Family Questions for the Midterm

Below are the questions I accepted from the ones the families submitted. THEY WILL BE ON THE EXAM ON TUESDAY. In general, I thought the Yellow family's questions could have been more creative. I was able to accept two of the Yellow family's questions, but I modified them somewhat. The Blue family offered some better questions overall, and I accepted three of their questions, so the Blue family will get a bonus point for their efforts. Here they are:

YELLOW FAMILY: (Adam, Melanie, Chris, Sarah)

1. What is the significance of the fact that 1957 was the year the highest percentage of Americans described themselves as "very happy?" (2)

ANSWER: That happiness is not necessarily tied to having more. The average American has twice as much today as in 1957 but is not as happy.

2. Like any addiction, the first step in curing affluenza is what? (1)

ANSWER: getting people to admit that they have a problem.


BLUE FAMILY: (Kristen, Jessica, Mary-Elizabeth, who submitted some separately)

1. James Kuntsler says, "We've mutated from citizens to consumers in the last sixty years." (p. 65) What does Kuntsler believe is "the trouble with being consumers" rather than citizens? (2)

ANSWER: "Consumers have no duties or responsibilities or obligations to their fellow consumers. Citizens do." Citizens are about community while consumers care primarily about themselves.

2. What did Mother Teresa mean by referring to the United States as "...the poorest place I've ever been in my life?" (1)

ANSWER: she was talking about spiritual poverty, or poverty of the soul.

3. What is the importance of institutions, especially work, on the development of individuals? (2)

ANSWER: Institutions are organized systems of objects directed toward human ends, and as individuals we participate in and achieve our purposes through them. Work, likewise, is an organizing principle of life providing routine and meaning to our lives as individuals.

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That's it. See you Tuesday.