Good Fortune by Landon Van Soest

When I began reading Chapter 1 of “Mistaking Africa,” it reminded me of our first class meeting. Professor Crowley asked us to do the same exercise Curtis Keim talks about in the text. Professor Crowley asked us what comes to mind when we think about Africa. It is a great exercise and allow us to express our perceptions of Africa. Even in class, it took me time to think about what comes to mind when I hear the word Africa, because I have not really heard much about it besides the common misconceptions: “Africa is a primitive place, full of trouble and wild animals, and in need of our help” (5). I frequently see the UNICEF commercial with Alyssa Milano, who asks her viewers how it would feel to be able to save a child’s life for fifty cents a day. The commercial precedes to play really depressing music and shows a slideshow of undernourished children, who fend for themselves in

In the article "Chance and Circumstance" by David Leonhardt he speaks about a lot of subjects. These subjects ranged from hockey players in Canada to Bill Gates and Malcolm Gladwell. Malcolm Gladwell was a man who graduated from University of Toronto. He had then moved to the United States to try journalism (578). Bill Gates was a man with a advantage over many because he himself states that he had more exposure to software then maybe anyone at the time (579). David also states things about teenagers being born in the beginning of the year are stronger, older and taller than their peers. David interviewed a parent at the championship game at the Canadian junior league, which he later found out that the son of the man was born January fourth. He then discovered that the son, hockey player of the man was big for his age (580). A challenge that I have always gone through in baseball would be that I was always the shortest, youngest and at times the weakest.

An integral part of the film were the interviews and the information they relayed. These interviews provided appeals to ethos, and logos. Appeals to ethos were seen through interviews with Magatte Wade and Daniel Jean Lewis. Wade offered information regarding the ideas that Africa is poor or weak, and refuted it. Wades arguments appealed to ethos by questioning the ethics behind our yearning to help. Lewis also appealed to ethics by refusing the idea that we needed to help impoverished people, by sending them free stuff. Lewis’s argument works towards the appeal to ethics, because it attacks a capitalistic and western criticism. In the west, we often hear people criticize others for receiving, “handouts,” but we then send money to NGO’s to give people free stuff in other countries. The same logic should apply, though, therefore revealing the illogical approaches made by the west. The film appeals to logic by using statistics and facts in these interviews. Two examples of this are seen with Timothy Schwartz, and anthropologist in Haiti, and Hernando de Soto, an economist. Schwartz’s appeal comes from his explanation of the disproportionate import and export trade between Haiti and the United States. His explanation of the surplus’ being imported, killing local industry, creates and appeal to logic, between the film and the audience. Hernando De Soto’s argument works in a

Jimmy Cross, a college student, is carrying a great burden being the lieutenant of his group of soldiers. A chapter from The Things They Carried titled “In the Field” states, “Jimmy Cross did not want the responsibility of leading these men. He had never wanted it … he had signed up for the Reserve Officer Training Corps … because it seemed preferable to letting the draft take him” (160). The use of the word “never” to describe Cross’s want for being a lieutenant displays that at no point in his life had he ever desired to lead a band of men in the war. Even though Cross in no way wanted to direct this group of men, it seemed like a better option than being drafted in the war. To him, being drafted in the war sounded even less desirable than

The book Lucky Child by Loung Ung tells the story about Loung who was fortunate to escape the terrifying invasion of the Khmer Rouge and escape to america.The pressure of dealing with assimilation and trying to fit in leaves Loung lost in the journey of trying to find out who she really is.

Peter Edelman wrote his most recent novel, So Rich, So Poor in 2012 and it was published in the same year by The New Press. Edelman is a lawyer and policy maker whom specializes in the fields of welfare, poverty, juvenile justice and constitutional law. He received both his bachelors and law degree from Harvard College. After graduation, Edelman served as a law clerk to Judge Henry Friendly on the U.S. Court of Appeals and then as a law clerk for Justice Arthur J. Goldberg on the United States Supreme Court. He then worked for Robert Kennedy, and then the Clinton Administration, where he resigned to protest Clinton’s signing of the welfare reform legislation.

