Conventional agriculture, farming with petroleum based fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides, and utilizing monocropping, should be banned in the United States. A return to organic agriculture, which prohibits the use of petroleum based fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides and encourages crop rotation will protect our nation’s arable land, increase the nutritional value of our food, and dramatically reduce our food’s toxicity.
We must protect our nation’s arable land in order to protect our food supply for future generations. With approximately 18 to 19 percent of America’s land being arable, we have the world’s most abundant farming resources (CIA World Factbook, ). Even though agriculturally viable resources are obviously of great economic value to the entire nation, our nation’s soil is treated as though it were disposable. Pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and petroleum-based fertilizers strip the soil of nutrients and kill beneficial organisms such as earthworms, predatory insects, and microorganisms (Ellis and Bradbury, 5). In order to grow anything in such chemical laden soil, more chemicals are added. After this process strips the land of its agricultural viability, conventional agribusiness moves on, acquiring more farmland. Then the process is repeated, rendering more land barren. By comparison, organic farming replenishes the soil, through crop rotation, natural fertilizers and the use of time honored natural techniques.
As a last resort, organic farmers do use pesticides; however, organic farmers use pesticides that are plant based, these bio-chemicals naturally, quickly decompose. In contrast, conventional agriculture uses a vast array of chemicals, most of them synthetic. “There are over 600 pesticides used in the United States” (Colbert 12). Many of these chemicals are known to last for hundreds or thousands of years before breaking down, and they are toxic to both humans and animals. The degree of exposure to these chemicals directly affects one’s risk of developing numerous cancers, especially cancer of the brain, prostate cancer, leukemia, and lymphoma. (Colbert 12)
If growing nutrient deficient, chemical laden food wasn’t bad enough, conventional agriculture has gone even further, genetically modifying our food to make it easier to grow, but at an even higher cost to the consumer’s health.“ The National Academy of Sciences released a report stating that genetically engineered products introduce new allergens, toxins, disruptive chemicals and unknown protein combinations into our bodies.” “Every day we make life or death decisions, decisions about what we eat. This may sound melodramatic but it’s true.” (Superfoods RX)
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
American Natives welcomed European settlers; generously helping the newcomers. Without the help of our native benefactors the first settlers would have been unlikely to survive.
“He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.”-Edmund Burke. America still benefited from Native American culture, despite our best efforts to utterly annihilate the Native American’s way of life. Before extended battles with Native Americans, Americans had thought the only way to engage an enemy in battle was head on, marching bravely, having guys play music, and take turns shooting each other face to face.
“Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum."-Vegetius “If you want peace, prepare for war”
Without the help of our native benefactors the first settlers would have been unlikely to survive. Gratitude it seems was not a cultural value emphasized by the Puritans.
To shake another man’s hand you must extend what is most likely your weapon hand, just to show you do not at that moment have a weapon at the ready. Literally bred through centuries of increasingly advanced warfare a small brave group set out to colonize the “unknown” world.
Things as we all know can be done the right way, the wrong way, the hard way or the smart way.
Populated with over 500 nations of native Americans-----
Genetically the native Americans were one people. As is typical of human nature more often than not they fought amongst themselves. But their circumstances were different than their European counterparts. Land being plentiful should conflicts arise between different tribes natives would often migrate rather than fight amongst themselves.
The first and most influential culture in America were the Puritans a European group. The puritans had some very unique ideas about how life should be lived. Our great nation was founded by bigoted, ethnocentric ruthless hypocrites. A people fleeing religious persecution found a new home wherein they would commit atrocities far beyond the oppression they suffered in Europe. Culture tends to be a mixed bag of good and bad. Some of our customs hold us back and some lift us up.
In Europe they say we work so we can live. You Americans live to work.
Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. At least that is what the Puritans believed, all of the first Americans had to compete with the Puritan’s dedication to hard work. Competition made us better and it still does today. Work ethics vary widely from culture to culture and most Europeans don’t take to work with religious devotion.
