Love and Race

“Love and Race” was written by Nicholas D. Kristoff for the December 6, 2002 edition of New York Times. Kristoff’s main purpose for writing this essay was to give a recount of the recent history of inter-racial relationships in America. He gives an example of how far we have come; starting in 1958 in North Carolina, a 9 year old black boy was kissed on the cheek by a white girl. The mother found out about it and called the cops. This 9 year old boy was arrested and charged with rape. He was thrown in prison, sentenced for 14 years, but thankfully was released due to an outcry. Kristoff continues to explain that in a 1963 poll, 59% of Americans believed black and white marriage should be illegal. Segregationists of the mid-to-late 20th century thought that giving black people more rights would eventually lead to inter-racial marriage. To their dismay, they were correct! Kristoff conducted some research down in Mississippi, the state he named to be the capital of racism, and found that at Ole Miss University, even though there were some inter-racial relationships, people felt that it was strange and a touchy subject. Kristoff also found that even today, these inter-racial partners were unwilling to talk about their relationship.
It is obvious that we, as a nation, have come a long way from our segregated, racist past. For example, black males can be found with white girls on TV, and vice-versa. It is an unfortunate part of our history, when our minorities were scrutinized and looked down upon. However, it is still not perfect. No matter where you are, Mississippi, Chicago, New York, L.A., you will still find people who discriminate against other races, shame on them. I also feel that, with affirmative action, we are still recognizing that there is a difference between blacks and whites. Schools and employers should recognize the more qualified individual, whether he or SHE, is white, black, Asian, Hispanic, etc. As far as inter-racial relationships, more power to them. My aunt married a black man and they seem to be perfectly happy and in love, not to mention he is one of the cooler guys I’ve met. I think, especially with older people, there is still a quiet mutter of black and white marriage being weird, or even wrong. But personally, those people need to get over it, it is the way it is and should be if they so choose. Being white, I can never fully understand what it would be like being a minority here in America, but I still hear every once in a while how a black friend or someone else has been discriminated against; that is disgraceful. I suppose I could rant forever about how we are moving forward, but even still, we are not quite where we need to be in terms of equality.

Cultural Baggage

“Cultural Baggage” was written by Barbara Ehrenreich for the New York Times Magazine in 1992. Her main idea for her essay is that while never really proclaiming her Anglo-Celtic heritage, she still carried with her morals and beliefs traced back to her ancestors. These morals were then realized by Ehrenreich’s children in that the ethnicity of “none” or by discarding ethnicity all together is how the world should be; similar to John Lennon’s beliefs.
I happen to be very proud of my German, Irish, and Czech heritage. However, I understand where Ehrenreich is coming from when she states that it is hard to acquire ancestral pride having no one culture to proclaim. Although I find pride within my multi-national ancestors, I do like how Barbara’s children feel that having ethnicity can be a bad thing. Throughout the history of mankind, different ethnic groups have been discriminated against. I feel that getting in this notion of equality; we should disregard ethnicity as a difference of human qualities, and should start looking at it in a celebratory fashion. For example, I feel international fairs are a great way to gain appreciations for other cultures. Moreover, events like the Taste of Chicago are great because so many unique and different styles of food from different cultural groups and restaurants within Chicago can be experienced and enjoyed.

Bad Luck

This narrative, called “Bad Luck: Why Americans Exaggerate the Terrorist Threat,” was written by Jeffrey Rosen for the New Republic in November, 2001. Rosen’s main argument is that, although the terrorist threat is real, TV and newspapers around the world exaggerate their threat. For example, many people are concerned they will receive anthrax, when actually only a few politicians and journalists have been targeted. Through research, Rosen discovered that people tend to fear crimes they are least likely to be victims of, such as terrorism. Interestingly, it has been found that women worry mostly about violent crimes, when, in fact, young men are the most common victims. This discovery is also supported by the reality that many people fear flying more than driving. Though accidents occur much more frequently in cars, people feel they can control the situation more. Rosen has also found that people who watch TV more are more likely to overestimate their chances of being a victim of violence. To coincide, these same people typically buy more locks, watchdogs, and guns. To help prove Rosen’s point, it’s been found that 45% of crimes reported in newspapers involve sex or violence. However, these types of crimes only represent 3% of crimes overall. Moreover, TV has taken extremely violent crimes and claim they are part of a wider trend. I agree with Rosen when he says that terrorism is hard to avoid because it strikes so randomly. Rosen also found that people are filing lawsuits because of this notion of having “Total Justice;” I find this to be ridiculous. For example, there have been people trying to file lawsuits claiming there were flaws in the twin towers, which many have impeded escape during the 9/11 attacks. I agree with Rosen on three more claims he makes. Firstly, the media can and does curb their focus on worst-case scenarios. For instance, growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, most of the crimes I remember seeing on the news were of murders and or some other sort of violent crime. Secondly, politicians need to be careful about being so vague with potential future attacks. This just scares everyone and does no-one any good. Lastly, that while our government takes all of these precautions, there is no 100% guarantee or “insurance policy” for future attacks.

