Fall of Jackson

“The Fall of Jesse Jackson Jr.”

           

            Jesse Jackson is known for being a powerful up-and-coming African American Politian. Being the son of famous civil rights leader Jesse Jackson Jr. has had a foot in politics at a young age, and he pursued it. His life is just a list of accomplishments after accomplishments. He has astounded more than just the African American Community. He amazed politicians across the country with his multiple re-elections into the house. The stuff he did in the House was also impressive as proven by the important comities he was put on. He was the golden child per say. While he already has lived a full political life he had the potential make history, but I will address that later. The point is he was going to do things that could have been world changing. It is truly unfortunate that he had to take a turn for the worst in regards to his health as well as political scandals. Now he faces $750,00 in fines; in addition he may even go to prison for soliciting campaign money. Where did this story start? How did this story develop across the different mediums of public news? How did the truth finally become know to the public? That is was I want to see, the development of this former powerhouse of a politician reach his end.

            I am going to start with a story from July 11, 2012 called “Jesse Jackson Jr.: Rumors fly over mysterious disappearance” (1) The story is a good beginning of what starts to ail this politician. He has been absent from Congress for months now. It was confirmed by his lawyers that he was getting treated for a medical condition, but the public had no idea what it was or how long it would take to cure. After so much time of not any representation the public wants to hear from their House member. What is even more suspicious is how he handled getting on the reelection bid. “Jackson’s people announced his disappearance on the very last day anyone could file for election in Illinois. No candidate can be slated to run for his seat even if Jackson is totally incapacitated or if he resigns, willingly or by force. If Jackson were to drop out, his Republican opponent would run unopposed and win by default. That is not going to happen” (3). This was very stealthy of his and his lawyers. Now the public can either vote in their current absent House member or tolerate having a republican represent then. The point is that Jackson is hiding from the people he is representing. There is no immunity from or safety from his job. He simply needs to come out as well as tell the people about the situation. It is not the fact that he is ill; it is the fact that he is keeping everything in the dark as if he has something to hide. That is suspicious, in addition that does not make for good politics.

            The next story is a blog post titled, “Feds Launch New Investigation of Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr” (2). Just from the title we can see forwarding in the story. A new possible scandal has emerged. He has been accused of misusing funds monitored by congress. This blog, while not completely official, still possesses a lot of credibility. Three members of NBC wrote the blog. I can even say Michael Isikoff who assisted of the blog wrote the news article just an hour and 50 minutes later.  The article, “Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. under federal investigation over alleged financial improprieties”(3). The news article contains less links and sources than the blog. I believe this is because the facts have already been checked by the editors, because of this the need for them is not as prominent. Blogs on the other hand need to contain many links as well as sources to be credible news or else it is just speculation and opinion. The news has the ability to state facts such as, “the new investigation could ratchet up pressure for Jackson to step aside. Despite his illness — which his office has said involves his treatment for bipolar disorder — Jackson is running for re-election, seeking a 10th term” (3) The news article explains the facts with a little amount of sources. They can do this because they have credibility and a reputation. Another thing to point out is that these articles use Harris’ Forwarding and Countering. They both forward the conversation by introducing new facts that have emerged with time and investigation. At the same they counter the previous articles notions that the sickness could not even exist when we now know it does. The Washington Post article, while a reputable source, had to speculate some of the details to allow their story to be interesting. Now we know the facts, and that has voided their previous article.

            Now we will move forward about 4 months in the story. This article is titled’ “Jackson may lose federal pension”(4). This article is from the Chicago Tribune, Jackson’s home state. Because of this the story goes back to the beginning with the Chicago Tribune. It is interesting to see how the story is reported from the state of the politician. Now all the facts have been included into the story.  There are no more suspicions of Jackson Jr.’s guilt. According to the article, “ Jesse Jackson Jr., who plans to plead guilty to using campaign dollars to buy more than $750,000 worth of luxury items, memorabilia and other goods, is at risk of losing his freedom and a federal pension estimated at $45,000” (4) Immediately the sympathy toward him drops. It started out with accusations as well as an investigation. The way the previous article was written allowed the reader to believe that the story could be false. Those who believe in Jackson have hope that be remains true. Now the accusations are true. They are facts, and the reader has to believe it. I believe that is why the Chicago Tribune takes a somewhat neutral stance on the subject. There is no way for them to question the facts; in addition it is hard for the paper to talk about it in a positive way. They must remain neutral because that is the best they can do. At the same time you can tell they are in favor of Jackson Jr. This can be see when it states, “The job of defense lawyers is to minimize their clients' exposure to prison, which may have been done in negotiations over the criminal counts, and ‘to tell a story as sympathetic as possible,’ Berman said” (4).

