Four Page Paper 5 Rough Draft

            Teenage sexuality is a mutually difficult topic of discussion for both teens and their parents.  Parents want their children who are now young adults to learn the practice of safe sex.  Teenagers are curious about sex but definitely do not feel comfortable talking to their parents about it.  This awkward situation between teenagers and their parents has been eased as a result of the media.  Television shows have become useful sources of information and many infer a moral code in their episodes.  The pioneer teenage drama, “Beverly Hills 90210” aired from 1990 to 2000.  The success of this show largely rested upon well thought out episodes that contained dramatic life lessons.  “Beverly Hills 90210” taught their audience of teenagers and their parents that sex is a very important topic.  They preached that females should never feel pressured into having sex and should only take part in it when they feel that the time is right for them.

            Brenda Walsh, Kelly Taylor and Donna Martin were best friends on “Beverly Hills 90210”.  Brenda was a small-town girl from Minnesota who moved to Beverly Hills, California in her sophomore year of High School.  Moving to a new school is never easy but moving to a school full of rich, beautiful females was even more challenging.  Brenda had to figure out how she was going to fit in at her new school and how she was going to find a group of friends.  Finding friends was definitely not difficult for Brenda because she met the “coolest” guy in school just a few days after moving to California.  He was mysterious and all the girls at West Beverly High School wanted to be noticed by him.  After he met Brenda Walsh, he only had eyes for her.  They quickly jumped into what turned into a long-term relationship.  Dylan was very much so sexually experienced but Brenda never had sex before.  Dylan was sensitive to Brenda and did not rush her into anything she was not ready for.  Finally, Brenda and Dylan had sex for the first time at the Spring Dance.  Brenda expressed fear but excitement before she was with Dylan for the first time.  In Episode 022 titled “The Spring Dance,” she even said to Dylan, “how many girls get to have sex for the first time with someone they love?”  Afterwards, she had a huge smile on her face because she knew she made the right decision and was ready to lose her virginity to Dylan.  Dylan smiled after and said, “Brenda you’re glowing.” Brenda waited until she was ready and never felt like she had to rush into having sex.
            Kelly Taylor was the beautiful blonde of West Beverly High School.  She was extremely wealthy and even more popular.  All girls envied her and all guys wanted to be with her.  Kelly knew that she had a power over men that most women would kill for.  She at first thought that she needed to use this to her advantage and she ended up having sex for the first time in a way she wished to forget.  She was a freshman in high school and went after an older guy who was on the football team.  When he finally noticed her, he took her out for a night she would never forget.  Instead of a romantic date, which was what she wanted, he brought her to a dark and lonely spot in the woods.  He proceeded to forcefully have sex with Kelly on the ground and then never speak to her again.  Kelly became known as “easy” and a “bimbo” and for a while she did not think she deserved better so she lived up to her title.  Eventually she realized that she was worth more than the way guys had treated her. In Episode 013 titled “Slumber Party,” Kelly told her girlfriends how terrible her first sexual experience was and how lucky they rest of them were that they did not rush into anything sexually.  With tears in her eyes, Kelly explained to her friends that “he didn’t even bring a blanket.”  At that moment it was quite clear that Kelly would do anything to be able to take back her first sexual experience.  She thought it would make her cool but she had sex with someone she did not love and someone she was not ready to be intimate with.  She had the experience and her advice to all her friends was wait until you all feel that you are truly ready.

            Donna Martin was also a beautiful wealthy blonde.  She was shy and believed in the strong values that her parents had taught her.  The strongest value that Donna’s parents taught her was to stay a virgin until she was married.  This was something that Donna’s struggled with all through high school and college.  Donna’s first boyfriend, David Silver, was not very popular in his first year of high school.  Donna was attracted to him for reasons unknown to her very popular friends.  David was curious about sex and figured Donna was too.  In Episode ---, She explained to him, “I am a virgin and I’m not going to have sex with anybody until I am married.”  Donna showed extreme courage by being able to stand up for herself and not let her boyfriend pressure into anything she did not feel right doing.  David did respect Donna’s wishes and remained her boyfriend even after he knew they were not going to have sex.  Donna eventually lost her virginity to David after they graduated college.  They broke up for a period of time but then got back together.  Donna knew that David was the guy she wanted to be with for the rest of her life so she felt comfortable having sex with him.  The show did end with David and Donna getting married.  This proved that true love does exist and that girls should not think that their boyfriends are just in a relationship for sex.

