Why are americans how they are ?....

This week when we had our class discussions we talked a lot about the american culture and the american dream. A topic that came up most was how materialistic we have become. We used to live in small houses that fit what we had and now we need huge houses just to contain all the junk that we have bought. People even go shopping just to walk around and look for something new and exciting to show off to their friends. America also doesn't have its own culture. It is made up of so many places and so many different kinds of people that it has to spread and be super diverse. Even going to a different city or state there are so many different rules or styles and kinds of people that you run into. There are a billion different kinds of foods that we have at our finger tips and even a billion different brands for the billions of different kinds of foods. We don't need that much variety. In america we have our stores open 24 hours a day, compared to the stores in Germany that are only open until 8 during the week, 4 on saturdays and closed on sundays. This shows that americans don't value their time and that we have so much to do we want to go grocery shopping at our leisure. We need to sit back and take things slow and appreciate the time that we have.

The more you buy the more you save ?....

Who really believes the more you buy the more you save? Yes coupons may lead you to think that you are going to save more by saying "If you spend $100 you get $10 back." But, if you really step back and look at the big picture you aren't saving much at all. People these days are super materialistic, everyone wants the huge house, the nice cars, the expensive clothes and for people to think that you have tons of money. Some people just go to the mall and walk around and buy things that they don't even need. They decide just to impulsively spend money when they don't think about their necessities. People spend way more than they have. After all the christmas shopping people are still paying off their debts months later. Did you know that there are more malls than there are high schools? Clearly our views on what is important has changed a lot over the years.

"Yeah, you did a good thing for a bad man" ....

When it comes to being categorized in a group there are billions that you can belong to. Groups are what make people who they are and what they become. In the movie A Bronx Tale that we are watching in class has a boy, Collogero, who is part of many different groups. Some of the groups he is a part of are the italians, family, Sonny's gang and friends. If I were to put him into a master group he would be with Sonny because Sonny has changed him into someone that dresses more of the italian role, smoking, getting into the bar fight and hanging out with the same kind of people, even the way he talks. His master status would be student. I think this because he looks up to Sonny and asks for his advice and opinion and learns from what Sonny has told him. I have him with Sonny instead of his family because if he were to be with his family he wouldn't dress like he does and he wouldn't be hanging out in the bar. I don't think his status changes throughout the movie because he is always with Sonny and learns from him. In a way I think his morals change because he used to be a bit racist but he ends up liking someone that is black and that no one would approve of. People's master status usually changes so don't be surprised if yours changes in a couple years.

Sorry but you've been voted off the ship...

In class the other day we did an activity that tested our ability to pick people that meant most on a ship that could potentially sink during a storm. We had to vote off 7 people. I was part of the people on the ship and I was the young pregnant cheerleader. I wasn't voted off, this could have happened for a couple of reasons. The first being that I didn't say much so that maybe people really wouldn't acknowledge me and second could have been that I was carrying a life and that is what we cherish most or that I was also young had a family. Being on the ship led us to decide who should stay or be kicked off. This made people sociologically mindful because the people studying us had to see how we interacted and what we said and decided were factors to kick people off the ship. We also based it off of who was healthy, who could help in various situations and whether they were old or young. We need to learn how to value a life and help those in need. We need not to worry about the small things in life but what will take you far while helping others along the way. People would be blown away if you voted yourself off the ship. If you were in a situation like this in real life what do you think you would base your decisions off of? Who would go and who would stay?                                      

Here, Drink This Spit ...

In class today Sal asked for a volunteer, when the student was picked he had her come to the front of the room and asked her to spit into a cup. When the class heard what she had to do people looked around and gave Sal confused looks. After she spit he proceeded to ask if someone wanted to drink it. This is what really confused people. Everyone gave him disgusted looks and said their "ewws" and "yucks". People share drinks all the time right? People swap spit all the time right? Saliva is spit right? Not exactly. Saliva is when it's in your mouth and it's all yours. Spit is when it exits the mouth. We wouldn't take it from someone if they just offered it to you in a cup. We turn it down because it's not what society has taught us. Our society may think that it is disgusting but if we were to travel somewhere else they may think something completely different. If you were to be in a situation like the people in the story F-227 but instead of eating people you had to drink their spit to survive would you do it? Probably right. You might not say yes now but I bet if you were to be in the situation you would change your mind. You change it because your new "society" needs different rules in order for survival. Would you do anything out of the norm to survive?