Reflection wk 11 December 16 (Barack Obama Speech on Race)

                “I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas.  I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas.  I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations.  I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slave-owners-an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters.  I have brother, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for a s long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.  It’s a story that hasn’t made me the most conventional of candidates.  But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts-that out of many, we are truly one.” (Barack Obama Speech on Race)

            President Barack Obama spoke deeply about his roots in this paragraph.  He spoke of their origin, work and contribution to his life that has made him the individual he is.  I admire this passage because it took me to the beginning of the class of G.K. Chesterton “What I Saw in America”.  I enjoyed how he mentions his story that is seared into his genetic makeup that this nation is more than the sum of its parts-that out of many, we are truly one.  

Reflection wk 10 November 18 (DuBois)

1.      Why are African-Americans supposed to be more sensitive to the gap between our inner essence and external appearance? 


African-Americans is suppose to be more sensitive to the gap between their inner essence and external appearance as they are in a world which yields them no true self-consciousness, but only lets them seem themselves through the eyes of others of measuring their soul by the tape of the world that looks on in amused contempt and pity(DuBois).  In other words African-Americans were not given the chance to be seen for who they really are instead they constantly fight to be seen and measured by a world that have enslaved them, enhance their external appearance are usually displayed while the inner essence have been suppress because of the oppress they have undergo.

2.      Why does DuBois say the history of whites and blacks are inseparable?

DuBois says that the history of whites and blacks are inseparable because the Black man wishes to make it possible for a himself to be both a Black and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellow, without having the doors of opportunity closed roughly in his face; he may feel that to obtain this self-consciousness he needs to learn the knowledge of the white man as they often have to measure up to the world.

3.      Why is the 'color line' the most pressing problem of the 20th century according to DuBois?

The ‘color line’ is the most pressing problem in the 20^th century because n the Pacific states in the West anti-Chinese and anti-Japanese feelings had already boiled over into full race riots. Legislation had also been passed limiting the number of Chinese and Japanese immigrants and putting strict limits on citizenship. In the South, lynching was escalating. The first official segregation laws are passed supposedly intended as a way of diffusing more extreme forms of violence. In the North the conflict over industrial jobs was repeating itself as in the South, as some blacks begin migrating to the North for the first time. Also forms of “scientific racism” are coming into vogue at this time.  All this was conducted on the theory that white is the supreme race and other race were constantly oppress to prove this theory.


4.      Why the South is considered a 'marginal region'?

The South is considered a ‘marginal region’ because In the South, lynching was escalating. The first official segregation laws are passed supposedly intended as a way of diffusing more extreme forms of violence. The conflict over industrial jobs was repeating itself as in the South, as some blacks begin migrating to the North for safety.

5.      How do low wages damage the work ethic?


Wages damage the work ethic amongst black and white men and caused prejudice and poverty.  It show racism and brought animosity amongst the two.  But, the vast amount of prejudice between the two could not bring the inevitable self-questioning self-disparagement, and lowering of ideals which ever accompany repression and breed in an atmosphere of contempt and hate.

6.      Why is the church as an institution so important in African-American communities?


The church was important in the African-American communities as the buildings were community centers.  They housed schools and meeting places for other organizations.  Anti-slavery societies often met in churches and they provided schools and various voluntary associations for the black community.  The churches provide a strong togetherness amongst the black community.

7.      What is fatalism?

A doctrine that events are fixed in advance so that human beings are powerless to change them; also: a belief in or attitude determined by this doctrine 


8.      How is fatalism associated with sensualism?


Fatalism  is a doctrine that events are fixed in advance so that human beings are powerless to change them; also: a belief in or attitude determined by this doctrine; while sensualism is the doctrine that the good is to be judged only by or through the gratifleation of the senses.  They both associate themselves as without a fixed advance that makes human powerless but they are given a reason to gain strength and should be grateful for the hardship that now makes them strong.

9.      How are themes of emancipation used in the Bible?

Reflection wk 9 November 11(Social Darwinism)

          “A large number of essayists, ministers, politicians, and others focused on the successes of leading entrepreneurs and financiers, and praised their achievements and the proof these leaders provided of the opportunities available to all.  The message was that riches were to be gathered, and merit was measured by money.  The masses were taught to respect thrift and hard work, which when added to virtue, were lauded as the means by which individuals such as John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, and J.P. Morgan had amassed their fortunes,  famous in this campaign were the McGuffey’s Readers, books for elementary schools that systematically taught orthodox patriotic, moral, and social values.  An estimated 122 million copies were printed in several editions used and reused all across the country.” (Social Darwinism)

           

            This paragraph started out discussing the modern day riches of politicians and financiers and how they were praised upon their achievements and are proven to be the ones that are considered as the fittest which explains the theory of Social Darwinism.  Social Darwinism is a theory that was theorized by Charles Darwin, which stated that the fittest will survive; however when Charles Darwin came up with this theory he spoke in light of the evolution of man diseases that affect man and those who could/would survive various diseases.  Now in modern day’s man as interoperated this theory as only the fit will survive in society according to their social status and financial means.  This explains the job market, education and living facility for our fellow American.  It proves the racial segregation in schools, cities and business.  This theory have been absorb incorrectly by so many people that it now create an uneven balance scale in our social life.