            After looking at all of these articles we can see the transition of how the articles change over time. It is interesting how the opinions of the articles change as the story changes as new facts emerge. The audience has to change their opinion of Jackson as we discover new information about the scandal. That is how the light of new information influences their opinion.

           

1.     http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/middle-class-guy/2012/jul/11/jesse-jackson-jr-rumors-fly-over-mysterious-disapp/

2.     http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/jesse-jackson-jr-congress-account-173942151.html

3.     http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/12/14399883-rep-jesse-jackson-jr-under-federal-investigation-over-alleged-financial-improprieties?lite

4.     http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-02-19/news/ct-met-jackson-pension-0219-20130219_1_sandi-jackson-jesse-jackson-federal-charges

Final Words

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this class. Learning to follow the news and analyze it has been extremely beneficial in the long run. I never realized how a story develops over time and how it can changing simple by who is reporting on it. I hope I will continue with the habits developed in this class and follow news stories daily. I suppose it comes down to self-motivation, but I believe I have created that for myself. While I continue to follow the news I hope to influence my friends to follow the news as well. It is way more interesting to follow a story if someone else is doing it as well. I recommend follow current events, and I recommend talking about them so we may continue to move the conversation forward.

Jesse Jackson Fall Rough Draft

“The Fall of Jesse Jackson Jr.”

           

            Jesse Jackson is known for being a powerful up-and-coming African American Politian. Being the son of famous civil rights leader Jesse Jackson he had on foot in politics at a young age, and he pursued it. His life is just a list of accomplishments after accomplishments. He astounded more then just the African American Community. He amazed politicians across the country with his multiple re-elections into the house. The stuff he did in the House was also impressive as proven by the important comities he was put on. He was the golden child per say. While he already has live a full political like he had the potential make history, but I will address that later. The point is he was going to do things that could have been world changing. It is truly unfortunate that he had to take a turn for the worst in regards to his health and political scandals. Now he faces $750,00 in fines and may even go to prison for soliciting campaign money. Where did this story start? How did this story develop across the different mediums of public news? How did the truth finally become know to the public? That is was I want to see, the development of this former powerhouse of a politician reach his end.

            I am going to start with a story from July 11, 2012 called “Jesse Jackson Jr.: Rumors fly over mysterious disappearance” (1) This story is a good beginning of what starts to ail this politician. He has been absent from Congress for months now. It was confirmed by his lawyers that he was getting treated for a medical condition, but the public had no idea what it was or how long it would take to cure. After so much time of not any representation the public wants to hear from their House member. What is even more suspicious is how he handled getting on the reelection bid. “Jackson’s people announced his disappearance on the very last day anyone could file for election in Illinois. No candidate can be slated to run for his seat even if Jackson is totally incapacitated or if he resigns, willingly or by force. If Jackson were to drop out, his Republican opponent would run unopposed and win by default. That is not going to happen” (3). This was very stealthy of his and his lawyers. Now the public can either vote in their current absent House member or tolerate having a republican represent then. The point is that Jackson is hiding from the people he is representing. There is no immunity from or safety from his job. He simply needs to come out and tell the people about the situation. It is not the fact that he is ill; it is the fact that he is keeping everything in the dark as if he has something to hide. That is suspicious, and that does not make for good politics.

            The next story is a blog post titled, “Feds Launch New Investigation of Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr” (2). Just from the title we can see forwarding in the story. A new possible scandal has emerged. He has been accused of misusing funds monitored by congress. This blog, while not completely official, still possesses a lot of credibility. Three members of NBC wrote the blog. I can even say Michael Isikoff who assisted of the blog wrote the news article just an hour and 50 minutes later.  The article, “Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. under federal investigation over alleged financial improprieties”(3). The news article contains less links and sources than the blog. I believe this is because the facts have already been checked by the editors so the need for them is not as prominent. Blogs on the other hand need to contain many links and sources to be credible news or else it is just speculation and opinion. The news has the ability to state facts such as, “the new investigation could ratchet up pressure for Jackson to step aside. Despite his illness — which his office has said involves his treatment for bipolar disorder — Jackson is running for re-election, seeking a 10th term” (3) The news article explains the facts with a little amount of sources. They can do this because they have credibility and a reputation. Another thing to point out is that these articles use Harris’ Forwarding and Countering. They both forward the conversation by introducing new facts that have emerged with time and investigation. At the same they counter the previous articles notions that the sickness could not even exist when we now know it does. The Washington Post article, while a reputable source, had to speculate some of the details to allow their story to be interesting. Now we know the facts, and that has voided their previous article.

