Analyzing My Own Assumptions

Analyzing My Own Assumptions

In this blog post, I am going to analyze my assumptions based on the culture of the text. I am going to connect the culture of the text back to today's culture and society.

What cultural or social values, beliefs, etc., do we share with the society or culture in which the text was written? Why have they endured?

We continue to debate over the benefits and harmful effects of artificial sugar. Many people think that artificial sugar is better for them because it has less calories. On the other hand, many people also know the harm of artificial sugar because they avoid it due to it lowering metabolism and containing chemicals. Theses beliefs have endured because people are not informed. Many people believe what they want to hear, and some people merely do not care about the possible health risks. Personally, I stay away from artificial sugars because they lower metabolism.

What cultural or social values, beliefs, etc., do we not share? Why not?

We do not share the same beliefs that artificial sugars are evil because many people still consume them. Even though many people know they are harmful, they still consume them. I feel like they have become more of a social norm than they were before. Before, many people were curious about the risks, but now many products contain fake sugars, so people think that it is okay to consume them because they are still alive after eating so much.

Filer, Andrew. "Assumption, Minnesota." 9/27/06 via flickr.
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.

If the text is written in a culture distant or different from our own, what social values, beliefs, etc., can we not see in our own culture?

I do not think that the culture was totally different or distant from our own. I noticed that the article had many references to American research. Therefore, the culture involved our own. However, I noticed that back when the article was written, there seemed to be more of a concern of the health risks that still are present now. This could be due to the increased availability of artificial sweeteners like I mentioned in the previous response.

If the text is written in our culture but in a different historical time, how have the social values, beliefs, etc., developed or changed over time?

Like I mentioned above, people do not see as much harm in the artificial sugars anymore because of the increased availability of them. Many foods contain them, and we do not even realize it. Usually, they are the names on the ingredient labels that are not pronounceable. These sugars are in all kinds of foods nowadays. They are in "sugar-free" food especially. It is important for people in society to be cautious of this. However, many people are unaware of this and their adverse long-term implications.

Reflection

I read Austin See's blog post. I realized that him and I both have issues that occur in the US. He mentioned that the American culture is "reinforced". I think that was a good way of putting it because my topic involved this as well. However, the harms of artificial sugars do not seem to be as reinforced as his issue because artificial sugars have been increasingly more available. Therefore, the issues behind them are hidden.

I also read Olivia Wan's blog post. I think she put a lot of opinion in hers. She really did not seem to like paying more for non-GMOs. However, I disagree with her because it is better to pay now for the food than to pay later with your health (in the hospital). For example, I always try my best to get organic and non-GMO foods because my grandmother had gotten a cancerous growth from the pesticides in lettuce. Even though it is not GMO related, I think supporting a cause such as better REAL food for Americans is ideal. If there was more of a demand, the prices would not be as high.