Arabs in Foreign Lands

This short narrative, titled “Arabs in Foreign Lands,” was written by Moisés Naím for the website foreignpolicy.com in 2005. Naím’s main focus for this essay was to raise awareness about Arab’s success in America versus their poverty stricken economies in the Middle East. Through research, Naím found a 2000 census stating that Arab-Americans were earning 4.6% higher incomes than other Americans. He also found that while 42% of Arabs were working either management or professional jobs in the U.S., only 34% of Americans were working similar jobs; I can attest to this first hand. When working at Menard’s, our floor manager was an Arab-American named Ahmed. Moreover, it seems obvious that Arab-Americans are doing quite a bit better than other Americans. Furthermore, Arabs who immigrated to America are, in general, doing exponentially better and are far more successful than those still in the Middle East. Naím claims that there are 3 main problems with the Middle Eastern work force, which remain in the Middle East. Firstly, the Middle Eastern countries do not generate an informed and capable work force. Secondly, Middle Eastern countries continue to mistrust or reject new techniques and ideas that come from their hated Western world. Finally, the Middle East does not respect such knowledge as some people do manage to acquire and achieve. Naím found that at the 2005 rate, it would have taken Middle Easterner 140 years versus an American 10 years to double their incomes.
I think this is a testament to the great opportunities and socio-economic standards we live by in America. Despite our economy’s current plummet, we still have a standard of living that is exponentially higher than in the Middle East. I think this is also a testament to the laziness of some other Americans. I have also seen other foreign work ethics that are better than a lot of American-born people, and that is of Mexican immigrants. In summary, I feel that many Americans should gain an appreciation for the great country we live in. By proving and showing appreciation, we should boost our work ethic, become less lazy and work to grow in our careers and economy.

An Obsession the World Doesn't Share

This short narrative, titled “An Obsession the World Doesn’t Share,” is rightfully named due to the main focus of this essay. Published in the March 28, 2005 edition of New York Times, the main focus of Roger Cohen’s essay is that America and its war on terror is not shared by the global community. Cohen states that America’s “obsession” isolates them and condemns them as being hegemonic. America, versus smaller poorer countries, has different problems; their main one being terrorism. On the contrary, smaller and poorer countries are more focused on local and domestic problems. These countries, mainly found in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East share common, more prominent problems such as: poverty, crime, and the International Monetary Fund. Cohen claims that unlike the cold war, countries nowadays between Latin America and Africa share common opinions of the U.S. Cohen points out that these nations feel that America is geared toward dominance over other countries. Asia also has different concerns other than mainly Islamic terrorism. Asia is more focused on the exponential rise of China and India’s economy. Cohen says that Asia in general is worried that China’s economic growth will translate into a strong gain of military might. Cohen claims that the U.S.’s extreme power is so “…overwhelming as to invite dissent and outright opposition.” Many Americans, in their defense, respond to the rest of the world by claiming that the rest of the world would be proven wrong if terrorists were to ever actually gain nuclear weapons. Cohen makes a final statement, saying that what countries want, more than anything from then President Bush, is for the rest of the world to feel like his administration is listening to them.
I have two immediate reactions. Firstly, current President O’Bama needs to figure out ways to improve relations on a global perspective. Namely, he needs to address the source of frustration that fuels these terrorists, and the Middle East as a whole. However, he shouldn’t stop there, reach out to the desires of Latin American, Asian, and African nations as well. For hundreds of years, the western world has imposed their ways on the Middle East, for example, and it should be obvious why after such a length of time, they wouldn’t appreciate it and have built up anger towards the western world. Of course violent terrorists actions will never be condoned and shouldn’t be, but I feel that if we allow their people and the people of their region to see that we are changing, that we really care about their desires and hopes, we can work together peacefully to benefit mutual requests. I believe that allowing them to see that we care about their people; will help to lower their threat of violence. My second initial reaction is that perhaps we should stop playing “big brother” and stop worrying about other nation’s problems to the extent that we get involved without request. Furthermore, we should stop arming military factions, especially in the Middle East. As we’ve seen, arming two factions that hate each other is obviously a terribly bad idea. What I believe the rest of the world would appreciate is if the U.S. would back off. I feel we should not get involved with countries if they are having problems and let them figure it out on their own. I also feel that we should stop enforcing our great power in a way that certain countries feel is an act of terrorism. For example, CIA agents picked up both an Italian and a German man for suspicion of terrorist ties. Both men were held for months and then finally released having been found innocent. They didn’t have rights to a trial, similar to the Guantanamo Bay detainees, and perhaps no rights at all. Now both Germany and Italy have arrest warrants out for those CIA agents. I think that if we back off and let the world come to us instead of us going out and looking for trouble, many nations would either yearn for our presence, or would appreciate that we aren’t bullying around smaller and weaker nations; which happens to be almost every other country in the world. I agree with Cohen in saying that relations with these Latin American, African, Asian, and Middle Eastern nations could potentially be reformed and bettered if we, and our president, would simply listen to them; while simultaneously proving that we are no longer a power hungry “terrorist” nation, as some countries find us.