1.     http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/middle-class-guy/2012/jul/11/jesse-jackson-jr-rumors-fly-over-mysterious-disapp/

2.     http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/jesse-jackson-jr-congress-account-173942151.html

3.     http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/12/14399883-rep-jesse-jackson-jr-under-federal-investigation-over-alleged-financial-improprieties?lite

One Story, Two Paths

As I a look at this picture of Jackson and Obama hugging you see a bond that has been created by to two struggling African American politicians. Both have had their troubles, and yet they were both rising stars in politics. This picture shows even more power with the story behind it. It seemed that these politicians had a polar effect on one another. Jackson was the golden child of African American politicians. He won many congressional positions against some prominent politicians. It is a valid fact that if Jackson decided to run for Senate in 2004 Obama would not be president today. It is a wonder why Jackson let Obama ran for the Senate in the first place. Maybe he had other ambitions, or maybe he thought Obama did not have a chance. Regardless, that win put Obama on the map as a rising politician, and Jackson realized he was not the only rising star.

Looking back at the picture we can sense a little tension. The Jacksons had supported Obama through his endeavors, but it was not until the Senate win that he realized Obama could compete with him. The young Jackson stepped up his game and went after more prominent political positions. Regardless, this was the start of the rise of Obama and the fall of Jackson. Once Obama won the presidential spot Jackson saw it as an opportunity to seize the senate position Obama left. Unfortunate it ended in disaster. The governor who was appointing him got arrest for soliciting money and jobs, and a friend of Jackson’s got accused of giving him large campaign contributions if he got picked. While Jackson denied it a House ethics committee investigation was opened. In 2010 it was discovered he had an extramarital relationship. By 2011 he did not even seem like a contender for the job of mayor of Chicago. He disappeared from congress in June 2012 announcing that he was being treated for bipolar disorder. He resigned in November and pleaded guilty last week to a felony fraud count for spending campaign funds on living expenses.

I look back at the picture of two African American politicians meant to change the world, but each had an entirely different outcome. At the same their unification has changed history. Without the Jacksons Obama would not be president. Their influence and guidance is what gave Obama the push to accomplish the many things he did. What is also interesting is the amount of distaste Obama got from the Jacksons after he became Senator and beyond. Even so, the Jacksons support Obama. They express no distaste. Jackson Sr. even called Obama “a rare genius”. That is proof of the respect that the Jacksons have for Obama despite the misfortune that has occurred. I look at the picture and I see two politicians who share a similar past and a driving ambition. After reading the article I see two similar people who both had the potential to be great. In fact, both are still great. The difference is while politics raised one of them it destroyed the other. It is sad, but not uncommon. What is uncommon is the large similarities and connections these two shared. It really puts things into perspective; no matter how similar a situation may be the outcome can be dramatically different.

Crossed Paths: Chicago’s Jacksons and Obamas

What is a picture worth?

A picture is worth a thousand words? More like a picture is worth a thousand words in context. That is what Errol Morris says in his New York Times column “Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire”.  Errol goes into the depth of a meaning of a picture. What was great about it was he took the reader through a process. He showed a picture of a ship and slowly added more details about it. At first I had only a slight idea of what it was. An old cruise liner? Maybe the Titanic or the Lusitania? In the end he revealed it was in fact a picture of the Lusitania in a news article about how it was sunk my a German U-boat. About 1200 people died, and 100 of them were Americans. This act was the final push that brought America into WWI  Then he showed the picture at the end, and I felt so much meaning in that picture. I knew the history. I connected to it emotional. I realized the significance of the picture but only with the help of the information presented. Another great example of this is in a New York Times article about an Army rocket killing at least 19 people in Syria. Just looking at the picture I see destroyed buildings and people gathering. It could be construction or it could be some natural tragedy struck the country and the people gathered to mourn the loss. As I read I discovered that the destroyed buildings were the effects of a rocket; it killed 19 people and more are still buried under the rubble. Immediately I see a strong internal conflict from the photo. I see a Syrian conflict that has been going on for years and thousands being killed because of it. At the same time I see the world coming together to help end the conflict and aid in the rescue of the survivors. I would never see that in the photo. No one could. The point is without context a photo is just a frozen moment of forgotten time.

Taking a Approach

“Taking an Approach” is similar to Harris’s previous points in how to rewrite. It kind of unifies previous concepts, but at the same time it is an entirely different way of explaining rewriting. Forwarding and countering are just small tools to this overall structure in rewriting. It starts with acknowledging influences which is noting writers who have influenced and provided a model for your writing in some way. Turning an approach on itself is asking the same questions of a writer that he or she asks of others. Lastly is Reflexivity. This is acknowledging the key choices you made in regards to language, methods, and value in constructing your text.