            “Media Interventions to Promote Responsible Sexual Behavior” is an extremely informative scholarly article from The Journal of Sex Research.  It was produced in February 2002 by Sarah H. Keller of Emerson College and Jane D. Brown of the University of North Carolina.  This article explains how the media plays a large role in the minds of teenagers.  It says that there are many ways to teach sex education to teenagers but the media is truly the best way.  It gets the attention of teenagers that pamphlets, brochures and the Internet will never reach.  The cultural message is that teenagers listen to popular television, radio and movies.  Popular forms of media are great ways to get the attention of teenagers.  They listen to their favorite television “characters” and thus teaching safe sex on television is very useful for teenagers.

            “Beverly Hills 90210” went even further than this article because the show was very realistic about the sexual experience of teenagers.  Beverly Hills used the three main female characters to promote not only safe sex but also how to display maturity when dealing with sex.  The show demonstrated through these three females that girls should never feel pressured into having sex.  It has to feel right and they have to want to do it.  Beverly Hills knew that teaching abstinence was pointless because most teenagers were experimenting so they wanted to leave their viewers with helpful life lessons about this uncomfortable topic.

            “Beverly Hills 90210” used inclusion to get their important message about sex across to their audience.  Parents felt like they had a show that their teens could watch to learn the helpful tips that they did not know how to express to their children.  Teenagers’ felt like there was always somebody in the same situation as them and they were not alone while making very tough decisions.  If girls had a long-term boyfriend who they loved but did not know if they were ready to have sex they looked to Brenda for advice.  It girls felt that they were being taken advantage of they turned to Kelly for advice.  If girls knew they wanted to be a virgin until they were married they turned to Donna for advice.  This show could always help their viewers with the tough decisions that come with teenage life.

Rough Draft of Paper 4

            The Vietnam War took place in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1959 to 1975.  The war was fought between communist North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam, which was supported by the United States.  The United States entered the war to prevent the communist takeover of South Vietnam, which was part of the larger strategy of containment.  In Tim O’Brien’s memoir, “If I Die in a Combat Zone,” he describes how he along with many other American’s were drafted to fight in the Vietnam War.  Most did not want to be soldiers, many were against the war and yet all of them were forced to fight for their country.  O’Brien writes about fear and courage in himself and in other Vietnam soldiers.  The inner fear of exhibiting outward fear led to soldiers displaying great acts of courage while fighting in the Vietnam War.

            Tim O’Brien grew up in an average American town in southern Minnesota.  He was not very good at sports like football or baseball so he focused on reading Plato and Erich Fromm.  He graduated high school and went off to college.  He then graduated college, was drafted and the summer of 1968 is when Tim became a soldier.  His friends from college would visit and say, “Too bad, I hear you’re drafted.  What will you do?” (O’Brien, 17)  The question of what will you do lived with Tim during his entire tour of Vietnam.  “I’d never been much of a fighter.  I was afraid of bullies: frustrated anger.” (O’Brien, 22)   To an educated college graduate who was not used to fighting, the fear of going to Vietnam as a soldier was extreme.  Tim had to make many decisions after being drafted.  He had to figure out ways to contain his fear and display the courage of an American soldier.

            The fear of being a soldier led to Tim thinking about fleeing the United States for Canada.  Tim explains that the only reason he does not escape is for his family.  “But I come from a small town, my parents know everyone, and I couldn’t hurt or embarrass them.  And of course, I was afraid.” (O’Brien, 35) How could his family go on living in the United States if they had a son who left the country to avoid fighting in a war he was drafted to be apart of?  Tim seemed to have a silent envy for his college friends who “found easy paths away from the problem, all to their credit.  Deferments for this and that.  Letters from doctors or chaplains.” (O’Brien, 21)  Deep down Tim thought these letters to get out of going to war were an embarrassment for their families but also he knew they would never have to face the tough, unwanted road that was ahead of him.  Tim’s courage to show up to the bus depot on August 13^th is because he does not want to humiliate his family’s name.  His fear of displaying his own fear and running away from the army is overshadowed by his fear of hurting his family.  In the end it looks like Tim has great courage in going to help his country but in reality he was just too scared to show his true emotions.

