Ideology: What it means to me

We discussed the term ideology in class on Wednesday. Before our discussion I never really thought of ideology in depth beyond the initial meaning. After our discussion it really opened up my eyes to how deep our ideology is influenced by media and everyone surrounding us. I feel our ideology is greatly influenced by the media and we are blind to some other factors we should be aware of. I was reading an article about how we need to become smarter as a nation and not be so wrapped up in celebrity gossip. They were talking about how students in China spend their summers taking non-required courses to become more educated and have a step up on people in the work world. It said that Americans enjoy their summers and would never think of going outside the required boundaries to learn something new or give up their "summer" to learn something new. I feel that this is a direct reflection of our ideology that we perceive ourselves to be "better" than other countries just because we are American, and when you look at it I know none of my friends have given up leisure time to take a non-required course to "better" themselves. This is a very important time for Americans to regain the swagger of being the best and I feel our media and younger ideological changes are hindering what we should really be doing.