Education out the Window (EXTRA)

This cartoon could have two different meanings. The first to which could insinuate that we are simply throwing our kids education out the window. Many of us believe that since public schools are cutting programs and cutting funding, we are just giving up important parts of our children's education. This cartoon could also represent the fact that we are not properly preparing our children for the future ahead of them. That we are throwing them out the window and telling the to "fly," when they are not ready. Education is an important topic within our community and has become more of an upfront issue as of late. Education of our children is a very important topic and we cannot stand to see our children be thrown out into our world before time has prepared for them for the outside world. We do not tend to realize how sheltered our children are within the school systems. They have their own little worlds they live in within the school systems. Yet as they get older within the school system they tend to ween off of these safety blankets and begin to see the big bad world for what it is.

It is our duty to make sure they are prepared when they set out into this big bad world, and throwing them out before they are educationally ready, is like tossing a baby bird into the air. We need to make sure that our children are ready to "fly". By preparing them step by step for college and not pressing them in high school to be skipping classes and going straight into college. College is an important aspect of our education but it does not mean that we should force our children into college before they are ready. They should be able to enjoy their high school years and not have to worry about their education flying out the window before they are ready to fly.

Are You Endangered? (EXTRA)

Extinction has come to many different species and many more are endangered. Even though we may not be considered a species as that of the animals featured in this image, it is no question that the middle class is becoming "endangered." With prices rising and paychecks going down, the gap between higher classes and lower classes is definitely getting larger. With the continuation of this gap growing larger we could definitely see the middle class diminish. Scientist have the technology to potentially bring these animals back from the brink of endangerment. Although scientist cannot help the middle class, that is all up to our government. Our government sadly however seems to be working hard to make obstacles for the middle class, that we just cannot overcome.

To imagine a country without a middle class would be a rough image. Yet we are slowly heading that way. With a rough economy and the government hitting road blocks all the way, it's no surprise as to why the middle class is shrinking. Taxes are something that our government use to help balance this class issue but with the lower classes having to pay near what the higher classes pay, it's to no surprise that the classes are drifting apart. 

With all the fear of the middle class diminishing. We can only hope that George Orwell wasn't right in the sense of the powerful staying powerful and running the lower class. 1984 may not be something at all in our future at all but it is a thought that sometimes crosses many minds. We may be concerned about the middle class diminishing be we have awhile to take a chance to look at what is happening. We can become involved in our political affairs of our politicians and help make a chance. We need to help pull our politicians heads out of the sand so they can being to see what is going on around them. Then maybe they can make decisions that not just benefit them but the community as a whole.

Me Party (EXTRA)

The Government shut down brought to surface a multitude of concern. State parks were closed, memorials closed, and lack of income from these places was threatening the economy. It was even said people were visiting the monuments even with the closed signs up. Why though can we get away with such pathetic actions? Why do we the people have to punish for an issue that we cannot personally help solve? The Government close down was said to only have hurt the politicians, but that's a lie. What about all those state park workers, and the people that work at the monuments? They were affected if not the most by the shut down. Politicians make double if not triple what those workers make. The parks and monuments buisness also pull in a decent amount of money that contributes to our economy, even with the shut down we had it was enough to make us concerend.

The shut down in general however should not have occurred. It is definitely sad that our politicians have put on their own pins. Instead of being able to debate and work out a solution they stick their heads in the sand and refuse to listen to each other. Even though the government shutdown did not last for more than a week, that is still an extremely long time. To be honest, our government should not have had to result to such childish means to come to a solution. How can they from their homes even come close to deciding on a solution? They cannot in reality, if anything, a lock-in of the government should have occurred. Putting us on the line because they are fed up with working and not getting what they want is ridiculous. If we as Americans even tried such a thing like not going to our jobs, we would all be fired on the spot. Politicians know going into their job they have to deal with others. When they only believe the situation is a give-give or get-get solution, it is of no consequence that no one will ever get anywhere. Which is exactly why we are going nowhere.

Politicians are essentially in helping run our country, but it can be quite painful to realize they are more childish at times then our own children. With so many politicians running the "me" pin in Washington it is a wonder the shut down didn't go on longer. We can only hope that eventually someone will learn more gets done when you don't stick your head in the sand.

