Tis the season to be jolly

‘Tis the season. ‘Tis the season when we deck the halls with boughs of marketing, and it’s not even winter. It’s still fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-fall. (Sorry). It’s easy to be a Scrouge about the whole deal and blame it on our runaway capitalistic spirit, but that’s not really what’s going down during the Christmas season. ‘Tis the season of American culture. We can’t claim French fries, hotdogs, or hamburgers, and I have a sneaking suspicion that apple pie isn’t as red, white and blue as we’d like to think. That leaves us with baseball and the Christmas shopping season.
You see, American culture is about diversity, Just as you can find a Puerto Rican on 2nd and a Samoan playing shortstop, you can find an African-American Santa right across the aisle from his Caucasion counterpart. Menorahs and wreaths share warehouse space without religious disputes. Mirth becomes an acceptable synonym for happiness. It is a wonderful time of diversity, acceptance, and tickle-me Elmos. It is a time that fills my heart with mirth.
Of course, there is a downside. No one cares about Thanksgiving anymore. Schoolchildren have stopped drawing hand-turkeys and pilgrims are confused with nuns,
Families are replacing turkey with ham and to be frank, the turkey’s feelings are a little hurt.
So, Christmas enthusiasts, shop this holiday season with confidence, but take the effort to respect the turkey. It is Thanksgiving after all, save the ham for Christmas.

It seems as if Christmas decorations appear earlier and earlier each year, everywhere from retail stores to private homes, even Piedmont College. Does this trend increase or decrease your Christmas joy? Discuss your pet peeves as well as your favorite traditions, as they relate to decorating for Christmas.
This post is due Monday, November 20th.

Hillary '08?

Alright. Forget everything you know about Hillary Clinton. Forget that there are Facebook groups full of people threatening to move to Canada if Clinton is elected President. Forget that the Washington Post reported that she talks to the ghost of Eleanor Roosevelt for inspiration. Forget that her husband was preoccupied with…well…yeah. Forget all this, and it might actually be easy to picture her as the President of the United States.
Clinton is progressive. This country is also progressive even though sometimes it likes to deny it. The United States needs a leader that reflects the times. Domestically and abroad, there are progressive issues that need to be addressed.
Clinton has long been known for her children’s initiatives. The Children's Health Insurance Program was headed up by Clinton and provided support for children whose parents were unable to afford health coverage. She also managed to increase the research funding for illnesses such as prostate cancer and childhood asthma. It’s not uncommon to find pictures of Clinton reading to children. Unlike Bush, she manages to hold the book right-side-up.
Women’s rights have also been a political frontier for Clinton. She has supported efforts to encourage breast cancer awareness and prevention, citing resources available to citizens through Medicare. Her Vital Voices initiative created during her stint as the First Lady promotes the participation of women in foreign political processes, especially in Afghanistan. She has also been outspoken on the issue of violence against women. Of course she is a female, which unfortunately, is crucial factor in the bid for the Presidency of the United States. Never before in the history of the United States has a female been chosen as a presidential candidate for either party. Regardless, she is the subject of much speculation. Can a female succeed in a primary? Will normally stagnant female voters come out of the woodwork to vote for her? Will her marriage to President Clinton affect the outcome? I personally don’t think any of these scenarios will matter more than her position on more pressing issues.

Election 2008

Who would you like to see win the presidential campaign in 2008? Justify your choice. Posting is due Wednesday, November 8.

Raise it to 18? Whaddya say, chap?