            At training camp, soldiers would sing, “I wanna go to Vietnam, Just to kill ol’ Charlie Cong.  Am I right or wrong?  Am I goin’ strong?”  To mask the nerves and the fear of going to war soldiers would sing to show false courage.  Men look strong if they are marching to an optimistic war tune.  No man wanted to display fear to another man going through the same events so everybody would sing along.  The outer appearance of all the men getting ready for war may have looked calm but in reality they were all just hiding their inner fears about going to Vietnam.

            When O’Brien arrived in Vietnam to begin his tour of duty, the Sergeant explained that there were safe desk jobs for those who were interested.  “I got jobs for mechanics, typists, clerks, damn near anything you want, I got it.  So you get your nice, safe rear job.” (O’Brien, 72)  Not one solider budged and said that they would give up fighting for the desk job.  Every man knew that taking a desk job would look weak to others.  It would expose the fear that each solider felt in their heads but would not show to those around them.  They all knew that a desk job would be an easy way out of serving their country and still not one man motioned that he would take it.  Tim, an educated college graduate who was clearly against fighting would not even take the job at this point.  He knew the embarrassment he would feel if he showed the other men that he was scared.  All of these men seemed as if they were displaying courage but they were just more afraid to display what they were really feeling.  

~ I am still really trying to develop this paper.  Let me what you think or any ideas you have!

Paper 3 Rough Draft

Franklin Delano Roosevelt followed the Jeffersonian principle with the statement “the exercise of property rights might so interfere with the rights of the individual that the government, without whose assistance the property rights could not exist, must intervene, not to destroy individualism, but to protect it.” (cite) Self image was one of the biggest problems in America in 1932. American citizens had a “me” attitude, stemming from the brief period of financial success in the 1920’s.  Money came easily to most, luxury abounded.  Nobody had to think about their neighbor who was out of work or their family member who desperately needed to pay bills.  Everyone was rejoicing in this period of economic prosperity.

With the 1930’s came an America deep in an economic depression.  Most found themselves trying to crawl out of the harsh economic times individually.  Unfortunately, this was not an individual problem but rather a national economic disaster.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt entered the political forum and initiated the New Deal to help give relief to the unemployed, to reform business and financial practices, and to stimulate recovery of the economy.  He urged the American people that it was time to come together as Americans. The dichotomy that FDR faced was protecting individuality, while having the nation conform for the sole purpose of this protection. In his Commonwealth Club Address, he states, “The issue of government has always been whether individual men and women will have to serve some system of government or economics, or whether a system of government and economics exists to serve individual me and women.”  (commonwealth, 2)

During FDR’s rather conservative campaign for the presidency in 1932, he foreshadowed his New Deal to the American people. He urged the nation that it was time to experiment; if it didn’t work, try something else, but changes had to made.  This vow of experimentation was in direct contrast to Hoover’s political ideas and reputation as a do-nothing president.  With over 57% of the popular vote and a vote of 472 to 59 in the Electoral College, FDR embarked us on a cultural and political journey that transformed America permanently.

            FDR’s objective was to break tradition and was very aware how symbolic that was.  “Let it be symbolic, that I broke the tradition.  Let it be from now on the task of our Party to break foolish traditions.”  (culture, 159) To accomplish this break with tradition, FDR immediately began an onslaught of legislative activity that had never been accomplished before. Within hours of his inauguration, Congress passed his New Deal program and during the “Hundred Days” the First New Deal evolved. This is when his “social welfare liberalism ideas” that “called on government assistance to make certain that every citizen had the resources necessary for individual opportunity and self-development” (Ordinary people, 3) emerged.  He immediately set up the FDIC to ensure that losing one’s life savings would never happen again.  He also set up the Home Owners Loan Corporation, the Civilian Conservation Corps to employ young men on reforestation and conservation projects, the Agricultural Adjustment Act to solve the agricultural overproduction problem, the Federal Emergency Relief Act which established a welfare system, The Tennessee Valley Authority which constructed a series of hydroelectric dams, the Securities and Exchange Commission to regulate the securities markets, the Public Works Administration and the National Recovery Administration to stimulate industrial recovery.   His plan was not to break up Big Business.  He promised that they would be exempt from antitrust prosecution if they cooperated and practiced fair codes of conduct and agreed to preset wage scales. 

After this was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1935, FDR began to promote “The Second New Deal” and decided to go in a more liberal direction.  He had spent two years trying unsuccessfully to end the Depression and in the hope of improving his chance for reelection in 1936, he began to support more liberal and anti-big business ideas. The WPA was established which attempted to relieve unemployment, the Wagner Labor Relations Act was introduced to equalize the power of big business, the Social Security Act was created and numerous other acts were set into motion.

