Racism in America
One might believe that racism in America is mostly over, but I disagree. I will say that the kind of racism my grandparents observed in there early ages like color divided bathrooms and drinking fountains. Or open public discrimination are behind us, but now what are we dealing with currently? What is this thing called racism, and what does it mean today?
I believe that the movie Crash really did an amazing job showing all the different ways racism revolves in our current society. It showed the stereotypical racist white women and the stereotypical gang related, criminal black guy. But the movie also showed many more people. like non racist/ stereotyping white man, and the black locksmith that was just trying to make a good life for his little girl, but having a hard time with people trust him because of his color, no matter how honest and reliable he was. And the black husband that was trying to not give in to the violent criminal stereotypes or blacks when an officer pretty much sexually assaulted his wife. It showed how the solution to racism is not black and white because the problem isn't black and white. It also showed that the life you live is more dependent on the kind of person you are, not as much your race or stereotypes that come with it.
In today’s day and age I feel I must be so careful as a white person when I talk about anything concerning race. This is because I must always be mindful about political correctness. In the seminar Camryn made a really important comment saying, “Now a day’s people are able to use their race in a way that benefit themselves”. I thought that this was a very good point, because say 60 years ago there’s no way people could do this. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that all people of different races or color do this, but some do. We like to make racial issues out of nothing at times. Example of this would be if a black employee got fired he could claim his boss as being racist, when in reality the employee was not doing his job, intern why he got fired. Our society in many ways (not always) likes to create these racial problems turning it back on the “racist white guy”. And it makes me wonder if race played as big of a part in the Ferguson shooting as the media wants us to think.
All and all this hole seminar / shooting / movie crash really made me think about my white privileges and in many ways how grateful I am to have them. In an article A Mother’s White Privileges a mom makes several points about her songs saying, “They will walk together, all three, through our suburban neighborhood. People will think, look at those kids out for a walk. They will not think, look at those punks casing the joint”. And “People will assume they are intelligent. No one will say they are “well-spoken” when they break out SAT words. Women will not cross the street when they see them. Nor will they clutch their purses tighter.” It makes me wonder, how might these racial differences this mother talks about end? I don’t have the answer to racism in today’s America. But I do believe that if we treat others as equals, and how we want to be treated, and not judge one another on pre conceptions we might have, it would improve our racism problem in America today.
I believe that the movie Crash really did an amazing job showing all the different ways racism revolves in our current society. It showed the stereotypical racist white women and the stereotypical gang related, criminal black guy. But the movie also showed many more people. like non racist/ stereotyping white man, and the black locksmith that was just trying to make a good life for his little girl, but having a hard time with people trust him because of his color, no matter how honest and reliable he was. And the black husband that was trying to not give in to the violent criminal stereotypes or blacks when an officer pretty much sexually assaulted his wife. It showed how the solution to racism is not black and white because the problem isn't black and white. It also showed that the life you live is more dependent on the kind of person you are, not as much your race or stereotypes that come with it.
In today’s day and age I feel I must be so careful as a white person when I talk about anything concerning race. This is because I must always be mindful about political correctness. In the seminar Camryn made a really important comment saying, “Now a day’s people are able to use their race in a way that benefit themselves”. I thought that this was a very good point, because say 60 years ago there’s no way people could do this. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that all people of different races or color do this, but some do. We like to make racial issues out of nothing at times. Example of this would be if a black employee got fired he could claim his boss as being racist, when in reality the employee was not doing his job, intern why he got fired. Our society in many ways (not always) likes to create these racial problems turning it back on the “racist white guy”. And it makes me wonder if race played as big of a part in the Ferguson shooting as the media wants us to think.
All and all this hole seminar / shooting / movie crash really made me think about my white privileges and in many ways how grateful I am to have them. In an article A Mother’s White Privileges a mom makes several points about her songs saying, “They will walk together, all three, through our suburban neighborhood. People will think, look at those kids out for a walk. They will not think, look at those punks casing the joint”. And “People will assume they are intelligent. No one will say they are “well-spoken” when they break out SAT words. Women will not cross the street when they see them. Nor will they clutch their purses tighter.” It makes me wonder, how might these racial differences this mother talks about end? I don’t have the answer to racism in today’s America. But I do believe that if we treat others as equals, and how we want to be treated, and not judge one another on pre conceptions we might have, it would improve our racism problem in America today.
Civil Disobedience
Seminar Synthesis on Civil Disobedience
I agree with Thoreau’s view of government and the role of an individual in creating a just society. He believes that the government gets in our way of expressing ourselves. I think Cris really hit on this point by saying “If it’s a government of the people why is it so hard for them to listen to the people.” And that’s a very good point that I believe is a large issue we struggle with being a democratic society. Thoreau thinks the government should have less say in your life and less control over your life. I agree with this because there are certain things in our lives that the government shouldn’t have control over or a say in like birth control, gun control etc. And that’s why many people live in the US because it gives you the freedom as an individual to control their own life how you see fit.
