landon

Post #12 Telling Your Story

On the day September 11, 2001, I was in school roaming the hallways after science class when I heard people talking about how there was a bombing. I didn’t believe it at first, since it came from those types of kids who would tell any store to get some attention. Later on, though, the principle came on the announcements and told the school what had happened, and not to panic. I came home from school watching the footage on my television just in awe of what I was seeing. I saw footage after "American Airlines Flight 77 veered from its path and crashed into the Pentagon"[1] and heard the stories of how the passengers of Flight 93 stormed the cockpit. Though I knew no one who had died in the terrorist attacks, the attacks greatly impacted my life.

                                                                                                                                                   

On September 11, 2001, I had soccer practice scheduled. I loved to play soccer, but I had no urge to go that night. I wanted to stay inside of my safe home and watch the news instead. We had soccer practice anyways, which turned out to be a gloomy one instead of the playful happy ones we usually have. It only struck me later that I was fearful to go outside that day. Common sense would have told me that soccer fields were not a target of a terrorist attack, but after what I had seen on the television, what was true?

                                                                                                                                                                                                      

The following months brought America together. Patriotism was seen everywhere like it had never been seen before. Every car held a mini American flag magnet, which was always sold out at stores. American flags were raised at houses who had not had one before. Shirts with the American flag on it became a part of regular attire. Americans wanted to do anything they could to help. Blood donation lines became so long they had to turn people down.

                                                                                                                                                                                                   

"The World Trade Center attack pushed the nation into a recession."[2] Most of the internet companies were loosing the profitability they saw in the 1990’s. Hit hard most of all were programmers like my father. My father worked for Phillip Morris during 2001. Around March 2002, my father was laid off after his contract had run its course. He spent the next six months looking for a new job, eventually having to settle for one that paid half the salary he used to have. I remember Christmas that year was the best one I've had with my family, even though a lot of the presents were from discount stores.

                                                                                                                                                                                           

The effects of 9/11 can still be seen today in our "War on Terrorism" in the Middle East. Each day soldiers die from guerilla attacks by groups in Iraq and Afghanistan while America tries to set up a government that can hold its own. The world countries that sympathized with America after the terrorist attacks, turned away when we called for help in the War in the Middle East. The World Trade Center attack brought the country together, but the effects pushed us farther way from the rest of the world.

                                                                                                                                                                                        

[1] Nation of Nations, pg 992
[2] Nation of Nations, pg. 993

Post #11 Wall Street

When Reagan became President in 1980, one of his largest goals was to decrease the “high taxes and government regulation” which, “stifled enterprising businesses and economic expansion.”[1] He developed a supply-side economic program, often called Reaganomics, with these ideals to strengthen our economy. Though there was some success after 1982, striking differences in the way the money was proportioned appeared in American society. The movie “Wall Street” gives insight into the economic differences in the 1980’s though the “Greed is Good” speech.

The scene in the movie “Wall Street” that stood out was the “Greed is Good” scene. Gordon Gekko gives a speech to other stockholders of a paper company called Teldar. Gekko is a powerful speaker that persuades the audience by shedding some light on the truth that the stockholders are the ones that own the company. But, instead of following Darwin’s law it seems that the ones that are unfit are the ones that gain the most benefit. The vice presidents and managers of the firm owned less than 5% of the stocks yet made the most money out of it. Greed is good, because it can fuel a company.

Racial differences were seen among the 1980’s, “By the end of Reagan’s second term, more than 14.5 million jobs had been created for Americans. Yet these jobs were spread unevenly by region, class, and gender.”[1] During this time, different ethnic races migrated to various places across the nation. Separations among racial groups were present as most people stuck with their own race. By doing so, this resulted an up rise of segregation throughout racial groups. The movie “Wall Street” showed the segregation of pay in the lack of African Americans working the stock market, “more than 70 percent went to white males, only 2 percent to African Americans.

The film, “The Wall Street,” also depicts the economic boom in the 1980’s during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Though the tax cuts and increased federal spending helped the industry, the poor never saw the money trickle down to them.[1] Instead, the poor saw programs like, “food stamps, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Medicaid, school lunches, housing assistance,.... Social Security, and Medicare”[1] get the axe to pay for the tax cuts and federal spending. Though there was a large increase in jobs through Reaganomics, the gap widened between the high-paying jobs of the rich and the, “minimum-wage, part-time, dead-end, jobs”[1] of the poor. The “Greed is Good” speech points this out in a reference to the information that, “The top 1 percent commanded a greater share of the nations wealth than any time since 1929.”[1]

“Wall Street” says that greed is good, but is it really? It is if your a rich white man like Gekko, but there it is a different story for other races and genders. In the 1980’s African Americans and women didn’t have the jobs nor the income that the white males had. That isn’t good for the American economy, and it showed by the time President Bush Sr. got into office. Yet, the greediness of the 1980s is still in our society. All people care about is the almighty dollar, and will do anything to get it. Greed even affects our government policy. The reason for the war in Iraq was not to get rid of Hussain, but to get the oil from over there and to make the oil business owners even richer. Yes, “Wall Street” tells us that greed is good, but in reality greed makes people money hungry and kills soldiers who believe they are fighting for their country.

[1] Nation of Nations, pg 950