Air Money (EXTRA)

Debt within the United States is a very large elephant within the government room. Just as this cartoon suggest we come up with excuses all the time as to why we cannot pay China. When in truth we really just do not have the money to pay China. We keep saying that eventually we will be able to pay China, but we keep making more debt. $14.4 trillion dollars is how much we owed China in 2011, but that has only increased. With China looming over us and threatening us all the time how do we come back from such a large debt? The United States is shrinking in comparison to the growth of China, and this is becoming frightening.

With China threatening to "break our thumbs" it is a wonder that China hasn't acted sooner in implementing actions. China is smart though, using our debt against us to cause even more debt. Just as credit cards work to entice us to put ourselves in even more debt because we do not have to pay it right away. The fact that China only wants to break our thumbs because we can't pay debt is the same act that credit card company's do when they charge a fee when you forget to pay. If China decided to make us pay late fees for us not paying we would be in an even deeper hole than what we are in.

With debt increasing every year it is hard imagine where the United States will be in four or more years. China is becoming larger and stronger over the United States every day. With the United States slipping further into debt it comes into question what will do to start chipping away at the huge wall of debt that we have created and continue to mound up.

Hatching Issues (EXTRA)

Same sex marriage is an extremely controversial and politic issue. However it is becoming more of a surface topic. Politicians have been pushing against this issue for quite some time now, but just as this image suggests, its becoming to large of an issue for them to hide. Politicians have been pushing this issues back into "its shell" for quite some time. Even now Politicians believe that they can still repress the issue. Same sex marriage has grown into a significant issue, even becoming larger than some politicians. This image greatly depicts exactly how same sex marriage is pushing past politicians and finally coming to the front of issues that are present. It has become an issue of great magnitude and can no longer hide out in its "egg." The chick within the egg gives us a skeptical glare at the politicians. As in saying "you actually think you can fit me back into this egg?" Same sex marriage has been a growing issue since the late 19th century, its no wonder its grow out of its shell. Of other issues the politicians are extremely small in scale compared the issue of same sex marriage, indicating that same sex marriage is too large of an issue for politicians to handle.

Same sex marriage has been legalized in sixteen states across America, with only thirty-three states banning same sex marriage and New Mexico has no law banning or legalizing same sex marriage. With sixteen states already accepting its no wonder same sex marriage is beginning to overcome politicians and take a stand of its own. Same sex marriage is an issue that will continue to grow until it does break free of its "egg" that politicians are trying to keep it in. Same sex marriage has come a long way  in terms of issues and will continue to progress. Although no one can say for sure exactly when it will be less of a heated topic and more of a common household topic.

Social Media our Safety Blanket

 Social Media is moving towards the main means for us to find political information every day. Facebook has opened a multitude of windows for people to discuss their political views. However not everyone wants their Facebook feeds to be overrun by political information. Yet this image makes an extremely clear point that we should be aware of. We may not want to get on Facebook and be bombarded by aggressive political ads and conversations, but this is a decision we can control. When getting on Facebook you have the choice of engaging in political posts or completely ignoring them. Even now you can even block these post from your timeline. Why though do we have such a hate for discussing topics that are important? Social media is becoming a great means for us to use to our advantage to discuss our political views with the safety of not being directly in the same room as the person. Political views do not have to constantly be discussed but they should be shown some respect. Facebook is an open place for us to post and view other peoples opinions and views. Yet we should respect someones political post just as much as we want someone to respect our post about our day or something that we care about.

Even though we complain about political topics being on Facebook, it is among one of the places we are discussing politics. This pie chart of a 2011 pole shows exactly what we are talking about with politics. If we were to compare this to what is discussed as a whole on Facebook, it would be more of a significant percentage then we would imagine. Facebook is a great place to join groups that support our own political views and find political views we support. Yet many of us get angry when we see someone on our timeline that is arguing a political view. Facebook has many windows that have opened to the public, expressing political views is simply one of those windows. However Facebook is not the only social media that is opening windows for people to express their political views. Media sites like Twitter and Second Life have also been creating opportunities to express political views. With all these opportunities arising it is no wonder more and more people are beginning to express their beliefs.

Why though do we prefer to hide behind media when expressing our views? Maybe because it is less confrontational, or maybe it's the fact we can leave the conversation whenever we please. Whatever it is that makes us feel more comfortable with expressing our views, it what we are seeking to help us express them. Although we are becoming more and more expressive, we have yet to make a more active approach in our political views. With social media becoming more prevalent than ever, when will we begin to use it to our advantage as opposed to only a means of expressing ourselves with a safety blanket?

