Analysis Of Is America Falling Apart

We live in a culture where success is increasingly defined by a paycheck and is seemingly as important to the parent as the child. Raising children to be “successful” is increasingly becoming an obsession for upper-middle-class-parents, who encourage certain activities and scores to provide their child with the best chances of attending elite schools. The article focuses on the inherent advantage upper-middle-class parents provide but fails to mention those who the parent’s action affects: their children.

“What happens to a society that cannot distinguish between reality and illusion?” As our country crumbles and our economy crashes, Chris Hedges asks this one question to his readers. Throughout his article, “American Psychosis,” he provides hit after hit of shocking proof that reveals the United States to not only be in desperate need of change, but also that the American people, with their obtuse nationalism and selfish greed, are blissfully ignorant of what could possibly be the downfall of this country. Hedges wants his reader to be shocked at the startling facts that he throws at them, to be angry at him for saying what must be blatant lies and exaggerations, and then to be inquisitive, to discover for themselves just how real the problems of the United States are and how dire the consequences can become. Hedges uses this article as a warning, he desperately wants his readers to understand just how bad things really are and he wants them to be inspired to change it, to stop whatever dark future that could happen. In this article, Hedges touches many subjects: Americans and

America seems to be trapped in the illusion of believing that it is the most powerful country and “ continue to embrace the illusion of inevitable progress, personal success and rising prosperity( American Psychosis).” However, in reality American continues to engage in war, augment its debt and millions of Americans rely on food stamps to survive. While a good percent of America is struggling from day to day, the rest of the general public are trapped in a psychosis and concerned with the next voted-off contestant of “America’s next top Model”, or “Survivor” rather than the adverse current events transpiring today. In Chris Hedges article “American Psychosis” all these points are emphasized through use of strong language and pathos.

America may be a young nation compared to those around those around the world and we as a nation have achieved a lot in our years. One battle that we have been fighting since the birth of our nation however is one against our own people. For years we have been divided by the colors of our skin and our heritage. Although Caucasian people may be the majority of our population, individually there are just as diverse of people in their origins as the minorities of this country. It just isn’t as apparent as having a culture branded into a skin tone. America is known as a melting pot of races from all over the globe. A lot of people seem to have forgotten where they came from after generations of searching for the “American Dream,” thus creating a typical “white American”. One instance where the white Americans banded together and discriminated against one race occurred after the bombing at Pearl Harbor. The racism that occurred against Japanese Americans is not as talked about as slavery, but the fact that it is talked about so little just goes to show that Americans are willing to sweep horrendous acts against our own people under the rug.

As a first generation child whose parents immigrated from another country, I was fortunate enough to receive excellent education and opportunities that was not offered to them. During that era, those privileges may have been difficult to obtain due to racial segregation, poor living circumstances, and/or lack of time and commitment due to work. As of today, these issues are no longer a major problem. Although, education has never been better and opportunities have been even more achievable, David Brooks argues that the upper/middle classes are preventing the lower class from “joining their ranks” because of the egocentric methods that modern day families now utilize to their advantage. In his New York Times editorial “How We Are Ruining America,” Brooks explains how we (as the upper/middle class) have been ruining America by preventing the lower class from receiving the same privileges. Brooks then elaborates his argument by giving several examples like: improved parent supervision and planning, zoning restrictions, cultural codes, and even gives a personal experience. Even though Brooks provided a substantial amount of evidence, he mostly utilizes his powerful tone and writing skills to support his argument.

In Langston Hughes poem “Let America be America Again” he talks about how America should return to the way that it was perceived to be in the dreams before America was truly America. Throughout the poem he uses various methods to evoke the patriotic images and dreams that he feels America should and will eventually be. Hughes states that America is supposed to be a place of equality for everyone including both white and colored people. During this period in time though there was not equality for everyone. Hughes talks about an America where both whites and colored people will have equality in all aspects socially, politically, and economically. What Hughes is saying is that both whites and colored

In the article by Charles Murray called “The New American Divide,” the author quickly educates the reader about the American culture of the 1960s so that he can present the “problem of cultural inequality” (Murray, “The New American Divide”). Murray then compares the upper-middle class and working class on aspects such as marriage, religion, crime, workforce numbers, and single parenthood by using statistical evidence from two cities in the northeast. The evidence shows how the cities have changed from the 1960s to 2010, therefore displaying the why behind the emergence of a gap in culture between two classes. However, the author then states that the formation of the gap is not necessarily the most important aspect of the cultural dissociation,

