The website I have chosen which typifies contemporary America for me is the Fox News website. For me, this is a good example of what makes Americans the way they are today.
Websites for news channels, and their 24 hour repeated news shows are the result of people in today's world wanting to be able to access the news at any hour of the day, wherever they are. People want to know what is going on, and don't get me wrong, I think it's a good thing that people are wanting to find out more about the world that they live in, and to stay up to date with current events, but sometimes I think that this is taken to the extreme and is not a good thing.
The reason I chose Fox News instead of one of the many other news websites around is because of the extreme right wing bias that Fox News have, and they represent a large quantity of today's America.
The website I have chosen to do my Hurricane Katrina blog on is Katrina.com, a website which encourages people to "do all the good you can, in all the ways you can."
This website is devoted to helping out the victims of the families who were struck down by Katrina, and all the other people whose lives have been affected by it. There are places on the website where you can go to donate money, or simply for people to share their stories and advice.
This website does not focus so much on the accusations of prejudice within the Bush government when the Hurricane hit, but encourages people to come together to help each other, rather than blaming each other for what happened. And that is a message that we can all take with us through life.
The religious group I have chosen for this blog is the Church of Scientology. A lot of people have heard of Scientology (mostly thanks to some of the big stars like John Travolta, Tom Cruise and Peaches Geldof) and think on it with scorn, however most people don't really know all that much about it.
Their website is laid out very well, and is very easy to use. You can tell that they have invested a lot of time and money in to it, I guess in the hopes of dissuading people from their original beliefs that Scientology is more of a cult than a religion. However, like *nearly* all other religions in the world, Scientology is all about making you a better person, and about helping others. Are those truly the acts of a cult?
But how does Scientology represent faith and American identity in the modern world? Well, one very relevant aspect of it in today's world is that you have to pay a fair amount of money if you want to advance within the community, after all, you don't get something for nothing.
Scientology is causing a lot of debate in America at the moment, and I fear that the issue is one that will never truly be settled. While free will and free thinking is prevalent in the country, there will always be some argument between people about how they should behave, or what they should believe in.
This article is written by a man named Josef Joffe, who, amongst other things, is a co-editor of Die Zeit - a popular German weekly newspaper.
He argues here that America is, in fact, not declining - or at least nowhere near as dramatically as is often made out. Joffe suggests that "it is decline time in the United States" "every ten years." And so far, at the end of each cycle, America remains "first on any scale of power that matters." While he accepts that "the breathtaking rise of China is at the center of contemporary worries," he thinks that their rise in power has only started so vastly in very recent years, and that there is no way for it to be sustainable for them.
In this article, he makes a very bold suggestion as to one of the reasons that the United States will always be in "a league of it's own," and this is that America is the only country in the world with both the will, and the means to "intervene anywhere on the planet." Joffe thinks that America, like Europe once was, "is a warrior culture," and it is this that allows them to be the "default power, the country that occupies center stage."
The article I have chosen for this blog is about China's "liberation" of Tibet. In this article, Saunders appears to express a view which is pretty different to that of the international community at the time. While I enjoyed reading all of Saunders' articles, I found this one to be particularly interesting.
I think that he is being very sarcastic in this article. When he says that "It would be a great tragedy if the sight of a few gentle monks bursting into uncontrollable tears of anguish caused us to abandon the Olympic ideal of international brotherhood." it appears to me that he resents the fact that even though all those people in Tibet died, hundreds of thousands of people will still flock to China and spend millions of dollars there.
He agrees that there is a time and a place for forgiving and forgetting, but in this case I believe that he is upset by the fact that the American people seem to be able to do so as easily as they have done.
