Shift Happens

               After watching the video "Shift Happens", not only was I left surprised but also somewhat puzzled. Although it’s great to see so much advancements and developments, at the same time, it makes me wonder what caused all these changes and how much further it will be able to go. We’ve started progressing so quickly and considering the high speed at which we are moving, in the near future we can do numerous things, thanks to technology. Essentially, the whole world will be transformed and made more convenient. For example, just as phones were created and people could community easily without actually having to meet each other in person, similarly, more advanced technologies will be created to provide comfort to the people and make things easier. The numbers of technologies that have been created are countless but they certainly are changing the world we live in. 

                Our education system needs to provide higher and more advanced levels of education to today’s students in order to keep up with the standards. As the video stated, “We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t exist yet” which means as the population grows bigger, more competition will occur. With that being said, each student needs to be educated so that they are able to use their knowledge and skills to secure their jobs. Furthermore, the American education system does not have as high of a rank as the Indian or the Chinese do. Thus, it’s also important to emphasize raising the educational criterion. 

                Today, the changes in information processing and availability are improving our lives in many ways. As I’ve mentioned earlier, technology has made our lives more comfortable and easier, but it also has made some negative. Simply because technology makes everything convenient and saves us loads of time, it has also made us lazy. For example, without technology, we had to do certain things manually but with the technology, we do everything by clicks which take away the skills that we once had. Despite of these negative impacts, the positives are much more. One aspects of information processing which I love is that it helps us connect; not just to our friends and families but to people who live in other countries. It exposes us to different culture, traditions, and ideas which thus, contribute to globalization. We come closer and united to people by becoming aware of their existence and the difference that they make. 

                Some of the ideas that we have learned that could be applicable to the facts and trends presented in the video is that we are in a postindustrial society, postmodern world and globalization is taking place. As the text states, we are entering a phase of development beyond the industrial era. This new social order is described as information society, service society, and knowledge society or the postindustrial society. We have moved further than the traditional forms of industrial development. We are in an age where we are constantly progressing in every possible way and the rapid change impacts everyone. As mentioned in the video, we live in exponential times with technology surrounding us everywhere.  From google to text messages, we are heavily influenced by technology and rely on them very much. In the near future, we will be able to include technology into our every lives even more and make possible what seems impossible today.

Urban/Suburban/Rural Life

I have lived urban, suburban, and rural life and the experiences in all three of them were quite contrasting. I grew up in the urban city of Moscow with a big population living busy and fast paced lives. The city was very crowded in the mornings with people going to work, school, or simply shopping. The buses and subways were packed with people; usually diverse groups of people.  Although Russia is not such a wealthy nation; Moscow is one of the most expensive cities in the world.  Due to urbanization, the prices for buying or renting apartments have raised tremendously high although if one drives to a rural area just couple hours away from Moscow, one could get that same apartment for much cheaper price. However, because people prefer living at the center and being close to development, Moscow has become expensive; especially to foreigners and tourists. Contrary to the examples that the text book gave as the introduction of the chapter which tells us of the situations with white shirts in China and Germany, it is different in Moscow. Although the city is populated and industrialized, there wasn’t as much pollution that would have gotten your clothes dirty. Most of the companies and factories were a bit far away from central Moscow so that the people weren’t as much impacted by the pollution. One aspect of Moscow that I was very much in favor is the fact that the whole city is accessible by foot or by the metro. Unlike in here, one could have easily gotten out of their home, walked to the subway and taken the metro to tour the entire city. From Moscow, I moved to a little rural area in Southwest Virginia which was nothing comparable to the way of live in Moscow. It was a very small area with a smaller size of population and fewer developments. The area had lots of trees and was a much greener place in comparison to Moscow. Additionally, the area wasn’t diverse at all and it consisted of predominantly white majority and a minority group of foreigners. From there, I then moved to DC metropolitan area which is much more populated, diverse, and globalized. DC region is a conurbation which consists of cities such as Arlington, Fairfax, and Chantilly, for example. One thing that I’ve realized since moving to Northern Virginia is that the people who live in the Southwest have much lower living standards in comparison to here. Economically, Northern Virginia is much more advanced and people live more glamorous lives while in the Southwest, majority of the people weren’t as rich and they didn’t own expensive cars or huge houses.  

