Whenever I go to the airport, I have a routine. I check in and go through security (this is all a given) and then I find my gate so I know where it is. I go get something to eat at whatever fast-food place or restaurant that I can find. Then, I head to the nearest newsstand/ magazine store to pick up 2 or 3 magazines for the plane ride. Now you are probably thinking what is so special about my routine? And you are right, nothing really, except for the fact that I always buy at least one fashion magazine and one tabloid/gossip magazine. And you are probably thinking again, what is so special about that? And the answer is the fact that I ALWAYS buy one fashion magazine and one tabloid proves how obsessed our culture is with celebrities and their lives.
Today actors/actresses, athletes, politicians and socialites are our society’s version of royalty. We place them all on a pedestal, so when they make one mistake everyone scrutinizes them. For example, Britney Spears has been having a rough time this year. After her divorce from Kevin Federline, which had already hurt her career, she began going out with Paris Hilton and having a good time. But the media spun it that she was becoming too wild and unfit to be a mother. Then, last weekend she shaved all her hair off and is now bald. Again, she was the top story on numerous news channels, in newspapers and magazines. When Britney Spears first reached celebrity status, she was viewed as an innocent, good girl, but over the years she has shattered this image and as of right now it seems like she will never fully recover this image.
These gossip magazines and websites that follow the lives of rich and famous build the celebrities up only to tear them down, and our society loves this. I think the reason we buy these magazines and visit these websites is because we all feel better about ourselves when bad things happen to other people and do not happen to us. It gives us the reassurance that our lives are going better than we thought because people are doing worse. But recently, the obsession with celebrities has been taken to the extreme. On news channels like CNN, the breaking news and top stories are centered around celebrities, instead of focusing on world news that is important to the wellbeing of our country. Britney Spears’ baldhead has no real impact on my life even though this story overshadows national news. I think our country needs to start focusing on the important issues impacting our nation instead of what celebrity hit their assistant with a cell phone.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Should SMU Recieve the George W. Bush Presidential Library?
I remember when I first looked at SMU, people mentioned that the school might receive the George W. Bush Presidential Library partly because his wife, Laura Bush, attended the school. My parents also said that it would be a big deal for SMU to receive the library, but I guess I didn’t really realize how much of an impact this process was going to have on our school. Now, after SMU has entered serious talks with the Site Selection Committee, numerous debates have surfaced either for or against the University receiving the library.
Sixty-eight university professors have collectively voiced their opinions about having the library at SMU. They argue that Bush’s unpopularity as president and his political views would compromise the school’s academic because it would be as if the university is endorsing the unpopular political views that the president held while in office. Another aspect of the library debate that has been raised over the past month deals with Methodist groups in the United States. Some Methodist ministers have started a national petition, which can be found on the website protectsmu.org, against the library. Their argument is that they believe that “the linking of his presidency with a university bearing the Methodist name is utterly inappropriate.” While both of these groups have their rights to say what they feel, the other side of the debate is more compelling. Those in support of the Bush Institute claim that library would enhance the university by encouraging scholars and students from all over to come to SMU because the library would offer numerous resources. Before my high school college counselor told me about SMU, I had never heard of it. And when I tell many of my friends from back home where I go to school, they nod their head saying, “oh yeah, Southern Methodist University” but in actuality they have never heard of SMU either. If the university does receive the Presidential Library, then more people would have heard of what a great school SMU is.
Who is to say whether or not SMU even receives the library because there are still two other schools in the running for the Bush library: Baylor University in Waco and the University of Dallas. But without even receiving the library yet, SMU has gotten tons of publicity stemming from this debate including a segment on the Colbert Report and an aired story on ABC World News, along with numerous articles in newspapers. The Colbert Report segment and the ABC World News report ultimately voiced that this Library should be at SMU because it will enhance the university and bring worldwide recognition to SMU. It is time to put political and religious issues aside and think about what is best for the university
Sixty-eight university professors have collectively voiced their opinions about having the library at SMU. They argue that Bush’s unpopularity as president and his political views would compromise the school’s academic because it would be as if the university is endorsing the unpopular political views that the president held while in office. Another aspect of the library debate that has been raised over the past month deals with Methodist groups in the United States. Some Methodist ministers have started a national petition, which can be found on the website protectsmu.org, against the library. Their argument is that they believe that “the linking of his presidency with a university bearing the Methodist name is utterly inappropriate.” While both of these groups have their rights to say what they feel, the other side of the debate is more compelling. Those in support of the Bush Institute claim that library would enhance the university by encouraging scholars and students from all over to come to SMU because the library would offer numerous resources. Before my high school college counselor told me about SMU, I had never heard of it. And when I tell many of my friends from back home where I go to school, they nod their head saying, “oh yeah, Southern Methodist University” but in actuality they have never heard of SMU either. If the university does receive the Presidential Library, then more people would have heard of what a great school SMU is.
Who is to say whether or not SMU even receives the library because there are still two other schools in the running for the Bush library: Baylor University in Waco and the University of Dallas. But without even receiving the library yet, SMU has gotten tons of publicity stemming from this debate including a segment on the Colbert Report and an aired story on ABC World News, along with numerous articles in newspapers. The Colbert Report segment and the ABC World News report ultimately voiced that this Library should be at SMU because it will enhance the university and bring worldwide recognition to SMU. It is time to put political and religious issues aside and think about what is best for the university
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