“The End of Men”
“The End of Men” describes the shifting paradigm within the society concerning gender wars. It upends the common prosaicisms of modern sexual politics in a rapidly changing culture. The article unfolds with the subject matter of the upper gender from the past and the contemporary world. Typically, the article is divided into two sections, including the background and the current status within the society. The article underlines how men were viewed as the dominant sex for centuries, which led to the fight for gender equality (Rosin). However, in the contemporary world, women have not only gained on men across all frontiers but have also pulled ahead of them in most measures. For instance, most managers are women(Rosin). In effect, the title of the article is a lexicon coined to describe the failing dominance of men as women supersede them in different areas of life, even in the most rigid nations such as South Korea. The article draws on personal accounts and experiences, such as that of Ericksson, who is perplexed by the sudden change in requests for more girls than boys. He outlines how women currently live longer, have a better opportunity at graduating, and do everything that men do but much better than men.
The second part of the article attempts to unearth the underlying factors behind the shift in gender supremacy. According to the author, communication and thinking have overtaken the stamina and strength-inclined societies of the past. Coupled with the economic success envisioned as women remain on top, the global culture and geopolitics have continued to support the rise of women within the society(Rosin). An explicit illustration of the correlation between the changing gender dynamics and the economy is explained in Bourdieu’s The Bachelor’s Ball, which the author quotes in the article(Rosin). While the author points out the radical gender differences in society, the impending question is to what extent should the society continue to push for equality in preference for women?
“A Plan to Get America Back to Work”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders are tasked with making critical decisions that impact not only the lives of people in the present, but also in the future. Written within the pandemic context, “A Plan to Get America Back to Work” describes the plan that American leaders have to use to regain stability during such trying times (Friedman). The author introduces the article by identifying how leaders have a critical role in ensuring survival and progress amidst a critical economic and health pandemic period(Friedman). People are increasingly dying as businesses are forced to shut down. While the management of the virus demands people to stay at home and practice social distancing, leaders are tasked with ensuring that the economy does not dwindle by identifying the safest means for people to go back to work. Therefore, the article is aimed at identifying the balance between the moral, economic, and medical issues as the nation attempts to rise again.
The author argues that it is paramount to restore the nation’s economic status since it is a significant predictor of the country’s health outcomes. For instance, job layoffs translate into reduced access to health care due to a lack of health insurance. From this perspective, the article highlights that instead of closing off the economy, it would be effective for the country to employ a vertical interdiction strategy, as suggested by Dr. David Katz(Friedman). A surgical interdiction strategy involves protecting individuals who are more likely to suffer from the long-term effects of the virus while treating the remaining portion of the society in a manner that the country would handle a flu. He argues that society can take advantage of the horizontal interdiction strategy by incorporating an isolation strategy for two weeks(Friedman). After the weeks have lapsed, those with symptoms should be quarantined or self-isolated while the remaining population should be allowed to resume school and work. In the meantime, the nation should ensure that it prevents all points of interaction between the affected and those who have not been affected. In addition, the article urges that there should be work on the treatment and vaccine for the coronavirus. The identified approach is reasonable and feasible in protecting the economy and the citizens’ health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Don’t Close Parks – Open Up Streets.”
The article, “Don’t Close Parks –Open Up Streets,” addresses one of the ways that New York needs to handle the pandemic. Just as the title suggests, the article insists on the essence of opening up the streets and parks to the population. The article starts by providing the reader with information about the situation in New York in the 1850s(Hamblin). According to the article, New York’s population had increased to the extent that the citizens felt the need to move to the cemeteries. Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery constantly flooded with New Yorkers as they found it to be a place where they could hang out and have picnics(Hamblin). In effect, city officials built a park and changed the history of the public-health status in the country. The author ties up the information from the past 150 years to the situation in New York Currently.
The author discusses how Prospect Park has played an essential role in the community. Individuals in Brooklyn and New York have used it to workout, have picnics, and enjoy the outdoors. However, the recent measures enforced to control the pandemic have forced people to stay indoors. This means that people are not allowed to visit the parks or move freely in the streets(Hamblin). While these measures appear reasonable in controlling the coronavirus, it affects the health of people. Typically, New Yorkers live in small-sized apartments that will, ultimately, have an effect on the mental and physical health of people. The author argues that Mayor Bill de Blasio has worsened the situation by deploying more police officers to limit outdoor access (Hamblin). From a personal perspective, the author identifies that the most effective solution would involve opening the streets and the parks to allow people to walk out freely. The article is effective in revealing the situation in New York during the epidemic and proposes a solution for the current situation and future pandemics.
Challenges Faced When Tackling a Writing Project
Summarization is a common language behavior act that relies in condensing large texts into smaller readable portions. The writing project involved summarizing three different articles. However, there were some challenges that were experienced during the project. One of the challenges involved sticking to the ideas presented in the articles. Summarizing guidelines suggest that an individual should refrain from providing their own ideas or thoughts about the article. During the exercise, I noticed that I became side-tracked on several occasions where I was tempted to provide my views about the article rather than sticking to the author’s ideas. Comparing the summary and the article is one of the essential methods that I used to ensure that I have not included my ideas in the summary. Secondly, I experienced problems with having redundant ideas throughout the summaries. Notably, an effectively summarized article needs to avoid any redundant ideas to ensure that the information flows effectively. To solve this problem, I ensured that I read through the summaries and removed any repeated ideas from the drafts.
Despite the challenges faced when analyzing the paper, the writing exercise helped in revealing some of my writing strengths. I realized that I am able to effectively drawing connections in a text, which is essential when writing a summary. In the process of analyzing the texts, I identified the key phrases and ideas from the texts. Using the identified ideas, I was able to make connections between the ideas without looking at the text. This is a significant strength when writing a summary since it aids in writing an effective summary. By following the identified guidelines, taking advantage of my writing strength and overcoming my weakness, I was able to write three summaries as viewed above.
Weekly Reading Quiz
Question 1
B
Question 2
A
Question 3
B
Question 4
D
Works Cited
Friedman, L. Thomas. “A Plan to Get America Back to Work.” New York Times, 22 Mar. 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/22/opinion/coronavirus-economy.html. Accessed 3 June 2020.
Hamblin, James. “Don’t Close Parks. Open Up Streets. The Atlantic, https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/05/open-the-streets/611470/. Accessed 3 June 2020.
Rosin, Hanna. “The End of Men.” The Atlantic, 2010, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/07/the-end-of-men/308135/. Accessed 3 June 2020.