The Limits of Shadows in our Minds

I just finished reading a dialogue written by Plato called "The Allegory of the Cave". The way the story was written was a little hard to follow at first, but as I was reading, I began to understand the point Plato was attempting to make. At first, as he is describing the prisoners in the cave only see the shadows, I understood that he was comparing how they perceived the shadows as reality because they didn't know any different, to how a person comes into this world, with no real knowledge of anything. Once the prisoner is released, he sees the objects that made the shadows he believed to be real. It dawns on him that the objects are reality, and what he previously thought was his reality (the shadows)were false. This mirrors a child starting to discover life, beginning the learning process. The prisoner doesn't know that his new truth is also a miss-truth, but learns this as well when he is made to go out of the cave and look at the sun. Its painful for him to see the light because it hurts his eyes after so long in the dark, but also to come to an understanding that everything he's known so far in his life is untrue, and to find out that the world around him is far greater than his imagination could have ever come up with. This is a comparison to a child growing to an adult, and going out into the world for the first time. There are many painful learning experiences that happen, but each teaches a person something, and allows this person to gain true knowledge.

I think the point of Plato's entire argument is that until a person acquires the knowledge of reality, he can not fully understand the way the world works. If a person isn't given the opportunity to learn, he will always be in the dark, believing everything he sees as truth. Once that person has a means to learn, he should learn as much as he can and use that knowledge for good. Once educated, people have the power to make a change in the world. They also must make the choice whether to use their knowledge for benefit of all or for benefit of only themselves (good or evil). Once he has full knowledge, in order to keep him in the perspective of appreciating the value of that knowledge, the person should be made to go back to where he began, as in into the cave, and teach those who haven't begun to gain knowledge,as in to the prisoners still there, to remind himself of false beliefs he once had. Only then, will this person have achieved the highest form of understanding, and know how to use it for good.

At least this is what I think this story means!

Magic Little Pills... Prescription Drug Advertising

I finally decided on the subject of ads that I wanted to analyze. I was really having a tough time picking just one ad, because there were so many posted on the internet, and so many good ones, I just couldn't make a decision. I finally decided that I would approach it from another direction. I sat down, and just started listing ads and commercials that I could remember off the top of my head. Then I took that list, and broke it down into categories, one of which I titled "Ads that most annoy me".... which is where I found my topic... Prescription drug ads.

There is a drug for every ailment, whether real or imagined. Even if you really don't have a particular affliction, I am sure there is a doctor somewhere that will tell you that you do and write you a prescription for a medicine you don't need. I just wonder if people weren't bombarded with all these drug commercials and ads, if the number of pills taken every day wouldn't decrease. My argument will touch on how big the Pharmaceutical industry is. Also, how doctors have lost touch with patients and really treating illness,but instead pushing drugs in their hands for that big incentive from the drug company. In looking through hundreds of print ads for days, and comparing them side by side, it becomes very evident how this advertising is used and the effects it has on its audience. It is truly amazing how many ads there are out there, so I picked a few that I considered for analysis:

then, I found this one:

then, when I thought I'd be able to start writing, I saw this one, and think its notable for my argument as well:

Ok, so I kept looking at more and I found this one too:

See what I mean about there being a ton of ads about prescription drugs?

Seeing is Believing - Advertisements Doing Their Job

Ads, commercials, public service announcements... they are everywhere. All are meant to get consumers to do something. Buy this car, wear those clothes, don't pollute, vote for this guy.... if you didn't know you wanted it, now you will when you see it. Some ads are funny, some are serious, and some just don't make sense. I think it is funny to watch old TV ads from when I was a kid. I can't believe that what they were trying to sell back then was important, but it must have been. I can remember when all the toy commercials would start being blasted about mid-November.. that was how I learned what I wanted for Christmas. I believed I needed all those toys to be as happy as the kids playing with them on TV. I didn't realize back then that those ads were geared to do just that, using Pathos, the appeal to emotion. I guess they also used Logos, because I perceived from seeing them that if I had certain toys, I'd have as much fun and be as happy as the kids in the commercials. And, guess what? They worked! I wanted a Baby Feels so Real, and Santa brought me one! I wanted a Speak and Spell, and he brought me one of those too!

I could never be a salesman. I've tried, and I just can't be convincing enough to persuade someone that they need something. I have been suckered in though, to other people's persuasion talents. I am every ad-man's dream! I can watch an infomercial and become convinced I need the Slice-O'Matic or any of the other kitchen inventions Ron Popeil tells me I can't live without. And don't ever take me to one of those time-share meetings! I went to one once in Gatlinburg for the sole purpose of getting free tickets to take my kids to the aquarium, and those peoples' sales pitch was so persuasive, that I pretty much convinced myself and (almost) my husband that we could figure out how to come up with $26,000 and buy the vacation home of our dreams. Good thing my husband isn't as gullible as I am!

