It allowed the stereotypical image of Americans as "the people" who were represented by their duly elected political leaders, long after those political leaders ceased to even maintain the pretense of being one of "the people." The "Camelot" years, as Kennedy's presidency was romanticized, has only in recent years been identified as consistent with other presidencies in American history; the dominant elite and the counter elite (Adrain, 1973, p. 30). However, Kennedy's presidency, and his untimely assassination, served as the symbol of how Americans saw themselves in their political system.
Culture Shock
For many years, Kennedy was not mentioned in conversations about the most controversial and debated events in American history; the Vietnam conflict. Kennedy reigned as a symbol of American values, and he avoided designation of blame for his role in taking Americans into Vietnam because Americans would not denigrate his memory or the image by which they identified themselves in him by laying responsibility at Kennedy's political door. Americans assuaged their grief with discussions of what he "would have" done had he not been struck down in the prime of his life and presidency. The symbolic interactionism by Americans in the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Jr., has given political leaders the opportunity to take over the American government from the people, establishing a government of dominant and counter elites, which Charles R. Adrain describes as:
The dominant elite and the counter elite differ in two important ways. The elite controls the most significant of the decision-making positions in both public and private life, but not necessarily all of them. In addition, the elite is committed to an ideology that defends, for the most part, the current distribution of statuses, monetary resources, and political power in the society. The counterelite disagrees with the existing distribution and the present means for gaining rewards and benefits (p. 30)."
Today, leaving most Americans in a state of culture shock, Kennedy has been given responsibility for leading Americans into Vietnam. It remains a sensitive discussion.
The events of 9/11 did indeed awaken a sleeping giant; the American people their initial response was one of unity, symbolic bonding in the display of the American flag and coming together behind President George W. Bush in an hour of crisis. However, as the sleeping giant shook off the sleep, rubbed its eyes, it was shocked to see that the perception of it that the world had was very different than the perception it had of itself. It was a culture shock, a rude awakening to which the groggy giant is only now becoming fully cognizant of.
In the beginning, according to a well-known hermeneutician, was Word; but before the Word was the act, and in time it became a social...
Since then, too, the events and activities of everyday life have been acts and social acts -- worded or otherwise. John Dewey gave expression to this view in very clear terms. He proposed that "signalling acts evidently formed the basic material of language, but are not language yet nor yet are they its sufficient condition" (1925: 77). The very emergence and continuation of social relationships and society are based on such acts and social acts (Perinbanayagam, 1985, p. 1)."
The cultural shock with which Americans met Kennedy's participation in Vietnam, the recent near demise of the Catholic Church in America, and, with the events of 9/11 the resentment towards Americans from countries around the world; has served to bring about change in the way Americans perceive themselves. As is typical of American symbolic interactionism, they are coming together to bring about change on their home front and for the first time in American history, a black man and a woman have a very good chance of becoming the next American president.
References
Adrian, C.R. (1973). American Politics Reappraised: The Enchantment of Camelot Dispelled. New York: McGraw-Hill. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=10393799
Billiet, J.B. (1995). Church Involvement, Ethnocentrism, and Voting for a Radical Right-Wing Party: Diverging Behavioral Outcomes of Equal Attitudinal Dispositions. Sociology of Religion, 56(3), 303-326. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=97820584
Gathercole, P. & Lowenthal, D. (Eds.). (1994). The Politics of the Past. New York: Routledge. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=105546189
Lain, C.B. (2007). Deciding Death. Duke Law Journal, 57(1), 1+. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5024218717
Moore for Less; Thanks for the Victory. (2004, November 8). The Washington Times, p. A21. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5007620007
Perinbanayagam, R.S. (1985). Signifying Acts: Structure and Meaning in Everyday Life. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=80220859
Scott, T.J. (1998). Thai Exchange Students' Encounters with Ethnocentrism Developing a Response for the Secondary Global Educationg Curriculum. Social Studies, 89(4), 177-181. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=95166647
Sinclair, a. (1991). The Naked Savage. London: Sinclair-Stevenson. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=3147764
Walker, R.B. (Ed.). (1984). Culture, Ideology, and World Order. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=49507856
Wicklund, R.A., & Gollwitzer, P.M. (1982). Symbolic Self-Completion. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=28550559
Wilson, C. & Groth, P. (Eds.). (2003). Everyday America: Cultural Landscape Studies after J.B. Jackson. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=105645955
Frank ends up in prison and comes out after 15 years a frail and misplaced person who no longer fits in the Harlem streets, no longer the feared drug baron that he was. It is also a positive experience since even in the midst of the rotten and corrupt police force, there was Richie who refused to compromise his personal and work ethics at all costs. I did experience a
Ethnocentrism This incidence shows that The New York Times did a responsible job of reporting the Danish point-of-view. In Denmark, it is not uncommon at all for parents to leave their babies outside for the reasons outlined by the commentator. What is ironic and interesting, however, is the fact that the commentator forgot to mention that Americans are also paranoid -- perhaps rightfully so -- about safety. In this case, the
The trainer will then focus on the steps to be taken to develop new skills. For example, if the trainer wants to talk about motivating, leading, negotiating, selling or speaking, it is best to start with what the learners do well before showing some chart on Maslow's theory, Posner's leadership practices, or selling skills from some standard package that has been develop elsewhere. Many foreign trainers make grave errors
Post on Racism and Ethnocentrism in Modern Media A recent television advertisement for Coca-Cola aired for the first time during the Super Bowl. It was intended to be a recognition of multiculturalism and to tie in the product to one of the quintessential American values: namely, the melting-pot element of American society that enabled all of our ancestors to immigrate and begin new lives in the United States in the 19th
As the vast majority of African-Americans do not know where their ancestors came from, it is difficult to trace one's roots back to the African continent. At the same time, the United States, while certainly the nation that nearly every African-American would consider to be home, has hardly been hospitable to African-Americans throughout history. Even today, nearly a quarter of all African-American families in the United States live below
Felix Longoria’s Wake Book Review In his book Felix Longoria’s Wake: Bereavement, Racism, and the Rise of Mexican American Activism, Patrick J. Carroll narrates how the death of a World War II Mexican-American soldier Felix Longoria influenced Mexican-American activism. Owing to his exemplary service in Philippines during World War II, Longoria received several awards, including a Good Conduct Medal, a Purple Heart, a Bronze Service Star, and a Country Infantryman’s badge.
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now