Recall Bulworth. The film serves as a satirical critique of American democracy. It comments on a number of problems and issues that Americans face domestically. At the same time, these domestic problems and issues also impact the standing of America in global politics.
At one point during a studio interview with a reporter, Senator Jay Bulworth says:
Obscenity? The rich is getting richer and richer and
richer while the middle class is getting more poor/ Making billions
and billions and billions of bucks/ well my friend if you werent
already rich at the start well that situation just sucks/cause the
riches mother fucker in five of us is getting ninety fuckin eight
percent of it/ and every other motherfucker in the world is left to
wonder where the fuck we went with it/ Obscenity?/ Im a Senator/ I
gotta raise 10,000 a day every day Im in Washington/ I aint
getting it in South Central/ Im gettin it in Beverly Hills/ So Im
votin from them in the Senate the way they want me too/ and-and-and
Im sending them my bills/ But we got babies in South Central dying
as young as they do in Peru/ We got public schools that are
nightmares/ We got a Congress that aint got a clue/We got kids
with submachine guns/ We got militias throwing bombs/ We got Bill
just gettin all weepy/ We got Newt blaming teenage moms/We got
factories closing down/ Where the hell did all the good jobs go?
Well, Ill tell you where they went/My contributors make more
profits makin, makin, makin, Hirin kids in Mexico/ Oh a brother
can work in fast food/ If he cant invent computer games/ But what
we used to call America/ Thats going down the drains/Hows a young
man gonna meet his financial responsibilities workin and
motherfuckin Burger King? He aint! And please dont even start
with that school shit/ There aint no education going on up in that
motherfucker/ Obscenity? We got a million brothers in prison/ I
mean, the walls are really rockin/But you can bet your ass theyd
all be out/If they could pay for Johnny Cochran/ The constitution
is supposed to give them an equal chance/ Well, that aint gonna
happen for sure/ Aint it time to take a little from the rich
motherfucker and give a little to the poor? I mean, those boys over
there on the monitor/ they want a government smaller and weak/ but
the be speakin for the riches 20 percent when they pretend theyre
defendin the meek/ Now, shit, fuck, cocksuker, thats the real
obscenity/ Black folks livin with every day/ Trying to believe a
mothefuckin word Democrats and Republicans say/ Obscenity? Im Jay
Billington Bulworth And Ive come to say/ The Democratic partys
got some shit to pay/ Its gonna pay it in the ghetto/ Its gonna
pay it in the- [talks a little] You know the guy in the booth whos
talking to you in that tiny little earphone? Hes afraid the guys
at network are gonna tell him that hes through/ If he lets a guy
keep talking like Im talking to you/ Cause the corporations got
the networks and they get to say who gets to talk about the country
and whos crazy today/ I would cut to a commercial if you still
want this job/ Because you may not be back tomorrow with this
cooperate mob/Cut to commercial, cut to commercial, cut to
commercial. Ok ok I got a simple question that Id like to ask of
this network/ That pays you for performing this task/ How come they
got the airwaves? Theyre the peoples arent they? Wouldnt they be
worth 70 billion to the public today? If some money-grubbin
Congress didnt give them away for big campaign money? Its
hopeless you see/ If youre runnin for office with out no TV/If you
dont get big money/ You get a defeat/ Corporations and
broadcasters make you dead meat/ You been taught in this country
theres speech that is free/ But free dont get you no spots on
TV/If you want to have senators not on the take/ Then give them
free air time/ They wont have to fake/ Telecommunications is the
name of the beast/that, that, that, that, thats eating up the
world from the west to the east/ The movies, the tabloids, TV and
magazines/ they tell us what to think and do/ And all our hopes and
dreams/ All this information makes America phat/ But if the
companys outta the country/ How American is that? But we got
Americans with families that cant even buy a meal/ Ask a brother
whos been downsized if hes getting any deal/ Or a white boy
bustin ass til they put him in his grave/ He aint gotta be a black
boy to be livin like a slave/ Rich people have always stayed on top
by dividing white people from colored people/ but white people got
more in common with colored people then they do with rich people/
we just gotta eliminate them. White people, black people, brown
people, yellow people, get rid of em all/ All we need is a
voluntary, free spirited, open-ended program of procreative racial
deconstruction/ Everybody just gotta keep fuckin everybody til
theyre all the same color
Think about Bulworth's criticism and then read this Newsweek opinion piece. In part it says:
To appreciate the risks involved, it’s important to understand where American ignorance comes from. In March 2009, the European Journal of Communication asked citizens of Britain, Denmark, Finland, and the U.S. to answer questions on international affairs. The Europeans clobbered us. Sixty-eight percent of Danes, 75 percent of Brits, and 76 percent of Finns could, for example, identify the Taliban, but only 58 percent of Americans managed to do the same—even though we’ve led the charge in Afghanistan. It was only the latest in a series of polls that have shown us lagging behind our First World peers.
Most experts agree that the relative complexity of the U.S. political system makes it hard for Americans to keep up. In many European countries, parliaments have proportional representation, and the majority party rules without having to “share power with a lot of subnational governments,” notes Yale political scientist Jacob Hacker, coauthor of Winner-Take-All Politics. In contrast, we’re saddled with a nonproportional Senate; a tangle of state, local, and federal bureaucracies; and near-constant elections for every imaginable office (judge, sheriff, school-board member, and so on). “Nobody is competent to understand it all, which you realize every time you vote,” says Michael Schudson, author of The Good Citizen. “You know you’re going to come up short, and that discourages you from learning more.”
It doesn’t help that the United States has one of the highest levels of income inequality in the developed world, with the top 400 households raking in more money than the bottom 60 percent combined. As Dalton Conley, an NYU sociologist, explains, “it’s like comparing apples and oranges. Unlike Denmark, we have a lot of very poor people without access to good education, and a huge immigrant population that doesn’t even speak English.” When surveys focus on well-off, native-born respondents, the U.S. actually holds its own against Europe....
But poll after poll shows that voters have no clue what the budget actually looks like. A 2010 World Public Opinion survey found that Americans want to tackle deficits by cutting foreign aid from what they believe is the current level (27 percent of the budget) to a more prudent 13 percent. The real number is under 1 percent. A Jan. 25 CNN poll, meanwhile, discovered that even though 71 percent of voters want smaller government, vast majorities oppose cuts to Medicare (81 percent), Social Security (78 percent), and Medicaid (70 percent). Instead, they prefer to slash waste—a category that, in their fantasy world, seems to include 50 percent of spending, according to a 2009 Gallup poll.
What do you think?
