Racial Discrepancies

This week in American Studies, we discussed the "Peculiar Institution". This is used as a euphemism for social and economic repercussions of slavery in the South in America. As we talked about this, we began to wonder about racial discrepancies that our society has today. Some discrepancies that minorities face, especially African-Americans, include environments like the workplace and in the social hierarchy.While there are many possible origins to this issue, I personally believe that these have been caused by the after-effects of slavery and Jim Crow laws.
The reason I believe that slavery is the cause is because American society has yet to fully emerge from racial stereotypes and from slavery. After slavery was abolished during the Civil War, the African-American slaves were released from the South and the entire country. But despite this, lives for these former slaves barely improved and in some cases, got worse. African-Americans as a whole have never had the ability to recover from slavery and have been "stuck" near the lower and middle classes. One reason that accounts for this truth is with Jim Crow Laws. These laws basically prohibited African-American improvement in the social classes and at work.

The State of Journalism

Last week in American Studies, we talked about where we get our information from. As people born in the internet age, most of the class agreed that we received our news from larger markets online through email rather than through newspapers. The problems with this is that these corporations "filter" the news that they give you. If they don't want the reader to see something, they simple don't show it. We also realized that these websites do not go into enough depth to reach certain conclusions.

This discussion got me thinking on the current state of journalism today. As our American society modernizes over time, it appears on the surface that the role of journalists is being reduced by the day. But if you look closer, you will realize that newspaper writers are as important as ever. With the influx of information on the web, the presence of opinionated people and bloggers has increased exponentially. But unlike bloggers and certain online news source writers, who are to give their own biased and original opinion on a subject, journalists have an obligation to their readers to give them the factual information without their own personal spin. With as few journalists today, and as many strong-willed bloggers, journalists must give their readers the information. It is easy to have an online source mislead you into the truth. It is the journalist's responsibility (as well as the corporation's) to continue to write the news.

A Change in Perspectives

Earlier this week, the current Mayor of Chicago, Richard M. Daley, announced his decision to forgo another attempt at a term beginning in 2011. He cited his and his family's desire to begin a "new phase of our lives". Daley's legacy will be remembered as a period of time where Chicago refined its areas physically and economically to benefit the entire city.

While I do believe that his announcement was surprising, what I found shocking were the comments of Chicagoans about the Mayor's decision, especially by high-ranking officials and critics. According to a CBS poll, the reaction towards Daley's announcement was very mixed. Some believe that Daley is one of Chicago's greatest leaders, while others say that his legacy will be based upon many controversial issues. Despite many critical responses from the general public, the figures of most prominence in the city are praising of his duty. His greatest critics over the years, ones that questioned his economic decision-making among other topics, were swift to respond to Daley's decision with the utmost acclaim. At first, this stunned me, because I believed that they would point out the Mayor's faults in front of a larger audience. But then I connected this "change in perceptions" to one we talked about in class a week ago, that for positions in politics, a candidate is always campaigning for votes.

Alderman Edward Burke later stated that "all you wanna-be mayors, I guess you better run out and get your petitions." This quote perfectly sums up the stances of many of Daley's critics. They realize that in order to run for this position, they must garner votes effectively. Admiring and appreciating the successor is a very proficient way to gain the respect of the public. While is might seem superficial, especially coming from his opposition in the past, it is paramount to get the public's votes during the election. While over a year away, these state officials know that every solitary comment or move has broader implications towards the future.

Is Anything Really Original?

As I was receiving my daily dose of SportsCenter earlier this week, an advertisement about a new Apple product came on the screen. The company heralded the new iPad as a revolutionary and innovative device that was completely original. That word "original" really made me think long after the commercial was over. I concluded that Apple's product was in fact not original and that it was just built upon a foundation previously set up. Soon after, I attempted to name one thing-simply one thing- that was utterly authentic. This begged the question: is anything really original?

After searching through magazine and televisions ads proclaiming new innovations, I could not find one modern-day thing that I considered completely original. Everything simply added-on to something previous. Next, I attempted to trace the origins of certain devices to one original thought from the past. This was impossible, as there seemed to be multiple ways that these products have evolved. This connects very well to our discussion in American Studies earlier this week about the importance of collaboration between people. The reason that American society progresses through time is through the combination of different ideas and thoughts. Through this process of collaboration we are able to create new and interesting things that are beneficial. Whether a children's toy or  a religious ideology, these things have to be created with support from the past. Without collaboration, it is very hard to provide our society with something that it would find useful because it would have no basis for successes and failures.