Is America in decline? Has it been in decline? These are questions that many ask and debate with eachother over small events that have happened to have occurred over the last three hundred years of American history. Some argue that, especially recently, America has overstretched itself by going to Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention the many other countries that American troops are already stationed in under Humanitarian aid. The defence budget for America is averaging at 900,000,000,000 dollars. The rest of the worlds defence budget combined is more or less the same. http://rationaloptimist.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/american-declinism/ Frank S Robinson a self proclaimed rational optimist, Humanist, and classical nineteenth century Liberalist, believes that America is not in decline. In fact America is an exceedingly rich country that is financed by its exceptional productiveness. Robinson does not seem to be worried with the ten trillion dollars worth of National Debt that every minute gets added to. He seems satisfied in the knowledge that the productiveness of America will keep it forever afloat. Even with the mounting costs of the pension, healthcare and social security and the fact that he himself acknowledges that the national GDP is $14 trillion with up to $95 trillion being spent on the previous expenditures alone. This does not matter because according to Frank S Robinson, (who incidently sells ancient coins for a living after retiring from being a judge), all the tax that is taken from the citizens would more than pay for these expenditures from the State. If cuts need to be made then it would only be the people who wouldn't miss the 'free benefits' that would lose out. This is a typical view that I have come to find whilst researching American declinism. The American people are so entagled in their own way of life that it does not occur to them that there is no real need for these massive expenditures. It has not escaped my notice that the defence budget rose considerably after 9/11 in foresight of the attack on Baghdad. The new Healthcare bill that was pushed through by the Obama Administration will be another burden on the tax payers, which at the time of writing this article Frank S Robinson had no knowledge of. Many of the people of America were enraged by this policy, however it would be more beneficial than many of the drains on the countries finances. What I did find astonishing was the acceptance that America may not always be exceptional. Robinson states "And someday, China may become more powerful than the US, and maybe even richer too; but that won't be the end of the world either... America will not starve..." I found this slightly against the grain, for on one hand he is arguing for America not being in decline, however, in many Americans eyes they are at the top, surely if they were to be overtaken by China that would essentially be America in decline? It seems to me that he is trying to cover his bases and in the mean time he is contradicting himself in a rather amateur fashion.
When typing 'American declinism' into google I found the site Urban Elephants with a blog by Herb London, he believes that declinism is a choice and America can choose whether to stay in it or get out of it. He mentions that China and Japan provide 50% of money lent to the US by foreign investors, but he feels that China needs America just as much as American needs them as they are relient on their trade policy with America.
Herb also comments on America's education system stating that it is not up to standards with european schools and university who have brighter students in maths and science. Saying that 'Most young people are more likely to know the name of the “American Idol” winner than the name of the Secretary of Defense.' and that their ignorance could be one of the reasons why they are declining.
Herb feels that America can be restored again as Ronald Reagan did in the past, he had a different idea of what America should be and gave America back its power. From the amount of debt shown in the seminar on monday I did not see how that would be possible but this blog has made me see it differently as Herb says they did it once before they can do it again, it is their choice.
This blog is by 'Unca Darrell', who sounds like my worst nightmare; 'Old. Conservative. Christian. In love with my wife, Texas, America, Western Civilization, and Jesus.' If that doesn't scream REPUBLICAN, I don't know what does! The blog begins with a small passage from an article written by Niall Ferguson for Foreign Affairs.Unca Darrell then offers his opinions and further posts opinions from Mark Steyn, Josef Joffe, co-editor of Die Zeit and Robert J. Lieber, who's article appeared in Foreign Affairs in 2008.
Ferguson's article is pessimistic (and rightly so) and concentrates on US fiscal policy and how it is America's downfall. He says that although the U.S debt will not be absolutely dire until 2080, the paranoia that is present in modern day America may make it much worse as it could only take one headline on a slow news day to bring everything crashing down. He comments that military expenditure would most likely be cut (should cuts be made) because 'unlike mandatory entitlements, it is discretionary. . . . . For the United States' enemies in Iran and Iraq, it must be consoling to know that U.S. fiscal policy today is preprogrammed to reduce the resources available for all overseas military operations in the years ahead.' He has a point, but I disagree that military expenditure would be the first to be cut. Obama has pledged that the Military budget for 2011 will be somewhere in the region of $721 billion and even though he said he planned to pull out of Iraq, that hasn't happened and even more troops have been sent to Afghanistan. So although we all hoped after nearly 10 years this would all end, the light at the end of the tunnel is slowly disappearing. But is it all doom and gloom?
Apparently not. Unca Darrell is optimistic, as are the other contributors. He agrees with most of what Ferguson says, but he believes that taking the optimistic route may be more beneficial. However I believe this is more like burying your head in the sand and the lasting effects of being so optimistic is only superficial. I think Steyn realises this but Unca Darrell, Joffe and Lieber are all of the viewpoint that America is still the world's number one superpower with Darrell boldly expressing that there is no other country that even comes close to stealing the USA's limelight. Unfortunately, Darrell doesn't seem to understand that America is no longer in a one horse race. China is coming up the rear, and quickly. Niall's term 'Chimerica' as discussed in the seminar group is a testament to just how much of a threat the Chinese pose. In the next 40 years will we be looking at Chinese films with English subtitles? Will all future exports (culture, sports, films, starts, music) be coming from East Asia instead of the USA? The aforementioned men don't seem to think so. We have to look on the bright side of things and remember that America has had two centuries of growth, not decline. They have seen through two world wars and a depression and yet they still manage to have a defense budget that 51% of the rest of the world's, they have some of the most prestigious higher education establishments with high success rates, and as Joffe writes: 'These advantages include America's size, wealth, human and material resources, military strength, competitiveness, and liberal political and economic traditions, but also a remarkable flexibility, dynamism, and capacity for reinvention.' The USA cannot be touched. Unless of course you have the attitude of Unca Darrell and complete lack of faith in your government; 'Still, it would be foolish to say our country cannot fail. And one way it could fail is by doing exactly what the Obama administration is doing now -- borrowing profligately from future generations, bankrupting them.'
