Obama vs. Bush

After the class discussions about Obama's State of the Union and the Wordle of his speech and the speeches of former presidents, I found myself most interested in the differences between Obama and Bush. Pictured on the top left is the Wordle of Obama's speech, while the bottom left is a Wordle compilation of all of Bush's State of the Union speeches.

The most used word in Obama's speech was Americans while Bush's was America. This is particularly reflective of each president's goal in office. After the economic downturn, individual Americans needed hope that things would turn out o.k. So it only seems natural that Obama would address the American people rather than America itself. Using Americans instead of America also connotes that Obama cares about every person in the United States, not just the country as a whole.

Bush probably used 'America' the most because his goals involved the direction of the country as a whole. As most of his presidency involved different wars, Bush was directing the involvement of America, not Americans, in multiple countries.

Another difference involves the second most common word used. Obama's was people while Bush's was must. Once again, Obama focused on solving problems within America and among the American people rather than problems involving foreign countries. His focus within the American population indicates why this would be the second most used word. After 9/11, Bush was in a state of urgency to react to the War on Terror. His urgency is reflected through the word 'must'. Bush created an enormous to-do list for America after 9/11, and in order to get those things accomplished Bush needed to use the word 'must'.

What else do you find interesting about these two Wordles? How do the words used reflect either Obama or Bush?

Green Eggs and Ham

As a child I always asked my parents to read me Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. In this classic kids novel, Sam (seen in the picture) tries to convince another character (whose doesn't have a name) to eat green eggs and ham. The other character is extremely reluctant to taste Sam's dish, no matter how or where Sam presents them to him. By the end the other character finally tries the green eggs and ham, and ends up loving them.

If you look at the book literally, one secret message might be to get kids to eat their meals. The unnamed characters ends up liking the green eggs and ham, which gives kids the idea that they will like the foods served at meals. Personally I was always a picky eater when I was little, so perhaps my parents always read me this book in order to get me to eat peas, for example. In this case parental compliance is suggested but certainly not in an extreme way.

The concept of trying new types of food can also be applied to a greater theme. Perhaps the idea of simply taking risks was meant to be conveyed through this book. Doing something you have never done before, like eating something crazy like green eggs and ham, might really what the story is all about. Although some secret messages are depicted as negative, I do not believe that is the case here. This is one secret message that is important for kids to learn, and one that is not harmful for a child's development.

Advertising to the Xtreme

Today in class we discussed the idea of advertising as brainwashing. In Pakistan, the Taliban has been "brainwashing" Pakistani children into becoming suicide bombers. Recently the Pakistani military found a destroyed compound in Nawaz Kot that was formerly used for this. The compound is painted with bright colors and beautiful landscapes filled with rivers and mountains which is meant to represent what is found in heaven. The picture below (from CNN.com) is an example.

The Taliban uses these paintings as their own form of advertising, along with elaborate stories about the paradise found after death, as a way to recruit new suicide bombers. Members of the Taliban make the children think their lives on Earth are being wasted when they could be in "Heaven" instead. Because the children are from places with terrible living conditions and violence they can easily be manipulated into believing the Taliban.

This certainly constitutes as brainwashing in my opinion, as it warps the childrens' perspectives on life and forces them to the unthinkable: death. So is brainwashing when you force someone to harm themselves physically? Or can it be emotional as well? What is your definition of brainwashing?

What Makes a Person Intriguing?

Browsing for an article to read on CNN.com, I noticed one called "Intriguing People for January 4th, 2010". The people described consisted of a top U.S. snowboarder, a famous architect, a political cartoonist, and Houston's first openly gay mayor. What I found most interesting, or I guess you could say 'intriguing', about this article was a section written at the bottom, which states how these intriguing people are chosen.

"Every day, there are a number of people who become fascinating to us -- by virtue of their character, how they reached their decision, how they behaved under pressure or because of the remarkable circumstances surrounding the event they are involved in... What they have done or said stimulates conversations across the country. At times, there is even a mystery about them... We want to know what makes them tick, why they believe what they do, and why they did what they did. They intrigue us."

After reading this statement and thinking about this topic for myself, I found that when I want to understand how and why a person thinks in a certain way I am intrigued. What strikes me about this passage, however, is that an 'intriguing' person is one who "stimulates conversation across the country". So, to be intriguing to a nationally recognized news site you must be nationally recognized as well. This doesn't seem appropriate to me. There isn't really a sense of mystery with already known and established people. I would rather learn why and how unknown people make a difference in the world.

What do you think? What/Who intrigues you?