Michael Moore, Idiot Nation

Ha Ha Ha! Any article that can make me laugh, think, and get riled up all at the same time is a good one in my humble opinion. That is exactly what Michael Moore acomplished in his hilarious, thought provoking, and very exaggerated article, "Idiot Nation". In the article Moore tackles the topics of deteriorating levels of education, and lack of value placed upon education in American society. Moore heavily criticizes the American education system and is quick to pin the blame on government officials, the media, and corporate america. He makes many excelent and super persuasive points and I found myself agreeing with alot of them.
For example Moore makes a great point when he states, "The ultimate irony in all of this is that the very politicians who refuse to fund education in America adequetly are the same ones who go ballistic over how our kids have falllen behind the Germans, the japanese, and just about every other country with running water and an economy not based on the sale of chiclets."(142) I know that more money wont solve all the problems in the education system, but I agree with what Moore is saying. If we truly want to see improvement in the national level of education we have to make it a top priority in our budget and not a side note. To improve the level of education students need up to date learing materials, well trained and qualified instructors, clean and safe schools, and the list goes on. These things cost money , so If we want to improve our level of education the question is are we willing to pay the price? This and many other points Moore made in his article had me nodding my head in agreement.
Moore exaggerates alot in the article and uses a very sarcastic and aragant tone throughout. This way of presenting his ideas could turn a lot of readers off. Readers of opposing viewpoints could become straight up hostle and offended, becuase Moore makes fun of the opposing view so harshly throughout the article. Also Moores exaggerations ,(which at times might crossover to just being lies), can be taken as over the top. All of these negative effects can occur as a result of Moores writting techniques, but in my mind those sometimes ify techniques are what makes the article work so well. Moore uses his sarcasting critisizm and exaggeration to make the reader feel that not only is the opposing view wrong but it is absolutly absurd and that only an "idiot" could agree with them. Also I find that Moores style makes his article more interesting and readable. In this way Moore helps the reader is able to persuade his reader with facts and statistics while at the same time entertaining them with his literary antics. Overall Moores style adds to the persuasiveness and readability of his article.
I went into reading this article never having been exposed to Michael Moore's works in any way. I have heard of him obviously and pretty much everyone I know hates him, but that was all I knew. So being uneducated on the subject of Michael Moore I am not going to call myself a fan just yet, but i will say that this article was fricken good!

What We Really Miss About the 1950s

i really enjoyed reading Stephanie Coontz article, "What We Really Miss About the 1950s". The article begins by informing the reader that in the 1996 poll by the Knight-Ridder news agency Americans choose the 1950s as the best time for children to grow up. Coontz then raises the question as to how acurate that point of view is. She goes into possible reasons as to why Americans who lived in the 1950s might look back on it as such an ideal time. Coontz brings up strong points as to both why the fiftys where ideal and why they where not.
Coontz points out many valid reasons as to why the fiftys where not actually an ideal time to grow up. One of those points that i find particularly valid is that it depends upon which perspective you look from. The fiftys where a time of great descrimination towards minority groups and women. Minoritys where looked down on in society and had a harder time getting good jobs and government aid. Certantly people in those catagorys would not agree that the fiftys where an ideal time to grow up.
Yet on the other hand Coontz does agree that the fiftys where a time of great optimism and potential. Wages where relatively higher in the fiftys than they have been any time since. The government had many programs in place to help the familys to get ahead and become financially stable. This anabled americans to spend more time with there families raising and nutruring childeren.
Coontz makes many good points in her article that raise questions about our nostalgic maybe idealistic view of the 1950s.

introduction

My name is Mike Peterson. I am 22 years old and I have lived in St. George almost all of my life. Most of my buddies call me Mikey but i prefer to go by Mike. I spent last year living up in Salt Lake going to school and i missed St. George so bad! So you could say i am a Dixie boy one hundred percent. I enjoy Snowboarding, Skateboarding, Longboarding, Skimboarding, Wakeboarding, Waveboarding (i am pretty much down for anything involving boarding). I also enjoy indoor soccer, basketball, music, good books, being in the sun, and a whole bunch of other things too. I work during the day landscaping with Greenscape property services. I am majoring in chemistry and am not totally sure wich branch of chemistry i want to go into. I like school and have always sucked at writting so hopefully this english class will help me out!