Does the inequality between the wealthy and the poor and the inequality in their education negatively impact the United States's world standing? Are America's best days behind us? Does America's standing in world affairs matter? Should we care more about world affairs or domestic affairs? Is there a difference between world affairs and domestic affairs? Should the government work to lessen inequality between the wealthy and the poor and improve public education?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI feel that YES inequality between the wealthy and the poor has a great impact on the standing of the United States. I understand that some people worked hard to get where they are and are making great money because of the effort and funds they put in to getting a high paid job. There are however many people who can work really hard and still remain in the poor category. They don't have the funds to get a better education in order to change their lives as they wish they could. The housing in bad neighborhoods are horrible. They are cheap enough for poor people to pay rent. Is that fair? We call this the ghetto.....But WHY? They are people also and have the same intentions as rich folks. But without the government stepping up and saying everyone should have the opportunity to make a difference and here is what we can do to start, the information is kept quiet and off the radar so we as a whole nation can see it. It is kind of like the out of site and out of mind scenario. I think our best days are yet to come. People will rise despite what the government fixes or doesn't fix. Domestic policy covers a wide range of areas, including business, education, energy, health care, law enforcement, money and taxes, natural resources, social welfare, and personal rights and freedoms. This is where our nations focus should be.
ReplyDeleteThe inequality of education and wealth in the United State's does negatively effect it's standing in the world because the gap makes the country vunerable. The wealthier people are making the decisions and the less wealthy are going to catch on eventually and internal fighting will deminish our world involvement. For now the government should be focusing on domestic affairs, the ones that directly affect us, because the U.S. needs some fixing before it can "fix" anybody else. The U.S. needs to lessen the gap of wealth and education before trying to tell everyone else how to run their countries. But it won't because it enjoys sticking your grimmy little hands in everyone elses pie.
ReplyDeleteJessica Hall,PSCI 100.04
I feel that inequality between the wealthy and the poor in America does happen. It has a negative impact on the quality of education among the rich and the poor, which is hurting the United States world standing. I do not think the best days are over in the U.S. Today much poor work hard trying to make a living, but with little education becoming financially stable is difficult. The U.S often focuses on world affairs which are great, but I feel some domestic affairs are overlooked. The government should help poorer schools, by funding them with more money. With more equality in schools the poor would have a better chance to become more financially stable and become of a wealthier class.
ReplyDeleteWayne Fleming 100.4
In MY opinion the Government of the United States has the whole thing backwards. We should take care of ourselves before we mind other countries business. We cant even deal with what we need to take care of HERE, at HOME, yet the government always has to make a statement to help/hinder other countries that can handle things on their own. They don't necessarily have our values, beliefs etc yet we continue to encroach in their affairs. Unless someone (president) can pull America together I believe America's best days are going to be a thing of the past. I don't the founding fathers would appreciate how the U.S has been ran thus far, and I believe all of our ancestors would agree. Something has to drastically change here at home. As far as the gap between rich and poor something needs to be done, as far as what that could be I could take a guess but Im sure it would need to me a multitude of things to make it happen. Education should be the first task. We all need to be educated, and folks that go with out are not usually the ones to blame because they could have ended up on the short end of the stick (poor). This whole situation is a mess. Thats what I think.
ReplyDeleteMarChell DeShong 100.4
I agree with MarChell, as of now the USA is in a financial crisis yet we're still over seas at war because if we leave "they will be left with no protection". However at the same time i do feel that we should help clean up the mess we made, probably not creating such a mess would be a good place to start. People are supposed to learn from history/ mistakes and at this point I just feel as though no one has. At this point i feel as though we should not offer help, either through military, or instruction on how to "govern" when the society we live in is falling apart. Every great empire goes through a recession, which we are now. There are two options from that: 1- to reform, 2- to end. If we don't step back and take care of our own needs, and our own people we are wound to end up in the dumps very soon.
ReplyDeleteyasmin modica PSCI 100.04
ReplyDeleteI definitely believe that inequality between the wealthy and poor has a negative impact on the U.S. world standing. As others have mentioned, its not that the poor don't want to try to better themselves its the fact that education is expensive and not everyone can manage. I believe the U.S. better days are a thing of the past. If there aren't some serious changes made then there won't be a such thing as better days. I don't think we should care about world affairs. I believe it should be every man for himself because our country is struggling as is. I believe it's time for the government to focus on bettering its own country not the well being of other ones.
ReplyDeleteBrandi Parsons PSCI 100.04
I do think that the large gab between the rich and the poor has a negative effect on our global standing. This is because of the education costs and that some people cannot afford it. I stll think we have better days to come but that will only happen if we stop focusing on global issues until we get our own affairs situated. Thes domestic issues should be our number one priority as they will directly help the country as a whole.
ReplyDeleteNick Mullican PSCI 100.05
I fully believe in what Brandi said, stating "every man for himself". It should always be that way or how will we ever move forward as a country when groups of people are pushing us back due to their laziness and inability to care about trying for themselves. I feel like there is an inequality between the wealthy and the poor, because the poor remains poor and does not try for more. And the wealthy remain wealthy because they believe helping will only give means the poor to continue to not push themselves to be any more than an expense that should not be tolerated any longer.
ReplyDeleteLaura Elkins
PSCI 100.4
There is a negative impact between the rich and the poor and their education. Like in Bulworth, the people in South Central are not getting the proper education to succeed in the future. They probably don't have funding to support standard education. As where the people in Beverly Hills get high quality education along with high quality everything. The type of education provided for you essentially is what you will learn and apply to your future. Therefore, rich people that live in places such as Beverly Hills have a greater chance at being rich because they were brought up that way and because their education is above standards. Rich people will remain rich and poor people will remain poor because of their education. I think that education should be taken care of fast because it should be equal everywhere. Education is a given for all from K-12. Our government has us in a huge financial crisis that is prevented us from funding certain things such as education. The crisis is making the gap between rich and poor bigger every year. Bottom line, everyone does go through a type of recession but this recession needs to be fixed fast. Regardless of whether you are rich or poor, education should be key and the government should take focus off other issues that aren't as important right now and fund education because education these days is dire to succeed in the world.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Hudlow
PSCI 100.05
I do believe that the inequality between the wealthy and the poor has a negative impact on the United States world standing. There has been a couple arguements from everyone above, some saying that the poor can't help being poor because of the expensive costs of our education. Then some of the others are saying that the poor choose to be poor and that it's their fault that they live in terrible neighborhoods (also known as the "ghetto" to some people), or can't afford much of anything. Me on the otherhand...I feel like it's a combination of both. Yes, the cost of education in the US is very pricey, but at the same time there is plenty of other ways to becoming wealthy other than just main colleges. But, on the other hand there is a large amount of poor people who just accept that they're poor and don't try to greater their lifes. Even though the world is going through recession right now, there are still opportunitys out there for everyone. As for Americas best days...I don't think they're behind us because even though things are bad now, there is still some chance in the future. America just needs to make some changes, we need to stop worrying about helping other countries and focus on ours. Our country is the one who needs the help right now and yet we seem to give all our money and attention to every other country. We shouldn't care more about world affairs, at least not until our country is back on track. As Brandi and others have said it should be "every man for himself." Our government needs to realize how crappy our country has and is becoming instead of worrying about the other countries and how they are doing.
