Pluralism as an ethical imperative for a democratic communication The concepts of civil rights and citizenship are rooted in the Enlightenment and the liberal revolutions of the 18th Century, in which the individual was at the core of the intellectual, philosophical, and political concern. In that sense, these ideas should be historically and intellectually reviewed rather than naturalized as the only way to organize social life. Actually, the Westernized nature of this tradition cannot be neglected in order to better understand and enhance contemporary cultural thinking, particularly in communication and journalism. As Taylor (1994) states, liberalism can’t and shouldn’t claim cultural neutrality. Consequently, the identity emerging …show more content…
This doesn’t mean neither actual inequality ceased to play a role in social reproduction, nor social positions didn’t define people’s lives, but defined the conceptual lenses through which modern individual has been defined. However, the history of the ideas not necessarily matches to how they actually have been deployed legally, institutionally, and in everyday life. Although the Enlightenment and the liberal revolutions recognized citizen at the center of the public life, only elite of wealthy and white men enjoyed this status. So, for example, women, children, dispossessed, and illiterates, still endured a subordinate position in early Modernity and longer. Besides its applied shortcomings, Enlightenment and Western tradition of rationality fall short also into provide a global frame to understand and enhance humanness. As Christians points out advocating for universal principles based in truth, human dignity, and non-violence, "Enlightenment rationalism contending for absolutes across time and space has been exposed as imperialistic, oppressive of non-Western perspectives, and exclusively male " (Christians, 2010: 7). Indeed, Modernity has been built up upon a binary logic: as the opposite of medieval world, as industrial and scientific instead of agricultural, as objective rather than subjective, and experimental and scientific instead of based on revelation. Because the weaknesses of modernity as a
To begin, the construct of social reality in a capitalist system reinforces systems of inequality and privilege. This is done mainly through the creation of dominant culture. Within our society, members are identified, classified and categorized by social characteristics. This stems from the social construction of reality. Johnson explains this concept through sociologist’s diversity wheel. It examines ones’ race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, abilities, age, religion, relationships, education and much more to create a generic identity for a person based on what society deems as reality and significant (14). An example of this is the construct of Irish immigrant’s identity in society. Although their physical characteristic was of fair skin, the social reality deemed and identified them as non-white through the construct
Freedom is a fundamental human right that all Americans enjoy today. Foner defines freedom as the ability of an individual to do as he/she wishes as long as long as the actions are within the law and respect the right of others (2). Accordingly, freedom is among the rights that are anchored in American constitution to protect the civil liberties of all Americans. Today, America is regarded as a democratic country that operates within the rule of law partly because of its respect for human rights (Romano 3). However, history shows that the freedom that African Americans enjoy today did not come easily; rather came after a long and enduring struggle by Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968). It is noted that, unlike white Americans who enjoyed freedom to do as they wished in the early 19th century, African Americans were denied the freedom to operate freely like their white counterparts (Foner 6). Therefore, because curtailing the freedom of African Americans were denying them the opportunity to advance socially, economically and politically, the Civil Rights Movement was formed by Martin Luther King Junior and colleagues to fight against racial segregation and to ensure that African Africans gain equal rights as the whites. This essay seeks to explore the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968) struggle for freedom and
This essay question asks to discuss some of the ways in which differences and inequalities persist over time. Thus demonstrating that they are not fixed, but forever changing, being caused in diverse ways by society. The essay will first define ‘Inequality’ and ‘Differences’. It will then use two strands, ‘Making Lives’ and ‘Ordering Lives’ to discuss how they persist and will look at some differences and inequalities within, wealth, homelessness, law, and class. Concluding the whole world is effected by continuing inequalities and differences, which is only getting worse.
Laws are not only as the dictionary says, “any written or positive rule or collection of rules prescribed under the authority of the state or nations.” The rules that are written reflect the racist, classist, and sexist biases and assumptions maintained in our nation. In other words, laws mirror the customs of the majority that are in power. This is especially evident in the United States during the late nineteenth century when many people were debating the question of what it means to be an American. There are various responses, some by “native born” such as, Fredrick Jackson Turner who wrote the propaganda piece: The Significance of the Frontier or some like Takao Ozawa, an immigrant from Japan who defines Americanness in his legal brief for naturalization. However, it seems as those who are vulnerable [i.e. women, Black, and Brown people] in an aggressive nation such as the United States, hold with them the true meaning of what it means to be American. For instance, while some were arguing whether or not to assimilate the “other” as Americans, one community of the other were fighting to stay in a land they were forced into; to be considered humans let alone American. In this paper, I will discuss the ways that the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments brought freedom for African Americans, for a moment, and how white supremacy has fought this from happening. It also looks at the ways non-black and non-white immigrants, such as Japanese and Mexican people, have utilized the
Two speeches one hundred and seventy two years apart have made lasting impressions upon their future readers. On Women's Right to Vote by Susan B. Anthony and The Perils of Indifference by Elie Wiesel are each written by a now famous political activist. Analyzing these two speeches reveals that although they were written during vastly different times in history they have a similar theme: civil rights.
Rational thought is given to all of us it is up to us what we do with it part of that is challenging what we are told and not just rolling over in acceptance of what has been put in front of us. Appling the Enlightenments teachings to how we see the world can help us and future generations to live without turning a blind eye to actions that we know to be wrong. Technological development has come a long way from what it was but has only made it to where it is now due to past accomplishment from those that came before us. It is only because of what we know from what we have been taught that allows us to grow and move on to the next level of technology. It is because of these reasons that the past technological developments that were made makes this subject modern, because without them we could not be where we are today.
