American History

What is an American Dilemma
After reading An American Dilemma by Gunnar Myrdal, I have found that one of the biggest
dilemmas this country faces is racism.  This two year study found that there is a huge gap
between the idea of equality and the reality it presents to the African-Americans.  What caught
my attention is the fact that the prejudice is being perpetrated more by our law enforcement
agencies and the government by not guaranteeing African American s their constitutional rights
under the 14th Amendment than by people of another ethnicity.  Slavery was abolished in 1870
yet we as a government have not grown much in our defense of our nation s motto that  All men
are created equal.   And we as a people who believe in this equality and claim to have fought for
it in the past are still denying this equality to the African-American people in so many ways.
Using obesity in children (4-10 years of age) as an example, how do your personal values control your view of it And what can you do to limit their influence on your thinking
   
My values do play a very important role in how I view things.  I believe strongly in protecting
this nation s heritage, and the biggest part of our heritage is our youth.  According to the
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, obesity is responsible for over 300,000
deaths in this country each year as well as an estimated cost to society of 100 billion a year
(Facts for families, 2008, 79).  This is our heritage dying and I don t want to limit this influence
on my thinking. I cannot pretend to be an ostrich and stick my head in the sand and one day pull
it out and find the world has passed me by and no one is left.  Our values are an important guide
to what we will personally accomplish in our life.

How might the concept of inequality influence someone s motivation to find a job
I am trying to think of a positive way in which it might influence a person s motivation, but I
can only think of the negative impacts.  If you are an African-American applying for positions in
an area that is known for hiring predominately white americans, you are well aware that your
chances of finding a job successfully are not good.  If you consistently face rejection in your
pursuit of finding a job and you know that it s due to inequality, eventually you are going to lose
motivation to keep trying.  What motivation exists without hope

Uneven economic development creates concentrations of wealth.  How might this create social (not economic) problems
   
In each city you can visibly perceive if that area is affluent or not.  Our educational systems
and the educations offered are affected by how affluency in your neighborhood.  The percentage
of students that graduate is affected by this wealth.  On the flip side of this argument,
neighborhoods that lack the wealth to improve their schools, their neighborhoods, or their social
standing are compared to these affluent developments and are so often labeled as undesirables.
Instead of that wealth spreading out to them with a helping hand they are ignored.  I think that
this prejudice begets hatred, apathy, bitterness, and resentment on both sides.

What debate in class this semester had the most effect on you What was special about the debate that made you react to it Did your view of the issue change at all
   
My favorite debate would be about love.  It is special to me because I believe that true
brotherly love can fix anything.  My view on this issue has never changed.  Everything we do in
life is a choice and our choice affects others.  And if we choose kindness and love, that s what
we will eventually get back.  I believe strongly in the concept of  You reap what you sow  and
when we reach out to each other in love, respect, kindness, gentleness that s what we are going
to receive back.  And if every person practiced this concept it could fix anything.