have 'the power' to stop the bad habit. It is also unfortunate how many Americans become bulimic or anorexic, [& i may be one minded for expressing this] when the main issue should not be about not eating anything at all. In my opinion, people should eat what ever they please to eat--just stay away from the fast food restaurants-- and to stay active, and eat smaller portions! "Super-sized portions are an important reason why 66.3 percent of Americans are overweight. Large portions contribute directly to the number of calories we consume."
According to Pollan's, 'Omnivore's Dilemma', "we as a culture lack a stable food culture like the Italians or French, are obsessed with health, are confused and anxious about food, and therefore easily succumb to various expert-directed food fads." This does not really apply to my family. My family is one of the many people who are concerned about their health,however the idea of 'eating healthy' is not as affective to us than it is to many people. On a daily bases, most adults watch what they eat by counting carbs, calories, sodium--pretty much what ever is on the nutrition facts of every product. My family rarely looks at the nutrition facts. Although it may be very convenient for us to read what is exactly in our food, [i think i speak for everybody in my family that] we feel that it is important to eat the three meals a day--and to make sure you finish what is on you plate-- just as long as they are small portions. I am not saying that we eat shit out of our asses and eat what ever we see, we do actually 'watch what we eat', although we are not as cautious as 'most Americans'--as my dad would say. My parents [in this case] do not read health books that regard 'how a healthy person should live' or follow what scientists, journalists, chefs, commercials or nutritionists propose in how to live a 'healthy life'. Although all sources may be provided [for my dad specifically due to his past heart attacks], my parents are honestly ignorant to pay attention to those and would rather follow their own diet-- which I do not think is necessarily a 'bad' thing to do.
Ever since my dad had his 4th heart attack, he has been very cautious about what he eats. Now-a-days, he has been cutting out of his strict diet and has been eating foods that he actually enjoys eat--Filipino food. Because Filipino includes a large amount of meat and vegetables, he has learned to eat smaller servings/portions. With that he was able to lose 30-40 lbs in just 2-3 weeks after his heart attack.
With all honesty, I think it is pathetic how so many people can watch what they eat. It may be 'healthy' in some cases to eat a less amount of calories/carbs etc etc, but Pollan is right, "Whatever native wisdom we once have possesed about eating has been replaced by confusion and anxiety" (Pollan 1). People are overly concerned about what is in their food rather than just enjoying the food that is in front of them--& to those who just eat to energize are also too ignorant to realize that they have 'the power' to stop the bad habit. It is also unfortunate how many Americans become bulimic or anorexic, [& i may be one minded for expressing this] when the main issue should not be about not eating anything at all. In my opinion, people should eat what ever they please to eat--just stay away from the fast food restaurants-- and to stay active, and eat smaller portions! "Super-sized portions are an important reason why 66.3 percent of Americans are overweight. Large portions contribute directly to the number of calories we consume."
Thursday, May 7, 2009
AWOL - May Day
According to Wikipedia, May Day is "a celebration of the social and economic achievements of the international labor movement." May Day, also known as 'International Workers Day', roots back to 1886 a general strike for an 8-hour work day was taken place in Chicago where police killed/arrested protesters. In remembrance of that day, countries from all over the world celebrate the day on the first of May to stop work. Though many countries are involved, the United States has to be one of the few countries that celebrates May Day effectively like every other country like Napal, Japan, Brazil, and many countries in Europe. In the United States, May Day has been recognized in selected parts of the country such as Minneapolis and Union Square in New York City.
Because I live down the block from Union Square, every year I am able to witness for what I thought was an 'immigrant protest' which turns out to be the May Day Parade. I only thought it was an immigrant protest because I saw many flags that were standing high, which also included the Filipino flag, and many other countries in Asia and South America. Then, when I was not aware of what the purpose of the protest was--I still felt proud that Filipinos and other people of ethnic backgrounds were demanding what they thought was right. NOW, I finally know what the rally was all about.
In the United States, 'Workers Day' is also known as 'Labor Day' which is not celebrated on May 1st. It is rather celebrated on September 7Th of every year. While most Americans are confused about May Day--forgetting the workers' holiday show the fundamental aspects of the AWOL of how Americans do not value the true understanding of what made options possible for workers today. Although many workers are struggling as bad as those who are not even employed, many still do not know the meaning behind May Day, and I feel that if more people were aware of May Day (both groups that are and are not employed) then there would be a bigger movement taken place in the United States.
Because I live down the block from Union Square, every year I am able to witness for what I thought was an 'immigrant protest' which turns out to be the May Day Parade. I only thought it was an immigrant protest because I saw many flags that were standing high, which also included the Filipino flag, and many other countries in Asia and South America. Then, when I was not aware of what the purpose of the protest was--I still felt proud that Filipinos and other people of ethnic backgrounds were demanding what they thought was right. NOW, I finally know what the rally was all about.
In the United States, 'Workers Day' is also known as 'Labor Day' which is not celebrated on May 1st. It is rather celebrated on September 7Th of every year. While most Americans are confused about May Day--forgetting the workers' holiday show the fundamental aspects of the AWOL of how Americans do not value the true understanding of what made options possible for workers today. Although many workers are struggling as bad as those who are not even employed, many still do not know the meaning behind May Day, and I feel that if more people were aware of May Day (both groups that are and are not employed) then there would be a bigger movement taken place in the United States.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
AWOF - Grocery Store and Habitual Food Assignment
Here is a list of stores my family buys their groceries: BJs, Costco, Food Emporium, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and East-West (an Asian food market in New Jersey). My parents usually buy a lot of fruit from BJs and Costco just because it is the same price for three times the amount of fruit compared to the fruit food emporium has. MY parents would buy their vegetables in East-West where the mostly use the vegetables in our home cooked meals of Filipino food. Rarely do we eat salad--at least i don't--but if salad were eaten, its usually store bought where the people make the salad for us. We buy rice and nuts at East-West every two weeks. At times we would buy white rice, other times brown rice. With nuts, my parents will usually buy dried peanuts. Sometimes we cook the peanuts where its moist--but its been a while since we've done that.
[my own] typical week, I would not eat breakfast, though i do snack during the day on either a granola bar or fruit. If i do not snack then i will not eat during the day. I will have to wait til lunch time--during a school day--to eat. When I am at home, my go to meal is a sandwich. It does not really matter what kind of sandwich, sometimes it is a jelly sandwich or turkey sandwich. And I will always have fruit once a day. Other times I will eat Filipino food--Filipino bread called 'pan de sal' or what ever my mom makes. Sometimes I refuse to eat some of the food she makes because it has some ingredients that i do not like, like salmon or ginger, onion. If that were the case, i just do not eat at all.
I feel that the food i eat on a typical week differs from the rest of my family--mom, dad & sister-- because they are not picky eaters like me. Yesterday's class work actually surprised me when I happened to be the only student that had the least amount of fruits, vegetables and grains & nuts eaten per week. It honestly inspired me to eat more varieties of foods, however i do not know how I could/would manage to eat so much food, as Andy mentioned in class. Though i had only seven kinds of food on my list, which include: Strawberries, string beans, pine apple, bananas, wheat, rice, lettuce, I do not think I am an unhealthy person. I just think i that my options are just limited because i am very picky with food.
When the class and I observed two different grocery stores, one being Trader Joes and the other being Associated, both stores were laid out somewhat similar than expected. In Trader Joes--which happens to be very cheap for some of its products, had bananas that were 19 cents each, while in most grocery stores like Associated has bananas more than 19 cents per banana. Usually grocery stores charge by the pound, rarely do they charge the fruit/vegetables individual price of just one fruit or vegetable. Both stores had a similar lay out where all of the fruits and veggies were displayed as you walked into the store while most of the frozen foods were stocked into freezers in the middle of the store or way into the back of the store. I think the display alone urges me to buy fruits and vegetables when walking into a supermarket.
