Under the Red Dress

When I was scrolling down my Facebook newsfeed today, I saw that several of my friends had liked a page called, "Under the Red Dress". I clicked on the page, and was shocked to find one of the most interesting, beautiful and in my opinion most effective breast cancer campaigns that I have ever seen. Beth Waanga, who is an Australian mother, nurse and breast cancer survivor recently created this extremely bold campaign that vividly displays the normally unseen effects of breast cancer on a woman's body. First we see a beautiful, normal picture of Beth in a red dress, where she looks completely healthy and unharmed. As you scroll further, Beth shares nude photographs of herself after her battle with breast cancer, revealing the total bilateral mastectomy, navel reconstruction, hysterectomy scar and stretch marks from rapid weight loss to the world. I don't even know what half of those fancy medical words mean, but as they say, a picture says a thousand words. (to view the more graphic images on her page, click here)

 

Although some view these photos as inappropriate, too graphic or even sexual, I think of them as art and as an amazing way for Beth to tell her story. It is amazing that a woman would make herself completely vulnerable to the world, simply exposing herself in every way possible, in order to educate women about the dangers of this terrible disease. So brave. So selfless. So smart. Obviously Beth knew that the only possible way to inform people of the battle scars and the aftermath of having cancer was to show this body, this uniquely beautiful body, to everyone. Whether they were ready to see it or not. Although things often appear "normal" or "untouched" on the outside, but by taking a peek on the inside we can often uncover a different story. The biggest problems and challenges in life are often ones that we don't see coming or are temporarily invisible, and Beth is making a statement in that everyone should be proactive about breast cancer and take it seriously.

What are your thoughts on Beth's photo shoot? Do you think that she takes it too far? Do you think that this will be an effective way of conveying breast cancer to the world?

Is Allegiance a Convenience?

Today when I was driving around town, I stopped at a stoplight and noticed an interesting bumper sticker on the car in front of me. It read, "I pledge allegiance, not thoughtless obedience." Obviously this sticker is referring to the pledge of allegiance, a topic that I blogged about in the beginning of the year. From this sticker, it seems as if the person agrees with the meaning and thought behind the pledge, but doesn't necessarily agree with the way that it is implemented and executed within our society. He is telling the world that he is SINCERELY dedicated and loyal towards his country, and not just saying so because of routine or because other people tell him to be. I agree with him in that many children simply recite the pledge everyday out of memory, without even understanding it's meaning. However, I still think the pledge is an important tradition, and a good reminder of all the blessings that we have in this country.

All of this made me wonder why we even have a pledge in the first place. I know that the U.S. is one of the few countries that has both a national anthem and a pledge of allegiance. After some research, I discovered that the man who wrote the pledge, Francis Bellamy, desired to "instill into the minds of our American youth a love for their country and the principles on which it was founded, and create in them an ambition to carry on with the ideals which the early founders wrote into The Constitution." (from Margarette S. Miller's I Pledge Allegiance) I think that Francis' motives were solid, but how realistic are the benefits of reciting the pledge? I think that kids saying the pledge won't make or break the country's future, nor the loyalty and allegiance of it's citizens. However, it is a good way to instill patriotism into our daily lives and insure the identity of the American people.

Do you see any benefits of having a Pledge of Allegiance? If so, what benefits? Is there a better way for people to show their allegiance and patriotism to our country? Is it necessary to show allegiance to the United States in the first place?

Dude This Whole State is High

As a born and raised Coloradan, the legalization of marijuana came as a big shock to me. This winter break was the first time that we had been back after the legalization of marijuana. We were shocked to find souvenirs like these in almost every tourist shop that we entered. I think it is sad that so many people find these souvenirs funny and cool. Personally, I believe that the legalization of marijuana has changed the entire atmosphere of the state, and it makes them look tacky, unclean and uneducated.

I don't think that people realize the effects of the legalization of marijuana on teenagers. Now, marijuana is even easier for teenagers to get their hands on. Obviously minors have friends or even family members that are over the age of 18, and many of the older "friends" have no problem with dealing it to the younger kids. According to The Week, "drug addiction specialists are predicting sizable increases in marijuana addiction (in CO)".  I saw evidence to support this firsthand, after talking to several of my good friends who attend high school in Broomfield, Colorado. They say that pot is more prevalent then ever in their school. They told me that more and more of their friends are smoking.  One of my friends even told me that one of her teachers doesn't allow the kids to eat in class anymore, because tons of kids are bringing food with pot in it to school. It would be interesting to see Colorado test scores and/or grades change within the next year. With kids going as far as consuming pot in school, I am sure that many of them will have suffering grades. Personally, I think that the cons of legalizing marijuana greatly outweigh the pros, and that the legalization of marijuana was a huge mistake. Do you think that the legalization of marijuana was a good decision? Will the US legalize marijuana as a whole in the future? How will this change our culture and morals?

The Plight of an American Farmer

Over winter break this year, my family decided to take the long drive to Colorado so that we could enjoy the beautiful mountains and the way-better-than-Illinois skiing. On the drive out, between my long naps and the reading of The Crucible, we passed an interesting light display somewhere in Nebraska. Unfortunately the quality of my photo is not up to par, but I am lucky to have even got a decent picture since we were driving around 80 mph. 

Merry Christmas! EAT BEEF.