By the end of 1936, the New Deal was finished. Historians said that it had been an innovative, non-ideological, experimentive and inherently conservative program that did not end the economic collapse in the United States.  What FDR did accomplish with his New Deal was change the culture of America.  Organized labor gained power and respect.  The quality of life in rural areas was tremendously improved and racial minorities had higher expectations. The executive branch of the federal government became more powerful while the federal government was now totally committed to be active in programs of social reform and the management of the economy.  We were no longer a laissiz-faire capitalist nation.

Warren Susman explains how the media made an individualistic America into a unified America.  “The photograph, the radio, the moving picture---these were not new, but the sophisticated uses to which they were put created a special community of all Americans unthinkable previously.” (Susman, 161) Previously, there was nothing that could connect people of diverse backgrounds. With FDR’s New deal, he introduced the idea that everyone had to come together as one to fight a crisis that people were unsuccessfully trying to fight on their own. 

Culturally, we began to see a pattern emerge through different medias. Soap Operas united housewives of all backgrounds.  Cards, bingo, baseball, golf, tennis and even board games like monopoly promoted play that could be equal for everyone.  Again, it brought people together who normally would have had nothing in common.  Sports and games promoted equality and team effort in hopes of succeeding at a common goal.   FDR wanted America to follow the trend of sports and come together to beat the economic crisis.  

To this end, the movie industry began to promote this theme of unity as well. In 1933, the film Gold Diggers truly epitomized Roosevelt’s feelings about America. This film accurately depicts American life during the Great Depression.  It begins with creditors coming to a play rehearsal and shutting it down due to unpaid bills.  The first scene of the play featured many beautiful white women in the same gold coin money costume.  They were singing “We’re in the Money” and dancing in unison.  Even though there was a lead (Ginger Rogers), the fact that each woman had the same costume on and had the same hair and makeup made them all equal.  After the show, a person would not have been able to tell one woman apart from another.  The singing and dance number would not have been the same without the collaboration of the women.  The play needed the women all in the same outfits, working together in hopes of putting on a great play.

The creditors were also all in standard dark suits.  They came with the same goal of breaking up the rehearsal.  They all went to take pieces of the stage and the costumes that the women were wearing.  They were successful, strengthening FDR’s idea that if the American people came together they could dig themselves out of their financial woes.

            The “We’re in the Money” scene of the play also drew audiences in.  They were singing about the day that the depression would be over and they would once again be prosperous.  This was a day that all of America was hoping would come.  Audiences gained short-lived hope from watching happy, people singing and dancing about the desperate days that had passed. Audiences were brought back to reality when creditors broke up the play.  This scene really illustrated a desperate America. Again, the underlying theme was that if enough people came together then it would be possible to put the dark economic days behind them.

                        The closing scene in Gold Diggers, “Remember my Forgotten Men”, shows soldiers in uniform coming back from World War I.  Again these men in uniform could not be identified individually, thus promoting the power of togetherness.  These men were nothing on their own but when they were marching together they looked like they could conquer anything. The song reminds everyone that these men as a unit fought hard for America by cultivating the land and by defending what American land stood for. Now, these men were disenfranchised from their country, again illustrating America’s need to help.

            In another scene, a woman is protecting a man who she quite obviously felt deeply for at one time. The police officer even lets him off because he knows that he fought for America’s freedom.  Finally, the very last scene shows the men who were once uniformed solders out of uniform.  This leaves the audience with a feeling of hope and bolsters FDR’s speech about unity now leading to the furthering of individualism in the future.

            Through the use of visuals, FDR’s political viewpoints were overwhelmingly supported.  His main objective was to preserve individuality though it was impossible to accomplish this task as an individual.  The harsh reality was that the America that had enjoyed economic prosperity could only be reclaimed by a collective movement with conformity as the precipice.

Living the Not So American Dream

The American Dream is a freedom that the United States supposedly offers to all who come here.  The early 1900’s was a time that saw much immigration to the United States.  Immigrants believed that America provided the opportunity for greater monetary wealth and material prosperity than could have been achieved in their native countries.  The American Dream was definitely falsely advertised to immigrants because they were not handed the American opportunities, which they had all fantasized about.  The United States was clearly divided between American citizens and immigrants who strived but failed to imitate the life that was considered the American Dream. 

