Animal, Vegetable, Miracle- My Non-Fiction Novel

Do you know what you eat? Do you realize what your food does to you? In Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, she discusses her unique one year nutritional journey in the southern Appalachians. Her entire family and she decided to take a bold step in food consciousness by only eating local food for a year. This eye-opening book reveals the plight of food companies and the benefits of eating locally. The genetic modification forced onto fruits, vegetables, and meats to survive long travels is a source of nutritional deficit. In several parts of her book, Barbara Kingsolver implies the taste superiority in local foods and the benefits they bring to our environment. Overall, this was an eye opening non-fiction read that truly informed me on the United States' food corporations.

Barbara Kingsolver's novel was very uniquely written. Throughout her book she presented small articles on relevant nutritional facts or local food producers contacts. With every point she made, Kingsolver would use "How to Find a Farmer" and "The Price of Life" by Steven L. Hopp to enforce her point and inform the reader. In addition, Kingsolver included in each chapter at least one article written by her own daughter, Camille Kingsolver. Each anecdote related to the month or subject at hand rendering the book into a beautiful whole.

Each chapter represented a month with its beautiful difficulties and rewards. Times such as March presented challenges with the beginning of the harvest; only a meager handful of green onions and meats were attainable. In the August chapter, the tomato and squash plight occurred. Kingsolver would spend days chopping, cooking, and canning these vegetables to use over the winter. Each chapter had its own personality and provided a unique piece of information.

Overall, this book did a great job at presenting information. The author took care in using her own personal experiences to expose and teach the reader. For example, Kingsolver explained explicitly the details of grocery store foods. All year, California sends millions of pounds of fruits and vegetables all over the United States. This provides U.S. citizens vegetables that are normally out of season onto the food provider shelves. In the middle of winter when no tomato sprout would dare speak its name, you will find ripe and shiny red tomatoes in your grocery store. Unless you live in California, this fruit was shipped to you from thousands of miles away --and if you didn't know, tomatoes aren't in season in December--. This all-year-round process consumes a lot of energy. By buying these shipped goods, you consume gallons of petroleum. Over 10% of our oil intake is used for food transportation. In this way, Kingsolver took care in well informing the reader.

Although the author does take many stern opinions throughout the book, the reality of the situation still stands; global warming isn't a question of if anymore but when. In her humble opinion, if you can avoid wasting energy by eating only local foods all year like she did, do it. But if you can't, do your best. Try to eat more locally. Recycle a bit more. Buy a hybrid. Bike to work. "This (global warming) is a now-or-never kind of project"(345). Barbara Kingsolver's ultimate point was very clear in the end. She has tried to help the world. Maybe if we all tried, we could save this earth from a less catastrophic outcome and give us more time on this spinning block. This was an eye opening book.

The Great Lawsuit and If Men Could Menstruate

The United States has always feared the demolishing of the family life. From working moms to gays, all we seem to think about are the kids. Right? Or do we fear the deterioration of classical beliefs? The real threat possibly pointed to citizens mentalities? The articles The Great Lawsuit and If Men Could Menstruate both address this fear through the analyzing of masculine prejudice towards women. In their creative and well-developed manner, Margaret Fuller and Gloria Steinem unravel society's sexism.

My personal favorite article was If Men Could Menstruate. Its creativity and originality lightly bring up the realities of sexism. Her article forced a mental change-up in gender roles but not a change in the gender authority. With quotes like "young boys would talk about it(menstruation) as the envied beginning of manhood. Gifts, religious ceremonies, family dinners, and stag parties would mark the day," and "medical schools would limit women's entry ('they might faint at the sight of blood')", the reader accurately pictures this new world; and also judging the real one. Looking at all the things men praise and accept, menstruation isn't one of them. Is it because the first period is women's coming of age? Why is it when men lose their virginity before marriage its praised when for women its repulsive? The superiority and authority of menmin society is greatly emphasized in this article.

