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| Cunningham, Simon. "Analysis". 12/18/2013. via Flickr Attribution 2.0 Generic |
- What cultural or social values, beliefs, etc., do we share with the society or culture in which the text was written? Why have they endured?
- Since this is written in America for American readers, I will restate our current cultural values and beliefs. As Americans, we do not tolerate the abuse of animals. Even when it comes to the animals we eat, wear or see at the zoo, we as a nation want the animals to be treated well and humanely. Since moving from an agrarian society, are farm animals have become pets and are now endeared to us. We approach the treatment of our animals as we would fellow human beings.
- What cultural or social values, beliefs, etc., do we not share? Why not?
- Though there are some in America that do not share the belief that animals should be treated humanely, that population is extremely small. Having been to places where there are no pets and all animals are an afterthought at best, I prefer our current beliefs and values. We as humans should be stewards of the environment but that is not a shared belief.
- If the text is written in a culture distant or different from our own, what social values, beliefs, etc., connect to or reflect our own culture? What social values, beliefs, etc., can we not see in our own culture?
- Not really applicable as it is our own culture. Though it does show that even in a shared belief there can still be variation on how that belief should be enforced/handled. Even something like all men being equal took 1000s of years and we still haven't gotten it perfect yet.
- If the text is written in our culture but in a different historical time, how have the social values, beliefs, etc., developed or changed over time?
- In the not so distant past, America was based on farming. Ever single American used a horse on a daily basis. To plow the field or pull the trolley car, horses permeated ever aspect of American life. With the advent of the automobile and internal combustion engine, the horse gave way to machinery and slowly slipped out of the minds of most Americans. No longer is it the animal that pulls are wagons and takes us to the grocery store, it's now something we may physically see maybe once or twice a year. Horses are no longer a sign of wealth, prosperity, culture. Most view them as something that used to be a farm animal but is now for girls to ride if their parents are rich. We treat them like a pet and not a beast of burden.
Revise Blog Post #23
I was able to view and comment on both Samuel Goldenberg and Eric Hannah. The biggest problem I see as a writer attempting to be completely unbiased is attempting to be unbiased. Any time I make a rationalization about how things used to be or how a belief or value has changed over time, the chance for bias to creep in is there. Without proof of what the values of a society were or implicit evidence of how things were, I almost have to include bias within my own interpretation of what those values, beliefs or events consisted of. Even if you do find evidence of a particular thing, you have to consider whether it was a majority or minority before quantifying it.
I agree with the blog post you have written. I believe you are correct when explaining how the American culture is different from many cultures and we unlike many other nations in this world want animals to be treated well and humanely. I too would prefer the view of many Americans, who want animals to be treated as a part of the family. Your beliefs and values concerning your topic does not persuade readers to favor one position over another, but explains how we as people should favor the kinder form of animal treatment. In my opinion you do not possess a strong bias for your topic, in the sense that you are not demanding to convince readers to agree with your statements. You instead try to inform readers of your topic. Since you have this quality in your writing you should not have trouble in your next assignments, since you don't push readers into favoring one side over another.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a very good job of explaining the bias that is held within the American culture - how animal abuse is not tolerated in any shape or form. Because you also explicitly stated that you agree with the current state of belief concerning the topic, I think your assessment was well done. Although you mention that you agree with the current status of America's values with this topic, your writing makes it seem as if you don't have an extreme bias towards one side, which will be useful when approaching a non-biased paper.
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