Common Sense

One of the most important works of literature that argued for colonial independence was Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.  The publication of Common Sense had profound affects on the American colonies.  The book was read aloud all over towns, as if a preacher were reading a bible.  It opened American eyes that were blind to the English tyranny they were suffering from.  Thomas Paine successfully unified the American nation against their British “parent-country.”

Thomas Paine had only lived in America for a little more than a year at the time when he wrote Common Sense, but you would never be able to judge that based on his book.  He captures the heart of what Americans stand for in terms of rising against the king.  What makes the book so remarkable is its ability to connect with all Americans, regardless of class.  Paine accomplishes this because the book is indeed, “…nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense…”

Common Sense was, and still is, a work of art.  For all the reasons listed prior, above all, it helped unite an American nation.  Paine brings to attention that Great Britain is no “parent-country,” because the American immigrants came from all over Europe.  “This new world hath been the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty from every part of Europe.  Hither have they fled, not from the tender embraces of the mother, but from the cruelty of the monster…”  This quote captures the story of America.  People came to America, not sailing off into the sunset, but risking their lives for a chance of religious freedom.  America was an escape, not some fun adventure, although an adventure it indeed was.

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense has had a profound effect on the way we live today. Common Sense laid out the base for the democracy we enjoy today.  My favorite part of the document has to be when Paine proclaims that, “…in America THE LAW IS KING.  For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King and there ought to be no other.”  What I love about this is that, again, it is common sense.  The opposite of an absolute government must be freedom.

Speech Before the National Woman Suffrage Convention

Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s speech before the NWSA is a declaration for equality in women’s rights.  She proclaims that “because man and woman are the complement of one another, we need woman’s thought in national affairs to make a safe and stable government.  She points out that man needs to understand that women are not anomalous creatures, but individuals whom should have equal rights compared to men.

Stanton gives three main reasons for her proclamation for a sixteenth amendment.  First, that a government based upon caste and class cannot stand.  Second, a “man’s” government is a civil, religious, and social disorganization.  Third, that women cannot accept such low depths of political degradation.

Stanton’s speech is a work of art when it comes to arguing for woman’s suffrage.  She makes compelling argument after argument, not only arguing the importance for a “sixteenth amendment,” but she argues for women to stand up for themselves and fight for equality.  She is not afraid to cry out against hypocrisy, proclaiming, “This fundamental principle of our government-the equality of all the citizens of the republic-should be incorporated in the Federal Constitution, there to remain forever.”  Personally, my favorite part of her speech is when she makes a demand to the Republican party, “We appeal to the party now in power, everywhere to end this protracted debate on suffrage, and declare it the inalienable right of every citizen…The Republican party has the power to do this, and now is its only opportunity.”

It’s hard to comprehend the impact Elizabeth Cady Stanton had on the world we live in today.  Obviously, she was a major asset for the women’s rights movement.  If it weren’t for individuals such as Stanton, we wouldn’t have come as far as we have in the past 150 years in terms of political, social, and civil equality.  I feel it is important that we, as the leaders of today and tomorrow, continue to fight for the things Elizabeth Cady Stanton fought for, which is liberty and equality for all people.

White Terror and Racial Violence

The reading dealt with a positive reconstruction act as well a counter productive act in the southern states.  This deals with the right for African-Americans to vote, and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in response to these new African-American rights.  African-Americans not only began voting, but started running for political office in some states.  The Ku Klux Klan used terror and violence to force the African-Americans to do what they wanted.  The Klan believed that if the African-Americans were going to vote, then they were going to vote in the direction that the Ku Klux Klan wanted them to vote.

The reading goes on to tell stories of the Klan terrorizing African-Americans.  These stories include reports from the Nashville Union and Dispatch, as well as the testimonies of several African-American citizens.  One story from the dispatch writes about the phenomena of “Ku Klux Fever” whereas people had the opportunity to purchase Ku Klux music, Ku Klux hats, and even genuine Ku Klux Klan Knives.  The testimony of Isham Buckhalter explains that the Ku Klux came to his house and terrorized his family while demanding Isham give them his republican political tickets.  Isham goes on to admit that he was fearful for his life, and that he believed that the Ku Klux Klan were going around scaring people in order to make them vote a certain way.

These events are another example of American hypocrisy.  It is disgusting to think that people used the Ku Klux Klan in terms of marketing for business.  This proved that not only were the people of the United States singled minded, but they were also supporting the objectification of the African-Americans just as the British had done to use only a short time before. One of the great outcries if the American Revolution was about not having any representation, but now we are doing the same thing to our American brothers and sisters.  This impacted the country in different ways.  Some people saw the hypocrisy and believed that what they were doing was wrong on every level.  Other people supported the Ku Klux Klan, not truly understanding the severity of crimes that they were committing.