The ratification of the civil right act in 1960s allowed African Americans to get their freedom and acceptance in the society. However, at the end of the 1960s, the definition of democracy started to mean something opposite of its true meaning. Shelby Steele is a well-known African American author, professor, and commentator on race relations. Steele wrote “The New Sovereignty” in 1992, and in this essay, Steele was trying to persuade the American society, specifically all the minority groups seeking entitlement, to no longer rely on entitlements, but abandon the culture of dependency, to see how those two impede the desire for equality. Steele says that because America was meant to be a democratic society with integration; not a society that
The United States of America has gone through several challenges since it gained independence. Some of these challenges have been effectively tackled by the respective governments by passing of laws that have ended up building strong institutions that maintain the moral fabric of the American society. These are some of the process philosophies that have led to a United States of America that respects life and more so, a more stable economic environment that has ensured that the American dream flourishes. This essay is aimed at stating the changes that the pressures applied by the Civil Rights groups has put on those who would otherwise
There is a vast number of social issues facing the world as a whole. Yet, the debates on racial differences and politics are far from being resolved. For an example a number of authors argue that even though there are several privileges and rights which are assured by the United States Constitution as well as its subsequent amendments, and the laws that guarantee fundamental freedoms to all individuals, many people particularly; blacks have not gained their civil rights and they are still regarded as inferior to whites ().This points out to the idea that the reconstruction after the Civil War has failed to guarantee full equal rights to black Americans. In the early years of the 20th century (Washington,
Three court cases that played a huge role in the relationship between citizenship, rights to suffrage and representation of the American democracy are The People of the State of California v. George W. Hall, Dred Scott v. Sandford and Guinn v. United States, where each case left a lasting change in the minority group’s flight for equality. In the case of The People of the State of California v. George W. Hall, the Supreme Court ruled that a White defendant was falsely convicted of murdering a Chinese person on the basis of the testimony from a Chinese witness. On appeal, the defendant’s lawyer argued that a non-white witness could not testify against a white person (Shaw et al., 2015, p. 141), where in the state of California, blacks, mulattos, and Indians could not testify in any case against a white person because they were not reliable in court because they were, “no recognize the Chinese and other Asians as a full person whose testimony were admissible in court,” (Shaw et al., 2015, p. 142). The court decision emulated the prejudice that was heavily present in the United States, especially Anti-Asian Movement, because they were seen as, “inferior, who were incapable of progress or intellectual development beyond a certain point,” or “claim any citizenship rights” (Shaw et al., 2015, p. 142) and were left unable to protect themselves or their rights because the ruling ultimately dehumanized them into being seen as mediocre asinine individuals. In the case Dred Scott v.
Social Stratification works here in that as a trait of society is not simply a reflection of
On the one hand, it is a historical fact that the autonomy of federal states was crucial to foster the abolition of slavery and facilitate a more open society (Witherspoon, 1965). On the other hand, this same autonomy served as the rearguard of the most conservative political forces, reluctant to recognize the civil rights of black populations. This twofold character of the American federal system, as well as its intrinsic tensions with the judicial system at national level (particularly with the Supreme Court of Justice), configured the structural platform upon which the African American civil rights movements developed its ideas and actions. Such an institutional complex will be conceptualized as a polycentric system in order to understand the advances and shortcomings towards the rights of African-Americans during the twentieth
It is important to note that personhood is not a heterogenous concept and varies considerably across time and space. Furthermore, how individuals define themselves will be dependent upon overlapping domains, such as culture, history, and politics. According to Decosta, one way personhood can be defined is by the ways in which an individual functions within a given society. This type of personhood entails the societal roles that must be performed to contribute to the social order. Moreover, fulfilling these social roles determines whether or not an individual can claim a space in that society(Decosta, Krysta). For example, in the current globalized economy, as an adult one might be expected to have an income to support the basic necessities of life, such as food, shelter and clothing. As well, they might have to pay taxes, which will pay for social structures that are needed in a society. Therefore, an individuals sense of personhood is linked to the roles that they perform in society, which are intrinsically related to notions of social identity and belonging. If an individual deviates from these social norms or roles, they can easily be
The 18th century is referred to as the ‘Age of Enlightenment’. The trends in thought and letters from Europe to the American colonies brought a new light and attention upon mankind. This new movement described a time in Western philosophy and cultural life in which reason was advocated as the primary source and legitimacy for authority. ‘To understand the natural world and humankinds place in it solely on the basis of reason and without turning to religious belief was the goal of the wide-ranging intellectual movement’ (Hackett). At the heart o this age, a conflict began between religion and the inquiring mind that wanted to know and understand through reason based on evidence and proof rather than belief on faith alone.
It is widely acknowledged that the African-American freedom struggle and their relentless works to end segregation, discrimination, and isolation have accomplished further than the eradication of racial and national barriers. The mass militancy not only knocked over the system introduced by Jim Crow but completely transformed the nature of traditional social relationships and civilizing medians. Moreover, the freedom struggle not only changed the legal status of black Americans but also helped in achieving the significant changes in ethnic awareness (Carson, 1993, p. 3). In simple words, the civil rights movement was not simply an attempt for the achievement of national civil rights reform. It carried within it much more than that. It facilitated the generation of embryonic norms and ethics just like any other civil movement. These reforms helped in the removal of barriers to the liberty of