Fast Food Philosophy

Fast Food Philosophy: When one thinks of the American fast food industry, he or she probably envisions hamburgers, french fries, and soda. Yet there is a great deal more to the multi-billion dollar industry that seeks to maximize sales and minimize costs. Just as Henry Ford developed the assembly line to boost efficiency at the Ford Motor Company in the 1910s, Ray Kroc merely adapted that concept for McDonald's in the 1950s. The ability to mass produce a combination of meat, potatoes, and carbonated soft drinks brought McDonald's to the forefront of corporate America. Nevertheless, it was the booming car culture of the American West, particularly in California, that cemented the idea of "fast food" in connection with "magic motorways." Post-World War II American culture demanded convenience, as people sought to exit the city's core in favor of suburban tract housing along the city's edge. Commuting to work on freeways in one's car became the newest and most convenient form of transportation. And as Aldous Huxley wrote in his Brave New World (1932), "Speed is the only truly modern sensation." Ultimately, the combination of speed, convenience, and efficiency helped solidify the American fast food industry as a consumer staple by the late twentieth century.

Our Best Days

Our Best Days: Some might say our best days lie in front of us. But do they truly understand what lies behind us? The best days of Western civilization have passed. When sailors enjoyed limitless views from the tops of ships' masts. Call me nostalgic! Call me sentimental! Call me what you will! At least I will not be medicating my unfulfilled hopes with a green and white pill. It's practical to be realistic and reasonable to be pessimistic. For idealism, in the long run, only makes you caustic. Disenchantment and disillusionment are patently creative forces. Just look at how most existential philosophers choose to frame their discourses! Yet there is serious peril looming on the horizon. And it's not something you can fix with a phone call on Verizon. There will be days of grief and days of strife. The kind of utter confusion which makes you question the general purpose of life. But if we face our future with cautiously optimistic outlooks, then we might as well refocus our collective attention on those grand old Bible books. Because the stakes are too high and we have too much to lose. Unless, of course, you're one of those who fails to choose...

Ladytron and Electroclash

Ladytron and Electroclash: As an English electroclash band, Ladytron is essentially composed of two male DJs and two female singers. But role changes frequently occur throughout many songs. Having formed in Liverpool in the late 1990s, the band focused on developing sounds that reflect a distinctive blend of pop and electronic music. With primary influences originating in the New Wave movement of the early 1980s, particularly the experimental rock group Roxy Music (from which Ladytron derives their name), the band relies heavily on synthesizers, vocoders, and drum machines. The above video is a good example of how Ladytron generally structures their songs. Although the song in the video is actually a remix, it still demonstrates both the vocal and notational complexities of a typical Ladytron song. In fact, the band thrives on remixes, as they have put out a remix album for every studio album released. And despite their existence for over a decade now, the band has yet to acquire mainstream, popular recognition.

On American Race Theory

On American Race Theory: In American race theory, there are three basic pillars of thought when determining racial problems. As critical race theorist Derrick Bell has noted, they include the constitutional contradiction, the interest convergence principle, and the price of racial remedies. For the constitutional contradiction, American law originally consisted of a two-track system: one for white (property-owning) males and one for everybody else. When crafted in 1787, the Constitution counted (black) slaves as three-fifths of a person, even though in 1776, the Declaration of Independence had claimed that all men were created equal. As for the interest convergence principle, it entailed racial advances for blacks only when they also served white interests. For instance, in the early Cold War, the Soviet Union pointed to Jim Crow laws as signs that the United States was not living up to its original creed of liberty and justice for all. Therefore, passing the 1964 Civil Rights Act became a product of interest convergence among blacks and whites because the Soviet threat loomed particularly large under Premier Khrushchev. Lastly, the price of racial remedies were the high social costs that blacks and whites alike incurred to create a more equitable American society. One such racial remedy involved urban desegregation busing (pictured above). At times, students became pawns in this vast social experiment, especially when racial tensions erupted into violence.

The Scopes (Monkey) Trial

The Scopes (Monkey) Trial: In 1925, the Tennessee legislature passed the Butler Act, which precluded public school teachers from teaching evolutionary theory. This law cause immediate controversy, as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) openly challenged it. John T. Scopes, a high school biology teacher, agreed to violate the statute for the ACLU by teaching some of Charles Darwin's ideas from On the Origin of Species (1859). Scopes' actions landed him in jail with a $100 bail and a grand jury indictment. The indictment led to a criminal trial, which was the first to be broadcast nationally on the radio. Aside from the radio, the trial attracted two of the nation's most prominent lawyers at the time; William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow. The above video contains remade theatrical scenes from Inherit the Wind (1955), where the legal and theological debates of the prosecution and defense are on display. Although the ACLU originally planned to attack the constitutionality of the Butler Act on the grounds that it violated a teacher's right to academic freedom, Darrow later centered the argument on the difference between literal and allegorical interpretations of the Bible. Ultimately, the court found Scopes guilty of violating the Butler Act, as it upheld the law's constitutionality by stating it did not favor a particular religious view concerning man's origins. The Butler Act remained state law in Tennessee until 1967.