It is unfortunate how much impact these events had in the past because of the fact that we still continue to fight a battle of racism and discrimination in the world we live in today.  It is mind-boggling to try to comprehend how single-minded some people can be.  Not only in the past when these events happened, but today as well.  People were, and to a certain extent, still are, not willing to accept the idea that all people should have the same freedom and liberty that we demanded from the British during the American Revolution.

Ch. 10: Tracks of Conflict…

This week I read about the Chinese immigrant strike and California Senate investigation.  These Chinese immigrants, who were constantly faced with discrimination and exploitation, indeed would rise up, but they would have mixed results.  In the spring of 1867, thousands of Chinese workers went on strike against the Central Pacific Railroad Company.  However their plan was struck down when their food supply was cut off and the Chinese Immigrants were literally starved back to work.

This state-senate investigation happened in 1876 when hearings were initiated in order to investigate the problem of Chinese Immigration.  Although these hearings ended with the legislation concluding that such immigration was “an unmitigated evil,” the end result of this investigation was the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882.  This act gave Chinese Immigrants an opportunity to raise their voice against the discrimination and exploitation they faced.

The investigation involved the testimonies of two Chinese immigrants.  The first testimony is that of Hong Chung, and the second testimony is that of Lem Schaum.  These two testimonies are extremely different from one-another.  You can understand why people believed that the Chinese Immigration had to be stopped, because there were immigrants who spoke bad english, and were willing to work for anything, this made them very susceptible to being exploited.  There is one point during Mr. Chung’s interview where he is asked, “Would you like to be Governor of the State of California?” and he answered, “Of course.  I like State of California a long time; I like a free country.”  In contrast to Mr. Chung, Mr. Schaum appears to be much more “Americanized” and free-thinking.  At one point he is asked, “As a general rule, taking the on hundred and fifty thousand of them [Chinese Immigrants] in California, they don’t learn much good after they come here, do they?  Don’t they learn the vices of the country?” He responds by explaining, “That is your own fault. No Chinaman can take a walk up and down the street unless you find an Irishman or a Dutchman to strike them down….A great many Chinamen desire to learn to read and write English, and then also our methods of business, or any kind of work; perhaps the arts or sciences.”

The goal of these testimonies were often to get Chinese witnesses to confirm their presumed stereotypes, such as that they were dirty and unintelligent people, but immigrants such as Lem Schaum would come along and prove those stereotypes wrong.  In fact, people such as Lem Schaum were willing to point out that is was the government’s fault for allowing the Chinamen to be exploited.  I feel this story does a great job explaining the negatives about immigration.  It is not that immigration is necessarily bad, but if there is going to be mass immigration from other countries then we have to work together with those individuals in order to create productive members of society.

Chapter 8: The Politics of Hope and Rage: The United States in the 1960s, The Sharon Statement and The Port Huron Statement.

Arguably the two most important young political movements during the 1960’s comprised of Young Americans for Freedom, and Students for a Democratic Society.  Young Americans for Freedom, or YAF, was comprised of young conservatives who were committed activists.  Students for a Democratic Society, or SDS, was made up of radical students who defined themselves as the “new left.”  The Sharon Statement and The Port Huron Statement were the manifestos of these young political organizations.

The Sharon Statement is a declaration that you would expect from a young conservative faction.  It focuses on freedoms of the self whereas they proclaim that a governmental body should first, and foremost, protect an individual’s free will.  This declaration is less focused on their intentions as a political group, and more focused on their beliefs as conservative activists.  They proclaim many conservative beliefs such as, “…when government interferes with the work of the market economy, it tends to reduce the moral and physical strength of the nation; that when it takes from on  man to bestow on another, it diminishes the incentive of the first, the integrity of the second, and the moral autonomy of both…”

The Port Huron Statement is a declaration proclaiming the importance of equality by arguing that the nation we live in is based on total hypocrisy.  It focuses on hypocritical aspects of American history such as, “The declaration ‘all men are created equal…’ rang hollow before the facts of Negro life in the South and the big cities of the North.”  Then the declaration goes on to promote the importance of equality and freedom by explaining that all people have an unlimited amount of potential to do great things, and those people just need a chance.

What’s amazing about these two political manifestos, one from the right-wing and one from the left-wing, is that they do not completely contrast one another.  Instead, there are actually aspects to each declaration that complement one another.  I believe that at the core of each speech is the essence of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; taken directly from The Declaration of Independence.  The Sharon Statement appears to be arguing the importance of freedom for personal advancement.  In this sense, the government exists to protect and administrate.  The Port Huron Statement appears to be arguing the importance of freedom in order to maintain equality for all people.  In this sense, the government has already failed because we have failed to give all individuals the opportunity to live their lives to their full potential.

