Monday, February 22, 2010
Kimmy's Thoughts
This presentation has helped me to see why there is such discrimination between men in the women in the workplace. Kimmy began her presentation with an image of a housewife turning into a business woman. This is where I see the problem, it is the images that people have in their minds of what a woman is suppose to be like. For many she is suppose to stay at home with her children, but in modern times that is not always what is best for the families. As society progresses, the minds of the people need to do change. The government can pass all the laws they want, but its the people who need to be able to change. As shown by the video clip from Houston, there have been other acts proposed in the past, but they were not able to go through. It was because not enough of the States agreed to pass them. It cannot be just one group of people willing to end the discrimination, it has to be everyone. Laws may exist, however that does not mean that people will not stop breaking them.
I think that the actions that the American woman took to gain their equality is what it means to be an American. I agree with the statement Kimmy made that an American fights for what they believe. It seems to be in most of the instances where there has been injustice in the United States, the oppressed or unequal people have been able to fight for what is right. They accomplish this by uniting. Unity is what America is founded upon and that is what the woman were able to do. I feel that that the woman will have to keep on fighting to make sure that their equality is maintained, but hopefully they will just be accepted.
Jill's Blog
Music has also been used as a way to break racial barriers and differences among groups of people. At the Grammy’s various artist of a variety of genera’s were able to come together and do a tribute song to Michael Jackson. Each artist was different in their personal background and even music style, but they were able to put on one amazing show. Their differences are what made the song great, it also made it possible for all different people to enjoy the tribute.
The presentation talks about Sonny Blues, whose music career allowed him to break away from the racial boundaries that society put up. What I think is most interesting was that he saw that music was a way to break those boundaries. I think that one of the ways that society could move past all the racism is music. If everyone liked the same music then they would have something in common. That then could lead to other things in common, which could help break the barriers. Another thing that music can do is force a society to face its issues. One way that is America has had to is the creation of gangsta rap. As the blog says, once can look at all the negative thing s the raps refers to. Or one could see the under lying issues in society that the music is attempting to put in the spotlight.
Music can be used as a method to affect people and make a difference, but it all depends on what a person is trying to promote. Many worry about the gangster ways that rap talks about affecting the children of America. It could lead people to supporting the wrong things: such as violence and money. Those things are not what life is all about, all music including rap can be much more than that. Music is a form of expression like an opinion, no person should take it for fact or they way they should live their lives. Music can be used for many things, but what I believe is most important is the fact that it can bring people together. In times of need or in times of joy people can relate to each other with music, and that is timeless.
Britt's Blog
Something that surprised me was the fact that there are schools for American children to come and be immersed in another language and culture. Brittany was using a video to try and prove that a bilingual education is not just beneficial for immigrants, but for Americans as well. Bilingual education works to improve: “verbal and linguistic abilities reasoning concept formation, the ability to analyze and talk about language, and control language processing.” All of these things are useful for any human being to survive in this diverse world. I am glad that these kinds of schools exist because it demonstrates that Americans are willing to accept the immigrants and their culture. When I was researching mostly saw the opposite, people always trying to make things harder for immigrants.
This blog helped to reinforce my beliefs about how the United States needs to do what is best for its entire people. To help the Hispanics be able to prosper in America, we need to help them to learn our language. By helping them we will also be helping ourselves in the long run. If they now English they can do better, which will help the economy. It will also help the United States to stay a diverse country, or the melting pot as it is commonly referred as.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Citations
"Anti-immigration movement." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 30 Jan. 2010.
Francis, Samuel. "Immigration Must Be Restricted to Protect
"Help Haitians, but don't throw open
"Immigration." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 28 Jan. 2010.
"Immigration and Naturalization Service." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2010.
Paul, William G. "Immigration Laws Do Not Treat Immigrants Fairly." Current Controversies: Immigration. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes.
Schepers, Emile. "Opposition to Illegal Immigration Is Based on Racism." Opposing Viewpoints: Illegal Immigration. Ed. Margaret Haerens.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. "Immigration Legislation Should Not Punish All Illegal Immigrants." Contemporary Issues Companion: Illegal Immigration. Ed. Paul Hina.
"SS St. Louis journey." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 30 Jan. 2010.
"Theodore Roosevelt: Gentleman's Agreement (1907)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 1 Feb. 2010.