He wrote that 'Now is a kind of calm-before-the-storm moment here in America.' The storm he means the financial crisis. He wrote the 'American Psyche' for Guardian that was almost two years ago, but the financial crisis is still going on. He mentioned that they are in two wars. However, I think those two are the most importat, but their armies are in different countries of the world. His articles or works are more about satirical. He satires the contemporary society of America. In this last passage he mentioned a smart-mouthed kid in the back seat of the car making fun of his family. What is the relevant between the financial crisis and those two wars? People who care about it? They just want to live in peace.
I found a vedio clip that probably is about that 'smart-mouthed kid', but I am not sure. If not we can still watch it, it is really funny.
To begin with I would like to comment on how much I like George Saunders work. Although I have to say (and rather in eloquently I might add) that the short stories in In Persuasion Nation are some of the most disturbing words I have ever read in the 17 years I have been reading books. Seriously! I was shocked and appalled by some of the material because it so obviously relates to contemporary America. And that frightens me. Even more than Bush and Sarah Palin did.
George's articles in The Guardian however are completely different and I thoroughly enjoyed reading through them to find an article to comment on for this week. So the topic is Perfection and how well the Americans embrace it and to some extent abuse it. After reading the article, one realises two things; we all strive to achieve perfection in one form or another and Americans (in particular Britney Spears) are willing to inflict this on their infants. I can only assume that she would want to whiten her child's teeth because he is an extension of her and therefore must remain perfect at all times. They don't call it La-La Land for nothing.
The article is slightly reminiscent of the first of the short stories in In Persuasion Nation, 'I Can Speak!' A disturbing story, it is written in letter form and details how a company have invented a mask that fits onto your baby's face and allows it to 'speak'. You really have to read it to understand what I'm saying. But this is the issue Saunders is talking about. The contemporary American fights for perfection. Children from a young age seek to grow up so quickly to become the perfect girl, trying to emulate their Barbie dolls or little boys wanting to be like their favourite sports star. And parents so eager to mould their child into the perfect off-spring, eliminating any flaws that they had themselves. It seems that no matter what age your are, it will never be enough. Saunders himself was nearing 50 at the time and was trying to straighten his teeth! America is almost the motherland of cosmetic surgery, whether it be liposuction, breast implants or cosmetic dentistry. The never ending stream of media images that portray the latest in 'self improvement' have become the new fashion of the 21st Century. A notion that Saunders mocks, and quite right too. As he notes, each nation has their peculiarities. Apparently us Brits are scrappy in times of hardship. Americans on the other hand see something nice and think: can we make it better? I don't believe such a statement is so apt, so perfect, than that to describe America today.
The article I chose is about the amount of superhero films being released in America. George speaks about the recent films released discussing the heroes powers which he believes really aren't real powers, but America looks up to these heroes and with the tragic terrorist attack of the world trade centre America seems to need a hero more than ever. These films are depicting a world that American citizens want to live in so they can feel protected and safe but the reality is that these heroes aren't heroes. For example George portrays Batman as a man that just has a lot of money, and then compares him to the "Typical man", "the complainer" and the "Sexual remark guy". I think what George is trying to say is that if the characters in these films can be superheroes why can't a "Typical man" as they all start off as ordinary people.
The recent release of 'Kick Ass' is a good example of this, as it is about a boy who decides to be a superhero but who doesn't actually have a power. Everyone wants to be a hero with powers, but the real heroes are the fire fighters who rescue so many lives and the policeman working everyday to make the country a safer place to live in.
