The opening lyrics to America the Beautiful, �O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain,� demonstrate how agriculture and wheat farming have been ingrained, to almost mythical proportions, as quintessentially �American� amongst citizens in the United States. As the Great Plains of the Midwest helped establish the U.S. as a major economic superpower throughout the twentieth century, the nation grew by distributing vast amounts of grain across the globe, providing those farming in the region both a secure and profitable existence. But with the proliferation of farming technologies enabling foreign nations to establish a foothold in a new global economy, the U.S. and its farmers faced increased competition, and their stranglehold on grain exportation waned. �You just can�t make a living growing wheat anymore,� says Greg Grenz, a farmer in Eureka South Dakota, as many �U.S. farmers are increasingly under pressure as America�s run as a wheat powerhouse, and the dominant player in global agriculture, is under attack from a crop of newly emboldened, low-cost international rivals who are striking at one of the main pillars of American economic might: food exports� (Roger Thurow, 2004). Security and prosperity it seems are dwindling in the nation�s fertile plains. In most cases, with little recourse available, today�s farmers are faced with a frightening decision: change their farming practices, via planting new crops or utilizing new techniques, or quit farming outright, forfeiting lands that may have been in families for generations and, more importantly, losing an identity that many consider to be most �American.� �Constanin Costa-Gavras, in his film Betrayed (1988), uses this framework of economic hardships caused by a declining farming industry to present his audience with some farmers who have decided on another option, lashing out violently at people who they believe are responsible for their plight. The film about �star-crossed love [and] death and danger in white-picket-fence America� (Kemply, 1988), involves a fictional community that employs white supremacist ideology to spread hate and intolerance as they blame Jews, non-whites, and the government for the economic conditions which they endure. The film also demonstrates the early use of the computer to branch out and connect these hate mongers, forecasting the use and proliferation of the internet to recruit new white supremacists around the country. As Randy Blazack, sociologist from Portland State University, elaborates in American Skinheads (2007), �whether you�re recruiting people to be suicide bombers or recruiting foot soldiers in the racial holy war, you�re going after the same set of people, you�re going after people who feel like they�re at the end of their rope, and the only recourse left is one of violence� (Geographic, 2007).
The film “Anatomy of hate” examines hate and prejudice towards different race or minorities in the modern society, through the examples of multiple groups which have specific ideologies or participate in violent conflicts. The director of the film Michael Ramsdell, spent six years working and filming such groups like: White Supremacist movement, Muslim extremists, the Westboro church Christian fundamentalists, Israeli-Palestinian movement, and US soldiers operating in Iraq.
Through the period of 1865-1900, America’s agriculture underwent a series of changes .Changes that were a product of influential role that technology, government policy and economic conditions played. To extend on this idea, changes included the increase on exported goods, do the availability of products as well as the improved traveling system of rail roads. In the primate stages of these developing changes, farmers were able to benefit from the product, yet as time passed by, dissatisfaction grew within them. They no longer benefited from the changes (economy went bad), and therefore they no longer supported railroads. Moreover they were discontented with the approach that the government had taken towards the situation.
Mrs. Richards makes mention about the American farmer and the struggles they are facing at the present time. Mrs. Richards mentions that the farmers would be blamed for rising food cost if they asked to increase their profit margins. Mrs. Richards goes on to mention that we as a nation are buying more food from foreign countries instead of supporting the farmers right here in the United States of America, and how this is causing
A few years ago, my mother told me something thought provoking: we had once lived on the same block as the leader of the local Ku Klux Klan chapter. That had been in Charlotte, North Carolina, around 1994. The Ku Klux Klan, according to Blaine Varney in Lynching in the 1890’s, used to “…set out on nightly ‘terror rides’ to harass ‘uppity Negroes’….” They are far more infamous, however, for their “lynching”—nightly “terror rides” that included murder—of African Americans. Varney tells us lynching levels reached their pinnacle in 1892, with 161 recorded murders that year. In modern times, most Americans would agree that the Klan, along with any form of white supremacy, has no place in society—and pointing out its survival is a good way to imply that we, as a people, are still not perfect.
"Queen Latifah Reigning As Hip Hop Philanthropist." The NonProfit Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
Hooded Americanism: The First Century of the Ku Klux Klan: 1865 to the Present by David Chalmers records the history of the Ku Klux Klan quite bluntly, all the way from its creation following the civil war, to the early 1960’s. The author starts the book quite strongly by discussing in detail many acts of violence and displays of hatred throughout the United States. He makes a point to show that the Klan rode robustly throughout all of the country, not just in the southern states. The first several chapters of the book focus on the Klan’s creation in 1865. He goes on to discuss the attitude of many Americans following the United State’s Civil War and how the war shaped a new nation. The bulk of the book is used to go through many of the states, and express the Klan’s political influence on both the local and state governments. The author starts with Texas and Oklahoma, and goes through the history of the Klan geographically, finishing with New Jersey and Washington. The author stresses that the KKK did not just commit acts of violence towards minorities, but also carried political power. He continues to discuss the impact of the Klan on Civil Rights movements in the 1960’s, and various other important political controversies between the 1920’s and 1970’s. Towards the middle of the book, David M. Chalmers focuses on portraying the feelings of governments and state legislatures, as well as normal citizens towards the Klan. To do this more effectively, the author uses excerpts and quotes from editorials and newspapers, along with several dozen pictures. The conclusion of the book was used mainly as an overview of all of the major incidents and deaths involving the Klan, and how their persistence has allowed them to still exist today despite a lack of resources and support.
