Journal #6: What's Wrong with Country Music?

Country vs. Hip-Hop: Today's Music Debate

Artist Jason Aldean, and his hit 2012 songs "Fly Over States" and "Dirt Road Anthem"

Photo courtesy: Carrie Allen Tipton

            I read the article Country Music Hollers Back at Hip Hop by Carrie Allen Tipton. It discussed how country music puts a special value on love and kindness against materialism, social status, hierarchy issues and false value systems. This is different than you would find in the city setting. I agree with the agreement in this article in how it describes the country music genre.  It says that country music is defined by three main things: who it fans are, who performs it, where it enjoys the most cultural resonance.  This is truly represented in all of the top country songs of 2012. These are Jason Aldean’s “Fly-Over States,” Kip Moore’s “Something ‘Bout a Truck,” Montgomery Gentry’s “Where Come From,” and lastly, my personal favorite, Aldean’s “Tattoos on This Town.”

Journal #5: New State Pot Laws?

U.S. Honor States new Pot Laws?

Women rolls joints for medical cannabis 

Photo courtesy: CNN.com, Mark Osler

After reading an article from CNN by Mark Osler, I learned that there are new laws in effect that deal with marijuana use. These came into effect since the presidential election last Thursday. The residents of Colorado and Washington state voted to legalize the use of marijuana. However, the large controversy is pot is still very much illegal under the federal law. The Obama administration will decide whether to enforce federal law in the states that have rejected the substance of the law.

This is fascinating because this begins up to colliding conflicts for political thought in America: federalism and moralism. The Feds seek to limit the power of the federal government compared to the states and individuals, and urge a very “hands off” approach”. On the contrary, moralists strongly believe in the strong maintenance of social order and continual enforcement of federal laws. There is almost a near overlap between federal and state narcotics laws now.

Journal #4: The Presidential Election 2012

The Highlights to Last Night's Election

The Great Map, new for the 2012 election, Photo courtesy: A.V. Club

I read an article on what viewers of the 2012 presidential election liked best about the election coverage. This review was done by the A.V. Club and I found it really fascinating actually. I watched the election last night, as did millions of other curious Americans to see who would be their president for the next four years. I found some of the new technology used to show the public who was winning each state in the Electoral College to be quite interesting. I really liked how CNN used the skating rink outside of 30 Rock into a giant map of the United States and then filled in each state with the appropriate colors as the results came in.