Left Wing or Right Wing?

Depending on your political views, you may describe yourself as either left or right leaning or also known as left wing or right wing. What exactly does that even mean though? The left and right terms we use to describe our political views were originally coined during the French Revolution. With left referring to those who sat on the left generally and opposed the monarchy and supported the revolution. Yet right refers to those who sat on the right and were broadly supportive of the institutions of the monarchist Ancien Regime. Of course today left and right has a completely different meaning. In America if you are in the right wing then you are a part of the Republican Party and Conservatives from this party are considered to be in the "far right" of the right wing. However if you are apart of the left wing then you are Democratic and Liberals from this party are considered to be in the "far left" of the left wing. Of course there is that section in between where the Moderates preside, these are people who cannot or do not wish to identify with one specific political party.

This image shows both Political views in a not so flattering light on a single mind. This image in itself could be a wonderful representation of how many people feel about both parties and how unsure they are about deciding to be JUST one political identification. The decision can ultimately feel like only a blue and red decision.Yet there are people out there that consider themselves Moderate because they cannot decide to be just one singular party. Both the Democratic and Republican parties have their pros and cons, but in the end how do you decide who's side to be on? Make no mistake, there are other parties out there, just in very minute quantities. When it comes down to it though the Democratic and Republican definitely are the two power houses we tend to associate with when discussing our views. So how are you automatically seen by people when you say you are Democratic or Republican? By what you oppose of course. Political views/sides can be extremely heated topics, but way of argument is typically how we as humans tend to communicate and work through heated subjects. If we are afraid to initiate into a heated battle over topics that need discussing, it's no wonder as to why the elephant and donkey are simply giving each other the butt theses days.

You can compare politics in a sense to a relationship. No relationship runs smoothly without arguments, or the participants having to give and get. Yet no relationship can function if there is no arguments or no one is willing to give up something for the other. Politics works in a similar way, one side must give up a goal in order to gain a goal they are trying to accomplish. They both cannot simply debate which goals are all together better and expect to get all they want. Yet our political system is greatly known for never wanting to give any of their goals up in order to accomplish one. It has become a difficult dysfunctional duo, that needs to relearn what it means to work together to accomplish goals together and not alone.

No matter which political party you decide to associate with, they all have pros and cons. Whether you are extremely Republican, Extremely Democratic, Moderate, or just a little left leaning, we all have different views we carry. Pros and cons can be strong determinants when making decisions. Which side will sway you?

Campaign Ads Create New Species of Zombie!

Campaign ads, we all are subjected to them, but do they really do anything for us? Campaign ads can make us dizzy when we watch too many of them, all that debating and hashing the other side just gets old. Just like this cartoon portrays, we all sit down to take a moment to look at what each candidate brings to the fight, but eventually we become overwhelmed. With campaign ads always tell us how bad the other candidate is, how do we know who is actually going to do anything? Candidates spend a decent amount of funding creating ads that specifically put the other candidate in a bad light, but why do they never fund causes? It's mind boggling to stop and think about all the ways campaigns could be made. Yet it still never fails that candidates focus on the bad and the ugly sides of each other. There may be an occasional ad that represents what they plan to do with your vote for them, but with all the negative ads floating around can you really believe them? It's enough to definitely make your head spin.

With so many promises being thrown at us, when is it time to just turn off the debates? Opposing sides throw a multitude of good and bad promises at us as voters and sometimes it gets hard to sort out who is doing what. Eventually we get so much information thrown at us that we just want it to stop. Once we reach this point though, it becomes even harder for us to decide who to vote for. In some cases when we reach this point we just decide not to vote, because both parties seem just as bad as the other. With so many promises candidates are throwing at us, it can be hard to determine who to go with, especially when candidates debate in harsh black and white conditions. Do we give in to lower pay so we can have lower taxes or do we settle for peace and high taxes? The decisions are hard and definitely make us weigh in a lot on what we think we could handle and what we have no toleration for.

With all these ads, debates, and promises, it's no wonder we are becoming political zombies. The overwhelming amount of choice over who is the lesser of the two evils that each side portrays can sometimes make us revert to our core political views. We end up just being a zombie to our political party and in turn voting for our party to win the election. With so much negativity floating around on the political fields it's a wonder that more of us have not already become zombies. Next time you sit down to watch political ads think about what they are not showing you. What the general purpose of the ad is besides the obvious defacing of the opposing side. You may be surprised by the techniques they use to deface each other and just how bad it makes them look.