Two America's?

There has been a huge influx of Mexican and Latino immigrants, and the nature of their immigration is still young. Joseph Contreras writes for the March 22, 2004 edition of Newsweek International. In his essay “Two Americas?” Contreras’ main objective is to make people aware of Latin American immigration especially from Mexico. He explains how there are opposing sides to this massive number of immigration, particularly from Samuel P. Huntington. According to Huntington, America is undergoing a transformation into two peoples with two cultures and two languages; referring to the native Anglo and the immigrant Hispanic cultures. Contreras provides some statistics: such as the 8-10 million illegal Latino’s out of the near 40 million who have immigrated to the United States. As well Contreras tells of how 70 percent of the Latino immigrants are Mexican.
By 2018 Hispanics could gain majority status in the state of California, and could possible account for nearly one fourth of all Americans half way through the century. This number and the nearly 22 million Mexicans in America is what mostly troubles Huntington. He claims that the immigrants coming into the southwestern parts of the United States are “poor, unskilled and poorly educated” and also states that these people’s kids “are likely to face similar conditions.” However Contreras provides a counter in stating that average second-generation Latino with a college degree is earning more income than white workers with comparable educational backgrounds. No matter race, people who are willing to work harder, by all means should earn more income than their lazier peers. Americans should feel honored that these people are so devoted to coming to our nation. These Latin American immigrants by all means should only be allowed to enter legally, however upon entering legally we should try to live up to our stereotype as the country with great opportunity. There is a problem with illegal immigration, and though there is no set solution; immigrants need to realize that legal entry is extremely important. However, upon legal entry, immigrants should be granted every single right that a native is given. There is also a large influx of Mexican gangs. Everyone who wants to legally enter and live in America should be able to, no questions asked; however, for these people who do wish to live in America, do not bring with you, your gangs and groups of crime committing thugs. Of course there are many gangs that originated here, and are made up of all types of ethnicities, not only Hispanic, but no gang members should be allowed to live in America no matter where they originate.
America’s national language is English. Until that is changed immigrants from everywhere should learn English. Our schools should not have to give in to teaching both in Spanish and in English. That is unfair to other immigrant cultures. Upon moving to Belgium, I was forced to learn French in school. Although I did not speak it very well, people acknowledged that I tried and respected me for it. According to Contreras, the new generations of Latino’s speak mostly English, and some are even forgetting their parents’ Spanish. Hispanics shouldn’t forget who they are and where they come from, they should continue to study Spanish. But it is very encouraging and appreciated that the majority are learning to speak English!

Strangers in the Arab-Muslim World

“Stranger in the Arab- Muslim World” was written by Fouad Ajami in 2001. His piece was written for The Wilson Quarterly. Ajami explains the spread of American pop culture throughout the Middle East, but also tells of the disdain and anger that the Middle Eastern populations have towards America. There is a radical spread of anti-Americanism throughout the Middle East and Ajami provides examples and reasons to why these people are so unhappy with America.
It is apparent that there is a big struggle of America’s presence in the Middle East. People inhabiting the area generally don’t accept America’s culture, claiming that the United States are power hungry, infidels. There is major confrontation between the power’s of the Middle East and the general public. The public feel strongly against their governments, however, they cannot act out on their angers. The local governments do not allow public speaking against their power; but, on the other hand, they do allow space and freedom for these people to speak out against the United States. This is one of the contributing factors to the spread of hate towards America. Kids will understand only that they should hate America. They are not old enough to understand why; only that it has been drilled into their heads that America is the enemy. By the time they are old enough to make decisions for their own; they have gotten this idea so instilled in their brains that they continue the spread of hate towards America.
The situation in the Middle East is an extremely sensitive subject. The United States needs to approach it with extreme caution. America is walking on a tight rope that is descending into a pit of fire. There are many different approaches the U.S. can take to help make amends with these Arab-Muslim peoples. What to do is the tough question. Somehow America needs to prove to the people that they are changing their own perspective on the Middle East. That they do not want to torment and anger the Arab world, but through cooperative work, both cultures can push for peace and amending relations. There are no plans of action that are guaranteed to help relations; but to reiterate, something needs to be done, and through cooperative and positive communications, such a peace is an achievable goal.