7# Bibliography

Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Society: The all-American Meal. New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001.

Ritzer, George. The Mcdonaldization of Society: An Investigation into the Changing Character of Contemporary Social Life. Newbury Park, Calif: Pine Forge Press, 1993.

Jakle, John A, and Keith A. Sculle. Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age. Baltimore, Md: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999.

Spurlock, Morgan. Super Size Me. New York, N.Y: Hart Sharp Video, 2004.

Reiter, Ester. Making Fast Food: From the Frying Pan into the Fryer. Montréal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1992.

#4

When it comes to politics, I can easily say that Istand politically on the liberal left. I’m very open minded and willing tolearn about different cultures. Also as a college student certain issues thatare currently being discussed upset me. Such as the issue with cuttingfinancial aid, I feel that the Romney is out of touch with the average workingAmerican families, because of his wealth. He thinks that we should do away with financial aidand said that if we don’t have the money we should burrow money from ourparents if we have to. I was just lost for words when he said that. My parentsdon’t have any money to send me to college and I have a little sister thatabout will be going to college soon too. So there is no way that will happen. Ialso know that there are tons of students out there just like me who come fromworking class families whose only way of being able to afford college isgetting financial aid.
There is also another issue I have a problem with.When it comes to issues such as abortion, I feel that a women has the right to haveabortion if she wants, it’s her body. If a woman is raped she shouldn’t have tocarry it. Could you imagine the pain and suffering those women who are raped go through? What about those women and young girls who are raped by their own father, uncle, and even their brother. I was disgusted when Missouri Republican Congressman Todd Akins said,"in cases of legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down”. Many that when a women is raped she can stop her reproductive organs from working so she won't get pregnant.

#3 Criticism

I think the wikipedia article gives the reader good insight what the Age of Enlightenment is about. I personally find that it was one of the best things that has happened to western civilization. How we now use advanced reasoning with the use of science and technology instead of old dark age superstition. Also thanks to the Age of Enlightenment we now put education as a main parority, along with the advancment of medicine. And because of this we no longer persecute people based on silly religous superstitions now and doctars know how to diagnose and treat patient correctly. Although we as have made all these wonderful strides through history, we humans still have a far way to go.

In the Changing Education Paradigms video, I agree with the fact the current education system does not allow certain children flourish like it does with those that do. I feel that we shouldn't put students who are having a more difficult time along with the children that are doing well. Thats like putting college students from Havard in the same classroom with those that attend University of Phoenix. We should have schools that are designed to help these students that need more attention and help.

In Matthew Taylors's 21st Century Enlightment video, I agree that we need another age of enlightenment, because people during this point in time are regressing. We are not head in the right direction. Our polictical parties constantly fight with each other and cannot even to attempt get long. We also need to work on finding new sources of enegry and become more concerned globle warming and the environment. Over all we need better ideas, so can move forward.

#2.Criticism

I must say that Rushkoff is right when companies try to take advantage of the average consumer. Constantly having them bombard us with their psychological techniques which they’ll use in television, internet advertisements, manipulating us into buying their products. We all have had this this happen to us, because we live in a western society based on and build on consumerism. He also talks about how we the consumers in coercive arms race with these corporations to regain authority over our actions. How even these company’s even hire psychologists to examine the average consumer’s behavior when it comes to purchasing products.

If you to the time and looked around you would notice and this isn’t just with consumer products, its political campaign ads, commercials that try to get young men and women to join the military. If you think about it coercive mind control techniques used in some foreign countries like North Korea where they constantly use propaganda on their people. Telling them that their leader Kim Jong il (now ex leader) is a god and that they’re still in a war with the United States.

They can pretty much tell them anything and they’ll believe it. I even remember as a little child when I was young seeing one of those McDonald’s Happy Meal commercials of other little kids playing with the toys in their happy meals. Immediately I wanted that toy, I really didn’t care for the food. All I wanted was the toy which was colorful and glowed in the dark.

So my parents’ took me to McDonalds to have the cashier taking their order ask them what they want along with the smell of delicious food clouding their judgment. They give in and ended up buying food when the originally planned on only buying food for me.

#1.Criticism

    Yes I do agree with Ryan’s criticism about how cultures influence our behavior, ideas and how it can change our history. Let’s say that you grew up in a Muslim country where religious laws called sharia laws dictated how you would go about your daily life. Where the laws say you had to dress according to what your gender is, and if you were a woman and wanted to go outside you would have to be escorted by a male member of your family. You wouldn’t find this strange at all; you would believe and behave different than someone in a western country and think the way they do things is strange.
    Here in the U.S.A even thou this nation is majority Christian we don’t have laws that are based on religious beliefs because we have separation of church and state. We are very proud of being individuals here and think this is the best nation on earth even thou the majority of Americans haven’t even set foot in another country to know if that’s even true.
    In “Words make things” I do agree that words are very universal. Like with the word terrorism, when people think of that word they think of people in the Middle East and that’s because the media has drilled it into people’s heads that when it someone one kills a large group of people, they think it was a Islamist. I remember when Anders Behring Breivik, a right wing extremist whom bombed a building and shooting 77 people dead  in Oslo, Norway. Everyone I knew thought it was Muslims who did it and were shocked that it was a white Christian male.
    This is problem here in the states, although I can understand why some people would assume it was people of Islamic faith because of what happened on 9/11. But we shouldn’t think that anyone who is a part of certain ethnic group is bad because there are good and bad  people in every group.