The Responsibility of the Media, Society, and the Average American in Modern Advertising
By Logan Hoyt

It seems as though we, the American people, are unwilling to take responsibility for our own actions. We continually accuse companies of false advertising while continuing to purchase their products. Although American companies have a responsibility to insure that their advertising is not deceptive, the American people must figure out on their own whether or not they are being deceived.

Society’s responsibility in advertising is obvious. According to the mind of the average American, society must inform people about false advertising, steer away from it, and punish the companies who engage in such practices. How exactly does society accomplish these tasks? Simply put, they outsource them to the mainstream media.

Although the media is separate from most of society, they still have many of the same goals. The American media shares the desire of society to highlight truth and expose corruption in every form. Even though society has the same goals as the media, the media’s motivation behind the goals is not concern for the American people. Instead the primary motivation of the American media is their financial success. Because of this and the fact that the media relies primarily upon advertising revenue to make their money, we must assume that the media cannot be trusted to uncover injustices in American advertising.

So what is the average American to do? Obviously we are not in the board room deciding how we should advertise or in the media trying to expose false advertising. We don’t have access to all of the research that these companies have supposedly gathered to insure the safety and marketability of their products. Because of this it becomes necessary to find our own information. Using the internet the average American consumer can find numerous sources of information which can help them decide whether they as the consumer are being deceived or not. Just as in advertising we must use discernment as much of this information is not true or outdated. Never the less I believe that the average American’s responsibility in advertising is to discern whether or not the media or large companies are lying to them. The only way we have of fulfilling this responsibility is to do the research ourselves and find out who is telling the truth.

The Man I Admire
By Ashley Donovan

My husband Paul, what an amazing man he can be! He never ceases to amaze me. He works so hard for our family, and no one ever hears a word of complaint come out of his mouth. Whether it will be 112 degrees outside, or even 32 degrees, he stays outside working to provide for our family.

Yet in the midst of all of his hard work, he still makes time to have fun with us. We enjoy summer the most as a family. He enjoys taking us all to the lake. We go camping, fishing, and boating. He also enjoys taking us all to the demolition derbies he participates in. The kids enjoy this, as they like seeing their dad partake in this sport.

When it comes time for the derbies, Paul does have to work even harder when he wants to go to one, as this usually entitles a little extra time and money on his part to get them going. He has a routine around our house every morning when he gets up, goes downtown to get himself his “Go-Go” juice, so he calls it, and I lie in bed listening to the sound of his truck rumbling down the street with the percussion as hard as thunder. He returns home only long enough to give me a kiss that tastes of his drink and to whisper the words, “I love you” in my ear as he slips out the door to work hard for the day.

Some days I stop by his job site, and as I pull up, I can see the sun gleaming off his sweaty back, and I get that smile that I crave all day. I watch him for a few minutes carrying shingles up and down the ladder as I compare him to the World’s Strongest Man that I watch compete on television every so often and think to myself how I believe he too could do that. I wait patiently for him to come give me a kiss, one that I personally know will be a sweaty, hot kiss, one that will taste like I just took a drink of the ocean water.

When he arrives home, it never fails, he barely even says “Hi,” but, “I need to go get in the shower. Because after a long, hot day of working on a roof, he comes home smelling of asphalt and tar, and I too think that he needs a shower. I would much rather him smell of his Axe body wash any day.

One thing I have learned though, we should not take our time together for granted, especially in the summer. When he works all the time, every little moment that we get together, I will cherish. He makes certain that he takes care of his family and we don’t have to struggle when the winter months come, that he puts in extra hours in the summer to make up for that. Yes, sacrifices we do and will have, but are well worth it in the end.

Not too many people out there can do what Paul can, as well as he can do, without complaining about it. So whether he is truly admirable to most, he will always be admirable in my eyes.

Undying Love

By Sandy Frisch