Portfolio

Table of Contents

Reflective Essay (1-3)
“Sense of Place” Speech (4-5)
“Practicing the Everyday” Textual Accompaniment (6-8)
Final Project Rough Draft (9-10)
Final Draft of Final Project (11-20)
Rhetorical Analysis (21-22)
Narrative –Article about Homeless Family (23)
Cultural Analysis “Fast Enough for You” (24-26)
History Paper “War without Mercy” (27-30)

Clayton Heibert

December 10, 2014

WRD 110-045

Reflective Essay

I believe I have written more papers my first semester of college than I did in my final two years of high school. Though I don’t like writing much, this semester has helped me to become a better writer. This portfolio contains just a few of my assignments from this semester from WRD 110 and HIS 121.

Within this portfolio are my “Sense of Place” speech, “Practicing the Everyday” textual accompaniment, cultural analysis, rhetorical analysis, reflection of a narrative read in class, my final project paper, and an essay from my history class. The topic of each of these papers had a significance in the class. Early in the semester we talked about place and what the true meaning of place was. Place can be a physical “place” or a mental “place.” For the “Sense of Place” speech we had to pick a “place” that is special for us and I wrote my speech on the beach.

After talking about place we went into a unit on practices of the everyday world and why we do certain things. For this section me and my partner were assigned to make a video of one of us doing an everyday practice. My partner videoed me washing dishes and my “Practicing the Everyday” paper describes why I washed the dishes the way I did and how I developed these techniques. I also wrote a cultural analysis in this class over fast food and how it has become more popular over the years. A cultural analysis breaks down what is happening in society and how generations are changing. But a rhetorical analysis focuses on analyzing how a writer writes and the interaction he makes with the audience. The rhetorical analysis I wrote was about a boy who escaped from Mexico with his mom and grandfather to the U.S. as an illegal immigrant. The boy wrote about his journey to the U.S. and had emotional sequences while fleeing the country. The next assignment I included was a reflection of a narrative we read in class about a homeless family. Narratives are written to tell a story about an event that was important or caught your attention. The narrative about the homeless family was written by a journalist who spent a week with this family and included it in a magazine. The piece I enjoyed writing the most in this class was my final paper about the tobacco industry in Kentucky. My family grows tobacco and I have a lot

of interest in the production of tobacco. Although I already know a lot about tobacco the research I did expanded my knowledge and it was very interesting. The last paper included in this portfolio is a paper I wrote for my history class. This paper is over the book “War without Mercy”. This book describes the hate between the U.S. and Japan in World War II and how they tried to influence the citizens of their nations to hate the other. The book talked about all the propaganda techniques used to portray the enemy as someone you didn’t want to be like.

I chose to include all of these papers in my portfolio because I think they helped me to become a better writer than I was in high school. Each of these papers had me look at something from a different viewpoint and analyze it in a way I never would’ve before. The ability to view papers differently is the main strength I have gained for writing since I have been in college.

Clayton Heibert

September 9, 2014

WRD 110-045

Sense of Place

When I think about a place that holds a lot of memories in my life the beach comes to mind. The beach has been my family’s vacation destination many times over the years. We have been to Panama City Beach, Florida multiple times, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and most recently we went to Maui, Hawaii this past summer. I have to say Maui is hard to beat, but all of these places are fun and enjoyable.

One reason I find the beach so enjoyable is the mood that surrounds the beach. Pretty much everyone is there for the same reason, to get away from all the commotion and stress of normal life. The beach gives you the opportunity to relax and be stress free for a little while. You can go swimming, walk down the beach, ride jet skis, or just sit under the umbrella and not lift a finger.

As I said earlier the beach holds many family memories for me as well. I can remember going as a young child and building sandcastles with my 2 brothers and my sister and searching for shells around the edge of the water. As I got older all I wanted to do was get in the water and play. We would go snorkeling, we rode jet skis, and went parasailing. As I have gotten even older I’ve found that I like people watching more than anything. It is amazing what kind of sights you’ll see people watching, some that are nice and some you wish you would have never seen.

