From Russia with Love
"I shudder at the sight of it. I'd rather see them steal that salad than throw it away," my father bellows in consternation after witnessing the closing rituals at Wendy's.
"Pa, they do it so they can serve fresh food tomorrow," I defend the fast food employees' actions.
Despite our past four and a half years in "the Land of Plenty," my father clings to his frugality and tremendous respect for food, acquired by necessity throughout his life in the Soviet Union. The sharp contrast between my Americanized perspective and old views and habits retained by my father makes such debates a common occurrence. Besides performing all the prescribed functions of a "parental unit," my father helps me attain objectivity in my judgments by demonstrating how cultural background affects our view of situations.
Coming to the United States at the age of thirteen felt like falling into a roaring stream without any swimming skills. Dog paddling, panting, and swallowing gallons of water on the way, I learned to keep myself afloat and gradually gained experience. Cultural adaptation was not a choice--it was a survival need. Along with comic strips and smiles at supermarkets, my mind absorbed such elements of American culture as equal opportunity and self-confidence. The existence of programs such as English as a Second Language at my junior high school persuaded me that these concepts were implemented in daily life. I was thrilled that someone had toiled to ensure that foreigners like myself had the same access to education as the other students. Thus convinced of the tangibility of American beliefs, I began to deem them universal.
On the other hand, my father, a 45-year old when we arrived, still perceives reality in Soviet terms, with American customs being an exception to the rule. His comments on the news radically differ from what my American friends have to say. When the hospitalization of the Russian President Boris Yeltsin had the world pondering Russia's future, my father inferred latent meanings from newspaper articles. "I can only trust half of what they say," he would grumble. "Here they say the President doesn't have a liver condition, which, of course, means that he does." Stemming from the paucity of integrity in the old Soviet Union, disbelief and sarcasm permeate Papa's personal philosophy.
Dismissing all things immaterial as irrelevant, my father often ridicules the ideas I hold dear, such as political correctness.
Adams recognized the limited role women were allowed to play in the world at that time. However, she insisted that a woman's role carried an equal amount of importance and responsibility to a man's. She believed that women deserved the opportunities and rights including education and that that would enable them to live to their fullest capacity. She believed that education was as important for women as for men. Educational courses were not taught to women, but Abigail persisted in self-education. She received little formal education; just enough to manage her duties as a housewife and mother; but was encouraged to pursue what were considered more feminine pastimes, such as sewing, music, letter writing, and hosting. She always complained of being denied the proper education necessary to bring her spelling, punctuation, and grammar up to literary standards of her day. The lack of knowledge in these areas is apparent in her letters. She even created her own words. She agreed with other women that if mothers were in charge of early education for their children, they must be educated to be able to perform this duty. Her commitment to promoting education for women was so strong that she pressed her husband to inco...
However, evidence that is presented may indicate otherwise, as Joseph Stalin provides adequate counter claims for discrediting the “simplicity” of “yes”. Within this controversial topic, two authors provide their sides of the story to whom is to blame and/or responsible for the “Cold War.” Authors Arnold A. Offner and John Lewis Gaddis duck it out in this controversial situation as each individual leads the readers to believe a certain aspect by divulging certain persuading information. However, although both sides have given historical data as substance for their claim, it is nothing more than a single sided personal perception of that particular piece of information; thus, leaving much room for interpretations by the reader/s. Finding the truth to either claim is the obligation of the reader and outside research would accommodate the authors potential inadequacies and personal fallacies.... ...
Gaddis, John Lewis. “We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History.” Taking Sides: Clashing Views On Controversial Issues in United States History. Ed. Larry Madaras and James M. SoRelle. 14th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 302-308.
Abigail Adams, a woman very well known today originally met her husband John Adams when she was 15 years old and later on became the first lady during his presidency. When she turned 11 she met with a college professor and started her education. Abigail was born on November 22, 1744 and died on October 28, 1818 (The World of Abigail Adams). Throughout her life she had many long lasting accomplishments and was a leader in her household and for women. She helped make the Americas what they are today and helped give rights to woman. Abigail Adams was an important figure because of her relation to John Adams, her religious views, her accomplishments, and how they had long lasting effects in the world and on the United States today.
America’s educational system is home to an increasing number of English language learners. Some research indicates that by the year 2030, over 40% of elementary and secondary students served by schools in the United States will come from homes where a language other than English is spoken (Thomas & Collier, 2001). In an effort to accommodate these students, the United States has adopted policies at both the federal and state levels. Generally, the direction taken to meet the needs of English language learners has depended on the climate of the nation. During times of peace and prosperity, policies reflect the nation’s tolerance of other languages and cultures. However, during times of war or conflict, policies have reflected intolerance or fear of anything deemed “un-American.”