I went to England once. The roads are all narrow. They have speed humps instead of bumps and there is no “shoulder”— just hedges. They also don’t have 16 year olds behind the wheel. In fact, Britain (yes the same country where you can drink at 18) doesn’t allow unsupervised driving until 18 years of age.
Why? My 16-year-old self would kick me for saying this, but 16-year-olds are not mature enough to drive. Some are, sure. But definitely not all. Blame it on the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex. The National Institute of Health has determined that at the age of 16, this decision-making and consequence-perceiving part of the brain is much more underdeveloped than at 17 or 18. Of course, you can always argue that our brains develop more quickly than the Brits.
Regardless, two people will die every day in USA by vehicles driven by 16-year-olds. One in five 16-year-olds will be involved in a crash within their first year of driving. AAA reports that “In 2003, there were 937 drivers age 16 who were involved in fatal crashes. In those wrecks, 411 of the 16-year-old drivers died and 352 of their passengers were killed. Sixteen-year-old drivers are involved in fatal crashes at a rate nearly five times the rate of drivers 20 or older.” I suggest that we take after our mother country and raise the driving age to 18.
The advantages are clear. It will save lives. The disadvantages are less clear. Raising the driving age would bring up transportation issues for teens such as getting to work or school. Often this is the argument that shuts down arguments for a raised driving age. This sounds to me like a call for better public transportation options, better sidewalks and cheaper bicycles. The lives on teenagers and everyone else on the road must be prioritized over conveinence.

Sixteen too early to drive

Different states are now considering raising the driving age to 17 as a result of high accident rates among 15 and 16 year olds. South Carolina is one, who is very optimistic about raising the age. Only 2% of the state's drivers are under the age of 18, but those teens make up 4% of the drivers involved in fatal collisions. They also make up 7% of drivers involved in all accidents, according to 2000 traffic data from the S.C. Dept. of Public Safety. Lancaster's Buford High School Principal James Jordan, said the teen-age girl who lived down the street from him and baby-sat his kids died in a car crash. Buford high school lost two cheerleaders in a car crash a few years later, then in August, two more students were killed in a two-car crash where one driver was 15 and the other was 16. Jordan has written letters to several state legislators urging action on raising the permit age to 16, the age for a restricted license to 17, and a full license at 18. "These kids need more supervision before we turn them loose," Jordan said.
On a national level, teens only make up about 6.7% of all motorists in the U.S., however, they account for 14% of the fatal crashes (teens aging from 16-19). Speeding is especially risky for young drivers because they are more prone to making errors and have less experience on the road. 77% of fatal crashes involving 16 yr. olds behind the wheel are caused by driver error. And, 16 yr. olds are nearly five times as likely to be involved in a fatal crash as drivers 20 and older. Overall, they don't really have a good sense of judgement or decision making, especially when other teenagers are in the car as well. Talking causes alot of distraction and it only takes that one second when you're not looking to take your life. 40% of 16 yr. old drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2003 had one or more teen passengers with them.
True, teenagers are a little more experienced at 17, but I don't really feel it's going to make a difference if they raise the age to just 17. If you look at statistics, many of them categorize 16-19 yr. olds together. And, from 16-18, I think that teenagers should be involved in a special type of defensive driving course, a practice driving course with designated older drivers (ie. parents, etc.), or real world situations classes, where they prepare these kids to react when they are about to have an accident. Defensive driving is extremely important, and I don't think parents stress that enough to their children. Some schools have implemented driving classes, but it doesn't seem like they're structured closely enough to real world situations that these kids might encounter. Personally, I didn't drive until I was 17, simply because I didn't have a car until that age. However, I drove with my mom in the car from 15-17, so I had a solid period of her teaching me how to react to situations, when you have the rightaway, when you yield to others, etc. And, by 18, I feel that I'd been thoroughly educated on how to drive safely and carefully. Some parents choose not to spend time teaching their kids how to drive, so if we are to have driving courses/classes that are going to be offered to newly driving teenagers, I think they should simulate more life-like situations that are sure to be encountered on the road. If they do decide to raise the law, and it does put a strain on some families, I believe special permission should be granted to those families that need their 16 yr. old to work. Maybe judges could do a conditional agreement, where the teen would take so many hours of defensive driving and so many hours of driving classes (state funded if need be), until the state feels the teen is able to drive safely. Overall, we just aren't caring enough to take the action necessary to prevent these things from happening; maybe not enough people are standing up to change the law. Either way, America's children are loosing and paying the price for our lack of good judgement.

Drivin N Cryin

Due Wednesday October 25:
Should Georgia's driving age be raised to 17? Find research showing 16-year-old drivers are disproportionately responsible for car accidents. Also consider the potential hardships caused for some 16-year-olds and their families if they were forced to wait an additional year to get their licenses. Use your own experiences and those of family and friends as appropriate, as well as those reported in the news.