I also love the beach for all the other entertainment. Sometimes we will go ride go carts, golf, take a boat ride and much more. Also, I love seafood and having fresh seafood every night is amazing. Many times, especially in Hawaii, there will be live music at the restaurants. This kind of entertainment is a little hard to find in Kentucky.

Like I said, I have had many enjoyable memories at the beach over the past 18 years and hope to have many more. When I think of place a location that you can physically go to comes to mind. And a place that I enjoy is the beach.

Clayton Heibert

October 1, 2014

WRD 110-045

“Practicing the Everyday” Video Reflection

Before I started washing dishes the first thing I did was get everything out that I needed. I got a towel, rag, soap, and the dirty dishes and placed them near the sink. I did this because I am a very organized person and like for everything to be neat and where I need it. I like to always be prepared for what I am doing or planning on doing. Next, I put the drain plugin the bottom of the sink so I could fill the sink up with hot water. When filling the sink up I checked the water to make sure it was hot water. I always do this even if you can see steam coming off the water. It’s just a habit for me to check the water temperature. I do this when I get in the shower, wash dishes, or when cooking something. As the water was filling up I started to squirt the dish soap into the sink. This allowed the water and soap to mix together. If you wait till after you turn the water off to put the soap in the soap will just sink to the bottom. After the water and soap mixed and the water level rose a little more I got my rag out. Some people use brushes or sponges to clean dishes but I just use a rag. I have watched my mom wash dishes with a rag so I just picked up on it. I stuck the rag in the hot, soapy water so it would become saturated and I could scrub the dishes with it.

Once the water is about the right level I pick up a dish to start cleaning it. I have never used gloves to wash dishes like some people do. I usually wash my hands before I start though. My hand washing habits are kind of weird. I have been out working on the farm before and came into eat and I just start eating without washing my hands. I don’t understand why I do not wash my hands before eating sometimes but always wash them after going to the bathroom.

The first thing I do once I grab a dish to wash is wet it down with water to loosen up any food left on the plate. After this I hold the dish with my left hand in the hot, soapy water and scrub the dish clean with my right hand. I use my right hand to scrub because I am right-handed and can put more force on something with it. I’m washing a plate first and I always wash the top of the plate before the bottom. I think this is because the top is where the food sits and it gets dirtier. Once I have scrubbed both sides clean with the rag I then turn the faucet back on and rinse the soap suds off of the plate to make sure the suds don’t dry and leave soap scum on the dishes. After the plate is rinsed off I set it on the counter and proceed to washing the rest of the dishes.

I noticed that I don’t wash the dishes in any particular order but instead just wash whatever I pick up next. When I wash a cup I clean the inside first, then the outside. I do this for the same reason I wash the top of a plate first; it’s where the drink is at so it probably dirtier. I also wait until after I have washed all of my dishes before I dry any of them. Once again, I don’t know why I do this because I believe my mom dries each one and puts it away before washing another one. Once I have washed and rinsed all the dishes I pull the drain out of the sink and

rinse it off. Then I let the water drain and rinse the rag out and hang it up to dry on the neck of the faucet. Next, I dry my hands off and start to dry the dishes. I don’t dry the dishes in any certain order just like when I wash them, it’s just whichever I one I grab first. As I dry the dishes I sit the dry ones separate from the ones waiting to be dried. This is just another example of my organization habits. When drying a cup I do the inside first and dry the top of a plate first, just like when I wash them.

Once all the dishes are all dry, I wipe off any water on my hands then wipe off the countertop around the sink. I do this to make sure all the water is dried up and the countertop is clean from any food. Once this is done I fold the towel and hang it over the sink to let it dry. Lastly, I put the dishes away in the cabinet and my dish washing is completed.

I think it is safe to say that most of my dish washing habits have been picked up from my mom and the ones that are not I picked upon my own. I don’t wash many dishes at home but got a lot of practice in foods and nutrition class in high school and now here at college. As you can tell I like things to be organized, neat, and clean. I hate when I can see where a dish was not cleaned good. I also clean things thoroughly like my room, my truck and anything else.

