Premium Essay

Should America Convert

Submitted By
Words 530
Pages 3
Should America Convert

Dear Mr. President,
My name is Colin Ward. All Americans know is the customary system of measurement. That is all people know and they wouldn’t be happy if you just went and changed it on them. I believe that the U.S. should keep our customary system of measurement.
For one, it would be a major culture shock to the US and I don’t think everyone would take the change so smoothly. If we changed to the metric system, virtually every aspect of our daily lives would change. For example, measuring things for cooking would change; students in school would use different measurements for math and science class, gas would be sold in ounces, food produce would be sold by an ounce, we would say temperature in Celsius, and …show more content…
Imagine changing every street sign in America that corresponds with miles per hour or how many miles away a place is, to metric friendly signs, which would also be very expensive. It would simply be way too expensive to afford these changes with how much America is already in debt and would send America into an economic crisis. Other things that would be subject to change are measurement tools such as rulers, cooking measuring cups, a tape measure, and much more things that we use daily. If America made this change company’s would have to produce brand new measuring tools like these and people would have to go buy such tools that they might already have a lot of. Company’s such as NASA claims that converting its measurements systems and technology would cost them over 370 million dollars because NASA and people overseas were not using the same unit of measurement. America’s economy and Americas company’s/businesses would have a very tough time converting to the metric system.
Even though the US is only one of three countries in the world that haven’t adopted the metric system but the US already tried to go metric. In 1975 the federal government adopted the metric system as the preferred system of measurement in America. The change was ineffective because many people were not a fan of the change and because they were already adapted to the lifestyle with it. This just shows that people over the years prefer using our current measurement system rather than changing it and pretty much staring over learning a new measurement

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

The Metric System

...Convert Having to convert fractions, inches, feet and yards to one another is a long and grueling processes, and often times our conversion come out wrong anyways. Not having to deal with complicated conversions will make the lives of people in America that much easier. America should convert to the metric system. If America were to convert to the metric system making conversions and measuring would be easier, overseas trade would be better, and knowing how to measure out different items overseas wouldn’t be difficult. In order to keep doing trades overseas America needs to convert its products to the metric system. According to an article from the Christian Science Monitor, “ US companies are losing overseas markets, because they don’t...

Words: 897 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Sandwich Island Research Paper

...The thought that I will not be able to see you for years fills me with melancholy. I have been aching to see you for a while now, even though I have barely finished my first year here. I have been sent on a mission to convert the natives of the Sandwich Islands to Christianity, and boy do they need to be disciplined. They casually run around half naked, marry their siblings, and do countless other absurd practices. Some of the natives immediately converted without hesitance, but others were reluctant to convert to Christianity. Despite these obstacles, I believe that one day, we missionaries will have convinced all of these natives to convert to Christianity. I cannot believe the absurd things they do. At their religious ceremonies, the men and women display their top portion as if it were normal, and dance with grass and leaves dangling from their waist in a skirt! They also do inappropriate dancing and call it “storytelling”, even though it is just an obscenity that must be stopped. We must convince these natives that these are terrible sins and they will be punished if they continue to do this. I must teach them all that it’s wrong to show skin other than what is necessary. However, I have managed to convinced some natives to stop doing this dancing and start wearing more clothes, and hopefully their example will affect others. The natives also...

Words: 582 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Spanish Conquistadors

...In the years between 1519 and 1540, conquistadores invaded the Americas and ruined the lives of many, if not all, Native Americans who lived in the New World during that time period. According to “Makers of America: The Spanish Conquistadores”, a conquistador is someone from Spain who traveled to the New World in search of God, gold, and glory (18-19). The name conquistadores translates into “conquerors” in Spanish. The conquistadores claimed all the land from Colorado to Argentina in only a mere fifty years after Columbus’s discovery of the New World (Makers of America: The Spanish Conquistadores 18-19). Although others may argue that conquistadores should be named heroes for exploring the New World, it is important to remember that conquistadores...