[my own] typical week, I would not eat breakfast, though i do snack during the day on either a granola bar or fruit. If i do not snack then i will not eat during the day. I will have to wait til lunch time--during a school day--to eat. When I am at home, my go to meal is a sandwich. It does not really matter what kind of sandwich, sometimes it is a jelly sandwich or turkey sandwich. And I will always have fruit once a day. Other times I will eat Filipino food--Filipino bread called 'pan de sal' or what ever my mom makes. Sometimes I refuse to eat some of the food she makes because it has some ingredients that i do not like, like salmon or ginger, onion. If that were the case, i just do not eat at all.
I feel that the food i eat on a typical week differs from the rest of my family--mom, dad & sister-- because they are not picky eaters like me. Yesterday's class work actually surprised me when I happened to be the only student that had the least amount of fruits, vegetables and grains & nuts eaten per week. It honestly inspired me to eat more varieties of foods, however i do not know how I could/would manage to eat so much food, as Andy mentioned in class. Though i had only seven kinds of food on my list, which include: Strawberries, string beans, pine apple, bananas, wheat, rice, lettuce, I do not think I am an unhealthy person. I just think i that my options are just limited because i am very picky with food.
When the class and I observed two different grocery stores, one being Trader Joes and the other being Associated, both stores were laid out somewhat similar than expected. In Trader Joes--which happens to be very cheap for some of its products, had bananas that were 19 cents each, while in most grocery stores like Associated has bananas more than 19 cents per banana. Usually grocery stores charge by the pound, rarely do they charge the fruit/vegetables individual price of just one fruit or vegetable. Both stores had a similar lay out where all of the fruits and veggies were displayed as you walked into the store while most of the frozen foods were stocked into freezers in the middle of the store or way into the back of the store. I think the display alone urges me to buy fruits and vegetables when walking into a supermarket.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
AWOF - Food Journal
For the past 24 hours i have eaten the following:
Tues April 28:
Breakfast -
Skipped the meal. I do not eat breakfast because I usually do not have the time to or i am just not that hungry to eat. Because i haven't been eating breakfast for most of my life, I am at the point where i am used to not eating at all---in the morning that is. People always tell me that I should eat breakfast because its the most important meal of the day.... it doesn't really hit me much. If i were to eat breakfast, I would usually skip lunch because of getting full during breakfast.
Lunch-
I ate subways. I bought a foot long sub, a drink and cookies. If i am in the mood i would manage to get myself chips instead of cookies. Before eating the subway sandwich, I was hungry, but after eating just only half of the sandwich i was already full, so i saved the sandwich for later which ended up being my dinner. I noticed that lately i haven't been finishing my food and I think its because i talk when i eat [as in, i eat my food --chew & swallow-- then pause to talk].
Dinner-
For dinner I ate the other half of the subway sandwich and drank water. Unlike lunch where I only have 50 minutes to eat, It took me about an hour and probably 10-20 minutes because I took my time eating. During the time my parents were around so I was talking to them while eating my food --same routine of eat--chew & swallow, then pause to talk. I was not watching TV at the time, but I was on my computer watching video clips on YouTube.
Weds April 29:
Breakfast-
Once again I did not eat anything for breakfast.
Lunch-
Popeye's. I ordered chicken fingers and fries. This time I finished my food and took my time eating. The food was cooked by the workers of Popeye's who kept screaming every time an order was made by the register. It didn't seem necessary for the workers to yell--they were literally 2 feet away from each other.
Dinner-
Because it was Angela [Powe's] birthday, my friends and I celebrated her birthday in Olive Garden on 22nd Street and 6th ave. I ate a piece of Lasagna, alfredo & noodles, and chicken parmesan. My order came with a little bit of everything--sort of like a sampler. I used a fork and spoon neatly wrap the noodles around my fork. I didn't get to finish my food. I ended up offering everybody a piece of my left-overs which they accepted.
Tues April 28:
Breakfast -
Skipped the meal. I do not eat breakfast because I usually do not have the time to or i am just not that hungry to eat. Because i haven't been eating breakfast for most of my life, I am at the point where i am used to not eating at all---in the morning that is. People always tell me that I should eat breakfast because its the most important meal of the day.... it doesn't really hit me much. If i were to eat breakfast, I would usually skip lunch because of getting full during breakfast.
Lunch-
I ate subways. I bought a foot long sub, a drink and cookies. If i am in the mood i would manage to get myself chips instead of cookies. Before eating the subway sandwich, I was hungry, but after eating just only half of the sandwich i was already full, so i saved the sandwich for later which ended up being my dinner. I noticed that lately i haven't been finishing my food and I think its because i talk when i eat [as in, i eat my food --chew & swallow-- then pause to talk].
Dinner-
For dinner I ate the other half of the subway sandwich and drank water. Unlike lunch where I only have 50 minutes to eat, It took me about an hour and probably 10-20 minutes because I took my time eating. During the time my parents were around so I was talking to them while eating my food --same routine of eat--chew & swallow, then pause to talk. I was not watching TV at the time, but I was on my computer watching video clips on YouTube.
Weds April 29:
Breakfast-
Once again I did not eat anything for breakfast.
Lunch-
Popeye's. I ordered chicken fingers and fries. This time I finished my food and took my time eating. The food was cooked by the workers of Popeye's who kept screaming every time an order was made by the register. It didn't seem necessary for the workers to yell--they were literally 2 feet away from each other.
Dinner-
Because it was Angela [Powe's] birthday, my friends and I celebrated her birthday in Olive Garden on 22nd Street and 6th ave. I ate a piece of Lasagna, alfredo & noodles, and chicken parmesan. My order came with a little bit of everything--sort of like a sampler. I used a fork and spoon neatly wrap the noodles around my fork. I didn't get to finish my food. I ended up offering everybody a piece of my left-overs which they accepted.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
AWOF - Internet Research (Research one question)
Is watching my calories necessary to lose weight? What about carbs?
According to Suzanne Schlosberg of http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0846/is_9_23/ai_n6004494/ , Heidi Reichenberger, M.S., R.D., a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association believes that counting calories is more necessary than counting carbs when trying to lose weight. Usually foods that are high in fat are also high in calories--little do people know is that although eating less amount of fattening foods would help weight loss, some fattening foods are actually healthy for the body. Though fatty foods, like those that have high trans-fat, people should try to limit, such like fast food, cookies, cake---junk food in general.
"In short, if you watch your portion sizes and eat a wide variety of foods, Reichenberger says, "you shouldn't have to count anything. That just takes the fun out of eating."
According to Suzanne Schlosberg of http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0846/is_9_23/ai_n6004494/ , Heidi Reichenberger, M.S., R.D., a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association believes that counting calories is more necessary than counting carbs when trying to lose weight. Usually foods that are high in fat are also high in calories--little do people know is that although eating less amount of fattening foods would help weight loss, some fattening foods are actually healthy for the body. Though fatty foods, like those that have high trans-fat, people should try to limit, such like fast food, cookies, cake---junk food in general.
"In short, if you watch your portion sizes and eat a wide variety of foods, Reichenberger says, "you shouldn't have to count anything. That just takes the fun out of eating."
AWOF - Food Cultures - Home & Corporate
Food in my family has been an issue for many years. Not that we can not afford food, but we have bad eating habits. My father has a bad history of eating a lot of food, regardless of it being healthy or unhealthy. We do own 'junk' food--your typical chips, cookies and ice cream, however in our household the only drinks allowed is water. Never has it occurred to us to buy soda, for many years, and because of that, our family is used to just drinking water.
