Not Everyone in the U.S. has equal access to a happy life.

Not everyone in America has equal access to a happy, productive life. There are many groups of people who are deprived of their god given right to live and thrive in the United States. According to the Declaration of Independence, "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." On the other hand, as we were fighting for these rights there were others fighting us for the same rights. One example of these people are the native Americans. The population of people who lived and thrived off of the land before we came and conquered. Chief Seattle is an example of a leader who had to compromise in order to ensure any rights for his peoples future. The U.S. government presented Seattle with an offer to purchase over two million acres of his peoples land. It was than that Chief Seattle realized there was no stopping the white man. Seattle made the decision to protect his people by working with the white men who could ultimately destroy his people. His impassioned speech he gave in response to the U.S. government is still widely read and respected today.

Assignment 1.5

Is conforming to society a necessity in today's economy? Radio stations all over Minnesota are a perfect example of this. The Twin Cities radio station 96.3 exhibits this conformity. While B96 made its roots in genres like local and underground hip-hop and rap, the music has shifted towards a more commercial and mainstream sound.

In the spring of last year, the Twin Cities adopted a new ratings system called Portable People Meter (PPM). The PPM measures only what audiences are listening to. Soon after the system was adopted, B96 started showing low numbers and signaled a need for an upgrade. On January 6, 2010 B96 changed its name to “96.3 NOW” and its call sign to KHTC. It went from being the Twin Cities only commercial rap and urban music station to a direct competitor with KDWB, the second highest rated radio station in the Cities. Since the big change the ratings have moved them from twelfth place to tenth place in only a few months. Thus proving that in today’s economy, in order to appeal to a broader market you must be willing to conform to societies current standards.