“He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.”-Edmund Burke. America still benefited from Native American culture, despite our best efforts to utterly annihilate the Native American’s way of life. Before extended battles with Native Americans, Americans had thought the only way to engage an enemy in battle was head on, marching bravely, having guys play music, and take turns shooting each other face to face.
“Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum."-Vegetius “If you want peace, prepare for war”
Without the help of our native benefactors the first settlers would have been unlikely to survive. Gratitude it seems was not a cultural value emphasized by the Puritans.
To shake another man’s hand you must extend what is most likely your weapon hand, just to show you do not at that moment have a weapon at the ready. Literally bred through centuries of increasingly advanced warfare a small brave group set out to colonize the “unknown” world.
Things as we all know can be done the right way, the wrong way, the hard way or the smart way.
Populated with over 500 nations of native Americans-----
Genetically the native Americans were one people. As is typical of human nature more often than not they fought amongst themselves. But their circumstances were different than their European counterparts. Land being plentiful should conflicts arise between different tribes natives would often migrate rather than fight amongst themselves.
The first and most influential culture in America were the Puritans a European group. The puritans had some very unique ideas about how life should be lived. Our great nation was founded by bigoted, ethnocentric ruthless hypocrites. A people fleeing religious persecution found a new home wherein they would commit atrocities far beyond the oppression they suffered in Europe. Culture tends to be a mixed bag of good and bad. Some of our customs hold us back and some lift us up.
In Europe they say we work so we can live. You Americans live to work.
Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. At least that is what the Puritans believed, all of the first Americans had to compete with the Puritan’s dedication to hard work. Competition made us better and it still does today. Work ethics vary widely from culture to culture and most Europeans don’t take to work with religious devotion.
Typically, parents apsire to raise their chidren to have some class or to be cultured. “Cultured” is the “improvement of the mind, tastes and manners through careful training.”-Webster’s. In a peaceful world values like pacifism and cooperation would always be highly beneficial. Some societies value peace so passionately that they neglect preparation for any other possible condition save peace befalling them. Frequently these such passionately peaceful people are culturally blessed. Such cultures, which could potentially show us better ways of doing all sorts of things are usually rendered extinct by the prejudical, aggressive tendencies of rival societies.
Possesing a distinctly different sub-culture the Puritans chose to leave Europe as an alternative to oppression. America’s first settlers encountered a culturally diverse indigenous population of over 550 nations and tribes inhabiting North America. They were estimated to have been between 5 to 30 million indigenous inhabitants. The Puritans fled bigotry and intolerance to make a new life in America. The Puritans strove for high ideals to be sure, but they were too hypocritical to treat others as they would like to have been treated.
Our knowledge of America’s original population is incomplete, because then like now, we didn’t sufficiently prioritize the value of education. Scientific experimentation, record keeping, analyzing results, etc. were the kinds of practices only sporadically used by some of our nation’s first settlers. The fact that any of the settlers were at all interested in knowledge for knowledge’s sake is a testament to the enduring utility of Greek ideals. Cataloging the indigenous languages, familial structures, customs, cultural values and the patterns of behavior of America’s first inhabitants was seen as unimportant by most of the early settlers. This leaves the story of our nation grossly incomplete.
Possesing a distinctly different sub-culture the Puritans chose to leave Europe as an alternative to oppression. America’s first settlers encountered a culturally diverse indigenous population of over 550 nations and tribes inhabiting North America. They were estimated to have been between 5 to 30 million indigenous inhabitants. The Puritans fled bigotry and intolerance to make a new life in America. The Puritans strove for high ideals to be sure, but they were too hypocritical to treat others as they would like to have been treated.
Our knowledge of America’s original population is incomplete, because then like now, we didn’t sufficiently prioritize the value of education. Scientific experimentation, record keeping, analyzing results, etc. were the kinds of practices only sporadically used by some of our nation’s first settlers. The fact that any of the settlers were at all interested in knowledge for knowledge’s sake is a testament to the enduring utility of Greek ideals. Cataloging the indigenous languages, familial structures, customs, cultural values and the patterns of behavior of America’s first inhabitants was seen as unimportant by most of the early settlers. This leaves the story of our nation grossly incomplete.
