Week 16

I don't really like the "Shift Happens" video because it was somewhat of a wakeup call.  It makes me feel that the United States are pretty low on the scale right now, and that China and India are doing pretty good.  There are a lot more people in China which maybe why they are doing so much better.  But the fact that the US isn't as great as it seems it really scary.  It also was a little confusing.

Week 13

Is Wal-Mart good for America?  Before watching the video I would think that Wal-Mart is something that’s good for people because of the low prices.  In times like this many people don't have a lot of money, so going to Wal-Mart it a good place where people don't have to spend a lot of money to get food, or other supplies for their house.  After watching the video I noticed that Wal-Mart is something that has control over a lot of places that they buy from.  They can tell him how much they want to buy something from them for, and how much.  The people that they're buying from can't say anything otherwise because Wal-Mart knows everything about that company, and how much they make, and how they make it.  On the other hand they do help other companies by selling and making more and more people buy something from that company.  I kept watching and noticed that Wal-Mart somewhat tricks you, by putting one thing out and saying it is lowest price, when then other thing on the shelf are not the lowest price.  Another thing is that Wal-Mart has people in china to make things cheaper and can pay people cheaper to make it, so that is how people can buy things from Wal-Mart cheaply, because they don't have to pay them as much to make it.

Week 10

In the "Tale of Two Families" there were two boys one name Byron Green and the other Max Holland.  They were about the same age, but Byron is black and Max is white.  Max has twice as much wealth as Byron.  Byron's parents bought a two story duplex, and Max's parents house was given to them by their persons.  Back then black people were very limited to finding a job, Max's family had the money to pay for his schooling.  Max found a job right out of school.  The manufacturing that Byron's parents worked at crashed, and many people in his neighborhood had to leave.  For Max it was just getting better and better.  He started his own business by borrowing money from his uncle.  Byron didn't have any family members that could just hand him money left and right.  Byron was able to get a scholarship to an Ivy League school because of his family's uncertain financial situation.  Max was 18 and had a lot of money in his savings and used it to send his parents on vacations.  Byron sold their house for 29,500 and Max's family sold theirs for 299,000.  Byron helps his family as much as he can.  Max had the help from his parents to get the house that he has and have the business that he has today because of them.  Discrimination made a big difference for people, and they didn't have as much money as they needed to get by. 

Week 12

During the exercise I've realized that my parents did a lot for me and my brother, but also didn't do as much as other families.  No one really packed or lunch or did Christmas cards, like most other families normally do.  But then again I don't think that I have ever heard of two different families doing the same as another.  I think that my mom does some things that my dad doesn't do, and the other way around, like cutting the grass is something that my mom does, and washing the dishes is something that my dad does.  I think that everything is pretty even in the family, and that everyone does their part at home. 

Week 11

I don't think that religion shouldn't have a role in the government, even though it does.  I've heard many things about have gone on about the religion and state, and how it doesn't seem right that there's a connection.  I believe that there should be religion and there should be a government, and not have them together.  That's apart of having the freedom that we have in the United States.  (Freedom of religion)  But there are some laws that are based on religion, and some that are not.  I think that some times when people are in office they use their religion to get more votes. 

Week 7

There are classes everywhere, and all you have to do is to sit down and think about it. The sad thing is is that most of the time someone that is in the upper class they tend to look down at the classes that are lower then theirs. But at else everyone is in a class, even though no one wants to admit that there are classes like this in America. It all depends on how you've been raised to determine what class you are in, like how you act or how much money you end up with. Normally when you are in the upper class you get all the respect that you deserve, but if your on the lower end of the ladder, then you don't get nearly as much respect that you deserve. The soical class matters because its how we founction, and how we see other people that are around us.

Week 6

I think because of social networks and having smart phones and Ipads, that Americans are becoming more isolated because of technology. Because of things like Facebook and Twitter, people are more focused on other people’s problems and drama. Everyone now everywhere are always on their cell phones or smart phones, either texting someone or just playing a game on their hand held. Before cell phones and Facebook, it seems that people were out more and did more things out side