Media's Menus.

Media, it's our lifeline to the outside world, the world that never seems to stop whirling about. Day after day we check our smartphones, Internet sites and of course sit in front of our televisions to be fed the latest news that is floating around Washington and the world. Media is our main means of mass communication, but does it always give us the whole picture? Though you may not think about it while watching your daily dose of news, those stations you watch do have a slight bias, some more than others. Media tends to literally spoon feed us information that we want to confirm and support our own political views. Of course this takes a little searching on our part to find media stations, websites, and other sources that support our views. Yet once we have found these comfort zones, we only shy away when we need to confirm to ourselves that our politics is the superior view. Yet we can't give all the blame to the media we surround ourselves with, we carry our own bias as well. Media is basically an enabler for us to get more of our view confirming information faster and more often. Like the cartoon above suggest media does spoon feed us but note that "we" the character in the cartoon, prepare ourselves for this almost every day ritual. Media can be viewed as a restaurant that we come to everyday and eat the exact same meal. There may be those days when we try something new from another restaurant and just don't like the meal at all, so the next day we again go back to that restaurant where they know us by heart.

Out of all the media we use to compile information from, television can be the most controversial. We can watch the same story on three different stations, all the while those three different stations give three almost completely different takes on that story. This is because television is based mainly on visual aids and visual aids are extremely easy to manipulate. When your argument is almost based solely on visuals it's very easy to cut out specific aspects that you would not necessarily want the public to see on your station. Television stations can easily manipulate footage they have captured and they replay us only what supports that stations overall view. Although we as viewers would argue that our stations have no bias, they are there, whether we want to admit it or not. Television may not be our number way of viewing news anymore but we cannot exclude those same stations websites. Media may be moving past watching news on television but we still watch news on the web. If we get used to watching a specific television station, it is more than likely that we use that stations website and maybe even follow them on Twitter or Facebook.

Just because the media has started to fall away from the use of television does not mean that the web is free from this media bias. Television stations post videos of their shows and other videos of topics that they covering. These videos are just as likely to be skewed as television. Media in all its forms has complete control of what they chose to show, just as we have control as to what sources we chose to trust and watch. Media has been skewing our views for years. Will we ever ask ourselves what we are not getting from our trusted stations? Or we will continue to put on our bib and sit in front our trust media sources and be spoon-fed the information we seek.

Soft Power's hidden Talents.

Soft power is an interesting way in which politics works. It can be a highly effective way in which politics works discretely and peacefully. Even though soft power is not something we think about the government doing, it still occurs. This image does not directly show anything to do with political soft power but it does give a sense of just how indiscreetly strong soft power can be. It's a good contrasting image of how hard power and soft power are balancing factors in a working government. You cannot have a strictly hard power based government or a soft power based government. The hard power of force via military will only get a country so far. Yet the same goes for soft power, negotiations and trades can only take a country so far in its efforts.

Soft power according to Webster's Dictionary is  "a persuasive approach to international relations, typically involving the use of economic or cultural influence." An excellent example of this would be Russia's Free Pussy Riot. The Free Pussy Riot is all about making peaceful performances that voice how basic right are under threat in Russia. Pussy Riot does this all while expressing gender equality, democracy, and of course the freedom of expression, that are clearly contained in their Russian constitution. Pussy Riot also make strong images voicing these opinions as well. This image is strong in the sense that it shows Pussy Riot in chains. We know Pussy Riot fights for woman's rights and the chains that they are wearing convey to us the message that they do not have any rights. The chains in this image could also stand for the obstacles that Pussy Riot is trying help push along. The black mouth covers with Free Pussy Riot written on them is a way that Pussy Riot is saying to us that they "quietly" make themselves known. When I speak of "quietly" I refer to this as non-violent, obviously Pussy Riot has made an uproar in Russia.  The colorful ski masks that the girls of Pussy Riot wear are to keep their anonymity. It could also be used in a sense so other women could visualize themselves in these courageous women's position.  The bright and colorful outfits of these feminists are used because the group crosses pop culture with that of political issues. They do this in an attempt to help associate more people and to help convey the message they want to spread in a more communal language.

