Final Lit Circle

           After I read the book, The Post American World, and Kathryn’s blog, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, I found the connections between them. When we discussed in class, I thought there were no connections between these two books because they were talking about different topics. However, as I thought deeply, there were some similarities in these two books.

Zakaria’s major claim was the “rise of the rest.”  He was basically talking about how America is not getting worse, but other countries, China, Japan, India and Germany, are growing at a very fast rate. China and India are the countries that economy would grow at its fastest pace in the last few decades. Especially, China’s income per person across the globe would rise at a faster rate than any other period in history. The book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, was talking about how HeLa cells were growing fast and impact in the medical world. HeLa cells are growing much faster than normal cells.

Even though, one book is talking about the country and the other book is talking about the cell, I thought they were similar. Even in last few decades no one thought that China would become one of the most important country in the world.  Also, China is the richest country in the world. They have very large population which means they have many workers, and it results better economy. HeLa cell is like China. It grows much faster than normal cells, and therefore produced results faster. Even thought the cell is small, it impact people’s lives and it is one of the most thing from human body.

The both books showed that how unexpected thing could affect the lives and world. Unexpected things could change our live one day. We need to have interest in a variety of things and we need to continuously observe the changes that the world is going through.

Post American World- Meeting 2

The Post American World- Meeting Two (Pg. 65-128)

             Three non Western countries (Japan, China, and India) keep their tradition and culture, which makes them unique and more modernized but not Western. Other than military and political power, all other shifts of power including educational, financial, social, and cultural are leading to the weakening of American dominance. Which is we are moving into Post- American world that directed from many places and by many people.

                “Western civilization is precious not because it is universal but because it is unique.” (Zakaria 74) The countries that are growing are not necessarily becoming more Western. For example, India, growing economic power, still has Indian women wearing fusion clothes that combine indigenous and international styles. This quote related to the first quarter theme, creativity. Creativity makes each country more unique and different from other countries. The other countries do not have to Westernize, but they can be more creative by keeping their culture and combining it with modern culture.

Captured Thought : Lottery winner

         My mother always told me that if I earn something without working hard, it is not worthy. I felt good when I found money on the ground or got something for free. I wasn’t sure what my mother was talking about until I took Sociology.
        In the last unit, we talked about different social classes that exist in our society. There are capitalists, who make big decisions for our country. Also, there is the underclass that gets money from social security, or welfare. There are four more classes between these two classes. When people move up to the next social class without putting their effort, they will fail later on.     
Sometimes an article has a story about a person who won millions of dollars in lottery. I see them in the newspaper or on TV. I was very jealous of them because I thought they would be rich for the rest of their lives, and that they would be able to buy everything they want. However, I never read a single piece of news that said that they are happy in their lives or they became successful in their lives. I always wondered about this question. Aren’t they supposed to be happy because they got money that they never expected?
           From sociology class I could answer to my question and understand what my mother was talking about. The answer was no. The most common consequence of hitting a big lottery is that life becomes topsy-turvy. When the person was living in poor class, they don’t know how to handle millions of dollars. They were used to living with few hundred dollars a month. Long forgotten friends and distant relatives suddenly remember them and ask them for money. People just use them as a tool. Also, some lottery winners separate from their marriage. They no long trust people even in their family.
           From the article news, I understand the materials that I learned in class. The resulting status inconsistency can lead to worse condition. People who left their jobs, friends, and family after they won lottery, they are most likely to become poorer in several years. However, people who don’t make sudden changes into their lifestyle or their behavior, they are people who will succeed in their lives. Moving up the social ladder without putting their effort, it is not worthy.