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In activist Parker Palmer’s essay “The Politics of the Brokenhearted”, he speaks about how today in America we are very divided. We often separate into groups of “us” and “them” and in doing to make mortal enemies of “them”. Palmer seems to have written this text with the intention of trying to get people to unify and understand other people's ideas. If we can unite with our “enemies” and start to see their point of view, we will be able to finally see in the darkness and find the truth. Parker seems to see the dark as a displacement. When you feel disconnected from everyone else and don’t share their ideas it makes you feel isolated from the rest of the world. He experienced this and felt as though he “...had lost the secret decoder ring …show more content…
This seems to be what Palmer speaks about for the rest of the essay, and this is clearly shown through his main quote; “In a dark time, the eye begins to see” (Roethke). He uses the words of the great poet Theodore Roethke frequently throughout the essay, almost as though to reassure its readers that out of our dark and hatefully time now will come a new era filled with understanding and peace. He says himself that “... the best therapy for personal problems comes from reaching out as well as looking in” (Palmer 4). With this we are reminded to learn our own opinions about our problems, and at the same time express them to others so that we collectively as a people can learn from our mistakes. For example, he tells stories of how pro-life and pro-choice supporters were able to hold a more respectful difference when they shared the stories that compelled them to choose their side of the issue. “When two people discover that parallel experiences led them to contrary conclusions, they are more likely to hold their differences respectfully” (Palmer 5). This sounds to be an easy task, but in our world sadly it isn’t. If we all begin to listen to other people's opinions instead of screaming ours, perhaps we can reach a mutual understanding. We have been shown the problem and presented its answer: “...I need to listen with openness and respect, especially to “the other”, as much as I need to speak my own voice with clarity and conviction” (Palmer 43). This is why in today’s world we need to start closing our mouths and opening our
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.
Saunders utilizes different the themes of violence, fate, and dependence to reflect contemporary U.S. life under neoliberalism and capitalism. He emphasizes the ‘absence’ of compassionate and essential humanistic traits in order to highlight the decline of such aspects of humanity because of our selfish desires for materialistic goods.
Having an opinion and or a belief is better than not having one at all. A great man such as Elie Wiesel would agree to that statement. He believes standing up for what is right by showing compassion for a fellow human being than for letting good men do nothing while evil triumphs. The message he passes was how indifference is showing the other man he is nothing. He attempts to grasp the audience by personal experiences and historic failures, we need to learn from and also to grow to be the compassionate human being we all are.
Melissa Ames and Chris Hedges address the similar theme of political apathy in America, but deviate starkly in their respective audiences, tones, subjects, and methods of delivery. Because the authors possess differing viewpoints about the future of the country, are shaped by distinctive backgrounds and experiences, and have explored various unique concepts, one can detect a great degree of dissimilarity between the works in question. Even so, a thoughtful reader can also grasp quite a few similarities between their articles, “American Psychosis” and “Engaging ‘Apolitical’ Adolescents.”
...es the world today, these people always choose ignorance over reason. Most people choose ignorance as a defence mechanism to stop thinking about these problems, they don’t realize that by doing that they are becoming more indifferent and they lose one of the most important traits that makes them human, compassion. Without compassion humans would become animals and the world we live in would become a jungle. As Edmund Burke warned “all that is needed for the triumph of evil, is that good men do nothing”, he warns the whole world that if they do not stand up for evil, it will win. Elie Weisle also explains “ The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference”, meaning that if the world does not stop their ignorance, and start to show compassion to one another , they might as well say goodbye to their precious world because it’s not going to be around for very long.
“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” (Elie Wiesel)
“How do we come to grips with the fact that this thing has gotten way too real, out of control like some huge snowball running down a hill, threatening to smash and kill all in it’s path, including those who originally fashioned it? Time is of the essence, and every thinking person with a stake in life-especially those involved in the fighting-should put forth an effort, something more concrete than a “media truce,” to deal with this tragedy. The children deserve to have a descent childhood where they live. They shouldn’t have to be uprooted to the suburbs to experience peace. We cannot contaminate them with our feuds of madness, which are predicated on factors over which we have no control.”
Human beings. We are an exclusive species. Humans are able to achieve abstract thought, while most of the creatures in the animal kingdon have an attention span of only minutes. We are able to extract the purest elements from the most barren lands. We are also able to destroy the fragile biodiversity that has taken the earth millions of years to create. Should humankind, however, be punished for pushing so many different species into extinction by becoming extinct itself?
America is a façade hidden behind its notorious past, with an even more troubling present. The land of the free, home of the brave, and one nation claimed to be united under the presence of an omnipotent power, but is it really? America profits off of the so-called dream that is sold to the hopeful and broken. This nation has been riddled with violence, persecution, hatred, and a false sense of togetherness. Racism was not the beginning, it was the ending result of a power struggle between those who wanted control and those who had it. The systematic enslavement and dehumanization of blacks resulted in the concept of a racial caste division, creating the idea of us vs. them (Wacquant, 2002). The Jim Crow laws, prisons, and the creation of ghettos
At the time of this speech, Barack Obama is running for the Democratic Presidential candidate as well as being called into question when his former pastor publicly accused the government of committing hateful acts against black Americans. He addresses the American public then tries to persuade them to recognize that he understands both the white Americans and the black Americans. He uses ‘we’ and ‘us’ to show that he truly views the people as one as opposed to various separate groups, “… we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together, unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction…” He wants to move past the racial segregation and move towards a truly unified country, and he uses pathos by talking about his upbringing. The use of the descriptions of his youth with a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas shows that he can relate to the common person seeing as he had to adjust to both sides of his families as well as the stigmas that both sides had. The urgency in which Obama answered the accusations of being similar to Wright,
A human being is a complicated entity of a contradictory nature where creative and destructive, virtuous and vicious are interwoven. Each of us has gone through various kinds of struggle at least once in a lifetime ranging from everyday discrepancies to worldwide catastrophes. There are always different causes and reasons that trigger these struggles, however, there is common ground for them as well: people are different, even though it is a truism no one seems to able to realize this statement from beyond the bounds of one’s self and reach out to approach the Other.
As modern America has progressed, it has had many advancements. Those advancements in turn have only compounded the problems they were meant to solve by adding copious amounts of obstacles. Progressive movements in people’s rights have been met with opposition, the country has become scared due to terrorist threats and local attacks such as: bombings and shootings, and now America is worried about the future. America’s zeitgeist is easily offended, frightened, and concerned.
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
"You will certainly bring sorrow and even death upon yourself. The perfect man of old looked after himself first before looking to help others. If you look to you to yourself and find there are troubles, what use will you be if you try to sort out a dictator?" (Palmer, 26).
James Wilson, a political science professor at Pepperdine University in California, suggests that polarization is indeed relevant in modern society and that it will eventually cause the downfall of America. In contrast, Morris Fiorina, a political science professor at Stanford University, argues that polarization is nothing but a myth, something that Americans should not be concerned with. John Judis, a senior editor at The New Republic, gives insight into a driving force of polarization, the Tea Party Movement. Through this paper, I will highlight the chief factors given by Wilson and Judis that contribute to polarization in the United States and consider what factors Fiorina may agree with. James Wilson’s article, “How Divided are We?”