In terms of eating, for the past years my family has been trying to eat more healthier due to my father's past heart attacks. We, or they--my parents, in this case, have been trying to cut back on eating large portions and rather having smaller portions. We have also tried to cut back on eating salty foods and with foods that 'need' salt, we have also tried avoiding adding salt to our food as well.
As Filipinos, we are very family oriented, however we are slowly starting to break out of that habit of having a 'family oriented' meal where we eat together and talk about our day like 'most Americans' would. Now a days we would just come home at our own times and eat individually in our own rooms. Mos tof the time my parents are always eating together, while my sister and I are in our own rooms eating--usually eating and doing homework, watching tv or on the computer.
With our own food, we try to avoid ordering take-out food. My family likes to cook large home cooked meals so it could last us during the weekday. In America, the 'dominant white culture's way of food usually revolves around fast food--mostly ordering take-out food or eating in a restaurant. Although some Americans do try to 'watch their weight' by sticking to diets, I personally think that by doing so will have the person tempted to eat what he/she cannot eat, which breaks him/her into their own bad habit. Also, Americans are ignorant to realize that salads at McDonald's to NOT work. As a whole, i think Americans are aware of what makes him/her unhealthy, but the fact that they try to avoid the issue makes his/her weight such a big problem to him/her.
My way of eating food is kind of weird. In the mornings I rarely eat breakfast--thats only because i never have the time to. If i do eat breakfast and was given a whole meal like eggs, bread and butter, i would be unable to finish it because i am so used to NOT eating breakfast. Depending if i am on my menstrual cycle, I often eat more than what i can eat. I eat a lot more junk food thank actual food to satisfy my cravings. I hardly eat dinner around that time and am sometimes i am not able to finish my lunch which often becomes my dinner.
As for eating healthy foods, i try my best to not eat a lot of junk that i usually do. I would eat small portions AND big portions depending on how i feel most of the month and will eat less vegetables--i am not a veggie person. Usually i would eat, what most girls would call, 'carbs'--pasta, pizza, bread, sandwiches, etc.
--i'm just very thankful to be an active person.
In terms of eating, for the past years my family has been trying to eat more healthier due to my father's past heart attacks. We, or they--my parents, in this case, have been trying to cut back on eating large portions and rather having smaller portions. We have also tried to cut back on eating salty foods and with foods that 'need' salt, we have also tried avoiding adding salt to our food as well.
As Filipinos, we are very family oriented, however we are slowly starting to break out of that habit of having a 'family oriented' meal where we eat together and talk about our day like 'most Americans' would. Now a days we would just come home at our own times and eat individually in our own rooms. Mos tof the time my parents are always eating together, while my sister and I are in our own rooms eating--usually eating and doing homework, watching tv or on the computer.
With our own food, we try to avoid ordering take-out food. My family likes to cook large home cooked meals so it could last us during the weekday. In America, the 'dominant white culture's way of food usually revolves around fast food--mostly ordering take-out food or eating in a restaurant. Although some Americans do try to 'watch their weight' by sticking to diets, I personally think that by doing so will have the person tempted to eat what he/she cannot eat, which breaks him/her into their own bad habit. Also, Americans are ignorant to realize that salads at McDonald's to NOT work. As a whole, i think Americans are aware of what makes him/her unhealthy, but the fact that they try to avoid the issue makes his/her weight such a big problem to him/her.
My way of eating food is kind of weird. In the mornings I rarely eat breakfast--thats only because i never have the time to. If i do eat breakfast and was given a whole meal like eggs, bread and butter, i would be unable to finish it because i am so used to NOT eating breakfast. Depending if i am on my menstrual cycle, I often eat more than what i can eat. I eat a lot more junk food thank actual food to satisfy my cravings. I hardly eat dinner around that time and am sometimes i am not able to finish my lunch which often becomes my dinner.
As for eating healthy foods, i try my best to not eat a lot of junk that i usually do. I would eat small portions AND big portions depending on how i feel most of the month and will eat less vegetables--i am not a veggie person. Usually i would eat, what most girls would call, 'carbs'--pasta, pizza, bread, sandwiches, etc.
--i'm just very thankful to be an active person.
Monday, April 27, 2009
AWOF - Refrigerator Assignment
Fridge:
-Asian Hot Sauce
-Tabassco
-Teriyaki Sauce
-Strawberry Salad Sauce
-Rice
-Yogurt
-Wheat Bread
-Hummus
-cheese
-soup
-butter
-Water
-A LOT of filipino food [home made]--about 10 containers full
-apple juice
-spanish food left-overs
-maple syrup
lemon juice/lemons
-apples
-garlic
-eggs
-spinach
Freezer:
-Ice Cream
-Waffles
-Pan Cakes
-Coffee Beans
-frozen Strawberries
-Chicken Bake
-shrimp
-dumplings
-Ice packs
I think the food in my family's refrigerator is slightly different then most families in America. Although i have the typical salad dressing, fruits and vegetables--i think what most stands out about my fridge is the fact that my family has Filipino food that holds up most of the fridge. My mom and dad like cooking home cooked meals on the weekend so they cook a lot to try to last us during the week [so we can try avoiding buying take-out food & such]. We have left overs from a previous birthday party from my dad's close friend who is also Filipino, so we have double the amount of Filipino food.
-Asian Hot Sauce
-Tabassco
-Teriyaki Sauce
-Strawberry Salad Sauce
-Rice
-Yogurt
-Wheat Bread
-Hummus
-cheese
-soup
-butter
-Water
-A LOT of filipino food [home made]--about 10 containers full
-apple juice
-spanish food left-overs
-maple syrup
lemon juice/lemons
-apples
-garlic
-eggs
-spinach
Freezer:
-Ice Cream
-Waffles
-Pan Cakes
-Coffee Beans
-frozen Strawberries
-Chicken Bake
-shrimp
-dumplings
-Ice packs
I think the food in my family's refrigerator is slightly different then most families in America. Although i have the typical salad dressing, fruits and vegetables--i think what most stands out about my fridge is the fact that my family has Filipino food that holds up most of the fridge. My mom and dad like cooking home cooked meals on the weekend so they cook a lot to try to last us during the week [so we can try avoiding buying take-out food & such]. We have left overs from a previous birthday party from my dad's close friend who is also Filipino, so we have double the amount of Filipino food.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
AWOP - Break HW
My family's experience with health care was not dramatic as the stories taken place in the movie SiCKO. Through my dad's job, my family [all four members of us] is covered by a private health insurance company called HealthNet. My mom also works for the board of Ed, where she is offered health insurance, however she does not use it due to the fact that she is covered through my dad's job. The health insurance that we are currently using is through a family package.
Between all four members of the family [including myself], I would have to say that my dad and I are the only people in the family who often uses insurance due to his heart condition and my knee injury in the past years. Based on my experiences, I have spent a long time in the emergency room just to get my knee checked out and x-rayed. The first time I went to the emergency room was in 3rd grade, in the hospital of joint diseases. I remember spending about 30-60 minutes to get my broken arm checked out. In my sophomore year of high school, I dislocated my knee for the first time in the middle of basketball practice. While i was laying helplessly on the gym floor, my coach called for an ambulance, which came 20-30 minutes after i dislocated my knee. I arrived at the emergency room in Beth Israel on 16 street and was waiting for about two hours just to get an x-ray and then was brought to another room another hour later for the doctor to take a look at me. The whole process took about 5 - 6 hours. Insurance payed for the emergency room , though there was a co-pay of $25. Insurance also refused to pay for the ambulance, which caused my mom to pay $500 for my dislocated knee to be driven from SOF [on 22nd street] all the way to 16 street--6 blocks and some avenues away from school...wtf.
