Percentage of teen pregnancies:
Over forty percent of adolescents will become pregnant before reaching age twenty(41 percent of whites and 63 percent of nonwhites). By age 18, one in four young women(24 percent) will have a pregnancy.
Of the total number of teen pregnancies, approximately half occur with eighteen & nineteen years old.
The United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate of any developed country. It is twice as high as England, France & Canada, three times as high as Sweden and four times as high as The Netherlands
(http://www.teenshelter.org/data.htm)
Average age of first childbirth:
The average age of childbirth in the U.S. is 24.9 years old.
(http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_age_of_wom_at_fir_chi-health-age-women-first-childbirth)
Percentage of abortions:
INCIDENCE OF ABORTION
• Nearly half of pregnancies among American women are unintended, and four in 10 of these are terminated by abortion. Twenty-two percent of all pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion.
• Forty percent of pregnancies among white women, 69% among blacks and 54% among Hispanics are unintended.
• In 2005, 1.21 million abortions were performed, down from 1.31 million in 2000. From 1973 through 2005, more than 45 million legal abortions occurred.
• Each year, about two percent of women aged 15-44 have an abortion; 47% of them have had at least one previous abortion.
(http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html)
Percentage of male circumcision:
Whites, about 80% , and blacks about 45%. In some hospitals, more than 90 percent of boys were circumcised.
(http://www.cirp.org/library/statistics/USA/)
Percentage of maternal deaths:
The historical level of maternal deaths is probably around 1 in 100 births. Mortality rates reached horrible proportions in maternity institutions in the 1800s, sometimes climbing to 40 percent of birth giving women. At the beginning of the 1900s, maternal death rates were around 1 in 100 for live births. The number today in the U.S. is 11 in 100,000, a decline by orders of magnitude.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maternal_mortality#Maternal_death_rates_in_the_20th_century)
Percentage of pregnant women with STDs:
About 25 to 30 percent of pregnant women have the herpes virus. In the U.S., as many as 16 percent of pregnant woman have Bacterial Vaginosis (BV). An estimated 2.8 million Americans are infected with Chlamydia each year -- including 200,000 pregnant women. Estimated to affect 80,000 pregnant women each year, trichomoniasis is the most common STD among women.
(http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-body/complications/pregnancy-and-stds/?page=1)
Percentage of premature births:
Some 12.3 percent of all babies – 499,008 infants -- were born prematurely (less than 37 weeks gestation) in 2003, according to the report released by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). That's up from 12.1 percent (or about 480,000 babies) in 2002 – and an increase of more than 30 percent since the government began tracking premature births in 1981. The prematurity rate was 9.4 in 1981; it has increased every year since then except for slight dips in 1992 and 2000.
(http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/002997.html)
Percentage of c-section births:
Nearly three in 10 babies born in the United States are now delivered by C-section.
(http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5311258)
According to the Public Citizen Health Research Group, certified nurse-midwives have a cesarean section rate of 11.6 percent compared with a national average of 23.3 percent.
(http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=51188)
Percentage of adoption:
In the 1990s, there are approximately 120,000 adoptions of children each year. This number has remained fairly constant in the 1990s, and is still relatively proportionate to population size in the U.S.
104,000 children were adopted in 1986, 53,000 of whom were related adoptions and 51,000 of whom were unrelated. In addition, approximately 10,000 children were adopted from abroad, bringing the total number of unrelated adoptions to 61,000. (Bachrach, London, Maza, 1991)
The estimated total number of adoptions has ranged from a low of 50,000 in 1944 to a high of 175,000 in 1970. The number of adoptions by unrelated petitioners declined from a high of 89,200 in 1970 to 47,700 in 1975, while the number of adoptions by related petitioners remained constant between 81,000 and 89,000 during this period.
(http://statistics.adoption.com/information/adoption-statistics-numbers-trends.html)
Most fertile race in the U.S.:
Could not find answer.
Percentage of stillbirths:
Stillbirth is a relatively common, but often random, occurrence. The mean stillbirth rate in the U.S. is approximately 1 in 115 births, which is roughly 26,000 stillbirths each year, or on an average one every 20 minutes.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stillbirth#Prevalence)
Percentage of natural births:
Midwives attend 6 percent of all births in the United States.
