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In this chapter of Who Are We  Huntington talks about the renewing of the American identity. He says that there are four main shaping trends that are influencing this; the ending of ethnicity, race is constant, blurring and fading, bifurcation, and a gap between the salience of national identity. 

Huntington says that there is an end to ethnicity in the country. People from all over the world are losing their native countries identity and making one as the American people. This is happening from years of assimilation though multiple generation. There are no longer ethnic separations in education, occupations or residencies. He says that interethnic marriages are creating this melting pot reality, and now we are shifting from a “ multiethnic society of a few dozen ethnic groups into a nonethnic society of tens of millions of multiethnic individuals” (299). 

Race to Huntington is blurring and fading in the new identity. Again, interracial marriages are blurring the lines between races because the offspring is not identifying as one are but both, “More Americans think of themselves as multi-racial rather than as belonging to a single race” (306). Due to the fact that there is an increase and acceptance of multiracial marriages the line of defining oneself to one race has become a tricky situation, so much so that the government has provided the option of checking multiple race options on forms. 

Bifurcation has happened for two main reasons. Firstly, the growing numbers of Hispanics has halted assimilation of the group because they want to keep their identity in a Spanish speaking Hispanic community apart from the Anglo-protestant community. Secondly this is causing a bilingual, bicultural society for the group. 

Lastly Huntington argues that there is a democratic divide between the elites and the public. He says that the elites are more liberal and less nationalistic than the general public causing their bigger influence to push the government their way. The public is more focused on military security and the domestic economy while the elites are invested with international security, and economic development of foreign nations. 

Ted Kramer is a workaholic who spends his life focused on work. When he comes home to deliver the great news to his wife, Joanna, that he was given his companies biggest account, he finds out that she is leaving him. He had spent too much of his life focused on his work. He is left to raise their son Billy alone. He struggles with the tasks that Joanna had previously taken care of, such as grocery shopping and picking his son up from school on time. At first, he and Billy do not get along as Billy wishes for his mother as she gave him much more affection than Ted and Ted is constantly prioritizing work over his family. Eventually, he grows into the father figure role, rather than the role of a workaholic. He quits his high paying job for one then allows him to accommodate his son’s needs. Ted is eventually able to bond with a fellow single parent, Margaret, who has two children of her own. We begin to see the emotional bond strengthening after Billy injures himself and Ted runs him all the way to the hospital to ensure his health and safety. Eventually, Joanna returns home and wishes for her sone back. This causes a custody battle to ensue. Unfortunately, the battle for custody grows to be dirty and brings us many issues of the past. In the end, Joanna is granted custody, but it calls to question both the mother and father roles in the raising of a child. The court grants her custody not because she is necessarily a better parent, but because it is assumed that a mother would do a better job at raising a child than a father. Ted questions whether he should appeal the court’s decision but decides not to as he does not want to force his young child to take the stand. Thankfully, Joanna finds that Billy’s true home is with Ted, and allows them to stay together. 

Mark Regnerus in Cheap Sex discusses the ways in which the market for sex has evolved. He highlights how the market has essentially made sex cheaper and overall more accessible. He expresses how women are more interested in pursuing a relationship on an emotional level rather than one that is purely physical, but modern social challenges. Men are more likely to pursue relationships that provide physical pleasure and satisfaction rather than that of emotions. With many emerging innovations that provide aspects such as online pornography, dating apps, and improved contraceptives, men have more access to pleasure and satisfaction without needing an emotional connection. This often forces women to have to settle and prevents them from finding the emotional attachment and long-term monogamous commitment they desire. 

Modern technologies have allowed relationships to become overall less emotional and more gravitate towards satisfaction and physical desire.  Porn is convenient and requires a low amount of effort to reach satisfaction and pleasure, which is statistically more often men than women. We view men such as Carlos, who places these desires over the happiness and comfortability over his girlfriends. He is more concerned with getting what he needs than the emotional commitment and relationships he has in real life with a real human being. His girlfriend stays with him, even though he frequently does things purely for sexual satisfaction that anger her or makes her uncomfortable. She is forced to have low expectations and settle, as there are fewer men available who put the needs of their girlfriends over their sexual desire. When males have porn it makes women almost replaceable, forcing women to be more accommodating to male needs and desires. According to Regnerus, 45% of women had sex in the first two weeks of their relationship, but expect nothing in return. The emergence of contraceptives allows men and women to have sexual relationships while lowering the risk of the future commitment of having to raise a baby, removing a great amount of commitment that was present in the previous years. Previously, men and women would often wait to have sex to avoid the risks of the commitment of having and raising children, but now, it can almost be guaranteed that the potential of having a baby is taken out of the picture. This removes a large amount of commitment to a sexual relationship. It makes sex both less serious and less attached. 

In many cases, such as that of Alyssa, we see women struggle to settle down and find a man who wishes to do so with them. Although Alyssa began as a person who enjoyed having multiple partners and watching porn, she grew to wish for a committed relationship. Unfortunately, in our modern-day society, it is often difficult for women to find a man who desires the same. Men are so used to the accessibility of cheap sex that it becomes detrimental to females who wish to find someone to share a monogamous relationship with. Although those who are unmarried are still a minority, the number is higher than it has been in our modern society. Unless we fix the element of cheap sex, women will continue to struggle to find a life partner as highlighted by Regnerus.

In the film, ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’ I feel as though a lot of the themes presented relate to the books ‘Cheap Sex’ and ‘Race, Wrongs, and Remedies’. The film, which presents ideas about marriage, emphasizes the importance of such an instance.  Upon Ted Kramer’s wife leaving him, there is controversy over who gets custody of their son, Billy. The separation effect is important to Ted due to his care and well being of his son. As touched on in the various readings we’ve had this semester, marriage separation rates upon being previously engaged play a role in the life of children. Statistics show that children are ‘better off’ in life if their parents stay together throughout their childhoods. These characteristics directly relate to education and crime. It has been inferred that education rates are higher and crime rates are lower for those who have parents who are still together.