Words: 733 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Proposal for America to Convert to the Metric System

...CONVERTING AMERICA TO THE METRIC SYSTEM TITLE OR PURPOSE To convert the United States of America from the Standard Issue Units to the Metric System. MAJOR AREAS TO BE AFFECTED The entire population of the U.S.. All of the U.S. major organizations and associations. JUSTIFICATION In 1970, Canada enacted the White Paper Metric Conversion Law to convert their country to the metric system. This law ensured that Canada would change all their forms of units to be metric. Policies in their Parliament and Constitution changed before the law went into motion. These changes allowed the government to implement the conversion into the everyday lives of the Canadian people. The year following after the law was enacted the government established the Preparatory Commission. This was considered the metric commission to organize and enforce the conversion in all sectors of the Canadian economy and spread the ideals of the metric system. In 1973, over 100 committees with members from all national associations and major organizations were created. Each of these committees were set up with a plan of preparation for the sectors conversion. The process of replacing the original imperial units with metric units involved all kinds of documents, processes, and measurements. the practical approaches to all these complications were created by the committees, each with strategies and policies conformed to suit their interests. Public awareness was an important area of consideration in order...

Words: 373 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Gideon vs Wainwright

...Mar. 2013: n. pag. Student Research Center. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. Yakey, Randal. "Panama City Case Changed Legal History 50 Years Ago." News Herald [Panama City] 17 Mar. 2013: n. pag. Student Research Center. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. America at this time: America at this time: | | | On June 3rd, 1961, Clarence Earl Gideon broke into the Bay Harbor Pool Room on Everitt Avenue in Panama City, Florida. A witness said that Gideon had been stealing money from the vending machines, and police later found him with more than $25 in change in his pockets. Gideon was arrested for vagrancy and was charged for breaking and entering. During his first trial, Gideon asked the judge to appoint him a defense attorney, as he was unable to afford one. The judge refused though, stating that he could only provide Gideon with an attorney if he had been charged with a capital offense. Gideon argued that he was entitled to an attorney because of what the Sixth Amendment states. Nonetheless, Gideon was put on trial and was sentenced to five years in prison on August 4th, 1961. While in prison, Gideon wrote a writ of habeas corpus, which was a letter demanding that he be brought before the court once more in order to determine if he had been held legally or should be released. Gideon first sent this to the Florida Supreme Court and was denied. He then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and they agreed to hear the case once more. On March 18th, 1963, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision...

Words: 1495 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Imax Bric Expansion

...Generated by Hollywood Films 2014-2017 16 Introduction to the case and Issue Identification Main Issue As of 2013 IMAX had taken in a total of $288 in revenue. For the first time since its inception roughly 40 years ago, international revenues overtook North American revenues with total revenues for 2013 from countries outside Canada and the US of $151 million. Additionally, while international revenues rose by 10 percent over the previous year, revenues for North America dropped by 6.5 percent. Further, theatres that were once a source of revenue for IMAX have begun retrofitting their own theatres with Premium Large Format (PLF) screens. The main issue for IMAX is that the product lifecycle for large format screens has reached maturity in North America. This phase is characterized by a sales volume peak, decreasing market share, and profits starting to decrease (product life cycle stages, 2016). Subsidiary Issues In addition to the IMAXs main product entering the maturity phase of the product cycle in North America and there are additional...

Words: 4007 - Pages: 17

Premium Essay

Trail Of Tears Genocide

...“Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.” This is a simple quote from a 2002 television program that was written and directed by Chris Sanders and Dean Deblois, titled Lilo and Stitch. This creative show that is meant for kids, and that may sound completely petty, brings up important virtues, and while you may think it is completely irrelevant, it comes in this paper quite nicely. Truth is, there is no genetic race. There are substantial cultural differences, but using the word race is blowing things way out of proportion. We are all “running” the same race as humans, so next time you use the word race you should consider that it should not be meant in a way that puts down certain colors, shapes, or variations...

