The first part states, “…purely liberal and republican conceptions of civic identity are seen as frequently unsatisfying to many Americans, because they contain elements that threaten, rather than affirm, sincere, reputable beliefs in the propriety of the privileged positions that whites, Christianity, Anglo-Saxon traditions, and patriarchy have had in the United States (Smith 558).” To me, this says that true liberal ideas such as equality to its fullest extent threaten some groups within American culture. For example, many Christian groups in the United States do not support gay marriage rights because this act is contradictory to their beliefs. Rogers Smith would argue
Several paradoxes existed, and could be argued to still exist, but the most significant one as indicated by the document itself was that the students were “imbued with urgency, yet the message of [the American] society [was] that there [was] no viable alternative to the present.” How were they supposed to draw attention to matters that others had deemed insignificant or obsolete? The challenge to overcoming this paradox was solved by breaking down the naivety of the mass populous and creating a society that questioned and strived for more for themselves and others. This lack of control, attention, or interest directly affected the other paradoxes that existed in the students lives: the fact that America declares equality for all and yet marginalizes a group of people due to their race; the proclamations of peace by America in the Cold War while secretly fueling up for an arms race; the great and yet destructive potential of nuclear power; the image of the overwhelming wealth and influence of the United States and the lack of effort to facilitate that growth in other nations . These paradoxes, like the first one mentioned, are completely influential to a society, especially if they go unnoticed or unquestioned, because they seem daunting, even impossible, to overcome as a task. If they are not
As both slaves and African Americans were not encouraged to be educated, caucasian people would have been afraid that they would gain power through the power of knowledge and attempt to find a way to be equal to them. In A Lesson Before Dying, we are able to see this occur, which sets the premise for the main issue within the novel. Within the characters of the novel, the author Ernest J. Gaines gives the characters different positions on the value of formal education. Grant Wiggins is the local school teacher in his neighborhood within the novel. He starts off by working in a town with minumum wage and believes that he will be able to gain a better education and runs off to a university.
On the other hand, social justice activist such as John Dewey, intended to build a socially just society. Today, there still isn’t a firm conclusion to the disagreements between what the purpose of education should be. However, the ideals of our modern society has gradually affected the system of our public education and which purpose it chooses to serve. The current purpose of education from K-12 seems to dangerously lean towards neoliberalism, when it should be modeled after John Dewey’s principles. The current purpose of public schools from K-12 appears to follow neoliberalism.
Refutation of Moral Relativism p.17 “Most Americans see two very different kinds of countries in the world: free countries—pluralistic democracies—and monolithic countries that enforce their version of moral absolutism, some official orthodoxy—whether Islamic or communist or whatever—and they simply do not tolerate dissent, or pluralism, or diversity. Most Americans see much bigger problems in absolutist societies. That’s why they opt for a pluralist, free society despite all the problems that so much freedom brings with it.” The social importance of moral absolutism is less of an issue than the philosophical importance. Society is made by people, and made of people, and made for people. President Lincoln’s formula: “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Read Mussolini’s Diuturna, pages 374-77.
For many cultural and minority groups, they do not enjoy these luxuries. This can very well be the case for people who suffer from Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders (GIS). In many cases, mainstream society and the media has yet to fully accept the lifestyles and choices of these individuals. Rights and values to employment, job opportunities and health care benefits are not easily accessible due to discrimination and prejudice. The lack of accessibility of these resources for these individual shows how American society contradicts what they claim they value so much.
In the United States, Nike is seen as being victorious, never failing, and representing the American way of life through it’s marketing and means of representing its product. In foreign countries however, Nike represents the negative side of the American way of life such as oppression of minorities or people with lesser power. When a company wants to promote a product, its name is a very important aspect (Simonin.) It shouldn’t be too long or awkward sounding or else people would dislike saying the name. Nike is a short and easy to use word.
Was the League of Nations a failure? The League of Nations is thought to be a failure by many, because of hard irony and limitation on military might. The League accomplished very little in stopping wars and conflicts while having very little power. Often they just shook fists at ruthless, evil dictators such as Germany’s Adolf Hitler and his conquests, without intervening. Another Major flaw was that “the country, whose president, Woodrow Wilson, had dreamt up the idea of the League - America -, refused to join it.” The league’s most powerful militaries Britain and France not only suffered casualties, but also economically as they were greatly in debt to the United States.
Every American is equal under the law and they can all quote you their rights, but many do not realize that political participation and civic involvement are a duty and not an option. In order for our American Constitutional Republic to thrive into the future and not just survive or coast by, we must all become more active and involved in both civic organizations and the political process. One of the major factors contributing to a lack of participation is the decline of the American family and family values. Former New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan blames the increase in deviant behavior on the increase of single parent families in the United States. It is easy to see how the decline of the traditional family can lead to an increase in deviance.
When immigrants move to a new destination they struggle to adapt to the environment because they tend to shy away from their cultural background. They adapt to the so called “American culture”. Truth is I don’t believe there is such a thing as the American culture. The United States has been called a melting pot because, over the centuries, people from many different countries and cultures have come to reside here. Despite being held on high standards people still discriminate against different cultures, because of this we run away from culture and we never fully live and understand the importance of culture.