Final Project Rough Draft

What comes to mind when asked what the state of Kentucky is known for? Most people will answer horse racing, basketball, bourbon, or Bluegrass music. One thing that doesn’t usually come to mind is tobacco. Tobacco is grown in an eight state band through the southeastern United States and only North Carolina produces more tobacco each year than Kentucky. There are actually two types of tobacco grown in Kentucky, burley tobacco and dark-leaf tobacco. Burley is a light colored tobacco plant that is usually air cured and used for the production of cigarettes. On the other hand, dark-leaf tobacco has a darker color than burley and is commonly used for the production of chewing tobacco and snuff because it has more flavor. Tobacco is a very profitable crop and the production of tobacco plays an important role in the state of Kentucky.

I bet you are wondering just how much tobacco Kentucky produces each year. Well in 2013 Kentucky produced about 187 million pounds of tobacco, which is around 85,000 acres. Even though Kentucky is second in total tobacco production they are actually first in burley tobacco production and Lexington is the world’s largest burley tobacco market.

Tobacco plays an important role I Kentucky’s economy. Tobacco is the most profitable crop per acre in the United States. On average, tobacco produces 2200-2500 pounds per acre and over the past 3-4 years tobacco prices have been on the rise and are roughly around $2.00 per pound right now. But the average production cost of growing tobacco is $1.17 per pound. This may seem like a lot but this cost includes fertilizer, pesticide and herbicide chemicals, fuel, and

labor. After you factor these costs in a net profit per acre would be $1800-$2000. This is more profitable than corn, soybeans, and wheat. This almost sounds too good to be true and depending on who you ask it is.

Even though Kentucky is one of the top tobacco producing states there is still far less tobacco produced than most other crops. This is because tobacco requires a lot more physical labor than about every other crop. All of the work required to grow tobacco is done by hand, there’s not a lot of driving tractors in a tobacco patch. In addition to this most of the work is done between June and August when the temperature average is in the 90s with high humidity. My family grows tobacco and I spend a sufficient amount of my summer breaks in the tobacco patch. Many days we have spent 12-14 hours out in the sun and many people no longer want to do this. I have asked some other farmers why they have decided to stop growing tobacco and they simply said they couldn’t find any help. The decision that many tobacco farmers have had to make recently is stop growing tobacco because of the lack of help or hire migrant workers.

Clayton Heibert

November 23, 2014

WRD 110-045

A Kentucky Tradition

I bet you are wondering just how much tobacco Kentucky produces each year. Well in 2011 Kentucky produced about 262 million pounds of tobacco, which is around 130,000 acres (“A Look at Kentucky Agriculture” 2011). Even though Kentucky is second in total tobacco production they are actually first in burley tobacco production and Lexington is the world’s largest burley tobacco market (“A Look,” 2011). Located in Lexington is the Burley Tobacco

Growers Cooperative Association. The Board of Directors represents concerns and addresses tobacco issues at the local, state, national, and world levels. The Burley Co-op is the voice for burley tobacco farmers in Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and West Virginia.

Tobacco plays an important role in Kentucky’s economy. Tobacco is the most profitable crop per acre in the United States. On average, tobacco produces 2200-2500 pounds per acre and over the past 3-4 years tobacco prices have been on the rise and are roughly around $2.00 per pound right now. But the average production cost of growing tobacco is $1.17 per pound (“Tobacco Management: Optimizing Profits”). This may seem like a lot but this cost includes fertilizer, pesticide and herbicide chemicals, fuel, and labor. After you factor these costs in a net profit per acre would be $1800-$2000. This is still more profitable than corn, soybeans, and wheat.