Words: 1219 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

A Battle of Cultures

...sense that it promotes understanding and acceptance between the two cultures and encourages the development of constructive relationships between members of the two cultures. Thus, despite there being both benefits and detriments cultural interaction generally has a favorable effect. Opposition between peoples comes about when one culture is perceived to be better than the other. In Things Fall Apart by Achebe, he writes, “Three [Christian] converts had gone into the village and boasted openly that all the gods were dead and impotent…The [converts] were seized and beaten until they streamed with blood” (154). Previously, the Christians did not have much interaction with the Umuofians and as a result neither side attempted to impose their ideas on the other. Only when the Christian converts began to belittle the traditional Nigerian belief in multiple gods were they attacked. Additionally Achebe, from Okonkwo’s point of view, exclaims, “To abandon the gods of one’s father and go about with a lot of effeminate men [Christian converts] clucking like old hens was...

Words: 1073 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

What Are The Consequences Of The Second Great Awakening

...There are many factors that lead to the Second Great Awakening, such as, Market Revolution and Preachers trying to convert people. In addition, there are also consequences of the Second Great Awakening, such as, religious experimentation and Reform movements. One of the causes that lead to the Second Great Awakening was that preachers “circuit riders” would create camp meetings in the frontiers and they would gather thousands of people to listen to them preach. These preachers would attempt to convert the audiences to a more active and particularly evangelical form of Christianity. Two of the famous preachers were Lyman Beecher and Charles Grandison Finney and they both didn’t get along with each other because Finney approved of women preaching in public which was forbidden...

Words: 498 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Native American Interactions

...Century. Imperialism is the extension of one country by forcefully taking over another area of land for economic growth. One country that had become the victim of imperialism was Africa. European countries discovered that they could easily take over the tribes, and they had an enviroment good for agriculture. Natives of the land became enslaved towards the more powerful Europeans. The leader of the countries had a hunger to be the more powerful, superior country in the Europe, and having the most land was one of the key factors. When The Americas were discovered it be the first type of imperialism. They not only almost take over the entire west coast of the world, they nearly wiped the entire population of the natives.(Britt) People like Hernan Cortes, Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and Cosme de Torres each arrived in a foreign country to try to expand their own beliefs to their country’s belief. Cosme de Torres went to Japan to try to convert the natives to Christianity, but while he was there he was heavily influenced by the Japanese. Hernan Cortes was a Spanish Conquistador who sought to take over the lands of Mexico. The author of the excerpt is an Aztec descendant, Miguel Leon-Portilla. He is an anthropologist who studied his ancestors very closely. He was successful with 4 of his novels, all having to do with the Aztec people. He was heavily influenced by the history of his people, about how they were brutally conquered. He was a very respected man after the publishing...

Words: 1038 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Starbucks Delivering Service

...Starbucks: Delivering Customer Service In late 2002, Christine Day, Starbucks’ senior vice president of administration in North America, discovered that the company was not meeting customer expectations and that there was a decline in customer satisfaction. Day attributed the decline in customer satisfaction to a service gap, particularly service speed. Day must decide whether she will proceed with her plan to invest an annual $40 million across its 4,500 company stores. The investment would allow each store an additional 20 hours of labor per week. The objective is to improve service speeds and in turn increase customer satisfaction. We recommend that Starbucks proceed with the investment in labor. Customer service and satisfaction is one of Starbucks’ core competencies. If Day does not address the decline in satisfaction levels, Starbucks can potentially dilute its brand and ultimately lose market share reversing the sales growth achievements attained in the last eleven years. Starbucks’ Success In the last decade, Starbucks had consecutively achieved 5% or higher in comparable store sales growth. This success was due to several factors, primarily to its value proposition. Starbucks’ value proposition consisted of three components: the quality of coffee, the service provided, and store atmosphere. Starbucks prided itself in serving the highest-quality coffee in the industry. To maintain its coffee exacting standards, the company strived to control as much of the...