Beyond the convenience of our alphabet our language has shown itself to be very versatile. Able to express abstract ideas, diverse scientific phenomena, complex emotions, convey respect/disrespect/informality, English may imply or suggest. English is able to delineate numerous vagaries of time and tense. With a solid command of English one can define and refine what is to be communicated more precisely than with many languages.
The language we use everyday can assist or impede us depending on it’s capacities. Language directly affects the prevalence of dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities within a society. If a language is too complex then a nation’s literacy and corresponding productivity suffers. With a language too simple then misunderstandings often result. Such confusion is unavoidable without precise terminology . For this reason and others, most modern societies are taught English early in their childhood education. Language being the structure of thought, our language profoundly affects how we think and what we are capable of thinking of.
We owe our democratic ideals, our ‘western philosophy’ to the Greeks. The Greek’s way of seeing the world, their interest in the pursuit of knowledge, and many other Greek customs influenced numerous civilizations following Greek dominance. Greek ideas surviving assimilation by Roman conquerors left Europe with many successful innovations and philosophies. Thankfully for us, the idea of one man, one vote survived through the ages to present day. Democratic ideals from Europe centuries ago survived to influence and shape our present day republic. European ways of doing things.
Throughout much of their history Europeans clashed violently. The geographical limitations of Europe forced it’s inhabitants to compete for survival. Many other societies never faced such fierce competition over natural resources. For many, when faced with foreign aggressors the most sensible option would be to move away. Until the discovery of the ‘New World’ Europeans didn’t have the option of moving. Fight or die, all too often, were the choices. So, for a long time there was a profound need to improve upon weaponry and technology. Like a skinner box with too many rats within Europe’s geography created necessity, and that necessity mandated brutality. Brutality and weapon improvements.
The language we use everyday can assist or impede us depending on it’s capacities. Language directly affects the prevalence of dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities within a society. If a language is too complex then a nation’s literacy and corresponding productivity suffers. With a language too simple then misunderstandings often result. Such confusion is unavoidable without precise terminology . For this reason and others, most modern societies are taught English early in their childhood education. Language being the structure of thought, our language profoundly affects how we think and what we are capable of thinking of.
We owe our democratic ideals, our ‘western philosophy’ to the Greeks. The Greek’s way of seeing the world, their interest in the pursuit of knowledge, and many other Greek customs influenced numerous civilizations following Greek dominance. Greek ideas surviving assimilation by Roman conquerors left Europe with many successful innovations and philosophies. Thankfully for us, the idea of one man, one vote survived through the ages to present day. Democratic ideals from Europe centuries ago survived to influence and shape our present day republic. European ways of doing things.
Throughout much of their history Europeans clashed violently. The geographical limitations of Europe forced it’s inhabitants to compete for survival. Many other societies never faced such fierce competition over natural resources. For many, when faced with foreign aggressors the most sensible option would be to move away. Until the discovery of the ‘New World’ Europeans didn’t have the option of moving. Fight or die, all too often, were the choices. So, for a long time there was a profound need to improve upon weaponry and technology. Like a skinner box with too many rats within Europe’s geography created necessity, and that necessity mandated brutality. Brutality and weapon improvements.
America’s cultural strengths are less obvious to Americans because we live immersed in our culture. To say that I am not a typical American; would be a very typical American thing to say. What our culture is and isn’t is less obvious than the results American culture has achieved. We are truly the most successful society on Earth. High literacy, high GDP, low inflation, low infant mortality, high standard of living, extensive scientific breakthroughs, military victories, etc. We are by no means the world leader in all areas, but we used to be in almost all of them. Few could deny that America has been a phenomenal success. Our success has not been despite our culture but rather, because of our culture.