Who Has the Power?

Although the popular belief is that the power is in the hands of the people, that may be true but it’s certainly not the common people who wields power. Even though Democracy is about the rule of the majority and gives the people more rights and freedoms, in today’s society, it’s not the people who exercise power. Being able to vote is not exercising power but a right that Democracy gives to people. Although people influence some of the decisions that the government makes, I think that ultimately it’s the government that holds and wields power. Most closely, I agree with Joseph Schumpeter who said that democracy is the rule of the politician, not the people. The politicians not necessary represent the common people but rather the power elite. The power elite which consist of wealthy families and those who have attended prestigious universities heavily influence and run the government. The government is what holds the power and makes decisions accordingly. In today’s society, it’s the power elite who occupies the highest level of power and have the ability to make key decisions which influence domestic and foreign policies. Furthermore, business leaders who run large corporations and families of great wealth form a capitalist class that greatly influences government officials and experts through lobbying, campaign contributions, and the appointment of top corporate leader to important government positions also influence the government’s decisions. Thus, the elite power which essentially makes up the government wields the most power because they have the most wealth and power.

Is Wal Mart good for America?

The question whether Wal Mart is good or bad for America is a bit controversial. As the world’s largest retail store, Wal Mart has a big influence on the economy and millions of people’s lives worldwide.  Wal Mart provides one of the cheapest and most convenient products that attract huge numbers of costumers. With the one stop shop, more people prefer shopping at Wal Mart. Especially with the tough economy; people cannot afford to spend extra money on a product that’s available at Wal Mart for lower prices. Furthermore, being such a large company, Wal Mart provides millions of jobs to people worldwide. As the company grows biggest and attracts more customers, it needs more workers to run the company. Therefore, hiring more people and providing them with jobs. Not only does Wal Mart employee workers within the US but also in countries such as China. In China, millions of workers are employed by Wal Mart in companies that export the cheap products that they send to America. In such way, Wal Mart benefits America and the economy; helping reduce consumer spending by providing merchandise at lower cost and employing workers within America and low wage countries.  

On the other hand, Wal Mart hurts the economy by taking the opportunities away from smaller businesses. The low prices destroy other businesses, which causes economical issues for them. Furthermore, he products are all imported from other countries (China mainly) which causes US money to flow out of the country. In my opinion, Wal Mart is not such a great benefit to America. First, the quality of the items sold in there is not that good; they either break quickly or stop working properly; this equals, in the end, paying for something you’re not able to take advantage of. Second, Wal Mart is becoming a barrier for local small businesses and many of them cannot survive with Wal Mart coming to their town. Thus, supporting local economy becomes difficult when there’s a competition such as Wal Mart.  Finally, as the video stated, Wal Mart lowers the standard of living through the cheap quality products. 

Domestic Division of Labor

Although majority of the women work outside of their homes nowadays, they still do lion’s share of housework. Despite of working full time, women still shoulder the burden of most of the housework. Even without completing the task chart, I knew it already that most of the chores in my house are completed by my mother, while my father does very few ones. When my siblings and I were younger, my mother was the one who took the responsibility of raising us while my father was mostly at work or abroad for business. From cooking to cleaning, my mother always completed indoor tasks while my dad was the breadwinner. In my opinion, that aspect of our household is due to our culture in which the women mostly stay at home to complete domestic tasks while the men work outside. Ever since we have moved to United States, I’ve realized my dad has started to help out my mom with her chores. For example, nowadays, he’s been helping out with some basic tasks such as transferring certain items from one room into another or drying the dishes. In other countries that are male dominated, the men do not assist the women even with the very basic tasks due to the culture in there that represents men as being strong and assertive; essentially teaching the men to work outside. That segment of the culture has turned into a misconception that the men shouldn't help with house chores and that's the women's work only. I think it's important that both, the men and women, help out equally in running the household together.

