11.5.09 Remember Remember the fifth of November...

Wahoo! Guy Fawkes Day!
Anyways, I mostly do agree that in analyzing how a society deals with wealth and poverty directly correlates with a nation's health, and from there, happiness. Though there are many conflicting reports about the happiest nations in the world, the majority of nations which that are wealthy consistently find themselves higher on the happiness scale. There are, of course, exceptions. For example CNN describes Costa Rica as the happiest nation in the world, followed by Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Guatemala and Vietnam. This came as a great shock to me, but most other sources I used found contradictory results.

When nations are wealthy, standard of living typically is high. Remember, I said I mostly agree with the original statement. There are always exceptions. A nation's education system, employment rate, law enforcement effectiveness, and social equalities are examples of important factors which greatly contribute to a nation's standard of living. Typically, these can be achieved with a strong financial backing. When nations have the ability to better these areas, progress can be made, in turn leading to inevitable happiness. Northern European countries often find themselves at the top of the happiness indexes due some of the aforementioned factors. Despite having the world's highest taxes in many areas, Denmark is usually listed as the happiest country. Why? Because these taxes go back to benefit the people. When a country gets it's priorities straight, the people benefit and the country is healthier.

November 3, 2009

I would just like to start this blog by saying the YANKEES WON!!! It was an amazing game…
I do not think it is appropriate to judge a society based on wealth and poverty. Sadly, it is the most important feature. Wealth and poverty are such shallow features of the bigger picture. While it does hold a lot of ground, judging an area strictly based on that causes people to over look other positive things that community may have to offer. Situations get tricky when referring to money. It is the cornerstone of our networking and how we build the world around us. Immediately we look at that aspect. Without wealth, it is hard for social arrangements to run and with a lot of poverty, those arrangements begin to look inefficient and for lack of a better word bad. In terms of a community, that communities imagine is based on their wealth and poverty. For example, Africa, yes while this example is used a lot it is very applicable. That country has a large poverty population and because of that, the country is represented in such a way where that aspect becomes the focus. America is one of the “wealthier” nations in the country and because of that it is seen as a land of opportunities.

Wealth and Health

I think the health of a community can be measured pretty well by the wealth of it. If there is a lot of poverty, not only do you instinctually view the community as a "worse" community, but there is some quantitative reasoning behind that too. Firstly, wealth within a community yields a good economy and standard of living is automatically higher because there is more competition in the market and more availability of higher priced items. It naturally follows that then the house prices are higher, so the people living there tend to have a better income and aren't going to become robbers or steal anything.

In poorer neighbourhoods, there is much more want of things that tend to be lacking in a community, leading to more theft and an overall lower standard of living.

I despise that this is the reality of it, but it's true. Wealthier communities are healthier, moreover they are safer.

The question that stems from this question, is to do with how you interpret healthiness within a community. Is it literal health (obviously no), healthy relationships formed between members of the community? If it is this, then no, there is absolutely no indication of this type of health in relation to wealth. People can be bad or good, and that has no correlation to how much money they have: there are bad eggs in every the socioeconomic class.

If people have good relationships with each other, like neighbourhood watch programs, that's definitely a way in which the society is healthy.

Does healthy mean safety? That's how I interpreted it, indirectly. As I explained, having a good economy and wealth drives up the standard of living which allows people to live well.

I think that healthy as taken to mean safe makes a little more sense than my "healthy relationships speculation" just because you can have a very tightly nit neighbourhood that still is unsafe, just because of its surrounding area or people who infiltrate their little world.

As cyncial as all this sounds, you still got to remember, and I think Miranda at the least agrees with this too: it's supposed to be something we can draw knowledge from and apply it to our lives in order to make it better. Whether that eliminates looking at the health of a community or not is not the point; it's that we realize what we value in society to better know ourselves....

