American Culture and Politics

This research looks at American Culture and Politics since there is so much in American history and culture. The proposal paper contains some of the findings about the American politics and culture. This paper can help scholars who want to have a wide knowledge about American politics and culture and how they influence each other. The primary research sources that will be used include: Questionnaire and Interview. Secondary sources include: published textbooks, and published statistics. INTRODUCTIONTo begin with, American conservatives claim that the Left, from its parapets of power in Hollywood, the universities, the national media, the federal courts, and the National Endowment for the Arts, has waged, for decades, a â€Å"culture war† upon the American people — a war that the people have been losing. The conservatives' complaint is commonly put this way: the Left has set out to â€Å"politicize† American culture, to force it to conform to a new orthodoxy of po litical correctness in everything from homosexual marriage to pronoun usage (Kesler, 1998).The conservatives' point is that culture should be above, or at least separated from, the political order; that civil society — the realm of art, religion, family, and private property — should be protected, for the sake of liberty as well as culture, against political encroachments. Instead of politics trying tyrannically or arbitrarily to create culture, politics should devote itself to conserving culture (Combs, 1991). According to Goodnow politics had to do with the policies or expressions of the state will (Parashar, 1997).Thus in the conservative view, politics should grow out of culture and serve culture, not the other way around. Scholars and activist on the left should take warning: What once political movements have become translated into personal quests for fulfillment (Cloud, 1998). But at this point one sees that there are actually two conservative views of culture. They differ on the question of what it means to â€Å"conserve† culture: Does it mean to keep government's hands off it, to be neutral towards culture and allow it to develop however artists and citizens choose?Or does it mean a hands-on approach, an active promotion of â€Å"traditional American values† against their would-be subverters in and out of government? Hands-off is the preference both of libertarians, who tend to take a democratic and laissez faire attitude towards culture, and of those neo-conservatives who defend high culture against the public's attempts to influence it (Josephson, 2007). The hands-on approach is preferred by the so-called Religious Right, by most who refer to themselves as â€Å"cultural conservatives† or traditionalists, and by many neo-conservatives who are repelled by the prospect of American society's utter de-moralization.Even conservatives who are prepared to use government to shore up American culture, however, typically re ject the notion that they are â€Å"politicizing† the culture (Whitfield, 1996). They argue that they are only using politics to get beyond politics — that is, to overcome the culture's artificial or forced politicization. White Southerners, used to a friendly custodial environment, were confronting a more diverse and secular American culture (Marsden, 2006).Seizing upon this contradiction or ambiguity, the Left today charges that conservatives are prepared, when they are prepared, to take a laissez faire attitude towards culture only because theirs — the white male bourgeois culture — is the dominant one. When its hegemony is challenged, liberal critics note, as it is being challenged currently, then conservatives cease to be defenders of a hands-off cultural policy and quickly become advocates of cultural protectionism (Wald, & Calhoun-brown, 2006).Yet in challenging the supposed hegemony of patriarchal or conservative culture, most liberal intellectual s do not imagine themselves to be calling for the hegemony of their own culture. Today's liberals stand for â€Å"multiculturalism,† for the replacement of ruling-class culture by the multiplicity of cultures belonging to oppressed, or formerly oppressed, classes and groups. In the past, white males had used their culture to justify and reinforce their rule over the rest of society; it was white males who â€Å"politicized† culture, according to the multiculturalists (Sturm, 2002).Now, the rest of society — indeed, the world — can bring previously excluded cultures to bear in order to delegitimize the old â€Å"racist, sexist, homophobic† order and ordain a new, more inclusive one (Roper, 2002). From the standpoint of traditionalist conservatism, every society or people are defined by its culture, and therefore every culture is more or less an exclusive one (Neve, 1992). In John O'Sullivan's words, â€Å"A multicultural society is a contradiction in terms and cannot survive indefinitely.It either becomes monocultural or runs into trouble. â€Å"1 At this juncture, we urgently need some clarity on the meaning of