Extra blog: My religion

For the additional blog this week, I decided to write about my religion and some issues that it’s facing today. I am a Muslim and I am a typical girl, just like the others. Often, people associate Muslims/Islam with terrorism and violence. However, being a Muslim, I find that completely wrong and what the media displays is completely false.  Islam, the word itself comes from the root of “Salaam” which is an Arabic word for peace. Thus, the meaning of Islam is peaceful submission to God’s will. Living in a Muslim family, I’ve witnessed how peaceful Islam actually is and the way that we are thought to lead life is all about attaining peace. For example, when we great each other, we say the equivalent of “peace and blessings be upon you” instead of simply saying “hi”. The Qur’an is about humanity and guides the Muslims on how to lead righteous lives. Recently, I’ve been reading the Qur’an and have discovered how it teaches us to respect other religions and teaches us to coexist. In fact, I’ve read some books about the founder of Islam, Prophet Muhammad and have learned that he assisted his Christian neighbors in building a church. Such examples are just a few, out of the many. In short, I’ve learned humanity from Islam and I respect all the humans, no matter which religion, race, or country they are from.

Being a Muslim, I am no different than other girls my age. I go out with my friends, enjoy watching movies, keep up with fashion, and play sports, just to name a few of my activities. Islam hasn’t taken away any of my rights or oppressed me, as the media shows. Although I do not wear the hijab, or the Islamic scarf, I am a moderate Muslim and believe in modesty. I pray 5 times a day, read the Qur’an at least once a week, and fast during the month of Ramadan from dawn to dusk. Islam also emphasizes other values such as helping the poor, respecting your parents/ elders, and leading humble lives.

I believe that no matter what religion or God you pray to, it's important to have a clean heart and good intentions. The more you pray the more peace you obtain. Thus, religion is a bridge between the individual and the Creator of the universe. Religion is simply a way of attaining peace and becoming closer to the God, and no religion should be judged based on the actions of its minority followers or what the media displays. I feel that Islam is a great religion, just as the other religions such as Christianity, Judaism or Hinduism; it is just not being represented properly. One day, I hope to finally see a world where all religions coexist peaceful, without discriminating or conflicting with each other, as it did once in earlier times. 

Week 11: Religion & Government

With all my respect and admiration for the world religions, I think that religion and government shouldn’t be mingled.  Each religion that we have in the world today is unique in its own way and each one of them has their own beautiful sides. Ultimately, all the religions teach the same idea. Religion assists us in understanding God and leads us into the right path; the path of humanity, peace, and good ethics. With the globalization and diversification of the world, we encounter more religions and interact with people who have different religious view than we do. Since not all of us believe in the same idea and not all of us have the same view of religion, it would be problematic if the government imposes one certain belief on its people. Thus, religion shouldn’t be a part of government because the government influences us. Since the government makes laws and regulations which we must obey, religion shouldn’t be a part of the government because in that case, the government’s decisions would be inclined toward the particular religion it’s following. America, being a free country, especially shouldn’t implement such systems because it’s a diverse country with people from different backgrounds, believes, and values. Contrary, religion plays an important role in government in most of the Middle Eastern countries. For example, in Saudi Arabia, the government follows the Sharia, which is the Islamic law, in all cases and turns to Islam for guidance in every issue. The reason why such system works in there is because most of the residents are Muslims with a very little population being followers of different religions.  But because in America, people follow different religions or not religions at all, it would be difficult to make a role for the religion within the government. Furthermore, religious freedom is a founding principle of America and therefore, religion shouldn’t be interconnected with the government.