The Sharon Statement does a great job promoting what it believes in, but they give no regard to less fortunate individuals that never had an equal opportunity compared to other people.  The Port Huron Statement does a great job promoting equality, but it is very romanticized.  In the end I feel The Port Huron Statement has the ability to influence the lives of people, past and present.  Again, this influence is partly due to the feeling of romanticism.  However I have to argue that most people will agree that “the object is not to have one’s way so much as it is to have a way that is one’s own.”

GEOG 2300: Clothes labels

I would guess that most of my clothes come mostly from third-world countries.  I’m guessing places like Haiti and Thailand will be big ones, and other countries that have cheap labor.  I am hoping that a number of my clothes will say “made in the USA.”

After investigating my t-shirts I found numerous interesting facts.  I have a large number of JERZEES and GILDAN t-shirts, and almost all of these shirts were made in either Haiti or Hondoras.  This makes sense because in 2009 Russell Corporation became faced with a controversy of labor code violations at their Honduran sweatshop.  I feel that this small activity is going to force me to pay closer attention to the places where my clothes were made.  Although, it does make me happy that I found that many of my t-shirts were made in the USA.

American Society: GEOG 2300

The United States is absolutely self-centered, hedonistic, and wasteful of resources.  The ecological footprint of the average American is huge.  We use so many more resources compared to the rest of the world.  We are a country based upon total hypocracy.  The founders of our country proclaimed that “all men are created equal,” while at the same time they lived lives of degrading other men to be their own personal slaves.  Still, today, hundreds of years later, we continue to fight a battle of segragation and discrimination.  Moreso, there are countless American citizens across the country that live with this mindset that “we are the best.”  There are people so blinded with nationalistic pride, or other beliefs, that they don’t know what is truly good for their lives.  There is an unfortunate aspect of American society that is most Americans do not know how to think for themselves, they don’t know how to make their own decisions.  Take the electoral college, for example, we use a voting system where the popular vote doesn’t matter.  Over the course of American history we have seen presidential elections where the winner of the election did not with the popular vote. 

Looking at my own life, I know that from time to time I don’t respect the resources that I use.  I find myself wasting electricity by leaving house lights on, and I know I don’t recycle as much as I should.  I don’t pay enough attention to national news and the problems throughout the rest of the world, so in that sense I know I can be somewhat self-centered.  However I don’t drive a car, and I use a bike as my main mode of transportation.  I feel as an American society we have to be willing to admit that we are not perfect, and we must keep our minds open in order to better ourselves as a society.

Ethnicity, GEOG Blog #4

I feel ethnicity isn’t overly important to me, but it definitely plays a role with my relationships, politics, etc.  I have to argue that it is extremely important to separate the terms ethnicity and race in this sense.  I believe having pride in one’s ethnic culture, and background, is extremely important.  Individuals need to have an understanding of who they are and where they actually come from.  In this sense race has nothing to do with ethnicity.  One of my roommates this past year was fifty percent asian, but he also celebrates his Irish and German background.  The first generation of my family in America came over on the Mayflower.  I believe I am the seventeenth generation of my family living in America.  My background is rooted in the formation of this country, but that doesn’t change the fact that my ethnic background will always be a combination of Welsh, Irish, English, and Scottish culture.  I am a member of the catholic church, and my family has probably been catholic for hundreds of years.  When it comes to relationships it definitely helps to share an ethnic background.  Many of my friends are Irish, and I love finding out that a peer of mine has a similar ethnic background.  I think an individual’s ethnic background plays a huge role on how that individual lives their life.  Take holidays for example, I love St. Patrick’s Day and St. David’s Day, but I don’t blink twice at the thought of Cinco De Mayo.

GEOG 2300, Post 3, Religion

Religion plays a huge role in my life.  I’ve grown up as a member of the catholic church.  I was baptized as a child, and went through the normal celebrations of the catholic church.  In this sense I live life as many christians do.  I celebrate Christmas, Lent, Easter, Etc., and I feel it is extremely important to help the less fortunate.  As I’ve gotten older I have come to realize that the official religion an individual partakes in is less important than that individual’s relationship with God.  When I was younger I was more judgemental towards people who didn’t share my religious views.  As I’ve matured I’ve become much more open minded, and becoming open minded is directly related to my religious beliefs.

GEOG 2300, Favorite Place

My favorite place would have to be the beach and the lake.   I’ve grown up on the lake, and the beach is roughly one hundred feet from my house.  What makes the lake so special to me is the peaceful serenity it offers.  In this sense it is the apparent absence of region and globalization that I love about the beach.  Conformity, diversity, and other stressful items seem to melt away as I swim away from the shore.  The things that are most obviously unique to me would be the physical characteristics of the environment such as the towering trees along the shoreline, the white sand of the beach, and the way the land rises out of and away from the water.  The themes of cultural landscape and nature-culture are also important.  For example, you have a residential community that was built along the lake, but that community has made an effort to preserve the nature.  I feel that is why I love the lake, it offers a chance to somewhat escape from culture, and embrace nature.