He also says how he wishes more people would live their lives as an example and I can’t agree with him more. So many people say they want this to happen, or this to be done but do nothings about it. This country is so great because of the people that stood up and made a change and made their lives as an example for others to fallow. I believe we underestimate the power of an individual in our country. I do believe it’s harder for an average Joe to make a big difference in the world but according to Thoreau everyone has the power in the US to make a small difference. And when we all come together for the greater good we can make change happen, we can slowly together make a positive difference.
I believe that civil disobedience and nonviolent direct action are not sound methods for promoting social change. I do agree that they can be an affective was to promote social change but in no way are they sound methods. In the seminar it was mentioned how it’s an act to show the power of the people. And I totally agree with this statement. Its saying how we can overpower the government or higher powers because we control them, well intern that the theory. I think if all the legal avenues and options like voting have already been tried and failed, then that’s when civil disobedience and nonviolent direct action become very important roles in a democratic society. In my opinion, when an issue gets to this level these forms of action are the best way solve them. It gives the people a way to show their frustrations, concerns and an avenue to promote change for the better good of the people.
These forms of actions can have many flaws though. You must be fighting for the better of others and not only yourself, and fighting against what you believe is an unjust law. Martin Luther king would argue that an unjust law is “A code that is out of harmony with the moral law.” He believe that no law should contradict your beliefs or ways of live but should coexist together. But this is when it gets confusing because everyone has a slightly different moral law. Another flaw that can happen that Ellie mentioned in seminar was that to solve the issue you must be making a direct action, if you’re not doing this you’re not being affective. A good example of this would be the Boston Tea Party and the Civil Rights act that Martin Luther King was involved in. They both had a mission and a way to directly influence the issues they were fighting against, and in my opinion that’s what made them both successful.
I agree with Thoreau’s view of government and the role of an individual in creating a just society. He believes that the government gets in our way of expressing ourselves. I think Cris really hit on this point by saying “If it’s a government of the people why is it so hard for them to listen to the people.” And that’s a very good point that I believe is a large issue we struggle with being a democratic society. Thoreau thinks the government should have less say in your life and less control over your life. I agree with this because there are certain things in our lives that the government shouldn’t have control over or a say in like birth control, gun control etc. And that’s why many people live in the US because it gives you the freedom as an individual to control their own life how you see fit.
He also says how he wishes more people would live their lives as an example and I can’t agree with him more. So many people say they want this to happen, or this to be done but do nothings about it. This country is so great because of the people that stood up and made a change and made their lives as an example for others to fallow. I believe we underestimate the power of an individual in our country. I do believe it’s harder for an average Joe to make a big difference in the world but according to Thoreau everyone has the power in the US to make a small difference. And when we all come together for the greater good we can make change happen, we can slowly together make a positive difference.
I believe that civil disobedience and nonviolent direct action are not sound methods for promoting social change. I do agree that they can be an affective was to promote social change but in no way are they sound methods. In the seminar it was mentioned how it’s an act to show the power of the people. And I totally agree with this statement. Its saying how we can overpower the government or higher powers because we control them, well intern that the theory. I think if all the legal avenues and options like voting have already been tried and failed, then that’s when civil disobedience and nonviolent direct action become very important roles in a democratic society. In my opinion, when an issue gets to this level these forms of action are the best way solve them. It gives the people a way to show their frustrations, concerns and an avenue to promote change for the better good of the people.
These forms of actions can have many flaws though. You must be fighting for the better of others and not only yourself, and fighting against what you believe is an unjust law. Martin Luther king would argue that an unjust law is “A code that is out of harmony with the moral law.” He believe that no law should contradict your beliefs or ways of live but should coexist together. But this is when it gets confusing because everyone has a slightly different moral law. Another flaw that can happen that Ellie mentioned in seminar was that to solve the issue you must be making a direct action, if you’re not doing this you’re not being affective. A good example of this would be the Boston Tea Party and the Civil Rights act that Martin Luther King was involved in. They both had a mission and a way to directly influence the issues they were fighting against, and in my opinion that’s what made them both successful.
Edmodo Seminar
Government Its My Money
I believe that one of the big questions of our generation is what’s the role of the government in regulating the economy and redistributing the wealth? I believe they should have as minimal involvement as possible because government involvement with these issues is not the solution but possibly the problem.
Our economy has a lot to do with our free market system. This free market system works best when it’s regulated less. When the government gets involved at times it can make this system work less effective, the idea is that the free market will regulate itself if this left alone. But don’t get me wrong I do believe that the government has some important roles like in taxes that help with the wellbeing of the community. And I believe that the most fair thing would be to have everyone pay the same percent of taxes. Yes I do believe very strongly in giving the wealthy incentives for investing back in our economy but it’s just as important to have a strong middle class. For this reason I think it’s unfair when 25% of millionaires pay less taxes than many middle class families (Madison, 2011). If we were to make this more even I believe it may decrease the income gap between middle class and wealthy/rich in turn making a healthier society.
