D’Souza’s opinions are heavily featured throughout the essay as he makes broad assumptions to convince his audience that America is humanity’s only hope. He has a tendency to group people into categories and then assign them all one common opinion. For example, D’Souza claims that Americans believe that “their country has been blessed by God, the American system is unique, and that Americans are not like people everywhere else.” America is populated by 323 million people; not all of them are going to feel that way. Philip Bump, a correspondent to the Washington Post, is an example of another writer using generalizations to make an argument. In “Why do millennials hate America?” Bump analyzes data from a 2016 Gallup poll. The poll asked Americans …show more content…
They have grown up in a time where information flows faster than ever and it is easy to hear about how Trump is limiting immigration or how poorly minorities are being treated. This information surely has an effect on how one would view America. In addition, just because a person is not proud of their country does not mean they hate it - perhaps they simply wish for things to change. Both Bump and D’Souza take categories of people and give them all one opinion, whether it’s that all millenials hate America or that all Americans believe they are special. This doesn’t allow for a representation of multiple viewpoints and limits the success of their …show more content…
One of the differences that causes so much trouble is how the two different peoples try to achieve virtue. D’Souza states that the life of an American is based on “self-reliance,” while those who belong to Islamic find their lives “externally directed.” Thus, he concludes that the freedom to make good or bad choices that an American possesses is what causes the American people to have true virtue. Darcia Narvaez from Psychology Today argues that self-reliance is no longer present in the Western world. She writes that “we in the West have made a tradeoff between self-reliance and physical comforts,” avoiding people and completing tasks in the easiest way possible. Consequently, people's choices are being made for them and the virtue of America is no longer as pure. D’Souza has an important point that a freely-chosen life will result in actual virtue, but Narvaez brings up an equally as important counterargument. If Americans are not pushing themselves to be self-reliant, this virtue that has supposedly been built up will soon mean
His arguments build from appealing to the what an ordinary citizen owns in America as compared to Third World countries, to next being treated equally socially, then he brings in the “moral triumph” of America, and closes with “security and dignity” and being able to live longer. D’Souza states in closing that Americans can live a “longer, healthier, and fuller life” than those who come from other countries and that’s why immigrants want to come to America. He states that because Americans have in general more money than the immigrant would have living elsewhere, that we therefore have time for family, community, and spirituality which is a “better life” than others. His development builds in strength by appealing first to what we experience socially to what we value the most which is having ethics and
In chapter one, Fiorina begins with a powerful quote from Pat Buchanan’s 1992 speech at the Republican National Convention, “There is a religious war…a cultural war as critical to the…nation…as the cold war…for this war is for the soul of America” (Fiorina et al. 1). Using several other quotes, he illustrates the belief that the nation is torn between personal morals and extreme conservative notions. He then states his belief that these sentiments are complete nonsense, and exaggerations. There is no culture war according to Fiorina, no war for the soul of America. Describing the culture war as a myth caused by lack of information, misrepresentation of facts by activists, and selective media coverage. He suggests that Americans are essentially bystanders avoiding the cross fire between the left and right wing activists. Furthermore, he contrasts that it is the American choices that are polarized due to politicians, thus creating the appearance of a politically polarized society. Finally, he concludes the first chapter by outlining his argument in the following chapters. Fiorina does an exceptional job hooking the reader with his first chapter, the quotes and various examples of how America is portrayed as polarized are effective in swaying the audience to agree and then he shocks the reader by debunking all previous statements with his personal beliefs and outline for how he plans to prove his argument.
He attempts to shock his reader into believing America is falling apart by comparing the diverse cultures that are active in it today. At one point in the essay, Buchanan writes “Our population is down to 67 percent European, and falling; 14.5 percent Hispanic and rising rapidly, 13 percent black and holding, and 4.5 percent Asian and rising” (599). The usage of “Our” in the sense of talking about Americans is a viewpoint that excludes anyone who is not white from being a true American. In addition, Buchanan is segregating the population by the color of their skin and creating an ethnic hierarchy. By only including white people in the definition of an American, Buchanan is showing an ethnocentric trait that Fredrickson analysed in his own essay. Fredrickson describes this changing viewpoint in American society when he examines the acceptance of all white people and the differences between colored people growing “more striking and salient than ever” (567). In general, Buchanan does not recognize the differences between white people, focusing primarily on the differences between white and non-white people. The correlation between the statistics he presents and the color of people’s skin undoubtedly prove Buchanan’s take on skin color and their ability to be American. This trait within Buchanan’s writing, coupled with the non-acceptance of colored people, has a strong presence throughout his essay, ultimately weakening his
“A Generation of Slackers? Not So Much” written by Catherine Rampell is an informative article about today’s millennial generation after high school. It provides the reader with a deeper look into young people’s work ethic, or what some to think to be, lack-there-of. The author does a fantastic job using research, credible resources, and statistics to support her belief that Generation Y (children born in the 1980s and 1990s) is no less productive than previous generations. I will admit that before reading this piece, I was one of those who believed that Millennials were in fact the “coddled, disrespectful and narcissistic generation” (Rampell, 2011, para 3). After reading this article, my opinion has changed. It has touched on issues