ReplyDeleteAlicia Watts 100.4
I believe in what Brandi and Laura said above. The "every man for himself." The reality of it is, is that everybody is born with equal opportunity. It's how a person handles those opportunities is what places them in their classes. There is a huge inequality between the rich and the poor. The rich like their money. They don't want to spread the wealth and the government favors their idea of that because essentially they are paid by those rich people. Of course they don't protest to that. The poor stay poor because of the economy. There are rare opportunities for the middle class to even the poor class to better their jobs or there lives without the help of the rich. It's a never ending circle of needing help, not wanting to help, not getting help, making the need for help again. Once the US does something about it, things truly won't get any better.
ReplyDelete100.4
The inequality between wealthy and poor has an extremly large impact in todays society. Everything is judged on how much you make. If your wealthy then you worked hard for your money and will use it to benefit yourself and others. Then when they see people who are less fortunate then they make smart remarks like get a job, your worthless,etc. When most of the time the people they say this to are doing everything they can to make ends meet at home. So I do believe the inequality is a large deal. When Bulworth talked about "how is a young man going to meet his financial responsibilities working at Burger King." Obviously their not. His realization of how the black families lived was a large impact on his interview. The rich white people only see them as drug dealers and worthless people when in that case thats how they knew how to provide for their families. Its sad to know that these scenes are extremly close to today. The United States is to worried about others peoples situations instead of fixing whats left of us. Financially we are going down hill along with respect for officials and people. I do believe that the best days are behind us, in reality all we can do is go up in different situations because their so terrible all ready, but no one is willing to make an effort to take the first stand.
ReplyDeleteKatelyn Sine
100.04
The correlation between the wealthy and the poor has a negative impact on the United States world standing. the poor can't help being poor because of the expensive costs of our education and the cost of living. the poor don't choose to be poor they like most of the wealthy are born into poverty or put there because the wealthy cutting employment to have products made more cheaply neighborhoods are terrible because there is nothing being done by the wealthy to establish programs for the youth and the youth have to invent ways to survive making the ghettos so dangerous. poor people who just accept that they're poor and don't try to better their lives are just as much at fault thought there are some programs to allow those of low income to attend college. but college isn't always the answer there are many opportunities to strive to succeed.the world is going through recession, there are still opportunities out there for everyone. i think Americas best days are still ahead it may be far in the future but things have to get worse sometimes before they can get better.America just needs to make more adjustment to allow this to occur but we need to stop helping other countries and focus on ours. America needs the help right now and we seem so egger to give all our money away. We should care about world affairs,but no intervene unless it is affecting us. If we go to war we shouldn't rebuild the country we destroy at least not until our country is back on track."every man for himself" mentality is childish, to believe because if for some reason we need assistance in war famine or natural disaster we too will be asking for help. Through progressive action and planning our country will eventually become the powerhouse it once was.
ReplyDeleteCordova,Jacob PSCI100:05
I agree with Caitlyn. She said i our country is like " every man for himself" and I believe that it a very true point. At birth every person has equal opportunity. Now one could argue that the home they are born into has a very large impact but essentially they have the same opportunity. The separation of the rich and the poor has a direct impact on our economy and plays a very large part in the failing economy continuing. There is like a never ending circle of people needing help. In most cases ones wealth is directly related to what they achieve or have accomplished. The rich fund the government which keeps the government supporting that separation of the classes and also gives reason as to why not much has changed on this topic.
ReplyDeleteAnissa Myers PSCI 100:04
I think the gap between wealthy and poor in America is too big and does hinder the way the country functions. There are those who simply lack the funds to pay for a higher education to better their lives but I have also met others, some of my friends, who simply have no desire to better themselves. They actively take advantage of the government’s out-of-work programs to survive and have no qualms about it. What percent of Americans are like this? If enough people have that attitude toward their livelihood then I say we deserve falling behind other countries whose citizens are actively bettering themselves and actually working for their food. If the government pulled the plug on the out-of-work aid programs maybe that would kick this lethargic attitude out of these people. However that extreme would destroy anyone who actually needs it.
ReplyDeleteDavid Hickerson PSCI 100.4
ReplyDeleteI believe that inequality plays a big factor in the problems we face as Americans. With more people immigrating to American the gap is only increasing. Often immigrants take low paying jobs at rates most Americans will not work for. Business owners see these individuals as opportunities to put more money in there pocket. The gap continually increases and will keep increasing unless we do something about it. Things such as regressive tax also help increase the gap on inequality. Instead I believe that a progressive tax should be put into place. Ourselves are the only ones to blame for falling behind other countries; and it will only continue unless changes are made to narrow the gap of inequality.
ReplyDeleteWhen you look at the idea of the American Dream, it does seem to be an idea of the past. Many American’s today who tried to take a piece of that dream and buy a house have lost their dream and their house. If our county continues down the path we are currently following I do believe that America’s best days are behind us. We continue to focus our attention on fighting wars and spending countless dollars to support these wars, when there are so many people who are losing their homes and becoming homeless. Many more cannot afford health care, their daily medications, let alone food. We seem to be a country that focuses on outside appearance as far as our strength, but do not care about how we look on the inside. The sad part is that we are not fooling anyone. Other countries can see just how sad our country is becoming. Education is a huge problem in our country, but it is one of the areas that the government does not deem important. They keep making cuts to our education programs. It is so sad to look at how much money a teacher makes. This is one of the most important jobs and one of the least paying jobs. We are losing valuable teacher, who simply can’t afford to live off of their salary, or because of government cuts. Either way there is a huge problem with either scenario. It would be very nice to see the government try to lessen the gap between the classes. Unfortunately it is the upper class that seems to control the government and is not likely to let this happen.
ReplyDeletePSCI 100.4
I believe that there is definitely inequality between the wealthy and poor, which directly impacts education and the United States world standing. There was a statement made by Mr. Stump in class, he explained that kids in Japan learn as much in high school as a person would getting their Master’s degree in college here in the United States. The kids in poor communities do not get the same education opportunities as wealthy kids. One reason for that is no teacher wants to work in with kids that are in gangs an in and out of jail. I do believe that the best days of the United States are behind us. Our country was booming there was work everywhere, we produced our goods. We had our own factories that boosted the economy. Then we started to spend more money on war efforts and starting to move to other countries for our goods. Now we are paying other countries millions of dollars for things we could make. The problem with that is that no one wants to work for low pay long hours. It is also cheaper to pay workers for cheaper in other countries. My point is that we need to refer to what we did back then because that worked, and I believe would turn our countries debt. We should worry about our own affairs I do not think it is any of our business to go break up a fight in other countries or ask other countries to help us make our own stuff if we pay them. The way I see it is that the United States government is that annoying kid in class that knows everything and how to solve everything. We don’t, so we need to leave it alone and worry about ourselves. The United States needs to definitely work on the inequality between the rich and poor. The education needs to be re-evaluated so that we can keep up with other countries with very good education systems. Ask them what they do and their techniques and turn our education system into something great.
ReplyDeleteJoshua Labuhn PSCI 100.03
The most important think in my opinion is education in America. The education system in certain parts of this country is so bad, students do not even understand the importance of learning. How can anyone progress without knowledge??
ReplyDeleteThere is a sad contrast in poor and wealthy classes in this country. Some people cannot afford three meals a day, let alone one. Some people can afford $300 meals a day, its so backwards. And depressing. And unfair. And a lot of other things that are much too complex to put to words simply.