Kathy Peiss’s “Cheap Amusements” truly said it best, “Dreams for sale: Division Street clothing shops offered working women inexpensive versions of high-fashion designs.”  Immigrants were considered part of the working class and everything within their lives was a cheaper version of what well off Americans owned.  Whether it be clothing, cosmetics, housing or food, immigrants just could not afford the best of what America was offering.  The concept of the American Dream implied wealth and luxury not poverty and hardship, which was what immigrants actually found when they came to America.  They tried to cover up their lack of money by consuming economical American products that mimicked the riches they longed to have.

The picture attached to Kathy Peiss’s dreams for sale quote sums up what immigrants could have expected when they were fortunate enough to go shopping in America.  It was an industrial like scene on a one-way street of the Lower East Side.  It was crowded, very close to the road, which was full of traffic and the ceiling was metal bars.  This was definitely not a luxurious shopping trip.  Items were cheap and immigrants just wanted to make sure they were buying products that would make them fit in with America.  They felt that buying low-priced American goods with their hard earned American money would help them gain the wealth to live the coveted American Dream. 

On the contrary to the Division Street clothing shops were department stores like Marshall Fields.  Marshall Fields was an iconic department store and was famous for its beauty.  The pictures depict high and decorated ceilings with comfortable seating and plenty of room to shop.  The store soon became known as  a “Marble Palace” due to its costly marble face.  Shopping in stores like Marshall Fields was extravagant and belonged to the people who were truly living the American Dream.  Immigrants could not afford to spend money at such a high-class establishment.  Stores of grandeur like Marshall Fields may have existed in America but immigrants who came with hopes of wealth did not have the means to purchase the merchandise.

In Kathy Peiss’s “Making Faces: The Cosmetics Industry and the Cultural Construction of Gender, 1890-1930”, she speaks about the three different cosmetic markets that existed during the 1920’s.  There was the mass market, which had low-priced cosmetic lines that were sold in drugstores.  This line targeted the working-class and lower-middle class women.  This would be the only kind of cosmetics an immigrant could have afforded to purchase.  There was the ethnic market, which was for African American women and ethnic women.  The third market was the class market, which all American citizens wished they could have afforded.  The products in the class market were only sold in department stores and exclusive salons like Elizabeth Arden.  Wealthy and upwardly mobile middle-class women could buy these products and the rest of America including immigrants were left trying to buy cheap imitations from the mass and ethnic markets.

Kathy Peiss goes on to discuss how the “mass-market manufacturers stressed the makeover as a route to upward mobility, arguing that a woman’s personal success relied on her appearance.” (P.385)  Obviously mass market manufacturers just wanted to sell their products but working class women like the immigrants came to truly believe the statement that the better they looked the more successful they would be.  Immigrants believed that if they spent their hard earned money on products that were similar to those being sold in class markets, then they themselves would be the ones shopping in salons and department stores one day.  It was a dream and false hope that these companies were selling.  The amount of immigrants who actually experienced social mobility were few and far between.  Most spent their lives trying to support their families in a country that they were always trying to figure out where they really belonged.

Anzia Yezierska’s novel Bread Givers illustrates the life of a typical immigrant family living in New York’s Lower East Side.  The financial struggles that they faced consumed their lives in America.  A family with parents who lived charmed lives in Russia move their four daughters to the United States and realize that the American Dream is no easy task to live in the 1920’s.  The Smolinsky family consists of Reb, Shena, Sara, Bessie, Mashah, and Fania.  Reb is the father, an out of work Orthodox rabbi and also the head of the Smolinsky household.  Shena is the mother who is in awe of her husband’s holiness but whose life in America is filled with heartache because of the poverty that they face.  A woman who had it all in Russia now was forced into begging for money, doing any job that came her family’s way and hardly eating.  Sara is the youngest daughter who is the only member of the family who after much hard work and criticism achieves some semblance of a normal American life.  Sara’s sisters all had arranged marriages and went on living discontented lives in America.

 Sara Smolinsky tells her family’s story of struggles, the hardships that filled each day and the desires they all had for a wealthy American life.  As immigrants who moved to America, they only watched others live the life that they came to America for.  In Sara’s opinion, Mashah was the sister who could assimilate the most to the American lifestyle.  She worked only when she had to and would give up eating to buy  inexpensive beauty products and clothes.  To Mashah, living in America meant trying to fit in with what Americans cherished.  At this time American consumerism was very popular and Mashah would use the little money she had to replicate the products Americans were buying.

