Americans spend their time chasing money and making sure they have power and the best luxury things ever made. They forget about the value of life and spending time with family. One the other hand the Amish are a small group traditional Christians. They don't use technology like other Americans. They believe anything can be done without technology; they are simple people who don't like help from outsiders.
There was only a simple law, and that was to not read books as well as think, making “the mind drink less and less.” This doesn’t seem much of a sacrifice because society was filled with far more excitement than literature could offer. Meanwhile, new technology helped people do everyday chores and made life simpler, leaving more time for fun. Like Beatty said, “Life is immediate, the job counts, and pleasure lies all about after work.” Entertainment ruled their society. The parlor walls seem like a god compared to our TVs. The seashell radios are convenience at its best.
When my family and I first bought our family car I was very excited; I imagined it would bring us great joy. The purchase actually turned out to be one of the greatest buys of my life, the car proved to be extremely useful, almost as if it was a necessity. I do recall another purchase that I thought would bring me great joy but really did not; this was when we bought our home. Initially the happiness I imagined I would receive was great but in reality the purchase turned out to bring about a lot of pressure. All in all I realized buying the material you dream of does not necessarily guarantee happiness; sometimes the happiness you imagine turns out to merely be an illusion.
What you buy in our society determines your value and happiness is mistaken for satisfaction. At the end of the day, the United States does not come home fulfilled from the purchases they made or the things they have gained; it comes from the relationships you build and this is which creates genuine happiness. Both of these pieces shine a light on the growing industry and the ways they target children through television, media, and many other outlets who don’t know any better. This downward spiral is turning luxuries into necessities and the idea that money can’t buy happiness is being forgotten in our consumer
According to John Taylor Gatto and Michael Moore in “Against School” and “Idiot Nation” the American Schooling system deceives the public into believing that it is being educated when in fact both men agree the system is conforming Americans into childish consumers bereft of truly significant learning. Both of the authors discuss consumerism in their stories; John Taylor Gatto does not discuss it as indepthly as Michael Moor, but he does mention it on page 154, basically saying that school trained children to almost not think at all… (Gatto 154). Michael Moore speaks on consumerism for about a length of 22 paragraphs at a minimum. “The schools aren’t just looking for ways to advertise, they are also concerned with the students perceptions on various products… Companies conduct market research in classrooms during school hours. “ (Moore 141).
Why is it that so many intelligent people are considered lower that those who have no intelligence book wise? Society had made the image that the intellectualists of this nation have no place in the social aspect. In “America Needs Its Nerds”, author Leonid Fridman asserts that the American attitude anti-intellectualism must end for America to remain being a competitive force with other countries. Fridman was right when he said that geeks do not play a significant role in the society. One of his examples was that many foreign countries revere their professors and scholars, but in America we revere our celebrities and ball players.
I think this was wrong of him because Mr Birling has made it in life and had it easy, he does not have to earn a living of a low wage so he doesn’t know what it is like for poor people. H is treating his workers unfairly, this shows how stubborn and greedy he can be. Then later on that same night Mr Birling was very inpatient with the
Early education programs such as, the Head Start program was on top of the list for budget cuts. That would affect the kick start to learning that has been around for generations of young learners to take advantage of. Most American families are in favor of having an early learning program in their community. Studies show that kids the kids that participate in an early learning program develop a greater aptitude for learning and are accepted to better universities. Seems like the GOP does not understand that even though the average family can’t afford to send their kids to a top tier university does not mean they do not want to take advantage of early learning.
In his book Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole, Benjamin R. Barber quotes the song All You Need is Love by the Beatles, saying “That is especially what children need” (Barber 184). It may be unrealistic for most to cut gift-giving completely out of the holidays (Hurt), but adults, at least, can focus on spending more time together and less time at the mall. According to Bernado M. Villegas, “Capitalism or the free market economy can only be saved from future catastrophes if the producers, financiers and consumers who make up its system are convinced that a gratuitous or selfless love is an indispensable ingredient in their human relationship to one another.” “It is not wrong to be happy when giving or receiving a gift; however problems arise when it is not clear whether reactions to those gifts are in fact true reactions (Buerk). Consumers are so confused by what they want and what they believe they “should” have that ofter they act excited about a gift that, when they think about it, they do not want or
Good VS. Evil “Money doesn’t buy happiness.” A saying many non-wealthy human beings say just to make them feel better about their self-esteem. But it seems odd that in this book “The Great Gatsby” money evolves around love. The two main characters Gatsby and Tom, theyre love Daisy is only interested in them because of theyre wealth. So this quote has no meaning because money did buy them happiness or at least for Tom it did.