Citizens Divided: The Corruption of Campaign Finance

With discussion circulating the nation regarding the 2024 presidential election, there is no better time to discuss the impact of the 2010 Supreme Court case Citizens United v. The Federal Election Committee (FEC). In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5 to 4 majority that the federal government cannot limit private political spending as it violates the First Amendment. Prior to the ruling, independent funding to candidates was limited and had to be disclosed to the government so that corruption could be minimized. Today, independent corporations can donate however much they want to Super PACs (political action committees) which has increased campaign finance corruption. In order to right the wrong of Citizens United, mandates must be put in place to lessen corruption and keep Super PACs at bay.

I have decided that for my passion blog I will write about my journey to my marathon and document my training ups and downs.

For my civic issues blog, I’m going to expose the manipulation of the political parties as it pertains to the growing polarization in the last decade.

Nobody likes to feel embarrassed. The feeling of your stomach dropping, your cheeks turning red, doing everything in your power to hide from your mistake. I always feared embarrassment until my dad taught me a trick: purposefully embarrass yourself once a day. 

I learned this lesson when I was nine years old. I was considered the weird kid which was pretty understandable because I had a crippling obsession with “Toy Story.” But it’s not what it seems. I loved Toy Story because my little sister who was three at the time loved listening to songs like “Woody’s Round Up” and “Jessie the Yodelling Cowgirl.” It became a way to bond and play with her.  Unfortunately, I thought everyone appreciated “Toy Story” as much as I did so I made a cardboard cutout of Woody to submit for the artist of the month competition at school. As you can probably guess, I got made fun of, big time. 

When I got home that day, I cried to my dad telling him how embarrassed and stupid I felt. I begged him to never let me go back to school. Dramatic, I know. After finally calming down, my dad put his arm around me and told me something that has been ingrained in me ever since. He said, “All great actors embarrass themselves once a day.” 

At the time I thought this advice was stupid. Actors get paid to make believe and are celebrated for it. In my mind there was no correlation in submitting a cardboard cut out of Woody and getting paid millions of dollars to act in a movie. But after a few years of remembering this advice, a switch flipped inside of me. 

That terrible feeling I associated with embarrassment was similar to the great feeling of excitement. The same way my stomach dropped and my cheeks turned red from making a mistake was the same feeling I had when I saw my crush or walked on the field before a big game. By reframing embarrassment in my mind, I enabled myself to take more risks. 

When my dad told me to embarrass myself once a day, he didn’t mean literally go out of my way to make a fool of myself. He meant that I should not be afraid of failure and strive to make as many mistakes as possible so that I would have no regrets. After all, fireworks were the result of a mistake with gunpowder, gravity was discovered because an apple hit Newton square on the head. Many of humanity’s historical innovations were the results of mistakes and yet we look at them as pure genius. 

I appreciate the guts it took my nine year old self to submit my artwork even if it wasn’t other people’s cup of tea. Without that experience, I would not be as bold with my choices. Because of this I try to embarrass myself once a day whether that be through answering a question wrong in class, or shooting my shot with a guy. And yeah, I still feel embarrassed every now and then, but I am able to bounce back faster and be comforted by the fact that I tried.

“This I Believe”

For my podcast, I’m thinking about talking about the importance of family dinners. My other idea is to talk about the importance of embarrassing yourself at least once a day. Both of these practices have had an impact on my outlook on life and I think they could make for an interesting podcast.

Passion Blog (pt. 2)

For my new passion blog, I’m thinking about following the ups and downs of my marathon training, which I plan to run next fall. My other idea is to talk about the things I’ve learned from my first year of college.

Civic Issues

For my civic issues blog, I’m thinking I want to discuss inequality in education regarding funding and resources. My other idea is to talk about the turmoil in the two party system. I would discuss the manipulation and divisive tactics politicians use to increase polarization while using important Supreme Court Cases and various sources to provide evidence for and against my topic. In other words, I want to talk about why Americans can’t find middle ground.

I think it would be really interesting to focus on early 1900s cultural movements such as the rise of child labor laws or the Harlem Renaissance. While today we don’t find these movements controversial, for their time, the rise of jazz and putting children of all social classes into school was seen as threatening. It’s also an interesting time period to look at in regards to social movements because of the growth of what we now consider ‘American culture.’

