Taking Back your Own Back Yard

Oh the last blog. Sad day. Sad moment. As much as I though I wouldn't like this whole blogging thing, I actually find it pretty cool. Hopefully in the future I will blog again, perhaps on something other than propaganda stories from silly texts. Just kidding. The texts, and the class especially, were all together really cool. This class was probably one of my most enjoyable classes at West Chester thus far. Professor isnt so bad either. So for this last chapter of Toxic Sludge, I wanted to concentrate on the section of "Too much Democracy?" The line that reads "The values the dominate our lives today are corporate, not democratic values" is a very powerful statement that I completely agree with. As a society, we are more concerned with wealth and profit than we are with community outreach and non profit organizations. What has happened to our democratic values? Do we even care about the people anymore? Yes, we care about the people, but only if it helps ourselves first.

Ch 11- Toxic Sludge

This chapter actually hit close to home with me. Before I cam to college, I thought I might want to be a journalist. I took a journalism course.....and hated pretty much every minute of it. Just wasn't my style of writing. I like to take my time, chose my words carefully, use adjectives, and save all the good stuff for the end. Needless to say, I no longer want to be a journalist. Even though I know longer dream to be in a newsroom, the journalism chapter definitely opened my eyes to some of the corruptions occurring there. I thought it was really interesting that major corporations like Disney and Time-Warner are actually buying media outlets. I know we have to constantly question the media, but now I wonder how much we have to question it. Small town newspapers have so much character. It is a shame to imagine that they are being bought by large corporations.
I also thought that the VNR's used by PR firms to promote something was pretty slick. The idea of taping/editing/sending a perfectly doctored tape to be broadcast on a news station is genius. While this practice may seem unethical because it isn't actually showing a "live" or "real" story, it is an easy way to self promote. PR firms realize that small news station don't have the money to review and edit the original tape by themselves, so by sending them a copy good-to-go, they know their material will get aired.
This chapter made some really interesting points about journalism and news media. I will definitely keep in mind that many PR firms and large corporations are in control of the news we hear.

Toxic Sludge-Ch 10

Once again, very hard to get through these chapters. Why do they have to be so dry? I'm not saying they aren't informative, and somewhat interesting, but they are pretty brutal. The only part that I found to be of most interest was the part titled "Suffer the Little Children." I remembering hearing the story about the Iraqi soldiers killing the Iraqi babies by having them "torn from incubators and left on cold hospital floors to die" somewhere before, so this chapter did a good job at explaining the lie. I just think it is absolutely disgusting that a person could make up a rumor like this! While there may have been an incident of miscommunication, it is still a pretty horrific tale. A lie like this not only makes the liar look bad, but the whole party surrounding that person. Americans gave themselves a negative reputation after this lie was exposed. Many people even believe that this lie may have been a huge factor in the decision to go to war with Iraq. While this may or may not be true, it is very scary to think a whole war may have been influenced by a lie. Lies, not matter how big or small need to be exposed. If we allow ourselves to believe everything we hear, we are never going stay "UN Spun." A lie is a lie. We must always check for facts!

Staying unSpun

I thought this final chapter was a very great way to end the book. The beginning section on Hooida was so informative and so true. Because people today are so diet obsessed, they will buy almost anything that promises a quick fix for their troubles. My best friend bought diet pills off of a facebook ad. A FACEBOOK AD! These pills promised quick results and were "reportedly" used by celebrities. I think it's hilarious what some people will do and believe to lose weight. After reading this book, I am definitely going to try my hardest to follow their number one advice "respect facts." It can be rather difficult in our society to take the time to check facts and yet, to actually find the truth. There are so many versions of the truth. If everyone took the time to make sure what they said was true, it would be a heck of a lot easier to trust people. Facts are important. Whether it is the truth about a diet pill, a blender, or potato chips, honestly is truly the best policy because a person's health and safety can be involved.
Chapters 7, 8, and 9 of Toxic Sludge had some very interesting information and stories, however, like I said before, I find this book rather dull and hard to get through. Grassroots campaigning is a lot more involved than I ever knew. It is amazing to think that "common people" can be guilty of propaganda just as much as the politicians and people they work for. The part is chapter 8 about plumbing was pretty amusing. As much as the government is trying to fix the pollution problem, I still feel as if it needs a lot of work. The chapters in Toxic Sludge providing some really interesting information about the corruption and propaganda occurring in our society. I'm glad this book has opened my eyes to some of these tragedies.

Was Clarence Darrow a Creationist?

I thought this chapter was really interesting because it was step up like an advice giving guide. I was particularly fascinated by Rule #7, "Seeing shouldn't necessarily be believing." I always tend to follow the opposite. If I can see it, it is most likely true. I usually hear 5 to 10 different rumors a day from my mom, friends, boyfriend, basically anyone that I talk to. My go-to saying when hearing their stories is, "I won't believe it until I see it." But, this book has shown me that even seeing may not be believing. I find that so absurd. because as humans sight is something we have so much control over, and to be duped by our eyes seems so unnerving. I also really liked Rule #4, "Check Primary Sources." Being a college student, I am use to doing this type of thing on a daily basis, but most people don't bother to verify facts and check where they came from. When I was doing research on becoming a vegetarian, there were sights that told me how I couldn't live without dairy and meat, and living a healthy life on fruit, vegetables, soy, etc was impossible. When I dug further into these sites, I realized that most of them were sponsored by dairy farming associations and meat packing corporations. I wonder where they got their information? I totally agree with the rules of this book. It is always best to second guess, and even third guess if you have to.