I know this sounds like an excuse to not respond to the prompt, but I feel taking an approach is something only the writer can see. When I look at a New York Times article I do not know where he or she gets his or her influences from. The only this I can somewhat analyze it their use of language and possibly values. Rachael Donadio wrote called When The Pope Retires, Is He Still Infallible? While the article was seemingly unbiased she seemed to focus more on the concerns of the Pope stepping down which might imply that she has more of a problem with it. Her use of language is at a level which any basic reader could understand it. At the same time it is intellectual and thoughtful. It is something I would read and believe is true. That is what I see. That is all I can see with this writing. I would need an interview with the writer to see more.

The Taliban Times: Enemy Awarded

The article I will be using is from the New York Times. It is the story about Obama awarding the Medal of Honor to former Army sergeant Clinton Romesha. He was awarded it for his courageous actions performed in Afghanistan. He heroically defended a remote American outpost in Eastern Afghanistan from an intense attack of more than 300 Taliban fighters. Taking out an enemy machine gun, calling in air strikes, and covering three soldiers as they recovered the bodies of fallen American soldiers he helped prevent the outpost from being overrun by the Taliban. This story portrays Clinton as a hero for defending his Country and saving the lives of his fellow American Soldiers. Although, I would imagine the story would be different if told to Taliban soldiers in some obscure newspaper they have. I imagine the story would be quite different. I am going to recreate what that might be. I am going to be using their perceived biases towards America to write an article that could be conceived as true in their eyes (for the sake of literacy I will be writing this in English instead of their native language).

“The Taliban Times: Enemy Awarded”

This is to all fellow Taliban fighters who are fighting against those who live in the West. This is to those who know of the crimes the infidels have forced us to endure. News has spread from an American newspaper called the New York Times. We have found that their newly re-elected leader Barack Obama has given their highest military honor to a soldier who committed crimes worthy of death and damnation. I am talking about the murder of 30 of our brothers as they defended themselves against the infidels of the United States Military. They fought valiantly and heroically, and in the name of their sacrifice during the war in Afghanistan the Americans choose to award a man for his actions against our brothers. While the war was many years ago the wounds still pain us. We remember what happened those years ago, and the infidels choose to spit in the faces of both our fallen men and us. This act is just another action the West has taken to insult our ideals.  We still are taunted by the western ideals that continue to plague us today. Democracy is becoming increasingly rampant in countries around the world. It is like a virus, infecting countries across oceans and beyond. The West needs to learn to respect our ways of life and stay out of our internal affairs. There is no international law that can affect us because we only follow a higher law. We will continue to fight the infidels in the name of Allah, and what we lack in numbers we make up in the spirit to protect the ideals of our past fathers. This act of “awarded valor” has hurt us, and we shall use that pain to aid in our struggle against them. We will continue to fight, and we will stay alive as our beliefs have for thousands of years. While the time may not be now we will rise again against the infidels for their “heroic acts” that have hurt us so. Thank you, and praise Allah!

Obama Awards Medal of Honor to Former Army Sergeant

Forward an Idea

Harris’ idea of forwarding is something that I have never really thought about  before he stated it. The concept of continuing a conversation with academic writing is something that I believe gives my writing more purpose. Harris describes forwarding as entering a conversation and moving it forward. One does not start or end the conversation; it is simply continued so the idea can keep moving forward. It is not just re-stating facts. It is about using what you have at your disposal to create something new. Anyone can summarize something or even re-write something. That does not aid the conversation. One needs to create something new and different to make it their own and viable. Forwarding can be seen across the web in relation to new stories. The New York Times did wrote an article on the storm that is hitting the Northeast. They wrote an article on the effects of the storm. Hundreds of thousands are without power. Many are still trapped because of the storm. At the same time blogs are also forwarding this information to the public. The Huffington Post is consistently giving updates on the storm. I would say that the blogs contain less credible information because it is not from a news station. At the same time the blog is spreading the story in a simple way so everyone is informed. I’m not sure is this is forwarding, but this is definitely helpful in regards to spreading a story.

What is The Press Sphere?

