Thoughts/Culture – American Food

Really?

I am so damn embarrassed to be an American right now. We just keep f*****g up with everything.

This makes me want to be a vegetarian. Seriously. No joke. I may just consider it.

Just looking at this gives me a heart attack. Makes me want to check and see if I have diabetes just from gazing at the picture.

How the hell do they expect us to get a control on the obesity issue if stuff like this is continuing to pass through the FDA?

…. I wanna go vomit right now. That’s sick.

This pretty much sums up American food for anyone.

The only thing good about this picture: Potatoes (Because I am a huge potato fiend).

Culture – American Media

Ok…. so, I’m going to shed my mask and voice my views of politics for at least a five minutes, because this has bothered me since I became aware of the issue years ago.

Having been somewhat active in politics since 2006, before the major political election of this decade came and went, I have noticed that there are 3 major news networks on cable television that have had a big influence on the American population today.

This does not even include other important news networks or companies that people should paying attention to, but I will mention them later in this post.

From the three images listed above, it seems that MSNBC is the only network that actually makes an effort to give news not only from American issues, but from around the world. But, they still have an issue with following up on current situations that are not important to the American audience. Their top political and current event shows are as follows: Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Hardball with Chris Matthews, and The Rachel Maddow Show.

The first thing I noticed from this list is, YES, they are all very liberal or at least somewhat close to it in their political views. However, I have noticed that they give an actual balanced viewpoint on their shows and have information from both political parties and lesser known parties most of the time. It is the fastest growing network for politics and news at the moment and it seems to get more of an independent audience.

Now on to a major contributor to American media and has been for many years: CNN. This network has been around for as long as I can remember, and has appeared to shift in their views of what is important to the American popultaion today. Many of the news correspondents and analysts have come and gone over the years, and they have very unforgettable newcomers on their network that have made a huge impact (Anderson Cooper,  John King, Amy Holmes, Soledad O’Brien just to name a few).

This network is known for being on the leftist viewpoint of political news. They have had their tries at Independent viewpoints, and have failed over time (Their most recent correspondent, Lou Dobbs, having been the major symbol of that and he has now retired… and at a good time in my opinion).  I believe they are trying to return to that Independent feel since our current President has tried to do the same for our country, ignoring the current rants and raves that most opposing parties want to spew about it. Their top shows are as follows: The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper 360, Larry King Live. More could easily be added to this list, but these shows have the most views.

CNN has also tried to give a spin on International news with shows such as CNN International and Amanpour, hosted by their chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour. Yet, those shows are only shown at certain times of the day and during the week, that most American viewers do not give them much attention.

It is still a leading network, yet it has had many complications when reporting important issues with that of their rival network.

On that note, I move on towards the last network listed above: FOX NEWS. This network is known for its viewpoint on the right and conservative opinions, and appeals to that audience in America today. It is the top cable news network, as of 2009, with over a million viewers, CNN and MSNBC following behind in that order.

This network, however, is known to have huge controversy around it, many on its political views. It is a conservative channel, and does not fail to show that viewpoint. Some of the information that they receive is open to debate on whether it is valid when premiered to its viewers, and considering their involvement in major political events, such as the Tea Party in September of last year and with the political election in 2008, not only has that caused complications with other networks and voters, but it has gained them popularity, having been the underdog for many years.

Their major shows are as follows: The O’Reilly Factor, Hannity, Glenn Beck. They also have a tendency to hire political figures on their network, such as Mike Huckabee and their most current, well-known correspondent, Sarah Palin, who has gained a popularity because of it. I have yet to see a spin on International politics on this network, but if I have failed to mention one, please let me know. As it stands, I don’t see a “Fair and Balanced” show for that issue.

Disregarding these three major networks on American Media today, there are a few that get an honorable and important mention: NPR, CSPAN, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report.

In my opinion, the networks and shows listed seem to give a fair and just report of the current issues in politics today for both parties, and not just politics, but current events and world news.  Do they receive a huge amount views? Aside from The Daily Show and The Colbert Report (and only appearing to audiences between the ages of 19-28), the remaining only have average views and listeners, and seem to receive a very independent audience.

The real issue here is not that of the cable networks, yet they have a huge impact on it, but that of the American people themselves.

Most Americans, at least from my viewpoint, do not have an interest in politics unless there is some form of illogical debate, a hard sense of belonging to a group with the same viewpoints, and unneeded drama among the major political parties. If it is not exciting, gives a movie-like feel to viewers, or a sense of patriotism, the last thing Americans want to worry about is what the Congress is doing with their money and how their country is ran. Now I stated that most Americans have this viewpoint, as there are plenty of people who feel that these issues are very important, myself included. However, a problem appears dominant that there are not enough people in this country who actually care about the raw facts and functions of our country.

There are people who don’t want to hear about what Sarah Palin has to say about the Obama administration keeping their so-called promises and their slogan on “Hope” and “Change.” In my opinion, that sore-loser approach has gotten old and tiring, and very immature. Give me facts and information on why you think the current administration is not doing a good job. Also, take into account that President Obama has only been in office for about a full year. It has taken a president a full term to make a change from a previous presidency effective and noticeable. Yet, it is known in our culture that when one party is in power, the opposing party comes on full force to ridicule and tear down the current. The Liberals have done it to the Conservatives, now its the Conservatives turn until they switch to power once again.

Our interests and emotions are what fuel our views on politics, along with ignorance and childish reasoning. The uneducated against the educated, the religious against the non, the racists against the anti, the freedom lovers against the peaceful and worldly. This conflict has been around for decades. Where did our view on being one country go? Where did are sensibility disappear to? Since when did selfish interests not important to the world take over our country?

This country, America, has lost its identity within itself. We can no longer define what an American is, since we no longer know it ourselves. It’s embarrassing and downright absurd.

Until someone makes a noticeable change on our culture, then the media will not do either. We will still have our CNNs and FOX News channels reporting for hours on some chick who decided to kill her husband due to mental issues, and then give a brief segment on the future of our health care.

Screw this. I’m moving to Sweden. Maybe I can make a plea that I’m a refuge in my country and they’ll let me in. Because this country isn’t paying any attention to my wants and needs.