Specific topics for controversy include, workers rights in regards to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, Harlem Renaissance, and the rise of leisure activities. I’m open to plenty of ideas but I definitely love looking at popular culture shifts and think jazz in particular would be really interesting to look at in regards to public controversy.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12KwTq4cDj_GdMPDc1GVPqgvS-gDPsX_hDGb4DC-_GTE/edit?usp=sharing

All images on slides were from google slides free domain images.

https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

Chimamanda Adiche’s Ted Talk is my favorite because it expresses the power of written work while also heeding against judging a book by its cover. Whenever I watch this Ted Talk from Adiche, the saying “the pen is mightier than the sword” comes to mind because of the long-lasting influence of literature and its effects on perception of cultures as a result.

I also like this Ted Talk because Adiche concedes that we are all guilty of stereotyping as a result to what we are exposed to as children.

For my Unit Two project, I was thinking about examining the evolution of the female body standard in relation to the evolution of exercise. I would examine these two topics together because female beauty standards are less of a history and more of a patriarchal narrative that can be supported by looking at the way leisurely exercise has evolved.

For my research, I would interview the women in my family to gather testimonies and then compare their testimonies to the historical artifacts.

Image of Adiche above: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/06/04/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-comes-to-terms-with-global-fame 

Rik’s speech was very well-done. His analysis of Free Rice was easy to follow and his friendly tone of voice made his speech feel accessible and comfortable for his audience. Even though his speech is about the very serious issue of world hunger, he chose to present himself light-heartedly to increase his own appeal with his audience.

His use of slides to support his speech added an attractive and sophisticated element to his overall analysis. He also spoke clearly and efficiently which made it simple to follow the path of his speech.

For my own speech, I think I did a good job speaking clearly and efficiently as well. With more practice, I could’ve made it more extemporaneous but I am ultimately satisfied with my choices stylistically. I think having more slides could’ve helped with the visual attractiveness aspect of my speech. I’m also very proud of myself for not flailing my hands as much as I do and have done in past presentations.

Next time, I will put more graphics in my speech and add more vocal changes for emphasis.

In today’s highly politicized culture, one cannot avoid the topic of healthcare. Often Americans hear the debate surrounding quality, affordable healthcare, but it begs the question, which one is the more pressing issue, the quality or affordability of medicine in the United States? Currently, western medicine focuses on how white, males present various diseases. In a country as diverse as the United States, diverse medical diagnoses are needed to ensure the best quality of care for all American citizens, no matter their race, gender, or ethnicity. On the other hand, millions of Americans struggle to afford life saving medical treatments and medicines.  Johns Hopkins’ ‘The Promise of Medicine: How far would you go?’ advertisement addresses the commonplace of inadequate health care throughout the United States by highlighting their medical prowess as the future of medicine. In contrast, Carefirst Health Insurance launched their 2015 ‘Live Fearless’ campaign, which promised Carefirst card holders affordable healthcare that was accepted with ‘most’ healthcare providers. While both ads address the overarching commonplace of the worries of accessible and affordable healthcare in the United States, each advertisement focuses on one aspect of the issue: affordability versus quality. 

Johns Hopkins’ ‘The Promise of Medicine: How far would you go?’ advertisement addresses the United States healthcare system through the lens of the healthcare system’s quality disparity. At its center is a manicured, upper middle-aged woman with a suitcase in hand, seemingly ready for the trip of her life. To an oblivious passerby, the ad could be seen as a travel brochure more than an advertisement for a healthcare treatment center. But if one looks more closely, they will notice the bolded words “your life is worth the trip.” By bolding this statement, the advertisement creates a sudden sense of urgency in its viewer. However, this urgency is misplaced because it is only pointed at those who need immediate medical care. By placing a seemingly healthy woman at the focal point of the advertisement, Johns Hopkins fails to properly promote their message, that they are willing to provide the best treatment for their patients. 

Carefirst Health Insurance’s ‘Live Fearless’ campaign illuminates the necessity for affordable healthcare. Carefirst took advantage of the kairotic moment by launching this campaign in 2015, when most healthcare centers stopped taking certain forms of health insurance. By flaunting their ‘superior’ health insurance, Carefirst attempts to promise a ‘fearless’ life to those who buy into their health insurance plans. The irony of this message is enveloped in the idea that Carefirst consumers are in fact not living fearlessly because they are actively paying for insurance in the event that they need medical care. Carefirst also plays to these medical worries by placing a child at the front of the image. The campaign plays on the fears and anxieties of parents by stating that if they buy health insurance with Carefirst, they won’t have to worry about their child’s health anymore. After all, people only buy insurance because they fear something could go wrong at any moment. 

-compare ads in next paragraphs

-connect it all to commonplace of fears regarding healthcare

-conclusion

For my speech I am going to focus on the Carefirst campaign. I will start by giving a brief overview of the rhetorical situation, and then express the kairotic moment taken. After that I will evaluate how Carefirst missed the mark.