The second time i dislocated my knee this past January, was taken place in Staten Island. Once again, the coach [from the opposing team] called an ambulance to pick me up--taking about 30-45 minutes for the ambulance to arrive (keep in mind that was the first time in was snowing in NY). The ride to the ambulance, in comparison to my last ambulance ride, was about 20-30 min longer than the 5 minute ride in Manhattan. The time i spent in the emergency room was about 20-30 min (x-rays taking an additional 10 minutes) and was taken into another room to rest & wait for my family. In all it took about 1 hour in Staten island, while it took 5-6 hours in Manhattan. Once again, insurance covered the time i spent in the emergency room, & there was still a co-pay, and refused to pay for the ambulance, though this time, my mom payed only $250.
My family never got to experience heavy bills that could not be payed or was denied treatment, unless you consider refusing to pay for my ambulance bill, then yeah. And never have i experienced a 'loving' doctor who took care of me in the most comfortable way. All the doctors who have taken care of me in the past, including my current knee doctor, all seem to be in a rush to see the next patient. There is never really a time where the doctor took his/her time to make sure and reassure that things were 'okay'.
My experience in the past hospitals differs from the experiences taken place in the movie SiCKO for the only reason that some people did not have health insurance and was forced to different ways to pay for the medical bills, while others [more towards the citizens of other countries] did not pay a single penny for health care at all. I thought it was amazing how so many countries provided free health care to all people. Specifically in the UK, the doctors work for the government where they get 3 times the amount of salary than government workers in the US. In the hospital, patients do not have to pay a fee either, instead they are given money, if needed, at a certain station called the 'cashier'. It ironic how the UK and many other countries have the time and money to provide for [almost] every individual while America continues to be greedy with the poor man's money. Because of WWII and the many wounded civilians and the fact that Britain became very poor, everything, including health care, was free. Although the US did not become a wreck like Britain, the US is still experiencing the recession. Because America has damaged more than a handful of different areas in the economy, it would be risky for anybody to do anything to try to fix health care because of all of the hidden connections made with the capitalists of our country.
It honestly does not make sense to deny any providence of health care only due to the fact that he/she does not 'meet the requirement'.
This ends the argument with an interesting statement from a man from the UK who basically stated 'if you have enough money to kill people [in war], then you have enough money to save people'.
Between all four members of the family [including myself], I would have to say that my dad and I are the only people in the family who often uses insurance due to his heart condition and my knee injury in the past years. Based on my experiences, I have spent a long time in the emergency room just to get my knee checked out and x-rayed. The first time I went to the emergency room was in 3rd grade, in the hospital of joint diseases. I remember spending about 30-60 minutes to get my broken arm checked out. In my sophomore year of high school, I dislocated my knee for the first time in the middle of basketball practice. While i was laying helplessly on the gym floor, my coach called for an ambulance, which came 20-30 minutes after i dislocated my knee. I arrived at the emergency room in Beth Israel on 16 street and was waiting for about two hours just to get an x-ray and then was brought to another room another hour later for the doctor to take a look at me. The whole process took about 5 - 6 hours. Insurance payed for the emergency room , though there was a co-pay of $25. Insurance also refused to pay for the ambulance, which caused my mom to pay $500 for my dislocated knee to be driven from SOF [on 22nd street] all the way to 16 street--6 blocks and some avenues away from school...wtf.
The second time i dislocated my knee this past January, was taken place in Staten Island. Once again, the coach [from the opposing team] called an ambulance to pick me up--taking about 30-45 minutes for the ambulance to arrive (keep in mind that was the first time in was snowing in NY). The ride to the ambulance, in comparison to my last ambulance ride, was about 20-30 min longer than the 5 minute ride in Manhattan. The time i spent in the emergency room was about 20-30 min (x-rays taking an additional 10 minutes) and was taken into another room to rest & wait for my family. In all it took about 1 hour in Staten island, while it took 5-6 hours in Manhattan. Once again, insurance covered the time i spent in the emergency room, & there was still a co-pay, and refused to pay for the ambulance, though this time, my mom payed only $250.
My family never got to experience heavy bills that could not be payed or was denied treatment, unless you consider refusing to pay for my ambulance bill, then yeah. And never have i experienced a 'loving' doctor who took care of me in the most comfortable way. All the doctors who have taken care of me in the past, including my current knee doctor, all seem to be in a rush to see the next patient. There is never really a time where the doctor took his/her time to make sure and reassure that things were 'okay'.
My experience in the past hospitals differs from the experiences taken place in the movie SiCKO for the only reason that some people did not have health insurance and was forced to different ways to pay for the medical bills, while others [more towards the citizens of other countries] did not pay a single penny for health care at all. I thought it was amazing how so many countries provided free health care to all people. Specifically in the UK, the doctors work for the government where they get 3 times the amount of salary than government workers in the US. In the hospital, patients do not have to pay a fee either, instead they are given money, if needed, at a certain station called the 'cashier'. It ironic how the UK and many other countries have the time and money to provide for [almost] every individual while America continues to be greedy with the poor man's money. Because of WWII and the many wounded civilians and the fact that Britain became very poor, everything, including health care, was free. Although the US did not become a wreck like Britain, the US is still experiencing the recession. Because America has damaged more than a handful of different areas in the economy, it would be risky for anybody to do anything to try to fix health care because of all of the hidden connections made with the capitalists of our country.
It honestly does not make sense to deny any providence of health care only due to the fact that he/she does not 'meet the requirement'.
This ends the argument with an interesting statement from a man from the UK who basically stated 'if you have enough money to kill people [in war], then you have enough money to save people'.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
AWOP - Internet Research
"MM: Why is it important to think about wealth, as opposed just to income?
Wolff: Wealth provides another dimension of well-being. Two people who have the same income may not be as well off if one person has more wealth. If one person owns his home, for example, and the other person doesn’t, then he is better off."
(http://multinationalmonitor.org/mm2003/03may/may03interviewswolff.html)
Response Question: Wouldn't thinking about wealth influence one to abuse his/her income by spending an excessive amount of money, daily, on unnecessary items--due to the fact that he/she thought as his/herself as 'wealthy'?
-------
1. How many children live in poverty?
According to the University of Michigan, in 2007, 18% of children under the age of 18 lived in poverty which is about 13,324.
(http://www.npc.umich.edu/poverty/#5)
2. What percent of Asians are in poverty, in America?
"The rate for Asians and Pacific Islanders was 12.5 percent, down from 14 percent (not a statistically significant change)."
(http://www.policyalmanac.org/social_welfare/poverty.shtml)
3. What race has the highest percent of people in poverty?
"The poverty rate represents an average over the entire population, and does not really tell us who, in particular, is well off, who is worse off. For that, it is necessary to examine poverty levels for particular groups. Most notably, blacks and Hispanics have poverty rates that greatly exceed the average. The poverty rate for all blacks and Hispanics remained near 30 percent during the 1980s and mid-1990s. Thereafter it began to fall. In 2000, the rate for blacks dropped to 22.1 percent and for Hispanics to 21.2 percent—the lowest rate for both groups since the United States began measuring poverty. "
(http://www.irp.wisc.edu/faqs/faq3.htm#groups)
4. Where do people go if they are in poverty?
There are actually different organizations that help children and parents all around the world to help support their struggle. Organizations like the Christian Children's Fund or Unicef are two of the many orgainizations that help children.
5. Who is to blame for America's Poverty?
The "Prospect of America" believes that immigrants coming to America are to blame for their own poverty due to the fact that their weekly income averages out to $700 a week in comparison to an average American who makes about $900-$1000. They also believe that due to this also explains the massive amount of high school drop outs.
