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The text that most impacted my thinking: The Rise of Political Clickbait
This text most impacted my thinking because it made me realize just how ridiculous people can act when they are in a large group of people. They all center around one goal and act in whatever way it takes to get that main message across. Unfortunately within this process many people fail to keep in mind what common courtesy and respect means. Individuals are less likely to get called out for making "rash" decisions that would be considered rude in any other context. This text exemplified such actions with people coming after an individual whose goal was to document the event at hand. As soon as one person declared him an enemy of the group protest, he was attacked verbally and physically. It was concerning to realize that he was being attacked by people who just joined in and did not necessarily know why to oppose him. As a person who likes to stay informed on social issues, this makes me pay much more attention to the ways I react to the opinions of others. Instead of immediately disregarding the abstract opinions of an individual, I need to hear their side and remember that I could be the one who is really in the wrong. I believe this is something that too many of us forget yet when acknowledged can help us greatly. |
The text that most impacted my writing: Weapons of Mass Distraction
This text most impacted my writing because it really fueled the fire in me that wants to stand up for myself and prove others wrong. As a young person in a technologically advanced society, I have been taught how to adapt to it being filled with in person communication and communication over the internet. I was truly angered by comments such as the one by David Denby who wants to believe that the "snarky pipsqueaks" of my generation are so distracted that we are incapable of developing valuable arguments or a positive view of life. Instead of just being angry, however, I do seek to prove his opinion wrong. It is an unfortunate thing that many individuals do not utilize all of their potential when it comes to writing on these subjects, yet I know what I personally take from the instances which I educate myself through these "distractions." After all, the individuals who continue to educate themselves, researching as much data as they can are the ones who will change things for the better. I intend to be one of those people without hesitation. |
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The text that I enjoyed the least: Consuming Kids
The video which discusses the incredible amount of advertising which is pushed upon children was definitely my least favorite text because it really struck a nerve with me. Similar to how I found a challenge in the above text, "Weapons of Mass Distraction," this furthered how irrational I see some angers to be. Elder members of society seem to condemn the ways that younger individuals utilize technology and how they are further "distracted" from many ways of life, yet they fail to acknowledge why we even get to have our hands on technology in the first place. I am one of the last few young people who lived for at least a few years without always having cell phones or the internet at hand. However, when the time came for me to have these things, it was fueled by society giving me the ability to have them in the first place. When a child sits in front of a television and is shown commercial after commercial that introduces some new "thing" that can improve the fun they have in their lives, can you blame them for desiring it? Curious children are being blamed when it is our elders who created these products and marketed them to us in the first place. Instead of looking at it negatively, I wish that the children who have utilized these objects could be more so applauded for the ways which they were able to improve some of their states of being with them. |
The text i enjoyed the most: Piss Christ
I found Andres Serrano's 1987 photo of "Piss Christ" along with the public backlash which followed to be absolutely hilarious. Again, it revealed how thin the skins of people in groups can be. Instead of allowing one single person's artistic representation of an opinion to simply be presented, opposers acted out in a terribly ironic way. After all, what is the most Christ-like thing to do but take a hammer to a piece of art? This text truly reminded me of how the exposure brought by the media can make people get offended at faster speeds than ever. These days, everything is politically incorrect and someone's feelings are always hurt. As soon as sides are taken, the war begins. The crazy part is that there are thousands upon thousands of these wars taking place every day. As was addressed by Dr. Everett Piper, the president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University recently, people need to get over "playing the victim every time their feelings get hurt."After being on a big campus and seeing the mob mentality of arguments be exposed to me in a new way, this article hits a point that I think a lot of young people (including myself) need to hear. I admit that I have found myself absorbed in so-called political correctness to the point where I missed the point of the opposition's argument. It's good to be reminded that sometimes closed mindedness gets disguised by "good" intentions. I am learning when I'm wrong. "[college] is not a 'safe place,' but rather, a place to learn: to learn that life isn't about you, but about others," and the artistic Piss Christ is one event in history that reminded me that sometimes I need to just mind my own business as a writer. This article made me really reconsider which battles I should choose to fight in the future of my angsty young writer lifestyle. |
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