Enhancing Egos

Enhancing Egos

When one would think of Harvard, one would say that it is the cream of the cream of the crop. Any other superlative adjective can be attributed to it. College education is one of the marketable investments. Accordingly, it seems to be the most elusive goal, since an average American Citizen is bombarded with superficial promises of the corporate world even without college education. Some people may consider admission in Harvard as an odyssey. Harvard seems to evaluate every applicant in the lens of an electron microscope.

In the midst of the application hardship, there is a way to get in Harvard that can be considered a tie breaker. One would call it as Legacy Admissions. Legacy Admissions seems to be simple. The requirement would be that Mom or Dad should be alumni in Harvard, and Mom or Dad should have donated wads of cash to Harvard.

In a recent documentary from BBC’s “The Changing World,” it was reported that 10% of College admissions in Harvard are legacy admissions. In this way, the children who were born

with silver platter on their mouths can arguably be admitted to one of the finest universities in the world. As a result, egos of the rich people are enhanced. Accordingly, people should support legacy admissions. In fact, Harvard President Lawrence Summers states: “"Legacy admissions are integral to the kind of community that any private educational institution is.” One can infer that from the quotation, one can work hard for grades and integrity, and a legacy kid can just be ahead of the game in terms of Harvard admissions.

One alternative to this inequality is people should study in Finland. One can say that there are no legacy admissions in Finland. Moreover, Finland claims to have the best education system. The same documentary communicates that Finns starts formal education as late as seven years old. Children start in mid August, and by December, 90% of the children can read. When average 1st graders are asked if they like school, one can almost always expect that the responses would be alienation towards school. One can correlate alienation towards school due to the fact that American starts early. As opposed to Finns, since they start formal school at an arguable later age, their enthusiasm towards learning can be contagious.

Arguably, American college graduates are bombarded with the myth that after they graduate: only the best should be for them. As a result, they have an over-inflated sense of confidence. Such confidence is ingrained to them since childhood, so as not to ambush their self esteem. For instance, when a child is playing baseball, most parents would hold him as the best player, event though he can not even score a home run. Most parents shield children from the fact that there will always be children smarter and better than them. As a result, when a child (lavished with the myth) grows up and finished college, and have his spirits broken by problems, loans, bills and competition, the problems would be too much for them to take. There is a great likelihood that most of them would go to a shrink….. For the purposes of…. Enhancing their egos.

Source:

Will Bush truly renounce privilege in admissions?

Terrific Thanksgiving- repost

Terrific Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving seems to be a terrific holiday. Three categories can be associated with the word thanksgiving: lies, ethnocentrism, and dummy following. Every year, this particular holiday promotes the aforementioned nouns. Since thanksgiving perpetuates those things, it is reasonable to say that it is a terrific holiday.

Lie. Most people are perceive the first thanksgiving as an amicable holiday through its roots. Most people know this history:

“In 1621 The Pilgrims and the Indians sat down and had a nice, friendly meal together. No fighting was allowed on that day. Everyone sat down at the Plymouth Plantation to a meal of turkey, corn, fruit, pumpkin pie, apple cider, and potatoes. There was a big Horn of Plenty in the middle of the table. In fact, the Pilgrims and the Indians started that whole Horn of Plenty tradition on that first Thanksgiving Day. An Indian named, Squanto, was one of the guests. The point of the dinner was to celebrate the bountiful harvest and prove to the Pilgrims and Indians that they could live together in peace.”

Unfortunately, Richard J. Maybury finds this as a far cry version from the truth. He writes: “The problem with this official story is that the harvests of 1621 was not bountiful, nor were the colonists hardworking or tenacious. 1621 was a famine year and many of the colonists were lazy thieves.”

Carol Barbieri would seem to support what Maybury posits. She states: “The first winter for the Pilgrims was devastating. Of the original 102 Pilgrims who came to America on the Mayflower, only 46 Pilgrims remained. Quite simply, the Pilgrims were outnumbered by the Wampanoag Indians two to one. The Pilgrims thought it best to keep the Indians on their “good” side, until more Pilgrims could arrive.”

