Author: Russell Katz

Reading and Film Presentations and Discussion

We Wanted Workers, Chapter 1 ERA

Post author By Russell Katz
Post date October 20, 2019
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In the first chapter of the book We Wanted Workers, George J. Borjas describes how integration has increased in the United States in the past few decades. Furthermore, this increase can be seen in both terms of trading goods with other countries as well as with the amount of people that immigrated to the United States. An interesting point made by Borjas is that immigration is like a trade in some ways, as countries import the labor required to manufacture products. A couple of decades ago, immigrants in some countries had the role of simply going to work, for instance, in Germany. Until the 1990s, immigrants from Turkey often went to Germany to work and were not expected to be a part of the culture or community of the country. Borjas argues that this view of immigrantion is misleading and does not give the full view of the economic impact that immigrants could have. Despite this information, Borjas explains how immigrants are in fact people who need to make choices, such as whether or not to assimilate themselves into the new country. However, there are both positives and negatives that come with assimilation. Ultimately, while immigrantion can help some Americans economically, it can also hurt them. An interesting part of the book was when the author states that when research on immigration first began in the 1980s, it was not much of a concern. However, this is certainly not the case today as it is an extremely important topic not only in the United States, but also all over the world.

Later on in the chapter, Borjas describes his upbringing as an immigrant. He was born in Cuba and came to the United States with his mother in 1962. In Cuba, his family owned a pants company, but it got confiscated after the communist takeover. Shortly after he arrived in Miami, the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred, which affected the ability of others to come to the United States. In fact, the author described this as a spark to his interest in immigration. Additionally, it was interesting to hear about the community he grew up in and other parts of his life. What were your thoughts on Borjas’ upbringing? Was there anything that surprised you? Also, how would you describe the change in importance of immigration over the decades?

Reading and Film Presentations and Discussion

No Country for Old Men ERA

I really enjoyed the movie No Country for Old Men, as it was a very good film that was filled with many entertaining scenes. This western style film also had lots of crime and adventure in it as well, which made it very interesting and comparable to some of the previous readings we have discussed in class. No Country for Old Men is about a man, Llewelyn Moss, who stumbles across a drug scene with many dead people while he was trying to hunt. During this event, he comes across a bag filled with lots of cash, which he could have turned in to the police to help deal with the crime. However, he ends up taking the cash as he cannot resist the loads of money, which leads to a chase between characters. A crazy killer, Anton Chigurh, is after the money as well, which leads him to try and catch Moss as well as the money. Along the way, Chigurh comes across many other characters that he often kills even if they are innocent. The sheriff, Ed Tom Bell, tries to take control of the situation and put an end to the violence. There are numerous deaths and bloody scenes, which is one of the many parallels between No Country for Old Men and All the Pretty Horses. Another similarity between the movie and book is the passion and will to never give up that characters in each story demonstrate throughout each of their journeys. Also, one could argue that a similarity between the two is the ending. In both the movie and the book, there does not seem to be a clear end as there are some unanswered questions. Furthermore, each story’s ending can be open for interpretation as there is no clear answer or path for many of the characters. What similarities and differences did you notice between No Country for Old Men and All the Pretty Horses? Additionally, how would you compare the endings of No Country for Old Men and All the Pretty Horses? Did you like the ending to the movie, if not, how would you have changed it?

Short Essays and Responses

Short Essay #2

In the book Who Are We?, Samuel P. Huntington explores the identity of America. More specifically, he examines the history of American identity and how it came about from the British settlers, the immigrants who adopted this Anglo-Protestant culture, and finally how it has more recently changed. An important aspect is the American Creed, which Gunnar Myrdal popularized and described as “the essential dignity of the individual human being, of the fundamental equality of all men, and of certain inalienable rights to freedom, justice, and a fair opportunity.” (67) Furthermore, the Anglo-Protestant culture has been a core set of cultural values for much of America’s history, however, it more recently has diluted. Therefore, this leads to a controversial issue on whether or not this is better or worse for society. While there are both pros and cons to the given statement, it is more negative that Anglo-Protestant values have diluted more recently due to the fact that it hurts the identity and unity of the nation.