â€Å"culture. † Becoming American was initially a political and constitutional choice, but finally it necessitated a series of profound transformations in business, speech, dress, religion, literature, education, heroes, holidays, civic ceremonies — in character (Bergmann & Seminar on Feminism and Culture in Latin America, 1990).The public schools movement was one of the most important, as well as one of the most obvious, of these subsequent efforts to conform the American people to their new republican institutions. It is an old political observation, echoed in Montesquieu and countless other writers, that in the beginning men make the institutions, and after that the institutions make the men. The American founders had this maxim very much in mind as they built the institutions that would guide the n ation's destiny, and today it is worth pondering anew.Perhaps it is time to build some new institutions, if we are to have a real chance to rehabilitate American culture. During a relatively brief period of time the first food industry has helped to transform not only the American diet, but also our landscape, economy, workforce, and popular culture (Schlosser, 2001) as a kind of growth: a culture is a living social organism that has particular ethnic â€Å"roots† and develops from those roots, often flowering into unique, that is, characteristic achievements of high art.To understand a culture means therefore to appreciate it in its particularity, to see it as a unique historical growth — not as a mere exemplum of a common and unchanging human nature, much less as an imperfect embodiment of the best political or social order. Reason has little to do with culture in this sense, therefore, because the modern concept of culture emphasizes the ethnic, the particular, the authentic at the expense of the universal; whereas reason strives, even in practical affairs, to see particulars in the light of universals.An authentic culture is natural in the sense of being an uncoerced growth, not in the sense of containing universal principles that can be grasped and perhaps manipulated by reason (Tomsich, 1971). Accordingly, an authentic culture cannot be designed or planned because it cannot be thought through; it is always in the process of slow change or adaptation.Ever since Edmund Burke, whose defense of the British Constitution became the model for the Right's thinking on the cultural roots of politics in general, conservatives have argued that culture is neither a goal that politicians can seek to achieve nor a product that they can make — let alone export. SUMMARY Oddly enough, the multiculturalists agree with the traditionalists on the primacy of culture over politics, and to some extent even on the definition of culture.What the multicultural ists insist on, however, is that culture does not have to be exclusive, or more precisely, that Americans can participate in many cultures without succumbing to any one of them and without ceasing to be American. But this is to pile absurdity upon absurdity. References Bergmann, E. L. & Seminar on Feminism and Culture in Latin America. (1990). Women, culture, and politics in Latin America. California: University of California Press. Cloud, D. L. (1998). Control and consolation in American culture and politics: rhetoric of therapy.New Delhi: SAGE. Combs, J. E. (1991). Polpop 2: politics and popular culture in America today?. New York: Popular Press. Eric Schlosser. (2001). Fast food nation: the dark side of the all-American meal, Volume 1000. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Josephson, M. (2007). The President Makers – the Culture of Politics and Leadership in an Age of Enlightenment 1896-1919. New York: READ BOOKS. Kesler, C. R. (1998, May 15). Culture, Politics, and the American Founding. Retrieved June 13, 2010, from www. claremont. org: http://www.claremont. org/publications/pubid. 496/pub_detail. asp Lipartito, K. & Sicilia, D. B. (2004). Constructing corporate America: history, politics, culture. New York: Oxford University Press. Marsden, G. M. (2006). Fundamentalism and American culture. New York: Oxford University Press US. Neve, B. (1992). Film and politics in America: a social tradition. New York: Rout ledge. Parashar, P. (1997). Public Administration in the Developed World. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons. Roper, J. (2002). The contours of American politics: an introduction.Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. Sturm, C. (2002). Blood politics: race, culture, and identity in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. California: University of California Press. Tomsich, J. (1971). A genteel endeavor: American culture and politics in the gilded age. California: Stanford University Press. Whitfield, S. J. (1996). American space, Jewish time: essays in modern culture and p olitics. New York: M. E. Sharpe. Wald, K. d. & Calhoun-brown, A. (2006). Religion and politics in the United States. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield.