“Her clothes were always so new and fresh, without the least little wrinkle, like the dressed-up doll lady from the show window of the greatest department store.” (p.4)  This is how Sara would describe the clothes that Mashah owned.  Mashah had to skip meals to afford the beauty products and clothes she purchased.  She was using all of her inner power to try to look American by making her outer appearance look well off.  People living the American Dream did not have to starve themselves to purchase the items they desired.  As an immigrant, luxuries were hard to come by so sacrifices had to made if they wanted to look like an American consumer. 

“And from that day, the sight of her toothbrush on the shelf and her white, fancy towel by itself on the wall was like a sign to us all, that Mashah had no heart, no feelings, that millionaire things willed themselves in her empty head while, the rest of us were wearing out our brains for only a bite in the mouth.” (p.6)  Mashah saved her food money so she could purchase a toothbrush and a wash towel while the rest of her family used their money on food.  Mashah bought products that Americans took for granted and that were part of their daily lives.  In the Smolinsky family the only way to buy unnecessary items was by not eating.  Mashah again showed the sacrifices she made in her life to feel more like an American.  If she was living the American Dream, she would have been able to buy the finest merchandise for herself and still be able to eat.

Mamma Smolinsky was explaining to Mashah that America does not have as beautiful things as they had at home in Russia.  Mashah answered her by saying, “If you only had the money to go to Fifth Avenue you’d see the grand things you could buy.” (p.33) Mashah was explaining that their family just did not have the means to buy the products Americans could afford from fancy stores.  If they had money in America then their lives would have been much different and much more grand.

Starting a new life in America was truly a difficult task for immigrants.  They came with hopes and dreams for a life full of riches and were usually disappointed when they realized that life will never exist.  They worked long hours at tiring jobs just to put food on their tables and pay rent.  They tried to imitate the lives that Americans were living by purchasing cheap versions of the products Americans consumed in hopes of one day being able to buy the expensive luxurious products.  For most, that day never came and they realized that they had lived their entire lives trying to imitate Americans,  wondering when they too would reach the American Dream that they had seen and heard so much about. 

Paper #1 Argument And Examples

The presidential inauguration was a weekend long party that all of America was invited to attend.  President Barack Obama avoids Barthes’ myth of identification.  He does not have the typical look or ideals of past presidents and yet America has opened their arms to his new ideas and policies.  Washington, DC held more people than ever before in celebration of a president who does not resemble those who preceded him.  The rituals of the weekend included the We Are One concert, the official swearing-in ceremony, the parade and the official and unofficial inaugural balls.  It did not matter if people paid a lot of money or went to events for free.  It also did not matter if the events were official or if they were unofficial.  America was invited to see Barack Obama become the 44^th president and the people truly banned together to show that we are one.

Examples:

1. People of all walks of life stood together at all the events.  Race, ethnicity and economic status did not play a part in the celebration that took place.  Everyone got to see the same rituals take place and everyone was happy to share the excitement with anyone around them.
2. Washington, DC had a great feeling this entire weekend.  The city was in a buzz of excitement because of how many different people came to celebrate one man.  The atmosphere would not have been so uplifting and optimistic if the crowd did not display the diverse people that make up America.

Party Like Barack Star

Topic: Who participates in which rituals?

Expensive vs. Inexpensive, Official vs. Unofficial

            As being amongst the crowd at various inaugural events, I have come to the conclusion that everyone was invited to every event.  There was no reason why a person could not attend any inaugural activity that they wanted to be apart of.  Events really began on Sunday the 18^th of January and continued through Tuesday the 20^th of January.  There was the We Are One concert on Sunday.  There was the Swearing-In Ceremony, the Parade, and various Official and Unofficial Inaugural Balls on Tuesday.  Each event could have been free to attend or they could have been quite expensive.

            At the We Are One concert, I realized that this weekend was really just one big party for the American people.  There were so many rituals, which took place in Washington, DC this past weekend and people from all different walks of life were here to celebrate.  I spoke to as well as listened to many other people’s conversations about their plans for the weekend.  It was amazing to hear how everyone’s plans were so different yet they were all in celebration of the same event, the inauguration of Barack Obama.  The concert featured celebrities and other celebrities as well as “regular” American citizens were in attendance.

