Obama famously referred to his white grandmother during the campaign who tragically passed away the night before he was elected, as a woman of tolerance, yet who still was subject to the prejudices of society enough to feel uncomfortable when she saw an African-American walking across the street. Although this remark was criticized, Obama's point was that in America, race was inescapable, and prejudice must be dealt with through voicing concerns, rather than pretending racial divides did not exist. At times, America's unspoken discourse about race seemed to harm Obama, as in his difficulty wresting the nomination from Clinton in states like Pennsylvania, states with large, older, white working-class populations. But the desire for change and the ability to cross barriers and humanize himself seemed to counteract this: The Obama generation "has been knocked for putting all of their personal stuff on full display...But there is an upside, too, which is a willingness to communicate with large numbers of people in your network about what's important" (Cave 2008). Even McCain was forced to condemn a woman who insisted that Obama must be a Muslim at a Republican rally, in deference to how unpopular it had become for a Republican to play the 'race card.' Of course the fact that prejudice against Muslims is still validated, that there is a fear of black anger as manifested in Obama's former pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and the praise of Obama as 'cool' rather than emotional and angry like black leaders of the past shows that prejudice and lingering racial discomfort has not been overcome with the election. But the election has been a profound revelation about the extent to which what constitutes the discourse of race and class in America has shifted. As a result of the economic crisis, Americans have been forced to reconsider their political alliances and cherished dreams...
America has been forced to wear a new face, even though it may have been pressed to do so by dueling and overwhelming concerns regarding the economy and the war in Iraq that caused white Americans to put aside their reservations (Parkinson 2008, p.21). The senator who opposed deregulation and involvement in the Iraqi conflict from the beginning, who text-messaged his choice of a vice-presidential candidate to his supporters won the day, against all historical odds about America's inability to look beyond color at the character of a man.
Race and poverty are closely connected in the U.S. And this is primarily owed to the fact that racism is still strong in the civilized world. Racism in this country goes back during the late eighteenth century when the 1790 Naturalization Act provided any European immigrant with the right to become a U.S. citizen while other nations were prevented from becoming citizens and ended up having to work in low
Observers of discrimination may not always recognize what is going on either. If they are not directly affected by the discrimination they may not be in the best position to identify the discrimination and challenge it. It can also be difficult for observers to notice patterns of discrimination between groups. Studies have shown that only when these differences where pointed out did they observers notice what was going on and
Politics of the Common Good In Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? (2009), Michael J. Sandal argues that politics and society require a common moral purpose beyond the assertion of natural rights like life liberty and property or the utilitarian calculus of increasing pleasure and minimizing pain for the greatest number of people. He would move beyond both John Locke and Jeremy Bentham in asserting that "a just society can't
Race to the Bottom Social clause refers to standards which contractors observe in order to cater for public contracts. They usually must be respected to avoid downward pressure on income and working standards. This is usually viewed to bring division between the rich (also referred to as the global north) and the poor (referred to as the global south). The difference between the north and the south has led to a
Race and Incarceration Prison The American Penal System has gone through various changes but the most profound changes have been studied in relation the race inequality. Going to jail has become the norm for most of the African-American men. This inequality through incarceration is visible not only in men but in women also. There was a 78% increase in the criminal justice control rates for black women. It was studied that between
S. such as providing affordable healthcare for all, paid for by raising taxes on the wealthy; making a sincere effort for energy independence, and generating more jobs while investing in renewable energy and conservation (Borosage and Heuvel). America, after decades of its love relationship with Conservatism, topped by eight years of the disastrous Bush presidency that has left the country on the brink of financial collapse and almost universal dislike, was
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