Frank George(The Minuteman) is emotional about stopping illegal immigration.Morgan Spurlock set logic against logic and quarrel against quarrel by putting Frank in the apartment of illegal immigrants for 30 days. I cannot think a more realistic approach to the immigration debate than the one outlined in these thirty days. I differ with Frank’s opinion on immigration law.
Frank’s reaction to illegal immigrants is more emotional than rational. Mostly unlawful immigrants are committed to osmosing into American society by the second generation, Frank worries about losing the nation to Mexicans. Frank also concerns about aliens taking jobs from Americans(from an economic standpoint, cannot be considered a rational fear). Whenever illegal immigrants chant U.S.A., Frank responds by claiming “they don’t mean that.” Rather than embracing them for their love of his country, Frank irrationally begins worrying about their non-existent plans for revolution.
Frank repeats authoritatively,“We are a nation of laws,” as if he is ignorant that every nation in the world is a nation of laws. The Minutemen have unwisely taken the laws of their state into their own hands. When a government neglects to create or enforce a law, it is not the role of the citizen to do the
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For a democracy to function somewhat, citizens must concern themselves with whether or not rules are reasonable, but Frank troubles himself with whether or not regulations are obeyed. In a democracy, this is not the decorous role for an ordinary citizen like Frank but is instead reserved for trained law enforcement workers. Frank’s emotional enforcement of laws is frightening, mainly when we reflect that Frank has not seriously questioned the virtue of the laws he is enforcing. If enough voters in a free democracy develop Frank’s attitude (placing emotional reaction before rational deliberation) that free democracy will degenerate into a fascist
The American Revolution started in the year 1765, when the Colonists rejected the Parliament of Great Britain to tax them without representation and ended in 1783 with the peace treaty with Britain; Treaty of Paris. But a lot of major events occurred in the colonies before the American Revolution could be over and these events would result in series of social, political, and intellectual transformation in American history. In his book, The Minutemen and Their World, Robert Gross’s describes the lives of people in Concord, Massachusetts before, during and, after the American Revolution, where much of these events took place and changed the way of life people lived in Concord. He goes through a very brief detailed aspects of colonial life in
Hamilton uses fears of past despotism in monarchies and encroachments in representative bodies to persuade people to see that this essential law of good behavior “is the best expedient which can be devised in any government to secure a steady, upright, and impartial administration of the laws.” (Hamilton.Jay.Madison 100)
He refers to all the immigration groups in a judgmental way. He complains about the intelligence levels of the Italians, how dirty and deceitful the Jews are, and even the immaculate cleanliness of the Chinamen. Although he does possess quite a bit of bigotry that boarders on the line of prejudice when it comes to African Americans he recognizes that they are suffering from racism and he sympathizes with th...
Janda, Kenneth. Berry, Jeffrey. Goldman, Jerry (2008). The Challenge of Democracy (9th ed.). Boston; New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
This topic is a problem, but it may not be all that it is said to be. Throughout this piece the author shows us what is wrong with system of keeping illegals out of our country. She opens talking of her cousin Bill Pratt, who she claims rode freely from New Mexico to Arizona without disturbances throughout the early 1900’s. From a story of freedom of the past, s...
Imagine a society in which its citizens have forfeited all personal liberties for government protection and stability; Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, explores a civilization in which this hypothetical has become reality. The inevitable trade-off of citizens’ freedoms for government protection traditionally follows periods of war and terror. The voluntary degradation of the citizens’ rights begins with small, benign steps to full, totalitarian control. Major methods for government control and censorship are political, religious, economic, and moral avenues. Huxley’s Brave New World provides a prophetic glimpse of government censorship and control through technology; the citizens of the World State mimic those of the real world by trading their personal liberties for safety and stability, suggesting that a society similar to Huxley’s could exist outside the realm of dystopian science fiction.
Democracy is rule by the people; the people elect governing officials based off of their personal values and beliefs. Different political parties rule the political scene and are serving to represent the people’s opinions in the best ways possible. Previously, I had a belief that my political view was essentially the only one possible and therefore it was the best. These views changed quickly once I learned the different political parties, their views, how they represent the people’s views, and how public opinion shapes politics. The government is formed around differentiating opinions on which policies should be in place and which social aspects need to be considered first. Not only is the government guided by opinion, but the people’s lives are guided by opinion as well. Each individual holds a different view, and each view can have an influence on society. Fortunately, after roughly eight weeks of studying American Government, I now have a better sense of complexity and the value of
Immigration has been a topic that people have struggled to accept for centuries. The questions often asked are, what are we going to do about it? And should we allow them in? The problem here is that technically most Americans were immigrants at one point unless they are Native American. With every new wave of immigrants, there is a reemergence of fears that control our views. Both David Cole and Barry R. Chiswick agree to allow immigration and convey that the views most people hold aren't properly based on real evidence.
