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"Reading through this, I saw a number of point that were mentioned in class, such as infant mortality and rising health care cost/uninsured people. It seemed that article was more focused on providing readers with a background on the discussion on income inequality in the United States, while focusing primarily on the consequences this has on social issues. The article, however, fails to discuss, in-depth, or lead the reader to any solutions regarding this issue. Instead the article briefly discusses the political battle that has been raging for the past half-century or so. As far as informing the reader goes, the article does a fantastic job of presenting the various ideas and the flaws within them. Whether it was highlighting Republican gutting of 'Obamacare', or identifying that the elderly are not the primary issue, Porter does an excellent job of demonstrating the flaws in various attempts made to deal with this issue. Overall, the article seems more inclined to readers who are interested in learning more about the income disparity in United States and the social/health impacts associated with it, as opposed to those looking for ongoing discussions and debates regarding solutions to this same issue."
--( posted on May 3, 2015, commenting on the post American Exceptionalism (Continued) )
 
"I agree with the article's observation regarding the ever increasing numbers of Asians in professional jobs such as law, medicine and engineering, I disagree with the author's push for Asians to enter the arts. The author of the article is right, though, when she says that Asian parents need to adopt a better, or rather wider, definition of success. The article also brings up a really good point when it discusses the "cultural division" and feelings of "failure" that can arise in the mind of young people subjected to such a narrow definition of success. As a child of Southeast Asian immigrants, I have experienced just how crushing such a definition of success is. Growing up, especially in high school, I slowly came to define myself not by my own characteristics, but rather by my exam scores and school ranking. This fixation with exam scores and grades soon swallowed the entirety of who I was, ultimately influencing my feelings of self-worth. Looking forward, I feel like our generation will place importance on both the arts and professional jobs."
--( posted on Apr 29, 2015, commenting on the post Article from Tom Schactman: Please discuss! )