Free Essays on Daddy’s Little Girl

Daddy’s Little Girl Mary Higgins Clark is a well-known author of top-selling suspense novels. Although she started out only writing in a magazine, she has now written well over a dozen novels. In addition, many of those novels have been made into movies. Because of her accomplishments, Mary Higgins Clark was awarded â€Å"The Woman of Achievement† award by the Federation of Women’s Clubs, among many other outstanding honors and awards. Daddy’s Little Girl is one of many suspenseful novels by Mary Higgins Clark. Clark’s writing style in this mystery is important because it keeps the reader interested in what is going on; in such a way that you don’t want to put the book down because you are eager to see what is going to happen. While illustrating the theme of justice and injustice, she leads you down a path where you think you have figured out the mystery, then there’s a twist and you must continue reading to find the outcome. Another aspect of the author’s writing style is the use of description. While using many details to describe scenes and characters to give the reader a better view, Clark doesn’t use so much detail that the reader becomes bored with the reading. She definitely has a way of keeping the reader interested in what they are reading. The story takes place in Oldham-on-the-Hudson, which is a small town that is located in Westchester County, New York. This small town setting is important to the story because the reader is able to relate to this type of setting. Because of this, the setting has an impact on the mood in the novel. In this small town, as well as small towns in reality, people are treated differently based on who they are and their wealth, which is a major part of the story. The main character in the novel is Ellie Cavanaugh, who is now thirty years old. When Ellie was seven years old, her fifteen year old sister, Andrea, was murdered. Since the story is ... Free Essays on Daddy’s Little Girl Free Essays on Daddy’s Little Girl Daddy’s Little Girl Mary Higgins Clark is a well-known author of top-selling suspense novels. Although she started out only writing in a magazine, she has now written well over a dozen novels. In addition, many of those novels have been made into movies. Because of her accomplishments, Mary Higgins Clark was awarded â€Å"The Woman of Achievement† award by the Federation of Women’s Clubs, among many other outstanding honors and awards. Daddy’s Little Girl is one of many suspenseful novels by Mary Higgins Clark. Clark’s writing style in this mystery is important because it keeps the reader interested in what is going on; in such a way that you don’t want to put the book down because you are eager to see what is going to happen. While illustrating the theme of justice and injustice, she leads you down a path where you think you have figured out the mystery, then there’s a twist and you must continue reading to find the outcome. Another aspect of the author’s writing style is the use of description. While using many details to describe scenes and characters to give the reader a better view, Clark doesn’t use so much detail that the reader becomes bored with the reading. She definitely has a way of keeping the reader interested in what they are reading. The story takes place in Oldham-on-the-Hudson, which is a small town that is located in Westchester County, New York. This small town setting is important to the story because the reader is able to relate to this type of setting. Because of this, the setting has an impact on the mood in the novel. In this small town, as well as small towns in reality, people are treated differently based on who they are and their wealth, which is a major part of the story. The main character in the novel is Ellie Cavanaugh, who is now thirty years old. When Ellie was seven years old, her fifteen year old sister, Andrea, was murdered. Since the story is ...

Beauty and the Beat essays

Beauty and the Beat essays Beauty and the Beat; Comparing Mya Harrison and Carl Thomas The truth is out. We listen to Rll be taking over airwaves this summer. She is a 21 year old, grown diva-to-be, a classically trained dancer from DC and more of a woman than you think. He is a twenty something new jack crooner from Chi-Town, enjoying his first major success with a wrenching forget-me-not love song. Their personalities could not be more different. He talks loud with his hand gesturing wildly as to illustrate every syllable. She whispers, rarely making eye contact. He is annoyingly optimistic. She is maddeningly soft-spoken. He is flirtatious but not necessarily sexy. She is sexy but not forward. But there is a common thread here: Mya Harrison and Carl Thomas are dropping two of the hottest R Imagine loving someone so strong, that, years after realizing youll never be together, you still find yourself daydreaming about what should have been. Carl Thomass runaway hit single, I Wish, is a melancholy message based on a true story. But even if you can relate, there is some old school-depth in Carls Las Vegas-lounge act delivery. When he wails that line about wishing he had never met her, you understand him. His voice is not Luther Vandross- Flawless, and he has not reinvented the wheel when it comes to lyrics, yet that single word has the world open for Emotional, his debut album. And if his goal is to capture a moment he has done it with I Wish. When it comes to a record that defines a season and instantly bring back a poignant ...

Causes Of Violence In Our Society Communications Essay

Causes Of Violence In Our Society Communications Essay The world most disturbing topic now days are violence. People are not responsible any more they don’t even know what their personal responsibilities are. Respect your older, manners and responsibility are an obsession of the past. Media and drugs play a very important role in the violence of the society. Our society becomes more violent and dangerous day by day due to media. It’s a scary world for our children every third or fourth teenagers knows someone who has been shot. Media is one of the most dangerous sources of violence in our society. The news-media promoted intense fear before and during the Iraq War by almost universally, unquestioningly reporting the government position as fact. On the local level, news programs constantly report violent episodes in poor neighborhoods with increasing frequency while consciously or otherwise consumers see their society as violent and scary. Mostly white people spend so much of their income on security systems while they aren ’t supporting the local corporate puppet promising to crack down on crime. Media is one of the main sources of violence in our society. The movies of new era video games and TV programs everything have different kind of violence. Many video games are full of violence and children around seven years or older love to play those kinds of games. When I was Twelve years old I was very interested in video games, my favorite games was street fighter and I always dreaming to be strong like my game player and I can beat the people who give me hard time in the school, Just Imagine if every child have the same experiences that I had, and what a big impact that could do to a little children. Many teenagers try to bring out their dreams to be exactly like their favorite hero done in the game or movie. By selling and showing these games and movies, I would emphasize that we are propagation a production of violent children, which make our society more violent in the future. We have to teac h our children that violence is bad for our society. We try to teach our children self respect brotherhood and patience. We also teach our children don’t hurt anybody and always help others. Every two minutes someone is sexually assaulted in America. One in six women and one in 33 men will experience sexual assault in their lifetime, according to a study by the World Health Organization. The U.S. Dept. of Justice states that nearly a quarter of a million sexual assaults occur each year. Sexual, physical and psychological violence causes as much illness and death among women aged 15 to 44 as cancer, while child sexual abuse is more common than teen pregnancy, pediatric cancer or childhood obesity, according to the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Given all the press lately about the issue of childhood obesity, we should remember there are many hidden issues facing our children today —sexual violence is one of them. The American Medical Association has call ed it â€Å"the silent violent epidemic.†

