final blog post

I have always personally felt like everyone was a little too hard on the upper class. I think it’s easy for people in the lower and middle class to sit and say “They have so much money; they should give some away or pay higher taxes”. Honestly though, if you were in their shoes, you would probably act the exact same way. We mostly judge because we are jealous. We think they should pay higher taxes because it is less of a dent in their income than it is in ours, but losing that money still matters to them. Most of them work hard, or at least harder than most middle class workers do. The stress at work many of them take on is a huge burden that warrants a high income. Managing a large company is a lot of long hours and a lot of stress, even when they are not working. Someone working at a gas station does not go home and stress about their business. When you manage or own a company, you are constantly thinking about work. This is one reason why I do not think that the rich should have to pay a higher percentage of their income to taxes. They should not be punished for making more. Yes, it is less than a burden to them, but it makes no sense to make them pay more just because they make more. That is extra money in their pocket that could be spend to help move more money into the economy. People need to stop being so critical of the rich.

Blogging Finale

This class has helped me in many ways, especially in increasing my understanding of international diversity. The diverseness of OSU was one key reason for my attendance, and our class was as diverse as they come. Our class is a culmination of nationalities and that has opened my eyes tremendously. Through reading our blog posts weekly and class discuss, I’ve have been introduced to the views of people from diverse backgrounds. I know have knowledge of Asian; German, even Ethiopian views on American issues and just life in general. My classmates have shared facts about their homelands with me and showed me that the American way is not the only way. Max shared how he feels Germany has a stronger social system, and with his explanation behind that theory, I am intrigued to further research Germany’s social system. Shiyun has expressed how he pursuing his education in America will enable him to go back to China and help his community and its people grow. I am richer because of the exposure to these nationalities.
Another way this class has helped me grow is by introducing me to technology. As I have openly admitted, I am not the most technically inclined person in the world. I have found myself better able to navigate websites especially Google and blogger, which I had no experience. Instead of rebelling against technology and getting frustrated when using it, I am now able to slow down and think my way through when using it. Technology still isn’t my best friend, but it is not my worst enemy either.

Blog #9

This class helped me become a better writer, mostly because I wrote about topics that I could actually relate to and that didn’t seem to just be writing in response to a text and a theme that I was forced to fit my research into. Which gave me a wider spectrum to start with for thought process, because usually my biggest problem use to be starting a paper and now I can write papers that are plenty long enough.

The 3-step process helped and hurt me, but in the end made me a better writer because I can classify myself as a writer better. I’ve always known that I have a bad tendency of taking a good idea and then by the end, end up on a different idea. This was magnified by our 3 submission process where the PSA was really focused and then when I went to the SSI the entire purpose that I wrote for had changed. From my thesis to my claims, it was a lot more formal than the PSA, but the change in argument was a much weaker argument. After I finally realized it, even though I knew that it changed, for some reason I didn’t truly grasp it. But when I got that Ah-Ha moment I feel like I’ve finally passed the wall that held me back as a writer throughout all of high school. I always hated English and it was always my worst subject and this quarter, ironically it’s one of my best subjects.

Blog #8

For my common place essay I think I am going to analyze one of my secondary sources from my ARP. As of now, I am going to write about the homeless man with the sign reading “will code HTML for food.” The picture possesses such a powerful message that immediately captures its viewer. I think that this picture is also a good one because it is relevant to everyone. You may not know anyone that is or has been homeless, but this picture is taken in America and is of an American citizen, so it is relevant to every American. This picture may be particularly appealing to middle class America, because obviously this man has some type of skill or certification to be able to code HTML, however, he is unemployed. This is an issue affecting many people in the middle class. I think that this picture alone can captivate anyone who views it, whether upper, middle, or lower class because of its emotional appeal. It makes the viewer feel a sense of sympathy for the man, yet it makes you feel enthralled to research further whether people of skill or certification becoming homeless is a new trend. Also being that our class is o diverse, it will shed light to some on living conditions that they are not used to and it will relate to things people have seen in their home nation. Times are hard everywhere, not just in the U.S. and that will be a connecting factor of my argument.