Toxic Sludge

I don't know about all of you...but Toxic Sludge was a bore compared to UnSpun. While the chapter made some really interesting points and comments, I found the read to be very dry and hard to get through. Some of the history behind propaganda and PR firms was pretty cool to learn, because I never really considered how far back this type of scam can date. The idea that "damage control" was used during the PA Railroad era was very interesting to me because I love learning about PA history and I am a little bit of a celebrity buff. Knowing that celebrities and publicists have adopted a technique used decades ago is kind of cool. It basically shows that history repeats itself and scam isn't something known strictly to the 21st century. The part that talked about vegetarians and book banning was also informative and relateable to me because, being a vegetarian, I have done quite a bit of research on the meat packing industry. It amazing to see the amount of PR and money spent on Anti-vegetarian campaigns and pro-"big beef." Cattle farmers and meat packers seem to stop at nothing to promote business, which isn't a huge shock in our society. Freedom of speech is an idea that our country was founded upon, so allowing this industry to speak its beliefs should be tolerated, however, when their ideas can possibly interfere with the safety of the public, I think the government needs to step in. There were some rather boring sections of this reading, but overall, I felt as if there were some very effective questioning methods and ideas.

Facts can save your life

Surprisingly, this chapter was both interesting and entertaining, as well as shocking and disturbing! Does anyone else think it's funny that this book tells us to question everything and anything? So, does that mean we are supposed to question every fact and story they tell us? I guess I am too much of a skeptic to even listen to this book. I obvious don't believe everything I read or see, but I don't particularly believe everything in this book either. The section about cheap vs expensive products didn't do much for me. If you buy a $20 blender at a store vs a $60 blender from a well-known company, there is a good chance that the more expensive blender will last longer, blend quicker, have more settings, have a better warranty, etc. As a college student, I am totally for saving money and buying cheaper versions of many products, (Vald anyone?) but I would never assume that they are of the same quality as their picer twins. Why do you think the products are cheaper? Most likely because they are made with cheaper materials. This is an idea where checking facts definitely plays a major role. The section about war was astonishing to me! I cannot believe there is so much misinformation about wars and conflicts. The story about the Iraqi "baby killers" was absurd! Why would someone ever use a story like that to promote the killing of more people? That seriously baffles me. But like I said, is EVERYTHING in this book true? If we are supposed to question everything, where do we start and when do we stop? While this book is clearly filled with valuable information that is revelant today, should we question it as well?

UFO, Cults and US

Of all the chapters thus far, I found this one to be the most interesting. I found that I could relate to all of the topics and ideas mentioned. The section that really hit home with me was the idea that your emotions can play a bigger role in decision making than logic. I am an emotional person, and I can say that I will follow my emotions 70 percent of the time over logic. When I reason with myself, I tend to over analyze and over think. When I let my emotions decide for me, I usually do what will make me the happiest. I never realized that I did such a thing until reading this chapter. I also thought the section about political parties was really cool. I am not a registered Democrat, but I tend to find myself following their views. After reading the part about people falling for stereotypes about which programs each party is for or against was eye opening for me because I tend to do that as well. I find myself believing Democrats when they say Republicans are against a certain program or fund and denying when Republicans say Democrats are against something "good" or for something "bad." Because I am not a typically political person, I need to discover for myself which party stands for what. I cannot always fall for political propaganda. Another thing that I found to be rather interesting was the idea that people who feel as if their positions are weak, will fight tooth and nail to support them. This theory fascinates me because I find it to be quite true. I know a countless number of people that will tell you UFOs are real simply because people try to prove them wrong. This chapter was really insightful because of the numerous topics covered and ideas mentioned. I actually learned a lot from this one.

From snake oil to emu oil

The chapter "From snake oil to emu oil" was actually really interesting. I am always second quessing information and advertisments and rarely believe anything. The sections on diet pills and beauty aids really hit home with me because my best friend is basically an addict. She buys the most expensive wrinkle creams at 20 years old and all sorts of flashy beauty products that push never ending amazing results. I have to confess that there are times when I wanted to buy a product because of adverstising and sometimes I did. Usually, I just check with people who have used it already. Advertisments are all around us and it is actually pretty cool to take a deeper look at them and realize that amount of deception that they can contain. I was just about to make myslef some tea when I noticed the box. It read :"Now made with even more antioxidants!" I wouldn't have thought twice about that statement if it wasn't for this chapter. I thought: "More antioxidants? How do you add antioxidants to tea? More than when? How much more?" I couldn't stop asking myself questions about the tea. Like I said, I always second guess new wave products, but after this chapter I am even starting to second quess products I use and love. Anyway, I thought that the chapter was a really interesting way to talk about decption. All of the examples were really helpful. Most of the time, I'm a fact checker so this chapter was right up my ally.