America is an improbable idea, a mongrel nation built of ever-changing disparate parts, itis held together by a notion, the notion that all men are created equal, though everyone knows that most men consider themselves better than someone. "Of all the nations in the world, the United States was built in nobody's image," the historian Daniel Boorst in wrote. That's because it was built of bits and pieces that seem discordant, like the crazy quilts that have been one of its great folk-art forms, velvet and calico and checks and brocades. Out of many, one. That is the ideal.The reality is often quite different, a great national striving consisting frequently of failure. Many of the oft-told stories of the most pluralistic nation on earth are stories

America is falling apart right in front of our eyes. The American way of life is deteriorating and we may never recover. The working class of America is being treated poorly, and it continues to become worse. Massive businesses dominate every aspect of the economy, from light bulbs to tobacco. To add to that, politicians have become corrupt and are working for themselves, not for the greater good of society. As a populist member, I, Joe Mockler, will combat these monstrosities and bring back the jocular American way of life.

Polarization in politics is a conflict that both Is Polarization a Myth written by Alan I. Abramowitz as well as Kyle L. Saunders and Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America written by Morris P. Fiorina talk about. On a political scale it has either a republican side or a democrat side and in the articles they discuss whether or not people are in the middle of the scale, or on one side or the other. Alan and Kyle are trying to prove that people are beginning to choose one side or another and stated in Is Polarization a Myth, “Our evidence indicated that since 1970s, ideological polarization has increased dramatically among the mass public in the United States as well as among political elites”( Abramowitz and Saunders 542). Florina stated in chapter two that each election the votes came in 50:50. After reading the articles I came to a conclusion that I agree with Fiorina’s opinion on polarization.

Throughout the first week of THE 225, many events took place within America that took the country by surprise. Trump’s inauguration was last Friday, January 20th, and already he has made drastic changes that will affect the lives of millions. His policies are based off sexist and racist claims that people have, for some odd reason, supported. With his new, corrupt policies, life in America will soon be set back decades because of his white supremacy mentality. Because of this, the nation has never been so divided since the Civil Rights Movement, something that was seemingly done with but clearly not if white supremacy becomes an issue. Although Trump’s America is not an ideal America and his claim to “Make American Great Again” implies

In “The Fraying Of America,” Robert Hughes addresses how America as a society has been going through this non-stopping cycle of racism and inequality between races, genders, and political groups. All while providing a unique perspective on what we truly are as a country and the people that inhabit it. He begins by mentioning that while we want equal opportunity for everyone, the Americans have manufactured labels to the groups of people that are not white. Which automatically puts them in a category of people that the rest of society does not see as total equals; and by people claiming these labels, they only fuel the problem of inequality. Hughes also emphasizes how education, art, and the media is a tool in politics to “inform” the people and how it allows each political group to choose what information goes out to the public and how it gets presented.

Written in the first half of the 20th century, “Let America Be America” is a poem that documents and responds to the oppressed state of the United States, in both the past and present. The poem is a plea for a return to the original principles of freedom that our country has seemingly forgotten. Additionally, the speaker sees America as the broken home to oppressed people who have lost sight of the ultimate goal of freedom and happiness. Although America is often perceived as the “land of the free,” Langston Hughes’s poem contradicts this ideology by not only painting a vivid picture of oppression in America but also by providing a desperate hope for the future.

It is another typical New Year’s Eve in United States and most of America spends the night celebrating a new year with food, alcohol, and friends in an American tradition. Although New Year’s Eve is great night of fun most people know that the next day will just be the start of another year that will most likely go the same as the previous year. With this new year a lot of Americans will participate in another tradition by making a New Year’s resolution. For a significant number of Americans this resolution happens to deal with a huge problem in the United States, weight loss. People who take on this resolution will vow to eat better, work out more and take on more healthy habits, but in reality most people never make it to the goal they set and will most likely take the same exact vow the next year. It is no secret that obesity is a huge problem in the United States especially when it comes to children. In fact child obesity has more than doubled in the last 30 years and tripled in adolescents (Cherney, 2013). Many people have blamed this problem on different things, but one of the most obvious and most agreed on reason is the amount of processed food that Americans consume. Processed foods are everywhere in today’s culture. It is impossible to turn on the television or drive anywhere without some type of processed fattening food being forced upon you. Processed food is not only causing obesity and health problems, but is also causing a lazy

Different ideologies tend to appeal to different demographic characteristics such as gender, class, race, etc. because a person’s background will affect which system of ideas they most closely align with. Liberalism and conservatism, for example, are ideologies that regularly contradict each other, because they appeal to different demographics based upon many factors such as class, race, gender, religion, etc. The general worldview of liberalism is that people have individual rights and liberty, while promoting progress. On the other hand, conservatism places greater importance of keeping tradition and strict regulation of rules. In determining the extent of appeal to different demographics, one must assess the ways in which both ideologies