George Saunders is a write who is known for his stories that are often satirical aswell as having a moral meaning. The short story of 'In persuasion Nation' seems to be made up of events that have no meaning, not to mention making no sense whatsoever, however, by the end of the story, not only does it make sense, but a moral meaning has been put across and all is understood and parallels made between the reality and fiction. The same can be said of the weekly columns that he wrote for the Guardian up until October 2008. http://http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/may/03/healthandwellbeing This column entry at first does not seem to make alot of sense. He talks of a beautiful day and the delights it holds. All the while holding a bad of dog poo and a dead half eaten fish. He states later in his column that if he meets someone who sees all this wonder, then he wants to say 'you are only seeing partly, you blind bastard.' This is very true in the sense of the United States of America for go to be astounded by this magnificent place with miles of natural land and amazing architecture. The first thing you find when you arrive is an airport. When you eventually step out of the Airport, especially in a big city such as New York, you will be met by pollution and many many people, all rushing around to get to where they want to be. The buildings may be majestic, but they are also dirty and covered in pigeon poo. This I must say is an image collected from different TV programs such as friends. But when thinking of an American City such as New York, the amazement and the dirt walk hand in hand. The way that Saunders describes the spring with a bag of poop in his hand reflects that all is never perfect. That is in the literal sense, the dog poo can also be seen as a metaphore for all that is wrong with America. The generic advertisements and consuming people. In a land that could have been as diverse as they claim to be, their own wish to expand has made them the dog poo hanging from a tree in an otherwise pretty park, the blind may not see it, but when summer comes that bag is going to stink. The message that Saunders puts forward is not overt. It is subtly beneath his words, in the image that he creates. A fact that I find rather amusing in regards to George Saunders is his hatred of the Image World that the United States has created, but they way that he puts his complaint forward is through the use of Images. Even so the image of America that I recieved through this article is that all is not pretty in the Land of images, if you look with your eyes and not your indoctrinated heart then you will see the dog poop hanging in the maple tree aswell.
This tribute video towards those who died in 9/11 is more of a part of the propaganda engine to justify the War on Terror. On first watching the video it is obvious that whomever made the video believes the United States of America to be a special nation above reproach and with strength that is unmatchable. The video briefly focuses on the pain and magnitude of 9/11, but the War on Terror that the the video seems to be promoting takes up more of the video time, it is a reply to the highly televised event that killed almost 3,000 people. This tribute is not to those who died, but to those who live and die in foreign lands a Nation back, that may have had nothing to do with the attacks. 9/11 was an attack on Americas freedom and democracy, and so the War on Terror was a liberation from tyranny. This video tribute shows the height of the United States view of themselves, especially the creator of the video. It shows the complete denial of all that is wrong with this country, the hubris that the United States has. The words of the song echo this hubris "This is a righteous cause so without doubt or pause I will do what my Country asks of me." The land of the free is also the land of the narrow minded, those who believe that their way is the right way with no leverage. To add to the theory that the United States is a State above the rest, filled with noble people, the first line of the song which is played in this 'tribute' are "Oh, the cowards came by morning and attacked without a warning." First of all is the notion that someone is going to attack but beforehand send a message saying 'by the way I have three planes heading your way to blow you up, hope its no inconveniance'. Added to this is that the writer of the song called the plane hijakers cowards. Surely although it is a shameful act to take the life of another, it had to take courage to board a plane that you knowingly would never leave in one piece. It adds to the notion that America is a State above the rest. The bombing of Iraq was not cowardly, it was brave, however anyone against America is a coward. This video is not a tribute to those who died in 9/11, it does not deserve such a title. It is more of an abomination, an insult to those innocents who died that fateful day.
Almost 9 years after the tragedy on September 11, 2001. There are always someone in somehow to commemorate victims and the day.
Perhaps there are some people so-called "terriorsts", and some people who lost their families may hate them very much. Therefore, the United States invaded Afghanistan, which made more innocence people dead. Most of people around the world prayed and felt pity when American people were suffering the painful. However, after they invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, there is no one think they were weak and worth to compassionate.
That was the dreadful day in the history of the United States, and it did change people's live.
The video I have chosen shows the plane crashing in to the building from many different perspectives, using news and personal footage. The video also uses the footage of the man jumping/falling off the building I found this extremely hard to watch, and to know that he was someones father or son is heartbreaking. Towards the end of the video it shows the aftermath of the attack, this footage must of been taken straight aftet the attack as there is still smoke in the air. I think the song used in the video is by linken park and definitely helps show the sadness and devistation of the footage. At the very end of the video the quote "Only the dead have seen the end of war." - Plato is shown, I completely agree with this statement and feel that it sums up 9/11.
