I found “The America I believe in by Colin Powell” to be an interesting and compelling excerpt. I personally like this excerpt because he tries to address the unfriendliness being shown towards immigrants by denying them a lot of common rights; above all I found myself lingering on Colin Powells’ side just for the fact that I’m an immigrant in the United States. I believe the basis of Powells’ excerpt stands on Americans foundational moral values. He intend to cause Americans to reflect and change their negative attitude towards immigrants and rather encourage them to live in the nation. Although Colin Powel provides an effectual argument through a formal and practical style to convince Americans who already support his idea, he fails to persuade Anti-immigrants idealist who are not on his side. This is because he fails to provide a realistic measure to solve the threat posed by illegal immigrants, he is being bias and he provides weak support for his argument that immigration should be encouraged. Colin Powel’s presents his arguments in a very practical and formal style which makes his argument very effectual; the general audience can relate to it because he communicate in a simple language and tell a lot of personal stories. As a result, it enlightens Americans of their own common history; the reason for their ancestors to first journey to the land of America was to seek freedom from the harsh treatment received in Britain. Secondly, the founding fathers of America who were mostly Christian believed that every person must be treated equally and fairly despite their religious background and values. The style of Colin Powel is very strong in the sense that it hammers on these same freedom principles Americans must in turn recipr... ... middle of paper ... ...f money the Brazilian kids were short of; again this become another weak point for his argument not to convince the anti-immigrant idealist. In conclusion, although Colin Powels’ plea for immigrant is based on Americans common moral and historical values; and although it provides an effectual argument through a formal and practical style to convince Americans who already support his idea, he fails to persuade Anti-immigrants idealist who are not on his side. This is because he fails to provide a realistic measure to solve the threat posed by illegal immigrants, he is being bias and he provides weak support for his argument that immigration should be encouraged. Work cited Powel Colin. “The America I Believe in”. This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women. Ed. Jay Allison and Dan Gediman. New York: Henry Holt, 2007. 184-87. Print.
The American political notions we practice today take root from early colonial times. Our political understanding had its genesis as early as the 17th century, which stemmed from the writings of intellectuals, such as John Winthrop and William Penn. Equipped with these convictions, both Winthrop and Penn brought about visions of how their respective colonies will be structured in the New World. John Winthrop wrote The Modell of Christian Charity as a platform to lead a group of Puritan refugees in the colony of Boston, Massachusetts. Also armed with his own political philosophies, William Penn’s Frame of Government of Pennsylvania constructed a settlement, which promoted religious liberty and individual conscience. Although the two founders wrote about varying principles, there were some parallels evident between their founding visions. Furthermore, by highlighting the outward distinctions and similarities of their visions, we can recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the two political structures. Ultimately, the explorations of these very elements aid in determining which community is more appealing to call home. In my case, the principle of individual
In the book, “Rereading America” by, Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, it starts off on page 210 describing a well educated Black Man of the times in 1960s. “Born Malcolm Little; Malcolm X was one of the most articulate and powerful leaders of Black America during the 1960s. A street hustler convicted of robbery in 1946, he spent seven years in prison, where he educated himself and became a disciple of Elijah Muhammad, founder of the Nation of Islam” (p.210). Here I want to focus on the strength of a single black man in the 60’s and what it was like to be uneducated as an African American. The many struggles of a black person in general were enough, but a black man had it hard.
Edward Bok and Colin Powell consider America the land of opportunity. Edward Bok was an immigrant from the Netherlands who moved to the US and Colin Powell’s parents were immigrants who came from Jamaica. Powell was the statesman and a four-star general who became the first African American secretary of state. Both Edward Bok and Colin Powell convey an optimistic tone and develop the idea of opportunity through the use of connotative diction in contrast to the Immigration Chart and Political Cartoon which has a informative tone and supports the idea that being an immigrant in the US is a difficult challenge.
America is a nation that is often glorified in textbooks as a nation of freedom, yet history shows a different, more radical viewpoint. In Howard Zinn’s A People's History of the United States, we take a look at American history through a different lens, one that is not focused on glorifying our history, but giving us history through the eyes of the people. “This is a nation of inconsistencies”, as so eloquently put by Mary Elizabeth Lease highlights a nation of people who exploited and sought to keep down those who they saw as inferior, reminding us of more than just one view on a nation’s history, especially from people and a gender who have not had an easy ride. In some respects, we can attribute the founding of America and all its subsequent impacts to Christopher Columbus. Columbus, a hero in the United States, has his own holiday and we view him as the one who paved the way for America to be colonized.
In the article “An Immigrant Writes” Arnold Schwarzenegger argues, “America can have an immigration policy that strengthens and secures our borders while being sympathetic to immigrants” (26). By addressing opposing arguments, through the use of pathos, ethos, and logos and providing strong evidence, Mr. Schwarzenegger creates a convincing argument to support his stance on immigration.
