Mainstream Media Normalizes Bullying Behavior

Mainstream Media Normalizes Bullying Behavior

Information & Education, Life & Living
“As the mainstream media has become increasingly dependent on advertising revenues for support, it has become an anti-democratic force in society.” Robert Waterman McChesney, an American professor Parents and teachers have an invaluable impact on shaping a child’s moral and ethical values. Whenever a child misbehaves at home or in the classroom, parents and teachers are often the voice of reason in the situation. They use the bad behavior as a teachable moment to help ensure that such behaviors aren’t repeated in the future. Educator and author Beth Lewis defines a “teachable moment” as “An unplanned opportunity that arises in the classroom where a teacher has an ideal chance to offer insight to his or her students. It is not something that you can plan for; rather, it is a…
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Cheap Car Insurance is Evident When You Have a Car Accident

Cheap Car Insurance is Evident When You Have a Car Accident

Information & Education
It's been said that the average U.S. driver will experience three to four car accidents during their lifetime, filing a claim with their car insurance company about every 18 years. Car accidents are an unavoidable part of our day-to-day lives. Being cautious and using good judgment while driving can help reduce risks. However, nothing is guaranteed, especially with the number of drivers on the road at any given time. For reference, as of 2023, the United States Department of Transportation reported approximately 233 million licensed drivers nationwide. With so many drivers, all with varying degrees of aptitude and responsibility, it's unsurprising that in 2022, approximately 5.8 million drivers were involved in non-fatal car accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's recent report. I have been driving for 32…
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Extracurricular Activities May Be Too Much of a Good Thing

Extracurricular Activities May Be Too Much of a Good Thing

Information & Education, Youth
“When it comes to extracurricular activities, many children are getting too much of a good thing.” Carl Honore, best-selling author and journalist. I spent my youth in a modest New Jersey suburb in the 1980s, and if perspective and the passage of time have taught me anything, a great deal has changed since then. At 49 years old, when I compare my formative years to those of children today, I feel like a relic, a dinosaur, an old-timer. Here are a few examples of why. Our phones were hanging on kitchen walls, not buried in our pockets, with a curly cord that cleverly uncoiled, though easily tangled, so you could walk around the house to talk. Cable television was becoming a thing, and to change the channel, you had to…
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People Without Children Are Not Without Concerns

People Without Children Are Not Without Concerns

Information & Education
Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance (or, as some have affectionately called him, Just Dumb Vance) may only be 39 years old, but his beliefs and ideals toward people without children are as antiquated as the now-defunct Ford Model T, which was produced from October 1908 to May 1927. Vance's first and most infamous claim says, "We're effectively run in this country, via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too. And it's just a basic fact. You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC – the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children." As…
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Say the Right Thing to Inspire the Next Generation

Say the Right Thing to Inspire the Next Generation

Information & Education
"Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment." - Benjamin Franklin. In society today, it's not difficult to uncover politicians from across America—influential individuals whom the old and the young look up to and even model themselves after—who forget how to say the right thing. Turn on your television or log in to your preferred online news source on any given day, and you'll witness firsthand exactly what I'm talking about. American politicians seem to have lost their ability to filter information appropriately, a skill many hardworking Americans must conform to (and rightfully so) to maintain their community standings and employment status. But politicians of late seem to be above any…
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