I do not know of any solutions to these problems. If I were rich, perhaps I could help, but for now I'm just another Brick in the Wall.
Steven Orrence
psci 100.05
I agree with much of what everyone is saying about the U.S. government and its standings in global affairs. This country is constantly trying to fix other countries when in reality there is so much that needs to be dealt with in our own backyard. We see people everywhere struggling on a daily basis to make ends meet and when it comes citizens having to make a choice between buying their medicine and buying food then the government should put more energy into helping its own people. Why are we trying to bring democracy to other countries when we can't even get it right? I also feel that the gap between the rich and the poor puts a definite gap between America and world affairs. There aren't enough people with the resources to get an education for the U.S. to be competative with countries that have free education and lesser gaps between their citizen's income. Unless there are changes made to our government, this country could end up falling behind. Something will have to be done for America to return to better days.
ReplyDeleteMiranda Beahm
PSCI 100.05
Inequality, in my opinion, does impact the United States world standing. Although, the inequality between the rich and poor are not as harsh as it used to be, the inequality is still there and people do feel the impact. We should care about domestic affairs more than world affairs, because it’s time our country starts taking care of its own, instead of all the other countries in the world. Our country is going downhill pretty fast, and if we don’t start dealing with it now it’s going to get worse. The government should have been working to lessen the inequality between the rich and poor a long time ago. The rich go up the ladder and really are not effected as much by the spiraling economy, but if the poor were having problems before our economy was in the crapper then we can all imagine how hard it is for them to live now. The poor neighborhoods need to be cleaned up, schools need to be helped, and families that actually need the help should get it instead of half the people that are on welfare today sitting at home watching television. I absolutely believe that public education should be improved. There are still school systems that only have a few computers, torn up books, and bad food. Children should have unlimited access to computers in schools because the new world is based on technology. They should have teachers that are there for the right reasons and actually want to help, and tutoring programs for those that still need extra help.
ReplyDeleteAshley Everts PSCI 100.04
I do agree that class and education inequalities affect our country’s world standing. We do not have the same levels or consistency of class wealth or education as other countries around the world. Norway doesn’t struggle economically and China has the number one ranked educational system in the world. A “free market economy” is what the U.S. is based on. While some people work very hard to get where they are, others live paycheck to paycheck. Financial institutions have been developed to help those people in need, like tax cuts, minimum wage, and governmental aid, but just like Bulworth stated, “The rich is getting richer and richer and richer, while the middle class is getting more poor.” I believe that is a very valid statement, especially in the state of today’s economy. What can we do though? This question has been asked for years, since the early 2000s. Are economic solutions ever going to be made without something else worsening? I don’t know. It’s very unfortunate that our country has done so much to try and initiate equal and undeniable public education (George Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act, public transportation, financial aid, etc.) It’s not that the opportunity to be educated is not there, it is that the quality isn’t. For one, schools around the country do not have the same funding. Therefore, the quality of teachers, facility, and education vary according to what’s available. Also, and possibly most importantly, some high school graduates cannot afford to go to college, not even with financial aid. Even if a child graduates high school, chances of them going to college significantly decrease. In countries like China, college is mandatory. We are the most free country in the world, with as much opportunity to every person possible. However, we still rank number 25 in education. Quality is key for our country to catch up with China and those above us. I do not think that America’s best days are behind us, but it is going to take time, sacrifice, compromise to get where we need to be. So many domestic and foreign issues are unbalancing our country right now. Domestic affairs should be our government’s first priority and after that, foreign. We may have 1000 military bases around the world, but that doesn’t mean that we need to be everywhere at one time. A lot of people are asking, “Why are we in Libya right now and should we have ever gotten involved?” Sometimes our government bites off more than they can chew, like I believe we have in Libya. It is not absolutely necessary that we be involved there. Yet again, we have gotten involved in another war that had nothing to do with us. America wants to be Superman. And sure, we can protect and provide for other countries, but ONLY after we stabilize and relieve our own.
ReplyDeleteCayce Martin 100.04
I agree with a lot of what has been said so far. The huge gaps between rich and poor really affect the United States. I have seen many people from all sides of circumstances. When I was in my senior year of high school, when most are getting ready for college, I saw all sides of the education scenario. Some were waiting to fail out, some just wanted to graduate high school and get a job right away, some planned to struggle financially through high school, while some had it all taken care of and were paid for. The differences are so extreme and it reflects poorly on the country as a whole. Other countries see this and all of our other problems and see that we really are not doing as well as the government would like everyone to think. While we are the greatest country, we are going down fast. Problems like our education gap are not our only issues. It is one of the many, but if we can't even fix education how are we going to fix our debt or our war issues? Also, if we can't fix our own problems how can we expect to be able to help other countries? We can't go into all of these other countries and expect them to willingly accept our assistance when they see us going down the tubes ourselves. If we could step away from foreign affairs and fix our own problems first, we would be in a lot better shape.
ReplyDeleteKatherine Martin PSCI 100.04
I think there is a huge inequality between the rich and the poor. The rich have so many more benefits than the poor do and the poor have to work for every single thing possible, while the rich have everything handed to them because they have money. I think that it does have an impact on america because there is a HUGE division between the two groups. I think that the US needs to focus more on world affairs because we are currently in 2 wars and starting another one in Libya. Our country itself is not stable and like Cayce said before me we need to relieve our own before we can provide and help other countries.
ReplyDeleteChristina Ferrara PSCI 100.03
I agree with Christina at the beginning of the post. It is true that inequality between classes is a huge problem and it is not acceptable. Some people are lucky to land a really great job that pays well because they had money to go to college. If other people were not as lucky to go to college, they can only work a job that does not require a college degree. Therefore, they will not make as much, and they are stuck in the poor class. It has an impact on America because there is a divide between the groups. The upper class may see the lower class as not being intelligent when they have to do what they need to do to provide for their family. I agree with Christina above me that we need to focus on our own counry. Schools are having to cut major amounts of programs like music, art, after school programs, library and more due to the lack of funding. Money is becoming a huge issue and it is affecting our children's education. Soon, everyone will not be able to attend higher education because they did not receive the proper education they needed. Therefore, this will cause more issues with people making money who are trying to survive.
ReplyDeleteAmy Sultner PSCI 100.03
There is definatly an inequality between the rich and poor, as just about everyone has said before me. The extent of it even reaches court rooms where a richer person gets a better job and could even possible "pay someone off." I think education should be improved when it comes to the inequality of it between rich and poor. Other countries are drastically exceeding America's education. America should atleast have the benefits for everyone.
ReplyDeleteI do think America's best days is behind us. Like every great empire, we had our high point, and ever since then we've been on a steady decline. And the great gap between the rich and the poor is only getting bigger and bigger. I feel as Americans, we need to take a step back and re-evaluate our value system, and we need to stop using our resources as if they are infinite. Because they are not in any way. I think most Americans need to stop being so ignorant and calm down about being "Number One" as well, it's getting old.