            I heard people speak who would probably never have anything to talk about and on this day they had an entire conversation about how they were spending this monumental occasion.  It started with where people were staying and progressed to discuss everything they planned on attending.  Some people were staying at family of friend’s houses, some were staying in cheap motels as far away as Maryland and Virginia and others were staying in famous DC hotels like the Haye Adams.  It dawned on me then that this weekend was a party that was not restricted to anyone.  When you are not in DC all you hear about are the official events, which in this year’s case wealthy Democrats would have attended along with celebrities.  Being in DC, I realized that every event was open to the public.  There were official events and unofficial events, which could have been very expensive or they could have been quite inexpensive compared to other trips that people take.

            For my paper I was told to explore the official vs. unofficial events along with the expensive vs. inexpensive rituals that take place.  The concert, which took place on Sunday, was for free.  All you had to do was be willing to brave the crowds and the cold and you could see a fabulous array of celebrities along with seeing Barack Obama and Joe Biden speak.  It cannot get any more inexpensive than this official event and nobody could have had special treatment, even if they were wealthy.

            The next big official event was the Swearing-In ceremony, which again could have been expensive or quite cheap.  People could have purchased tickets for this official event or again they could have just stood in the crowd.  Tickets to see the president-elect being sworn in were quite pricey.  I saw and heard people talking about the prices and they seemed to have been hundreds or even thousands of dollars.  That is fine for people who have the money and want to spend it on this event.  People who could not afford a ticket or could not get one just had to wake up extra early and had to deal with the cold weather.  Still, if tickets were purchased or if people were just standing in free viewing areas they were all still invited to see the official swearing-in ceremony. 

            After the swearing-in ceremony people placed their attention on the parade.  Again, people could have purchased tickets for this event or they could have just stood at designated viewing sites for free.  The tickets gave people guaranteed locations to stand to see the parade and they gave people seats for the parade.  People who went to the parade for free just had to again wake up early to get a spot to see the parade and had to deal with the cold weather for a longer period of time.  Still, those who paid or went for free saw the same parade.

            The final events of the weekend were inaugural balls.  There were 10 official balls, which means that President Obama definitely attended them.  Then there were many unofficial balls, which means that it is not guaranteed that the president will make an appearance.  It is interesting that official and unofficial inaugural balls basically cost the same amount of money to attend.  For example, the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball, which is an official ball, was free or very affordable to attend.  The ball that was put on by George Washington University was a minimum of 85 dollars.   The Youth Ball, which was another official ball, was for 18-35 year olds who play a large part in their community.  This ball was also free or very inexpensive to attend.  Even the president of The George Washington University’s College Democrats was invited.  Other official balls cost an average of 150 dollars to attend.  Other unofficial balls cost anywhere between 65 and 500 dollars to attend.  Just because a ball is official does not mean it is more expensive than the other unofficial balls.

            After talking to many people I realized that it did not matter if people paid a lot of money to go to events or if people went in for free.  It also did not matter if events were official or unofficial inaugural events.  Everyone was invited to Washington, DC this weekend to witness history and to be part of Barack Obama’s presidential celebration.  There is no other event that appeals to and invites the amount of people in Washington, DC this past weekend.  It was really a wonderful scene, which featured many different Americans celebrating the events and chanting “We Are One”.

           

 

 

 

 

George's Plea-Do We Need Coach Hobbs to Flee DC?

Loss, loss, loss, loss, loss, loss!  What is going on with GW men’s basketball this year?  The team’s overall record of 6-8, conference record of 0-2 with six straight losses, the prospect of a tournament bid or even a winning season for the Colonials is bleak.  Besides GW not having a football team it is a school that prides itself on men’s basketball.  In the 2005-2006 season, the team made it to the NCAA tournament under the direction of Coach Carl Hobbs.  Everyone thought that the team would just continue its success and for sure be a perennial front-runner in the A-10 conference.  Unfortunately, this has not been the case and spectators are getting restless.  The team lost all it’s games in a recent Hawaii tournament and to date has been winless in A-10 conference play.  Is it bad coaching, not hard enough working players or simply not a very good team?  Something has to change because players are quitting, the starting line-up keeps changing, players are getting many minutes off the bench and still there are no results.  As a student who does not miss a men’s or women’s basketball game, I think I speak on behalf of all GW basketball fans when I say that the team must figure out its identity quickly.  Disappointment cannot fill the entire season and at this point one could only hope for a more competitive winning team that is crowned this year’s A-10 tournament champion.  Get back on track Colonials! Please, please, please, please, please, please!