Class System

Upon reviewing our classes class discussion this week, I believe the current class separation in the US requires a fundamental restructuring. While a class system may be necessary in order to reward hard work and diligence, it should in no way suppress those without the ability excel. The US should provide social services similar to that of Europe: free public health care, subsidized, if not free college tuition, and countless other programs for the general public. The current class system in the US seems to encourage selfish advances, assisting those in need is seen as secondary to ones own private advancement. The US currently has one of the lowest tax rates in the world, the result is severely underfunded public programs. Despite being the most wealthy country in the world, the US has a disturbingly high percentage of its population in poverty. Higher income and property taxes should be placed on those earning comfortable incomes. It would in no way be "punishing" the rich as it would provide a general benefit to society. Fundamental American values would have to be altered in order to provide such necessary changes, while such changes would have to be incremental, over time, significant change to the social services system may be achieved.

Occupy Pics

This woman has earned herself a graduate degree, normally this would result in a stable career throughout ones life. However, even with a higher education this woman is working 3 jobs simply to support her family. She would define a more fair situation as one that provides greater economic security and rewards individuals for pursuing a higher education. This picture states that even a higher education does not guarantee a successful career, this highly contradicts the American ideal of hard work being rewarded with positive results.

This is a fairly young individual that has lost all hope in the American educational system. He is unemployed with no health insurance. He left America, the richest country in the world, to move to one that that provides public health insurance, free college, and other amenities not present in the US. He would most certainly wish for a America that provides the necessary public services for the majority of the population. This pic states that America is only favorable for those who have the wealth to prosper while the majority struggles to live life day by day.


This individual has earned a college degree and currently works minimum wage to pay off loans and credit card debt. This persons own sister is stating it's his/her own fault. This letter also states how a college education is no longer a guarantee for future financial security. It also states how America has become highly individualized, with the sister saying its her sibling's own fault rather than the many limiting situation factors that may have stalled the person's ambitions.  The writter of the letter would most likely agree with public healthcare and more government organizations to provide those with new degrees prosperous job opportunities. It relates to our current class system as pictures such as this expose the deep economic and social flaws present in American society.

Positive Deviance

1) Positive deviance may be demonstrated by acting in a kind and compassionate manner with which people are not normally accustomed to. Given that many actions in society are based a system of reward, positive deviance would constitute a selfless act in which no personal gain may be derived. Diaz is an excellent example of positive deviance as he responded to the robber's demands not with fear and panic but in a calm tone which enabled him to see the desperation in the robber's act. Diaz turn offered the robber his own coat and dinner and demonstrated to the robber a truly selfless act.

2) This weekend my friends and I decided to visit downtown Chicago for a day. While we were walking around the city, a random group of girls came up to us asking for help on a scavenger hunt. Normally, any request from strangers that requires an individual to break from his/her routine would go ignored. However, my friends and I decided to be good people and help the girls on their hunt.

3) In the end, helping the girls on the scavenger hunt made our day much more entertaining. The challenges ranged from "planking" on random landmarks to staring down complete strangers through the window of a starbucks. We made good friends with these girls and if we ignored their original request, we would have never met them. This act of positive deviance demonstrated to me that helping complete strangers may result in the formation of new friendships and that one should not be weary to assist those outside of ones social circle.

Nov 4th blog

1) Gender display is defined as an individual performing the roles expected by one's society. Gender displays are often subconscious physical cues we display as a mark of our gender. For example, men often walk with a very firm stance and move their shoulders from one side to the other to display masculinity; women, however, have a tendency to sway their hips in a sexual manner and minimize shoulder movement to display femininity.

4) The movie attempts to expose advertisements of men and women for their underlying stereotypes. Men in the movie were pictured fully upright to display confidence and were also pictured with a deliberate gaze symbolizing full awareness and alertness. Women were shown in a generally defenseless and innocent manner. They were pictured lying down staring into the distance, implying an obliviousness to their surroundings. They were also shown holding and cradling themselves, implying insecurity and vulnerability. These types of advertisements are extremely common in the music industry. In Taylor Swift's "Fearless" album, she is ironically shown lying down with her neck fully exposed. This implying weakness and vulnerability much to the contrast of the album name. In J.Cole's "Coleworld," J.Cole is pictured sitting firmly on a bench with a definite stare into the camera. This implying confidence and awareness.

