The Golden Need For Speed

Drive through McDonalds window

As promised, the series post on McDonald's continues. Americans are famous for being impatient. We cannot sit still through a long tea pouring ceremony like the Japanese. (If you are unfamiliar with the history of fast food restaurants, check this out.) I am not surprised that Americans were at the forefront of fast food, because of our impatience. McDonald's, even though it did not invent fast food, has had the greatest impact on the fast food industry and our culture. 


In my opinion, McDonald's widespread franchising of fast food set America off on its quest to make everything quicker and more efficient. Since then, everything has become faster- including fast food! Drive thru's were invented so you never even had to go into a restaurant and leave your car to get food. In addition to food, think of all the technology that has become faster. Remember dial up internet? That's a thing of the past; now you can get on the internet and find the answer to a question in 10 seconds. Cameras used to take pictures you had to take to a drugstore to have developed, but now you can see the picture you took on the camera a second after you took it. I am sure you can think of many other examples- the list goes on. 


But why? Why is speed so important in America? Why can we no longer leave our car to go  get dinner or just wait for the picture to be printed to see how it looks? For starters, being speedy has always been the key to winning a race, and we want to be a nation of winners.  Furthermore, the faster we do things, the more we can do.  But that's just me. Why do you think Americans are so obsessed with everything being as fast as it can? 

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

While it is still October, I would like to take a short break from my McDonald's series, which I still plan to continue with, to talk a little bit about PINK PINK PINK. Anything that can be made pink this month, is. As you likely know, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As the daughter and granddaughter of breast cancer survivors, I always used to appreciate the attention brought to this cause. Recently though, I'm questioning how genuine all of the pink attention is. Sometimes it seems like everything being made pink is a publicity move by companies trying to have a good face. Companies are using the campaign as a way to increase the sales of their products by advertising their support for finding a cure for breast cancer. My question: is it bad for companies to use breast cancer awareness to increase their sales? If the end result is more money for finding a cure, then how bad is it to use some positive advertising? 


I think it is alright for companies to make money from their campaign for breast cancer awareness.  It takes a lot of money to find a cure for cancer and money is always hard to come by.  Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers that affects women in America, so it's a cause close to many.  If it weren't for the increases in products sold during October companies would not give as much money to cancer research. 


Approximately one in eight women will get breast cancer during their lives, so Americans are more likely to buy something to support breast cancer awareness because it it very likely that either they or someone they know will get breast cancer.  Also, the pink campaign encourages individuals to purchase pink products, so people who might not normally give money to the cause are now making a contribution. 


It would be great if everyone gave money out of the goodness of their hearts, to finding a cure, but in these tight economic times it's hard to raise money from individuals. Pink has been my favorite color for 16 years now, and I don't at all mind seeing a little more of it around when I go the mall or the local grocery store. 

America, The Golden Home

This post is the first of the series of posts that will be examining various aspects of American culture through the McDonald's franchise. I think that one of the stories that we tell ourselves as Americans, is that everyone else wants to be like us. In some ways, this is true and in some ways this is not. It's not true because of things like not everyone has decided to run their country the same way that we run ours, meaning not everyone has a democracy, similar justice system, similar values, the list goes on. However, our impact on the world can be undeniably seen through how the most loved fast food restaurant, and the founder of fast food, has taken the world with over 31,000 restaurants in 119 countries. In case you forgot, I'm talking about McDonald's. But, as McDonald's has become globalized, it has also become glocalized. 

Two popular McDonald's dishes in India

India is a great example of how other countries are taking an American phenomenon and adapting it to their own customs and ways of life. Hinduism is huge in India and the Indian McDonald's menu reflects that. Hamburgers and other beef products cannot be found on their menu. (McDonald's India menu)This is not to say that Indians do not want to be like us Americans, but it is an example that shows that not everyone is willing to conform to be just like us. 


Another Point I would like to make is that no one ever talks about is that for the most part, other countries were not inviting in McDonalds or American culture, McDonalds began franchising other places on their own. Perhaps it's time we stop believing that the story we tell ourselves about the whole world wanting to be just like us is true. 

