Sugar, sugar, everywhere

I am of the opinion that American food has more sugar content than anywhere else in the world. When I studied in Germany, I found myself buying Gummi Bears and Kinder chocolate eggs every day to eat as a snack between meals of soft bread, pretzels, bratwursts, fresh eggs, cold meats and cheeses, unbelievably fresh vegetables, yoghurt, pasta, soups, and sauces. I didn't give it much thought while I was in Germany; it just tasted so good to have a handful of Gummi Bears two or three times a day, or to break open a fresh bag of wafer cookies. It was only when I came home to Colorado and immediately ceased my junk food binge that I began to realize what was going on.

I deduced that when I am living normally in America, my food has a much higher sugar content than the food I ate in Germany. I craved sugary foods in Germany because German food is not produced with any extra sugar, and much of it has no preservatives. My American diet already had all the sugar I needed, so when I came back to Colorado my stomach turned at the thought of more sugar. I surmised that German foods include less sugar because of the way German foods have always been (and continue to be) prepared.
My theory is supported by the work done by Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, who examines the contents of fast foods and of American processed foods in general.

With the onset of the early twentieth century came the advent of the fast food chain and the idea that food can be prepared on an assembly line. Connected to the assembly line "manufacturing" of food was the evolution of food into a business commodity. The better food tasted and smelled, the more colorful it was, and the more toys and other incentives were included, the better the product sold. This meant that everyone in the food industry, from merchants to growers and farmers, had to step up "production" quality of food to make it more appealing to the consumer. Merchants of fast food found that when miniscule amounts of sugar were added to their products, the consumer noticed an improved taste, resulting in higher sales of the products. Making foods sweeter proved to be a "cash cow" of sorts for merchants, whether they were selling steaks, onions, apples, or bread. Sugar added at the molecular level improved foods' taste and eventually, their sales numbers. Livestock were fed a diet higher in sugar and plants were genetically altered to contain more sugar.

By the turn of the twenty-first century, this decades-long process of sweetening, altering, and processing foods has fostered a generation of Americans whose lifelong diet has been foods enhanced to include more sugar. Yet this phenomenon has largely been ignored by the mainstream population (indeed, it would cripple the economy of the food industry and the broader American economy if people were to react all at once to the omnipresence of sugar in all their foods), who continue to be baffled by the relatively sudden outbreak of morbid obesity, heart disease, hypertension, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and other diseases linked to the presence of unhealthy sugars in the body. For me the explanation is clear: without low-sugar alternatives to the American diet, Americans will continue to suffer the consequences of a few peoples' business decisions which were at best, entrepreneurial, and at worst, hubris. Furthermore, Americans will continue to slowly kill themselves with their own ignorance and their denial of plain truths which reveal themselves in between the lines of every menu and ingredient label in America.

The recent health disaster linked to pet food and toothpaste ingredients which are imported (tainted) from China further indicate the urgency for Americans to awaken from their comatose apathy and demand that the source and content of everything ingested by American human beings and animals be offered in clear and present terms.

But even if we do know these facts with perfect clarity, as long as we are careless with our waste and exhaust, we will continue to poison ourselves with tainted water and air. The only difference is that we will finally see the scope and impact of our sloth.

No insurance! Scary!

It;s unbelievable how many Americans don't have health insurance. I am about to become one of those people, if I'm not already. And I've been reading horror stories about people who have accidents and end up being charged thousands of dollars that takes years to pay off. What kind of country do I live in where people have to pay money for being injured in an accident, just because their employer doesn't offer insurance and they don't make enough income to afford a private policy? I mean, I guess I understand the fact that we don't have free college education in America, but no free universal health care is preposterous. Whoever came up with a reason for this to be so must have also come up with the reason why we can't use electric cars instead of oil-propelled vehicles.

I'm literally afraid for my life here. By the way, I can't wait to see Michael Moore's new movie, "Sicko." I'm sure I'll have plenty more to say about insurance and health care after I've seen his film.

No Child Left Behind: Leaving all of us behind

I wrote this article about a year ago and sent it in to the local newspaper but it went unpublished. I am using it now to supplement what I am about to write:

"I believe that those who support the No Child Left Behind Act and its subsequent permutations (standardized testing, etc.) should read the Act in its entirety before voicing their support. When I read the Act, it came to my attention that one of the ways in which schools can monitor their improvement and avoid punitive measures is by noting the “changes in the percentages of students completing gifted and talented, advanced placement, and college preparatory courses” (NCLB Act, Sec. 1111: State Plans).
This presumes that the eventual goal is to see the majority of students achieving at the levels required for enrollment in said courses. It is truly daunting to think that every child can potentially be enrolled in a gifted and talented program when most require an I.Q. test with results above the average level. Since I.Q. cannot be learned or adapted, I find it difficult to understand how any teacher could alter a child’s I.Q. to then be acceptable for gifted and talented programs.
Secondly, I am curious to know how lawmakers envision the state of America’s colleges and universities if EVERY child has taken college preparatory courses with the logical intention of applying to and attending a college. I would like to know if these lawmakers would like to return to their alabaster Ivy League schools, overcrowded and crippled, lacking the resources to accommodate EVERY child.
It is irresponsible and foolhardy to create a secondary education system which aims every child towards higher education, when no changes have been made in the realms of higher education to accommodate those students. This is another example of the Bush administration creating a program that sounds optimistic and laudable in speeches and campaigns, but lacks realism. George Bush, where are all your “No Child Left Behind” high school graduates going to go to college? Personally, I am glad to be graduating college this year, so that I may avoid losing at academic musical chairs to the children you refused to leave behind."

Additionally, I feel that the No Child Left Behind Act has been successful in its attempt to urge more young people towards graduating from college. However, lawmakers have not had the foresight to see the repercussions of so many new college graduates being introduced to the job market after earning their degrees. If more children are graduating from college, that equals more workers competing for a very limited number of job openings. It hearkens back to the simple question of supply and demand; when balanced, a country or institution can run more efficiently. But when the "supply" as it were of newly educated wokers exceeds the "demand" of job vacancies, the results are, at least frustrating, and at most, tragic. George W. Bush has essentially set up a nation full of young people to postpone their failures until after college graduation. Instead of failing to reach excellence in school, they fail at acquiring the job for which they have been trained. America's rates of bankruptcy, debt, and poverty are skyrocketing. But Americans fail to see the connection between their beloved educational reform and the rapid breakdown of the country's infrastructure.

Again, we need look no further for inspiration than our near European neighbors, whose educational system allows for young people to be educated in every different type of job, not just an elite and elusive few professions. The German school system breaks down into three parts, covering the whole spectrum of potential employment, while the American system covers only one third of the jobs created by the German system. It seems, once again, we have a lot to learn, though we are too proud and patriotic to ever admit it and pursue a prudent solution.

What's Wrong?

This blog is here to inform its readers of the flaws I perceive in American society that have the potential to be solved if enough people stand up for justice and solve it.

I will discuss them one by one, although it should be noted that they all fit together within the fabric of our society and each problem affects the structure as a whole.

First on my list is something near to my heart at the moment: business and commerce. I am a recent liberal arts college graduate waiting to begin my career, but I have yet to find an institution that will hire me. So, I turn for need of survival to customer service jobs, working retail, etc. The federal government has all but eradicated the existence of workers' unions, leaving "blue-collar" commercial workers with effectively no rights and no protection by law. This means that corporations can create their own set of rules for their workers according to what will be the most economical for the company, without giving a thought to the humane rights of the workers.

The result? Workers struggle daily with tyrannical supervisors who care little for the niceties of respectfulness. Companies take advantage of their helpless workers, randomly cutting their hours or witholding paychecks. Without the protection of labor unions to keep management in check, workers are treated like second-class citizens who don't deserve the same respect given in other professions.

Yet this is a phenomenon that seems to be found only in America. American educational systems raise up "white-collar" professions as not only the ideal, but the minimum requirement for participation in the middle class. All other jobs, the janitors, the salespeople, the waitstaff, are seen as somehow failing in society. No one in America chooses to become a truck driver. It is merely something that is settled for, when one fails at becoming the quintissential doctor or lawyer.

Yet in other countries of the world, the janitor, the waiter, and the sales clerk are treated with the same professional respect given to a doctor. In Europe, the school systems are organized so that when one completes school, one has become a master in a profession, whether it be law-making or baking. There is little resentment or condescension upon "blue-collar" workers, for they have mastered their profession like everyone else in the society.

I conclude that America needs to reinstate the forceful presence of unions, making them available to all workers in every field, enabling workers to exercise their rights and giving them protection from corporate corruption. The government also should protect and encourage unionization, to ensure quality work and to help eliminate abuse and poor morale. Moreover, workers should know of their existing rights and, be they doctor or grocer, never hesitate to speak out in defense of them.

Enough Already

I am a concerned American citizen. I am tired of the apathy that runs rampant among my fellow citizens. In response to this apathy I have created a blog, in which I will post a wide spectrum of political commentary ranging from informal gripes to more formal articles and letters. My blog is named "Streets of Gold" because of the idea that fueled the imagination of so many nineteenth century immigrants: that the streets of America are paved with gold; not only the gold of wealth and prosperity, but the gold of righteousness and equality. To say the least, the shimmer of America's gold has grown dim and tarnished, and I refuse to stand idly by while the infrastructure of my country crumbles around me. I hope to inspire others to think, speak, and act according to the American ideals which we citizens should all hold dear. Read my posts, respond if you feel so inclined, argue with what I say and argue with your fellow American. We can solve many problems by debating them and resolving them in a fair, open-minded way. E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many, One.