7) Western Societies definition of masculinity often stems counter to its definition of femininity. A "man" is expected to everything a "woman" is not. Thus masculinity is expected to guard femininity. A masculine individual is expected to be confident, poised, emotionally restrained and to have natural leadership qualities. While feminine characteristics reflect a self consciousness, innocent and submissive individual. Masculinity ideally is meant to "fill in" feminine short comings and the same goes for femininities affect on masculinity.

Socialization

Family has without doubt been the most prevalent agent of socialization throughout the course of my life. Media and religion often broadcast messages with which they may influence the broadest demographic and thereby play a much more minimized role. Family, however, remains with an individual despite difficulties and change. My family has taught me many of the characteristics which I consider core to my ideals, they have taught me morality and ethics as well proper life goals. My peers and local environment plays the second most role in socialization as it is what I interact with most outside of family. I believe I have made excellent friends over the years with whom I may share many similar ideals and approaches to life. This has been a positive social influence. Media and religion has played a smaller role in my socialization as media is an entity with which I dissect with the greatest skepticism; religion has played a greater role than media, however, given that my family is not very religious it has not been critical to my development.

Family

A. Before I was born, my parents stated they wanted me to acquire many of their positive traits and wished for me to be intelligent as well as determined.
B. My parents have put in significant effort to pass on their own traits of hardwork and diligence to me; they always stressed the importance of having set goals throughout life and to strive to reach those goals despite any possible obstacles.
C. To my parents they find it very important that I carry and pass on my own cultural heritage. They stress that I should never disregard my native language and blend aspects of both American and Ukrainian culture in my life.
D. My parents say they rarely had struggles to discipline me. As a child, however, I apparently blurted out thoughts to my heart's delight and they had to tell me what specific things were and were not acceptable to say out loud, they say that period of obliviousness was often the source of much comical relief.
E. My mother says I have taken on my father's humor and his somewhat immature personality, to which I have no real objections. They also say I have taken on their trait to prioritize goals well and also the motivation required to reach to reach them.

2. None of these answers surprised me to any particular extent as I have had these sorts of conversations with my family multiple times before. I found the many stories my parents told of me as a child to be quite comical, for example my parents said when they bought me my first suit in first grade, I wore it everywhere we went for 3 weeks straight. I have learned that through the many struggles my parents have faced, humor and family affection are often the best coping mechanisms. They say that while I should always be prioritized and have goals in sight, I should always enjoys the pleasures of the present and not be burdened by the stresses of the future.

Material/Symbolic Culture

Material and Symbolic culture is present in any given society. Material culture reflects the physical aspect of civilization and the common artifacts and objects used in their society. Symbolic culture, however, takes on a much more broad definition; it essentially encompasses everything material culture does not. Symbolic culture can range from the language and gestures used in a society to its values and beliefs. In American society, material culture has turned into somewhat of an obsession. Specifically, in the technology craze, many individuals feel the need to keep all of their technological accessories up to date. The smartphone, specifically the iPhone, is an excellent example of material culture as it demonstrates the extent to which technology is integrated into our society; smartphones can configure ones home security, pinpoint the phones location from anywhere in the world and access the vastness of the internet all from the flick of a fingertip. This directly coincides with our symbolic culture as it demonstrates not only American's need for control but also the importance of prioritization and scheduling. Smartphones are often used to keep track of an individuals daily schedule by keeping appointments and specific information; smartphones can also communicate with anyone from nearly any location in the world and can be used to make rapid changes throughout one's daily life. Advances such as these contribute the overall on-the-go lifestyle of Americans and demonstrate the prominent connection between material and non material culture.