Life is Like a Box of Chocolates…

This is a great picture of modern society through a child’s eyes. It just goes to show that technology is rapidly advancing right before our very eyes. This is especially hard on those that are older in our world. Unfortunately, this technology is too ever-changing for some of them to grasp. Therefore, some of them become set in their ways. Because they feel it will be too challenging to change constantly, they claim they cannot learn it at all. As understandable as this is, I still feel some should at least make the attempt, at least for a little while. If they don’t like it, they can always go back to what they used to do. The only reason I feel this way is because nearly everything is out on the Internet nowadays. I don’t want anyone to be left out of our world today.

1. What is the author’s purpose in writing this article?

The author’s purpose in writing this article is to inform readers of the ever  changing technology. For children, these high tech toys are a part of everyday life. For adults, they represent the ever growing issue that they are getting older, with less capacity to learn these new ways. From either perspective, one cannot deny that society is being altered in ways that could not have ever been imagined. Will this come back to hurt us in the end? Only time will tell.

The author’s intended audience is the young teenagers and children of today. He is informing them that society is radically different than it once was. The reason he wrote this article is to show kids that their parents are working hard to adapt. They need to be more pacient with adults nowadays. Though they may not be the best with change, they are trying and that’s what counts.

This is truly a sad situation. It helped me realize how blessed I am. I think the government should pay for Internet for those who want it and cannot pay to afford it. They especially should fund it for those who need it as a part of their jobs. I really didn’t think Internet service was that expensive. I was sadly mistaken. This really should be put into law. All people should be given money to help them cover the fee for Internet if they have proven they cannot afford this service. If these citizens don’t feel it is necessary, then that’s their choice. They can choose to use the money for other uses. What it really should come down to is a choice. If Americans don’t feel it is important for them to have Internet service, then they should not have to have it forced onto them. America is a land of choices and free will. It’s important that we keep it that way.

If some people feel that the Internet isn’t necessary to their lives, the government shouldn’t use precious resources to give it to them. It’s pointless, because they probably won’t use it anyway. If they don’t want it, that’s fine; it’s their choice. The government should not try to force them into something they don’t want.  This is a free country, after all.

Nonadoption of broadband is not a serious social problem. It is people making a choice to go against the status quo. There’s nothing wrong with choosing to be different. The government should not waste time and energy on this. We, as a country, have more important issues to deal with.

Why are movie theaters raising the prices? This is so stupid. People are pretty tight on money nowadays, in case they haven’t noticed. We may not be in a recession, but we definetly don’t have the kind of money that we used to. People are NOT swimming in the dough right now. I feel that is fairly obvious. Theater companies should take note of this and, if they do anything, lower the prices. This would increase their business even more. Right now, with them raising prices, they are simply driving away business prospects. I personally do not like 3D and, even if I did, don’t feel it’s worth an extra 3 or 5 dollars to wear a pair of glasses to a movie. Hopefully theater companies will realize the error of their ways soon and do away with this price change.

Movie prices are going to increase because theatres want to cash in on 3D movies. They feel that people are willing to pay whatever it takes so that they can see these movies in 3 dimensions. I don’t feel that it is worth it to see these movies in 3D. I think that 3D is overrated. The movie theatres will lose money quickly.

When people are having trouble at home, they want to get away. What is the easiest and cheapest way to do that? The movie theater. This is a quick, easy, inexpensive way for families to get away from their problems and spend time together. The movie business is one of the most well known in America. They are the obvious choice for a fun afternoon away.

In the book Killer Angels, idealism v. realism is one of  the key issues. It is displayed through the conflict of duty to family versus duty to state. Duty to family is one’s job to be there for your family and friends, whereas duty to state is one’s duty to serve one’s country. This dilemma is most prevalent in the lives of soldiers and politicians. Do they make  the huge time commmitment that benefits the nation, or stay at home to benefit the lives of their children and spouse?

The line between duty to family and state can often be blurred, especially by important figures in America’s government. They may think that they are helping their children by holding an office in the state or county, when they really aren’t. Unfortunately, the families of government officials are most often slighted int t his circumstance, especially if there are young children involved. It is a great thing that their parent wants to help and contribute to America’s history. I just feel that they should do it in a less direct way, such as volunteer work, that they can do with their family and friends.

Article found at: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Forget-the-Mortgage-Im-Paying-usnews-816222158.html?x=0&.v=2

This is a very sad situation for some Americans. It appalls me that it has come down to those choices for some people. How are they paying for basic neccessities, such as food and clothing? If they are swamped in debt, they have to pay it off, right? Our government needs to provide some assistance to these citizens. Money is tight right now, so an additional program wouldn’t work. I feel that they should instead implement at least a partial tax cut. This tax break would apply to those in debt over a certain percentage, or a certain number. I don’t have a specific idea. I do, however, have faith in the government. I know that there are very many smart people on Capitol Hill that could certainly do the math themselves, or hire a mathematician to do so. It just seems to me that the US officials should be bending over backwards to aid these people. Most of these Americans are the much-referred-to middle class. These people are the ones certain politicians vowed to protect. Their voice was supposed to be heard. If they are in debt, there was a communication issue. America as a country is in debt. It should strongly encourage its citizens to not be in debt, and get out of debt if they are in debt. If Americans have little to no money, the government should help them out. Something should be done about this issue as soon as possible.

Article found at: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Forget-the-Mortgage-Im-Paying-usnews-816222158.html?x=0&.v=2

The author wrote this article to showcase the dire financial situation of some American families. Though some experts state we are out of the recession, we aren’t out of the woods yet. There’s still a housing crisis going on. People are still losing their jobs. Americans and our government need to remember this as 2010 continues.

The author wrote this article for the government. This is to inform them that yes, we are still doing better economically, but there are still people struggling. This way, the government is reminded that the economy isn’t 100% better quite yet. Occasionally, they need a reminder of the status of the not-so well off Americans. This piece does just that.

Article found at: http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/108791/one-bowl-two-servings-fda-may-fix-that

This article was very helpful and surprising. Isn’t this kind of information that the media should at least alert the public about? I would have thought they would have been very interested in this story. Instead, I happen to stumble upon this article online through Yahoo!. That was a little strange for me. Anyway, I think that the FDA is right in pursuing this cause. Many people become overweight due to misleading labels. If not, it is, to say the least, a bit confusing. Picking out what is best for your body is hard if you have to squint to read out how many servings are being referred to on a microscopic label. The average shopper doesn’t want to take the extra time to read every single label on every single product that they purchase. That’s a lot of extra time and effort into a shopping trip. Going to the grocery store is already no fun. Staying extra time is not very fun. Today, people are busier than they normally are. Being at Market Street for over an hour is more than just unpleasant-it’s unreasonable. Americans shouldn’t have to do this to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The media should put pressure on the FDA to make this change. This alteration will affect everyone-and for the better. I really hope this makes it through the talking about the action stages, and proceeds forward into the doing stages. The FDA needs to make this change-and fast.