Wednesday, October 13, 2010

English Major

What is an English major to do in this economy, or even any economy? I don't know. I guess that is why I started this blog. I want a place to put my writing, and maybe inform while doing it.

I picked English as my major because I was seduced by the well written sentence, and lured in by the stories of gainfully employed writers.

I also picked English because I have opinions and wanted to learn how to write a better argument, so someday I could grace the pages of the local newspapers.

You might say why didn't you just become a journalism major if you wanted to write copy for the local newspaper?

I would tell that I love and loved reading the classics, and needed to get credits for my passion. I also wanted to take advantage of the great professors that were in the English department. Two of them were award winning writers, and I couldn't say that about the professors in the journalism program.

English might seem like a waste of major, considering the tight the job market, and large number of unemployed right now. And I knew that an English major wasn't going to get a lot of fancy jobs, but I wanted to learn from the best people on campus, and at that time it was the English department.

Business majors will probably make more money over their lifetime, and nursing majors will probably make more money, but how many hours will they have to work? Will they be happy?

It is hard to say what the future will hold for this English major? I know college debt to be repaid is on the top of the list, but the debt was sure worth it.

Sticking to Your Message

How to stay on topic is something that seems easy, but is hard to do when you feel passionate about a subject. It is easy to stray from the topic when you are most passionate about defending it.

I like to listen to talk radio, because I find the bias to be so obvious, but yet so funny. The kings of bias in my opinion have to be Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh.

Sean Hanity is pushing for limited government that doesn't tax him. He keeps arguing about how Reagan's tax cuts lead to more revenue for the government, but neglects to mention the fact that Reagan's tax cuts lead to the largest increase in the national debt.

Rush Limbaugh just relies on name calling instead of honest debate when it comes to any issue that he disagrees with, so he doesn't have to know his stuff, because he relies on tactics a student might encounter while playing on the school playground. I understand he has the need to be heard, and is very popular. Why is he popular?

Rush Limbaugh seems to be popular because he has a base that doesn't like to accept facts and they seem to agree with him. It is rare to hear someone call his show and disagree with him, probably a controlled thing that his producer does to make it sound like everyone agrees with Rush.

It is interesting to listen to these shows with an open mind. I try to listen to their message. I just can't. I know what it is like to be unemployed. I know what it is like to search for a job and discover that there are over 100 candidates applying for the same position.

I just don't think these mega rich pundits get it. There message of hate is harmful to the land we live in and want to see get better.

Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh aren't the only bad guys out there preaching hate of anything liberal. But they are the two loudest voices right now on the radio.

I will continue to listen to talk radio, because it is always entertaining.