Of midwife-attended births, 95 percent occur in hospitals, 3 percent occur in birth centers, and 1 percent occur in private homes.
According to the World Health Organization, 90 to 95 percent of the entire world's births are normal.
(http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=51188)
Average time that baby stays in hospital:
Depends on mother and wellness of the baby. Usually, vaginal births stay for 2 days and c-sections stay for 3 days. Premature babies stay much longer. If it was a great birth and there were no problems, the family went home a few hours to 24 hours after birth.
(http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090130203907AACwM33)
Most of the questions i answered were based on the wellness of the child and mother. I was somewhat surprised to find the statistics to the answers. The numbers are pretty high for the negative questions such as teen pregnancies, abortions and premature babies. As for teen pregnancies, i deem it a negative factor because i do not think teenagers should be having children. Not even if they say they are totally ready. In my opinion, i think women should at least finish school and find and a stable job before having children. A teenager cannot achieve both those things at such a young age. I saw an episode of the Tyra Banks Show once and it was on the topic of of teenagers starting families. I am all for the idea of teenagers falling in love and getting married and what not but i don't think they should be having children. They have their whole lives ahead of them and i don't think they should jump the gun in life. Tyra interviewed a young couple of late teens with 2 children and they said they hated having started a family so soon. They were under extreme pressure and stress on how to support the premature family that they have created.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
What Medical Professions Are Due to Pregnant Women?
What percentage of people die after giving birth?
What type of instruments are used during childbirth?
What happens to the baby after birth?
What are the most common drugs used during, before and after pregnancy?
What percent of women get diabetes during pregnancy?
When do doctors determine a c-section is necessary?
How do they treat pregnant women that give birth to babies with STDs?
What percent of women abort their children?
what is the abortion process?
How do abortions affect women in the long run?
How many people are actually needed for births?
What complications arise from pregnancy/ labor?
What percentage of male babies are circumcised?
Can doctors force you to have an abortion if the child is disabled?
If the baby is a hermathodite (i tried too look up the spelling on dictionary.com but i couldn't find the right word that fit the definition), can the doctor choose the sex?
Can the baby be taken away from the mother right after birth if the mother has taken non prescribed drugs during the pregnancy?
What happens to the doctor when there is a malpractice?
How much does the doctor/ midwife get paid per birth?
How much insurance do doctors get for malpractice lawsuits?
What happens when the mother can't pay for the medical bills?
What type of instruments are used during childbirth?
What happens to the baby after birth?
What are the most common drugs used during, before and after pregnancy?
What percent of women get diabetes during pregnancy?
When do doctors determine a c-section is necessary?
How do they treat pregnant women that give birth to babies with STDs?
What percent of women abort their children?
what is the abortion process?
How do abortions affect women in the long run?
How many people are actually needed for births?
What complications arise from pregnancy/ labor?
What percentage of male babies are circumcised?
Can doctors force you to have an abortion if the child is disabled?
If the baby is a hermathodite (i tried too look up the spelling on dictionary.com but i couldn't find the right word that fit the definition), can the doctor choose the sex?
Can the baby be taken away from the mother right after birth if the mother has taken non prescribed drugs during the pregnancy?
What happens to the doctor when there is a malpractice?
How much does the doctor/ midwife get paid per birth?
How much insurance do doctors get for malpractice lawsuits?
What happens when the mother can't pay for the medical bills?
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Birth Stories
Birth Stories
(Mom)
Me: Hospital birth. (She, once again, started off by saying that I didn’t have a birth story, she picked me up off the street.) A hospital called Downtown Hospital now it’s NYU Bickman or something like that. (It was hard to ask her the questions and communicate with her smoothly with everything I wanted to ask because I had to do everything in Chinese and not everything translates easily from English to Chinese.) Car service. She was still working in the factory back then with no maternity leave.
7 pounds 12 ounces September 13th, 1992 approximately 12:30PM Third child.
How was it?
A big stomach ache.
Worst part?
Did not dislike anything. Doctors and nurses treated her good. She had an Asian doctor.
Expected?
Natural birth. It was as expected because I am her third child.
Best part?
Waited fro 5 hours in hospital before I was born. Wanted me out of her stomach ASAP. So 5 hours was “regular time” for her so she was glad I came out “fast.” My dad was with her, it was his choice to wait outside of the room but she had no preference. There was no one else at the hospital.
