Tuesday, June 4, 2013
The Melting Pot And Its Food
England is full of Englishmen. France is full of Frenchmen. Italy is full of Italians and Russia is full of Russians. So what is America populated by? This little mental exercise points out one of the amazing things about the way America was envisioned by the forefathers. When you think about it, America stands out as most unique of all the nations of the world because we are not the homeland of an ethnic people. Now, we do have our ethnic population in the form of the American Indian native population which we value and prize as much as any population that lives here. But “America” as a nation is remarkable not for the dominance of one ethnic group but for the lack of one ethnic group that defines what it is to be American.
This is why we are called “The Great American Melting Pot”. It’s a good illustration because when you imagine a big pot bubbling over a stove or campfire, all of the ingredients all mix together to make one delicious meal. That is truly what America is. Our many ethnic subcultures mix and blend and add spice to each other until that resulting personality, that thing we call “an American”, is truly a wonderful blend of all of the ethnic groups that make up this great country.
In fact, the way Americans view ethnic diversity is unique in the entire world. We do honor the ethnic background of all peoples. In almost any big town or city in the country on any given weekend you might come across a festival celebrating the ethnic heritage of a people in that community be they Irish, Greek, German, Scottish, Native American, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Mexican, or any of the other many ethnic groups who call America home.
Over the centuries we have had waves of immigration from particular areas of the world that have added their particular flavor to the big melting pot of America. Sometimes in larger towns you can drive from neighborhood to neighborhood and each one will have the unique atmosphere of the home country of the ethnic group who calls that neighborhood home. But that spirit of celebrating the authenticity of every American is not used in this country to drive people apart. It is to honor the uniqueness of all Americans and actually bring us together. So as citizens of Chinese origin dance the Chicken Dance at a German Oktoberfest or as Americans of African heritage happily try on quilts at the Scottish Festival to be Scottish for a day, we enjoy the ethnic background of each other’s heritage. In doing so, we become one people from many.
In fact, American society continues to strive more and more to make ethnic background a source of pride but not division between our own people. So when it comes to where we work, who we keep as friends and who we socialize with out and about, to an extent, Americans actually do not care what another persons ethnic background is. This kind of attitude is virtually unthinkable in the majority of the world’s populations where each country is populated by a single “tribe” as we mentioned earlier. The American outlook of being ‘color blind” about such things is a bold experiment in how to run a society. But the American experiment in social order is one that is so successful that it is mimicked by dozens of nations all around the world.
Monday, January 14, 2013
How to Save Money With Grocery Coupons
Times are tough, and everyone is economizing. A good place to start is with your weekly grocery bill. Some families have actually cut their food bills in half by learning how to save money with Grocery Coupons.
How much can you save? Some people who devoted lots of time and energy to clipping and using coupons have saved thousands of dollars on their annual food bills. With the price of food rising all the time, this can be a major savings. Some people have saved as much as 80 percent on a grocery bill, depending on their use of Coupons.
If you're going to start saving money using Grocery Coupons, but you've never done it before, then be aware of these facts.
Saving money using these coupons takes time. Most people take 20 minutes to an hour organizing coupons for a trip to the store. So basically you're trading some of your time for the savings you're getting. Don't overlook this fact, because it means you'll have to sacrifice something else.
People who use coupons most successful practice excellent organization and persistence. They're systematic and resourceful about how they use grocery coupons. This style of household management nets coupon clippers at least 12 percent off their grocery bills and sometimes as much as a whopping 75 percent.
By the way, did you know that almost half - 47 percent - of the grocery coupons issued by manufacturers are for nonfood items like cleaning products? Now which would you rather use your coupons for - a gallon of milk to feed your kids or the latest super-duper stain remover? It pays to stay alert when using grocery coupons, because you want to use them for food.
If you're ready to get serious about how to save money using Coupons, then try some of these tips from experience coupon clippers.
Review your spending. Make notes on what you buy on a regular basis. This will help you form or improve a strategy for shopping with coupons. Keep a notebook, or a computer spreadsheet, on products you buy each week so you can track prices. By doing this you'll know the best time to buy.
Get some kind of coupon organizer. If you're going to be really serious about how to save money with Grocery Coupons, then you'll need at least a coupon wallet, which is a miniature accordion file with labels for various kinds of products. You could use an office-size accordion file, or even an index file box with folders. The size container you need for your coupons depends on how much time and effort you're going to devote to the task.
Develop a system for using grocery coupons. You can do this one of two ways:
* Write out your shopping list, and then hunt for coupons to match your needs:
* Review your file of coupons and write your shopping list based on the products you have and the coupons that are about to expire.
Organize your coupons by a system that makes the most sense to you. Some people like to store their coupons according to expiration date so they won't lose any of the "found money" that coupons represent. Others prefer to set up their grocery coupon file according to products, while others find it easiest to look for coupons in alphabetical order. One family's father (a true computer geek) even made up a database according to the way his local grocery store was laid out and filed coupons by the store's layout!
Once you start clipping coupons, getting into spirit of the practice will make the time and effort seem even more worthwhile. Think of how to save money with Grocery Coupons as a treasure hunt. Not only are you getting good food to feed your family, you're "finding" money while you do it!
For more information on such coupons and grocery saving tips, please visit grocery coupons [http://www.grocerycouponstoprint.net] site.
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