Final AWOL Paper- September to Now

A main pattern that I have noticed in the American Way of Life, is that Americans are so used to authority that many people don't go against it and voice their own opinions. They just go with what the person "in charge" says. Americans depend on the government or some other type of authority to run everything from food, health care, birth, and the values that we live our lives by. Listening to authority has been drilled into us since birth, in a way making us think that the higher power’s way is they only way. The general American Way of Life is following the norm, and listening to a higher power, which it seems like our society always does.


Even though we live in America, many Americans were unsure what the American Way of Life was. However when I asked a young black man walking down 23rd street, he said that the American Way of Life was “you have to do whatever it takes to survive, no matter how much authority or education you have, you always have to listen to what ‘they’ tell you”. His view on America was that no matter how much power of money you have, there is still someone you have to answer too. Listening to authority is so normal now, that I think our society does it without really noticing it. The fact that we always have to do what someone tells us to do is somewhat disturbing, it’s like Americans don’t have a mind of their own to object to what they think I right or wrong. From birth we are taught to listen to authority. Whether it’s listening to our parents, our teacher, or eventually our bosses we are always listening to somebody ELSE . It’s not very likely in the American way of life that we defy that authority and go with what we think.

In America, the normal way of birth is frequently portrayed through the media as a chaotic experience. In many cases, we see the doctor dictating everything; it’s very rare that the woman who is going through this extreme amount of pain is ever catered/listened too. Even though the media portrays birth as chaotic, they also make it seem like it’s a smooth process with a happy ending. In the media it is usually chaos when the woman realizes her water has broke, and she is trying to get to the hospital. Once she gets there, it is like she is given priority compared to all the other patients, and rushed to have her baby. With a little pitossin, epidural, and a little pushing, here comes this bundle of joy that the mother has been waiting 9 months to meet. It isn’t very likely that birth in America happens like this.

When it comes to birth, doctors are the people everybody listens too, when sometimes they don’t know what’s best for the baby or the mother. In the movie "The Business of Being Born", the difference between hospital births and a more natural birth is shown. A lot of technology has been added to the birthing process, and a lot of it is for the doctors benefit not necessarily the mother or the baby. Things like vacuums, forceps, and unnecessary machines are used to help make the birthing process quicker. Things like episiotomies and c sections are often thought to benefit the mother, but it really helps the doctor. Scheduling a 15 minute c-section rather than being in labor with your patient for 10-20 hours is better business for them. Many people think these things are done because they are better for the mother and the baby, but it really only helps the doctor.

Many patients depend on doctors because they are the authority figure during child birth, and are supposed to "know" what they are doing. Since they know they have this power, i feel like they abuse, it to get what they want (mainly money). Doctors often make sure a baby is born at a certain time by using various technologies and techniques, so it can fit into their schedule. These techniques and technologies are not necessarily good for the mother or the baby, but more convenient for the doctor. We see this a lot when it comes to c-sections. Doctors would rather schedule a c section for their patients, and get more births done throughout the day, instead of going through the regular process. i think that many Americans have been taught to follow authority for a major part of their lives, that they don't know when and how to stand up for what's right. Even the American Way of Birth is controlled by listening to authority (the doctors) and following the norm, when it isn't always best for the mother or the child.

Health care is also a major part of the American Way of Life. Not everyone in America has health care, and it is also a cause for poverty in America. In the movie "Sicko' (Micheal Moore), America's health care system is compared and contrasted to the health care systems in Cuba, Canada, and France. He talks about how in America, health insurance companies try to get as much money out of it's clients as possible, and how it is very different in other countries. In America, the doctors are paid more when they deny a patient care because they are saving insurance companies money when it comes to coverage. However, in other countries like France the doctors get paid MORE the more they convince their patients to get the care that they need. For example, if a doctor in France convinces their patient to stop smoking, then they are getting paid more because their patient is healthier. In America, people are taught that they have to listen to the higher authority (health insurance companies), and that's the only way. In turn, the people with power by abusing it and not caring about the benefit of the people.