(http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=dont_blame_immigrants_for_poverty_wages)
Wolff: Wealth provides another dimension of well-being. Two people who have the same income may not be as well off if one person has more wealth. If one person owns his home, for example, and the other person doesn’t, then he is better off."
(http://multinationalmonitor.org/mm2003/03may/may03interviewswolff.html)
Response Question: Wouldn't thinking about wealth influence one to abuse his/her income by spending an excessive amount of money, daily, on unnecessary items--due to the fact that he/she thought as his/herself as 'wealthy'?
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1. How many children live in poverty?
According to the University of Michigan, in 2007, 18% of children under the age of 18 lived in poverty which is about 13,324.
(http://www.npc.umich.edu/poverty/#5)
2. What percent of Asians are in poverty, in America?
"The rate for Asians and Pacific Islanders was 12.5 percent, down from 14 percent (not a statistically significant change)."
(http://www.policyalmanac.org/social_welfare/poverty.shtml)
3. What race has the highest percent of people in poverty?
"The poverty rate represents an average over the entire population, and does not really tell us who, in particular, is well off, who is worse off. For that, it is necessary to examine poverty levels for particular groups. Most notably, blacks and Hispanics have poverty rates that greatly exceed the average. The poverty rate for all blacks and Hispanics remained near 30 percent during the 1980s and mid-1990s. Thereafter it began to fall. In 2000, the rate for blacks dropped to 22.1 percent and for Hispanics to 21.2 percent—the lowest rate for both groups since the United States began measuring poverty. "
(http://www.irp.wisc.edu/faqs/faq3.htm#groups)
4. Where do people go if they are in poverty?
There are actually different organizations that help children and parents all around the world to help support their struggle. Organizations like the Christian Children's Fund or Unicef are two of the many orgainizations that help children.
5. Who is to blame for America's Poverty?
The "Prospect of America" believes that immigrants coming to America are to blame for their own poverty due to the fact that their weekly income averages out to $700 a week in comparison to an average American who makes about $900-$1000. They also believe that due to this also explains the massive amount of high school drop outs.
(http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=dont_blame_immigrants_for_poverty_wages)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
AWOP - Comparative Analysis
The social welfare and taxation system in America, from what i believe, divides the poor and the rich in drastic measures. Two systems that participate in providing for those who are in poverty is the social democracy and the mixed economy. In a social democracy, it is necessary to live a descent life where public services are guaranteed to those who have money issues. In a mixed economy there are both public and private opportunities offered to people in poverty--it is just the matter of how many people who are willing to accept the help that is/could be given to him/her. Meanwhile, the taxation system is divided into four major taxing systems in society: Flat taxes, where everybody pays the same tax rate, regressive, the poor people pay for the higher percent of tax, while progressive tax is when the rich pay for the higher percent of tax. The last major-kind of taxing system is the marginal tax bracket system where the income of the person pays a certain amount of tax percentage--as the income increases, the tax percentage increases. Examples of regressive taxing is social security taxing & sales tax while in come tax is a progressive taxing.
In Denmark, the Danish students told Tyler and I that everybody who has a paying job is taxed 60% of his/her income which pretty much covers for anything possible, such like medicare & school. We were also told with medicare, every person in Denmark is given a card, similar to a credit card, where they swipe it into the system everytime he/she visits the doctor. The best part about medicare is that there are no hidden fees, meanwhile in America, people have to pay between a $25-$50 fee when visitng the doctors office.
Based on my knowledge with America's economy & the Danish system, I believe that regardless of any kind of system to follow, people are likely to suffer with there lack of money to pay for their children, food, clothes, shelter, etc. Though if I were to choose, I think it would be more convenient for America to convert to the Danish system of taxing due to the fact that people have many benefits with schOol & aid without having to suffer. Although tax is pretty high in Denmark, jobs & homes are offered to those who are unemployeed and homeless, which is provided because of the high taxes.
In Denmark, the Danish students told Tyler and I that everybody who has a paying job is taxed 60% of his/her income which pretty much covers for anything possible, such like medicare & school. We were also told with medicare, every person in Denmark is given a card, similar to a credit card, where they swipe it into the system everytime he/she visits the doctor. The best part about medicare is that there are no hidden fees, meanwhile in America, people have to pay between a $25-$50 fee when visitng the doctors office.
Based on my knowledge with America's economy & the Danish system, I believe that regardless of any kind of system to follow, people are likely to suffer with there lack of money to pay for their children, food, clothes, shelter, etc. Though if I were to choose, I think it would be more convenient for America to convert to the Danish system of taxing due to the fact that people have many benefits with schOol & aid without having to suffer. Although tax is pretty high in Denmark, jobs & homes are offered to those who are unemployeed and homeless, which is provided because of the high taxes.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
AWOB - Project/Essay
In the United States, normal birth has been a form of alienation where women are unaware of the kind of connection they could have had with their child through natural birth. Though, because majority of women in U.S. choose to have hospital births rather than having a natural birth at home or in a birthing center, women are less likely to experience a warm and comfortable birth.
Normal birth can be defined as a woman giving birth to her child in a hospital. The catch about having a ‘normal’ birth is that doctors, nurses and tools that the medical ‘professionals’ use intervene with the process of delivering the baby; epidural, episiotomy, lithotomy, cesarean, drugs, anesthesia, risk of hemorrhage, delivering the baby on the doctor’s time, etc. (Class Notes).
Opposed to normal birth, natural birth, According to Teaching Normal Birth Interactively by Barbara A. Hotelling, is when “labor begins on its own, freedom of movement throughout labor, continuous labor support, no routine interventions, non-supine (e.g., upright or side-lying) positions for birth, and no separation of mother and baby with unlimited opportunity for breastfeeding.” Natural birth was known as the ‘normal’ way of giving birth until technology was invented to disturb the process of a woman’s body of giving birth in the natural and humane way.
Some may question why and how natural birth at home can possibly be safer than having a normal birth at a hospital? Most women, in my opinion, are uneducated when it involves having to decide what possible way of having their baby. When women do decide, they are more willing to have their baby in the hospital where they feel it is more safe and assuring in comparison to having a natural birth at home. Little do women know is that only HEALTHY women are chosen to have natural births over those who have some kind of complication where she may be at risk if she is not monitored by doctors and nurses.
By women disregarding the fact that their body is made to naturally reproduce children and have different interventions while delivering a baby or having a c-section makes the woman alienate herself. The term alienation is defined as “the state of being withdrawn or isolated from the objective world, as through indifference or disaffection.” (Dictionary.com). An example of a mother being alienated by her decision of choosing a hospital birth is guest speaker, Jeannette Plaza. She discussed about her daughter’s birth story and the process she had wanted to deliver her baby—natural birth, however, till very beginning and end of her contractions, she decided to have a hospital birth. She explained in great detail—and honesty I must add—that after she gave birth to her daughter, she did not feel well, in terms of feeling comfortable around the doctor and nurses in the room and how her daughter was taken away after just showing a glimpse of her. She also described how her husband felt useless in the hospital room. The act of having to choose the hospital to deliver the baby does not necessarily alienate herself, but the fact that she chose to have an epidural, and involve a doctor who was going to impatiently rush her baby out of her body is not natural for the human body. Although woman have been coming to doctors for many years to deliver a baby, the emotional pain behind giving birth is viewed as a negative feeling in which it should be, in most situations, a blissful moment in a mother’s life.
Based off the 2008 documentary about childbirth in the United States, The Business of Being Born, teaches a handful of reasons why woman and doctors would prefer natural birth over normal birth, or vice versa. Because it seems, in the United States, threatening to the child’s health to have a natural birth, in comparison to a normal birth, the documentary exaggerates on how women should have natural births more often, to experience that kind of bond a mother and her child is supposed to feel, and to disregard the many medical interventions that are offered.
