...Keep Hope Alive: Fighting Obesity in America Jonathan Gilchrist Advanced Composition SPRA11 Sec AA Professor Jeffry Berke April 5, 2011 Keep Hope Alive: Fighting Obesity in America Introduction America is the one the richest countries in the world. One would think that it would hold a similar title for being the healthiest. That is far from the truth. Obesity has become a vast dilemma in our nation. Adults, children, even animals are suffering from obesity. It has come to be all too normal. The media has latched onto the dangers of this disease, while various diets and weight programs have been released to the public. It is very difficult to understand why America ignores the warnings of countless TV shows, the government, and news. Even the event of a family member’s death doesn’t seem to wake our nation up. The American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery shows that Obesity and overweight issues cost the U. S 117 million dollars in healthcare annually(McCue, 2010). Tobacco is currently the lead cause of preventable death, a statistic that obesity could soon obtain (Lemonick, 2004). Excess weight takes a horrible toll on the body. Various health problems such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and more come from obesity. Michael Limerick’s (2004) “How We Grew So Big,” places the blame on technology stating “We humans have utterly transformed our environment; over the past century especially, technology has almost completely removed physical...
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...Hope is both a savior and guide for its host. Two authors give their opinion about the relationship between humanity and hope. Emily Dickinson the poet of “XXXII” demonstrates a fantasy relationship between humanity and hope. Contrastingly, Cormac McCarthy, author of the novel The Road , illustrates that humans would be lost without hope. Although both McCarthy and Dickinson both view hope as a comfort for humanity, McCarthy has a more realistic view of hope and doesn’t romanticize how fragile hope can be. McCarthy’s position on the relationship between hope and humanity is that hope must be nourished in order to be kept alive. “Winter was already upon them. He turned and looked at the boy. Standing with his suitcase like an orphan waiting...
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...Thirty-three workers became trapped during a Chilean copper mine collapse near the northern town of Copiapó, Chile on August 5, 2010. The tragedy captured the attention of media, and audiences, around the world alike. Once reported, hopes and prayers went out the trapped workers, the workers families and the rescue workers from the hearts of many. During severe heart-wrenching incidents, such as this, it is important to consider the roles of those involved. The potential needs of the workers, whose lives were at stake, and the needs of their families become extremely important when discussing the incident. It is important to know how to address everyone involved while considering their needs. Waking up on August 5, 2010 was no different from any other day for these workers. The miners kissed and hugged their family members before heading off to work in the Chilean copper mine. The day had been the same as the day before for the miners. Close to the time for the miners to take their lunch break, the tunnel collapsed leaving them trapped 300 meters below ground level. Other miners feared that the thirty-three miners still inside the mine were in the disaster zone when the collapse happened. The workers that were trapped had to have been scared not knowing if they were ever going to be able to see loved ones again. For 16 days, the workers had no communication from the outside world, and no way for the outside world to communicate back to them. Fear, itself is scary, but fear...
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...Yann Martel’s novel, ‘Life of Pi’ is about the protagonist Piscine Molitor Patel, a 16 year old boy who has been stranded in the Pacific Ocean for 227 days with only the company of animals. A zebra, hyena, orangutan and a Bengal tiger, all which are trying to survive on a lifeboat. In ‘Life of Pi’ survival is a key theme and along with survival goes hope. Pi evolves into a different person by the end of the novel as he has adapted to the unfortunate circumstance. Pi’s family had made the decision to move to Canada with various animals from their zoo in Pondicherry, aboard the Tsimtsum. The Tsimtsum sinks leaving Pi to be the lone survivor, spare the mentioned animals. Having the presence of animals adds to the stress of survival, as Pi does not only need to keep himself alive he feels the need to keep all the animals alive and from harming him. To Pi, at...
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...Carraway for his extreme dreaming and hope. Jay Gatsby, throughout the novel, is portrayed to refuse to see the negative, and always look towards the positive. He has a great sense of hope throughout the story, never giving up on what he came for, Daisy. Fitzgerald portrays Gatsby’s hopes and dreams by showing the reader that this is a gift, a curse, and why it makes him ‘The Great Gatsby.’ Jay Gatsby is a over-the-head dreamer. His head is always in the clouds, dreaming about what he could be or what could happen in his life. Since his dream of wealth is granted, he moves on to his dream of happiness, wanting Miss Daisy Buchanan. He meets her one night at a party before he goes off to world war one. But, he mistakenly falls ever so deep in love with her. Throughout the five years they are apart, all he could do is dream about their life together after he gets home. He stay’s completely positive with his dreams, knowing that if he dreams hard enough, they will come true....