Finances play a part in everyone’s lives. According to critics, the generation of Millennials have not been the most accomplished in this area. However, new information is on the rise, and it shows that Millennials are becoming more financially stable. The generation of Millennials is a broad group. The group of Millennials associated in this discussion are from the beginning of the Millennial generation, which are those born between the 1980s and 1990s. The Millennials generation itself ranges from the 1980s to 2004. After the Great Recession, the older generation of Millennials had a massive setback with financial security. Since then, Millennials have always been known for having poor finances by critics. Millennials may not
In “People Like Us”, the writer talks about tolerance and diversity in the United States. America has for a long time been cited as one of the most diverse countries. Upon investigation of that statement, one will find that it is a fact, for the country is filled with millions of individuals from different ethnic extractions, political affiliations, religion, socioeconomic status, personalities, interests, etc. However, according to “People Like Us”, instead of the population of the country uniting in its diversity and using that as a strength, individuals are trying really hard to distance themselves from others who are not like themselves, and to band themselves together with those who are like them. David
In Buffalo, New York on January 26, 1883, a 25 year old Theodore Roosevelt delivers the speech “Duties of American Citizenship.” Young but extremely accomplished, Roosevelt has graduated from Harvard and is currently serving on the New York State Assembly. Just two years before this speech, a man who had been denied a government job based on his political allegiances assassinated President James Garfield. So, the Civil Service Reform is passed in 1883 to ensure government jobs would be rewarded based off of merit rather than politics. It is this reform that spurs Theodore Roosevelt to deliver this speech, asking the American people to participate in and clean up the political system by utilizing the rhetorical appeals
The standard way of thinking about millennials is that they are lazy, entitled and selfish kids who still live in their parents basement. In his interview The Millennial Generation and internet addiction, Simon Sinek (2017) maintains that millennials have been dealt a bad hand and the world should change to accommodate them. Sinek discusses the four main reasons he believes for millenials are dissatisfied or unhappy. In his discussion of millennials, Sinek used the typical stereotype of a whole generation as a springboard to talk about the problems facing Gen Y (another name for Millennials).
Human beings all around the world are different in many ways. They all have their unique and physical characteristics, as well as different personalities. They each also have different ideas and thoughts on different topics. America is made up of a great amount of diverse people with diverse, even conflicting opinions and ideas. Diversity is a major component of the foundation of our country. The cliché of American as a salad bowl is extremely true. Every person is different and every person in his or her own way makes up a small part of America. Without the diversity of ideas and beliefs of Americans, the nation would not be nearly as successful as we are. A major similarity between Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self Reliance and J.D Salinger's Catcher in the Rye is a non-conformist ideology that both exhibit, and the idea that one should choose their own individuality above confomity.
“We need to teach the next generation of children from day one that they are responsible for their lives. Mankind’s greatest gift, also its greatest curse, is that we have free choice. We can make our choices built from love or from fear.” -Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
Not Only Are Millennials Redefining Adulthood but Are They Changing the American Dream as Well?
“Individualistic cultures, in the western-hemisphere, [such as the United States,] emphasize… personal identity and self-determination. Conformity is far less pervasive in individualistic societies because democratic choices and laissez-faire viewpoints are somewhat considered.”
What is an American these ideas are fully expressed from the start as Crevecoeur states, “a modern society offers itself to his contemplation, different from what had hitherto seen.” (605), thus showing that America is a new land never seen before that is worthy of contemplation and admiration. This belief shows the idea of a better place free of old European social divides and stratification and the promise of a better place. Crevecoeur further expands on this going as far as to call America an asylum, a true place of recovery and safety, for European immigrants and their descendants. These early ideas bring forth the foundation for modern beliefs of moral superiority and thus the right for the United States to encourage and push their own ideals upon others. This supremacy is explicitly expressed by the author as seen in, “we are the most perfect society now existing in the world.” (Crevecoeur 606), and displays “James” view that America is indeed better than other cultures and should be treated as such. It is important to note however that the idea of moral superiority does not only come from a utopia of ideas and freedom, but effort, hope, and the ability to push forward in the face of
It is a dominant stereotype that the Millennial Generation possesses a great sense of entitlement. When one is entitled, they feel as if they should be more privileged and seem to behave as if they are more deserving than others. Most readers are in agreeance with those who argue that Generation Y, otherwise referred to as the Millennial generation, is an entitled group of people, but not everyone is in agreeance with who is responsible for the sense of entitlement that these Millennials possess.
We blame the millennials for their behavior and their different characteristics compared to previous generations; however, what if we stop looking at the millennials and start looking at the reasons that they behave sensitively? Each generation contains their differences, including the way they educate the next generation. We continuously judge the millennials behavior, but we rarely judge the people who influenced this behavior. Education has changed throughout the ages, not to mention the parenting skills that vary from generation to generation, which has affected the millennials way of interacting in the world. Millennials grow up believing that they are imperative, that they are secure, that the world will conform to their generation, and that the world is a “nice” place. This teaching, causes millennials to be sensitive babies early on in life. True, millennials have the freedom to act the way they want; nevertheless, like other generations, millennials will act the way that parents and other influences taught them to behave. The millennial generation should not be liable for their