The film mentions the different risks involved in having both a natural and normal birth. Ricky Lake, the producer of the documentary, portrayed different perspectives of woman who have had natural births in an interesting way. One can agree that most women view natural birth as a very painful process due to the fact that pregnancy did not involve pain killer medications. When different woman described their experiences, they all seemed to have the same message; a mother can have a successful-natural birth by giving birth the right and most comfortable way. For a woman to feel uncomfortable during her birth, which in most situations is taken place in a hospital room, creates a disconnect between the mother and baby at the very moment of child birth.
Although Ricky Lake had a normal birth, with her first child, and natural birth, with her second child, she believes that when having a normal birth, a woman is more likely to alienate herself due to all of the interventions made when giving birth to a baby girl or boy. She also thinks those women who do decide to have a normal birth, to be aware of all of the long term affects that are most likely taken place after having an epidural, c-section, episiotomy, etc. She emphasizes on the fact that America views this process of giving birth to a baby as a kind of phobia where it is the most painful thing a woman can ever experience, when really it could be the most reminiscent experience—in terms of enjoying her newborn’s company of coming into the new world after nine months. (The Business of Being Born).
In the home birth YouTube video, the process of giving birth was looked very calm and concentrating. The mother did have a lot of support and seemed relaxed, although she was still in labor; she looked like she had the patience to deliver her baby by just closing her eyes and having contact with her husband who was with her 90% of the time. During the process, I couldn’t help but notice how the person, who was guiding the baby out of the birth-canal, seemed like she was tugging on the baby’s head. From what I remember being said in class that a person should never pull the head of the baby due to the risk of pulling the head out of place. Aside from that small dilemma, the couple seemed very open about their birth which puts them on the fence to why people do not talk about it, when this couple had the courage to post their experience on the World Wide Web.
The C-Section YouTube video was an interesting kind of birth rather than it being disturbing. Don’t get me wrong, I do not like the sight of flesh being cut up, but the way the baby was taken out of the mother’s uterus was much faster than the average birth with having to push the baby in and out of the vagina. The process had me thinking about the possible risks doctors could have ignored when giving the mother a c-section, but because majority of c-sections across the world have been successful & expensive, all risks are most likely ignored by doctors.
Both videos are significantly different when comparing to how the baby was being born, c-section--an intervention that could have possibly been suggested but not exactly needed by the doctor. Natural birth in shows much more physical comfort with the people around her such like the mid-wives who helped support her, meanwhile the woman who was having the c-section was being ripped apart by the people who were supposed to help her have the baby.
Overall, the process of giving birth in the 'normal' way is not as successful as people may think of it to be. There are many risks involved when having normal birth at the hospital, and very painful memories where the mother was unable to calm her self and body down by moving the way she wanted to. Instead she was strapped down, like Ms. Plaza, by machines to 'check the heart rate of her child'. There is no wrong to not have a heart rate monitor, a gurney involved in a child birth, epidural, c-section. All doctors need is patience and time.
Normal birth can be defined as a woman giving birth to her child in a hospital. The catch about having a ‘normal’ birth is that doctors, nurses and tools that the medical ‘professionals’ use intervene with the process of delivering the baby; epidural, episiotomy, lithotomy, cesarean, drugs, anesthesia, risk of hemorrhage, delivering the baby on the doctor’s time, etc. (Class Notes).
Opposed to normal birth, natural birth, According to Teaching Normal Birth Interactively by Barbara A. Hotelling, is when “labor begins on its own, freedom of movement throughout labor, continuous labor support, no routine interventions, non-supine (e.g., upright or side-lying) positions for birth, and no separation of mother and baby with unlimited opportunity for breastfeeding.” Natural birth was known as the ‘normal’ way of giving birth until technology was invented to disturb the process of a woman’s body of giving birth in the natural and humane way.
Some may question why and how natural birth at home can possibly be safer than having a normal birth at a hospital? Most women, in my opinion, are uneducated when it involves having to decide what possible way of having their baby. When women do decide, they are more willing to have their baby in the hospital where they feel it is more safe and assuring in comparison to having a natural birth at home. Little do women know is that only HEALTHY women are chosen to have natural births over those who have some kind of complication where she may be at risk if she is not monitored by doctors and nurses.
By women disregarding the fact that their body is made to naturally reproduce children and have different interventions while delivering a baby or having a c-section makes the woman alienate herself. The term alienation is defined as “the state of being withdrawn or isolated from the objective world, as through indifference or disaffection.” (Dictionary.com). An example of a mother being alienated by her decision of choosing a hospital birth is guest speaker, Jeannette Plaza. She discussed about her daughter’s birth story and the process she had wanted to deliver her baby—natural birth, however, till very beginning and end of her contractions, she decided to have a hospital birth. She explained in great detail—and honesty I must add—that after she gave birth to her daughter, she did not feel well, in terms of feeling comfortable around the doctor and nurses in the room and how her daughter was taken away after just showing a glimpse of her. She also described how her husband felt useless in the hospital room. The act of having to choose the hospital to deliver the baby does not necessarily alienate herself, but the fact that she chose to have an epidural, and involve a doctor who was going to impatiently rush her baby out of her body is not natural for the human body. Although woman have been coming to doctors for many years to deliver a baby, the emotional pain behind giving birth is viewed as a negative feeling in which it should be, in most situations, a blissful moment in a mother’s life.
Based off the 2008 documentary about childbirth in the United States, The Business of Being Born, teaches a handful of reasons why woman and doctors would prefer natural birth over normal birth, or vice versa. Because it seems, in the United States, threatening to the child’s health to have a natural birth, in comparison to a normal birth, the documentary exaggerates on how women should have natural births more often, to experience that kind of bond a mother and her child is supposed to feel, and to disregard the many medical interventions that are offered.
The film mentions the different risks involved in having both a natural and normal birth. Ricky Lake, the producer of the documentary, portrayed different perspectives of woman who have had natural births in an interesting way. One can agree that most women view natural birth as a very painful process due to the fact that pregnancy did not involve pain killer medications. When different woman described their experiences, they all seemed to have the same message; a mother can have a successful-natural birth by giving birth the right and most comfortable way. For a woman to feel uncomfortable during her birth, which in most situations is taken place in a hospital room, creates a disconnect between the mother and baby at the very moment of child birth.
Although Ricky Lake had a normal birth, with her first child, and natural birth, with her second child, she believes that when having a normal birth, a woman is more likely to alienate herself due to all of the interventions made when giving birth to a baby girl or boy. She also thinks those women who do decide to have a normal birth, to be aware of all of the long term affects that are most likely taken place after having an epidural, c-section, episiotomy, etc. She emphasizes on the fact that America views this process of giving birth to a baby as a kind of phobia where it is the most painful thing a woman can ever experience, when really it could be the most reminiscent experience—in terms of enjoying her newborn’s company of coming into the new world after nine months. (The Business of Being Born).
In the home birth YouTube video, the process of giving birth was looked very calm and concentrating. The mother did have a lot of support and seemed relaxed, although she was still in labor; she looked like she had the patience to deliver her baby by just closing her eyes and having contact with her husband who was with her 90% of the time. During the process, I couldn’t help but notice how the person, who was guiding the baby out of the birth-canal, seemed like she was tugging on the baby’s head. From what I remember being said in class that a person should never pull the head of the baby due to the risk of pulling the head out of place. Aside from that small dilemma, the couple seemed very open about their birth which puts them on the fence to why people do not talk about it, when this couple had the courage to post their experience on the World Wide Web.
