It may derive from Noah's ark or Jesus' calming of the storm (Mk 4:37). © 2004-2009 ReligionFacts. http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/symbols/a-z.htm The ship for me has so much personal meaning as I grew up in Florida. I always visualized the ships as those that might need help and the lighthouse as the Savior or guide to safety. Reading the symbolic meaning that the Ship is your church, does not change my respect or meaning, it only enhances it.
He refers to American material culture as a mallcondo culture; a culture that is trying to be avoided by some hopeful nations and sought after by other willing and expanding nations (28). History has shown that our consumption has expanded exponentially over a fifty year period; we consume more for our families and ourselves, we buy larger houses and splurge on lavish vehicles. It is easy to blame this unflattering culture characteristic−materialism−on commercialism but Twitchell insists that it is “the scapegoat du jour” often blamed for social epidemics and the corruption of youth (29). The blame is being passed around when it is truly materialism and our love of things that
The popularity of internet music distribution has increased and in 2009 more than a quarter of all recorded music industry revenues worldwide are now coming from digital channels. [12] However, as The Economist reports, "paid digital downloads grew rapidly, but did not begin to make up for the loss of revenue from CDs. "[9] The 2008 British Music Rights survey[13] showed that 80% of people in Britain wanted a legal P2P service, however only half of the respondents thought that the music's creators should be paid. The survey was consistent with the results of earlier research conducted in the United States, upon which the Open Music Model was based. [14] According to Nielson Soundscan, by 2009 CDs accounted for 79 percent of album sales, with 20 percent coming from digital downloads, representing both a 10 percent drop and gain for both formats in 2
Over the last couple of years, the United States has, not only, become the most obese country in the world, but also has a large increase in health problems such as heart attacks, diabetes, high blood pressure, and strokes. Business executives of fast food restaurants do not consider the well being of their consumers because that same greed they have, doesn’t allow them to worry about them. In chapter two of the book, “Welcome to Fatland,” there is a focus on how executives came up with different ways to earn more profits and entice customers to buy their products. The best marketing strategy they have developed is “bigness.” Basically, this strategy consists of offering larger quantities to consumers. The cost to the company to produce bigger goods is only slightly different than producing the regular sized, and they could charge consumers a higher amount.
Often times, companies uproot from American soil and re-established themselves in foreign countries. This causes millions of American based jobs to diminish. The more unemployment rises, the less capital circulates in the United States economy, thus causing more Americans to seek unemployment benefits. According to Gail Makinen, economic policy specialist, the United States experienced 130,000 Americans being either jobless due to the 9/11 attack or the recession that followed. (2002) Although the United States economy experiences a great deal of negative effects based on international trade, there are some benefits to foreign trade.
There are several parallels that lead us to believe that history may be repeating itself. Today’s U.S. economy is producing 2.2% more goods output then before the economic recession started in the late 2000’s, but with 3.8% fewer workers. This can be attributed to our modern day recession stimulating huge productivity and efficiency gains as business let mediocre employees go to save on labor costs. They have learned to do more with less. Unemployment rates were steadily on the rise just a few months ago and corporate profits are at all time highs.
For all of the above reasons, California's present and predicted future size is a wakeup call for the State and the nation." To understand California's immigration problem, during the same decade, all of the northeastern States from Maine to Virginia, combined, gained less than four million people, i.e., native-born along with both legal and illegal immigrants. However, it's worth noting that, during the same decade, the population of illegal immigrants in New Jersey doubled. I was recently in Los Angeles and even a brief visit demonstrated the problems this massive influx of immigrants is creating. Highway congestion in that metropolitan area is a nightmare.
The 700 million baby boomers were dubbed for “indulging in an obsessive self-interest that critics blamed for everything from rising crime and divorce rates to child abuse, and urban decay.” (Fischer) But I think it is safe to say that this was the least of our problems. It is very easy to say that over the years we have had our beneficial times and then we have had our extreme downfalls, but when a problem has arose; our country does a very good job, for the most part, of trying to fix the problem. “Americans have shown the energy and hustle to produce economic growth.” “America is a country that goes every year to the doctor” Brooks Wrote, and every year it is told that it has contacted some fatal disease-…and a year later, the patient comes back with cheeks still red and muscles still powerful.” When we have a problem, we address the issue and do everything we can to keep this country running and we haven’t failed
According to the Centers for Disease Control, obesity rates have tripled in America's youth and adults since 1980 America needs to understand that not the only people getting larger, but so are their children. We are leading children to poor health and a poor understanding of what exercise and being active can do for you. With schools limiting PE classes and sporting budgets, exercise has been something only merely talked about rather than being practiced. Children are being diagnosed with Cardiovascular disease which is one of the leading causes of death in our nation and many other chronic diseases. Because of the significance of fast food chains in America, we feel the urge for an easy meal, Americans, in general, immediately look to the fast food nation for a quick suppression to their hunger.
Throughout history, immigration has been “a swinging door that often opens during periods of economic prosperity and slams shut when times get tough.” (Vatz, 2013) This being particularly true when economic despair is in effect. Immigrants usually mean cheap labor. Whether or not people are for or against immigration into the United States, one thing is for certain, “Tens of millions of immigrants over four centuries have made the United States what it is today. …their hard work benefited themselves and their new home country.” (Hiner, 2008) Unfortunately, there is much more than a few pages worth of United States immigration history, but in the following paragraphs, we hope to address and discuss some of the more prominent historical points including the different “waves” immigration into the United