Pussy Riot is still an active Feminist group in Russia that is dedicated to speaking out for woman's rights. Yet they do so in a seemingly vulgar way. Do you think Pussy Riot should continue in this way? Pussy Riot has been making effective progress and have become noticed because of their actions. Even though they making statements in a vulgar sense it's clear that it is effective and they are getting noticed.

Hatshepsut's hidden contirbution.

 Hatshepsut's mortuary complex is quite astonishing. It utilizes a very precise colonnade structure almost a thousand years before the Parthenon. Hatshepsut's mortuary complex is cleverly designed to carry your eye directly to the entrance. It is like she is telling us "look, I'm here, come in and see my accomplishments." The strong colonnade structure became so grand in appearance that other pharaohs adopted its grandeur as well. Mortuary complexes were built to commemorate the Pharaoh to which they are dedicated to, however, Hatshepsut shared this dedication with Amon, the sun god. Amon is the highest god of which Pharaohs associate themselves with. Pharaohs make this association because they are the chosen vessel to which Amon inhabits and leads his people through. Hatshepsut's association with Amon is prevalent in the way she lines her entrance with  male interpretations of herself as a male Pharaoh. Hatshepsuts goal with making herself a male figure could be simply to imply to her followers that even though she is a female, Amon is still the dominant presence within her. These male statue interpretations along with the colonnade structure makes a very strong statement. It is a double declaration of how strong Hatshepsut viewed herself as a vessel of Amon. The staircase also adds to this declaration in the sense that it's a heavy granite staircase leading directly into the entrance of Hatshepsut's mortuary temple. Hatshepsut's temple was the closest Egyptian architecture to come to classic architecture. Yet could we look at her mortuary temple as a template for the classic architecture that came afterwards?

 President Truman's library may be past the classical architecture period but something about its small colonnade usage gives a demanding view. Even though Truman's library is no where near the scale of Hatshepsut mortuary temple, they share a few similar elements. Truman's library uses the same directing staircase used in Hatshepsut's temple. Although the Truman's library staircase is a lot less demanding of people who enter it, it still pulls attention to the small colonnade that surrounds the library's entrance. The Truman library's colonnade is also on a smaller scale than that of Hatshepsut but it still demands a great deal of your attention. The more modern hanging portraits on the side of the colonnade also are similar to how Hatshepsut lined her entrance way. The Truman library shares three elements from Hatshepsut mortuary temple but in a more modern and less grandeur of scale. The Truman library uses these elements in a specific way to directly look at the entrance of the library. It makes the same statement of a passed away individual of importance; "I'm here, come look at my accomplishments". Even though the Truman library makes a smaller demand than that of Hatshepsut's temple, it is a good example of how the past influences the present, along with how power in ancient times was displayed and how it made such an impact that we today still use derivatives of the ideas.

Consider the Washington Monuments roots.

Obelisks come to us from Egypt; they were used as representations of power. This particular image is of an obelisk commissioned by Ramses II. Obelisks were commissioned to place in front of temple entrances. They were representations of a petrified sun ray that was tribute to the sun god Amon. Obelisks were ordained with a multitude of hieroglyphs that told tales of victories of the Pharaoh that commissioned the obelisk. Obelisks were created from a single slab of red granite. The tips of the obelisks were usually ordained in gold. These monolithic symbols carried great significance to the Pharaoh's people. While an obelisks main purpose was to function as a tribute to the Egyptian god Amon, the association created by the Pharaoh when he records his great victories on the obelisk is also of great significance. The association the Pharaoh is making when recording his victories on an obelisk it that he is a pawn of Amon. The Pharaohs subjects now associate him with the highest of their gods, Amon. This association gives the Pharaoh the ability to lead his people and to have the godly association they demand from him. Obelisks after being discovered by the Greeks soon went on to be used for many reasons. Since the Greeks invasion of Egypt and the pillaging of these great monoliths, obelisks have been used throughout history for many reasons.