This is one of the many lies that the Thanksgiving holiday perpetuates and proliferates. Every year, people would engage in such lie and consider it to be true. Since thanksgiving perpetuates lies, it is reasonable to say that it is a terrific holiday.

Ethnocentrism. It is defined as “the belief or feeling that a group¹s way of life, values and patterns of adaptation are superior to those of other groups. It may manifest itself in attitudes of superiority or hostility toward members of other groups and is sometimes expressed in discrimination, proselytizing, or violence.” Thanksgiving would seem to promote this attitude. It can be traced back to its history. In fact, James L Loewen, author of “Lies my teacher told me,” writes:

“The civil ritual we practice marginalizes Indians. Our archetypal image of the first Thanksgiving portrays the groaning boards in the woods, with the Pilgrims in their starched Sunday best next to their almost naked Indian guests. […]The silliness of all this reaches its zenith in the handouts that schoolchildren have carried home for decades, complete with the captions that they served pumpkins and turkeys and corn and squash. The Indians had never seen such a feast.” Arguably, the very action of the Pilgrims viewing themselves as superior to the Indians would seem to perpetuate the concept of ethnocentrism. Since thanksgiving promotes ethnocentrism, it is reasonable to say that it is a terrific holiday.

Fans of thanksgiving can be reasonably called as “DUMMY FOLLOWERS.” This is very unfortunate because most of these fans were misdirected from the truth. It can be attributed to the careless history book writers. Moreover, it can be attributed also from people who has reckless disregard for the truth and repress “unpleasant memories” to proliferate a lie. Since thanksgiving promotes such disservice (dummy following), it is reasonable to say that it is a terrific holiday.

Work Cited:

Loewen, J. (1995). Lies my teacher told me. 1st ed. New York: Touchstone.

The Great Thanksgiving Hoax by Richard J. Maybury

Lemonade Stand by Carol Barbieri

Photo Source

Nurse Scapegoats: Why are they important?

Nurse Scapegoats: Why are they important?

One of the most interesting cultures in nursing is scapegoating. One would say that this subculture would cause enchantment to the scapegoater and scapegoatee. According to the Scapegoat Society, “Scapegoating is a hostile social - psychological discrediting routine by which people move blame and responsibility away from themselves and towards a target person or group. It is also a practice by which angry feelings and feelings of hostility may be projected, via inappropriate accusation, towards others. The target feels wrongly persecuted and receives misplaced vilification, blame and criticism; he is likely to suffer rejection from those who the perpetrator seeks to influence.” In the healthcare industry, it is inevitable to deviate from standards of care and leadership. Scapegoating is one of the best ways to relieve the blame from oneself and blame the most vilifiable group. Such process is important to people in the places of position and leadership. It is also important to patients and nurses. Hence, it is reasonable to say that the role of nurses as scapegoats is vital.

One may have heard the expression of nurses eating their young. Nurses scapegoating on other nurses are also indispensable and irreplaceable part of the profession. For instance, the PICC line of a patient clogged. One of the many reasons of a clogged line is forgetting flushes on 10 cc saline. If the nurse has a preceptee, the most likely to be blamed is the preceptee instead of the nurse also assigned to the patient. The process of scapegoating is essential in this situation because this would mean that the fault is of the preceptee and not the preceptor. The preceptee must expect an incident report write-up. Since scapegoating would protect the more experienced RN and would transfer the blame to the preceptee, it is reasonable to say that the role of nurses as scapegoats is important.

One use of scapegoating is by physicians. For instance, when the equipment such as chairs, tables are inadequate in a unit, nurses would be the scapegoats. When the equipment is inadequate, the physicians will have no space to sit down and write orders. As a result, the physicians are outraged by the scarcity of chairs and blame the nurses. This is where it becomes creative. The physicians would argue that there is no space to sit down because the nurses are chitchatting and invading their space in the unit. Discredit the name: “nurses’ station.” The physicians have to write orders. This situation proves the role of nurses as scapegoats is important. In this process, the administration has not supplied enough chairs and enough workplace. As a strategy, such inadequacy must be distorted and the blame must be transferred. The nurses chitchatting would be the best rationale for not having enough work space and chairs. This seems to be a brilliant and methodical. Hence, it is reasonable to say that the role of nurses as scapegoats is important.

