Blog Post 7: The Progressive Era

 The Progressive Era

In my blog today, I will be writing about why the average citizen must seek out anti-war websites that share information from writers about anti-war arguments, and why it is that no one seems to hear about it in the mainstream media.

First Website: antiwar.com

This first website, when visited pops up with a bunch of different topics surrounding war from around the world. The writings in this blogger website are all very strong...but why are we not hearing about the things discussed in these blogs on the news? 

Second Website: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/

My Opinion

I believe that the reason behind why the average citizen is not viewing discussions surrounding topics of antiwar like on this website because the government wants to retain a certain image. If the news were to be talking about anti-war, people could begin siding with the idea that war is actually a horrible way to assert dominance by a government. 

Since anti-war talk is so marginalized due to it not being discussed, the media figures it is not as important to discuss since it does not fit a certain 'narrative.' The media relies on tellings stories from major sources and huge political and economic interests. They tend to rely on official sources like government press briefings, defense department updates, and corporate PR. Since anti-war voices often challenge these sources (questioning military actions, questioning government actions, foreign policy, military spending, etc) they don't fit the typical narrative. For example, questioning or critiquing U.S. military actions or alliances like NATO might be seen as "unpatriotic," which can make editors of stories in the media nervous about including such perspectives.

Additionally, these websites usually are not found easily enough due to underfunding since many of these websites are created by small groups that, again, do not fit the typical narrative. Because they do not fit the narrative, many people view them as outcasts. They tend to rely on donations, which limits their ability to spread their message and views, and it especially makes it difficult for the mainstream media to pick up their stories or opinions and share it across media.

To conclude, as many of us know, things like war and conflict sell. People watch more news that has to do with shocking events and out-of-the-ordinary occurrences. While anti-war talk is out of the ordinary, the average citizen tends to crave something more dramatic and sensational, like war. News channels that report on things like war get more views which in turn earns them more money, while anti-war messages tend to be more subtle and reflective--view it as less sexy and appealing as war.

Conclusion

With the websites listed above, I had no knowledge of websites like these before discovering them. I did really think about the idea that there are groups out there who are strongly against war and try to spread their message around the nation and around the world. Because I am not of this, and I am sure many others are not, it only goes to show how the mainstream media picks and chooses its stories, and if they think it will not sell, they do not bother. 

I believe that mainstream news should try to stray away from the typical narrative and share more nuanced stories like these. I know I would watch!

My next blog will be sharing information about the Diffusion Theory and my thoughts on it! See you next time!

Blog Post 6: Each One, Teach One - Presentation Reflection

Each One, Teach One - Peer Reflection 

In this blog post, I will be detailing some inventions that my peers shared in their "Each One, Teach One" presentations. Just like my blog post about the telegraph, this blog post will be sharing new information I discovered from other pieces of technology in history. 

The History of the Carrier Pigeons

Many people know about carrier pigeons being one of the first ways to communicate across varying distances. Little did I know, however, the origin of carrier pigeons and where it started.

According to the research one of my classmates found, the first instances of carrier pigeons was likely in ancient Egypt. This was the fastest way to get a message from point A to point B. In addition, carrier pigeons were also used during the Roman Empire; there was quite a large usage of them at that time. Initially, carrier pigeons were used only for the wealthy who wanted to deliver their mail faster than on horseback. At the time, it was a privilege to have a carrier pigeon deliver your message.

Carrier pigeons were also regarded in the Middle East, and were help in high esteem, calling them "King's Angels". Again, as you can see, they were used primarily for the wealthiest of citizens. 

A fun fact about carrier pigeons is that pigeon racing became an official sport in the 1900s! Who knew! 

The Invention and History of Television

Television is both one of the greatest and most astonishing
inventions when it comes to technology. Before the television, there was Paul Nipkow, who invented the electric telescope in 1884, which was a spinning disk system that could 'scan' things. After this invention, years later, Philo Farnsworth demonstrated the first electronic TV system in 1927. This was technically the first ever invention of the television, the earliest and closest thing to a TV like the ones we have today. 

The television helped revolutionize communication and fostered shared cultural experiences. Once it became a worldwide invention, majority of the population eventually had one and could experience real time events with other countries at the same time, which positively impacted communication between countries. It helped unite the world and brought people together when it came to watching favorite shows or witnessing live television broadcasts. 

Of course, there are negatives with every positive. Concerns over televised violence, particularly on children, became quite prominent. One way children would find entertainment was through the TV, but unfortunately, there were times when there was no perfect way to monitor whether violence would pop up on the television. In addition, it sparked debates on content regulation and parental supervision. The issue rose that parents should be supervising their children when watching TV to help diminish the possibility of violence being displayed. 

Obviously, television made it a very long way and better ways to monitor children while watching TV has become very advanced. For example, Netflix has the feature that allows children to only view child-approved content. In addition, on cable, there are many different channels that promote only kids shows which helps diminish the impact of violence on children nowadays.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both the inventions that I chose to speak about are inventions that were necessary for technology to be as advanced as it is today. These inventions helped set in motion extraordinary creations that we could only have imagined back in the day. 

My next blog post will detail The Progressive Era and I will be sharing my thoughts on antiwar voices.