...experiences with new immigrants influenced the theories developed by academic in the fields of education, sociology, and social psychology.” (Lissak 7)
In the 20th century, the melting pot is not working, and the whole idea is under attack (Evans 76). The United States has changed from a melting pot to a vast culture with varying backgrounds. In years before, America was a collection of Chinese, Germans, Italians, Scots, Croats, etc., all craving freedom. Today, even the simple concept of an English-speaking nation is fading off the continent. In the old days, immigrants were taught in English in the public schools. (76). In America today, children are taught in German, Italian, Polish, and 108 other languages. Most of these schools are funded by 139 million federal dollars.
...influenced. This correspondence leads to individual growth because it pushes our understanding. As we begin to see the individual as a person and not as an “other,” we can, as a country, grow stronger. Regardless of our growing humanitarian stance towards immigration reform, many Americans still insist on having English as our national language. Though speaking the language would greatly close the distance witnessed in towns like Shelbyville, we must provide methods for language acquisition by working through difference. With the transition towards inclusiveness, an increasingly global perspective should also follow suit.
In the early 1700's, the country of Spain sent many explorers to the western world to claim land and find riches. When California was founded by several Spanish explorers, like Cabrillo, and De Anza, Spain decided to send missionaries to build missions. There are a total of 21 missions built in California. Mission Santa Ines was the 19th mission and was built to share the European God with the Indians and how to eat and dress like Europeans. Father Tapis wanted to make the Indians Christians and civilize them as well as keep and claim land for Spain. The missions were built near harbors, bays or rivers so the towns could grow the needed crops to survive, and to bring more Europeans, and show the Indians more European ways. The Indians built the missions under the supervision of the padres along El Camino Real, the Royal Road, where there was a water supply for the mission gardens and crops. The first mission built along El Camino Real was built in 1769, and the mission period lasted 54 years with the last mission built in 1823.
There are many policy issues that affect families in today’s society. Hunger is a hidden epidemic and one major issue that American’s still face. It is hard to believe that in this vast, ever growing country, families are still starving. As stated in the book Growing Up Empty, hunger is running wild through urban, rural, and even suburban communities. This paper will explore the differing perspectives of the concerned camp, sanguine camp, and impatient camp. In addition, each camps view, policy agenda, and values that underlie their argument on hunger will be discussed.
During the 1600s to 1700s, the Spanish were settling Texas. They did this by building missions and presidios throughout the land. The purpose was to keep the French out and to change the Indians' ways of life. Some of these missions failed and some succeeded. All in all they were closed after years of trying to change the Indians.
In Joel L. Swerdlow’s 2001 essay, “Changing America,” he writes about the current cultural differences among kids in high school. He goes on to talk about how you can gather a large variety of kids, coming from all over the world, yet they still somehow manage to develop the same “American Teenager” attitude toward life. The essay talks about how people used to view America as a “melting pot” of nations, and how over time that view is starting to change.
Abigail made her strongest appeal for women¹s rights in 1776, when John was in Philadelphia serving in Congress. As members drafted laws to guarantee the independence for which the colonist were fighting, Abigail wrote to John begging him to remember that women also needed to be given the right of independence. She sensed the struggles that were to come and understood the unfairness of making one group subject to the will of another.
For more than 300 years, immigrants from every corner of the globe have settled in America, creating the most diverse and heterogeneous nation on Earth. Though immigrants have given much to the country, their process of changing from their homeland to the new land has never been easy. To immigrate does not only mean to come and live in a country after leaving your own country, but it also means to deal with many new and unfamiliar situations, social backgrounds, cultures, and mainly with the acquisition and master of a new language. This often causes mixed emotions, frustration, awkward feelings, and other conflicts. In Richard Rodriguez’s essay “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”, the author describes the social, cultural and linguistic difficulties encountered in America as he attempts to assimilate to the American culture. Richard Rodriguez by committing himself to speaking English, he lost his cultural ties, family background and ethnic heritage.
The idea of upward mobility plays a crucial role in migrants’ lives. Not only does a new life in America deal with the educational aspect, but newcomers must also face social issues. Depending on where one may come from, immigrant families must deal with how the “U.S government, American population, and the local labor force” look at them (Hao, Pong, 2008, pg. 63). The region of where people originate, can critically affect their social abilities once they come to America. Some U.S. institutions and individuals may have some kind of hostility towards a country from where immigrants come from. The outcome of hostility can lead to numerous consequences: unemployment, peer rejection at school or work and rejection of financial help from the government. These repudiations from American society have led to “immigrants’ children [becoming] vulnerable to downward assimilation through the influence of inner-...