Not only is tobacco important to the state as a whole, but it also has a major role at the University of Kentucky. There is a building in the College of Agriculture, named the Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center, which is completely devoted to the research of tobacco. Also, the Main Chance research farm at UK grows tobacco and performs tests and experiments to find more efficient ways to grow tobacco. The Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering department does research on tobacco as well, mainly focusing on machinery used for planting and harvesting tobacco.

The Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center (KTRDC) conducts and supports unique research programs that examine opportunities for tobacco (“Kentucky

Tobacco,” 2002). The KTRDC building is approximately 66,000 square feet of office space and laboratory. They also use the greenhouses at the College of Ag for growing the plants they are researching. At the center the staff researches projects that explore the development of tobacco as pharmaceuticals and the development of new technologies for Kentucky agriculture. Dr. George Wagner is currently researching the surface of the tobacco leaf which has potential use as pesticides and pharmaceuticals. Another main project that is being researched is the development of a new tobacco type. The new tobacco type will be more economical to produce and will be more resistant to diseases such as blue mold and black shank.

The Main Chance research farm grows 10-15 acres of tobacco that is all used for research. I actually work at the research farm on the farm crew and get to work around the research tobacco. I don’t help out with the research but the farm crew’s job is to plant, maintain, and harvest the tobacco. We have to tag each stick and sometimes each stalk of tobacco for the researchers. The tags include what variety of tobacco it is, when it was harvested and what experiment is being performed on it. Most of the tobacco at the farm is used to research how weather conditions affect the outcome of the crop. One of the experiments conducted at the farm is how tobacco can recover after being hit by hail. The researchers actually have a hail machine which crushes up ice and sprays it over the tobacco to simulate a hailstorm. Another experiment they perform is that they will infect the tobacco with diseases and then put certain chemicals on the tobacco to see if they can cure the disease.

The Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering department also researches tobacco. They focus more on equipment and facilities used for growing tobacco and how to improve them and develop new ideas to help make growing tobacco easier. Tobacco is harvested by being speared onto a stick (6 stalks per stick) and then hung up in a barn to be dried out. After it has been completely dried out by hanging for 1-2 months it is then taken out of barn and the leaves are stripped off the stalk by hand and put into bales. The BAE department designed pallet rack structures for curing tobacco. These structures allow you to hang tobacco on them and cover it with plastic rather than hanging the tobacco in a barn to cure out. The department has also helped design the tobacco cutting machine. This machine cuts the tobacco and spears it onto a stick. It still has a lot of kinks in the design and is not cost efficient for many farmers to own yet. When hanging tobacco in a barn to cure out it has to be a barn specifically built for hanging tobacco. Tobacco barns have tiers in them where you can climb in the barn and hang the barn full of tobacco from top to bottom. Well the BAE department developed an idea where you can hang tobacco on tiers on wagons and then use a hydraulic machine to called a hoist to raise the tobacco up on a tier and hang it in the top of a barn without having to do any climbing. This idea also requires a barn that is built specifically for this idea. On my family farm we have a barn like this and a hoist to hang the tobacco. This system saves a lot of labor and is safer because the farmer doesn’t have to climb in the barn, which has led to many injuries over the years.

Even though tobacco is an important industry to the state and the University of Kentucky the production of tobacco is actually on the decline. One reason less and less farmers

are producing tobacco is because they can’t find a labor force. Tobacco requires a great deal of physical labor. Tobacco is usually planted in the middle of May and cut down to be cured in August and September. So most of the work is done in the middle of summer and it’s all done manually. In Kentucky this span of time usually consists of temperatures in the 90s with high humidity. From personal experiences I can say that when my dad and I have called people to see if they want to help in tobacco there are a lot of no answers. Also some people will help once and then never come back.

