Time To Assert American Values Essay

When a corporation ignores safety protocol and a building fire kills its employees as a result, we don’t call that murder. Yet, all of those scenarios result in death. The people committing these horrendous acts are not punished like criminals because we don’t see their actions as crimes. They are seen as unfortunate side effects of progress, or “just the way things are.” The text begs you to look at your ideas about crime and to see them as distorted by the media, by our own bias, and by the justice system’s history of dealing with

What does it mean to be an american? Isn’t that the question that every american citizen wonders at some point in their lives? It is a simple question that can be taken different ways and answered in many different forms. Some may answer as a personal opinion, others as a factual statement, I however agree with those who see it as an opinion. Every person in America is different in some way. We all go through life in varying manners, some choose to challenge the everyday laws, others cling to the authority hoping not to get noticed, we have different jobs, go to different schools, live in different neighborhoods, some of us have hundreds of family members, and some have none, theres no telling the situation. So the question in general is hard to answer because every American has a different view of living in america. Some people see it as shameful to live in such a cruel country, some are proud to be a part of something that is constantly evolving, there are endless feelings towards America and all are found in the people of this country.

In America, we are given freedoms and our basic human rights. To make sure these freedoms such as free speech are kept, we as Americans have responsibilities to America. Whether it be in our everyday lives serving in our community or special occasions when serving on a jury, Americans are held to these responsibilities to keep the United States to the standard that it always is. Our basic responsibilities are to pay taxes and vote in elections, however, they extend far greater than those.

Russ Shafer-Landau provides us with two separate arguments about the death penalty in his academic book The Ethical Life, fundamental readings in ethics and moral problems. In the first argument, Justifying Legal Punishment, Igor Primoratz gives us substantive reasoning that opts favorably toward the necessity of the death penalty. Contrasting Primoratz, Stephen Nathanson, through An Eye for an Eye, provides us with an argument that hopes to show us that capital punishment, like murder, is also immoral and therefore, unjust. By the end of this essay, I intend to show that while capital punishment may not be the easy choice for a consequence and punishment to murder, it is, however, the necessary one.

Classism is a major issue that plagues American society. Classism separates groups by their economic status in society. America is perceived to be a middle class society, however in reality the middle class does not hold majority of the nation’s wealth. Most of the nation’s wealth is held by 1% of the population in America which consists of 34% of the nation’s wealth, meanwhile “the richest 20% of Americans hold nearly 85% of the total household wealth in the country” (Adams et al, 2013, p. 151). American citizens that are a part of the upper class are privilege because they have access to majority of the resources. They are not shut out from opportunities like the middle and lower class. The class that an individual is in affects their chance

He claims the prejudices of the judicial system handed out mandatory sentencing for those who used their constitutional right to have a trial by jury. The author builds a relationship with the audience by using Pathos in order to compel them to recognize the urgency to change the current law. Girault explains the failing logic of the law on page 225, he states that communities were to be made safer and instead of targeting petty crimes the focus would be to bring down kingpins, however after three decades of the SRA it still was a failure. Girault defines the sentencing reform act as discriminatory and states that minorities are hugely effected by this law and states ”Black people are overwhelming charged, convicted and sentenced at a higher rate to federal crimes since the passage of the Sentencing Reform Act.” (Girault 228). Finally, at the end of the article Girault exposes the ruling of the Booker vs. United States (2005) case by alluding the outcome of SRA was unconstitutional and was in conflict with its goal, however, the Supreme Court feared to many prisoner would be released. (Girault 230) After using personal anecdote of his own experience on receiving a stuff sentence as a first time offender and using credible sources, Eric Girault urges the reader to get on board with the only logical thing to do is to completely over turn the

“In countries with a properly functioning legal system, the mob continues to exist, but it is rarely called upon to mete out capital punishment. The right to take human life belongs to the state. Not so in societies where weak courts and poor law enforcement are combined with intractable structural injustices. “In our present day society we as Americans have the cognitive dissonance that what the courts say are final, but also hold to the fact that the majority’s opinion rules. In recent news we have seen massive riots following the killings of African American men by caucasian police officers. These all follow after one of the most prominent not guilty verdicts of the 21st century on the Rodney King beating. With these riots we see the words of Teju Cole begin to take life.