The scholarly debate about the concept of American Exceptionalism has been a topic of discussion for many decades. As a matter of fact, the debating that surrounds the concept of American Exceptionalism doesn’t arise from a vacuum. It arises from the various usages over time, which is related to the historical development of America that makes it different from other nations in Europe and elsewhere. It makes it even more difficult and complicated to establish just one single definition to this concept. Adding to that, many people from different cultural and religious backgrounds have various ideas of what America means to them. Thus, this essay will trace back the origin of American Exceptionalism and will highlight
There is overwhelming evidence presented by Cather for the inability of American society to coexist harmoniously with the individualist immigrant; they can accept only those who are willing to subscribe to the conformist doctrine ...
America has always been looked at as “The New World” where people from all over come to fulfil their dreams. Their dreams may not have been exceptional, but only to have enough to survive, have a house where their children could be raised and feel free and protected. Now, according to Webster’s online dictionary Americanism is defined as a custom, trait, belief, etc., peculiar to the United States of America or its citizens, but to me it means so much more.
The term “America” does not have one but many definitions that various people have come up with through out the centuries. Some believe America is everything they could hope for and some have believed that it is not what it seems. Frederick Douglas’ What to the Slave is the Fourth of July and Michael Rogin’s text Political Repression in the United States are two pieces of historic evidence that show what each individual imagined America as. Although both pieces have similarities, they have differences as well not only in their ideas but their writing style and content as well.
Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing written by; Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, Eighth Edition, published April, 2007 by Bedford/St. Martin’s, is a textbook about writing and critical thinking. In the first chapter of Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing, “Thinking Critically, Challenging Cultural Myths”, the Authors begin by setting a relatable scene of what it’s like for a college student. How a new found independence can be overwhelming, especially with regards to critical thinking, showing that what we have learned, needs to be re-evaluated and that an open mind in essential. "What Is Critical Thinking" In this section of the chapter the editors explain what it means to be a critical thinker. They explain that critical thinking is not just studying dates and facts, but rather taking those facts and examining them. The editors then proceed by explaining how having an open mind, and taking others' perspectives into account when formulating our own opinions on what the author is trying to say to us is important. A critical thinker takes all aspects into account and reflects on personal experience as well. The editors also point out that different cultural experiences bring different opinions. They suggest that we need to become active learners, continuously questioning the meaning behind everything, testing not only the theories of others but also our own experiences and analyzing the text rather than going for the obvious. They show that thinking outside the box is the epitome of critical thinking. Basically, we need to step outside our comfort zones and what we have always been taught. The editors also suggest that we need to re-evaluate our per...
Immigration can be defined as passing foreigners to a country and making it their permanent residence. Reasons ranging from politics, economy, natural disasters, wish to change ones surroundings and poverty are in the list of the major causes of immigration in both history and today. In untied states, immigration comes with complexities in its demographic nature. A lot of cultural and population growth changes have been witnessed as a result of immigration. In the following paper, I will focus on how immigration helps United States as compared to the mostly held view that it hurts America.
INTRODUCTION John Rawls most famous work, A Theory of Justice, deals with a complex system of rules and principles. It introduces principles of justice to the world, principles which Rawls argues, are meant to create and strengthen equality while removing the inequality which exists within society. These principles are both meant as standalone laws and regulations, but they can be joined as well. The main function of the first principle is to ensure the liberty of every individual, while the second principle is meant to be the force for the removal of inequality through what Rawls calls distributive justice. I will begin this paper by making clear that this is a critique of Rawls and his principle of difference and not an attempt at a neutral analysis.
Mr. Schwarzenegger uses the power of persuasion and his knowledge on immigration to make his essay more effective rather than ineffective. At the beginning of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s essay, An Immigrant Writes, he mentions a statement from President Reagan about immigration. Afterwards he states “He believes, as I do, that we can have an immigration policy that both strengthens our boarders and welcomes immigrants.”(Schwarzenegger 26) Using this example is part of the reason why his essay is so effective.
Once they realize resources are being consumed more than the production rate, implementing new laws to produce more resources can easily be done. Also, legal immigrants pay taxes, meaning the government receives more funds when immigrants are coming legally. With more funds, the government can provide better to the needs of citizens, eliminating the fear of running out of resources. Another argument is that immigrants who are living in a country illegally are wasting the government’s money. An example is that the children of illegal immigrants attend schools that are funded by tax paying citizens, the loss of money could go to getting new books rather than to be given to students who do not pay taxes ("Negative Effects of Illegal Immigration").
In this article Travers (2015) uses two forms of evidence that help him support his argument; he uses authority figures, and empirical evidence. When it comes to authority figures Travers introduces Dr. Karin Keller, of Switzerland’s University, as one of his authority figures. By introducing a Doctor from a university, Travers gives his argument value. He states that Keller (2015) conducted a study on a total of 1209 immigrant families located in