This was the Christmas wish of a certain Nebraskan farmer, that Americans would eat more beef. Why? So that people will eat HIS beef, and pay him (although very little) for it. Because of the intense competition in the American food industry, farmers actually get paid rather minimally. Farmers may be some of the most hardworking people in our country, and yet they are probably paid the least amount of money. Quite honestly, I think I haven't fully appreciated the hard work that goes into making my food. We always go to the store and try to find cheap, good quality meat without giving any thought as to how it affects the farmers who produce it. The relationship between farmers and consumers couldn't be more impersonal in our culture. Often it is the consumers and grocery store co-ops that dictate the prices farmers should sell their goods for. This is the opposite of what it should be. The principle of supply and demand should allow farmers to price their own goods independently. We are a consumer based society, and therefore everything is based on the wants of the consumer rather than that of the farmer. Why should the American farmer suffer in this way? What practices could be changed that would result in a healthy supplier-consumer relationship in agriculture? 

TSA's Deep Pockets

Almost every time that we travel somewhere by plane, my dad gets his pocket knife taken away by the TSA. After seeing this happen a ridiculous amount of times, I began to wonder what the TSA does with all of the things that they take from people. After some research, I was shocked to discover the different ways that the TSA disposes of prohibited items, from shampoo to pocket knives. According to The Week, most liquids are thrown away, and all other items may either be donated or sold. Donation is a good solution and throwing stuff out is obviously not the most resourceful or economical thing to do, but I was most taken back by the fact that the government is permitted to sell the confiscated items. After reading more into the article on The Week, I discovered that, "The TSA is prohibited by law from profiting from items surrendered to them, but other government agencies' hands aren't tied the same way. Stuff that could potentially be resold is turned over to the states... and the state of Pennsylvania says it made some $800,000 in revenue from re-selling confiscated property online between 2004 and 2012." (read full article here) To me it seems very strange that just because one part of the government can't sell confiscated items, they simply hand it over to another in order to be resold. Honestly, what difference does it make? Either way, the government is taking our stuff and making an large profit on it. Fortunately, the government doesn't sell everything that they confiscate. There are some things, like scissors, that are donated to non-profit organizations or schools.

Is it okay for our government to confiscate our property and sell it for their own benefit? Is it the American people's fault for not following the rules in the first place? What are some other actions that could be taken that would be a better use of the acquired property? Should the property simply be returned to it's owner?

Black Thanksgiving?

Black Friday 2013

In my family, we have a tradition that all of the females (my aunts, cousins and grandma) go Black Friday shopping together every year. On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we always pick up the newspaper and look through all of ads and make a giant list of the stores that we want to go to. There is sort of an underlying competition among us, we always see who can get the best deals, meaning who can get the most stuff for the least amount of money. This year however, was different. While shuffling through the newspaper, we noticed that about half of the stores were opening on Thanksgiving at about 8 pm. At first, we were all appalled. Some of the things that were being thrown around were, "That's ruining the American family time on Thanksgiving!" and "How could they start Black Friday so early?". My Grandma even suggested that we boycott. Lord knows that wasn't going to happen with the Tucker girls. Strangely enough, after all of the fuss about how terrible it was, we went shopping on Thursday night. Some of the excuses were: "Well, we can get more shopping done if we do a couple big stores tonight.", "It won't make a difference if we go today instead of tomorrow" and "It's not going to make a difference if WE boycott shopping or not, they'll still choose commercialism over quality family time". As you can see, sadly my family (myself included) gave in to the temptation. And based on the crowds on Thursday as well as Friday, I think it is safe to say that many Americans did as well. As more and more things start to take priority in our lives, I think family is one of the things that has been put on the back burner in the lives of many Americans. I also found it interesting how we all seemed to believe that we couldn't make a difference with our little "boycott". What happened to the fired up Americans from things like the Civil Rights Movement and other protests that were begging for change? Have we lost faith in the power of our people and our voice? Do you think that Americans don't want change involving our dependence on commercialism and loss of family time or is it that we just don't know how to go about doing it?

Tucker Thanksgiving Dinner 2013

Overcoming Obesity

On a recent road trip to New York, we passed a billboard that read, "Child obesity is not a decision, it is a disease." This sentence shocked me. It is a perfect example of how our society doesn't take responsibility for anything anymore. We are always blaming our problems on other people, things or even disorders. I do agree that genetics might play some role in childhood obesity, but I think that diet and lifestyles are a much larger factor regarding this condition.

According to the Harvard School of Public Health, "Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates have tripled in the U.S., and today, the country has some of the highest obesity rates in the world: one out of six children is obese,". (read complete article here) Personally, I find it hard to believe that obesity is a disease if Americans are primarily the ones "catching it". The American diet coupled with the lack of exercise has dramatically changed in the last decades, and because of this I think that childhood obesity rates have skyrocketed. Nowadays, due to both parents working or parents not knowing how to cook, many people eat the majority of their meals at restaurants. In addition, many Americans just don't eat very healthy.

 

The article also talks about the direct correlation between wealth and weight worldwide. When there is an abundance of money and moreover food, people tend to eat it. I do not understand how obesity could be considered a disease if people simply don't have the discipline to stop giving their kids so much food. I believe that we will only see an end to childhood obesity when Americans choose to make a healthy lifestyle and diet a priority in their homes.