Mike Davis, author of Planet of Slums, predicts the direction in which the world’s cities are headed, and how the changes in living conditions are only going to deteriorate if certain trends continue. The title of his book explains Davis’s vision for the future of cities as he feels there is enough evidence pointing towards an exponential rise in slum populations across the world’s largest cities. Additionally, he expresses his opinion on many issues regarding the rapid rise in developing cities’ slum populations, although he offers very one-sided arguments geared towards those who feel the current system is causing more problems rather than improving current conditions. This causes Davis to overlook the problems of slums as resolvable through different modes of assistance such as international aid programs. Instead, he views aid programs as the root cause of imbalance created during industrialization. Throughout the book, Davis presents information that confirms his preconceptions towards the slums. Therefore, all the evidence that is presented by him portrays confirmation bias as Davis fails to mention anything about the resolution of the problem of the growing number of slums and instead sees this problem as unavoidable. Particularly, Davis’ writing, although intended for the general population, is more geared towards critics who have similar ideas. Instead of providing the means through which the economy could be improved and the problem of slums could be resolved, it is

What are some issues that threaten the immediate stability and balance of the world? War? Nukes? Global Warming? Economic fluctuations? The answer is none of the above. All of these are admissible issues, but they don’t come near to the immediate impact and effects that accompany world poverty. An estimated three billion people live on less than $2.50 a day, yet there hasn’t been any drastic actions taken to counteract this predicament in a sustaining manner (Shah). However, writers such as Peter Singer and Garrett Hardin are doing a stupendous job bringing this topic into the spotlight. Both “Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor,” and “The Singer Solution To World Poverty,” offer insight to this serious issue. Both authors

Ben Powell’s “In Defense of ‘Sweatshops’” article offers an uncommon point of view regarding the necessity of sweatshops. Powell knows that people know about sweatshops, but he offers another angle to the topic. The point he tries to get across is how sweatshops can actually be beneficial to the people in the third world countries, rather than them being a terrible thing. Throughout the article, he brought up some relatively good points, but not all he had to say was backed up with evidence. Therefore, Powell’s article was semi-effective.

Her college roommate felt sorry for her even before she came because she knew that she was coming from Africa. Her roommate had a single story of Africa and that was poverty. Her roommate was surprised when she met Adichie and learned that she came from a middle class family and that she could speak English very well. Adichie informed her that English was the official language of Nigeria. I remember finding this information both new and surprising. After watching the video and hearing Adichie’s story, I realized how easy it is for us all to be exposed to single stories. I began to think about the ways in which we are exposed to these stories such as the media, books, people, and society. When I flip on the television, there are commercials of African children living in poverty and begging for donations to have food to eat. Much like the roommate, I too thought Africa was a place of

Dr. Steve Maraboli once said, “The universe does not give you what you ask for with your thoughts; it gives you what you demand with your actions.” Some Africans described themselves as poor, but in order to receive enough money, they would have to be persistent in their work or searching for one to be done. The article, “12 Reasons Why Africans Are Poor, Miserable And Pitiable” explains how the people feels about the African being poor. The writer says that they are poor because of the love for foreign made goods, the way they have lost faith in their ability to use their creative ingenuity, and the little things they manage to produce.

“The Lucky Years.” That is the title of world-renowned oncologist Dr. David Agus’s latest book and the phrase he coined to describe today’s era of medicine. In the midst of a scientific and technological Renaissance, Dr. Agus attempts to captivate and inform his audience of how these upcoming years will drastically change the world of health. He promises that his book will “[give] you the keys to a new kingdom of wellness.” He tells his readers that the world of being able to edit their own DNA, losing weight without dieting, and using their own immune systems to battle cancer is much closer than they think. Having the honor of attending one of Dr. Agus’ lectures, I learned that he wrote the The Lucky Years to expand his medical reach across a large number of people. It acts as a paper extension of himself, since he is unable to reach every patient in person. Many health experts, just like Agus, write books and articles for widespread publications in hopes of increasing the general public’s knowledge of the medical world; however, while Dr. Agus’ intentions for his book are optimistic, does he actually grab the attention of a wide audience? More importantly, will this book increase his audience’s health literacy levels to a point where they can utilize the Lucky Years like he states?

Glennie, Jonathan. "Giving Aid to Poor Countries Is Hardly a Great Act of Generosity." Poverty Matters Blog. Guardian News and Media, 14 June 2011. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.

Kenya was ranked 145 out 187 nations on the Human Development Index. “Kenya has been ranked lowly in a UN global survey on well-being and quality of life beyond annual economic growth rates” (Masha, 2013). According to the Human Development Index, Kenya has been declining on the developmental scale ever since 1980. Most of Kenya’s population lives under extreme poverty which is an average of 30 percent of the country. These facts will show a drastic picture for Kenya and their fight against poverty. Believe it or not, Kenya has one of the highest growing population in the world. “As a result of the booming population growth, the country faces a serious unemployment problem, which the government admits will worsen over the next decade despite its best efforts” (Mwembe, 1989). Unemployment is increasing more every day which unfortunately means poverty is rising. Currently more than half of Kenyans live under the poverty

there is something interesting – and indeed surprising - about Africa, it is a continent where smart fastidious individuals can capitalize on the gullibility of others and make millions within the twinkling of an eye. It is a place where even monkey’s red ass, back up with a little lie and persuasion, can be marketed as omnipotent product and sold for millions of dollars for simple minded individuals.