ReplyDeleteRoss Tamaccio 100.03
I feel that a difference between the wealthy and the poor in America is a growing problem that needs to be fixed asap. It has a negative impact on the quality of education among the rich and the poor, which hurts the United States in its world standing. I do not think the golden age is over in the U.S. Today many people of the poor population work hard to earn a decent living, but with little education becoming financially stable is difficult. The U.S often focuses on world affairs which can be great, but I feel some local, internal affairs are overlooked. The government should help less financially fortunate schools, by giving them greater funding in order to remain competitive with all other schools, in the U.S. and nationwide,. With more equality in schools the poor would have a better chance to become a smarter, more financially stable populace that can acquire and maintain better jobs to boost our economic standing in the world.
ReplyDeleteErik Peat 100.03
America in world affairs, sometimes I thing we put our noses where they don't belong we should look more toward domestic affairs. The inequality in the rich and poor does automattically disadvantage our lower class societies. There is little business that the pot can be apart of more than voting for a system that doesnt help their situations. America as a whole should care about world affairs because we are a major world power for numbers but we are not the most important nation. We need to fix our economic problems and social imbalances before we try to compare ourselves to everyone else. Anthony Harley 100.05
ReplyDeleteI thought that clip of the money when he is going on and on to the news lady was the funniest scene. I agreed that the rich and poor get treated differently. Teachers in the urban city don't have enough patience or energy to deal with trouble kids. I feel that every school system is different. I also think that it depends on the kid like if you don't want to try then your not going to get a good education. Private schools may look good on college applications but I think that you can still learn the same things without the uniforms and fancy school. When it comes to money for college I feel you have to be broke and a different race. I struggle when it comes to paying for school because my family makes too much money and we can't get financial help. On the other hand we struggle but they don't see that. US should focus on domestic affairs before world. We need to be able to take care of ourself before we can help others. For example, the things going on in Japan with the earthquakes. We should help but we as long as we are able to help ourself first. The government should fund more money for schools to have nice equipment for sports or after school activity that will keep kids out of trouble.
ReplyDeleteKathryn Stevens
PSCI 100.04
I definitely believe that there is a huge inequality between the rich and the poor. The obvious starts in education which overall everyone should have the highest in standards and with such improvements from our standard of living and the increase in technology it should be easily achievable. I feel that the system keeps us dumber so that we can follow not lead. The rich control the poor and that is why they are not trying to help them. When a small percentage has everything while the masses don’t it backs the theory of greed. I know that people who have money usually work hard for it but when a couple a bucks is toilet paper to one man while its milk and breed to another is the difference of who needs it more. If it wont hurt the rich mans basic living standard compared to extreme luxury and disgusting ways of spending millions on perishable objects then yeah I think he can spread the wealth instead of buying his third home or a bigger boat. Our country has always been known to be the land of the free and the land of opportunities then why should is it farthest behind everyone else. The fact that we care more about money and power shows in our basic needs in society like education and health care if they spent a dollar they would lose it and that’s why we don’t have those basic needs. Our country puts a persona about it self so that it can be a leader in the world and the more we have our noises in the more we can profit from it and control it.
ReplyDeleteKatie Clevenger 100.05
I do believe that the inequality between our wealthy and poor put a string negative affect on our global stand point. But, The wealthy are wealthy because they worked hard at some point to get to where they are today. It may not have been them directly but possibly a grandparent or so. The poor has had just as much opportunities as the wealthy until the college level. If the poor wanted to continue their education then they would have worked hard to get grades or whatever needed for a scholarship. Someone above said the poor cant help that they're poor and I completely disagree with that statement. Someone also mentioned that we're spending our time and money helping other countries and not our own. Yes, That worked before when we rebuilt Germany and Japan, it helped boost our economy however, We need to focus on ourselves as a Country first. Once we take care of us then we can go out and help the other countries.
ReplyDeleteRebekah Knipe 100.04
The inequality between the poor and rich will bring this country down. It could eventually turn up like The Iron Heel. If the wealth of the country keeps going to the top ten percent, eventually there will be another revolution in our country to over throw the higher wealth. I'm not sure if there is a difference between world and domestic affairs. I know that we keep boosting the other countries top wealth and creating economies like our own. Eventually they will hit what we have already hit, and capitalism wont work so well. So in a way there isnt much difference, we are jsut further along in our way of our economy.
ReplyDeleteMatthew Kimberlin
PSCI 100.05
I think, if our government can actually do anything, the first thing it should be focusing on is education reform. As it stands, each county or state determines what is important for each student to learn at each level. This is unfair, because students who had a more strenuous curriculum will have a better chance at advancing to college. Also, each school district has different funds. I know in Jefferson county, we have one of the best K-12 educations in the state. This isn't really saying much, as I know that I was taught more than once with outdated textbooks, simply because I live in one of the poorest states, and they can't afford to replace the books very often. Since this is one of the best in the state, I can't imagine how hard it must be to be competitive at the college level if one lives in the poorest county in West Virginia.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the poor having an equal opportunity to the wealthy through high school, as some people mentioned above, this is completely untrue. Wealthy people have the opportunity to send their children to special tutors, or even special schools, which give far better educations than public schools. And poor people, especially children, can't control that they are poor. I was born into a family that was doing pretty well for a while, but when my parents got a divorce, both sides of the family had financial trouble. That I got the education I did is spectacular. I was able to earn 6 credits by taking AP tests, but I still know that paying for those tests was hard for my mom to do. I had no college fund set aside for me, so I am one of the few fortunate people that received enough grants and scholarships to allow me to attend college. If I lose many of my scholarships, I will not be able to continue attending.
I think, if we do decide to reform our education system, it should look more like the schooling in Japan. If you don't want to be in school, you join the workforce, without interference from the government, no matter your age. I also think that career training for people not going to college should be more prevalent. If nothing else, we need to get rid of standardized tests as a means to determine the dispersion of federal funding. Teachers end up teaching only those things that will be asked on the test, and that helps nobody. There is obviously a disconnect between what our government says about us and what is actually true. We have one of the lowest literacy rates of first world nations, so something clearly needs to be done.
Rebecca Herbert, Psci 100.05
I strongly agree with what Rebecca said above me. Education reform would be an excellent place to start. The deficit between the rich and poor causes America to go down on the totem pole and it's possible that America's best days truly have been in the past. It's amazing to me that we do place foreign affairs above domestic affairs. Yes, it's excellent that we help other countries in need, and I'm all for that. But honestly, they aren't helping us any and we have enough problems on our own. Something needs to be done about the poverty and the distance between the upper and lower classes. Rich people will stay rich and poor people will stay poor because of the schooling and opportunities they are given.