I believe the big argument for distribution of wealth is that it will help lift people out from under the poverty line. Aaron Zubia wrote a good article on this subject speaking to how higher minimum and taxes are not the solution to this issue. I do realize that the value of the dollar is going down but at the same time the more you force higher income rates more companies will employ less workers because the companies are not making any more money than before. If it’s increased to $10.10 an hour an average of 500,000 jobs will be lost (Zubia, 2014). This is why the trickledown effect worse the best when not taken advantage off. I believe that the rich getting richer is not a direct correlation of the poor getting poorer. If you take more money from the wealthy it will not lift people out of poverty in the long run. My biggest problem with this issue is how it decreases incentives for the Wealthy and poor. Would you keep making more money if the government is going to take more of it away or would you work harder to get a job and excel in life if the government will just keep giving you money? Yes I want to find a way to help raze up are lower class and people in poverty but distribution of wealth is not the solution!
I believe as a country we should be focusing on promoting education, family structures, faith, and work drive. Education is one thing that can really help lift people out of poverty and give kids a better stepping stool for their future. Financial education is as well very important. In the current day we are transitioning from the industrial age of our economy to the information age. The wealthy have figured this out but the middle and lower class have not, we need to educate them how to make money in today’s economy. I say family structure and faith because living in a two parent household and being actively involved in an community group and being involved with positive influences and having values have been proven to help keep kids out of poverty (Zubia, 2014). These are the ways I think we should be actively working on to help people out of poverty and not the government distributing the wealth.
Government is not the solution. Let’s stop making more laws and regulations, If we want people to be more equal or have a better society we should focus more on education, family structure and not decreasing the incentives of people in America because that’s what drives our country.
Bibliography page
Madison, Lucy. "25% of Millionaires Pay Lower Tax Rates than Many Middle-class Americans, Study Says." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 13 Oct. 2011. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
Zubia, Aaron. "Resources: Essays - Fighting Poverty: Why Redistributing Wealth Doesn't Work ... and Four Things That Do - Summit Ministries."Resources: Essays - Fighting Poverty: Why Redistributing Wealth Doesn't Work ... and Four Things That Do - Summit Ministries. Summit Ministry, 2014. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
I believe that one of the big questions of our generation is what’s the role of the government in regulating the economy and redistributing the wealth? I believe they should have as minimal involvement as possible because government involvement with these issues is not the solution but possibly the problem.
Our economy has a lot to do with our free market system. This free market system works best when it’s regulated less. When the government gets involved at times it can make this system work less effective, the idea is that the free market will regulate itself if this left alone. But don’t get me wrong I do believe that the government has some important roles like in taxes that help with the wellbeing of the community. And I believe that the most fair thing would be to have everyone pay the same percent of taxes. Yes I do believe very strongly in giving the wealthy incentives for investing back in our economy but it’s just as important to have a strong middle class. For this reason I think it’s unfair when 25% of millionaires pay less taxes than many middle class families (Madison, 2011). If we were to make this more even I believe it may decrease the income gap between middle class and wealthy/rich in turn making a healthier society.
I believe the big argument for distribution of wealth is that it will help lift people out from under the poverty line. Aaron Zubia wrote a good article on this subject speaking to how higher minimum and taxes are not the solution to this issue. I do realize that the value of the dollar is going down but at the same time the more you force higher income rates more companies will employ less workers because the companies are not making any more money than before. If it’s increased to $10.10 an hour an average of 500,000 jobs will be lost (Zubia, 2014). This is why the trickledown effect worse the best when not taken advantage off. I believe that the rich getting richer is not a direct correlation of the poor getting poorer. If you take more money from the wealthy it will not lift people out of poverty in the long run. My biggest problem with this issue is how it decreases incentives for the Wealthy and poor. Would you keep making more money if the government is going to take more of it away or would you work harder to get a job and excel in life if the government will just keep giving you money? Yes I want to find a way to help raze up are lower class and people in poverty but distribution of wealth is not the solution!
I believe as a country we should be focusing on promoting education, family structures, faith, and work drive. Education is one thing that can really help lift people out of poverty and give kids a better stepping stool for their future. Financial education is as well very important. In the current day we are transitioning from the industrial age of our economy to the information age. The wealthy have figured this out but the middle and lower class have not, we need to educate them how to make money in today’s economy. I say family structure and faith because living in a two parent household and being actively involved in an community group and being involved with positive influences and having values have been proven to help keep kids out of poverty (Zubia, 2014). These are the ways I think we should be actively working on to help people out of poverty and not the government distributing the wealth.
Government is not the solution. Let’s stop making more laws and regulations, If we want people to be more equal or have a better society we should focus more on education, family structure and not decreasing the incentives of people in America because that’s what drives our country.
Bibliography page
Madison, Lucy. "25% of Millionaires Pay Lower Tax Rates than Many Middle-class Americans, Study Says." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 13 Oct. 2011. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
Zubia, Aaron. "Resources: Essays - Fighting Poverty: Why Redistributing Wealth Doesn't Work ... and Four Things That Do - Summit Ministries."Resources: Essays - Fighting Poverty: Why Redistributing Wealth Doesn't Work ... and Four Things That Do - Summit Ministries. Summit Ministry, 2014. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.