The C-Section YouTube video was an interesting kind of birth rather than it being disturbing. Don’t get me wrong, I do not like the sight of flesh being cut up, but the way the baby was taken out of the mother’s uterus was much faster than the average birth with having to push the baby in and out of the vagina. The process had me thinking about the possible risks doctors could have ignored when giving the mother a c-section, but because majority of c-sections across the world have been successful & expensive, all risks are most likely ignored by doctors.
Both videos are significantly different when comparing to how the baby was being born, c-section--an intervention that could have possibly been suggested but not exactly needed by the doctor. Natural birth in shows much more physical comfort with the people around her such like the mid-wives who helped support her, meanwhile the woman who was having the c-section was being ripped apart by the people who were supposed to help her have the baby.
Overall, the process of giving birth in the 'normal' way is not as successful as people may think of it to be. There are many risks involved when having normal birth at the hospital, and very painful memories where the mother was unable to calm her self and body down by moving the way she wanted to. Instead she was strapped down, like Ms. Plaza, by machines to 'check the heart rate of her child'. There is no wrong to not have a heart rate monitor, a gurney involved in a child birth, epidural, c-section. All doctors need is patience and time.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
AWOB - The Business of Being Born
The 2008 documentary about childbirth in the United States, The Business of Being Born, taught me a handful of reasons why woman and doctors would prefer natural birth over normal birth, or vice versa. Because it seems, in the United States, threatening to the child’s health to have a natural birth, in comparison to a normal birth, the documentary exaggerates on how women should have natural births more often, to experience that kind of bond a mother and her child is supposed to feel, and to disregard the many medical interventions that are offered.
The film made me aware of the different risks involved in having both a natural and normal birth. I thought that both processes of having a baby had its pros and cons which the documentary described well. Ricky Lake, producer of the documentary, portrayed different perspectives of woman who have had natural births, which I thought was interesting. I always thought of natural birth was painful, just because it did not involve pain killer medications. When different woman described their experiences, they all seemed to have the same message; a mother can have a successful-natural birth by giving birth the right and most comfortable way. For a woman to feel uncomfortable during her both, which in most situations is taken place in a hospital room, the who process of giving birth to her baby throws the emotional connection off between the mother and her child—in my opinion.
Although Ricky Lake had a normal birth, with her first child, and natural birth, with her second child, she believes that when having a normal birth, a woman is more likely to alienate herself due to all of the interventions made when giving birth to a baby girl or boy. She also thinks those women who do decide to have a normal birth, to be aware of all of the long term affects that are most likely taken place after having an epidural, c-section, episiotomy, etc. She emphasizes on the fact that America views this process of giving birth to a baby as a kind of phobia where it is the most painful thing a woman can ever experience, when really it could be the most reminiscent experience—in terms of enjoying her newborn’s company of coming into the new world after nine months.
After watching the documentary, I am still undecided to whether I would one day want to have a normal or natural birth. I find it more convenient for a woman to have her first labor-experience to be in a hospital, just because it’s her first time and the risks that involved when giving birth for the first time. However, I do feel that every woman, at least one day in their life to experience natural birth for the sake of having the particular bond and emotion that a mother should feel when in the moment. For many centuries, women have been made to give birth naturally until interventions were made to disturb the process of natural birth. It is in the woman’s blood to have a natural birth.
The film made me aware of the different risks involved in having both a natural and normal birth. I thought that both processes of having a baby had its pros and cons which the documentary described well. Ricky Lake, producer of the documentary, portrayed different perspectives of woman who have had natural births, which I thought was interesting. I always thought of natural birth was painful, just because it did not involve pain killer medications. When different woman described their experiences, they all seemed to have the same message; a mother can have a successful-natural birth by giving birth the right and most comfortable way. For a woman to feel uncomfortable during her both, which in most situations is taken place in a hospital room, the who process of giving birth to her baby throws the emotional connection off between the mother and her child—in my opinion.
Although Ricky Lake had a normal birth, with her first child, and natural birth, with her second child, she believes that when having a normal birth, a woman is more likely to alienate herself due to all of the interventions made when giving birth to a baby girl or boy. She also thinks those women who do decide to have a normal birth, to be aware of all of the long term affects that are most likely taken place after having an epidural, c-section, episiotomy, etc. She emphasizes on the fact that America views this process of giving birth to a baby as a kind of phobia where it is the most painful thing a woman can ever experience, when really it could be the most reminiscent experience—in terms of enjoying her newborn’s company of coming into the new world after nine months.
After watching the documentary, I am still undecided to whether I would one day want to have a normal or natural birth. I find it more convenient for a woman to have her first labor-experience to be in a hospital, just because it’s her first time and the risks that involved when giving birth for the first time. However, I do feel that every woman, at least one day in their life to experience natural birth for the sake of having the particular bond and emotion that a mother should feel when in the moment. For many centuries, women have been made to give birth naturally until interventions were made to disturb the process of natural birth. It is in the woman’s blood to have a natural birth.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
AWOB - Break Homework
EQ: Why Don’t People talk about it?
The experience of one’s birth is often not a subject that one would usually come across in a conversation. Occasionally, one would only talk about their birth if he/she were asked to describe his/her birth—and that’s based on personal experience. Based on the multiple opinions between males and females, one may find birth rather disturbing than it is beautiful, or vice-versa. Most men are more frightened of the sight of a baby coming out of the vagina they had once “made love to” rather than it process being a ‘beautiful moment’. Meanwhile, women believe the opposite and think that the birth of their child is the most beautiful thing that could have happened to them. In the end of the process of giving birth, a baby is born, though it does pop a question—why don’t people talk about it? Why do people decide not to talk about how a baby is born, if the birth was a normal or natural birth, what extra procedures were done to help deliver the baby? Etc. Based on my YouTube experience over the break, it seems that people do decide to talk about their birth by posting it on the internet for millions of viewers to watch. On a serious note, people have the decision not to talk about birth/child birth due to the fact that it is a personal experience that should be kept and reminisced between the family and close friends. It also involves medical professionals who do not discuss the medical risks that could be involved when having certain procedures done when having a baby in a hospital in comparison to a home birth. One can believe that doctors do talk about some risks, but why do they ignore the risks by continually giving the patient, for example, an epidural?
In the home birth YouTube video, the process of giving birth was looked very calm and concentrating. The mother did have a lot of support and seemed relaxed, although she was still in labor; she looked like she had the patience to deliver her baby by just closing her eyes and having contact with her husband who was with her 90% of the time. During the process, I couldn’t help but notice how the person, who was guiding the baby out of the birth-canal, seemed like she was tugging on the baby’s head. From what I remember being said in class that a person should never pull the head of the baby due to the risk of pulling the head out of place. Aside from that small dilemma, the couple seemed very open about their birth which puts them on the fence to why people do not talk about it, when this couple had the courage to post their experience on the World Wide Web.
The C-Section YouTube video was an interesting kind of birth rather than it being disturbing. Don’t get me wrong, I do not like the sight of flesh being cut up, but the way the baby was taken out of the mother’s uterus was much faster than the average birth with having to push the baby in and out of the vagina. The process had me thinking about the possible risks doctors could have ignored when giving the mother a c-section, but because majority of c-sections across the world have been successful & expensive, all risks are most likely ignored by doctors.
The giraffe & dolphin birth looked rather similar. In both YouTube videos, the end of the baby was sticking out of the vagina, the baby dolphin’s fin and the four legs of the giraffe. The birth was obviously natural and did not involve actual people trying to help deliver their baby. I was amazed to how the fast a baby dolphin learns how to swim right when he/she is delivered. I also thought how painful it looked for the giraffe to be dropped on the ground instead of having the usual support a baby would need when given birth. I honestly thought that the people who worked in the zoo would put some sort of soft pillow under the mother giraffe, but instead put a kind of sand which acted like the support of the baby giraffe. When the topic is about mammals and how they give birth, animal experts are open to talk about how an animal gives birth, and what habits they do when trying to deliver the baby. In this case, the dolphin swims around while the giraffe just stands and is slightly squatting. A reason to why animal experts are open to talk about the animal’s birth is to show how similar it is to when humans give birth to their babies.
