Rationale

For my textbook project, I chose to exemplify the power of cause and effect through the use of six events. I wanted to choose events that really resonated with the American people and had a direct effect on their lives. In order to accomplish this, I thought about events that made the headlines: 9/11 and Bush’s presidency, Hurricane Katrina, the earthquake in Haiti, the war in Iraq, the changes in technology and music, global warming, and President Obama’s election and inauguration. Every one of these events, either taking place in one day or over the course of many years, has changed the lives of the American people in some way.
 * Rationale **

My first topic, titled ‘Bush in Office,’ mainly discusses former-President Bush’s actions as a result of 9/11, particularly his invasion of Afghanistan. I wrote about the actual event of 9/11 as well, detailing the specific actions that occurred. I chose to write briefly about 9/11 because the event itself is important to understand and provides adequate background information for what I was going to continue writing about. Furthermore, the war in Afghanistan is definitely worth mentioning as well because it proved to have long term effects on our country and defined Bush’s presidency, giving it its deserving place as one of the top six events spanning the last five years.

My second topic, ‘Natural Disasters,’ talks about the two most life changing and talked about natural disasters to have happened over the last five years. First was Hurricane Katrina, which had a profound effect on the lives of not only Southern natives, but the entire country. The effects of this incident sparked a nationwide response, making it one of the most important events in the history of the last five years, no matter how tragic. I chose to write about the earthquake in Haiti as well because it stirred up a similar response. Both led to an immense amount of volunteering and created a desire in all people to help those in need, something that exemplifies the feelings of Americans in the more recent years and is the major reason why I chose to write about these events.

‘The Iraq War Continues’ is the title of my third topic, mainly discussing Bush’s motives and results of the war. I chose to keep this topic short because although I do believe it is extremely important and prominent, I don’t think it had as direct an effect on the people of America as other topics, more so the government and financial status. So while the war //is// worth mentioning, I only wrote about a few aspects.

The fourth topic of my textbook, ‘Social Change,’ discusses what I think is one of the most important topics of this millennium, seeing as it has the most direct effect on the people. I chose to talk about the “new” Apple products (the iPod and iPhone) because they are currently the most popular and functional devices. Additionally, I discussed music, seeing as it has drastically transformed in the recent years. Lady Gaga is who I chose to use as an example of this transformation, seeing as she has broadened the view of what is socially acceptable and has introduced the world to a new style.

The topics of global warming and Obama’s election, although, in my mind, not equally important, are equally discussed and present in the lives of all Americans. Obama’s inauguration as the 44th president and 1st black president is clearly important. It symbolizes America’s progress. Global warming is quite the opposite. The earth’s rising temperature symbolizes America’s lack of progress in the ecological realm. My theme of cause and effect is shown through this example because we as Americans can see through statistics and feel through hotter weather the effects we’re having on our planet.

What I decided to leave out of my textbook is just as important as what I decided to include. I knew from the beginning that I really did not want to talk about the economy. Although it did have an effect on people over the past five years, I don’t find it interesting enough or mentioned enough on the news or otherwise.

I also didn’t go into much detail about wars. I did bring up the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, yet I didn’t go to great lengths to describe everything that happened/is happening in them. I did this because I wanted to focus mainly on events that I feel had a //direct// impact on the people. Natural disasters, presidential elections, global warming, and technological advances definitely fit the part, while wars are dealt with by the government and are taking place in far away nations.

If I had been doing this project one year ago, I probably would have included the Swine Flu epidemic. And although it did make headlines in 2009, it has been almost forgotten by now. I made my focus choosing topics that remain present in the daily lives of Americans, and I didn’t see how this fit that role. Also, I left out the majority of what has happened in the political world. Seeing as I only wanted to write about things that the American society was directly involved in, I decided only to include the two presidential elections and inaugurations that occurred in the past five years. Society is most involved in these two elections than any other, and they have more impact on society than any other election as well.

In conclusion, I feel that I did a good job in exemplifying my chosen theme. The examples that I chose, along with what I carefully decided to exclude, show the power of cause and effect in addition to summing up the major events from 2005 to 2010 that will surely go down in history.