Well…. That was a rather interesting blog. I will do my best to try to understand it as I go. Today articles and news stories are written to please the press, and that is all. What Jeff Jarvis wants to do is use a new model of creating news called the Press Sphere. This can, “thanks to links, add up a story and to fulfilling the need or desire for news and information.” The press is still involved, but there is a whole plethora of other sources as well, and readers can be directly involved in the process. What I find interesting and confusing about this is the amount of collaboration this seemingly requires. It gives the impression that stories would be created from a more numerable amount of sources and critics. While this could create very true and reliable news stories, it seems like it would be impractical in regards to time. How would stories be written so that their readers have the most current information when the story would have so many to things to take into account. People want timely news. If another paper writes a story 3 days before the paper employing this method which paper will get the most views? The faster one. Maybe it has to be a step by step process as we add more to the press sphere. We see in blogging that links and the viewers opinions are strongly taken into account. That is what has made blogging so popular in the last 9 years. It creates a community of people who comment on others blogs and respond to it. The New York Times online is using more links to cites sources used in there articles. It is obvious they are drawing from multiple sources, and they are not writing only form the press. The news articles take into consideration more than they would have in the past making them more accurate and interesting to read.

I welcome any criticism to this post. I did my best to understand, and I welcome any other clarifying opinions on the post. Thank you!

Everyone Else and I

After reading so many blogs of my classmates information started to get blurred together. We all have remarkably similar sources of acquiring news. I seemed that the largest source was social media. Because of it the news it literally thrown into our faces. The things people post on our news feed help keep us aware of what is going on and keeps us aware. A common thing is to look at a status in response to an event and research it after the fact of learning about it. The New York Times was a very popular source among the class, and I must agree. I believe it has shown to be one of the lesser biased papers in America today. TV was another outlet of news whether it be Fox, CNN, or even comedy shows like the Daily Show and The Colbert Report. The one thing a minority of my classmates did was read a physical. I would say that I am a part of the majority of people who just do not read a newspaper. We do everything online which allows us to have access to more information. In regards to civic literacy I believe as long as people are reading respected articles it does not matter whether it is online or on a piece of paper. I’m sure Sullivan would agree to the idea of people going online for news, especially blogs. I just think people have to be careful of what they believe on social media sites and blogging. False news is rampant on sites like Facebook and Twitter. People new to learn the difference between news and gossip.

Reading the News!?

Reading the News York Times this quarter has been and enlightening experience that I hope I will have the diligence to continue when the class ends. Seriously, it has just made me more aware of what is going on in America and the world today. What is surprising is that it is not that hard to keep up with the news. One can maybe read one or two articles a day. After that people can just read that headlines to get an idea of what the article is about. I will say I stay on the main page in regards to what I read in the news. I read the articles in regards to Obama’s opinion and actions for gun control. I know if one dives deeper into the site you can find articles on almost any topic. That is probably what I have missed out on. I do not read many articles on education or science for example. It just does not interest me, and I do not feel the need to go look for them even though I would find them interesting after I started reading them. It is a matter of time as well. I would rather read the first interesting headline I see instead of looking in a less-than-popular category of news. One thing I have gotten good at is skimming articles and understanding the gist of them. I can pick out important details and ignore things that only drag out the article. This has made me a more efficient reader, and I only see it getting better.

Is News a Priority?

News today is literally at the finger tips of most everyone in society, and yet a majority of society does not keep up with current events in the world. It is puzzling, and yet I have fell victim to the lack of knowledge on world events. I would say most of the current events I hear about are from word of mouth or social networking. I listen to what friends talk about and I try to keep up to the point where I can a least have a decent debate with them. I even enjoy the mini-debates that occur on Facebook, but it usually ended with people criticizing others for their use of grammar rather than the validity of their comment. I obviously become more knowledgeable of world and domestic news stories from discussing them in our writ class; it’s just a shame I have to be late and miss most of the conversation. I will say that I enjoy reading a newspaper when I can, but I barely have time to sit and eat breakfast; The convenience of time is something I do not have. If I am reading the news the majority of it is in online articles. I enjoy how easy it is to get updates and skim articles when reading online. The only this is that I never read the articles in depth. I read lots of headlines and glance through a few articles. It is sad that I will read status updates for hours, but when it comes to formal articles I simply fall short like most Americans today. Even though I am busy as hell in college, I know I could easily find the time to read a couple articles a day. I just choose to use my limited free time elsewhere. It may be wrong, but until I acquire that driving desire to keep up with current events that is how it will remain.

Extended Essay 1

Being born in the first generation with the Internet it would be hard to imagine a future without it. What our parents would spends hours researching in a library we can find instantly online. Virtually all research is indexed in cyberspace, and it can easily be found with a couple key words in any search engine. This is just one of the new technologies that have changed our lives. New smart phones have made it possible to use this information wherever we are and whenever we want. At the same time we can transmit our thoughts instantly online. Facebook and Twitter are literally flooded daily with hundreds of millions of posts per day. Millions of blogs still exist today, and thousands are created daily. The point is that the limitless access to information has changed our lives in an innumerable amount of ways, but how is this limitless access to knowledge changing the way we think and act? Even more basic, how is this age of the Internet changing the way we read and write? This is not something that can simply exist without changing our fundamental ways of life. Now, I am not sure how are writing will change, and it could be for better or worse. I believe the point here is that the way we read and write is changing, and it will continue to change throughout this ever-changing world of technology.