Words: 1750 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

English as Official Language Debate

...English should not be the official language of the US The United States is a nation founded by immigrants. Throughout the years the US has struggled with discrimination and close-mindedness. But, when we put our differences aside we can achieve the impossible. We are a country united by our differences. We celebrate our diversity, independence and individuality. We are a country that believes in choice, and one of those choices should be the option to speak the language which we relate to and understand. It was our forefather’s ambition that got us to the Land of The Free and our determination that made us successful. So how can we say we stand for freedom if we don’t give our people, immigrants (illegal or not), the right to speak their language? We are a country for the people, but not all of our people speak English. Many Americans argue that those who live in America should speak English but think about this: English is the sum of many other languages. The British brought English to America and forced the Native Americans to convert to their language and their ways. In modern society, we cringe at the idea of oppression and encourage those who are oppressed to speak out for themselves, yet turn a blind eye when we are the oppressors. A parallel can be drawn with bullying. It is an issue that many children, teens, and adults experience. Bullying has been an active topic in the media in recent years. Teachers, parents and authoritative figures continue to urge those who...

Words: 461 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Casablanca

...Conversion narratives are crucial to World War II films. They were a regular part of Hollywood movies featuring cynical, self-centered antiheros who only cared about themselves. The selfish hero in the face of absolute need converts to a selfless wartime activist dedicating time and resources to the cause and war effort. Casablanca, released in 1942, is a film that portrayed the consequences of having to convert to war. The movie can be seen as giving purpose to war and encouraging the American people to support the mobilization of their troops. The need to convert to war was imperative at this moment in time. Casablanca brilliantly explained to Americans the reason for the fight through the fictional conversion of Rick Blaine and corrupt Vichy police Captain Louis Renault to self-sacrifice and war. The opening scene for the movie sets up establishing shots of imprisoned Europe. A roundabout refugee trail sprung up in order to get to Lisbon, which was the disembarkation point to the new world. The narrator, in a newsreel format, says people looked for freedom in the Americas. The Moroccan city of Casablanca attracted people from all over as many refugees were trying to get out of Europe. They wait in Casablanca. The first scene shows Casablanca as a very police state with a great military presence. The busyness of the exotic open market the camera frame shows the city as being very walled in. People are trapped and they can’t move or go anywhere. The murder of two German...

Words: 1675 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

How Did Christopher Columbus Impact On Native Americans

...Even though Christopher Columbus has a national holiday named after himself, he does not deserve the celebration. Columbus sailed to the Americas in 1492, Columbus found the Native americans and believed they'd be best when put into heavy labor. This investigation will show how the Columbus impacted the Natives.Many believe that Columbus was the first to discover the Americas, however many believe another may have found the land before, it's essential to look into the matter closely. The most reliable sources consist of credible online articles and websites. Christopher Columbus affected the daily lives of Native Americans by exploiting their abilities, their rights, and their freedom to be human. Columbus arrived at an island...

Words: 921 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Money and Compassion

...Pierre Okpara Persuasive Paper: Raising minimum wage 3/21/15 Professor Arin Black English 102 July 24th very easily could have been the day of rejoicing for Americans around the United States thanks to the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, which amended the FLSA (The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938) to increase the federal minimum wage in steps. The first increase came on July 24th, 2007 when minimum wage was increased to $5.85, then in 2008 when minimum wage rose again to $6.55, and lastly on July 24th 2009 when minimum wage was raised to its current $7.25. Instead of raising minimum wage consistently as the years before, six long years have passed since the minimum wage has risen at all in the United States and this has left Americans to have very little to rejoice about. Not only does the government owe their citizens a raise in minimum wage, but it is long overdue. Many Americans are drowning in debt but somehow find a way to enjoy their life as comfortable as possible without the help of a higher minimum wage. For many this may seem like the norm but poverty has grown ever so steadily and there has yet to be an answer for this since July 24th, 2009. Given this, I absolutely agree the minimum wage needs to be increased in order to match the rise in costs of living which, unlike minimum wage, has risen dramatically since the last time anything was done about it. To begin, I’d like to take you deeper into the history of our rise in prices throughout the economy since...

Words: 1978 - Pages: 8