I remember when I found out about the attack, although I didn't hear till the end of the day when I had finished school and my dad told me and my brother to turn on the news channel. I was very young so it didn't hit me as hard as some but as I got older and grew to realise what terrorism was it did hit me, especially when I was shown the documentary '9/11' by the two French brothers at college.
It's a scary thought that this could happen again and maybe to the United Kingdom next time, I remember how scared I was when the London bombings happened as my dad works in London and to think that could happen again but twice as bad is terrifying.
This video isnt like so many of the others i have seen while researching for the obvious reason that it shows you post trade center images of fireman at the wreckage. But what the fundamental difference is the video's ability to let you imagine the disaster from a rare angle. I realise that its footage from before the incident, but from all the "tribute" clips almost all are from ground level or distant vantage point. Whether it is Pre 09/11 or not, to see from inside the W.T.C fills me with calm and un-nerving fright, as it allows you think ' Iknow what is goin to happen'. Due to overwhelming or inconceivable numbers of Youtube tributes to 09/11 the thought of what it was like before is lost to the events of that day and the reaction in the aftermath which have surpassed or superceded any idea of the W.T.C on 09/10 or 09/09.
(Ignore the images of the scout, the Star Spangled Banner at Iwo Jima and pearl Harbour because I cant figure out the link between the three that give a unified message)
To me this Video tributes the determined rescue crews of the DireDept, Ambulance, Police and many other everyday pedestrians who gave their time and effort. Many videos define what is missing, what the W.T.C represented (E.g. to terrorists the symbol of freedom) to Americans and the effect of its absence. the .W.T.C was a part of the image that represented New York, a side from the Statue of Liberty or Empire State Building. It rocked public emotion.
Ultimately this clip shows the scale of the disaster from a different perspective, it doesnt show you what people on the saw that day, it shows what the unlucky inhabitants saw instead.
The commemorative video that I have chosen uses the song Shine Your Light by Robbie Robertson. This song was also used in the film Ladder 49 which tells the story of a group of firemen and the bonds that form between them.
This film does not focus on what happened after the attack, and the subsequent war on terror, rather it tells us the story of the firefighters who were involved in the rescue and those who lost their lives doing this. Photographs are used in this film, rather than video clips, and while this may not initially seem to have such an impact on us, it does have the effect of making us stop for a minute or two to think about the individual people who are in the pictures, and how their lives were changed.
This video remembers 9/11 as a tragic day in history, a day that changed millions of lives around the world.
This has got to be the most tragic blog. Even just looking for videos brings horrible memories as a 12 year old flooding back. I had been in the States on holiday not 3 months before and when I went home for lunch that day, the last thing I expected my Dad to say as he watched CNN was that the Twin Towers had been hit by terrorists. Now believe what you like, maybe it is all a conspiracy and the CIA and the US Government have something to do with it, but it doesn't lessen the magnitude of the situation. Thousands of people died that day, and whats more, people are still effected by it nearly 9 years on. Remember the scene in Michael Moore's Sicko? Some of the Firefighters are still suffering with horrific respiratory problems, and yet the health care system doesn't make it any better.
My video is a remix of Hero by Latino pop star Enrique Iglesias. I came across this a few years ago when trying to download the original version and this came down instead (obviously minus the video). I found it really difficult to listen to it because it was filled with soundbites from people who were in the towers, who had lost loved ones and who were just scared, all interlinked within the lyrics of the song. There are quite a few different versions of this on YouTube but I chose this one because it's just about the event, nothing to do with how bad Bush handled it or how it resulted in the current conflict in the Middle East.
It uses still photo's instead of video footage (which honestly, I find too traumatic to watch anyway) and has an old school movie look with the sepia effect, a nod to Classical Hollywood Cinema, something that made America great. I think having both Bush and Blair soundbites really emphasises the 'Special Relationship' between Britain and the US, and shows the solidarity between the two allies. I think the title of the song is very poignant as that is what many people were that day. It's a beautiful song and being so popular, many can relate to it. And as Enrique himself sang it on a television fundraiser, the song has now become synonymous with the events of 9/11.
As we discussed last week, Religion plays a big part in American life and I believe George Bush's closing words sums up the feeling across America at the time "Join me in saying a prayer for the victims and their families. God bless." I think we all said a prayer that day.
Sometimes in life, all we have are our memories. Whether they be in our mind, on film or in photo's. The events of that day defined a generation and changed the world forever. Any video that is made to commemorate that fateful day is a blessing because it reminds us what the world lost. We may not want to remember, but we'll never forget.