Blog #8

For my Commonplace essay, I think I am going to stick with my idea of how country music relates to class, but twist it a little bit to make it more appealing to my peers. I realize that not everyone is a big country music fan and some would not have even heard of the artists I would talk about. Because of this, I think that I need to expand my writing to talk about other artists, not just country artists. I will discuss how different songs that we listen to make us feel a certain way about where we are from or where our peers are from. Many different songs on the radio appeal to a certain class. For example, some rap music tries to appeal to members of the lower class by talking about coming from bad neighborhoods.

This essay will be relevant to my audience because everyone, no matter their nationality or age, listens to music every once in a while. Music is a universal concept that everyone will relate to. I think that many people will find it interesting that there is class warfare going on in the songs that we listen to. I think that most people are oblivious to this concept and would find it interesting that the music they listen to may appeal to them because of the class that they are in. I think that my peers would be interested to hear about class because it is something that everyone can relate to.

Blog #8

My ARP topic fits perfectly, I mean it involves beer. I can play that in a variety of ways to develop it into a Commonplace Essay. The problem that I’m going to have with the commonplace essay is going to be like the ARP where I couldn’t decide exactly which direction to go. I could take the topic of beer in writing for a public audience of couple of different ways. To support the drinking age, to use colleges around the nation as an example as to why the drinking age should be lowered or to just talk about the same topic and talk about how beer and other forms of alcohol have affected our society.

After I finish reading more of the commonplace essays I feel like I will have a better understanding of the best direction to go with my topic. Because right now, I have a lot of possible ideas, but not all of them may end up lining up with the key points of most commonplace essays.

I’m going to go against something against the ‘social norm’. Because that seems to be the more timely kind of subject. The ‘Real Men of Genius’ campaign will definitely help make it unique. As long as commonplace doesn’t ban certain topics related to age appropriate themes (namely sex, drugs and violence) then I should be fine. Beer isn’t as hardcore as these other substitutes. After I pick my essay I want to read through commonplace of manual to ensure that it fits well.

Blog Post #7

I feel as if my writing has improved this quarter because I have learned how to incorporate sources to support my claims. In writing that I did in high school I simply stated things that I believed, without any evidence to back it up. I now see how adding sources seems to make your writing more credible.

The first thing I need to change for my ARP is to find a way to move my thesis statement to the beginning of my paper, something I am having difficulty with. Another issue that I have is that I have sentences within my paragraphs that could work as topic sentences, but are just thrown into the paragraph in the wrong spots. I also need to combine sentences to make good topic sentences.

I also would like to use more sources to support my claims. I have a fair amount already, but would like to find different ones to better compliment the primary source.

I am not thrilled with the organization of my paper right now. I think I got comfortable with just sticking my secondary sources in at the end, when I should have combined it with my original draft to make it flow better. I also changed my thesis between the PSA and the SSI and need to change my analysis of the source to better reflect that.

I need to go back to my primary source and take a look at it with my new thesis statement in mind, because I originally did not look at it from that perspective. Looking at it again will help to bring my paper back to supporting my new claim.

Going to the ARP

I’ve got a lot of room to expand just with the current main 2 sources that I used for my SSI. One of the main problems with my SSI though was that I was trying to use one of the sources to set up points and was more forcing it to be something that it wasn’t much of. Now I’ve got another source that fits a little better and can use my original one as a compliment. The weakest part of my paper dealt with transitions and background info of my sources. My current paper is a little over 4 pages, not including the Work Cited, so I think through the addition of my new source and improving the transitions between paragraphs by using my primary source more effectively.

This quarter I’ve gotten much better at research and incorporating my research towards a topic. I think I’ve been more successful than on my papers in High School because I’ve picked such a topic that I’m familiar with and sources (mostly the primary ones) that I’m familiar with), if I was more familiar with my Secondary sources I feel that I probably would have done as good of a job on my SSI as I did on my PSA. Because on my SSI I was told that I was nit-picking and I really felt like I was same with the transitions. So I’m glad that where I thought I stood on my SSI was correct and I just have to continue improving it from there. With the help of my new source.

