Just Drop It!

. “Texting to Death.” New York Times. New York Times, 15 September 2009. Web. 17 September 2009<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/opinion/15tue3.html?_r=1>.

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The article I chose to write about is one on texting while driving. The senate is trying to pass a bill that will restrict people from texting while driving in any state. This law would require each state to have a minimum penalty for texting while driving. Many states within the U.S have already passed laws that ban receiving or sending of any texts while driving. In some states, people are getting pulled over for another incident but then are also being given a small fine for texting. I believe that the author is trying to prove a few points by writing this editorial. I think one reason he wrote this piece was to show teens that the law is cracking down on the texting while driving. I also think that he or she is trying to show the dangers of texting. He has provided an example within the editorial that states texting while driving is more dangerous than drunk driving. The author provided a few experiments that some states have performed that show the affects and damages of texting while driving. He also has proven evidence that if someone is texting while they are driving they are more likely to have a crash than someone being intoxicated. I believe the author’s main purpose in writing this section was to discourage people from texting and pay more attention to the road than their phones.

I will be the first to say that I text while I drive. It is a habit to just pick up my phone when it rings. This editorial has me thinking about a few things. It has me questioning the fact of what is more important, my life or the simple little text that I can read when I get to a stopping point. After reading this editorial I would rather just wait and read my text when I get stopped then suffer a consequence with a ticket or maybe something even bigger. When I first heard about the government trying to make this law, I thought it was one of the dumbest laws. Once I read this editorial and all of its examples and experiments, I think my life is more important. If this bill becomes a law I believe that everyone should support it because, is a twenty three second text worth your life or even more, someone else’s life. Just receiving and viewing your text can cause you to be eight times more likely to crash, which is scary to me. In conclusion, I believe that people should put down their phone while their car is in motion. They may check their phone while they are at a red light or not in motion but other than that, drop it.

The Attack on the Young Ones Ends

. “Big Tobacco Strikes Back.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 6 September 2009. Web. 8 September 2009<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/07/opinion/07mon1.html?_r=1>.

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The first amendment states that everyone has the freedom of speech. Within the past three months cigarette companies have been trying to fight for their rights that they believe are being taken away. There is a bill in the process of becoming a law that will restrict some of cigarette companies’ rights. These problems began when the landmark federal law allowed the Food and Drug Administration power to control tobacco products. The cigarette companies did not like many of the things this administration was trying to pass. These companies thought the best place to fall back on was Kentucky; therefore many lawsuits were filed there. The Food and Drug Administration is convinced that these companies are targeting young people. This new law is not going to stop the advertisement of cigarettes, it is just going to limit where and how these companies will advertise. Color is known to attract younger people so therefore cigarettes companies are no longer allowed to use anything but black and white in their advertisements in magazines. This law also requires that the warning labels on cigarette packages must be more visible and larger than the current label. The author is concerned about the health of the young adults and in my conclusion I believe he supports this new law.

This article makes me think more into the first amendment. It makes me start to think that there may be exceptions to the first amendment. In some ways I do believe that this new law will restrict cigarette companies’ rights and others I do not. I strongly believe in the first amendment and that everyone deserves it until they abuse it. In recent years, I do believe these companies have started to abuse their rights to freedom of speech. These companies are deliberately targeting younger people by using colors and more “hip” ads. Cigarette companies knew their intentions when they made these ads and now they’re trying to play dumb. I believe they have abused the first amendment and used it for their own selfish game. I do not smoke so therefore I support this law. In my eyes, I believe this law will help lower the amount of younger adults who fall into the “cigarette trap” because no one thinks a black and white advertisement is cool. Black and white advertisements are dull and do not grab attention. In my conclusion I believe this may hurt cigarette companies but I honestly do not know the excitement of cigarettes anyways.