ReplyDeleteJessica Meyers 100.05
Inequality in America is very real, and very apparent in one’s everyday life. I do not think it is fair, nor do I see it changing. How would someone go about doing so? How are lower income parents supposed to encourage the importance of school to their kids when they work 2 or 3 jobs, lack the money for tutors, and the school systems themselves downplay the learning capabilities of the kids? There are many more domestic issues besides public schooling that seem to be put to the way side in order to maintain neutral dominance with world affairs. As discussed in class the idea of isolationism is no longer practiced and from my point of view should start to be reconsidered. Why is our government so worried about fixing other countries’ issues when their own nation’s problems are sleeping on their very doorsteps? This does not seem right to me, especially when I know it’s not a factor of ignorance but as feelings of indifference. As far as the best days being behind us I am not so sure; every generation has it’s triumphs and tribulations, with ours being no different. There is always going to be the rich and the poor, with the lack of correct knowledge on issues and with no money for persuasion the lower classes will continue to be separated and played against one another.
ReplyDeleteI feel that there is inequality between the wealthy and poor and it has a negative impact. For example, in the work force there are people who work as hard as they can and build their career and wealth from the ground up while others strive to do the same but get nowhere. I know it’s typical to say that that is unfair but honestly, how would you feel if you were the second person who tried their hardest and still didn’t get anywhere. I feel like the poor people are overlooked and that is not equal.
ReplyDeleteEmmi Shambeda
PSCI 100.05
I believe that that inequality between the wealthy and the poor definitely has a negative impact on the United States. Just like in Bulworth, the richer are getting richer and the poorer are getting poorer. This is because things are getting expensive, for example education. The “poor” people cannot afford it, which means they will not get well educated like the “rich” people. This means that the rich people are more educated then the poor people. The government needs to realize this and make some changes. And the government needs to better the United States, and worry about other countries and their problems after they fix the United States problems.
ReplyDeleteLeigh Ann Nelson PSCI 100.03
Financial and educational inequality typically go hand in hand, and this inequality does weaken the United States. I believe people have a greater feeling of separation and also feel less responsibility to one another when their life experiences are so vastly different. In countries that provide education, housing, and healthcare to its citizens the playing field is much more level. This allows for all people to have opportunity for success. When the majority of the population has its basic needs met and is educated, then as a people they can make better choices when electing their government officials. When their is greater equality people ban together for the welfare of all. In America, the rich and poor struggle against each other as individual classes try to make their own situation better. I think it becomes more difficult to stand together as a nation while the poor and rich view each other as the enemy
ReplyDeleteChristina page Psci 100.04
ReplyDeleteThe inequality of education and wealth in the United State's does negatively effect it's standing in the world. The wealthier people are the ones making the decisions and the less wealthy are finding out which is just going to start an argument and make things for the U.S. even worse. The government should be focusing on affairs, the ones that directly affect the U.S., because the U.S. needs to worry about itself before it helps anyone else. The U.S. needs lessen the spand of education before going and helping people fight their battles.
ReplyDeleteMegan Long
PSCI 100.03
Yes, there is a negative gap between the wealthy and poor. HOWEVER, I don't believe that it is the wealthy's fault. I know a good chunk of people that are very poor, but don't try to do anything about it. They just expect everything to be handed to them by the government. And this is where, in my opinion, the welfare system needs to be changed so that it can help people get on their feet...but not necessarily KEEP them on it for life...As for poor people getting more educted, there are many programs out there to help those with low income. All you have to do is get up and search for them. As for the foreign affairs, we need to get our own country back in order. We're sending all this money to countries like Japan and Haiti to help them from their crisis. Yes thats all well and good...but have our Katrina victims gotten everything back together? No. People that were affected in New Orleans are still without homes and need help. How about we focus more on the home front then on another country's civil wars.
ReplyDeleteHeather Reynolds
100.04
The inequality between the wealthy and the poor and their education does lead to a negative impact towards the United States. However I would not blame it on a certain group of people because it would be everyone’s fault. If there is a poor person who is not doing anything to even help himself out, like getting a job, then that is his own fault. Now I am not saying that every poor person out there in the United States should work at McDonalds or Burger King, if that is the only job they can get, but a job is a job and it can affect their life in a good or bad way. With less poor people the United States would have more educated people. As for the foreign affairs, United States government should slow down with all this unwanted war. I do understand that the UN has requested us to help in Lybia but we should be more focused on helping ourselves. The United States is in so much debt because we owe so many countries so much money. We should stop going to war and getting blood on our hands and just worry about fixing and restoring the United States.
ReplyDeleteAlaina Meserole
PSCI 100.05
Inequality between the wealthy and poor and their education does negatively impact the United State’s world standing. The U.S. is known to help others, yet we still have people without much education and people living on the streets. We involve ourselves with problems around us that are not ours to worry about. We need to worry about ourselves, our own government, and what we can do to better ourselves before we start trying to help the world around us. We get involved with other countries, other people, yet we haven’t fixed our own government, etc. We are causing more problems for those which surround us than we do in helping them. America’s best days are yet to come but only if we help ourselves before becoming involved with others. We need to worry more about domestic affairs first then we can help the world. If our problems are not fixed then how can we even begin to fix other people’s?
ReplyDeletePamela Smoot PSCI 100.04
I believe that the wealthy just keep getting wealthy and the poor just keeps staying in the same spot because of this it give education a negative impact on United State’s world standing. One reason is the most of the poor doesn’t keep furthering their education because they don’t have the money to and most probably need jobs to help the rest of the family get by. America’s standing in world affairs does matter because we are one of the most powerful countries in the world and are looked up to. I also believe that the United States should care for world and domestic affairs the same because both are equally important.
ReplyDeleteAshley Mellott
PSCI 100.03
i feel that the inequality between classes is directly linked to the educational systems. that being said it in some cases puts us as a third world country. the amount of uneducated or under educated is rising. and this is all on U.S. soil. but with this allgoing on we are trying to spread OUR influence on education over seas to me it is just dumb and we need to focus more on our home front
ReplyDeleteThe last one is robert hayes Psci 100:04
ReplyDeleteI believe the inequality between the rich and poor does affect the education in poorer areas of the country. However I also believe the government is at fault for the quality of education we receive in public schools. They look at education as it’s more important to have quantity than quality. In elementary-high school we would have to make up snow days to get our required number of school days in, then sit in class and watch movies for the entire school day. It was complete asinine. I do believe America’s better days are behind us, with the twisted agendas of politicians and how politically correct everything has become. Right now, due to America’s overwhelming deficit I believe we should pay less attention on world affairs and more attention on problems at home. It would be nice if there were a smaller gap between the poor and rich but I don’t know of any feasible way to lessen the gap without infringing on people’s rights.
ReplyDeleteMatt Santmier
PSCI 100.03
I think the inequality from the poor and rich comes from not being able to get a good education. People that have alot of money can pay for a good education but the other half that dont have any money dont have to choice of getting an education. The United States wants other counties to start getting education but I dont get why we dont concentrate on our own country that needs to be educated.
ReplyDeleteTrae Tinsman 100.04
I believe that there is a huge gap between the rich and poor in America, and the gap is continuing to widen. The governent is at fualt for this ever growing gap. We are seeing a rapid decline not only in the quality of education, but also in the quantity of people recieving an education. We have so many uneducated Americans the United States is resotrting to bringing immigrants in to fill job positions. I think that both domestic and world affairs are equally important, and the government needs to find a way to balance the two. Right now world affairs are on the forefront of politician's minds, and domestically we are feeling the consequences. I do believe America's better days are behind us.