It is not just the people from the higher ups had perfected the craft of nurse scapegoating, but also the patient themselves. After the nurse has done the hardwork in maintaining the standards of care and working professionally for their therapeutic recovery, one can say that one appreciative token would be to blame the nurses for any inadequacy. For instance, the family of the patient cannot accept the new diagnosis of an ailment. The most likely tendency is to project those ill feelings so that the family and the patient can cope. Projection is one of the components of nurse scapegoating. Since nurse scapegoating will likely help the patient in coping, it is reasonable to say the nurses are helping unconsciously in the process. Hence, it is reasonable to say that the role of nurses as scapegoats is important.

No matter what, it would seem viable that scapegoating is essential to institution. Especially in an industry where fault and errors should be minimal, this would justify the subculture of scapegoating. Hence, it is reasonable that the role of nurses as scapegoats is important.

Work Cited:

The Scapegoat Society

Terrific Thanksgiving

Terrific Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving seems to be a terrific holiday. Three categories can be associated with the word thanksgiving: lies, ethnocentrism, and dummy following. Every year, this particular holiday promotes the aforementioned nouns. Since thanksgiving perpetuates those things, it is reasonable to say that it is a terrific holiday.

Lie. Most people are perceive the first thanksgiving as an amicable holiday through its roots. Most people know this history:

“In 1621 The Pilgrims and the Indians sat down and had a nice, friendly meal together. No fighting was allowed on that day. Everyone sat down at the Plymouth Plantation to a meal of turkey, corn, fruit, pumpkin pie, apple cider, and potatoes. There was a big Horn of Plenty in the middle of the table. In fact, the Pilgrims and the Indians started that whole Horn of Plenty tradition on that first Thanksgiving Day. An Indian named, Squanto, was one of the guests. The point of the dinner was to celebrate the bountiful harvest and prove to the Pilgrims and Indians that they could live together in peace.”

Unfortunately, Richard J. Maybury finds this as a far cry version from the truth. He writes: “The problem with this official story is that the harvests of 1621 was not bountiful, nor were the colonists hardworking or tenacious. 1621 was a famine year and many of the colonists were lazy thieves.”

Carol Barbieri would seem to support what Maybury posits. She states: “The first winter for the Pilgrims was devastating. Of the original 102 Pilgrims who came to America on the Mayflower, only 46 Pilgrims remained. Quite simply, the Pilgrims were outnumbered by the Wampanoag Indians two to one. The Pilgrims thought it best to keep the Indians on their “good” side, until more Pilgrims could arrive.”

This is one of the many lies that the Thanksgiving holiday perpetuates and proliferates. Every year, people would engage in such lie and consider it to be true. Since thanksgiving perpetuates lies, it is reasonable to say that it is a terrific holiday.

Ethnocentrism. It is defined as “the belief or feeling that a group¹s way of life, values and patterns of adaptation are superior to those of other groups. It may manifest itself in attitudes of superiority or hostility toward members of other groups and is sometimes expressed in discrimination, proselytizing, or violence.” Thanksgiving would seem to promote this attitude. It can be traced back to its history. In fact, James L Loewen, author of “Lies my teacher told me,” writes:

“The civil ritual we practice marginalizes Indians. Our archetypal image of the first Thanksgiving portrays the groaning boards in the woods, with the Pilgrims in their starched Sunday best next to their almost naked Indian guests. […]The silliness of all this reaches its zenith in the handouts that schoolchildren have carried home for decades, complete with the captions that they served pumpkins and turkeys and corn and squash. The Indians had never seen such a feast.” Arguably, the very action of the Pilgrims viewing themselves as superior to the Indians would seem to perpetuate the concept of ethnocentrism. Since thanksgiving promotes ethnocentrism, it is reasonable to say that it is a terrific holiday.

