Michael Harrington The Other America

After World War II, America was seen as potentially the greatest country in the world. It was powerful, thriving and wealthy. So many people were proud to be part of this country and others were dying to be apart of it. There were however, many Americans who felt that they were getting left behind and forgotten in the progressing nation. Women, people of low socio-economic status, and minorities were among many different groups who felt this way. Many writers of this time focused on getting the word out about the suffering of these groups.
A major group of Americans that were displeased with the way society was changing after World War II were the women. At first they did not realize that they were unhappy about this change. As we can see

In Michael Harrington’s The Other America, he discusses the great and prosperous America and then he discusses what he calls “The Other America” or the poor people. He determines that because America has the “highest mass standard of living the world has ever seen” that it is no longer worried about the basic human needs; and now they have moved on to focusing on an abundance of things. He states that really it is not that America no longer has poor, starving people but rather they have more or less become invisible to the middle and upper classes. Harrington determines that these lower class people have gotten pushed out of sight to outlying cities where they can be left to survive (Harrington. The Other America. p. 333). They are caught in a vicious circle because of their lack of voice and lack of recognition in this so-called great America; they cannot move up in society, nor can they speak up about their conditions and make them better. Harrington talks of the different programs designed to help the poorer of the nation, but he determines that even those are designed to keep the poor, poor. But due to these programs, the upper classes have a sense of satisfaction believing the poor are being taken care of (Harrington. The Other America. p. 334). Another aspect of life the poor suffered in was the inability to acquire health care. Because the poor did not have unions, they could not

Minorities in America have always been seen as different and not even necessarily Americans. But as American society has progressed since WWII, acceptance of Mexican-Americans or any other minority has not altered. Armando Rendón wrote a manifesto determining just how difficult it was to be a Chicano in America. In his manifesto, he talks of his life growing up and how he changed to fit in with his surroundings and how when his surrounds changed, he realized he had completely lost himself. Rendón discusses the fact that his whole adolescent life, people always told him Spanish speaking, Mexican culture would never benefit him in life, and it would never be important to his life (Rendón. Chicano Manifesto. p. 369). Finally, when he graduated college, he realized that he had no idea what he was. He determines that he had no real particular allegiance to his Spanish culture, nor did he feel he was an Anglo-American either (Rendón. Chicano Manifesto. p. 369). It was not until his career brought him to Sacramento to an area completely populated by Mexican-Americans, that he realized that he was no longer part of that culture; he realized that he needed to reemerge himself in this culture. Rendón uses the word Chicano many times throughout his work. Before this it was seen as a derogatory word, until he and the other Mexican-Americans decide they will no longer