#3 Light Switch

#3 Light Switch

English 102

Gary Brown

‘Light Switch”

A response to Age of Enlightenment and RS(A)nimate Videos

Various Artists

The Age of Enlightenment was an educational promotion period which took place in the late 18^th century. Its sole dedication was to turn the light switch on to a lot of beliefs that society formed through tradition faith and religion and promote awareness through science. I think Immanuel Kant put it best when he defined it as “freedom to use one's own intelligence”. If we wanted to live differently all we had to do was simply perceive life differently. Sounds simple huh? We had everything capable for change but we put a lot useless and unwarranted stress on ourselves. We fall into the genre of correlating right and true to be what is familiar to us and wrong or false being what is unfamiliar. The Age of Enlightenment challenged us to dig deeper and still challenges us today to seek more profound answers to life’s questions. Change is not hard and does not require a lot. Just flip the light switch. Many of us are handicapped by our own fear. What we aim for is just as important as what we actually achieve. Anthropologist, Margaret Meade, expressed that we can never doubt a small group can change the world for it is the only thing that ever has. Change is not always popular.

We must become more self-aware of the assets and tools in society. Different laws of nature served as the foundation and each generation has added another element to the age. We too, must Turn on the light switch and tap into the age of enlightenment to add our very own element. Our culture has advanced through Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Matthew Taylor and Sir Ken Robinson. We still must do our part to continue this age. If we are standing still then we are going backwards. Turn on the light switch.

#2 Man Droid

English 102

Gary Brown

“Man-Droid”

Response to “Coercion: Why We Listen to What 'They' Say”
by Douglas Rushkoff

                Pressure can make or break a lot of societies and cultures. After reading Douglas Rushkoff’s “Coercion: Why We Listen to What 'They' Say” I can better understand why various marketing strategies are effective. The world has molded us into whom and what we are and in turn catered to those specifications. By giving us what we think we want after being programmed, they control how and what we buy as well as what we like. They train us at an early age and mold us down through the years by producing certain T.V. shows that appeal to our senses. By starting with the young generation and molding them down through time they were able to shift a balance of powers once he urges for certain things became strong and were hardly noticeable. Rushkoff explains that while the tools being used to program us are more advanced, the essential ingredients for their success remain constant.

            It is up to remain focused and no fall into the lines of being reprogrammed or better yet becoming “Man-Droids”. All the studies and tests are there for us to see but it is up to us to recognize what the media and other controlling forces are doing. I personally like being able to think for myself and make my own decisions. The “Man-Droid” is becoming more and more popular in everyday life. Although it is easier to side with the popular opinion, you lose the very essence of ‘self’. Let us strive to defeat the image of the “Man-Droid” and its reproduction.

#1 "A Lazy Culture"

English 102

Gary Brown

#1 “A Lazy Culture”

Response to Introduction to Criticism

By: Michael Ryan

                After reading “An Introduction to Criticism”, I have developed a unique light on a lot of subjects. We have become a “lazy culture”. The short piece forces one to not take an idle approach to life and stereotypes. It encourages one to instead seek out each facet of the situation. By becoming the opposite entity, we force ourselves to take look at all possible perspectives and analyze situations with a less bias opinion. For many years America has taken the simple approach to compensate for a lack of concern to deal with the whole perspective. Ryan discusses a two-fold scenario with the Middle East. We are all too quick to assume that nations are “bad” when most times they are retaliating or trying to provide a means to protect what has been targeted in their lives. Although we are products of our environment, it is still our personal duty to research things for ourselves.
             Due to our culture, religion, economic status and ideas, a lot of stories are told to capture viewpoints of the particular individual as opposed to just telling the actual events the way they happened. In order for events to be correctly portrayed, one must view the complete history accurately. The author states that many events are the result of a previous event that we do not take time to research. Ryan also points to the ability we as humans have to declare “wealth” to certain items that otherwise would lack any characteristics correlative to wealth. Being that “wealth” is nothing more than a portrait of beliefs by our society, we in turn control what wealth is even though most of us do not attain it. We control a lot more of society than we think. We just have to motivate ourselves to seek more. We are merely products of our environment and stories from the past. Who is the environment? We are. Who keeps the stories from the past in circulation? We do. With that being said, let us further educate ourselves in certain areas and broaden our perspectives before we pass the characteristics on to the next generation. From this article I’ve learned how lazy I am. Let us all strive to avoid the repetition of a “lazy culture”