Extra Credit- Post#1

After I read the Wikipedia article, Communism can be defined as an economic and political system in which facts of production are collectively owned and directed by the state.
Communism has had many drastic changes at a time, but has been able to overcome them. One of the advantages of communism is that everybody has a job, but the downside is that no matter how much you work or whom you work for, you will always be getting paid the same amount of money as everyone else. . In our economy, we must work to make money. The more we work, the more we will get paid and we will be able to buy what we need, and what we want. In a communist economy, we can work as much as or as little we want, but we will still get paid the same amount of money as everyone else. Why would we want to work so hard if we were going to make the same amount of money. Another weak spot about communism is the fact that consumers will not always get what they desire because the government decides on what people will buying. In a communistic society, the government makes all decisions for people.

Refelction #9

We talked about Cold War last class. I believe Cold War never presented any real threat on America. It was nothing more than the propaganda of two battling super powers. Also, I kinda remember from my high school that the super powers involved in the Cold War were the United States and Soviet Union. The two countries were constantly battling over who is the most powerful on the planet. The supposed threats were mere techniques of propaganda used to scare the other countries public into believing they were more powerful. Over and over again, the U.S. would flex its muscle and the Soviet Union would flex its muscles until eventually one country couldn’t. The Cold War lasted very long time and it was fought through battles such as the Korean war and Vietnam. Well, last class did not touch the Korean and Vietnam war but as Prof. Boggs said, we will eventually.

Refelection #8

As we talked in lass class about internment, I believe discrimination against Japanese-Americans with the recent attacks on the United States by terrorists, many Americans have been experiencing feelings of fear, sadness and tremendous anger. With Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban being held responsible, many of Middle-Eastern descent have been experiencing great prejudice and discrimination and are being stereotyped as terrorists. I also believe these types of feelings are very prevalent in American society today. Japanese-Americans probably have felt these feelings directed toward them for several generations. Going from the extreme of being herded to internment camps after the surprise attack of Pearl Harbor, to the more commonplace, being stereotyped in the entertainment industry and internet sites, prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping have been apart of the lives of many Japanese Americans.

Reflection#7

As last class discussed about advertising, I believe advertising effects people in what they do and how they do it.

And I think when advertisers plan their strategies for the sale of a certain product, they look at who would use the item. If the product was make-up, the type of person that would use it would most likely be a woman, around the age of thirteen and up. The advertisers would then find an ideal looking woman to
model for ads to show the makeup on a person and try to get women to use it. The way that the advertisers describe the model will also get your attention; they might say that she is not really beautiful until she puts on the makeup, or something along those lines. I think Advertising is an effective method of public
relations communication for several reasons.

Reflection#6

From last class’s lecture, Roosevelt simply acted in the interests of the common working man, fixing things that they found unjust. For years, the poor and immigrants were unhappy with treatment from their big-business employers. Their long working hours and exploitation of children were, among other things, exposed by the Muckrakers.  When I was doing the research for my wikipedia article, I found out something about progressivism and I found out more about the Muckrakers. The Muckrakers were journalists who exposed corruption in business and politics and made many of their readers angry.  These new reformers took over the old Populist idea that the government should work for the public’s economic well being.

Also, we talked about the impacts on child labor, women’s suffrage, and worker’s rights. Civil rights for African-Americans and women was just beginning to become an issue in the late 19th century.  Many progressivists spoke out for suffrage for women and equal rights for black people.  And I believe, today, civil rights for minorities is still a big cause for reform.  However, I think civil rights is just one of the many causes of modern reform groups.

Assignment #3

Why are the Irish so lucky? What is a leprechaun? Is there really gold at the end of a rainbow? And why does everyone drink green beer on St. Patrick’s Day? These questions all have one thing in common, they are myths from the Emerald Isle we all call Ireland.

The island of Ireland is a divided island, not by physical boundaries, but religious ones. Over 95% of the people in Ireland are Roman Catholic, followed by 3-4% Protestant. The reason that Ireland is primarily Catholic is because of the work done by St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. St. Patrick was captured at the age of 16 by Celtic warriors and forced into slavery in Northern Ireland where he tended sheep. Because of his situation he became very religious and when he escaped six years later, he went back to England to become a priest. Fifteen years later, Patrick was sent back to Ireland, this time by the Pope, to take the position of bishop. Within 30 years, Patrick had successfully converted most of the Druid Irish to Christianity. He is said to have used a 3 leafed clover, known as a shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish people, this is why the shamrock is still known today as a good luck charm all over the world. Along with this, Patrick established over 300 churches and personally baptized over 100,000 people. One myth about St. Patrick was that he chased all the snakes out of Ireland. This has two meanings. The first is that the snake represented the devil and as he traveled the country spreading Christianity he chased the
‘devil’ out of the people. The other meaning is that the snake represented the paganism practiced in Druidism. Irish all over the world celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17, the day he died. Today, with this myth and history behind it, did not change over time to stereotype Irish people. Irish people being Irish, also get to hear about all of the stereotypes that are cast down upon Irish people. drink a lot of beers, they like potatoes, corned beef, and cabbage. Especially, the Irish have been associated with the little leprechauns. He is the funny looking little guy that searches for gold at the end of the rainbow and brings good luck.

Even though its been over 2,000 years since the first Celt came to Ireland, the legends, myths and customs still live on. No one knows if the Irish are a lucky people, why leprechauns are supposedly at the end of rainbows, or why vast amounts of green beer are consumed on St. Patrick’s day, all that the Irish know is that their people, religion, and Celtic backgrounds have gotten them through the worst of times, and they are very proud to be able to pass them on to many generations to come.