The movie also showed how an American woman had to pretend like she was married to a Canadian man, just so she could get the medicines her and her young daughter needed. It seems like Americans will go through anything to get get what they need, because authority isn't always looking out for them.

While looking at me and my moms health care situation, i noticed that what i thought was good/reasonable health care isn't that at all. My mom has health coverage through her job (for the both of us), and it seems like she is covered for just about anything. However when you look at the price she is paying compared to coverage, it doesn't seem reasonable. Almost 200 dollars is being taken out of her check weekly for our health coverage, and we still have to pay pretty high co-pays. When i recently went to the doctor i had to pay my regular $18 Co-pay, plus an extra $28 for a throat culture. Having to pay almost $50 at a doctors visit seems outrageous to me. Why do we pay all of this money for coverage, but still have to pay these high co-pays? when i voiced my opinion to my mom she seemed like she agreed with me, but said " there isn't much we can do about it". This has me thinking that because we've been following authority for so long, that we just accept it, even if it may be wrong. I have noticed this pattern not just in health care, but in the American Way of Life in general. We fear those who have power, so we just fall back and let them lead (even if they are abusing their power. This has become the norm for many Americans.

The American Way of Food has really become Industrialized food. Everywhere you look food is processed so it can be made and accessed quickly. As seen in the movie "Vroom Farming for Kids", the farming industry is mostly industrialized, everything is done by man operated machines. Everything from tending to the crops, to picking the crops, to taking them to the processing plant is done by fossil fuel operated machines. In the movie huge tractors, trucks, and bulldozers were all used to help transport the crop (I think corn and cabbage) in some way. These machines help do a lot of work in a little bit of time. The machines are eliminating most of the man power from the picking the crops, which results in a lot of profit. It is definitely cheaper to buy gallons of gas for about $2.00 a gallon, instead of paying 20 to 25 workers minimum wage to do the work for you. The food corporations take the easy way out by relying on the fossil fuel operated machines. It seems like they don't care about what's being done to the food, just as long as the work is being done and it is either saving or making them money. They don't care if it is harming the people that are eating it, or if it's harming the environment, they are only thinking about their benefit.

Industrialization was also seen in the movie "Our Daily Bread", how various fruits and even animals go through industrialization. Everything is grown in a controlled setting and is done by machines. “Our Daily Bread” shows specifically how pigs are fed and then killed and prepared to be shipped off. Instead of a couple of men feeding the pigs, huge machines are used to throw the food at them. They are then killed by going in one end of the machine alive, and being spit out the other dead. The pigs are cut open by machines, organs taken out by machines, faces cut off by machines, EVERYTHING that goes on in the factory depends on some type of machine. Even though these machines are being operated by man power, it is still saving corporations money. The jobs are getting done faster with potentially less power and money; it would take for maybe 20 people to do the job. American corporations result to industrializing the production of food to help increase profits, and to also save money.

It seems like Industrialized food is the way to go now a days. Corporations have made it that almost everything we eat is made/goes through a factory This is not always healthy for the people eating it. There are some people who have gone against the norm, and only eat organic,or things grown from certain farms. Most people however, eat these foods. People are following the norm that these corporations put out there, and believing in their authority when it is potentially harming us.

In the American Way of birth, food, health care, and overall values, society listens to authority figures for everything. Even when these people or companies with the power abuse it, and take advantage of us, we listen to them anyway. We listen to them anyway when we know it's not for our benefit, and can eventually harm us. Sometimes when we know it's wrong, we still don't stand up for what we believe in. We have this mentality like "there's nothing we can do about it", so I'm just going to keep doing what i have been doing and follow the authority figure. Based off of the different units we have covered throughout the year, I have noticed that the American Way of Life is basically listening to the authority figure, since it has become the norm amongst our society.