"Us and Them"

To be honest, "Us and Them" by David Sedaris is the only article I've been assigned which I've felt compelled to read every word. Not that the others weren't that good, they just weren't interesting. However, I had trouble spotting the main argument, but as best I can figure, it's about how T.V. makes people different. In the story, a family that lives near the author has no television, and from what I figure, never has. Once the author begins to describe the family, you can really see the difference it makes in peoples' lives. The family wasn't better per se, just different. Although neither family was better because of a television or lack of, it just seemed like an unknown concept to not own or ever see T.V.

"Supersize Me"

In the film Supersize Me, film maker Ryan Spurlock eats nothing but McDonald's food for a solid 30 days. As expected, the diet is harmful to his body. The purpose of this experiment was to show the responsiblity of fast food companies to provide healthier food. McDonald's claims that the film is not so much about the franchise as Spurlocks decision to take part in such an irrational diet and a "super-sized distortion of the quality, choice, and variety available at McDonald's." I agree with the first half, but not the second. No one would only eat McDonald's or anything that unhealthy for that long, however, he does show that it is generally unhealthy. On the other hand, the comment about the variety at McDonald's is garbage. He did eat everything on the menu, and he got sick.

Community Service of West Alabama

I have chosen to work with the organization Community Service of West Alabama: Home Weatherization project. The purpose of this project is to go out into low income areas and install weatherization materials on houses. This not only makes the house itself safer, it cuts down on energy costs, which is a big help to the members of these families. I chose this group because I have some experience in house repair and general labor. I felt that labor was the best use of my volunteer hours. Although I haven't worked with the group yet, I'm sure it will be a good experience.

Border Patrol State

I recently read the article "The Border Patrol State" by Leslie Silko. The article is used as an example of a narrative argument. In short, the article is about racial profiling by the border patrol. We did an in class analysis of this piece, and the general opinion was that the paper was not great. The author uses language too much to describe a problem that really isn't that bad of a problem. I do feel sympathy for the author, but I don't necessarily feel anger towards the border patrol because by making a few people slightly uncomfortable, they are helping solve a huge problem in the United States.