When is enough enough?

Over spring break, i was in beatiful Carbondale Illinois for a baseball tournament, while there i cant name one meal that wasnt either McDonalds or buerger king. I have no problem with Mcdonalds or Buerger king, in fact, i like both of them a lot in terms of taste. But what i kept noticing was that every mile or so, another Mcdonalds would be right there packed as ever. And i kept wondering if that extra Mcdonalds in between other Mcdonalds in a 3 mile stretch was really worth it. A lot of times America's problem with obesity is linked to fast food chains. Simply cutting down the restaurants a little would make a difference. Its hard for people to make "smart" choices when all their choices are the same thing, when all they ever see as the next food option while on the road is the golden arches.

ACT

As all of us are experiencing the torture of studying and preparing for the ACT i deceded to look back and consult my parents to see if the strain and importance of the ACT nowadays is what is was 30 years ago. To my surprise, my mom informed me that her ACT score had little to do with her getting accepted as compared with todays standards. And it got me thinking and wondering how such a everlasting test that remains the same relatively can fluctuate conerning importance and weight over the years. I also began thinking about whether or not a exam based on effieciency can really have such a weight on a students acceptance into colleges. Should a student who can hypothetically find a cure for cancer over the span of 20 years but not be able to complete an essay in 30 minutes be punished for their slow writing capabilities and banisehd from the top levels of education based on a test to further be limited in their oppurtunites?

Hannah Montana

Alright, everyone knows that hannah monatana is huge now, and that every teenage girl wants to be her(exxageration) I just wanted to try and figure out other peoples input on this girl. A studio takes this girl, dresses her up, puts on make up, computerizes her voice...and boom, superstar. I walked through a Walmart the other day and she was on everything from shoes to shirts. I even went to an auto show, and there was a autographed picutre of her for sale. The extremely fast rise of Hannah Montana is something to acknowledge but also makes you wonder if this girl is actually talented or has an american icon been created instead of born.

War on Iraq

I was at my uncles house today to see the last of him ill see until he returns back to America in August. Given a two week break, our extended family has had many gatherings to welcome him home for his short stay. When he was in Iraq, he took a lot of pictures and showed us. What i was seeing mostly was Americans inhabited in Iraqi palaces, and in their hotels. Just looking at those photos i began to wonder why we are even still there. A war that was promised to be brief seems to never end. I also took note of the impact our culture and inhabitance can have as far negatively. One of the pictures had an American flag posted over a decorative bird covering an entire wall of a palace. It just seems as if we are a super power using/abusing our strength unecessarily. It hard for us to comprehend the importance/relevance of the war since its being faught all the way in Iraq, and none of our daily lives are changed. But when i was visiting my uncle, i was thinking how hes setting off for 5 more months of duty, and for what?

Brainwash

I thikn the media, book, music, and influence of others have such an extreme impact on people they dont even realize anything has happened. Advertising and repetition istill ideas in peoples minds that subconsiously affect them most of the time. Nazi Germany was forged on the ideas of Mein Kompf, the extrememist views were repeated and seen everywhere. An entire nation was manipulated to beleive such horrific and insane things. Its not surpise advertising is seen EVERYWHERE to sell products and promote politicians. Concerning the upcomming elections, its no surprise entire commercial breaks have been political advertisements only. I just wanted to comment on how rediculous and pushy amounts of ads for certain things could be and how a lot of times people dont even realize its affecting them.

Women

A few minutes ago i was watching "True Carribbean Pirates" on the history channel which documented the impact and actions of pirates in the 17th and 18th century. I was looking out for relations to what were learing about and i found one. The pirate society consisted of thousands of pirates, but when two women "enlisted" as pirates, the entire community errupted. Questions of that specific fleet of pirates was questioned based on the fact that merely two out of thousands of pirates were women. They were looked down upon and laughed at for trying to act like the men. Its obvious how this relates and just gives evidence to how the scrutenization of women has always beena around.