Best Speaker

       I have heard a few political speeches by people such as Ron Paul, attended womens conferences with powerful speakers, and a few others. Out of all of those I think the one that has had the most effect on me was a sermon that a priest from out of town gave in our local catholic church. I think part of the reason why it had such a great effect on me is because I honestly was not expecting it. I just went to church like I do every Sunday mainly just to please my mom, but instead of feeling disconnected with the people around me, I felt more connected to them than ever before. This priest talked about courage, secrets, and what it really meant to have a happy life. He was not your typical "Catholic priest," he had a darker past that he shared with everyone, and he even had children which is extremely rare for a priest to have. I often saw priests as judgmental old men but this man made me realize  they are just like everyone else. He used examples from the today's world, had a loud strong voice and brought up controversial topics that normally are not brought up in such a conservative, christian environment. I found myself crying, with chills going down my spine and looked around to see many other people were too. I think it is truly amazing if a speaker can evoke that much emotion and have people of all different ages relate to each other and be on the same page.
      I think the worse speaker I ever heard was during a JSA (Junior Statesmen of America) conference in high school. It was obvious the speaker was only talking to receive some sort of credit, not because the felt passionate about the topic at all. I was bored and you could tell everyone else was too. If a speaker is not confident in themselves, there is no way they are going to be able to get through to others.
   
   

Social Constructionist Perspective

      We build words through communication in so  many different ways in the American culture. The use of symbolism is a huge aspect of who we are and how we identify ourselves. We display stickers on our laptops, cars, phones etc that represent parts of who we are.  Often times the media is what helps determine what those symbols mean to us. Another tool that we repeatedly let define our relationships and communications with other people is Facebook. We are connected to so many different people through facebook, that  a lot of them we may not have seen in years, yet we know so many details about their lives it is as if we've been with them every day. The awkward part however, is that if you do tend to run into somebody at the grocery store you are not sure whether or not it would be socially acceptable to comment on their facebook posts, in person. A lot of other cultures depend on facebook for communication as well, but the American culture seems to be in the heart of it all. For many it is a way of staying connected with old friends and family which brings happiness. However it is also too often used as a way of "facebook stalking" someone that in reality you have no business even knowing.