The Washington monument is great example of how the monolithic obelisk has gone on to live throughout history.
How many times have you stopped to think about this correlation? There are many reasons why this type of monument is significant to the person to which it stands for. Washington, a great figure of his time was someone we wanted to look up just like how the Pharaohs look to Amon for leadership. Even with the extreme differences of the purpose of an Egyptian obelisk to the Washington obelisk, we in a sense still look up to Washington. Washington was the first leader and creator of our country, just as Amon was for the Egyptians. Washington may not have been a god as Amon was but he was a founder of the country like Amon. Therefore why not create such a monolithic tribute to a founding father? This strong structure supports how strong of an influence Washington had and will have on the country. The fact that Washington was depicted by such a powerful monolithic structure supports this claim even more. If we think of this was a petrified sun ray to the Egyptians, we can see it in a different light of Washington himself being a beam of light and coming down to permanently touch his country. Obelisks may not have the same meanings as they did when they were used in Egyptian times but they still hold very true to their powerful presence. There is no wonder why we chose such a powerful symbol for such an influential man.

Yet by using the Obelisk we almost seem to elevate Washington to a God like status in an underlying way. The Obelisk stands very evident but we don't often stop to think about where it originated and what it had stood in its time of glory. In a sense we could say Washington has a God-like presence as he was considered a founding father of America. Just as pharaohs were considered to be founded vessels for the Egyptian god Amon. Whether or not the monument was meant to have implications about Washington being god-like is really an individuals perspective. We see in different visual perspectives with a multitude of images all around us but how do we tell when we have pulled to much information from the image? This question seems to be one of a great many answers. 

Are you going to Opt out?

 Upon watching this video you are flooded with all   kinds of silent factors. The video features ObamaCare in an extreme way in an attempt to catch the viewer's attention. Let's look at a few ways in which the video appeals to our sense of discomfort. The video immediately starts off with us viewing a nurse and patient via what seems to be a security camera. Almost giving us, the viewer, a sense that we are watching them. Remind you of any similar ideas that involve being watched? The Big Brother idea that George Orwell presented to us talks about how we will be watched in every aspect of life, via cameras that would be implemented everywhere. The video utilized this idea when they began to present the video via a security camera. Giving us the feeling that someone is watching all that takes place. Of course this video is implying that our government is trying to play Big Brother through the implication of ObamaCare. This could also give us the sense that the hospital now has an institutional feel. Institutions have security cameras in order to protect the patients and staffing, but do we really need security cameras for us? This is just another way that this video picks up on making us feel uncomfortable about the situation of the government being involved with our healthcare. Should we be that uncomfortable about our government actually trying to help us though? This video says we should but is it not part of the government's duties to do what is best for its countrymen? These are just a few questions that this video could arouse from any single person, but we all can pull different meanings and questions based simply on how the video was presented in the beginning. This does not include the many other interpretations that could still be pulled from other portions of this video.

After we go back to the doctors room with the female patient, we expect that the doctor will take care of the patient. Instead the doctor preps the patient, doing a job of what a nurse would normally do. The female patient is very clearly confused when the doctor leaves the exam room. The female patient being in an extremely vulnerable position of getting a gynecological exam, freaks out when she sees this creepy Uncle Sam figure come up between her legs. Of course a word that comes to my mind is rape, this scene is extremely awkward and uncomfortable. When I say rape comes to mind it's not in its usual sense. Taking into consideration of the video's context it metaphors the idea that the government is not giving us a choice in the matter of ObamaCare, whether we want it or not we are going to have to take it or be penalized for it. Just as rape victims have to make the choice to speak out against their attackers, this video is that small percentage of people that are courageous enough to speak out and make others aware of situation.

The image of the patient being white, young, and to just be getting out on their own is also an important aspect of this video. The general appearance of the female patient was made to look softer than that of a model because the video is trying to make a point that this ObamaCare movement affects the general public as a whole. The video creator knows their audience very well and caters to this with the female's appearance and lack of  knowledge about ObamaCare. The lack of knowledge about ObamaCare was intentional, it portrays how much the general public knows or lacks thereof. This video was purposely created with such a lack of knowledge with character as to capture our attention better and make us think about how much we really know about ObamaCare. It may be a loud and obscene way to catch our attention but with our desensitization from the use of social media and seeing so many events and videos on a daily basis, it may have been the only way the video creator could have so effectively caught and kept our attention. The video creator also aims at younger audiences, college students, graduates, and others that are just in the midst of starting to be on their own. They make the point that we should become informed about what kind of decisions we make and that we should question what our government does and just not accept every action they take. The video creator in a sense is trying to empower us not to just sit back and accept what the government does but be involved and take action if their actions are not to the best of the people.

Could Ramses have created the image stones for today?