I have been thinking about all these instances, and looking at ad after ad on the internet. I have to admit, the topic for this paper and what I am going to write about has been difficult for me to come up. I want to use an ad that is "beefy" enough to analyze for me to fill a 750-word paper. I also don't want to use one that I will have a hard time trying to sell to the class. I think I'll be more successful in persuading others, if I myself believe in what I am selling, and am truthful about that to my audience. That reasoning (Ethos)is what I think is most convincing in any form of advertisement. If I can tell that the author, or sponsor truly believes in their product or plea, it shows, and then others begin to trust that and then believe in it too. Finally, since I will need to come up with a new, unique way to market the product or service depicted in the ad I choose, I am considering every ad that catches my eye, and really brainstorming. There are so many out there, about any and every subject imaginable. It is crazy how many times a day humans are subjected to advertising, and how much we actually retain of what we see, whether consciously or not. That fact alone seems to make it harder for me to find something and think of a new idea about it. I'll keep looking, because I know I will find the right one, and it will be appealing to me all the way around!

Half way there, yet the hardest is yet to come.

When I think about how long school has already been for this semester, it feels like an eternity sometimes! But, in reality, its only been about 9 weeks! So, a class a week, for those 9 weeks seems like very little time to learn. The funny thing though, in that short time, I've learned a lot! If not for anything else, I've learned more about my spur of the moment writing skills. This blog is a great example. We are given a topic, and we have to write. There's really no rules to it, just do it. I have surprised myself with how varied I seem to write. I tend to be very long-winded, both in talking and writing, and seeing a blog on the screen that's super long really shows me I need to still work on conciseness. I may never learn to keep my verbal "stories" short, but I am determined to get my writing style more condensed and to the point.

I keep saying I want to write more, yet there's always a reason that I don't take the time. Even though I am not entirely thrilled to have to write papers, research, find sources, and cite, at least it is writing. And so far, the topics for our papers have been pretty fun. I'd much rather get to write about something I made up (our ala "A Modern Proposal" paper)than something with a boring topic that's no fun. Learning about different writing styles, genres, voices, those are things that, for aspiring future writers, are good things to know. I know I will start writing eventually. I'll stop finding excuses, just sit down, and start. And I am confident that what I've learned thus far in this class will help me write my story!

For now though,I will focus what time I make to write on to the next paper that's soon to be due, and all that goes with it!

Searching for information....and my lost motivation

So, writing this first essay has been interesting. I knew I was in trouble when the class spent some time in the school library researching ideas for what we were going to write about. My paper is completely satire, with some descriptive/informative information, and I have an argument in there somewhere. Since my "solution" would be awesome in the real world, it is likely to never really happen, so finding the right information to use on the internet was a little strange. I am writing about creating a device that will shock rude people, so piecing together an invention to do this meant searching about tasers and stun guns. I searched for dog shock collars too, and boy is there a lot of argument for and against using those. I was stuck for about 20 minutes reading one website that was nothing but posts from people slamming other people for what they thought was right/wrong with shocking your pet. I looked up how garage door openers work, and that was actually interesting! Then I wanted to research societies and customs that used pain as a form of punishment. You would not believe the suggestions Google comes up with when you merely type the word "pain" into the search bar!! It's really funny. After I sat in front of the computer for an hour, it occurred to me that my search history was very weird, and whomever sat at the computer next and saw all the links in the history might question what the heck someone was doing before them. I thought it was best to clear the history, just to keep things school-appropriate!

I worked on research a little more throughout the week, and wrote all kinds of ideas in my head, but nothing really on paper. I sat down Sunday morning, and decided I would start to write. Boy was it hard to just come up with my first sentence. I watched football,did some laundry and thought to myself that I was start writing then too, but 3 hours later, it hadn't happened. I knew I had to start, and felt I had enough information to really have some good pages, but I just couldn't find the motivation. Finally, after supper was done, other homework done,all the Facebook games were played and all the other things I did instead were taken care of, I made myself open Word. It was all over from there! I started writing, and in about 2 hours, I had almost 3 pages!! At that point, I quit and went to bed. Monday night, I got home from school, and started right in writing again. At 12:30, I typed my last sentence, 7 1/2 pages full! It sure did feel great!

Now, I know this is just the rough draft, and I am sure I'll get lots of suggestions for changes in our peer to peer review tonight in class, but just knowing that I have the general idea makes me feel like I am ahead of the game, and will get to enjoy a little bit of a break over Fall Break next week...

