Analysis Of How America Went Haywire

America is commonly characterized as the greatest country in the world, the glorious “land of the free and the home of the brave”, “indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”. This idealization of the American identity conveniently focuses on what people want to hear and blurs out most everything else. In reality, Americans do not live up to the dreamscape created by our views, and we never really have. America is no longer characterized by its freedom and democracy, nearly every first world country can afford that luxury. Nor are we set apart by the great opportunities given to our people, for those are far from universal. We aren’t equal, we aren’t unified, we aren’t kinder or smarter or richer than any other country across the board. It’s easy to find the shortcomings of American culture, all the things we aren’t, but the things we are have proven to be more elusive. First, let’s examine the nots.

In 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America started by the History Channel selecting dates from many years that included an all-day meeting with a group of historians and producers discussed and debated against the days that should fit in the final list of days that changed America. All the historians and producers agreed on that they would not use events that occurred after 1965. The historians and producers gave dates that would provoke discussion and a debate which meant them overlooking events such as the signing of the constitution and the first shot of the civil war. Most of the topics chosen in 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America covered span of our history from settlement to recent pass. 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America places people

“What happens to a society that cannot distinguish between reality and illusion?” As our country crumbles and our economy crashes, Chris Hedges asks this one question to his readers. Throughout his article, “American Psychosis,” he provides hit after hit of shocking proof that reveals the United States to not only be in desperate need of change, but also that the American people, with their obtuse nationalism and selfish greed, are blissfully ignorant of what could possibly be the downfall of this country. Hedges wants his reader to be shocked at the startling facts that he throws at them, to be angry at him for saying what must be blatant lies and exaggerations, and then to be inquisitive, to discover for themselves just how real the problems of the United States are and how dire the consequences can become. Hedges uses this article as a warning, he desperately wants his readers to understand just how bad things really are and he wants them to be inspired to change it, to stop whatever dark future that could happen. In this article, Hedges touches many subjects: Americans and

The book 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America written by Steven M. Gillon is a book written obviously about 10 days that most people would not expect to have changed American history. Steven M. Gillon is a resident historian of The History Channel as well as a professor of Modern US History at The University of Oklahoma. Not Only does he teach Mr. Gillon has also learned, earning his Ph.D. from Brown University. Steven M. Gillon has also written a numerous number of books, some of his recent books being; Pearl Harbor: FDR Leads the Nation to War (2011), The Kennedy Assassination--24 Hours After: Lyndon B. Johnson's Pivotal First Day as President (2010), The Pact: Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and the Rivalry that Defined a Generation (2008), The American Paradox: A History of the United States Since 1945 (2006), and 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America (2006). 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America is a book that talks about many days, obviously that were critcal to US history, the time plot being from the late 1630s to late 1960s. This book was written based off a documentary about the same ten days. However, in Gillon’s book different reasoning is provided. Unfortunately for this book one cannot watch the documentary instead of reading the book and judge the book off the documentary.

The author directs a scathing degree of indignation toward the blinded American people and, equally, the evil celebrities who are misleading them, while letting the root of the problem slip right between his accusatory fingers. He rattles off half a page of governmental failings that are slowly killing our economy, our families, and our globe at large, and then proceeds to blame the American people for…

Have you ever been in a situation where you have to choose one side or another, but agree and disagree with both sides? Everyday American citizens deal with this problem everyday of their lives. There are two sides, or parties, of America, Republicans and Democrats. These two parties hardly, if ever, agree with a particular issue. However, they always find ways to disagree, and explain why the other side is simple minded with a particular issue. In the Ted talk, “Can a divided America heal,” it explains ways how our divided America can heal, as well as ways why our divided America will not heal. I believe that American citizens are too stubborn to be able to come together, and heal America.

It is 2014 and since the beginning of the millennium there has been a major shift in America’s political ideology and demographics, more so than in any set period of time. America which has historically been very conservative, has started to become more liberally made evident by the results of the last two elections. Although America’s government is based on a less centralized system and free market, Americans have seemed to start embracing things like big government and a stricter market. Americans are also starting to think different on social issues such as homosexuality and drug usage. America has also experienced a change in its demographics as minorities like Asians and Hispanics continue to grow while whites are, percentage wise, starting to make up a smaller part of Americas population. Along with a shift in ideology and change in demographics, technology and communication has advanced greatly making the world a much more connected place. Because of this connectivity people are also beginning to be influenced by foreign ideas that are not familiar to most Americans such as universal healthcare. Overall, because of factors such as foreign influences due to technology and changing demographics, America has become less conservative and more liberal.