Technology?
She had a single epidural shot.
Process?
The process of the birth was fine, she doesn’t think anything could be changed, she deemed it a normal birth.
Sister: Hospital birth. Sat on the back of a bike to go to the hospital in China. She was still working on the farms while pregnant. Hard labor. Poor country-side. Small village.
Approximately 7 pounds October 10th, 1977 approximately 12:30PM First child.
How was it?
A big stomach ache.
Worst part?
No dislike. Doctors were good. Hospital was good.
Expected?
Natural birth. Painful. Thought it was going to be an immediate birth. 6 hours in hospital before birth.
Best part?
Nice doctors. My aunt was with her (an aunt in china whom I’ve never met.) She waited outside of the room; the hospital did not allow people to be inside with my mom. There was no one else at the hospital.
Technology?
There was no technology what so ever in a small village in China. No epidural. VERY painful.
Process?
She wouldn’t have wanted an epidural shot to make things better.
Brother: Same hospital as my sister. Same bike situation. Same working status.
Approximately 8 pounds July 6th, 1979 12:55PM
How was it?
A big stomach ache.
Worst part?
No dislike. Good help.
Expected?
Natural birth. Things went as expected.
Best part?
Waited for 5 hours, not too long. Good doctor.
Technology?
No technology, no epidural = great pain.
Process?
The epidural shot would have mad things run smoother.
I don’t have a fourth birth story but I know someone who is currently pregnant and she was way easier to communicate with since we were speak English.
My pregnant sister in law: 2 months
How does it feel?
She doesn’t feel alienated yet, but it’s possible for her to feel alienated later on in the pregnancy when her stomach gets bigger and things get harder. She’s glad to be pregnant. Her taste buds change to the likes and dislikes of the baby.
Worst part?
The worst part for her is waiting. She hates waiting. She is currently waiting for all the tests to come back to make sure everything is ok.
Expectations?
She expects the pregnancy to get harder, uncomfortable and a little stressful. She expects to drive herself to the hospital all through the pain. (I was extremely surprised; I don’t think it’s safe. The due should be before school starts again for me so I’m planning on getting my permit soon so I can stay home with her when it’s late in the pregnancy. Haha I also thought to myself, “dam this girl got guts but when the time comes I don’t think she would be able to bring herself to the hospital.”) She expects it to be a long process when she gets to the hospital. Nurses will admit her right away and how long she stays depends on how her contractions (or rushes) are. When she is dues to give birth, she expects someone to help her right away. She hopes that her regular doctor that she is seeing now for the pregnancy will be there but if not, any doctor will do as long as they get the baby out healthy. She definitely expects her husband (my brother) to be in the room with her but she does not want anyone else to be at the hospital because it will put more stress on her with people she knows around.
(Mom)
Me: Hospital birth. (She, once again, started off by saying that I didn’t have a birth story, she picked me up off the street.) A hospital called Downtown Hospital now it’s NYU Bickman or something like that. (It was hard to ask her the questions and communicate with her smoothly with everything I wanted to ask because I had to do everything in Chinese and not everything translates easily from English to Chinese.) Car service. She was still working in the factory back then with no maternity leave.
7 pounds 12 ounces September 13th, 1992 approximately 12:30PM Third child.
How was it?
A big stomach ache.
Worst part?
Did not dislike anything. Doctors and nurses treated her good. She had an Asian doctor.
Expected?
Natural birth. It was as expected because I am her third child.
Best part?
Waited fro 5 hours in hospital before I was born. Wanted me out of her stomach ASAP. So 5 hours was “regular time” for her so she was glad I came out “fast.” My dad was with her, it was his choice to wait outside of the room but she had no preference. There was no one else at the hospital.
Technology?
She had a single epidural shot.
Process?
The process of the birth was fine, she doesn’t think anything could be changed, she deemed it a normal birth.
Sister: Hospital birth. Sat on the back of a bike to go to the hospital in China. She was still working on the farms while pregnant. Hard labor. Poor country-side. Small village.
Approximately 7 pounds October 10th, 1977 approximately 12:30PM First child.
How was it?
A big stomach ache.
Worst part?
No dislike. Doctors were good. Hospital was good.
Expected?
Natural birth. Painful. Thought it was going to be an immediate birth. 6 hours in hospital before birth.