I have doubts that enough Americans will ever seek to look out for the America first. The self-interest of 300+ million Americans leads them to act according to their own short term interests, satisfying their immeadiate needs and possibly wants. The modern American is morphing into an "on-demand" mentality. The more that catches on, the more this economy will depend on other countries to meet our specific demands.

The death penalty has been one of the most controversial debates in the United States. Some believe that an eye for an eye is an effective mean of punishment while others believe that such mean of punishment is not effective in modern society. Edward Koch believes the death penalty affirms the sanctity of life. In the article by Edward Koch, published in The New Republic, “Death and Justice: How Capital Punishment Affirms Life,’ he utilizes the rhetorical devices of ethos, pathos and logos to justify his position for the death penalty towards the people opposing the death penalty.

Decades ago, children of various races could not go to school together in many locations of the United States. School districts could segregate students, legally, into different schools according to the color of their skin. The law said these separate schools had to be equal. Many schools for children that possessed color were of lesser quality than the schools for white students. To have separate schools for the black and white children became a basic rule in southern society. After the Brown vs. Board of Education case, this all changed.

Alan Moore brings forth a morally ambivalent protagonist in V for Vendetta, wherein a mysterious hero by the name of V exhibits moral vigilantism to combat the bigoted and totalitarian government that has overtaken London. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a hero is a “person admired for achievements and noble qualities” or “one who shows great courage,” a definition redolent of V’s valiant actions to overthrow the oppressive Norsefire regime, which serves as the villain that “opposes the hero.” To achieve his means of freeing society from the villain Norsefire’s tyranny, V makes a series of ethically equivocal decisions, including murder, torture, and revenge. However, despite utilizing violence in his endeavors, V is indeed a hero due to his vigilantism opposing corruption and recalcitrant actions responding to Norsefire’s breach of societal obligation in properly administering a justice system.

America’s identity is defined differently by every individual. Ideally it was to be a place of freedom and acceptance, identified by its message of liberty and hard-work, however the question arises whether America is a melting pot in which only one culture dominates or it a mosaic of many peoples’ histories. America’s potential and true identity lies within its ability to assimilate and create a natural individualism despite race, class, and immigration standing.

Anyone in the world with an occasional source of internet has no choice but to see the seemingly outrageous news stories, posted weekly on events in the US. American’s have made their distrust in the government more than obvious, which in many cases, the government has provoked. The largest debate in the states today is the with the concept of freedom and where the lines are drawn between social security, equality, and one’s rights. Freedom is and always has been heavily emphasized in the development of the 50 states. It’s brought peace and war both figuratively and literally. At a moment when America should be more equal and free than ever, why do so many citizens feel their freedom is being threatened? Freedom of speech is a

Many people have asked them self if The American dream still alive? As many ask them self this question many do say it’s still alive but many say it’s not. They have provent why The american dream is alive still. But in fact The American Dream is still alive for many Immigrants and other people that live in the United states. Many have come to this states, because they see that The American Dream Can help them better their lives. Inmigrantes see the American Dream as a way of better their live for them self and their families An finding a better future.

I believe that every family has their own roots, essence, uniqueness, beliefs and thoughts, some families have both parents, some just the mother, just the father, two mothers or two fathers, they might have an only child or two, or maybe 5 or even 10, therefore, those children start learning all these things from their family and surroundings, they ask questions, they imitate each other’s actions and are constantly learning and trying to catch as much information and experiences as possible. Children are growing fast, their parents are their role models, they learn mostly from them; parents have the tremendous job of forming good citizens that provide to society, healthy and happy beings that keep growing as humans in every stage of their