Final Post

I have a love-hate relationship with blogging. Being able to share my personal views in such a public way without having to be personally involved with the reader is very appealing. Although sometimes it is hard to think of the right way to organize my thoughts, it is really interesting to think about the people that blog professionally.  Their job is to have their finger on trends and to know what people want to read about. They are entertainers, writers, and celebrities all at once. My experience writing this blog in particular has opened my eyes how the internet can be used as a public journal, and that other people had the same thoughts I did pertaining to certain topics. On the downside, I didn't feel knowledgable enough to blog on a regular basis. With all of the research that I'm sure goes in to each blog, having a popular blog takes a lot of effort. I enjoyed being a "blogger" for a month, and I will certainly start following blogs that interest me.

The bloggers I chose to follow were all concerned with civil rights and equality. In casual, everyday life, our society believes that certain types of inequality are acceptable. "The Inequality Map" by David Brooks is the list of what types of social inequality are acceptable and which ones are not. His humorous approach to the subject conveys an unattachment to the subject, although the use of sarcasm makes the reader not feel guilty if they practice a certain type of social inequality. This is similar to my last post asking "Is social inequality addictive?" This post by Daniel Dorling talks about the ironic want for utopia while we, as Americans, live in a constant state of inequality. We are desensitized to the inequality around us. Paul Krugman, author of "We are the 99.9%", also writes about not taking steps toward equality. The rich 0.1% seem to be exempt from the current recession because the government seems to think that their jobs are too important to have their salaries cut. All of these posts relate to each other. The authors all felt the need to announce to the public that inequality of any kind is not acceptable, but the issue is ignored. The truth we face is that total social equality is not possible, but there are many steps that we are able to take in that direction. Think twice before you judge, because we're all just people trying to make it through the day. Everyone deserves that much respect.

Fourth Post

Inequality is all around us; in our schools and workplaces, on television and covers of magazines. If we are not careful, we may wake up to find that inequality is in our homes as well. But is true equality even possible? Communism and Socialism have proven to be unsuccessful, the United State's capitalist government has made a point to make sure that no one is on the same level. The human race is slowly falling into a black hole of unhappiness. So much time and energy is wasted on climbing the social ladder, that there is not any left to spend on the things that really matter. Divorce and suicide rates have sky rocketed in the last ten years. How can we expect to fix the economy if our home lives are broken beyond repair? There is balance in everything, and if we can remember to take the time to spend with our loved ones, work will fall into place because your priorities are in their proper order. Distractions from the media will only hinder us more, and cause more unhappiness than we can bear. Let us not squander the precious time that we have be given and spend time with our families.

Is social inequality addictive? ... by Daniel Dorling

http://policypress.wordpress.com/2010/04/16/is-social-inequality-addictive/

Daniel Dorling asserts that we, as humans, crave inequality- that it is, in fact, addictive. Explaining that the most unequal countries may be among the most rich, but that other countries are set up much differently. Those other countries are home to people who live longer, consume and pollute less, experience less crime, trust each other more, stay with families more often, invent more things, eat less meat, take less drugs, drink less and so on.  His portrayal of these "rich, equitable" countries make the United States sounds like a sort of villain compared to these utopias. An anecdote is placed at the introduction of the blog in order to give the reader something to connect the author's point to. How is inequality as addictive as smoking? Dorling's use of humor such as "Even the trains run on time more often!" is an example of those utopias again. The concluding paragraph asks several rhetorical questions mostly having to do with America's intelligence level. Each rhetorical device persuades the reader to think about how desensitized to inequality they are personally.

The author's tone throughout is somewhat degrading on one's own country. The tone gets lighter as the author describes places that are not the United States or the United Kingdom (the countries with the most inequality). His purpose in writing this blog is to make his readers aware that social inequality is not normal, we are just so used to it that we don't bat an eyelash when we see these inequalities not being stood up for. The audience is meant to be for a young reader, teen-aged to mid-20's. The author's syntax and word choice is slightly more conversational, which reads well to younger non-professionals. Dorley wants to help his readers stop overlooking inequality.