Poverty and community

According to Webster's dictionary, a community is, at its most basic, a "a unified body of individuals". As defined, every member of a community is tied to each other in some way or another. What that tie is exactly depends on the type of community examined. Communities are made to serve some sort of purpose, either for themselves or the rest of society.
In order to examine the health of a community, one must analyze it on these facts. The way members of a community treat their fellow community members and how they treat those outside of their community is the main criteria for how well a community is serving its purpose.
If the community examined is residential in nature and large in size, such as a city, region, or country, then one of the criteria for "assaying the health of a society" is how it "deals with the problem of wealth and poverty" (Bellah et al, 285). This, however, would not be the best, or the only, basis to judge such a community. There are questions of how they deal with outsiders, how to punish those who have offended the community rules, and how they deal with the health of their members, among others. Poverty and wealth may be an important part of any residential litmus test, but it does not paint a complete picture.

11.1.09 Reflection

It was a fairly exciting past weekend. The holiday atmosphere, despite it only being for Halloween, created a great flurry of activity and hype. Until entering college I never really realized that Halloween was such a big deal. I also never realized how important costumes are, and that it is common to have have not only one, but multiple. Being males, my roommate and I quite naturally waited last minute to prepare our costumes. We left Friday afternoon for Friendship Heights in order to salvage whatever costumes were available at a Halloween superstore. We arrived and found the store packed. The line was about thirty yards long and moved slow. No costumes really appealed to us, maybe because the length of the line remained in our minds or because there really was a limited selection, so we left with a new idea in mind.

We had reason to suspect there was a TJ Maxx in the area which was undoubtedly true. Brad and I purchased a set of bed sheets, complete with pillow case, sheet, and bed cover. They would be the foundation of our costumes. We returned to AU and began our craftsmanship. Brad cut two eye holes in the sheet: ghost! I drew some musical notes on mine, cut two arm holes and a hole for my head. Voila! Sheet music. Both were rather successful in terms of their reception. We did, however, miss trick or treating at the embassies because of tardiness.

I ended up enjoying a weekend of free burritos, wild costumes, and god times with friends. It was my favorite weekend at AU so far and I hope the trend continues. The festive air definitely seemed to heighten everyone's moods resulting many great times. It was a much needed excellent weekend that will without a doubt result in a successful school week.

Halloween weekend...

The conversation in class on Friday was a little disappointing. I understand that providing constructive criticism about the university is important but there was a line that was crossed. We all had our dream schools; however we all ended up here. Yes, there are improvements that this university can make, but the Ivy Leagues of American also have faults. Honestly, we all are going to come out with a great education and I think that from now on we should embrace American in a more positive light.
On a happier note, this weekend was Halloween!!! Visiting the embassies was a lot of fun. I enjoyed walking around and seeing them. On Friday night, I was sick, so I decided to stay in and I watched The silence of the lambs. Talk about identity issues…the serial killer in the movie killed women and then dressed up as one. He suffered from not knowing who he was. I guess the question at the end of the movie was if being a serial killer was a front or if it was who he really was. As I was watching, I thought it was funny, that the idea of identity popped in my head during what was a non-school related activity. It is true that identity, fronts, and performances are everywhere. I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!!!

Honesty and fronts

At a recent party, my sister's boyfriend was complimented on his "cool Seth Rogen costume". The fact is that he wasn't dressed up at all.
Although cases of mistaken intent happen around Halloween, when everyone is meant to be someone that they are not, during the rest of the year, such situations could be a bit more awkward. If one is trying to be honest in your demeanor, misinterpretation could lead to an erosion of your identity. Your true self is no longer a viable front, but what others see in it. You are no longer yourself, but, well, a costume.
Such misinterpretations often arise from interactions between individuals from two different cultures or personalities. What may be offensive to some may be humorous to others, what is appropriate to one may be repulsive to another.
While this Halloween and its craziness is all just a memory now, the awkward cases of mistaken identity that come with it will continue to occur, not just on next Halloween.