Suggesting the Unsuggestible

In order to get my English class prepared to write our first essay paper, we were asked to read "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift. Swift presented his answer to the serious issue of rampant starvation that was caused in Ireland during a period in history called The Great Irish Potato Famine. By his use of satire, Swift suggested a solution so ridiculous and unbelievable, it made solutions that were common sense seem obvious. Since families had too many children, and no way to feed them, Swift proposed that mothers begin "fattening up" their newborns, so that at one year old, these babies could be sold to the well-to-do to eat! As I was reading the story, at first, I was a bit confused as to what he was actually suggesting, but the more I read, the clearer it became to me that he was being sarcastic. He presented valid points as to why his proposal would work, as well as reasons opponents would shoot it down. Take away the whole inhumane part of his plan, and it would actually work. The fact is that people don't normally eat other people though, so to normal people, what he wrote was on the far side of extreme. I enjoyed reading the story, and then dissecting his meaning and the many different types of genres that he used in our classroom discussion afterwords. Swift was trying to get people to understand that if they wouldn't do what was needed to help improve their situation, then he wouldn't put forth the effort anymore to get their help.
Using the idea of a proposal, like Swift did, our first paper requires the topic of an issue, and what solution we'd come up with to fix it. For days, I struggled with my topic, because it can't be something that's been proposed already, and that's pretty difficult. I want to be original, have a good idea, and be entertaining all at the same time, but kept coming up blank. Then one day after work, I was walking to catch my bus, and not once, but three times, I encountered someone who just wasn't polite. For no reason, these 3 people acted rudely, and as a result, it affected others around them. It was at that moment, I found my topic. I want to cure rudeness, or least make people think twice before they are rude to others. Plain and simple. I think that once my idea catches on, everyone will be on board, and the world will be a much more pleasant place to live. I don't want to give too much information on what I'll be proposing here, just that I am sure that its going to be very popular and supported by everyone who is frustrated by rude people!

Don't Swim For 30 Minutes After Eating...Plus Other More Important Rules....

The college curriculum includes MLA-style format as the most-taught format in paper-writing so that students understand all elements of writing style and don't hand in papers that are messy and incorrect. Much like college English students are taught the values of writing essays in the MLA format to ensure uniformity among each of their papers, and to make sure all the rules of "proper" English are followed, i.e. spelling, punctuation, length, citations, rules and formats are applied in society. In life, formats and rules are created as well, so that certain things are done in a uniform manner and the level of chaos is kept to a minimum. Generally, I agree whole-heartedly with having distinct definitions of how things needs to be handled. For instance, traffic laws - even down to the lane lines painted on the roads - have been created so that, while driving, people know where they should be, where they should stop, how fast they should go. Have you ever come to a 4-way stop where the traffic lights are out? If there are 4 cars each going a different direction, without the right light to tell the drivers who gets to go when, either everyone tries to go at the same time, or no one goes. Without defined lanes, cars would just drive all over the place and there would be major confusion, accidents, and frustration. The format of drivers ed, which teaches all new drivers the same rules, is very necessary to the health and well-being of our population. In the U.S. the guidelines for children to receive immunizations has greatly reduced sickness in our country and since these shots are required before a child can enter kindergarten, people are "forced" to comply, which ensures the purpose of immunizations has positive results. Some countries don't have these same immunization rules, and there are illnesses that run rampant in their populations because of it.

Speaking of school, the format in the U.S. for children to attend school was put into place to give the opportunity of education to every child. Since the format of school is kindergarten though twelveth grade, a person is deemed fit for society after having fulfilled the school requirements. As I said, I agree that regulated "rules" are generally very necessary for society, because, let's face it, not everyone in this country has the best common sense. Most people need to have direction. If there were not laws and guidelines created for the protection and advancement of society, people would just do whatever they felt like, whenever they wanted, and we would fail at being a productive society. The next time you go to the store, stop and actually pick things up, and read the warning labels on them. Some of them are so hilarious, you can't believe that someone would ever need to be told NOT to do what they are showing not to do, but since they need the warnings, its obvious someone did. The most obvious are the scariest - plastic bags with stickers showing not allowing children to use them as toys, lawn mower directions showing how NOT to use for trimming hedges, and so on. Its very discouraging to think that in this day and age in our country, that people need to be told these things instead of just using common sense.

On the flip side of good rules, sometimes I feel the disguise of "keeping people safe" rules and laws go a bit far. Although I feel I am of sound mind to make the best decisions for myself and my family, at times, lawmakers decide for me what's best, while limiting me in my decisions, and that makes me mad. Unfortunately, because so many people do need to be told how they need to live though, rules can't be made only for a specific few. What applies to one, must apply to all, so to speak. Recently, in an attempt to curb obesity, NY tried to pass a ban on large drinks served throughout their state. To me, this law was an absurd waste of tax-payer money, and useless at that. People who drink those big drinks would just buy more smaller drinks in order to drink the same amounts, and people who don't drink them don't care either way, but would have had their choice taken away if they wanted to. This type of regulation is unnecessary, and the same effort put forth to pass this law should be used for enforcing laws already in place, such as child abuse and neglect laws and drunk-driving laws.

I've been discussing actual laws, and guidelines that must be followed to avoid punishment of some sort, but sometimes, there are unspoken rules that everyone follows as well. These tend to make for a better, more civilized society and although not everyone adheres to them, I am proud when I see someone using one. Many times, while riding the bus to or from work, I've seen a young man give up his seat so that a woman wouldn't have to stand. When people hold doors for others, say "Please", "Thank you" and " You're Welcome", and be considerate of those around them, they are following a certain format. These "rules" must be taught, and usually children learn them by example. If parents behave appropriately and abide by these unspoken rules, their children will learn correct behavior and grow up doing the same!

“Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it.” ~ Henry David Thoreau