Yezierska, Anzia. "
VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFz_UVjygG4 (Ellis Island, The Statue of Liberty Part 1)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d__6piOcsYw (FAIR)
IMAGES
http://contexts.org/socimages/files/2008/07/ch2.jpg
http://www.immigrationcontrol.com/MyImages/cartoon.jpg
http://www.learner.org/amerpass/unit09/images/5088-author10.jpg
http://nicedeb.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/terrorist.jpg
http://www.slapupsidethehead.com/wp-content/media/2007/11/deportation.jpg
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Current Events Analytical
It is not just the people of America who treat the immigrants poorly, the government does as well. There have been various laws passed that pose a threat to all immigrants, even ones who have done nothing wrong. There have been many cases of people being separated from their families and could possibly be deported for no reason at all. People have escaped poverty and oppression to come to America, yet all they find are people who deny them their rights. The citizens of the United States want immigration reform, but at this rate they are hurting those who are already here more.
There are many people pushing for immigration reform, however in the process they could be hurting national security. "Ground truth comes from all sources, and often from immigrant communities. If communication shuts down because immigrants are afraid to approach local law enforcement for fear of being deported, then we lose important information and we jeopardize the security of our nation." There are so many immigrants living in such close quarters, because they are not welcome anywhere else. Due to this they may hear things from others living the area who may pose a threat to national security. However if they feel as though they are not welcome in America, they may not come forward and tell the authorities. If America does what is best for the immigrants, then they will also being doing what is best for themselves. If immigration reforms are passed then, "future immigration will be within the law, instead of underground, so that immigrants are less likely to be exploited, less likely to harm American wages and jobs, and are more likely to pay taxes." The American citizens will no longer have to worry about things like that if they help keep immigration going. They have to be able to think of the big picture, not just what they want. America needs to realize that immigrants are needed, both for our security and to help our economy.
In recent weeks there has been an earthquake in Haiti, many people feel that we should allow mass immigration from Haiti. Yet that may not be what is best for the Uniteed States or Haiti. The people need to stay to help rebuild, if they leave there will be no one there in the future. Also America cannot just open its doors for one group of people; there are others who are just as desperate to get to America. There is an issue of only allowing qualified people into America, but many question what makes the Haitians or other peopole more qualified than anyone else. "Should those entrants include people from parts of Haiti untouched by the earthquake? Or only those from earthquake-ravaged areas? Or only those who've lost their homes? Or limbs?" Right now they are the ones in the spot light, but there are so many people who are suffering just as they are. In order for the Untied States to do what is right for everyone, people feel there needs to be immigration reforms .Or the chaos that people see will continue.
Literature Analytical
Background Analytical
One of the main reasons that the people wanted to put a halt on immigration was because they wanted to be able to maintain the Anglo- Saxon image. The people of America did not think that the immigrants would be able to assimilate into the society, "Denial that immigrants could be assimilated, that they could participate in or even comprehend democracy, or that they would be loyal was the justification for the movement." The people of America felt that they had the right not to allow people to immigrate; not realizing that they were talking away these peoples freedoms. America is based on freedom and liberty, but they want that for themselves and have trouble giving it to others.
There are other reasons that have caused people to want immigration reforms; the main one is the spike in illegal immigration. Due to the immigrant quotas many people have been taking the process of immigration into their own hands. There is a great deal of Americans who are against the aliens living in America and want them out. Along with getting them out they want stricter immigration reforms. There is a lot of chaos that goes along with immigration and with the chaos things have gone unnoticed. The terrorists of 9/11 were able to immigrate to America for a short time before the attack. This has increased the fear that the Americans have about immigration. This event reforced the fears people have about immigration, which has led the government to exclude various categories of people from being able to immigrate to America. The United States is looking for a certain kind of person that can easily fit into the culture and the job market. As a result of the certain image the America wants there has been great prejudice amongst various immigrant groups. The main groups that were targeted in the past were, “Irish, Germans, Italians, Swedes, Finns, and Poles.” They had to deal with persecution and poor living conditions. The United States has progressed immensely since it was established in 1776, and because of that they are beginning to shut themselves off from immigration. The culture in America has been set and immigration is just adding to the chaos. For many people it easier to just put more limits on immigration, and the government agrees. The reforms for immigration are continuing to be implemented. The harshness of immigration can be seen by both the process and the way that immigrants are being treated once they get to America.For right now this is how things are going to stay, and people are okay with that.