ReplyDeleteI believe the United States should start to focus more on the domestic policy then the foriegn policy. The domestic problems in the United States are getting bigger and bigger every day and the Bullworth movie is a perfect example. The richer are getting richer and the poorer are getting poorer. There needs to be some equality there. I think it is ridiculous that 98% of the population holds only 10% or so of the entire wealth of the nation. The United States needs to stop focusing on Libya, the Middle East, and other foriegn affairs and focus on the people of there own country.
ReplyDeleteSam Beatty
Poli Sci 100.04
The gap between the rich and poor is just flat out ridiculous. Never should the economy have gotten this bad. The rich control every aspect of everybody's life. They control the politics and the jobs and everyday people don't even see it. It doesn't matter what we as the middle class want or need, if it doesn't benefit the rich it won't happen. We are so dependent upon the rich and it is becoming a serious problem. The future generations are the ones that will suffer the most.
ReplyDeleteLevi McDonald PSCI 100.03
Absolutely, the division of education between the poor and the wealthy affects America's standing. I have heard from a number of people from other countries that they are surprised at how uneducated the majority of Americans are. But, it is true, as noted in the Newsweek article, that the U.S. Government is complex and difficult to understand.
ReplyDeleteI still believe that America is a very desirable place to be (evidenced by the number of immigrants every year)and that there is hope, but it's not necessarily in the gov't. It's in the individual people and small groups who are working to make differences; like the restaurateur, Bruno Serato, who was an immigrant 30 years ago, worked his way up from dishwasher, and now spends a lot of his own time and money giving free meals every day to the "motel children" who are one step away from being homeless. And the non-profit coalitions who provide many services to the poor.
There should be equal interest in domestic and world affairs; only by examining what is happening in other countries can we adequately assess what we are doing in the U.S.
We are still a rich country in resources and very intelligent and motivated people. I believe the answer does lie in education. If the U.S. allocated just a portion of the military budget to education instead, we would find a surprising wellspring of intelligence just waiting to be tapped, and who knows where that would lead?
Dee Pierce
PSCI 100.03
The poor and the wealthy plays a major impact on society today. The wealthier gets a better education than the poor because they have more money to sponser them for better programs. All this defines the saying, "The richer gets richer and the poorer gets poorer." The government needs to work on this, because everybody needs to be entitled to a proper education to succeed in life. Especially in today's society. If you don't get a good education, then you don't get a good job. If you can't get a good job, then your not going to have money, which causes you to be poor.
ReplyDeleteShayna Landis, 100.03
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteToday when i was driving through Wheeling, West Virgina I passed by a golf course with many big houses that cost a lot of money. Then I passed by a huge mansion on top of the golfcourse overlooking all of west virginia and was about the size of the white house. Two minutes down the road i happened to see a worn down quasi-trailer where a family of four was supposed to live. Next to that trailer stood a man with a sign asking for money, and i thought to myself "how is this okay?" There stands a house that could pay to feed, and house a family of four for a long time, but instead it is being used for luxury and comfort. I feel that the United states does need to do something about cutting the gap between the rich and the poor. I understand that the US a capitalist country and everybody is supposed to have the same equality of opportunity for success, but as Bulworth atates that is just not true. Is socialism really a bad word? can we say it without it being on taboo? i feel that we need equality of opportunity in America and people should worry more about our domestic problems then or foreign ones.
ReplyDeletedillon berger psci 100.4
There are so many different opportunities for people in the United States that many of us take for granted because we believe that they are equally available to everyone. Clearly if someone is lower class they are going to have a more difficult time getting an education after high school, although the opportunity is there. For me, America should not be worrying about specifically helping the poor, or specifically helping the middle class, it should be about helping the most amount of people possible for every situation. America is the land of equal opportunity, there is no reason that a poor person cannot go to college, they may have to work harder than a rich person, but the opportunity still exists. Honestly I believe that people who want to succeed will, and those who do not put in the effort when times are tough, do not succeed. I understand that being poor is by no means rainbows and butterflies, but if you have the drive to make yourself from nothing, you are truly deserving of what you have made for yourself, knowing that you didn't have help along the way, government or otherwise.
ReplyDeleteSarah Jeffries PSCI 100.05
I believe that the inequality between the wealthy and the poor is unavoidable and that it does not impact our world standing. Every country has poor and rich people. Also I do not believe that inequality between the rich and poor negatively impacts the United State’s world standing. Sure, education could be better in some places but both classes of kids get the same education, what they do with their resources is what ultimately decides how far they will go. I do not feel like America’s best days are behind us because it looks like more and more kids are able to go to college through scholarships and government funding. America’s standing in world affairs does matter because if we are out fighting a war, spending billions of dollars a monthly, then obviously they won’t have enough money to fund certain areas like public education. I believe there is a difference between world affairs and domestic affairs but they both influence one another. I think government should not directly work to lessen the gap between the wealthy and the poor but I believe they should keep trying to improve public education.
ReplyDeleteJenna Peck
100.04
I do not believe that America's best days are behind them, but I do believe that the fact that the poor are getting poorer and the rich are of course getting richer is effecting America each and everyday. I don't think we should ignore world affairs, but I do strongly think that we should fix our main domestic problems before putting all of our money into world issues. How can we help other countries if we don't first fix the problems our country has?
ReplyDeleteCourtney Pepperling
100.04
I believe the US should work to achieve equality in the economy and in education. Everyone has the right to go to an education in the United States. Some people are more fortunate and get to attend private institutions, which the more fortunate people should not be blamed for. People that are rich will in most cases stay rich and most people the are poor will stay poor. This is the unfortunate reality of the way the economy is going right now. As far as world and domestic affairs, i feel both are as equally important as the other. Neither should be overlooked but the US needs to find a way to improve this economy before things start to look up.
ReplyDeleteBen Goldman
100.03
I think that because of the drastic differences between the upper and lower class, or the wealthy and poor, it causes an internal conflict within our nation. We are viewed in the world either as incompetent because we are poor or arrogant because we have made to much money. Greed has become so greatly involved in our society that we are unable to function without what we are doing either revolving around how much it is going to cost or how much we are going to make. If you have the money to pay someone off you can become unstoppable but if you are poor you are walked all over. It is the capitalist view of the world. Let the well educated, wealthy people be successful without consequences and let the poor die off. How are we supposed to survive with this negative outlook on our own common Americans and why do we expect outsiders to think of us as a great, caring nation? If we continue to have this train of thought and continue to be greedy, how can our nation survive?
ReplyDeleteLaura Bright
100.05
I believe there is a big difference in between the wealthy class and the working class. I do think that while the rich are getting richer ad the poor getting poorer is true. As we all know, almost everything is ruled by the wealthy class, even electing our president. While we worry about other stuffs like war, our social position in society, we also forget about our own poverty. It is, per say that helping other countrioes that our own it's a lot easier. For instance, helping japan thorough their situation now is better than helping our own people here in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteJorge alvare
100.03
I believe that the inequality between the wealthy and poor and inequality in their education negativly impacts the united states standings. poor neighborhoods are less likley to succede and more prone to violent behavior and abuse.
