Maps to Anywhere Second Half Response

This half of Maps To Anywhere was arguably more effective in conveying Bernard Cooper emotions surrounding his life events.  It was interesting to see how he progressed through the essay compilation and how he associated various concepts with his life events.  From personal experience, Cooper is better able to portray a message through emotion and various imagery.  Cooper continues to prove the power of this medium through essays like "Leaving" and "Bringing Down the House".  Cooper is better able to display his emotions surrounding certain topics and concepts due to his life experience with them.

In "Leaving", Cooper tells of the "typical" American family on an infographic.  He describes the father, mother, and specifically, the 2.5 kids.  I see this as perhaps a commentary on the lifestyle that we glorify that is so inherently damaging at the same time.  The ".5" child is perhaps the child we ignore so that the rest of the family on the surface can survive without bother or difficulty.  We ignore the suffering statistic so that the rest of the world can feel okay about themselves as a result of not thinking about world issues.  We have this conceived image of society that fits our schemas, and when they don't fit, we simply reject them.  I enjoyed this essay because even though it said very little, the concept spoke volumes.

The essay, "Futurism" caught my eye as well, as it spoke of the damaging world view that is constantly changing with technology.  We pass the landmarks by so quickly on the highway because we do not have to appreciate the natural earth, and instead we glorify man-made structures.  Perhaps this essay is not a commentary on technology that revolutionizes society as a whole, but the technology that streamlines daily life that makes the aesthetic beauty of the world irrelevant.  This essay was interesting because it effectively summarized the plight in which society is the ignorant victim, as we support technology that makes our lives easier as opposed to the technology that helps others or fixes problems.  We seek to make life go faster without appreciating what makes it important.