There is always the option of hiring migrant workers. For most farmers that grow more than 30 acres of tobacco migrant workers are a must have. Many migrant workers are working here illegally and a farmer can get in serious trouble, possibly a felony, for hiring these illegal immigrants. There are many farmers that take the chance and hire them anyway but the farmers I know that use them hire them legally by going through the H-2A program. The H-2A program is the process taken for the hiring of foreign temporary agricultural workers (“H-2A Temporary Agricultural Workers” 2014). The H-2A program process requires 3 major steps. First the farmer must submit a temporary labor certification application to the United States Department of Labor. The Department of Labor must grant a farmer the temporary labor certification for H2A workers before the next step can be started. Next, the employer must file Form I-129 with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Form I-129 is filled out by the employer for the petition of foreign workers. The final step of the H-2A process

is the foreign workers must apply for a visa to get in the US and apply for admission into the H-2A program. After all these steps are taken the employer will be able to hire migrant workers.

Although the H-2A program seems simple many farmers will not participate in the program. Some farmers stereotype migrant workers as farmhands who don’t do quality work. Around my hometown there are farmers who have hired migrant workers and they didn’t take pride in their work and cost the farmer lots of money. There are also farmers I know who have had very good luck with the workers and said they do very good work. Just like everything the bad puts an ugly name on the good. Also, I have talked to farmers who said the process is very long and stressful. A tobacco producer from my hometown said the USCIS didn’t get back with him when they were supposed to and he was worried that he wouldn’t get the help in time for cutting season in August. They eventually got back with him and the workers arrived on time, but said it was extremely stressful not knowing if the workers would be there on time or not. Another concern farmers have is not knowing the individuals who will be working for them. The biggest concern they have is whether the workers are honest people or not. My cousin has 2 migrant workers that help him in tobacco and his wife and kids also help. Many people would have a concern with having people they don’t know if they can trust or not around their family and personal belongings. My cousin requests the same 2 workers from the USCIS every year because he knows they are good employees and trustworthy; but many farmers are too intimidated by the fact of having employees, from another country, who are not fluent in English, work on their farm.

Another key factor that led to a decrease in the tobacco industry was the Tobacco Transition Payment Program, also known as the tobacco buyout. The tobacco buyout is when the U.S. government decided they didn’t want be involved in the price support system for tobacco anymore (Tobacco Transition Payment Program” 2009). In the 1940s, the U.S. government decided that tobacco companies were not paying the American farmer enough for their tobacco crop. In addition to this the government created a tobacco quota, which limited the production of tobacco to raise prices. After this farms had “tobacco bases.” With tobacco bases the government told you how much tobacco you could grow on your farm and the location of the farm determined how big of a base the farm had. Areas where there was a lot of flat ground had smaller bases than areas with hills and valleys. The flatter farms had smaller bases because the government said the ground could be used for grain and other crops, whereas in hilly and mountainous areas the ground wasn’t laid out for raising grain. If a farmer didn’t use his base for two consecutive years then the base was taken away from the farm. As a result most farmers in the state grew tobacco to just to keep the base or they leased it to other farmers who wanted to grow more tobacco.

In 2004 the government decided that they no longer wanted to be involved in the price support system and this is when the buyout occurred. To buyout the farmers’ bases, the government paid anyone with a tobacco base on their farm a certain amount per pound for the next ten years. For example, if a farm had a 1500 pound base, for each year from 2004-2014 they would receive a set amount of money per pound for the base. So if that set amount of

money was $1.50 per pound then the farmer would get paid $2250 every year for the next ten years. This money was also to help the tobacco farmers diversify their farm now that many decided not to raise tobacco anymore. The United States Department of Agriculture also helped tobacco farmers get established in other areas through a cost share program where they would help pay for a new barn or new equipment the farmer may need. So starting in the 2005 tobacco season there were no planting restrictions on tobacco. Now tobacco farmers make a contract directly with a tobacco company. Most farmers did away with raising tobacco after the buyout because they grew little acreage and were not dependent on tobacco for most of their profit. Other farmers used this opportunity to increase their acreage and use tobacco as their major cash crop such as my family farm. We now grow 15,000 pounds of tobacco each year and have a contract with a tobacco company located in Danville, Virginia.