Turning Five Pages Into Eight

In order to turn my five pages SSI into an eight page ARP, I need to do many things. The first thing I need to do is dissect the paper. After dissecting the paper into bits and pieces, I can reorganize my thoughts. I can better organize my ideas this way. I can also find more sources to integrate to accompany my ideas that way. This will make my argument stronger and more credible. In hopes of revising my paper, I need to reanalyze the sources I already have. After looking at them again, delving deeper into them, I may be able to pull more perspectives out of them. I may find some new details that I missed that I can incorporate into my argument. Another idea for expanding my paper is using a thesaurus. If I use a thesaurus, I can elevate the level of my vocabulary as well as give me new ideas of how to expand my current ideas.
Another way that I’ll expand my SSI is by looking into the ideas Chase presented in my review. In my self-evaluation, I focused on my flaws that have occurred in my previous writings, but he shed light on new errors I hadn’t considered revising. I need to keep a consistent tone and watch the tenses of my writing. In some areas where I added personal narrative, I need to really decide whether they are attributes to my paper or not. And because I plan to incorporate more sources into the ones I already have, I need to do some revising in order to cover all the bases of my paper.

Roseanne Response

I really enjoyed watching Roseanne today (even though I think her voice would get a tad annoying, sorry), and can see how it was popular for so many years. I love the fact that it is so relatable, and can see how so many people would tune in week after week. The concept of a working class mother seemed to be missing from sitcoms during that time, and seeing a mom that struggled with raising her three kids and working a full time job was refreshing. Many people can relate to that, because so many working class mothers in the late 80s and early 90s had to start working just to keep food on the table for their children.

When I was watching this episode, I was picturing people coming home from work, sitting around the TV with their families and getting a good laugh out of this show. They would be able to say things like “Hey, remember when we fought about money like that too!” The show brings up topics that resonate so well with the working class. I do not believe that the show is making fun of the working class. Instead, I think it is working to create an outlet for them to relieve a little stress and see that other people struggle just like they do, and that there is no reason to get worked up about it. The show shows that there are a lot of people that do not love their job, but they do what they need to to get by.

Rosanne Response

In the Rosanne episode, the average family was depicted, at least in my opinion. My household at home consisted of my mom, stepfather, sister, and myself. Both of my parents worked at a local Delphi factory. The issues that arose in the film were no stranger to my household. A few years before taking the buyout, my stepfather was laid off for a few months. In that period of time his jobs future was uncertain. While hos unemployment was not the full amount of his salary, I can remember him and my mom arguing over financial responsibilities. I can also relate to the part of the episode where the teacher suggested that Rosanne not spending time at home due to working was affecting her daughter’s behavior. A few years ago, my mother and stepfather separated. In order to maintain our household, my mom would work a lot of overtime. It felt as though I never saw her. So to some people who have always had a home with two parents who had steady jobs, this show seems like a funny unrealistic fantasy, but for me it was all too familiar. Rosanne almost missing her conference with her daughter’s teacher rang bells to me. I can remember having to give my mom extensive notices for school events because she needed ample time to find someone to cover her shift or to call off in advance. If I didn’t, I could forget about her attending. If I would’ve seen this episode on TV, it wouldn’t be something I immediately related to social class issues because I lived similar circumstances.

Post #5

My sources for my SSI are perfect examples of social class issues that exist in our country. In Source A, the author makes our nations dwindling economy become real. Many people have not been affected altogether or not as bad and neglect to see just how bad things really are. The author presents the argument in a more personal level, including facts and statistics as recent as the 2010 census. In Source B, you have a homeless person who has an ability that could gross him thousands of dollars annually, but is asking for money on the street. The article shows that even having a skill or education in the economically harsh times is not always enough. In these hard times, no one is safe from hardship. People with degrees, certifications, and trades are jobless. If someone can code computer encryptions, you would think they would have a job doing that, but instead they are out soliciting their skill for money and other means. But in these hard times, issues of social class are at an all-time high. Our nation needs to band together. No one is better than anyone. The working class makes our nation go round, people need to realize that. There is not enough money to go around for everyone to be millionaires. However, that doesn’t make them insignificant. Without the working class, there would not be an economy! Even though it is in a shabby state, the working class contributes a vast majority to it. When the wealthy realizes they don’t make the world spin, issues of social class won’t exist in everyday life.