ReplyDeleteKristin Knotts 100.05
I believe that when people are poor they do get less of a chance to rise out of their situation, they are restricted in their resources. Unless the higher class reaches out to help the lower class the gap will grow larger and people will stay at the low class they are born in.. eventually this will destroy our economy more than it is now.
ReplyDeletethe inequality between the wealthy and the poor does have a negative impact on the United States world standing because in order for a country to run smoothly, everyone should be able to make educated decisions about the country they live in and without proper education to the wealthy AND the poor, there is already a serious flaw in how this country is running. I think Americas best days are behind us because with everyday that passes the wealthy become stronger and more in control while the poor, which is the overwhelming majority, become weaker and less involved in the issues concerning this country. If only the wealthy are able to be involved in these issues then how are we ever going to make progress when the majority of people are left out. We should care more about domestic affairs because we need to better ourselves before we start concerning ourselves with other countries or else we will get nowhere. a corrupt society cannot possibly make the educated decisions that need to be made for a country to function properly. The government should most certainly work to lessen the inequality between the wealthy and the poor and work to better public eduaction because everyone deserves to have the same level of education regardless of how much money you or your parents make. everyone must have a fair chance at being involved in their government and making educated decisions and without a high level of education, that becomes impossible.
ReplyDeleteKassi Gardner
100.05
I feel that the inequality does have an effect on our standing. Maybe its just our government's design was unable to remain stable forever. In comparison to a cut, just covering it us and not thoroughly washing it out it will become infected. Our standing in world affairs isn't given much thought by persons not involved in politics; those who are in politics give this subject attention because they don't want America to look weak.
ReplyDeleteChristopher White
PSCI 100.03
Americans, generalized, have way more concern in items that have no relevance to our country. Our nose is stuck into places it doesn't belong and then we end up paying a hefty price for it. Not only with a huge debt, but in casualties usually. There is also another problem, and that is wealth and education opportunities. Our government puts money into short term investments such as war and barely any money goes to long term investments such as education. Which is a reason the richer are getting richer and the poorer are getting poorer. It is simple, our government induldges its money improperly.
ReplyDeleteDerek Buckley PSCI 100.03
I believe the government's top priority should be the people. Secondly comes the well being of others who are the victims of tyranny and cruel treatment. But as Bullworth said, in our own cities children are dying at younger ages then they do in Peru. So in other words domestic affairs should be our focus over foreign or world affairs.
ReplyDelete^ Brandon Nicholas Psci 100.03
ReplyDeleteThe inequality between the rich and the poor in the United States effects the country's national standing extremely. According to the majority of the world, the United States is looked at as a politically and educationally divided nation. This, as one of my fellow students said previously, makes us vulnerable. The political and social unrest that clouds the United States' population divides its inhabitants making it less likely for any of us to come together in order to agree on policies, solutions, or any other issues facing the country as a whole. In contrast to this fact, many people are too concerning with America's standing in foreign affairs that they neglect to approach the issues at hand, but rather, they ignore them. This seems to be a common occurrence in Southern areas. Too many citizens are overly concerned with the "National Identity" that we've discussed in class.
ReplyDeleteI believe it is very difficult to judge whether America's best days are behind us or not. In history whenever a new generation comes about, the previous generation makes it a point to criticize the new generation as much as possible. The "good ole days" has been a phrase used very often in history time and time again the phrase refers to times with less technology, knowledge, and general know how about life than in the present. America endured one of the most devastating economic depressions known to man in 1929 and we dug ourselves out of that predicament slowly but surely to find ourselves in one of the most glorious economic booms in US history. Times are tough, this is true, but they've been tough before and we've gotten through. One true thing about America is, they definitely don't like to give up (For example: take the war in Iraq). And I don't for see us, as a nation, giving up anytime soon.
Sheridan Webb
PSCI 100.05
Like majority of the previous posts prior to mine, I feel that yes, the inequality between the wealthy and the poor impacts the United States world standing. It is like a cycle we have going for ourselves and it is not really fixing itself. A lot of people in the wealthy category feel that the poor are poor because they don’t work hard enough and that they shouldn’t be held responsible for helping because unlike the poor, they earn their money by working hard. From that we get a lot of people who cannot afford education because they do not have enough money and therefore, they cannot get a college degree to earn more money like the people in the higher classes. It is a battle that is not worth fighting. Also, Americas education system is losing its value because of the teachers’ salary being so poor and from that we end up with generations that cannot compete with other nations. I feel personally that America should start focusing on domestic affairs and fix the never ending struggle that is going unkown throughout our country. It is almost like people choose to ignore what is happening in our own country. Not talking about it doesn’t make it go away.
ReplyDeleteBrittney Butler 100.03
Like many people said above i agree with all of them saying that inequality has a great impact in the US as we speak. It is effecting our class struggle and making it greater with the economic crisis were experiencing. Especially now, with gas prices going to be more than 4 dollars this summer that is going to kill the economy. Will the rich be affected? Of course but not as much as someone who is only making 40000 a year as aposed to someone making six figures or even millions and billions of dollars a year.
ReplyDeletekasey mercier
100.03
Now days the US has public education that is very poor. This is a huge problem for the US world standing. It doesn’t really matter is the education is a wealthy one or a poor one education has gone down in equality. I strongly believe that if things do not change then yes Americas best days are behind us. We need to care more about domestic and fixing educational problems then care about the rest of the world because while we are trying to fix everyone else we are decreasing in equality.
ReplyDeleteSusan Stout PSCI100.05
No I do not think that the best days are behind us. Right now I think that the public education sucks. There are so many poor people nowadays but the government never does anything about it. The government is so worried about the other problems going on outside of the country to actually fix the downfalls of the U.S.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Himmighoefer PSCI 100.05
I dont think all public education sucks as some may say or conclude but the government is definitely cutting education funding and departments more and more and we will soon have nothing left and be run by computers and other resources. I dont think the best days are behind us but I do think our government could benefit both from reflecting of current times and the past and what did and did not work. We do spend a lot of money on defense and problems outside of our country but then again that is what being part of the United Nations is about.
ReplyDeleteCasie Mand
PSCI 100.03
I think that the inequality between the rich and the poor make a big difference in the standing of the united states. I think that there are some poor people who work really hard but cant ever get ahead and it isnt fair. I believe that poor people would like to further their education but can not because they can not afford it which is bot fair. I also believe that domestic affairs and world affairs are equally important.
ReplyDeletePoly Sci 100.03 Courtney Owens
I think that the wealthy and poor do tend to be unequal. School systems are at different standards. The poor work extra hard while the rich get it easy. College is expensive, and the rich have no problem helping their family afford school which is unobtainable for the poor. The government could come of good aid to the poor students and schools in the area. This would give everyone an equal opportunity to have the poor gain education and social standing.
ReplyDeletePSCI 100.03
Kindra Bittle