In conclusion, tobacco plays an important role for the state. With roughly 130,000 acres grown in the state, many farmers still depend on tobacco as a main source of income and with tobacco prices staying around $2.00 per pound right now tobacco is the most profitable crop per acre. Also, tobacco is still playing an important role at the University of Kentucky. There is a ton of research being performed by the plant and soil sciences department every day to improve the raising of tobacco and to find medical uses for tobacco in the Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center (KTRDC). Not only is the research of the plant taking place at UK, but the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering program is developing new equipment and curing facilities to decrease the amount of labor required for tobacco and increase the quality

of tobacco. Though new equipment is being designed, the tobacco industry is declining because of the lack of the labor force and many farmers would rather retire from growing tobacco than go through the H-2A program to hire migrant workers. In addition, the tobacco buyout in 2004 caused many farmers to stop growing tobacco and focus on other farming opportunities. Although tobacco is not as big as it once was for Kentucky, it still plays an important role for my family farm. I have spent countless hours alongside my dad and brothers working in the tobacco patch and when we sell it every year all that hard work pays off. Tobacco has been an important industry in Kentucky since the mid-1800s and I believe it will continue to play a significant role for many years to come despite the decrease in production over the last decade.

Works Cited

"Tobacco Transition Payment Program." United States Department of Agriculture Farm Agency Service. USDA, Oct. 2009. Web. 2 Dec. 2014.

(K. Heibert, personal communication, November 25, 2014).

“A Look at Kentucky Agriculture.” Agriculture in the Classroom. July 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.

“Tobacco Equipment and Facilities.” Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering. Ed. John Wilhoit, Dave Ash, and George Duncan. University of Kentucky College of Agriculture/ College of Engineering. 2013. Web. 26 Nov. 2014.

"Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center." UK Ag. Ed. Judi Burgess. University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, 2002. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.

“H-2A Temporary Agricultural Workers.” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.

“Tobacco Management: Optimizing Profits.” AGR-157. University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.

Clayton Heibert

October 7, 2014

Bullock

WRD 110-045

Rhetorical Analysis

College student, Roberto Rivera, in his personal essay, “Dreamer Living the Dream: An American Struggle” recounts the process he had to take to become an American citizen. Rivera’s purpose is to describe how all that the Mexican immigrants want a chance, and they should not be stereotyped. He adopts an enthusiastic tone to in order to show how we should not let stereotypes influence our views of immigrants in his adult readers.

Rivera begins his essay by describing the journey he and his grandfather had while trying to cross the border. Rivera says that he “doesn’t recall ever being scared” while with his grandfather. That is until they heard gunshots in the distance. After hearing the gunshots he remembers feeling in danger and seeing the scared looks on the men’s faces. The looks that he saw showed how emotions were high because the men wanted to better themselves by crossing the border illegally.

Later in the essay Rivera recounts the process taken to become a legal U.S. citizen. His mother passed her citizenship exam by “studying endlessly” but Rivera had to leave the country and come back with a visa or permanent residency, since he came to the U.S. illegally. During

his freshman year of high school, he and his mother had to make the trip back to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, a very dangerous city, so he could obtain legal citizenship. The Mexican guards and the fence’s size scared him the most on the trip back. Having to go back to the border frightens Rivera because he didn’t see them when crossing the first time.

Rivera finishes his personal essay by telling the reader how he has “always striven to be an excellent person in all aspects of life.” He gives examples such as earning a full ride to college, joining Alpha Phi Omega, and being a founder of the business club at school. He states all of his accomplishments to show the reader how he has excelled and how we should not let stereotypes influence our views of citizens.

Rivera wanted everyone to get a child’s perspective of becoming a U.S. citizen and for us to view immigrants in a different way, not how they are portrayed.