Best part?
Nice doctors. My aunt was with her (an aunt in china whom I’ve never met.) She waited outside of the room; the hospital did not allow people to be inside with my mom. There was no one else at the hospital.
Technology?
There was no technology what so ever in a small village in China. No epidural. VERY painful.
Process?
She wouldn’t have wanted an epidural shot to make things better.
Brother: Same hospital as my sister. Same bike situation. Same working status.
Approximately 8 pounds July 6th, 1979 12:55PM
How was it?
A big stomach ache.
Worst part?
No dislike. Good help.
Expected?
Natural birth. Things went as expected.
Best part?
Waited for 5 hours, not too long. Good doctor.
Technology?
No technology, no epidural = great pain.
Process?
The epidural shot would have mad things run smoother.
I don’t have a fourth birth story but I know someone who is currently pregnant and she was way easier to communicate with since we were speak English.
My pregnant sister in law: 2 months
How does it feel?
She doesn’t feel alienated yet, but it’s possible for her to feel alienated later on in the pregnancy when her stomach gets bigger and things get harder. She’s glad to be pregnant. Her taste buds change to the likes and dislikes of the baby.
Worst part?
The worst part for her is waiting. She hates waiting. She is currently waiting for all the tests to come back to make sure everything is ok.
Expectations?
She expects the pregnancy to get harder, uncomfortable and a little stressful. She expects to drive herself to the hospital all through the pain. (I was extremely surprised; I don’t think it’s safe. The due should be before school starts again for me so I’m planning on getting my permit soon so I can stay home with her when it’s late in the pregnancy. Haha I also thought to myself, “dam this girl got guts but when the time comes I don’t think she would be able to bring herself to the hospital.”) She expects it to be a long process when she gets to the hospital. Nurses will admit her right away and how long she stays depends on how her contractions (or rushes) are. When she is dues to give birth, she expects someone to help her right away. She hopes that her regular doctor that she is seeing now for the pregnancy will be there but if not, any doctor will do as long as they get the baby out healthy. She definitely expects her husband (my brother) to be in the room with her but she does not want anyone else to be at the hospital because it will put more stress on her with people she knows around.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
The Idea of Birth
As of right now I think the idea of birth is disgusting. It seems like it's a lot of work and it sounds extremely painful. Being on the woman end of the whole pregnancy shenanigans I do not think I will be willing to have children until I am truly ready for it. I want to make sure that I am finished with school, have a steady job and a husband before I decide to have children. I want to be sure that I am sure that I want to and am ready to bring a helpless child into a chaotic world. I do not want to have to bring a child into the world and not be able to care for it. As of right now, RIGHT THIS SECOND, i have a one year old nephew pulling at my arm trying to get me to go with him somewhere. Hes starting to whine and pull harder. He brought me to the living room and let go. From that little distraction there I don't think I can give a child all the attention it needs. I do not feel that i have the patience for that. Maybe later, way later, in my life but not anytime soon. My sister in law is pregnant right now. Its only been 2 months and she can't stand it. She never has an appetite and is very moody and nauseous a lot. I don't think I can deal with that for a long while neither haha. I love to eat. Well my final thought on birth as of right now is that it's a nasty process and i definitely do not see it as a miracle of life. There is a lot of science behind it.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
So I've Been Thinking...
My friend Dylan and I were engaged in a conversation on AIM where he asked me how my weekend was going and then we came the subject of Chinese New Year and how it should be a holiday. I proposed that i write a letter and here is a short snippet of our conversation:
brooklynslider (4:14:37 PM):wat u gonna say
LaZI sH o r T iE (4:21:04 PM): well mr.obama
LaZI sH o r T iE (4:21:21 PM): since you yourself is a man of mixed race
LaZI sH o r T iE (4:21:45 PM): i would suppose that you have consideration for other races unlike white suppremesists
LaZI sH o r T iE (4:22:16 PM): therefore i assume that you also have consideration for the religions of other races
LaZI sH o r T iE (4:23:12 PM): on that note i am writing to you as an asian teenager that thinks it is only fair that chinese new year be also made into a holiday where everyone gets the day off
LaZI sH o r T iE (4:24:05 PM): as i mentioned before, i am an asian teenager and i find it hard to catch up in school sometimes because i have to miss it for the traditional celebration of chinese new year with my family
LaZI sH o r T iE (4:25:29 PM): i also have an older brother who deems it difficult to be at work while the majority of his family members are all celebrating and he has to miss out on this important event because he does not have a job that offers numerous sick days
LaZI sH o r T iE (4:27:01 PM): so in this letter, i request, of you, mr.obama, that you make chinse new year a national holiday where the asian popularity does not have to choose between asian traditions and the traditions of the american way of life
brooklynslider (4:27:17 PM): thats really well written
LaZI sH o r T iE (4:27:22 PM): why thank you
I posted this because i found it an important part of the way of life of an Asian American teenager. I also found this an important issue that the US government fails to address. That just goes to show how the US government seems to be of a multiracial population but in reality it is mostly white supremacists who run things in America.