            A perfect example of technology changing how we write is a new writing medium that has only become popular in the last 10-13 year. I am speaking of blogging. Writing used to only be a sort of formal endeavor. Professionals wrote books or in the newspaper. They are given limited space, an audience they have to appeal to, and an editor they have to please so their work can get printed. It is a pretty large process to get an article in the paper. Then blogging emerged, and boy was it successful! Today there are millions of blogs that are updated regularly, and more are created each day. Now what is the difference between a blog and a news article? Well first is that you do not need a team of people to maintain a blog. It is easy to create and maintain with just one person. Also, there are no editors in the process. There is no trying to please your editor because you are your own editor. You decide what to write, how much to write, and who to write to. Lastly, it is instant. Andrew Sullivan describes a blog as a, “spontaneous expression of instant thought.” By comparison news articles are written in response to an event. The facts are compiled and checked, and the story is printed a day later. A blog can be written as an event is happening! There are no facts that need to be checked; anything you write can just be speculation and opinion. You can even write lies, but that probably would not get you many followers. The point is there are no hoops to jump through. You can just write, and your followers will listen. That is how blogging has changed writing; by being able to report on anything you want instantly and have people listen. Although, blogging is just a new way to write. Let us examine a new technology that has influenced all writing.

            Google gives everyone access to any information they want at anytime they want. One could spend a lifetime looking up things on Google and still barely scratch the surface of the amount of information it has logged. Even so, we have to look at how this limitless source of information is affecting how we read and write. For starters, most things that are read are online, and reading something made with paper is becoming somewhat of a novelty. People always tell me, “I just enjoy the feel of paper compared to holding a tablet.” I say that they are holding on to the vintageness of books, and I predict that in 10-20 years everything will be done through a tablet or some other new piece of technology. How does this affect us? For one I think poor eyesight will become a standard diagnosis among pre-teens and up. Also, without the tangibility of a book it is easier to find yourself skimming to read everything that you want. That leads to my next point is that Google is changing how we read and retain information. Nicholas Carr talks amount how the effects of instantly accessible information on how the mind acquires and processes information. He states that Google has caused people to loose the ability to absorb large amounts of information. Bruce Friedman at the University of Michigan states that, “I now have almost totally lost the ability to read and absorb longish articles on the web or in print”. Carr also uses studies that have proven that over the last five years people rarely stay on one page for very long, and even if they save a page the odds are that he or she will never look at the page again. Chris Hedges goes even farther to say that America is illiterate. Although, he is extremely biased, he uses many facts to support his argument. Something that was very compelling was that he examined the vocabulary used in presidential elections in the last 150 years. During the debates between Lincoln and Douglass the vocabulary was at an 11^th-12^th grade level. During the JFK and Nixon debates they were speaking at an 8^th-9^th grade level. Lastly, in the debates between Bush and Gore they were speaking at a 5^th-6^th grade level. Now, I do not believe he is taking the invention of the television into account. Also, the fact that most of the voters in Lincoln’s time were wealthy and white should be taken into account. I just believe candidates would rather appeal to the lowest education class so everyone can understand rather than the opposite. I do believe that Google will change how we think and process information. For better or worse I do not know. Just as we could not predicted the effects of the printing press, we will just have to wait to see how humans grow and adapt to instant access to limitless information.

            As far as writing goes society today is writing more today that it ever has in the history of time. That may seem unreal until you realize what I am referring to. I am talking about texting and social network. Everyday millions of statuses are updated, I am sure you sent a text to someone while reading this essay. The point is we are writing more than we ever have, although we are not writing in the traditional sense. We are writing thoughts and experiences that happen in our lives. Our status and texts are personal, and there is usually some emotion linked to it. Lundsford defines literacy as simply being able to read and write, and she states that literacy is on the rise among youth today. With texting, email, and social networking we would simply not function as well in modern society. It is necessary to read and write because it is a part of our daily lives in the most personal way possible. Some might say that this does not change how we write; it merely changes where we are writing instead. I say that is false. Our writing styles are not coming from famous authors as it did with past generations. They are coming from our peers. Most of what we read are short notifications of someone’s life. That is what we read and write about. I can say I am horrible at 3^rd person essays or research papers. The reason is that I just cannot grasp the idea of not including my opinion in what I am writing. At the same time I cannot include that same amount of passion in research papers. It is how I was taught to write, and it is the way I will continue to write the majority of my “works”.