As time goes on, social networking sites can influence millions of people without thinking about the consequences. Foer wanted the readers to understand the full impact of Facebook by mentioning that “No other company has so precisely boasted about its ability to shape democracy like this-and for good reason. It’s too much power to entrust to a corporation” (75). The author found it peculiar that Facebook wanted to boast about their success, and the amount of influence that they have. Foer meant by “the ability to shape democracy” is Mark Zuckerberg is allowing Facebook to change the Democratic Party and he does not deny this accusation. He is able to reshape democracy due to the excessive use of algorithms. The people controlling the algorithms are allowing it to pick videos or post pictures that could have social pressures which can influence a person to sway from their original stance. Algorithms should be posting videos at random and should pick related videos if the users asks for it; that way, the user knows what they want and it will be their chose if they want to continuing watching the same videos. Facebook could be sneaky and can be inhumane when it comes to human emotions. Resulting in another treacherous scenario because Facebook does not care, “Whether the information is true or concocted, authoritative reporting or conspiratorial opinion, doesn’t really seem to matter much to Facebook. The crowd gets what it wants and deserves” (Foer 76). Foer mentions something that can be tremendously petrifying to the world and it is that Facebook does not care whether or not a piece of news is genuine on their site. The word “concocted” means made up and Facebook does not filter or check out the sources that make up facts that millions of people read. By ignoring their obligation to check out news like a journalist does, they allow the crowd to get what they want, even if it is fabricated.

Austin, PhD and Professor of Philosophy at Eastern Kentucky University, believes that social media is the largest purveyor of disconcerting trends seen in readers. He claims in his Psychology Today feature entitled "Want a Better Life? Read a Book" that the punchy / quick lived nature of online media can be droning and inescapable, causing its users to accept preconceived opinions rather than critically analyzing a text using their personal rationale. For those like Austin, the increasing prevalence of social networking has not only altered the way in which we read, but the way in which we

My blood boiled. My face was a deep scarlet resembling fiery, bright lava. I looked at my sister. Her smug face made the bomb inside of me tick faster. Before I knew it, I felt a stinging impact; my hand leaving a distinctive red mark across her cheek. Not long after, I felt the same pain my sister had. I stared at my mother in shock. To this day, I still reflect over the irony of that one moment. My mom attempted to teach me not to hit my sister by striking me. However, this contradictious lesson was not practical. It did not fix my behavior; the only change was that I questioned my punishment. This applies to the broken system we have here in America. The death penalty is not only paradoxical, but it is a costly process that does succeed in deterring crimes. Capital punishment is not beneficial to our society.

Many people associate the word “genocide” with the Holocaust in Nazi Germany. However, there is a particular genocide much more severe than the Holocaust, the American Indian genocide. It is roughly estimated that ten million Native Americans died due to European contact. Many documents attempt to effectively recount the experiences of the Native Americans and provide accurate information pertaining to their cultures, but the reading that best does this is chapter one of America’s History by James Henretta et al. This reading encompasses a variety of topics; covering Native American society prior to European contact, geography of the Americas, European hierarchy, conflict in the Old World, Native American and European empires, trading networks,

The Middle East is one of the birthplaces of human kind’s civilization. Since the Ancient Egypt, Sumer, the Arab Empire, Turkey Empire, or even to present day, the Middle East has always been a valuable strategic point for not only because of its geographic location but also it full of petroleum and nature gas. According the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) that 66% of the global oil reserves are in the Middle East and only 6% in North America, this makes a lot of powerful countries want to share a pieces of the Middle East, Stephen mentions “Much of the world 's oil wealth exists along the Persian Gulf, with particularly large reserves in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait

This essay will examine the rise of “modern America”, there were economic, religious, and aspect of life changes took place and it was greatly changed the Americans society’s perceptions, specifically, the north and the south. The rise of “modern America” was greatly motivated immigrants to come to the United States for economic opportunity, industrialization in the North after the civil war created new businesses and job regulations, and the demand for social changes; all of these factors shaped America socially, politically, and economically.

Media is an artistic profession with a lot of positivity related to how the current events reach the mainstream public. With the introduction of social media and online news article, the public has constant access to the material presented by media outlets. During the last couple years there are many instances where media has helped develop an illusion of the American current society with the use of fallacies portraying a negative image of the cultural. Historically, media outlets report according to what the actual media makers and producers believe versus what the current public believes. This causes a mis-representation of American cultural, America’s racism, and statistics on crime.

The recent surge in popularity of social media comes with a price: fake news. Fake news is defined as news or media that has been altered or modified. Journalists have begun to analyze why that fake news exists and why it continues exist. Two authors, Eoin O’Carroll and Kevin D. Williamson, both have written articles about fake news. Eoin O’Carroll’s article “How Information Overload Helps Spread Fake News,” discusses how the media has bombarded us with news stories, blurring the distinct lines between real and fake news. Kevin D. Williamson, a journalist for the National Review, writes in his article “‘Fake News, Media and Voters: Shared Reality Must Be Acknowledged” that the news is not fake; it just does not align with one’s personal beliefs. Both authors successfully appeal to their audiences’ emotions and feelings, but O’Carroll is more likely to succeed than Williamson in persuading his audience to try and combat fake news because the writer presents himself as someone the intended readers will more readily identify with and offers evidence that his readers will find more compelling.