I was watching the Miss America pageant the other night and one of the competitors was asked the question "Since we have an African American man as our new president, do you think that the world has changed in terms of racism?" I do not feel that she answered the question adequately. I think she avoided the subject of the question as a whole.
I, on the other hand, think i can answer that question somewhat.
I do not think racism has changed. I do not think it will change. Sure we have an African American president but in terms of racism as a whole i think the blacks and the whites are equally racist. Caucasians think they have superiority because African Americans were slaves in the past and because they have colored skin. But now i think the roles may change a little bit. African Americans will think that they have the upper hand now that we have an African American president. They do not seem to realize or acknowledge that Obama is of MIXED RACE. He is half white and half black. For all we know he could be another white supremacists added to society. He does agree with some things that bush has had said.
I just wanted to shared my thoughts to someone that would actually care of the matter and on blogger, there has got to be someone who cares.
What I'm trying to say is that in the end RACISM DOES NOT CHANGE. There will always be racism in the world. There is no stopping it.
Well i wanted to write more but i need to attended an important Chinese new years eve dinner i might write more later.
brooklynslider (4:14:37 PM):wat u gonna say
LaZI sH o r T iE (4:21:04 PM): well mr.obama
LaZI sH o r T iE (4:21:21 PM): since you yourself is a man of mixed race
LaZI sH o r T iE (4:21:45 PM): i would suppose that you have consideration for other races unlike white suppremesists
LaZI sH o r T iE (4:22:16 PM): therefore i assume that you also have consideration for the religions of other races
LaZI sH o r T iE (4:23:12 PM): on that note i am writing to you as an asian teenager that thinks it is only fair that chinese new year be also made into a holiday where everyone gets the day off
LaZI sH o r T iE (4:24:05 PM): as i mentioned before, i am an asian teenager and i find it hard to catch up in school sometimes because i have to miss it for the traditional celebration of chinese new year with my family
LaZI sH o r T iE (4:25:29 PM): i also have an older brother who deems it difficult to be at work while the majority of his family members are all celebrating and he has to miss out on this important event because he does not have a job that offers numerous sick days
LaZI sH o r T iE (4:27:01 PM): so in this letter, i request, of you, mr.obama, that you make chinse new year a national holiday where the asian popularity does not have to choose between asian traditions and the traditions of the american way of life
brooklynslider (4:27:17 PM): thats really well written
LaZI sH o r T iE (4:27:22 PM): why thank you
I posted this because i found it an important part of the way of life of an Asian American teenager. I also found this an important issue that the US government fails to address. That just goes to show how the US government seems to be of a multiracial population but in reality it is mostly white supremacists who run things in America.
I was watching the Miss America pageant the other night and one of the competitors was asked the question "Since we have an African American man as our new president, do you think that the world has changed in terms of racism?" I do not feel that she answered the question adequately. I think she avoided the subject of the question as a whole.
I, on the other hand, think i can answer that question somewhat.
I do not think racism has changed. I do not think it will change. Sure we have an African American president but in terms of racism as a whole i think the blacks and the whites are equally racist. Caucasians think they have superiority because African Americans were slaves in the past and because they have colored skin. But now i think the roles may change a little bit. African Americans will think that they have the upper hand now that we have an African American president. They do not seem to realize or acknowledge that Obama is of MIXED RACE. He is half white and half black. For all we know he could be another white supremacists added to society. He does agree with some things that bush has had said.
I just wanted to shared my thoughts to someone that would actually care of the matter and on blogger, there has got to be someone who cares.
