Conclusion

     The distinction is that H. G. Wells thought is was a race between education and disaster. Neil Postman believes that even with educated people, something is lost because we focus on entertainment. We lose track of what we are thinking about and become too focused on these superficial forms of entertainment. This new and addicting form of entertainment is becoming a way of life for us. Our whole world is beginning to revolve around it's purposeless and distracting messages. He states that we do not know what we are "laughing about and why they (we) had stopped thinking." This is entirely true about today's society. We are becoming a society run by entertainment. We are Amusing Ourselves To Death.

My... Quiet Experience

     Neil Postman makes many argument that society loses meaning when ideas are conveyed through images. The meaning is lost and is not able to be expressed. I found this statement to be very true. As I went through my day, i found it to be very irritating that i could not get my point across to my piers. I found asking questions in class to be a waste of effort and that trying to communicate was hopeless. All of this was bad enough, but my lunch period was the worst. A typical lunch would include eating, socializing, and enjoying one's self. My lunch was terrible. I found myself sitting at  my table and simply eating and listening. I could not draw anything that could be deciphered, or even be relevant to the conversations. This is why I simply listened to what others had to say. Neil Postman makes a very valid argument that todays society relies on technology and images. These images to not do a effective job at getting our points across.

"Technological Changes"

      In both his book and his address, Neil Postman explains how technology has altered and corrupted the morals and ideals of today's society. His book gives many examples, but his example of the city of Las Vegas is very effective. He explains that Las Vegas is a city that was made purely for entertainment. He makes the comparison that today's society is just like this city. In life, we look for ways to enjoy our selves. We constantly develop new technology to achieve this. Another great example concerns the media and politics. He describes how William Howard Taft won his Presidency. He won it with his political ideals and philosophy. Today's society is more focused on appearance than on the importance of beliefs. Our society has become so dependent on technology that our opinions and morals have been corrupted. These technological advancements have not advanced society, that have impeded and hindered us.
      His video address mentions much of the same ideas. "Theres no escaping from ourselves. The human dilemma is as it has always been, and it is a delusion to believe that the technological changes of our era have rendered irrelevant the wisdom of the ages and the sages." Postman talks about the morals of society being corrupted. He references cloning. He describes how once possible it will be done to save human lives. He mentions that we have altered our believes to accept it as ok to kill clones to save our lives. We will classify these clones (human beings) as "non-human things". We will allow this genocide to be performed. This is not acceptable, but society is changing to believe that it is. He states that we will become "pets" of our computers. Our society is technologically advancing while we are being set in reverse.

Think Before You Speak

1. Linda Chavez's point with the first six words of her article is to explain that we need to be careful with what we say. We can not always just speak our minds because what we say can have a negative effect on others, even if we do not intend it to be offensive. Civility is important so that we do not say things that others may think are to be denouncing or rude. 

2. The term "bellicose" means, "favoring or inclined to start wars." She uses the term to show how politicians tend to observe and fight over very minute things, some of which do not have anything to do with the topic at hand. These people always pick out little flaws and exploit them to embarrass their opponents. She explains that many of the words they use also have double meanings. She says the word "rounds" means to take turns, but the word also means a unit of ammunition. Debating with each other is just natural in the world of politics. 

3. Chavez is attempting to persuade the reader that civility is important in our speech, but it is the meaning that is truly important. She explains that we need to watch what we say, but if we change all of our metaphors and terms with double meanings, our speech would be bland. While people are attempting to bring civility, some people are being too critical on our speech. They are twisting what we say to sound as if it were meant to be negative or denouncing. She says, "Such rhetorical devices enrich our language and putting them off-limits would deprive us of the ability to express ourselves fully." If we change our diction, we may lose our meaning or how effective our message truly is. Changing our word choice would not solve this problem; it is up to us to not take offense at words or metaphors that do not intend to be disrespectful. 

4. I completely agree with Linda Chavez's article. Civility does need to be used, especially in the public eye. We need to think about what we say before we say it. We need to look ahead and detect what things may be perceived negative and we need to change them. Even though our intentions may not be to offend others, it is possible they may be offended. Linda uses many examples to show how we change our dialect to preserve civility. She explains that words were changed in "Huckleberry Finn" to make it more acceptable for students to read. This is very important so that we do not deprive students of this book's lessons. I think that we need to make our dialect more God pleasing. If we focus on this, we will have a much easier job with preserving civility.