Sadly, I’ve heard many Americans proclaim “we have no culture” (If ignorance is bliss, then why aren’t more people I meet who say this kind of thing extremely happy?). Ignorance of one’s own culture is just as harmful as ignorance of other cultures. Having been socialized here, most of us have naturally internalized the unspoken rules for interacting with each other. Things like how we do eye contact, handshakes, speaking volume, personal space, etc. But by and large Americans don’t consciously understand American protocol, or possess the capacity to explain it. Obviously no one culture invented manners, when different peoples act politely our styles of being polite vary from culture to culture and from sub-culture to sub-culture.
Why would our way of doing things offer inherent advantages? Similar to how English evolved not just from one language but several, so too has our culture evolved having been influenced by a wide variety of sources.
The Phoenicians developed a superior system of writing. Instead of using signs and pictographs to represent words and syllables as the Mesopotamians or Egyptians used, the Phoenicians streamlined their written language by using twenty two letters to spell out all the words in the Phoenician language. This efficient system of writing was passed onto the Greeks. It is from the Greek alphabet that the Roman system of writing originated, the same alphabet that English uses today.
Sadly, I’ve heard many Americans proclaim “we have no culture” (If ignorance is bliss, then why aren’t more people I meet who say this kind of thing extremely happy?). Ignorance of one’s own culture is just as harmful as ignorance of other cultures. Having been socialized here, most of us have naturally internalized the unspoken rules for interacting with each other. Things like how we do eye contact, handshakes, speaking volume, personal space, etc. But by and large Americans don’t consciously understand American protocol, or possess the capacity to explain it. Obviously no one culture invented manners, when different peoples act politely our styles of being polite vary from culture to culture and from sub-culture to sub-culture.
Why would our way of doing things offer inherent advantages? Similar to how English evolved not just from one language but several, so too has our culture evolved having been influenced by a wide variety of sources.
The Phoenicians developed a superior system of writing. Instead of using signs and pictographs to represent words and syllables as the Mesopotamians or Egyptians used, the Phoenicians streamlined their written language by using twenty two letters to spell out all the words in the Phoenician language. This efficient system of writing was passed onto the Greeks. It is from the Greek alphabet that the Roman system of writing originated, the same alphabet that English uses today.
Are all cultures or sub-cultures inherently equal? Could one culture be better than another? It would be by definition ethnocentric to say our culture is the best, regardless of the label ethnocentric or not I still assert that American values by and large are superior. So just like most of the world’s inhabitants I feel that most of the time the way we do things here in our country is the right way. What’s the right way then? How would we measure better, worse and best? If we are to think culture is good when that culture dictates manners and traditions that make us feel comfortable then our judgments are entirely arbitrary; solely a matter of personal opinion. However, culture modifies so much more than just manners. Culture dictates what language we think in, what we value and how we express our values. Heterogeneous priorities fill every society to be sure, but while we account for varieties from person to person and sub-culture to sub-culture the collective group inevitably holds fundamental commonalities that differ from one people to another. When faced with the same hardships some societies thrive while others fail. Are we to believe that societal outcomes are solely determined by geography? Or solely historical circumstances and genetics? Wouldn’t a superior culture be the culture that is more effective and capable of adaptation? What would make one culture more effective than another I argue; would be it’s priorities.
Just as people differ when prioritizing things as security, nutrition, exercise, education and how spicy or sweet they like their food. Cultural values vary widely as well. Many cultural practices are pragmatic, some are just superstitious, some quaint and outdated, some are innocuous, many are pernicious and a select few are advantageous. Inevitably flawed; just like the people from which cultures are comprised of, cultures are always a mixture of strengths and weaknesses.
Just as people differ when prioritizing things as security, nutrition, exercise, education and how spicy or sweet they like their food. Cultural values vary widely as well. Many cultural practices are pragmatic, some are just superstitious, some quaint and outdated, some are innocuous, many are pernicious and a select few are advantageous. Inevitably flawed; just like the people from which cultures are comprised of, cultures are always a mixture of strengths and weaknesses.
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