Frank Underwood vs. Obama

A recent poll taken shows results that Frank Underwood of House of Cards played by Kevin Spacey, is more popular than Obama. The study showed that Americans prefer television presidents as opposed to their real life leaders. The poll resulted in 47% percent of Americans being favorable with Obama as their president. Obama addressed Frank Underwood and stated, "That guy is getting a lot done. I wish things were that ruthlessly efficient." Frank Underwood has let a passed out congressman die by leaving him in a garage inside a running car, and pushed a journalist into the path of a subway train. So why do American favor him over Obama, who is known by many as being calm, cool, and collected?
I do not watch House of Cards, however I am aware of the popularity of the show, which is a Netflix original series. I believe that when a political show is created, there is an instant buzz. We craze to see the behind the scenes, dig deep into the mysteries and the everyday drama. However, that is just it, it is all drama. Sure, we have a president, but for a TV show to remain on air it has to keep and gain a consistent audience, of which happens through interesting scripts and characters. Although some of the reason those do not favor Obama is simply because they do not like him, I feel that Americans favor Frank Underwood because he is like the adrenaline president. I feel like it may have something to do with the fact that we crave security. Obama is known as being a calm individual, so Americans may feel like they should have a president who will stop at nothing. Now, I feel like it is not very logical to compare a fictional president to an actual one. Of course the fiction will appeal to you more, that is the point. It would be highly more fitting to compare Obama with for example, Abraham Lincoln.
In conclusion, I feel although Americans may feel that fictional presidents possess more likable qualities, they are not going to control the country. The political dramas are made to provide conversation and stir emotion. They are used to show us everything that goes into being a world leader and everything they have to go through to protect the country they vowed to fight for.

Boston Bombing Trial

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went on the stand on Wednesday for being accused of planting bombs which exploded during the Boston Marathon in 2013. Prosecuters stated Tsarnaev planted the bombs to " tear people apart and create a bloody spectacle." It is believed the motive of Tsarnaev was believing he is a soldier in the holy war against Americans, and that by winning this war, he would be on his way to the ultimate paradise. Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured, when two pressure-cooker bombs exploded in April of 2013.
The Boston Bombing was incredibly sad and heart breaking. All of those lives put in danger and some lost, for just simply deciding to run the marathon that day. I think that is one of the scariest parts about all of this. Sometimes, we never think that things can happen like this in certain places and we think of them as safe. For these runners, they almost lost their lives from doing something they love or strived to accomplish. Many people can suffer from post-traumatic stress after an event like this, which can cause many emotional and even physical problems in the future. Not to mention the families, who had to deal with loss and hurt of their loved ones being put in to danger. I truly hope that all of the runners will continue to pursue their dream. It definitely can be hard to move forward after something you have always viewed as safe, almost took your life. However, I believe that the best way to push forward and show the bombers that they can not be broken, would be to push on and show them that nothing can stop you. Some may want justice for what happened and feel anger, and the best justice would to not let it destroy you, and keep running the distance.

Prosthetic Leg Stolen from Paralympic Hopeful

Ranjit Steiner woke up on his birthday to find his running blade- a prosthetic leg, stolen from his car in San Francisco. Steiner runs for the City College in San Francisco and needs the leg to continue training. He is a hopeful for the 2016 Paralympics in Brazil. In a strange coincidence, police found a prosthetic leg leaning against a tree last week on the same day as Steiner's has gone missing. Ranjit Steiner told investigators that he did not even think that someone would think to take anything like that. He stated, "It's just so low. You never think anybody would take anything like that."

I think the saddest part about this is not how much the leg is worth, but how much it is worth to Ranjit. It is the chance he has been given to pursue what he has strived so hard to accomplish. This just shows you how some people think in our society. Money has become such a greedy need that some are willing to take away hope to gain wealth. Sure, there are larger scale problems occurring in our country besides a missing prosthetic leg, but it is still upsetting to think that a man who is working toward a future that would otherwise be impossible without the leg, is put on halt. Steiner is hoping the public will help in searching for the prosthetic. His next meet is scheduled for this weekend and it determines his acceptance into the Olympics. The cost of replacing the leg could be around $30,000, considering prosthetics are already expensive, but the parts are specific to Steiner's body. He states that he is just waiting for the leg in hopes to continue his season and hopes that the prosthetic leg will be found, thus allowing him to move forward and focus on his dream.     

Food Inc.

In Environmental, we recently watched a documentary on food and the process of it going from the company to our plate. Most of the documentary focuses on meat. The crew goes around and digs deep into what we are really putting into our stomach. Some of the documentary was actually hard to watch, not necessarily because it was gross, but because of how blind sided we have become to what we eat. America has become such a fast-paced country that we do not take the time to make connections that are right in front of us. For example, a farmer in the video says how he has people come up to him all the time and complain about how high his prices are, meanwhile they are drinking a liter of pop. A family mostly consumes McDonald's food and they are shown going to the grocery store to buy healthy food and exclaim that the prices for vegetables are too high. So, instead, they go and buy some Big Macs... why? A head of lettuce can give you multiple salads, whereas a Big Mac is gone in a few minutes and is harming your health. As I was watching this, it made me think about the companies. I think we can become naive and think that if we are eating it, they are having our health at the topen of their priorities. However, the sad part is, is that even if something happens, they still get their money. I'm not trying to be a downer, I just found this to be alarming. And I believe that is a reason these documentaries are made, to say, "Hey! Wake up!", to make us think and question.