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...role in the communication of the 33 miners that were trapped for 69 days underground. All types of communication were used from live minute to minute news coverage to the world tweeting about the collapse on twitter. With television, radio it is easy to sensor the communication do the strict guidelines these agency have concerning tragic events. The reporters delivering the news ensure that what they are communicating is accurate information. Understand that the workers family and coworkers are worried about the miner’s survival. In larger incidents, such as this the information must be controlled to keep panic at a minimum. Communication efforts to the miners are equally important. There were numerous measured taken to ensure the miners mental fortitude. There was a bore hole that allowed the miners to let the world know that the miners are alive. This communication came 17 days later after all thought the 33 miners had parish. The rescuers lowered a video camera down to the miners this communicated to the people up above that the miners were in good health. The miners exchanged letters to their family and friends through the bore hole as well. The family members were also allowed to talk to the miners via a phone they was dropped through the bore hole. They sent board games and cards so that the miners could occupy themselves so they could stay in good faith. The Chilean government gathered advice from NASA on how to survive during...
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...Hope during the Dark Times How can hope affect one’s life? In the novel The Cellist of Sarajevo, Canadian author Steven Galloway illustrates how amidst the unexpected obstacles and inevitable twists thrown in life, having hope enables one to keep going in times of despair. The presence of hope affects the three protagonists; Dragan’s future, Arrow’s spirit, and Kenan’s mindset. The presence of hope affects Dragan’s future. Firstly, Dragan hopes that one day he will return to the comfort of his wife and son. “He hopes that, wherever they are, his wife and son are happy.” (Galloway 38). Dragan did not see his wife and son ever since the siege began. He somehow manages to send them to Italy before the war began, but he himself decides to stay...
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...to Bad Reporting and False Hopes?” by Conrad F. Goeringer, he discusses the mining explosion that occurred at the Sago mine in West Virginia on January 2, 2006. Twelve men were trapped in this mine. Forty-eight hours later eleven were found dead, and one man was unconscious. However, reports were made that a miracle took place; rescuers recovered all of these men alive. Goeringer claims that fictional outcomes were wrapped up in faith. This faith, he argues, intensified the grieving for survivors and resulted in fallacious reports by the news media. He states, “The church seems to have been the ignition point of the joyous but unverified rumor: “families began streaming out of the church, yelling ‘They’re Alive!’ The church’s bells began ringing and families embraced.’” (42) In this excerpt, he is suggesting that the people of the church are the source of the false reports in this tragic incident. In conclusion, Goeringer assumes that the exhilaration of a miracle, and faith carried out an untrue story. The news media was misguided by these believers, which resulted in false reports of these miners being found alive. In my view, Goeringer is misrepresenting the reports of these “alive” miners, claiming that their sources, with high hopes of a miraculous finding, led the media to believe this also. “‘Praying for a miracle” seemed to be a phrase on everyone’s lips, including the television anchors and reporters desperately working to keep the information coherent while...
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...Hope even in the worst of times Hope it keeps people going even when they think they cannot. I want to be that hope. When there is someone in need I want to be able to help them. One way I can be that hope is by being a social worker. I will be able to get a look into people’s lives and decide what is best for them. I can help those in need and figure out what is going on. Being a social worker I can give hope to many different people. Hope is very important to me for I grew up not in the best circumstances. I grew up hopping that a shooting star would answer my prayers. What was my prayer? Well mine was for my mom to give drugs up for us kids and get better. I also wished for my brother to be healed for the drugs she had taken while pregnant had affected his brain. The wish of course never came true and I had to put my hope in something new. I found Jesus to put my trust in and he helped me to be forgiving and loving to others even when they did not deserve it. I know that not everyone is religious, but I do understand the importance of hope. This is why I want to give hope to others and I believe being a social worker can accomplish just that. Dave Pelzer was the boy from A Child Called IT. Dave is an example of why it is important to help others and to look out for those in need. Dave is a boy who was abused by his mom and did not get help for years to come, but through this whole time he had hope. He still is hopeful to this day and with the teachers and social...
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...despair but also shows a lot of still having signs of hope. Elie faces growing up in a concentration camp with just his father and is faced with so many problems and loss of people that he loved. Through this time of his life Elie really needed a lot of hope to get through all the despair. Despair can lead you to unhappiness and hope make you be able to keep moving through. A the age 15 Ellie was forced out of his house to the ghetto then out of the ghetto and onto a cattle truck for days with little food and water.It was torture for Ellie he was scared but his hope kept keeping him moving thinking everything was gonna be alright.After he got off the cattle trucks he arrived at the first selection Elie said “I pitched myself was i still alive how was it that men and women were being burned and the world kept silent of it”. After the selection Elie said that “every encounter filled him with...