What I'm trying to say is that in the end RACISM DOES NOT CHANGE. There will always be racism in the world. There is no stopping it.
Well i wanted to write more but i need to attended an important Chinese new years eve dinner i might write more later.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Obama’s Inauguration Assignment
First off, let me start by saying, that speech is A LOT longer in words than it was on the tele.
Second, I want to point out something that some others may not have noticed but I thought was interesting. Since Bush’s term ended, Biden was sworn into the white house BEFORE Obama was. Doesn’t that mean that Biden was president for about 10 minutes while the orchestra was playing?
Now about the inauguration of Barrack Obama, I thought it was generally a nice ceremony. When I was watching it, I wasn’t too sure about what to expect because I’m sure that there are many attacks planned against Obama because it’s such a big change. I also thought that there was way too much money spent to inaugurate the president of the United States of America considering the horrible economy that we have right now. All the money spent on the ceremony could have been used for much more useful things such as feeding the starving in third world countries or helping the poor in the USA.
“We will not apologize for our way of life.” – B. H. Obama
“The American way of life is non-negotiable.” – G.W. Bush
Just this second, I searched up Bush’s inaugural address to compare it to Obama’s and when I clicked on the first link on google, I found it funny that it said “The page you requested wasn't found at this location. The Obama Administration has created a brand new White House website, and it's possible that the page you were looking for has been moved.” I found this funny because Obama’s administration immediately changed the website and moved Bush’s speech somewhere else. The first thought I had was, “wow it seems as though Obama’s erasing what Bush did during his terms as president.”
Well I continued searching and realized that Bush had two inaugural addresses and I didn’t want to read both of them so I will just compare the two quotes.
Both Bush and Obama mentioned something about the AWOL. They both seem to say that the AWOL is a set thing. We cannot change it. Bush said it is “non-negotiable” which means that the AWOL is the way it is; we cannot change what has been set. As for Obama, he said that we would not apologize for our life which suggests that we cannot apologize for what we have done in the past. We will not apologize for the way we live because it is the way we live. It is our way of life, we cannot change it. In a way Bush and Obama have the same views. Many people see Obama as “better” because he is different, he is of mixed race. Many people do not like Bush because he has led us through many troubles such as war in Iraq and this horrible economy that we seem to be stuck in. But the thing is, how do we know that Obama will not lead us into the same turmoil? How do we know how different he is? I guess that is what we can expect every time we elect a new president. Expect them to be great leaders and to lead us into greatness and prosperity.
I’m not too into politics; they do not interest me much. I’m more of a human rights person, meaning that I see everyone the same and that discrimination is wrong and equal rights and all that. I personally think it has a lot to do with common sense. Why do people have to be racist? What makes me, an Asian, so much different from a Caucasian person? I kind of want to know what goes on in a racist’s head. What do they think about? What makes them hate another race? Why do they have such discrimination against another HUMAN BEING? Through any kinds of discrimination, in the end everyone is a human being.
I honesty don’t have much to say about Obama’s inauguration itself. I’m not too excited that we have a black president now because I don’t see it as much different. I see Obama as another human being and just the same as any other candidate but I know for a fact that African Americans will look at white supremacists different and vice versa. The minority will have higher hopes of achieving the same dream as Obama did and blah blah blah blah. Of course we all know these facts already and I am just stating the obvious.
Second, I want to point out something that some others may not have noticed but I thought was interesting. Since Bush’s term ended, Biden was sworn into the white house BEFORE Obama was. Doesn’t that mean that Biden was president for about 10 minutes while the orchestra was playing?
Now about the inauguration of Barrack Obama, I thought it was generally a nice ceremony. When I was watching it, I wasn’t too sure about what to expect because I’m sure that there are many attacks planned against Obama because it’s such a big change. I also thought that there was way too much money spent to inaugurate the president of the United States of America considering the horrible economy that we have right now. All the money spent on the ceremony could have been used for much more useful things such as feeding the starving in third world countries or helping the poor in the USA.
“We will not apologize for our way of life.” – B. H. Obama
“The American way of life is non-negotiable.” – G.W. Bush
Just this second, I searched up Bush’s inaugural address to compare it to Obama’s and when I clicked on the first link on google, I found it funny that it said “The page you requested wasn't found at this location. The Obama Administration has created a brand new White House website, and it's possible that the page you were looking for has been moved.” I found this funny because Obama’s administration immediately changed the website and moved Bush’s speech somewhere else. The first thought I had was, “wow it seems as though Obama’s erasing what Bush did during his terms as president.”