            I believe the topic of literacy is how we define it. Sylvia Scribner believes that literacy is defined by the purposes of literacy. The function of literacy could be to attain power, adapt to society, or acquiring grace. Regardless I believe that is too complex of a definition. Literacy is reading and writing. That is how I see it, and by that standard I believe our society is doing pretty well in the face of technology. Here is the truth, technology has always greatly influenced our minds worked. When everyone was able to acquire printed books people thought there would be anarchy, but there was not. We progressed as a society. We adapted to the change, and we became better because of it. I do not know how society will change from modern technology. No one does, but based on the past I am remaining hopeful that it will only push us forward as a civilization.

             

Mixed feelings of blogging

Writing blogs…..something has certainly changed in regard to my opinions about them. First, I realize they are not just for the accomplished writer. They can be simple explanations of passion or thoughts. Second, the reasons for writing blogs are endless. They can keep a photo album of a family vacation, be a way to tell fans of rumors about a popular celebrity, or even to describe new and unique ways to used and prepare bacon! I would follow that blog. That brings me to my last point, I believe one needs to be passionate about what he is writing in his or her blog. Because of this I sometimes find it difficult to write about these topics.

The difficulty is not in the act of writing a blog. I actually love the fact of including our own opinions in informal writings such as these. It is definitely better than anything I have done before as far as writing. My biggest challenge is to include my opinions in response to these articles. I sometimes feel I am simply restating the article in a simpler way, and maybe that is all that is required. I just feel I should be able include more of myself in these blog posts, and I will continue trying to improve that. I will say that because of this experience I realized that even an untrained writer like myself is able to create and maintain a blog, and that is pretty cool. I may even create a music or Horn blog because of this class. I don’t even care if it becomes popular or not, and that leads to my biggest revelation. If you write for yourself you will only enjoy it. You will have a reason to continue writing. It won’t be because you will become famous or you will please your readers; it will be because you have something you want to say or talk about. That to me is the coolest attraction to blogging. 

We write more.....fact!

Literacy is definitely a hard thing to define, but I believe the purposes of being literate are what define it. I think back to my literacy learning throughout my life, and it has been to accomplish one thing: to move on to something more. Literacy for me was taught to accomplish something, and then I learn perpetually as the challenges become…..more challenging. This continues until you feel you have learned enough to function well in society. I find it interesting how each of the authors define literacy in a different way. Scribner seems to associate literacy to its function or purpose whether that is attaining power, adapting to society, or acquiring grace. Lundsford merely describes literacy as the ability to read and write, and she states that literacy it on the rise among youth. It may not be in the traditional sense, but with texting, email, and social networking people are writing more than they ever have before. This is quite positive compared to the writings of Carr and Hedges. Their writings are about how the internet is affecting our literacy. Hedges is quite ruthless when saying that Americans are more illiterate now than they have been in past. He even uses many facts in regards to the vocabulary used in presidential debates now compared to the past. I would have to say I disagree. Americans are not becoming illiterate; we are simply adapting to a new age a literacy. The fact is, profound or not, we are writing more than ever before, and the biggest concern is how this will affect our writing and the way we think. The truth is that we do not know, though I am excited to see how even basic education changes because of purposes for writing in this ever-expanding world of knowledge.

Is Google killing our brains?

The invention of Google has changed the way the entire world lives to say the least. I remember my parents telling me about the hours of research they had to do at library. My mom even got a set of World Encyclopedias handed down to her when she had me and my sister. Those have been collecting dust for years, and I am going to be lucky to sell them for $50 dollars when the set sells new for over $1100. One of the largest impacts of Google is the impact it has on our cognitive processes. Nicholas Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”  talks about the effects of instantly accessible information on how my mind acquires and processes the information. He talks about how Google has caused people to loose the ability to absorb large amounts of information. Bruce Friedman at the University of Michigan states that, “I now have almost totally lost the ability to read and absorb a longish article on the web or in print”. Carr also describes studies that have proved that over the last 5 years that people rarely stay on one page for very long, and even if they save an article odds are they will never come back to it. Hedges article “America the Illiterate” is an extremely critical article on the result of Americas illiteracy. What was truly troubling about it was the amount of facts he put in. Granted, his article was extremely opinionated and biased, but his use of statistics allowed him to be so blunt and truthful. I believe the common ground of both articles is that instant information is going to change the world in ways we cannot begin to comprehend just as the printing press did in the 1800s. There was also skepticism towards the effects of books and newspapers being available to the public. We just have to wait and see. Will we enter an age of virtually infinite knowledge that will further enhance our society to a better future, or will it lead the majority of the population to be so dependent on accessible information that they the ability to learn and think?

