Among numerous others, one of the common complaints among “Tea Baggers” and Town Hall protestors is that the country is changing into an “America I did not grow up in.” Not fully comprehending what this meant to them, I thought I’d share the America I’ve grown up in.
1. The America I grew up in had television shows. Anyone’s opinion of Rosanne or the Cosby Show aside, these shows actually are a much more honest depiction of life than “I’m a Washed Up Hack! Please Look At Me!” While this may seem like a painfully obvious statement to some, a lot still seem to believe that today’s generation is much more “culturally savvy.” Having 4 shows simultaneously that do nothing but make stupid jokes about 15 year old fads does not make you more aware of anything other than how much of a loser you are for watching them.
2. The America I Grew Up In had movies based on plot lines rather than continued franchises. The top grossing movie in 1988, the year I was born, was The Rain Man, a story about a yuppie (Tom Cruise) learning that his father has left his fortune to an unknown, autistic brother (Dustin Hoffman). It’s an idea that is both relatable and relevant to the times, with Cruise learning the value of something other than money. 1995’s top grossing movie was Toy Story, a well made family movie about an old cowboy toy and a new spaceman toy learning how to reconcile their differences to become best friends. As of this publishing, the highest grossing film of 2009 is Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Enough said.
3. The America I Grew Up In went kinda crazy over oral sex.
4. The America I Grew Up In witnessed September 11th. I’m not referring to the aftermath in which 9/11 was used as a scare tactic for war, or a political talking point, or a means to sell CDs. I mean the actual day and those that came immediately after. The entire world stopped. People in New York were nice to each other for a whole two months. For all of the pain and sorrow that that day caused, I took out of it that in times of dire need, people have the capacity and courage to help each other. People want to help each other. And for a few months, the country was not allowed to ignore those who were in need. Just 8 years afterward, I feel the “wake-up call” has lost all meaningful effect, and will forever become a battle cry, rather than a call for humanity.
5. The America I Grew Up In had Glenn Beck spinning Top 40 hits, something he is much more qualified for than his current vocation.
6. The America I Grew Up In elected George W. Bush… Twice.
7. The America I Grew Up In saw the news media plunge itself into dangerous sensationalism. Personally, I know times are tough when the only people in the mass media I trust are comedians. The press was asleep when our leaders marched into Iraq, drunk when Bush was re elected in 2004, woke up briefly for Katrina in 2005, and of course speculated, debated, and prognosticated the lead up to the Democratic Primaries and General Election, all while the economy was secretly being destroyed by a handful of CEOs. My generation will have more difficulty finding a job than CNN has finding actual journalistic credibility. But this leads me to my last point…
8. The America I Grew up elected Barack Obama. The country took a significant step in overcoming its continued racial inequality. A generation was given hope after eight long years of being suffocated with fear. Fear is what keeps the masses in the dark. Education is the most effective tool to shed the light of truth on fear.
WHUS as well as the Youth for Human Rights are sponsoring a Health Care Panel this coming Tuesday, November 10th. It will be held in Konover auditorium of the Dodd Center at 8pm. Come with your concerns and questions. Panelists include Dr. Saeed Aghari, MD, Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Thomas Buckley, Head of Economics Department Dennis Heffley, and Lynne Ide from the Universal Health Care Foundation of CT. Check out the facebook group, search: “Health Care Panel”.
That’s right, everyone, it’s Halloween–the one day of the year when the ghosts of dead blogs rise from their graves to haunt the internets.
Those of you who read PLS regularly know how fond I am of the horror genre, and, as you might guess, that affection extends to the holiday of Halloween. I don’t have any new content to offer you today, but I thought I’d direct you to all of the spooky articles I’ve written in the past, both here and at my old blog, Super Tuesdays. Keep spinning, if you dare…
I know there are a lot of opinions out there about how to put together a Mixed CD. Luckily for you, I have carefully researched this volatile issue and come up with a top list of what I feel to be the most important factors to creating the perfect Mixed CD, whatever the occasion.
1. Know Your Audience.
The first thing to consider whenever making an MC is “who is going to be listening to this music?” What is the nature of the relationship between myself and the person for whom this CD is intended? When trying to impress a young lady, one wouldn’t start with three Christian Rock tracks. You don’t want to run the risk of coming off too strong on something as sensitive as religion with someone new. Likewise, a CD for your six year old cousin should probably avoid the Ying Yang Twins at all costs. The other way around might work except that even your six year old cousin knows that Christian Rock blows. Keep Spinning…
Kinda quiet around here, isn’t it? Yes, ever since autumn rolled around the blog seems to have fallen into a dark, stagnant malaise, a funk which is reflected not only in its content (he said, as though he was not himself partially responsible for the blog’s content) but also, somehow, in the search engine terms which lead readers to this site. Remember the good old days, when people found PLS by looking for all types of crazy, morally reprehensible things? These days our search engine terms just seem to show the same stuff, over and over. Keep Spinning…
I don’t need any topical reason to hate major awards shows; I’ve been doing it for a while now. Given this disposition of mine, the last two weeks have been like Christmas come early in terms of confirming my dislike. I guess that’s not really what Christmas is about. I’m tired.
Anyway, I say I hate award shows, but usually I don’t hate the shows themselves. Usually I just hate the absurd, unfair ways the winners and nominees are chosen; the shows can be fun to watch. As far as MTV awards shows go, though, I pretty much hate the whole package. Keep Spinning…
Courtesy: The Huffington Post