Situations that involve people talking about his/her birth story or their child’s birth story either has a positive or negative offense. With my own experience with asking my mom about my birth, she felt curious to why I wanted to know so much about how I was born and what happened when I came out of her. Although it was me who was being born, she took it personal and thought that the experience should be kept in the family. I asked if there were any recordings of my birth. In her response, she did not hesitate to say no. She told me that she did not think it was appropriate to record or talk to anybody about her birth experience with me or my sister. From my mom’s perspective, I could understand why she would want to protect her experience, similar to how she protects my sister and I. People do have their own reasons for not talking about their birth, possibly due to the personal experience of the pain that it involved, mental/physical pain of giving birth, or if the father was even there to support his child, or the experience it had between the mother and the father.
The experience of one’s birth is often not a subject that one would usually come across in a conversation. Occasionally, one would only talk about their birth if he/she were asked to describe his/her birth—and that’s based on personal experience. Based on the multiple opinions between males and females, one may find birth rather disturbing than it is beautiful, or vice-versa. Most men are more frightened of the sight of a baby coming out of the vagina they had once “made love to” rather than it process being a ‘beautiful moment’. Meanwhile, women believe the opposite and think that the birth of their child is the most beautiful thing that could have happened to them. In the end of the process of giving birth, a baby is born, though it does pop a question—why don’t people talk about it? Why do people decide not to talk about how a baby is born, if the birth was a normal or natural birth, what extra procedures were done to help deliver the baby? Etc. Based on my YouTube experience over the break, it seems that people do decide to talk about their birth by posting it on the internet for millions of viewers to watch. On a serious note, people have the decision not to talk about birth/child birth due to the fact that it is a personal experience that should be kept and reminisced between the family and close friends. It also involves medical professionals who do not discuss the medical risks that could be involved when having certain procedures done when having a baby in a hospital in comparison to a home birth. One can believe that doctors do talk about some risks, but why do they ignore the risks by continually giving the patient, for example, an epidural?
In the home birth YouTube video, the process of giving birth was looked very calm and concentrating. The mother did have a lot of support and seemed relaxed, although she was still in labor; she looked like she had the patience to deliver her baby by just closing her eyes and having contact with her husband who was with her 90% of the time. During the process, I couldn’t help but notice how the person, who was guiding the baby out of the birth-canal, seemed like she was tugging on the baby’s head. From what I remember being said in class that a person should never pull the head of the baby due to the risk of pulling the head out of place. Aside from that small dilemma, the couple seemed very open about their birth which puts them on the fence to why people do not talk about it, when this couple had the courage to post their experience on the World Wide Web.
The C-Section YouTube video was an interesting kind of birth rather than it being disturbing. Don’t get me wrong, I do not like the sight of flesh being cut up, but the way the baby was taken out of the mother’s uterus was much faster than the average birth with having to push the baby in and out of the vagina. The process had me thinking about the possible risks doctors could have ignored when giving the mother a c-section, but because majority of c-sections across the world have been successful & expensive, all risks are most likely ignored by doctors.
The giraffe & dolphin birth looked rather similar. In both YouTube videos, the end of the baby was sticking out of the vagina, the baby dolphin’s fin and the four legs of the giraffe. The birth was obviously natural and did not involve actual people trying to help deliver their baby. I was amazed to how the fast a baby dolphin learns how to swim right when he/she is delivered. I also thought how painful it looked for the giraffe to be dropped on the ground instead of having the usual support a baby would need when given birth. I honestly thought that the people who worked in the zoo would put some sort of soft pillow under the mother giraffe, but instead put a kind of sand which acted like the support of the baby giraffe. When the topic is about mammals and how they give birth, animal experts are open to talk about how an animal gives birth, and what habits they do when trying to deliver the baby. In this case, the dolphin swims around while the giraffe just stands and is slightly squatting. A reason to why animal experts are open to talk about the animal’s birth is to show how similar it is to when humans give birth to their babies.
Situations that involve people talking about his/her birth story or their child’s birth story either has a positive or negative offense. With my own experience with asking my mom about my birth, she felt curious to why I wanted to know so much about how I was born and what happened when I came out of her. Although it was me who was being born, she took it personal and thought that the experience should be kept in the family. I asked if there were any recordings of my birth. In her response, she did not hesitate to say no. She told me that she did not think it was appropriate to record or talk to anybody about her birth experience with me or my sister. From my mom’s perspective, I could understand why she would want to protect her experience, similar to how she protects my sister and I. People do have their own reasons for not talking about their birth, possibly due to the personal experience of the pain that it involved, mental/physical pain of giving birth, or if the father was even there to support his child, or the experience it had between the mother and the father.
Friday, February 13, 2009
AWOB - Natural Vs. Normal
Normal Birth, in my opinion, is a form of natural birth with a few adjustments to how mother delivers a baby on his/her birthday. A natural birth involves loved ones, a mid-wife, nudity, the sight of flesh, loud noises, no drugs-such like an epidural, shifting positions (while giving birth)/walking/kissing/sexual contact with the mother to help her deliver the baby faster, all of the attention is towards the mother giving labor to the baby and the baby can be delivered at any time during the day. Meanwhile, normal birth involves a medical professional that has all the attention on him/herself rather than the 'patient' giving labor the a baby. Those who have participated in normal births, which is majority of the country, are familiar with papers gowns and steel instruments, drugs (epidural or pitocin), a scheduled birth that is on the doctor's time & not the baby's time, and usually the baby is taken away after the doctor shows the baby to the mother of how he/she looks like to put into a metal glass 'hot-plate'.
I could understand why normal birth would be convenient to mothers, in most cases, however, the way the message was being made in class is that normal birth takes away all of the natural occurrences in child birth. The fact that the mother is not only alienated by the glass box that the baby is put into-&instead could be getting body heat from his/her mother- the mother is also being fed to FHM and an IV which limits the mother to do anything to comfort the baby. Although the machines and hospital assistance may help the mother deliver her baby, in comparison to natural birth, natural birth seems more efficient due to the fact that the process of delivering a baby is not in a rush and does not involve machines and a glass box that limits the mother and the baby from seeing each other.
& what makes me think is the risks involved when having a normal birth in a hospital.
Natural birth does not seem normal to most people due to the fact that it does not involve medical professionals and the 100 years of science to help deliver a baby. Natural birth is completely normal for those who prefer to not deliver their baby in the hospital, which i think more women should do to get the natural feel of having a baby instead of taking away 90% of what occurs in a natural birth in a normal birth procedure.
I could understand why normal birth would be convenient to mothers, in most cases, however, the way the message was being made in class is that normal birth takes away all of the natural occurrences in child birth. The fact that the mother is not only alienated by the glass box that the baby is put into-&instead could be getting body heat from his/her mother- the mother is also being fed to FHM and an IV which limits the mother to do anything to comfort the baby. Although the machines and hospital assistance may help the mother deliver her baby, in comparison to natural birth, natural birth seems more efficient due to the fact that the process of delivering a baby is not in a rush and does not involve machines and a glass box that limits the mother and the baby from seeing each other.
& what makes me think is the risks involved when having a normal birth in a hospital.
Natural birth does not seem normal to most people due to the fact that it does not involve medical professionals and the 100 years of science to help deliver a baby. Natural birth is completely normal for those who prefer to not deliver their baby in the hospital, which i think more women should do to get the natural feel of having a baby instead of taking away 90% of what occurs in a natural birth in a normal birth procedure.
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