Reading and Writing: What does it mean?

The definition of reading as I understand it is listening and understanding what the writer is trying to tell you. Harris talked about how when you are reading you need to essentially absorb the reading. Do not stop till you understand what the writer is trying to say to you so you may use it in your future works.

Writing is a demonstration of what you know and using what you know to make a new work and move an idea forward. Harris talks about moving forward and countering in your writing. This means understanding what was said and adding to it. You can discuss what you believe is right and elaborate or argue what you don’t agree with.

Joesph Harris

I think I started writing when I was in early grade school. I have increased my vocabulary throughout my schooling. I have written countless works in multiple formats. I was in honors English throughout middle school and took AP English for two years in High School, and yet, none of my teachers have explained writing in such an inspiring and logical way as Joseph Harris. One of his basic principles of writing is this term called “rewriting”. In his book he aims to teach how to not only write on a topic that has already been explained but to enhance the topic and move the idea forward. I was confused of the term rewriting. To me it sounded like plagiarism or something else that could hinder my writing education. Joseph says that, “rewriting is to point to a generative paradox of academic world.” Intellectuals and scholars all want to say something new and say it well, but at the same time we need to reflect on our own lives. Our tastes in music, our opinions of world issues, and the views of the people we talk to. Our creative writing stems from multiple sources, and we use that to explain writing in a new and creative way to build on an idea that was said before. Harris does not just want to teach us how to write; he aims to teach us how to understand a seemingly complex topic and say it a way that will enhance it. His book is split into 5 parts: coming to terms, forwarding, countering, taking an approach, and revising. If I could I would explain what each part means, but just looking at the words are a decent enough gist. It reminds me of Sullivan’s work of why to write a blog. In essence, it is new and accessible ways to spread ideas, respond to opinions, and allow one to build on these opinions to build a communal interest. What I truly love about both authors is the idea of moving forward by reading, responding, and understanding what was already said and to further their points so we may further enhance it. 

Andrew Sullivan “Why I Blog”

A blog is in simple terms is a web log. The combination of these words has created a new writing medium that has captured and transformed the worlds way of publishing. Andrew Sullivan wrote "Why I Blog"which he explains the creation of blogging and why he has embraced blogging as a new and exciting way of writing. In simple terms he states blogging as a, “spontaneous expression of instant thought.” He means that a blog is not something that is professionally edited. It has no official deadline, yet it must be maintained to survive. There is no limit to the amount of space the writer is limited to. It is simply creating an idea instantaneously with no limits. He compares this to his time working as a columnist. A columnist responds to a situation. They hear the news, interprets it, and write a well thought out factual article for their audience. A blogger is something different. When something happens one must blog immediately. It does not have to be completely factual because that is not what makes a blog. A blog is a writers opinion on what is happening in the moment. It a writer’s initial interpretation on an event, and because it is instantaneous he or she is able to put more of their self in the post. One of the downsides to blogs is the immediate opinions of their readers. These emails come fast, and they can be brutal, “but blogging requires the embrace of such hazards, a willingness to fall of the trapeze rather than fail to make the leap.” Because of this risk taking a blogger creates something, human individuality and connection. He or she creates something that is raw and full of emotion and beliefs, and that requires readers to respond to it. It is up to the blogger to embrace their readers comments to build a community within their blogosphere.

Creating a Blog

For this post you will get an “in the moment perspective” on my experience writing my first blog. The thing about blogs is that I thought they were difficult to create and manage. I thought you already needed some sort of fan base to make ones blogs popular. I also believed the blogger needed some background in web design to create the blog and make it look appealing. I now have an entirely new perspective of blogging. Making a blog was so easy to do. It takes maybe 3 minutes to create ones blog using free sites such as blogger.com. What was most surprising is how professional your blog can look with the free service. You can have a professional looking blog up and running in seconds, and the amount of blogs you can create is limitless. I have not encountered any problems in creating a blog. Because of the ease in creating it I feel that problems are created because of the blogger and his or her goals with the blog. My problem was not knowing how to write a blog. I was not sure about the formality of it and such. I solved this by writing what I think, and being informal yet educated. Because of this my opinions of blogs has completely changed. I thought one had to be an expert in writing or in some field of study to have a successful blog. Now I know it comes down to what one considers success. For me it can be a more formal form of Facebook in the sense that I just write about what I think, and that is enough success for me. Also, just the act of maintaining a blog can improve ones ability to write well and efficiently. I look forward to see how my writing skills develop by the end of this.