Margaret Fuller's text was masterly crafted to undermine a heavy sense within the reader of injustice. When she spoke of women as "helots"and men as "profligate" and "idle", one ascertains her objective: to truthfully depict her world. Men were on top, and women cleaning men's shoes. Even though society has been endlessly affected by a plethora of women (Catherine the Great of Russia, Queen Elizabeth of England, Joan of Arc of France, and countless other undeclared women), their recognition has been minimized in history. Women have always been part of the big picture, but they haven't necessarily been recognized. This article eloquently describes her 1843 perspective.

The question remains of whether we have changed in this century. One might rhetoric a sassy "yes" saying that our clothes are different, so our brains must be too. But this mental change might not be so dramatic compared to the change of our apparel. It seems in today's society we have come to a general consensus of letting women work. They have a right to not stay just at home (though they might still do the majority of the housework) but has society let women be successful? When men look to climb their job ladders, they are encouraged and even expected to do so. But it seems that when women try to do the same, they are put down. They are called bitches. They are called stupid when asking "obvious" questions. They are disfavored when looked at as prospective workers. And when they try to manage high political positions, they are called emotional, unruly, and unreasonable. Yet the men who are siting right next to her are the same ones putting congress at a stand-still and calling it "politics".

I don't think the United States has reached the point of complete equality towards women, but I hope we are working towards it.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Google has taken an initiative to optimize the efficiency of its search engine to increase human progress. Technologies throughout the United States aim to perfect their programs and software just like this vast company. Our society praises this goal, yet we can't seem to see what we have lost in our tracks. "Is Google Making Us Stupid" takes a new look at our brilliant technology that is changing us forever.

 Taylorism. A simple idea with dire consequences. This procedure began in 1911 when a certain Taylor defined each step in an operation and delegated independent jobs for each sequence. This was the beginning of major increases in efficiency. From that point on, mechanical productivity has morphed into the area of intellectual efficiency. Search engines on the web look to "understand exactly what you mean and gives you back exactly what you want". Ideally, the search engine of the future would be one "as smart as people--or smarter". But are we losing something by wanting to optimize these intellectual aids? Will humans ultimately lose more than they will be gaining in Google's new initiative. This article strongly implies that.

In the past, technology has compromised aspects of humanity. Before Taylorism, humans were what mattered. The men that worked for these companies took their days perfecting their products. With the new system, men where as much part of the machine as the bolts and screws. "In the past the man has been first...in the future the system must be first." This seems like a very cold thing to say. But the truth. Today, especially in the United States, companies will do anything to enhance their factories to increase profits. Dehumanization of men has been an unexpected outcome.

Do we realize the dangers of shallow reading? With quick skimming, distracted clicking, and constant searching, internet goers are at the risk of manipulation. Search engines can guide you and pull you into ads and opinions you never wanted to hear or see. With so many people mindlessly clicking on their screens, the future of our society might be at risk.

We might have lost our sense of natural time from the invention of the clock, we might have lost our sense of humanity with the invention of the assembly line, but I hope we won't lose sense of our free will. With possible chips being implanted in humans minds, our efficiency will be at the top of its shape. But what will we ultimately lose in this gain?

Racism Still Exists Today

Founded by a band of rogue British colonists, the United States has always prided itself in its knew idea of freedom and rights like two shiny diamonds. In schools we chant “for liberty and justice for all” in the same phrase of “under God”. Yet we also pride ourselves in the unique concept of division of church and state. From the perspective of a foreigner, this country is very perplexing. This article, instead of confusing humans living outside of these boundaries, baffles the in-land-born Americans. Ethics of Living Jim Crow shows the United States’ incapability in sustaining its idealistic equality. How is it that “justice for all” was ignored for these poor black southerners? Have we changed today?