Narratives are written to tell a story and reflect a moment that caught your attention. Anne Fadiman’s piece on the homeless family is a great narrative. Her piece is told from a unique perspective and provides details and insights only she could have. I think this narrative was intended for the rest of America to see so they could see how some of our own people have to live. This article also provides pictures to help us see how badly this family had to live. These pictures were shocking to me especially the ones that showed the interior of the car and Crissy laying in the floor of the shower, just so blessed to have hot water. Also I like how Fadiman told the story in chronological order, she started with events on a Wednesday and told them in order through the next Tuesday. Putting the events in order helps the audience follow the family through their struggles and feel like they are actually with the family throughout the week. Also this narrative helped me to better understand the meaning of being homeless. When I think of homeless, people living on the streets come mind. But these people were homeless and lived out of their car and slept at government aid shelters. I hadn’t ever thought about people like this being homeless until now.

Fast Enough for You

Every day the popularity of fast food increases among Americans. McDonald’s has went from having signs that said “hundreds of burgers sold” to “thousands sold”, “millions sold”, and now they read “billions and billions served”. This is just one of many fast food chains that have served billions in the world.

Back around 50 years ago most women stayed at the house doing chores and cooking for their families. Now most men and women both work public jobs to support their families and no one is at home to prepare meals. After work they have other plans or they are just too lazy to cook a meal. Some eat fast food every day and more than once a day because they are too lazy to cook and prepare their own meals. Another lazy habit is going through the drive through instead of going in the restaurant. I know sometimes people are on the run but I have been to a fast food restaurant before when the drive thru line is backed up all the way around the building and hardly anyone is inside. But a lot of people would rather wait in line for 15-20 minutes because they are too lazy to get out of the car. Also, I believe that many people don’t know how to cook much because they just eat out for every meal. I know some people whose only meals at home are pre-made foods that just require being heated up in an oven or microwave because they don’t know how to make anything when just given a set of ingredients.

Also people are in too big of a rush today. Years ago families would sit down for dinner together every night and discuss the events that happened that day. Now everyone is on the

run and fast food is most convenient for them. I think that technology has caused people to always be in a rush. They are always on their phones or computers doing something or making other plans.

The increase in the consumption of fast food is also causing obesity in America. All the oils in fast food cause it to be fatty and have a high number of calories. With some people consuming this more than once a day, they are going to gain weight quickly. One average meal of fast food, which would be a burger, fries, and a drink has close to the same number of calories as all 3 of your meals combined should have. In high school we were shown a documentary called Supersize Me. In this documentary a man eats McDonald’s 3 meals a day for one month. After the month is over he has gained 25 pounds and the doctors tell that him his cholesterol increases sharply and he has suffered severe liver damage. They beg him to discontinue the diet. Also, at the beginning of this documentary someone is showing pictures of people to kids and the kids have to tell who’s in the picture. They all get Ronald McDonald right but struggle with two of them. They struggle with George Bush, the president at the time, and a picture of Jesus.

Fast food has consumed too many lives in America. They have consumed us so much that there is at least one fast food chain in every town in America. Even though we know the effects fast food has on our bodies we still eat it constantly. Many fast food chains are now open 24 hours because they know people will come there at any time they are hungry. Even

though the price is cheaper you are also paying for the effects that fast food causes to your body.

Clayton Heibert

October 14, 2014

HIS 121-005

War without Mercy

From 1941 to 1945, Americans and Japanese had a deep hatred for each other. It all started after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. After the attack the American people became angry and vicious against the Japanese people. Americans actually saw some “good” in the Germans but they said the only “good” Japanese is a dead one. Japan felt the same toward the Americans as well. Japan wanted to eliminate all traces of western culture from East Asia. Also, racism played a big part in the hatred they had for each other. The war in the Pacific was extremely brutal due to how the U.S. viewed Japan, Japans view of America, and how each nation treated the other in the war.

