Sociologists have long marveled at the degree to which the norms of the modern nation-state is imprinted upon the humanpsyche by its pre-existing ideology, which has permeated individual’s thoughts, muscles, and morality. These norms arethen deconstructed and reconstructed into the optimal form   31   by the modern age. In this way individuals gothrough their day with the expectation that everyone will   32   their generalized assumptions about how a “normal”person will respond and behave. And so children habitually obey, anticipating the wishes of a parent or teacher, as wellas the   33   of the police officer, professor, shop-keeper, workplace supervisor, and tax collector. This generalizedanticipation becomes the shared common sense around   34   people are expected to orient their thoughts, behaviors,and world views. Such common sense is often bounded by the modern nation-state;   35   in recent years, it has attimes gone global. In the process, the unique characters of smaller polities, economies, and societies slowly but surelydisappear under the weight of modernity.

The World Health Organization says that depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide, affecting 350 million people. The National Institute of Mental Health reports seven percent of Americans   36   depression ina year. Therefore, depression is   37   as we can find depressed people everywhere. A depressed person can ask forextra syrup in their latte without explaining that they need it because they're   38   the infinite darkness of their souland they've lost all hope of escape. Depression doesn't diminish a person's desire to connect with other people, just theirability. In spite of what you might think, talking to friends and family living   39   depression can be really easy andmaybe even fun--the kind of fun   40   people enjoy each other's company effortlessly. Nobody feels awkward, andno one accuses the sad person of ruining the holidays.

How do you lose weight in the first place?—Mostly, through breathing. While the concept of “burning” fat is not altogether wrong, losing fat involves plenty of carbon dioxide leaving your body. As the Washington Post explains:Researchers found that to burn a pound of fat, a human needs to inhale about three pounds of oxygen and drink about a pound of water. Water can exit the body in plenty of ways—poop, pee, sweat, saliva and any number of bodily fluids—but your lungs handle the brunt of the weight loss.

Your fat “goes” into the atmosphere. (And no, it doesn’t contribute to global warming.) When it does go, you’re also releasing the extra storage of vitamins and toxins along with it. That might not sound like a good thing, but in the long run it’s far better to be rid of them. As Popular Science states, a kind of pesticides, among other pollutants, are known to get bound up in fat—they leak into our food supply: Bodies don’t seem to store enough of these to become toxic, but the constant build-up leaves you vulnerable to exposure. And they do start to re-emerge when you lose weight.

By losing weight at a healthy pace (1-2 pounds a week), the limited number of pollutants released will not overload your bloodstream. Your urine will make quick work of them. Extreme dieting is a different story. The more weight you lose, the more of these toxins enter your bloodstream.

Since we no longer face the same problem as our ancestors—most of us don’t have to worry about whether or not we’ll eat tonight, or tomorrow—fat storage plays a different role in our bodies than previously. Many avoidable health problems are due to this excessive storage of energy, hormones and toxins. Some researchers claim 70 percent of our medical problems can be addressed through a healthier lifestyle, which includes eating better and moving more.

       Two of the wealthiest African-American men in America live in Chicago, with its large African-American middle-class community. Because both men are named Johnson, their names and businesses are sometimes each confused with the other, aggravating both men. Each is justifiably proud of the business he has created for himself and the position it gives him in African-American cultural, social, and business life.

       George Johnson is the founder of Johnson Products Company, which manufactures cosmetics. The JohnsonProducts Company is one of the largest African-American owned companies in the United States, and it is also one of the most successful. Its founders and its corporate officers are proud of the company’s position. They also feel a certain pride because the Johnson Products Company was among the first companies to realize that African-Americans inAmerica were a distinct market group, with distinct needs, and with the affluence to buy and support products aimed at meeting their needs. The Johnson Products cosmetics are all designed for the needs of African-Americans.

       John Johnson is the founder of Johnson Publishing Company, the largest African-American owned publishing company in the nation. As an office boy at Supreme Life Insurance, Johnson was assigned to maintain a file of news clippings about the achievements of African-Americans, and he noticed that there was no national newspaper or magazine devoted to coverage of African-American news. He borrowed the printing equipment at the life insurance offices, and he raised money for advertisements by mortgaging his mother’s furniture. He knew he was going to make it when $6,000 worth of subscriptions poured in for his first issue. His monthly Negro Digest made him wealthy enough to launch a second publication, Ebony, which was even more successful than his first. Ebony has one and a third million subscribers. In fact, the company had been worth more than $60 million because the company has branched into real estate, banking, and insurance. The officers and owners are proud that this success has come from serving the African-American community, once again proving its power as a market. Life magazine, which Ebony followed in its use of large photographs, has ceased publication, but Ebony keeps rolling off the presses every week. In a word, Johnson Publishing Company is an iconic part of American and African American history .