8 Reasons Young Americans Don't Fight Back: How the US Crushed Youth Resistance
After reading the first paragraph about how young Americans have stopped fighting for our own rights, feeling helpless and screwed by the system I would have to say that maybe it’s more so that we have just accepted certain things. Such as when were older there won’t be any social security around for us, instead of trying to fight against that, we’ve accepted it and decided to focus our energy on figuring out another solution for us as we get older. Also when it says “most appear resigned to having more money deducted from their paychecks for Social Security, even though they don’t believe it will be around to benefit them,” maybe we are resigned from having money pulled from our own paychecks because we feel like that money we could have and save on our own, if we let it get pulled out of our paychecks then we would never see it.
Overall I can’t say I agree or disagree with the author’s assessment of our young society. There are certain points he made like student-loan debt, schools that educate for compliance and not for democracy, and “No Child Left Behind” and “Race to the Top”, that I would have to agree with him about. Yet, others like Psychopathologizing and medicating noncompliance and shaming young people who take education – but not their schooling – seriously, I would have to disagree with his points.
Grade school to a certain degree is how to learn how exactly one should act in society by following rules and order, however I do believe teachers really do teach students actual facts and knowledge that is helpful in life. Learning about our history and how people changed the world is an important life in anyone’s life without schooling who would be teaching these students these things. Most of our society can’t afford letting their children do home school because it’s expensive and in most families both parents work to provide for their children. I also believe that child with ODD, ADD, even ADHD should be placed on medicine. Most individuals that I know who have a disorder like that prefer taking their medication because they feel it makes them the best person that they can be. People should have a choice whether or not they act out. ODD, “often actively defies or refuses to comply with adult requests or rules,” “often argues with adults,” and “often deliberately does things to annoy other people.” I don’t think any human would really want to deliberately annoy people and isolate themselves from society. I’m not saying people need to be popular and liked by everyone but people do want friends or even just someone to associate with.
The four additional issues that I feel reflect on today’s society would be:
1. Mass Media – censorship and the way the messages unconsciously control and slip into our minds
2. Contemporary Digital Media – mostly social media sites and how it allows individuals to connect and share ideas.
3. Growing up too fast – this goes along with issue one and two but younger people are much more influenced by the older crowd because it’s so easy to “check up” on what everyone’s doing
4. Obesity/Image – this is apparent in today’s society because there have been multiple studies that have shown better looking individuals (or people with high self esteem) tend to go further in life and make more money. This is because they have the confidence to stand out and people apparently are more trusting to individuals they find attractive.
December 6, 2007
A new study published in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences finds that the attractiveness of interviewees can significantly bias outcome in hiring practices, showing a clear distinction between the attractive and average looking interviewees in terms of high and low status job packages offered.
“When someone is viewed as attractive, they are often assumed to have a number of positive social traits and greater intelligence,” say Carl Senior and Michael J.R. Butler, authors of the study. “This is known as the ‘halo effect’ and it has previously been shown to affect the outcome of job interviews.”
How does growing up too fast, having high self-esteem, and social media limit efforts to exact change? How does your first blog post connect to second post?
ReplyDeleteDavid
Growing up too fast, having high self-esteem and social media can limit efforts to exact change if you consider what the article is saying. To me the article influenced me by saying that they are conforming/controlling the younger demographic of today by financial debt, placing people on medication, etc. I think when you’re younger that is the main time you’re learning how to interact and work well with others who may or may not be like you. When you’re a kid you try out for sports, debates, clubs, and more other things to learn what you like and what ones into. When kids grow up too fast, they miss the interaction with other individuals they may or may not have things in common with. These kids are growing up too fast, learning how to make choices on their own and be independent. They are learning to rely on themselves, so when it comes to “teaming up” they may not think they need to. Having high self-esteem may make an individual feel they are too good to be part of a cause that they are above everyone else. I know of people who individually think they are better than everyone else, and when you feel you are better than other people you just don’t care enough to help out. Also so individuals learn how to rely on their looks so rather than supporting a cause they will go around it and try to figure out how to put them above the cause. Social media can limit the efforts of change because people have decided to be vocal on the internet. Some individuals believe the internet is enough to make a change which it’s not but since we were raised in a society where internet has been vastly growing around us we feel as though it is the next way to “fight” for a change. When it’s not just enough for your voice to be heard you have to go out and be in the forefront of the situation.
ReplyDeleteThe first blog post and the second blog post just both correlate with today’s society. “The times a changin” one may say. Brands are everywhere and so is the government. The youth of today don’t even really think about brands or how much they influence society but they do, were just so used to them that it seems normal. Which is the same with the controls and limitations set on individuals, we’ve grown up with the majority of them so we don’t think twice about fighting against it, or how it may be negativity affecting our own society.