Parker attempts to persuade the reader by highlighting the flaws in the pro-immigration supporters and their demonstrations. In paragraph 3, she states, “There is something not convincing about illegal immigrants demonstrating to claim they have inalienable rights to come here, be here, work here, become citizens here-and make all these claims in Spanish”. She adds in paragraph 7, “The civil-rights movement was about enforcing the law, not breaking it. The Civil War amendments to the Constitution were not getting the job done in what has been a long struggle in this country to treat blacks as human beings. If Americans were kidnapping Mexicans and selling them into slavery here, I might see the equivalence. But these are free people, who chose to come here and chose to do so illegally.” With these statements, Parker attempts to appeal to the sensibilities of the reader to persuade them into her way of thin...
Ngai, Mae M., and Jon Gjerde. "Minutemen Call for Border Security First, Only, and Now, 2006." Major Problems in American Immigration History: Documents and Essays. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013. 585-586. Print.
The very history of the country, a major contributor to the evolution of its political culture, shows a legacy of democracy that reaches from the Declaration of Independence through over two hundred years to today’s society. The formation of the country as a reaction to the tyrannical rule of a monarchy marks the first unique feature of America’s democratic political culture. It was this reactionary mindset that greatly affected many of the decisions over how to set up the new governmental system. A fear of simply creating a new, but just as tyrannic...
Humans have a never ending thirst for a better life, and a better existence for themselves and those they hold dear. Jose Antonio Vargas was sent away from the Philippines by his mother hoping that he would be able to achieve a better life, and be happy. In “Outlaw: My Life in America as an Undocumented Immigrant” Vargas is able to find his better life and happiness in America but also fear and anxiety. Vargas gives us a look into the life of an illegal immigrant the good, the bad, their achievements and their constant struggles. Very much like Vargas my father immigrated to America, but legally in 1986.
Introduction Individuals often yield to conformity when they are forced to discard their individual freedom in order to benefit the larger group. Despite the fact that it is important to obey the authority, obeying the authority can sometimes be hazardous, especially when morals and autonomous thought are suppressed to an extent that the other person is harmed. Obedience usually involves doing what a rule or a person tells you to, but negative consequences can result from displaying obedience to authority; for example, the people who obeyed the orders of Adolph Hitler ended up killing innocent people during the Holocaust. In the same way, Stanley Milgram noted in his article ‘Perils of Obedience’ of how individuals obeyed authority and neglected their conscience, reflecting how this can be destructive in real life experiences. On the contrary, Diana Baumrind pointed out in her article ‘Review of Stanley Milgram’s Experiments on Obedience’ that the experiments were not valid, hence useless.
He also explains that the public succumbs to the stereotypes that support the government: news, law enforcement, and politicians. Lippmann then points out that the “visible government” is the aftermath of the assumptions made by the public about democracy. Lippmann argues, “the substance of the argument is that democracy in its original form never seriously faced the problem which arises because the pictures inside people’s heads do not automatically correspond with the world outside” (Lippmann 19). This argument makes sense because the interpretation of symbols and fictions, as well as propaganda and stereotypes, differentiates person to person. As democracy has developed, the pictures inside people’s minds have pushed it from its original form. Concurrently, the people in power have the same distorted picture in their head. He continues this evaluation by saying, “for in each of these innumerable centers of authority there are parties, and these parties are themselves hierarchies with their roots in classes, sections, cliques and clans; and within these are the individual politicians, each the personal center of a web of connection and memory and fear and hope” (Lippmann 13). This places the public at risk because their leaders are acting with a pre-disposition to certain stereotypes and the effect trickles down to plague the
Throughout the poem, Baca uses imagery to express prejudice misconceptions that Americans have of immigrants. In lines one through three, “Do they come on horses with rifles and say, Ese gringo gimmee your job,” the writer creates an exaggerated image to demonstrate how racist Americans think immigrants are taking away their jobs. In addition, lines eight through ten, “Do they sneak into town at night, and…mug you, a knife at your throat, saying, ‘I want your job?’” depict immigrants as being evil and violent. The author portrays immigrants as physically taking over the work force and doing so with vicious actions. “Do you, gringo, take off your ring, drop your wallet into a blanket spread over the ground and walk away?” (4-6). Baca defends immigrants by asking Americans if they would pack their belongings and leave their families behind to move to a different country. Immigrants leave their home country and families behind in hopes of obtaining the American dream and creating a better life. Through powerful imagery, the reader can witness how Mexican immigrants are stereotyped as using violence to obtain employment.