New worldly conflicts arise everyday and many of these conflicts make us question our morals as individuals and as a nation. In both “Flight Patterns” and “The Help: A Feel-Good Movie That Feels Kind of Icky” we are introduced into the conflicts that race bring about in everyday life. It is indisputable that race is hard to talk about and everyone seems to have a different stance on what is racism and what is not. In both stories, race is brought up and talked about in a way that is solely bringing truth to the issue. In Sherman Alexie’s story we see the thought process about race from someone who is not white, and in Dana Stevens’ story we see how a white woman sees controversy in a film that is supposed to be about black women. Both stories
Egan notes, “No group of people took a more dramatic leap in lifestyle or prosperity, in such a short time, than wheat farmers on the Great Plains” (Egan 42). The revenue from selling wheat far exceeded the cost of producing the wheat, so the large profit attracted people to produce more and more wheat. On top of the high profit from wheat, the Great War caused the price of wheat to rise even more. The supply of wheat rose with the price, but Egan points to information to demonstrate that the rapid increase in production can lead to overproduction, which is damaging to the land. Also, the invention of the tractor also lead to overproduction of the land by creating the ability to dramatically cut the time it took to harvest acres. When the prices for wheat began to fall due to overproduction, this caused the farmers to produce even more output to be able to make the same earnings as when the prices were higher. The government also played a part in promoting the overproduction of the land. The Federal Bureau of Soils claimed that, “The soil is the one indestructible, immutable asset that the nation possessed. It is the one resource that cannot be exhausted, that cannot be used up” (Egan 51). Egan points to factors such as a high profit margin, the Great War, tractors, increased outputs when wheat prices fell, and governmental claims that caused the people to overproduce the land of the Great Plains. Egan then gives examples of how the overproduction destroyed the land. Egan explains that the farmers saw their only way out was to plant more wheat. This overproduction tore up the grass of the Great Plains, thus making the land more susceptible to the severe dust storms of the Dust
Colonialism, Genocide, and Slavery have haunted the United States for ions as a result of its decision making and power exuded over others. Something that all of these can be related to is racism. Some believe that racism does not exist today and some believe that it is not the same racism of old as in the 1940’s and 50’s. In the film “Do the Right Thing” producer and actor Spike Lee conveys racism, prejudice and discrimination a pseudo neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York in the late 1980’s. Among the many other sociological concepts and theories that are heavily used throughout the film, social stratification and claimsmaking can help one understand the many stages that the neighborhood goes through within the film.
581-585. Hamm, Mark S. Hate Crime: International Perspectives on Causes and Control (Anderson: Cincinnati, 1994). Jacobs, James B. and Jessica S. Henry, "The Social Construction of a Hate Crime Epidemic," The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (Winter 1996); 366-391.
The Roaring Twenties approached and the citizens in Colorado were facing rough times. In 1920, many people such as farm owners, manufacturers, and even miners were having a hard time making a living due to an economic downfall. The farmers especially, where facing the toughest of times. The price of various farm-grown goods like wheat, sugar beets, and even cattle was dropping because their goods were no longer needed by the public. Wheat had dropped in price from $2.02 in 1918 to $0.76 by the time 1921 came around. Sadly, the land that they were using to grow wheat became dry and many farmers had to learn to grow through “dryland farming” which became very popular in the eastern plains from 1910 to 1930 (Hard Times: 1920 - 1940). Apple trees began to die due to the lack of desire for apples, poor land, and decreased prices. Over the course of World War I, the prices of farm goods began to increase slowly. Farmers were not the only one facing this economic hardship while others in big cities were enjoying the Roaring Twenties.
This is not to say that neo-Nazis or skinheads do not partake in criminal hate activities. By far the largest determinant of hate crimes is racial bias, with African Americans the group at greatest risk. In 1996, 60%, were promulgated because of race, with close to two-thirds (62%) targeting African Americans. Furthermore, the type of crime committed against this group has not changed much since the 19th century; it still includes bombing and vandalizing churches, burning crosses on home lawns, and murder. Ethnic minorities often become targets of hate crimes because they are perceived to be new to the country even if their families have been here for generations, or simply because they are seen as different from the mainstream population.
Decades later, and even in a new age of American “freedom” and “opportunities,” not much has really changed. In the American food industry, the presence of an oppressive class system is very rampant; hidden from view, but influential as ever. Because the way the food reaches our plates straight from the stores makes it seem like a simple method of growing and transporting, the complex system, or system of systems, is very much hidden behind a wall of what it seems to be. Citizens fail to realize that in this food supply chain, everyone plays a vital role, whether directly or passively contributing to the system. In 1880, roughly “80% of Americans worked in agriculture toiling to feed themselves and others,” which is now reduced to 2% of Americans
“We fight each other for territory; we kill each other over race, pride, and respect. We fight for what is ours. They think they’re winning by jumping me now, but soon they’re all going down, war has been declared.” Abuse, Pain, Violence, Racism and Hate fill the streets of Long Beach, California. Asians, Blacks, Whites and Hispanics filled Wilson High School; these students from different ethnic backgrounds faced gang problems from day to night. This movie contains five messages: people shouldn’t be judgmental because being open-minded allows people to know others, having compassion for a person can help people change their views in life, being a racist can only create hate, having the power of the human will/goodness to benefit humanity will cause a person to succeed at any cost and becoming educated helps bring out the intelligence of people.
If you watch television, see movies, reed newspapers or flip through magazines, you 've probably noticed that beautiful women and men are everywhere. There perfect bodies leave everlasting impacts in our minds and inevitably influence the way we think about our bodies; thus, creating an ideal image. The ideal image causes men and women to do and think unhealthy things about what there bodies should look like. Out of all the women in the US only 5% of women naturally have the body type advertisements portray as beautiful; however, some women work to have this image. Famous people in media who have unrealistic bodies are playing out this image and setting standers of beauty for everyone. Clothing companies often hire models that obtain this