Sarah jackson 12/13/2010 Ms. Heilman This essay "A Letter to America," by Margaret Atwood had a creative format in which it was written as a letter for the authorities. And ordinary citizens of America to demonstrate that at one point in our history we had ideals about a fair nation of peace and freedom. But somehow has lost its way, and become too involved in our military and engaged in much political and business fraud. In this sense Atwood describes she is embarrassed with what America has done especially because many people and countries have aspired to American ideals. This article also reminded me of Churchill's essay in which America has the tendency to "[...] grab stuff other people produce, at our gunboat-diplomacy prices[...]" (5) or "gutting the Constitution" (5),meaning underhandedly putting aside the private rights of citizens in order to so called keep the nation "safe".
Economist Joseph Schumpeter's definition of democracy is that in order to become a leader, you have to go into a competitive struggle with someone else and gain the citizens votes. This form of democracy is sometimes positively viewed as representative democracy and negatively viewed as the "elitist theory of democracy." The Founding Fathers were influenced by Aristotle's definition of democracy, "rule of the many", in other words it meant that middle class people, and even poor people had the power. However, he believed that democracy could easily fall into oligarchy or a tyranny. For this not to happen, a combination of oligarchy and democracy should be formed.
This shows that Mill saw humans as creative individuals thus leading to an interest of tolerance as a political virtue i.e. political tolerance. The liberals argued that our own freedom depends upon all people enjoying the same freedom. This lead to their view of the state be limited to a minimum number of functions, mainly confined to protecting people from each other, defending the nation and preventing the accumulation of
Further, the American Revolution was a radical movement that changed the world in a way that shook it to its foundations by challenging the concept of aristocracy in the Western World that had existed for two thousand years and completely changed the political and social landscape in the United States and the world forever. Wood certainly supported the case that the Revolution changed how Americans felt that their social interactions ought to be carried out. Wood provided a great deal of research to indicate how the bonds of society would be reforged in the aftermath of the Revolution. The American Revolution changed the nature of American society in a very deep way. Old monarchical social bonds had not simply been destroyed; they had been replaced with new Republican bonds of “love and gratitude.” Before the Revolution, George Washington called the nation’s yeoman farmers “the grazing multitude,” expressing his
The political orientation of the researchers was liberal, and the research method was the mapping of social inequalities in educational outcomes using quantitative techniques to measure social mobility. Such an approach was 'liberal' in that inequality was opposed but its source was not, unlike the Marxists, located in the social structure. Modern societies were seen as inherently progressive and it was only archaic elements, such as class, that inhibits progress. Modification of these difficulties would produce restructure. The difficulty with this approach, as it later became clear, was that the problems identified by liberal sociologists set many educators to work in opposition to working class cultural practices.
Vietnam helped Americans draw from experience new lessons that drastically reformed the society during the 1960 and 1970s, and called to attention the questioning of beliefs and morals. It demonstrated how war was a threat to economic growth, social stability, and politics, as well as how difficult restoration of such changes
Occupy Wall Street members will find many of Mill’s observations and conclusions relevant to today’s society. The “One Percent” represents many of the “Power Elite” and the control and influence they have on US policies in both at home and abroad. Mills criticism of US society and politics for its lack of democracy, class inequalities, and increasing militarism can be heard in the voices of protesters on Wall Street. Occupiers represent people who have put aside apathy and hopelessness to become a voice of change for American politics. They have realized that we need to make a change and disrupt the status quo.
Civilizations resemble The Revolution of mankind which had changed its qualities and values over time ever since the period of human socialization where people learn how to interact with each other. In our current society, even though a high level of education, Science and government has been reached, but just like an antique bottle that seems strong but fragile, our civilized society can easily fall apart due to causes such as the inner potential of brutality within individual that can be brought out under critical situations, the fear of the unknown which brings along misjudgment for people and the loss of legal guidelines which keeps society together by defining what is right and what is wrong. In the beginning of the novel Lord of the Flies, when the boys first arrive to the island they were portrayed as bunch of peaceful and innocent British school boys. By knowing that they might not get rescued and the fact that they were being isolated from the outside world and facing the task of surviving the island’s wildness without any supervision from the adult/grownups, the boys had to adapt with their surroundings and came up with their own rules which replicates survival of the fitness in which only the strongest or the one with the most
10, by James Madison, comes at a time when America is starting to become a country of its own. America has won the Revolution and Madison is trying to get Americans to approve the new constitution. Madison’s editorial is the most influential in my opinion because it points out the negatives of the old system and how the new system will improve on these negatives. Madison explains that “instability, injustice, and confusion introduced into the public councils, have, in truth, been the mortal diseases under which popular governments have everywhere perished.” (Madison 53-54) Madison realizes that there are different opinions concerning everything from government to religion. He explains that since there are so many different opinions, arguments will occur.
Schlesinger points out that many came to view the unifying American melting pot phenomenon as an Anglocentric conspiracy to undermine and devalue other ethnicities. Although there was one glaring failure of American democracy; the racist exclusion of blacks from the promise of the American creed. Mr. Schlesinger goes on to enumerate the events which took place over the past half century which, from the springboard of the new creed of cultural pluralism, have brought America to what he sees as a dangerous era of multiculturalism with the potential to rend the nation . He begins with the culmination of World War II and its effect of confronting Americans with their own bigotry in light of the Germans' racially motivated atrocities toward the Jews. Soon thereafter came the collapse of white colonialism.