Huntington explains how most countries generally “have a core or mainstream culture shared to varying degrees by most people in their society” (59) Of course, as Huntington continues, there are subcultures within each nation that are based off of various factors, including religion, race, class, and many others. Despite these subcultures in America, “It also has had a mainstream Anglo-Protestant culture in which most of its people, whatever their subcultures, have shared. For almost four centuries this culture of the founding settlers has been the central and the lasting component of American identity.” (59) While some of its aspects may derive from England, both political and social, America has ultimately created its own unique identity. For hundreds of years, immigrants have been able to assimilate and adapt to American culture, which has often allowed them to gain success and prosper. Naturally, it is challenging to come to a new country and instantly fit in, throw away your old values, and feel comfortable. Therefore, it’s understandable how immigrants and minorities might struggle or be hesitant to fully assimilate themselves into a new lifestyle.

America is known to be a very patriotic country, especially during and after times of war. This can be seen with the various symbols and traditions throughout the nation. However, since the 1960s this nationalism has certainly faded. While there is not one specific reason for this, Huntington explains how some factors may include more multiculturalism and diversity among elites, special interest identities that have elevated over national identity like race and gender, and a combination of less promotion of immigrant assimilation as well as immigrants having multiple identities. Following the tragic events of September 11, patriotism did rise once again, however, it ultimately has faded during recent history. If the Anglo-Protestant values did eventually die out, it is unclear what would happen next as America has never faced this problem before. It can certainly be argued that positives would occur, some of which may include that more ethnic and racial equality would be evident in society especially compared to history. However, it can be costly because it erodes the national identity, which would make the nation less unified and patriotic. This would harm the nation as it is an essential aspect of America. Overall, it is hard to definitively argue which would be better or worse for the nation looking into the future, but I would have to agree with Huntington that this is not good as he argues, “Millions of immigrants and their children achieved wealth, power, and status in American society precisely because they assimilated themselves into the prevailing American culture.” (62)

Reading and Film Presentations and Discussion

Who Are We? Chapter 6 ERA

Post author By Russell Katz
Post date September 16, 2019
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In this chapter, the emergence, history, and the importance of identity in America is explored. A nation’s identity is not permanent or fixed as it often changes, for example, this can be seen with the United States as its identity evolved due to various reasons and events, such as colonies, immigration, war, and other historical events. A major focus in this chapter is about America creating its own identity, and an important moment for this was the signing of the Declaration of Independence, where many people, including Benjamin Franklin, “transformed himself from a Briton into an American.” (109) This was certainly a major turning point for a collective identity in America, however, other key events to help American identity included the Great Awakening and various wars.

Another major point was the victory of the American Revolution. This was very important because settlers no longer identified with the British and it removed the enemy the nation was fighting. While colonists did become Americans, there was still not a united nation as nationwide identities was split between states and sections. Additionally, before the Civil War, there was still conflict between the North and South as well as American enemies did not really threaten the nation so there was still a focus on sectional differences between the states. Some believe these problems were due to the lack of national history of the United States.

Many people believed that the Civil War created more nationalism, as Huntington explains, “The American nation was born in the war and came into its full being in the decades after the war. So also did American nationalism, patriotism, and the unqualified identification of Americans with their country.” (119) Following the war, industrialization, economic growth, improvements in transportation and communication, and organizations helped the nation. Also, the national government had a more important role within the nation as well as worldwide. Ultimately, many events helped create a national history which helped in creating an identity, this included some events previously mentioned, the different presidents, and brave soldiers. This led to more patriotic symbols and traditions throughout the nation. Other important factors to unifying the nation included assimilation, Americanizing immigrants, and World War I and II. However, some of this American nationalism faded during the 1960s. How would you describe the importance of American identity today?

Uncategorized

American Individualism

This presentation was helpful in providing some background information on American Individualism. It starts off by having some questions, which engages the reader and gets them thinking about what individualism is. It goes on to explain how the modern West essentially invented individualism. Additionally, it explains how individualism in the United States has had a unique history. A major part of Puritanical Individualism is religion, as seen in a community where each person had responsibilities and relationships. While there are multiple aspects that make up the American Individual, some examples include freedom, optimism, and honor. In the presentation, it also explores the difference between Utilitarian and Expressive Individualism.