Blog Post #5

 Before taking this class, I never really saw social class as an issue that America faces today, and I am still not entirely sure that it is something that we should be particularly worried about. I think that social classes and the concept of class warfare is actually a good thing. No matter what, people are always going to make different incomes, and policies are always going to favor one class over the other. I think that there are negatives and positives to every social class. Different policies cater to different classes, and that is okay.

 When I think about class issues, the first thing I think of is the sinking of the Titanic, and how being in a certain social class was an issue of life or death. The fact that they organized lifeboats by class is just ridiculous. How much money one makes should never determine whether they live or die. During this time period, I think the organization of the class system was inhuman. First class passengers got to get into the lifeboats first, so almost all of them survived. Many third class passengers didn’t even get to use a lifeboat at all, causing them to go into the ice cold water unprepared. This was a time when status was everything. I think that is why when I look at the current class system, I don’t see it as being an issue, when compared to 1914. I think we have come so far, and I don’t see it getting much better in the next 100 years. Class systems and class warfare are necessary for a country to function, and the way they are currently is not terrible.

Blog #5

In Indian Culture there had been a Caste System for many years. In which your ‘class’ or role in life is determined at birth. There was no changing their place no matter how much they resented it. This fits right in with our class theme, Class Warfare. The difference is there isn’t as much war over this because this is believed to be the way that class is handled as deemed by religious texts.

Instead of separating out by Wealth like what we see in the United States, Upper, Middle and Working/Lower Class structure, the caste system separates out by job/duty. The “working class” still remains as a caste, the people who do labor, services and craftsmen are the Shudras. Then they separate those who do more important jobs like farmers as the Vaishyas. The Upper/Aristocratic caste is the Kshatriyas which includes Kings, warriors and people of law. This sounds very similar to our definition of class, but from here is where the differences emerge, the Brahmins are the religious and educational staff/workers like priests and teachers placing them in high respect.

In America teachers and priests can be found among varying class status and usually depends more on their own personal background than anything else. Maybe this accounts how our nation has fallen far behind many others in the field of education. As our culture pushes the respect and higher pay/dignity towards other jobs that are revered as better for the nation.

The final major difference is that foreigners are seen as casteless and then certain foreigners by trade are referred to as untouchables; maybe out of fear of the damage the influence that their culture could do or maybe out of respect, either way in America foreigners in the past have been immediately filed into some of the lowest classes in history among arrival. Americans may accept their culture, but the more that come, the more jobs that are taken away from Americans. Blame in many subjects is constantly shifted to something involving race, religion, or citizenship.

This brings out a more positive view on the caste system, but don’t get me wrong. These are just the aspects that they got right and how they ended up avoiding a lot of class warfare, there is much more to this system enough to write a thesis on. How? Because it has already been done, America may be the “Melting Pot”, but we still have a lot of lessons to learn.

What I wish I knew.... (blog 4)

From the Bud Light Real Men of Genius Campaign it talks about the treatment of people from the public scope of their jobs. It would be very helpful to know how they are treated by clients, other personal and bosses behind closed doors. While the NFL Cord Carrier guy does hard work on the field and a lot relies on him, after the game maybe the coach takes him out to dinner as thanks. I guess that would also depend though on the person that they are working under. Which some would get lucky like that, and the other ones who are unlucky would get fired after just one game full of problems. Then the Major Highway Line Painter guy, at one point in time had to paint them manually but so much of what we do is automated now. A lot of Bud Light’s Real Men of Genius Campaign probably have not aged very well, there is no Cord Carrier guy, most things are wireless and the major highway line painter guy just drives a truck down a part of the highway that people can’t drive on. In another decade though the tables will turn again and the relevant arguments we come up with now will partially be irrelevant to any argument not involving historical background reasoning.

Jerry Springer brings up a lot of controversial things. But in a time when the President is giving tax cuts and health care to those who “can’t get jobs” and then years ago people were still complaining about how they can’t get jobs no matter how many applications they submit. That’s introduced in his show in the episode I picked, one side of the argument claims that they only filled out like 3 or 4. Do people who don’t have jobs really try to get them or at this point do they just live off of the unemployment checks that the government gives them. It’s a choice they are given, but the money has to come from somewhere and they sure aren’t earning it like the people who have to give the government the money they get. Is the amount that some people receive through unemployment and other programs enough to live off of and allow them to be lazy or does it actually push them to try to get a job and make their own living.