      Ramses II a man of his time, can also be looked at as a Political portrait hand guide writer. Ramses took a new and radical approach in his time to change how important figures should be viewed. Ramses commissioned many images, just like this one to portray his power and associate to that of a higher power. These portraits commissioned by Ramses show him in a strong rigid pose, giving him a great sense of power. His complexion will never change, his subjects will always see him as a face of perfection, that of which was associated with deities, they can now relate to him as being of higher power. The wardrobe that he portrays in his many commissioned images is also a  symbol that Ramses subjects would come to recognize and look for in future Pharaohs portraits.The Pharaohs headdress, the elongated goatee and the wrap over fabric that covered him from his waist to his knees, these articles of clothing soon became the face of other Pharaohs to come. The rigid look that Ramses gives to his subjects to look upon will eventually become a way throughout governing powers to come to show that they are powerful and on a level close to that of the deities. Not only is the portrait showing the power of which Ramses held but the background of the image, or back then the placement of the portrait in front of a temple was very significant. Ramses places his portraits in front of temples that are dedicated to deities in order to associate himself with such power and to make a statement to his people that he himself is a pawn in which the gods speak through.

        If we skip ahead to the now we see that even Obama still uses this ancient method of having official portraits made of himself. Obama still presents the same rigid look that Ramses presented in his commissioned portrait, although Obama presents us with more of a smile than that of what was used, it is still obvious to us that he is a man of high power within a society. Obama is dressed in what we all recognize as typical Political attire, a nice crisp, clean suit. The suit is not the only indicator given to us that Obama is an authority figure, the background of which he has chosen to take this photo also shows us well known symbols of our government and freedom. The pose in which Obama has chosen in this photograph gives a very strong and bold statement. Just by looking at this image of Obama you get a sense that he is a good man trying to do good for his country, that he is someone that you would want to be the president of your country. This photograph is very clear about it's argument that it is trying to make about Obama seem like a good leader.

       Of course we have external knowledge from beyond this photograph that we could imply here in this situation to argue the very point of him being a good leader. Just because we have a wealth of knowledge about Obama at our disposal we tend to read our political views into this photograph as well, what happens when we come to think about this photograph in a light of which we pretend to have no prior knowledge of Obama and his actions? How does this change what we think of Obama? Even in trying to look at this photograph for what is it, an official photograph of Obama, we still have our own bias opinions, no image can read exactly the same for two different people. The power of images can be clearly viewed, but what they imply to one person can be endless. Next time you view an image that you know many people have viewed, stop and think about what other possible interpretations there can be, you might just be surprised.

Politics, a defintion

The Webster dictionary says that "Politics" is "the art or science of government, of guiding or influencing governmental policy, or of winning and holding control over a government, along with political affairs or business: competition between groups or individuals for power and leadership". WOW, talk about a definition, while this is the definition that has been given to us to use for Politics, it definitely is not how we describe Politics to our friends and peers when asked what Politics means to us. Politics can have a multitude of meanings outside of what the Webster dictionary tells us. Even searching for a definition on the World Wide Web can bring about a plethora of different meanings based on peoples’ generalizations. While we all have our very own definition of what Politics is, I hold a more generalized definition. Politics can be small or large in scale, but if it affects the people of a community, whether directly or indirectly, then it can be considered Politics.  This could include small scale Politics of voting/running for mayor of that community or being apart of that community’s council and on the larger scale running for Governor or even state senator.

We associate a decent amount of our knowledge as political and we are always trying to find out more, whether via the newscast or with our mobile devices. Political knowledge always seems to be in high demand of who has the most late breaking and accurate news. Even some of the most favored cartoon shows have written in a few Political views.

Take South Park for example, sometimes the cartoon can be on the crude side but it still makes an effort to hash on Political ideas and controversies. This image shows the residents of this Colorado town in riot, something that many countries and towns worldwide have experienced. For many years the general public have relied on protests and riots to push against the government, some more violent then others. This is the argument that this cut scene is portraying, although we don't know what the context of why the people are revolting, we can easily see that it is a political image. The cartoon characters of South Park are affected by something that they are not happy about and they are taking a year old approach to get results to fix what is affecting them. We also get a sense of comradery from this image, the people work as a whole to tackle the large goal that they need to accomplish. Egypt is a good example of how violent riots can really push and stress a government a whole lot. Egypt's population has come leaps and bounds by working together to push their government using this tactic, but they are neither the first nor the last to use this tactic.