Company's interest regarding private equity buyouts Dissertation

Company's interest regarding private equity buyouts - Dissertation Example In just one generation the private equity industry has grew to become a dynamo for growth, innovation and enterprise (Kolade. W, 2008). Britain is a world leader in this sector with one of the largest private equity markets globally, second only to the US. There are over 450 active UK firms, which provide several billion pounds each year to unquoted companies. Despite private equity now being a recognised asset class, the rapid growth in market has provoked debate about private equity and its intensions. Private equity firms have been taking over some of the UK's most notorious names, many making phenomenal improvements to these companies, but there has still been criticism of their vilifying greed and heartless nature to others. Some have characterised these private equity firms as the ‘Gluttons at Gate’. Supporters of private equity, including the government, praise its ability to create jobs quickly and contribute to the economy (BBC, 2007). Private equity groups claim they are improving the performance of UK companies by giving them stronger management and market discipline. They also claim that private equity investors generate superior returns for their shareholders; that private equity is clean and simple, not cluttered by all the governance bureaucracy of the publicly quoted sector (superior doc). Conversely others would disagree, most notably employees at companies which have been bought by private equity groups only to see hundreds of job cuts being made. ... It’s questioned whether the private equity boom will provide good long-term investment results or whether we are seeing the inflation of yet another financial bubble, with the destruction of viable companies as a damaging by-product (Demaria, 2010). But perhaps the most controversial argument may be taxation implications. PE companies have been accused of using loopholes to pay too little tax, with the rate sometimes as low as 10% (BBC, 2007). Private equity executives pay taxes on their basic pay and bonuses, but a large part of their income comes from carried interest - the carry - which is the 20% slice of profits they can claim once they have paid back their investors. This money is classed as a capital gain and thanks to taper relief, it is only subject to a tax level of 10%. Critics say it should be charged at a normal tax rate. It is an emotive subject, with one private equity boss saying that some of the richest men in Britain were paying tax at a lower level than the cleaners who tidied their offices (BBC, 2007). Perhaps if the UK changes its tax regime, private equity investors will just move overseas. Ethical issues During this research, my main focus will be pay attention to the ethical issues. No data collected through any means will be used in any undesirable or negative way. Any information collected will be used only for the purpose at hand. Talking about the financial buy outs, ethical considerations must be given their due importance in that case too. Financial statements of any and every company should be made public as per the law and the information offered must be authentic. Blackstone Group is the former owner of Southern Cross as it bought the company in 2004 and left it 2006. Initially, Southern

Summary of the law of accelerating returns Essay

Summary of the law of accelerating returns - Essay Example According to the article, ‘Law of Accelerating Returns’ evolution relates to constructive feedbacks relating to a phase of evolutionary progress is used to form the next phase. Therefore, the rate of advancement in an evolutionary process escalates exponentially over a period, which highly influences the ‘Law of Accelerating Returns’ that involves rapidity, cost-effectiveness and complete "power" of a procedure. The second phase of exponential development occurs when higher resources are organized in the direction of further advancement. ‘Biological and technological evolution’ can be referred as evolutionary processes. For an instance, transistors are incorporated within a circuit to create powerful computers, which in turn provides a prospect for exponential growth until the computers become powerful. This induces a paradigm shift, which ensures that the process of exponential growth keeps persisting at a rate, which doubles in each decade (Ku rzweil, â€Å"The Law of Accelerating Returns†). The Singularity is the technical revolution, which is so prompt as well as intense that the rate of exponential growth has become infinite and technology seems to be mounting at limitless speed. Therefore, it can be considered that the Singularity will transmute different facets of our lives socially, sensually and economically. Advanced technologies in the present day context, has been subjected to law of accelerating returns. ‘Moores Law of Integrated Circuits’ came into existence, which was highly recognized in the public as a paradigm for exponential progression in computers. The overall speed of computers has doubled each year, which has given rise to flat chips used in computers. Moores Law has extended to such a level in terms of computational power due to which exponential progression has not been viable. Thus, ‘Moores Law’ can be considered as S curve. In agreement with the

Scanning the Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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