The above statement was made by Barack Obama, President of the United States of America during his acceptance Speech, November 7 2012. In this essay I will set out to break down these statements and analyse the content critically using Merton’s strain theory and Durkheim’s concept of anomie. I will initially set out some of the core principles of strain theory and the concept of anomie. . Furthermore I will analyze the concept of ‘’The American Dream’’
It is an understand of how people have been shaped and limited by life’s experiences.. To gain solidarity a person must have compassion. Compassion and solidarity go hand in hand to change structure and
Through first portraying the audiences' shared confusion and expressing the terrorists actions, next revealing the American people's pain, then lastly implying resilience in America and reassuring their strength, Pitts motivates America to come together and combine their strengths to respond and advance from the attackers. In the first section of the poem “We’ll Go Forward from this Moment”, Louis Pitts questions the motives of the terrorists by beginning to express his anger or confusion towards the attackers and slowly uplifting the Americans from comparing strength and weakness to asking questions which reflects his threat to the terrorists. After stating his resentment towards the terrorists, Pitts aggressively says, “Did you want us
The book proves that a sense of communal unity arises when the lives of many are falling apart. In Rebecca Solnit’s A Paradise Built In Hell, she provides a stunningly paradoxical answer to the question of social transformation, but often creates problems that weren’t necessarily there. In a world of seemingly unrelenting catastrophes, where can one find a justifiable reason for sustainable social change? Solnit provides a strikingly enigmatic answer: right there, at Ground Zero, with the
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, the First Lady of the United States, and Citizens of America: Tonight, as we mark the conclusion of our celebration of Black History Month, we are reminded of our Nation's path toward civil rights and the work that still remains. Recent threats targeting Jewish Community Centers and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, as well as last week's shooting in Kansas City, remind us that while we may be a Nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all its forms. Each American generation passes the torch of truth, liberty and justice — in an unbroken chain all the way down to the present. That torch is now in our hands. And we will use it to light
Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America will never be whole”. This essay, stirred so much attention because for a while, no one has spoken in such a hopeless, despairing and bleak
The identity a nation has and portrays to others has great importance. Stevenson understands how as a nation it is difficult to talk about the problems it faces, both past and
Everyone's culture is different, that's why the majority of people have different opinions on certain subjects. Even though everyone goes through different experiences, the way they were taught growing up effects how they will be in the future. One's culture has a very big impact on how they view others and the world. In the essay, "Ethic Hash" by Patricia J. Williams, She is explaining how people's culture affects the way they see others.
Poem, “Shall the larkspur blossom or the corn grow under this cloud?”(Line 3-4), she describes how America let this injustice occur, that it was not the evidence nor the testimonials produced the tragic outcome for them, but rather their affiliation with the word ‘anarchist’. By saying “grow”, she means the progression of America as being a country where you have a right to be free, but is “clouded” by a government watching over and fearful people waiting to stop anything that doesn’t align with beliefs. “We have marched upon but cannot conquer; we have bent the blades of our hoes against the stalks of them.” (Line 7-10). Millay, as with the many others from around the world, tried to prevent the worst of outcomes from occurring, and though their fight had gone right up to the governor himself, but it did not stop the execution they view as injustice done to innocent victims.
Somehow, the United States always overcomes those problems and continues to thrive, however, the way the problems are being fixed isn’t changing and is becoming detrimental to society. In his essay, “How to Restore the American Dream”, Fareed Zakaria explains to his readers' ways to fix how the American Dream has changed. He begins his essay by articulating how America “seemed dazzling and larger than life” (para. 1) compared to India, where he grew up. He continues throughout his essay writing about how America is no longer what it used to be. People from other countries don’t view it the same anymore because other countries are doing just as well.
Lastly, the speaker uses some hyperboles in this poem to show the importance of a sense of identity and how this shapes our lives. One such hyperbole was “Now I’ve found a quilt I’d like to die under” which shows she’s found her identity and the thing she wants to be defined by (family and heritage.) Another was, “I’d have good dreams for a hundred years under this quilt,” showing her willingness to embrace her identity and be proud of her family and heritage. This shows how much she is attached to her identity and how much she believes in
In his poem, Aunt Ida Pieces a Quilt, Melvin Dixon presents the protagonist Aunt Ida experiencing an internal as well an external dialogue with her family members. Initially, the poem starts off the mother of Junie (the departed) handing all the clothes to Aunt Ida. Automatically, the presence of disconsolate, nostalgic, and agonizing are the feelings that build up the atmosphere of the poem. However, as the poem continues the purpose to why Aunt Ida was handed down the clothes of Junie is because from the clothes of the decease she will make a quilt. As she starts to quilt the atmosphere of the poem transition to a more unifying and commemorations feelings towards the families that have had a family member die from AIDS and to Junie too.
Through imagery, symbolism, and diction, the two passages collectively offer a pessimistic critique on opportunity in America: although the American dream can certainly reinvent one’s future, the dream cannot alter one’s past,
The author of the short story “A Quilt of a Country,” Anna Quindlen, used many effective tactics and arguments to demonstrate her opinion that “America is united, despite all of the diversities and tragedies that she has faced and had to overcome.” Anna Quindlen demonstrated in examples and analogies her argument and used them to her advantage in her persuasion and and effective points. Anna Quindlen also proves in the point that America is different from any other country. In contrast, Anna Quindlen does use the counter strategy not to defame her original arguments, but instead to help to better her ideals and points. For example, the first main example and point used to explain her argument that America is diverse, is the quote by the historian Daniel Boorstin, which reads “[O]f all the nations in the world, the United States was built in nobody’s image.”
What does it mean to be an American: The land of the free and the home of the brave? Due to the diversity that America offers, the people regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, cultures, backgrounds and sexual orientation have an equal opportunity for a better life in America. In Anna Quindlen’s “A Quilt of a Country,” she explains how people view America. She writes that being an American is an idea that works despite that fact that it should not due to the diversity that exist in the country. Quindlen informs the reader that America was uniquely constructed on no precise culture or race.