The United States had a great lack of respect for the Japanese people. Americans often referred to the Japanese people as “Nips” and “Japs” (81). These names could often be found in daily newspapers and magazines such as Time, Life, Newsweek, and Reader’s Digest. They even had tunes and slogans that included these names such as “We’re gonna have to slap the dirty little Jap” and “You’re a sap, Mr. Jap” (81). Another racial slur the Americans called the Japanese was “yellow dwarfs” (85). This name was used because of the yellowish tint of the Japanese skin and their smaller body frame. The Japanese people were often compared to animals as well such as, monkeys, rats, mad dogs, and vipers/snakes (81-83). To the Americans rats were seen as gross, disgusting, disease carriers; mad dogs were vicious and needed to be put

down, and vipers/snakes are sneaky and unable to be trusted. Comparing them to animals also gave the American troops the feeling of being hunters with a goal to kill a beastly animal. The Americans felt it to be easier to kill a beastly animal than a human.

Americans also had a low opinion of Japan’s military power, saying that Japan was “unique and sui generis, yet exceptionally imitative, creative only in the “lesser accomplishments” (98). Even after Japan seized Manchuria in 1931 and caused great destruction in China, Americans felt that their military was less than impressive. The United States was also unimpressed with Japans ability to produce good equipment and weapons. American military commentator, Fletcher Pratt, said the “scarcity of iron and steel forced the Japanese to compensate in unfortunate ways in naval construction, notably smaller vessels” (102). Fletcher criticized Japan’s air force as well stating “the Japanese can neither make good airplanes nor fly them well” (102). Another concern the Americans felt weakened Japan was their short tempers. The U.S. felt that in battle the Japanese “were inclined to waste men unnecessarily when operations did not go well” (103). In no way were the Americans intimidated by Japan because of the feeling that they were incapable of fighting a war against the U.S.

In contrast to the Americans, the Japanese didn’t degrade the enemy much, but instead felt they were superior to the other nations and races. During the war, Japan referred to themselves as the “leading race of the world” (203). They felt that being all one race gave them great power and unity, while the United States’ racial diversity made them weak. Also they felt that being all one race was a sign of purity. Dower states “For all practical purposes, they nationalized and racialized purity, treating this ultimate ideal as if it could only be truly

appreciated, and attained by the Japanese”(216). They felt their racial purity symbolized cleanliness, innocence, incapability of defeat, and unblemished. Japan viewed the United States as impure because their individualistic materialism and western thoughts that included selfishness and fear of death. Furthermore, they viewed the Americans as demonic and vermin, implying that they were dangerous and needed to be exterminated. They even had graphic renderings of demonic looks on the face of President Roosevelt. There was also had a drawing of a boxing match that showed a young, powerful looking Japanese boxer knocking out President Roosevelt. Japan also used propaganda against the U.S. by forming the Greater East Asia Prosperity Co. This concept promoted cultural and economic unity for all of East Asia. The main goal of forming this propaganda concept was to eliminate all western culture in East Asia.

Both Japan and the United States expressed their brutal hate for the other in battle as well as how they viewed each other. Japan first took action against the U.S. when they attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. Japan destroyed many naval ships and the base at Pearl Harbor. The U.S. described this brutal attack as “a day that will always live in infamy.” Another brutal act by the Japanese was the Bataan Death March. After the Battle of Bataan, Japan forced 60,000-80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war to march 60 miles to Camp O’Donnell. They were given very little food and water along the way and many died before reaching their destination. Once they reached camp many of the survivors were brutally tortured and killed anyway. This act definitely showed the anger and hatred Japan had towards the enemy, especially the Americans. The Americans showed their hatred for the Japanese race on the home front by putting the Japanese-Americans in internment camps. They felt that all the Japanese were untrustworthy and spying for Japan. This proves the saying they had about how there is no “good Japanese.”

Another action that showed America’s hatred for Japan was the dropping of the two atomic bombs that ended World War II. The Americans were probably going to win the war but didn’t want to lose any more soldiers in battle. The atomic bombs destroyed two major Japanese cities and killed many Japanese soldiers and civilians.

The Japanese and American racisms in World War II led to a very brutal war on the Pacific front. Songs, slogans, degrading names, comparisons, cartoons, and propaganda films all symbolized the hatred between the two in World War II. The actions taken in war expressed the brutal dislike both shared for each other. Both nations were passionate and patriotic toward their country and wanted to live a life without influence from the other.