Well I continued searching and realized that Bush had two inaugural addresses and I didn’t want to read both of them so I will just compare the two quotes.
Both Bush and Obama mentioned something about the AWOL. They both seem to say that the AWOL is a set thing. We cannot change it. Bush said it is “non-negotiable” which means that the AWOL is the way it is; we cannot change what has been set. As for Obama, he said that we would not apologize for our life which suggests that we cannot apologize for what we have done in the past. We will not apologize for the way we live because it is the way we live. It is our way of life, we cannot change it. In a way Bush and Obama have the same views. Many people see Obama as “better” because he is different, he is of mixed race. Many people do not like Bush because he has led us through many troubles such as war in Iraq and this horrible economy that we seem to be stuck in. But the thing is, how do we know that Obama will not lead us into the same turmoil? How do we know how different he is? I guess that is what we can expect every time we elect a new president. Expect them to be great leaders and to lead us into greatness and prosperity.
I’m not too into politics; they do not interest me much. I’m more of a human rights person, meaning that I see everyone the same and that discrimination is wrong and equal rights and all that. I personally think it has a lot to do with common sense. Why do people have to be racist? What makes me, an Asian, so much different from a Caucasian person? I kind of want to know what goes on in a racist’s head. What do they think about? What makes them hate another race? Why do they have such discrimination against another HUMAN BEING? Through any kinds of discrimination, in the end everyone is a human being.
I honesty don’t have much to say about Obama’s inauguration itself. I’m not too excited that we have a black president now because I don’t see it as much different. I see Obama as another human being and just the same as any other candidate but I know for a fact that African Americans will look at white supremacists different and vice versa. The minority will have higher hopes of achieving the same dream as Obama did and blah blah blah blah. Of course we all know these facts already and I am just stating the obvious.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Winter Holidays
Christmas
I spent Christmas with my family. Everyone was home and we all opened our presents at 12:00am on Christmas day. On Christmas Eve we had a “special” dinner meaning we had a dinner that we wouldn’t have on a normal basis. My sister came over with her family and my dad came home from work, everyone had a good time and enjoyed themselves. On Christmas day, everyone just relaxed but my day had to go back to work in the morning and my sister left the night before after opening presents.
In comparison to the AWOL, my family seems like we came pretty close. We had a special dinner and we opened presents with the family all gathered around in the living room with a Christmas special movie displayed on the tv. Though we are an Asian family and will never truly have an AWOL due to so many traditions, we still celebrate American holidays like people see on tv.
New Years
My family did not celebrate new years together. My brother and sister in law went to a party at a friend’s house, my mom went to her friend’s house and I went to my friend’s house after hanging out with a bunch of friends. My friends and I went to a party, had fun, celebrated new years and went home.
Separately, I’d say my family had an AWOL new years but as a family, we did not sit at home while I watch them get drunk and count down till the new years and all cheered at the tv of which we felt was our connection to everyone else on the east coast.
I spent Christmas with my family. Everyone was home and we all opened our presents at 12:00am on Christmas day. On Christmas Eve we had a “special” dinner meaning we had a dinner that we wouldn’t have on a normal basis. My sister came over with her family and my dad came home from work, everyone had a good time and enjoyed themselves. On Christmas day, everyone just relaxed but my day had to go back to work in the morning and my sister left the night before after opening presents.
In comparison to the AWOL, my family seems like we came pretty close. We had a special dinner and we opened presents with the family all gathered around in the living room with a Christmas special movie displayed on the tv. Though we are an Asian family and will never truly have an AWOL due to so many traditions, we still celebrate American holidays like people see on tv.
New Years
My family did not celebrate new years together. My brother and sister in law went to a party at a friend’s house, my mom went to her friend’s house and I went to my friend’s house after hanging out with a bunch of friends. My friends and I went to a party, had fun, celebrated new years and went home.
Separately, I’d say my family had an AWOL new years but as a family, we did not sit at home while I watch them get drunk and count down till the new years and all cheered at the tv of which we felt was our connection to everyone else on the east coast.
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