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...They instilled fear upon everyone inside the concentration camps, they burned children, mothers, and the elderly alive. They even did this in front of the able-bodied workers to break them in some sense. This was done knowing how it would affect them as people, not as Jews, not as Gypsies, but as people. It truly destroyed these people watching their loved ones and others be exterminated right in front of them. The most powerful and unforgettable piece of the book is what Elie says and how he is affected after the first night in Birkenau. “Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky. Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live.” This is powerful beyond comprehension,...
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...FTC_booklet_282644.indd 1 12/12/07 2:17:02 pm FTC_booklet_282644.indd 2 12/12/07 2:17:59 pm Contents To the limit? Beyond the mountain Keep hope alive! page 4 page 6 page 8 These texts look at different kinds of challenges, from taking part in extreme sports to experiences that change the way people think. They also explore how facing a challenge can inspire people. Facing the challenge FTC_booklet_282644.indd 3 3 12/12/07 2:18:04 pm In this article, Louise Rogers tries to understand why young people are attracted to extreme sports. You can now go deep sea diving without oxygen and do parachute jumping from space. These activities are apparently some of the latest examples of extreme sports. They certainly sound extremely dangerous, and it’s tempting to call them extremely stupid too. You begin to wonder what people will do next: white water rafting without the raft? Skateboarding down Everest? What exactly are extreme sports anyway? According to sports expert Angie Naidoo, they are action sports usually done by someone on their own rather than in a team. ‘Extreme sports involve more than one of the following: speed, height, danger or spectacular stunts,’ explains Angie. ‘They are also often about challenging some aspect of the natural world, whether it’s defying gravity or scaling a very high mountain. They are not all as extreme as parachuting from space! And extreme sports are not just a recent trend either: skiing, skateboarding, in-line...
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...the reader to learn that there are scarifies an individual must make to attain goals because one will become more successful in completing their goals resulting in self achievement. In the story, Alive Nando Parrado, Roberto Canessa and Antonio VizintÍn sacrifice their dignity and test their faith in order to survive. One of the characters that were willing to sacrifice their pride for the circumstances they were under was Canessa because he was the first to suggest in eating human flesh, not just because he was hungry but also because he wanted to stay alive. Knowing that God was they’re for him and this was simply a test. He encouragess the others by explaining things under the word of God and how he shared his flesh and blood at the last dinner. Canessa was a natural leader, he took control of the group and made sure that no one gave up; he was helping the injured giving them some motivation to stay positive. He made hammocks to help the boys who had injured legs, making it more comfortable for them, he showed that he cared for others and he wasn’t selfish. When making goals you have to be open minded and not selfish, and by taking leadership of something that has great value to you shows that you will sacrifice anything just like Canessa. Canessa goal was to keep others alive, and maintain comfort for those who were doubtful. Canessa is someone who is...
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...“Promised Land”. The Grapes of Wrath is a film about a family who is forced off of their farms and out of their home due to the immense draught that has plagued the Midwest during the Great Depression. The actors in this film were not made up to look like the typical perfect Hollywood type. They look like real farmers and hardworking people and the lighting is manipulated to show this. The family, the Joad’s, travel from Oklahoma all the way to California when they hear about the jobs and opportunities out there. Throughout their journey they face a lot of difficulties in keeping their supplies and money at a constant flow. They stop to work small farming and harvesting jobs along the way but never make enough money. They keep their hope alive and the family close so that no one is left behind as they finally reach a dreary camp for people to find work. The main character, Tom, who was just released from prison, gets into a fight with another worker and knows he can not stay with the family because it will get all of them into trouble, so he goes off on his own. Tom is willing to risk the possibility of getting caught on his own so that the family does not have to suffer even more. There is a clear notion that the idea of his family comes first when he does this. The Joad’s are very disappointed in the work camp they are...
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...seeing how the novel is based in Louisiana in the nineteen-forties Grant is one of the few educated African American people that can and will help Jefferson “die like a man.” The author set the location of the novel in Louisiana in the nineteen-forties where not many African Americans were as well educated as Grant was. This gave Grant the role of helping Jefferson not because he wanted to but because his aunt wanted him to. Jefferson is dipicted as an ignorant African American youngman who has no chance of being shown any mercy or any chance of being shown innocent in trial and Grant knows that but Grant sees justice as Jefferson “dying like a man” so he continues to try and find what he sees as justice. Grant successfully keeps the theme of justice alive in this novel by continually trying to help Jefferson not “die like a hog” and although Grant may have failed in helping Jefferson “die a man” the degree that Grant is successful in his search for justice is Grant knew it was impossible to help this young African American boy because of the...
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