Redemption

Electric Chair

On http://www.anamericanstudies.com/, there is a blog post titled "A Lesson After Dying?" about Troy Davis, a man who was killed by the death penalty just last week after being accused as guilty for murdering a policeman in 1989. In case you did not catch on, the title of Doc Oc's blog post, "A Lesson After Dying?", is a reference to the book A Lesson Before Dying, written by Ernest Gaines. I had the chance to read the book last year over the summer for summer reading. For those of you who are unacquainted with the novel, it's about a black man in the South (seeing any parallels to Davis?) who was accused of murdering a white man by gun (how about now?). Before Jefferson is executed, he gets various lessons from another man, and when he goes to sit down in the chair, he dies as a man rather than the boyish "hog" that he used to be. One cannot help but feel bad for Jefferson not only because he was wrongly accused, but because he had so much personal growth in the time in between when he was sentenced and when he was executed.

What this all comes down to is the concept of redemption. By the time Jefferson had to be executed, he had truly redeemed himself and became a man, which is why the reader feels so upset when he is killed. Davis was not lucky enough to have the chance to redeem himself, but who is to say that if he were to be let free, he would not have redeemed himself then? America was founded upon the ideas of redemption- the first European settlers of the U.S. came over looking for a second chance, trying to find the freedom to practice the religion of their choice, and hoping to get a clean slate and start anew. Many years later the Revolutionary War occurred, when the new inhabitants of the land once again wanted to break free from England and get a chance to live the life they wanted. American history is filled with tons of stories of redemption, and I believe it is an American value we are very proud of. For this reason, it seems very twisted that the death penalty is still used in the United States and that we do not give the second chance to people who have been accused of crimes when Americans throughout time have been give a chance at redemption.

World Vegetarian Day

Are veggies YOUR friend?

I have a weird hobby. I like to look up on Wikipedia whatever the day's date is. So today, like always, I searched "October 1" on Wikipedia, and began skimming through the page. A few things caught my eye about October 1st: Disney World in Florida opened, same-sex marriages became legal in Denmark -- which was the first country to introduce them, Nigeria gained its independence from the U.K., it's International Day of Older Persons, and World Vegetarian day. (History of October 1st on Wikipedia) In the likely event that you do not share my habit, I would like to inform you that today is a big, happy day! Yesterday was T-Pain's birthday, the two-year anniversary of the deadly Sumatra earthquake, and International Blasphemy Day, which is especially depressing considering it was Rosh Hashanah. Yesterday was clearly not as good of a day as today is -- World Vegetarian Day!


Now let me start off by saying that I love meat, almost all meat too. And fish too, regardless of whether it has been cooked, filleted, fried, broiled, rolled in rice and seaweed, you name it. So it seems very fitting that there would be an entire day dedicated to people unlike me who have the control to avoid these guilty pleasures. As the World Vegetarian Day Wikipedia page says: "[the day] brings awareness to the ethical, environmental, health and humanitarian benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle." The first reason I admire vegetarians is for their ethical beliefs that it is wrong to eat animals. My first reaction whenever someone says she is a vegetarian is, "Who cares about those animals? It's survival of the fittest, and I am more fit!" But after trying to feel some sympathy for the animals, I realized that I too am an animal- all humans are. Just because I am lucky enough not to have to worry about being killed and eaten as food (thank god!), does not mean that I should not feel responsible for other animals who aren't so lucky. With much new research coming out on cows and the methane they produce hurting the environment, abstaining from eating meat seems like it does more than just save the life of some cows, it could be saving the life of a polar bear too. 

Despite the fact that we all know it is good to be a vegetarian, most of us are not. It may be because like me, you love meat and fish too much, or it could be something else. Eating meat is a privilege, and a symbol of wealth. My sister has recently gotten some first hand experience on this now that she is just out of college and trying to support herself on a first job salary. She often complains about how she can't eat meat and that she is feeling deprived. I think Americans are proud of the hard work that they have put in to come this far to not only be able to eat meat but be picky with it, and they certainly are not ready to give up this "greedy" lifestlye. Why else do YOU think Americans love to eat meat? Why do we chose to ignore the little voice in our heads of the cute cow mooing?