Racism is a subject the United States has had to deal with since its founding. The beginning of this issue stems from slavery. At the origins of our nation, justice for all was only considered towards whole people, not 3/5ths of people. From that point on, blacks have only tried to readjust this gap. By the 1930s, African Americans had been promoted from farm animals to people, but not yet full U.S. citizens. Just like bodies on a battle field, those of the opposite color were shot at incessantly. But blacks had no guns. ‘“How come yuhh didn’t hide?’ she asked me. ‘How come yuh awways fightin’?’” Though considered people, African Americans have never stopped losing their humanity. “Whut yuh tryin’ t’ do, nigger, git smart?” for blacks aren’t meant to learn. “They said, you got to ‘stay in your place’ if you want to keep working” for a black man to not act how a white man wants is unacceptable. “This watchman boasted of having killed two Negroes in self-defense” for people without rights aren’t real citizens thus gun targets. This nation has never stopped giving disadvantages to African Americans, and to this day, we still deal with this issue.

Inequality still exists here today. Sadly, news media and politicians like keeping this problem concealed (in urban terms as ‘on the D.L.’). By ignoring the issue, there is none, right? Well, that’s what it seems like to 60% of the U.S. population, but for those black men who try to walk down streets without getting pulled over by the cops, this secret discrimination is made evident. Coming from an African American family, I have too many personal stories. My first tale engaged in our little home town of McFarland. My black cousin named Jonathen had come with his cousin and mother to visit the United States in 2007. 14-years-old at the time, my brother had decided to bike with my cousin to the now demolished Family Dollar. My brother Sisco of much darker skin tone then me had chosen Family Dollar for its reasonable assortments of candies at low prices. Eating their cheap food, my cousin and my brother walked out of the store and chose to enjoy their treats under the sun near the store. Only minutes after their seating did a police officer role in front of the young boys. He asked them, not delicately, what they were doing in front of this store apparently loitering. With their bitten candy they explained how they had bought chocolate and now were eating it in front of the store they had bought it from. The officer frustrated got back in his car and drove away.    

Racism still exists in the U.S. Events such as Darren Wilsons murder reminds us of this reality. Though some U.S. citizens can’t see it, I bet if they asked around they would find something.  

Have We Truly Changed After 9/11

Many events have occurred within history to cause major alterations in the United States’ mentality. Some such examples include Pearl Harbor and the Civil Rights’ movement. But most quintessentially, 9/11 stands to be the most traumatic event in recent American history. In retrospect, this momentary engagement in terror has forever corrugated America’s perspective. Do we truly live free from domestic attacks? Do our decisions, made millions of miles away, truly affect us here? And will we ever change?

Written only three days after the attack, John Updike’s article illustrated most passionately 9/11. With his graceful quotes such as “it fell straight down like an elevator” and “much rehearsed moments from a nightmare ballet”, the reader encounters a plethora of new similes and metaphors to paint the author’s true impression. Detachment. Updike watched the sturdiest buildings in New York crumble like two clumsy ballerinas; he observed in awe as the unattainable shores of his beloved U.S.A. burned like dry grass near lightning. No precise words could describe what he had viewed. His mental disablement forced the crippled novelist to write in concrete ideas he knew could exist such as elevators and ballets. Through his similes he could describe the incomprehensible events of 9/11.

After his original perplexity, the author begins his blind rage. He speaks of “war” and “destruction that defies belief” precariously forgetting the years of pain we can’t seem to stop inflicting in the Middle East. Similar Iranians, Iraqis, Afghans, Egyptians, Libyans, and Syrians ask why they have the “mundane duties of survivors”. “Future kamikaze pilots” aren't necessarily formed within Florida schools, but the bombs and missiles that fall on these Middle Eastern nations are without a doubt made in the U.S.

Just as Susan Sontag’s article tells, this unilateral perspective is “unworthy of a mature democracy”. American citizens can’t let themselves be led in unnecessary wars and foreign attacks (such as in Iraq) because of a traumatic event and sanctimonious denouncement of all terrorists. We must bear the burden of reality to end the inappropriate intervention of the United States in the world.

In reality, the United States has never been safe from attack. As seen in Pearl Harbor and 9/11, the decisions we make miles away truly affect us. And the only way we can protect ourselves is by informing ourselves and listening to both sides. Only after this can the United States truly change and grow from 9/11.