Fans of thanksgiving can be reasonably called as “DUMMY FOLLOWERS.” This is very unfortunate because most of these fans were misdirected from the truth. It can be attributed to the careless history book writers. Moreover, it can be attributed also from people who has reckless disregard for the truth and repress “unpleasant memories” to proliferate a lie. Since thanksgiving promotes such disservice (dummy following), it is reasonable to say that it is a terrific holiday.

Work Cited:

Loewen, J. (1995). Lies my teacher told me. 1st ed. New York: Touchstone.

The Great Thanksgiving Hoax by Richard J. Maybury

Lemonade Stand by Carol Barbieri

Photo Source

Summer Supreme

Summer seems to make the whole year complete. Arguably, it is the complement to most of the seasons. Some people would spend their lives hibernating, and when summer comes, then, it would be time to come out. For the purpose of this article, the satisfying things about summer can be divided into three things: Season of Heat Stroke, Season of the Costly, and Season of Superficial.

Season of Heat Stroke. According to AlphaRubicon.com, “Heat stroke can cause death or permanent disability if emergency treatment is not given. Heat stroke occurs when the body becomes unable to control its temperature: the body's temperature rises rapidly, the sweating mechanism fails, and the body is unable to cool down. Lack of sweating in the heat is an important symptom of imminent heat stroke. Other symptoms of heat stroke are mental confusion, disorientation or coma, throbbing headache, flushed dry skin, nausea, and elevated body temperature.” This might be the most brilliant thing about heat stroke or extreme heat. According to Cdc.gov: “From 1979 –2002, excessive heat exposure caused 8,966 deaths in the United States. During this period, more people in this country died from extreme heat than from hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes combined. Because most heat-related deaths occur during the summer, and because weather projections for this year indicate a hotter-than-average summer, people should be aware of who is at greatest risk […]” Seemingly, it is viable to suggest that summer is a dangerous season as manifested by heat stroke which makes it a satisfying season.

Season of the Costly. It is the season where gas prices skyrocket. As of press time, the cheapest gas in Costco is $2.39. When gas prices skyrocket, it would be viable that car rentals would have high rates. In fact, ABCnews.com reports: “Finally a vacation - but watch out when you hit the ground. It's summertime and your car rental costs are rising. So what's a traveller to do?[….] Lisa Freeman, Consumer Reports: "The worst thing you can do is call Avis, call Hertz and then call it a day. By just going online for a few minutes you can save $100 or more for the week." Costly prices would not be limited to that aspect. Summer is the season for great movies (Batman Begins, Fantastic 4, The Island etc). What people inadvertently notice is Summer TV is full of reruns. One can surmise that most good movies are released during the summer to compensate for poor TV. Or, another way of saying: this would seem a conspiracy to compel people to shell out 9 bucks for 2-3 hours of entertainment. Thus, summer is the season of the costly, which make this season satisfying.

Season of the Superficial. It is the season to go to the beach. Mass Media would proliferate the idea wherein buff and sexy people can only go to the beach during summer. Even an article online would proliferate that summer seems to be the only season for a healthy lifestyle. Ediets.com states: “Summer is almost officially here. It’s time to put away those bulky clothes and flash a little flesh! If you need a little help shedding those extra pounds, to see what eDiets has to offer and choose from over 20 fantastic customizable plans.” This can be a manifestation of how shallow and superficial people can be. It would be reasonable to look attractive as the opposition would suggest. However, considering attractive and Abercrombie bodies as the climax of summer is a tired and tested practice of Superficiality. People would go to great lengths of shallowness just to show off their bodies during summer. Thus, it is viable to suggest that summer is a season of superficiality which makes it a satisfying period.



Work Cited:

ABCNEWS
Alpha Rubicon
CDC.GOV’
Ediets.com
Summer Photo