Fall Reading

The book I chose to read was Catch-22. I had heard it come up in everyday conversation enough times that I figured I should learn what it's really about. After reading an overview about it, I learned that it has to do with military life during World War II. I knew I would learn about the politics behind and the results of the war, but I figured it would be interesting to understand more about what life would actually be like as a soldier in this time, and get a better cultural perspective. Catch-22 involves a condition in which soldiers may opt out of flying missions if they are insane. However, the fear of flying the missions that would cause someone to want to opt out is a sign of having a rational mind and being sane. Therefore, anyone who tries to opt out due to insanity proves their sanity. The book is full of other illogical instances like this, and makes the reader hope that the book is more satirical as opposed to less since the military in Catch-22 is not by any means well run. I knew that this book was long, but decided to read it anyway, figuring I would find time over the course of the year. I failed to realize that junior year was going to be as busy as it has a reputation for being, and I couldn't really find time to read it outside of class. The parts that I read really were interesting and entertaining, though, and I hope to find time to read the rest over the summer, if I'm not too busy then.

Cold War and Civil Rights Movement

The Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement both took place in the decades immediately following World War II. At first glance, it seems that they have nothing else in common. The Cold War was a long phase of militaristic and political tension primarily between the two biggest powers in the world at the time, the United States and the Soviet Union. Then there's the Civil Rights Movement, that cannot really be called a war as only one side was really acting violently. However, there really are some similarities between the two events. One key connection was that one side was labeled as communists, and therefore the enemy, in both situations. In the case of the Cold War, this was clearly true, as the government was more than openly communist, and posed quite the threat to the Western world with its disparate ideas. However, the blacks in America were not actually communist, or at least not disproportionately so. There were some communists in all parts of the country representing all races. Despite this, the black community's hopes of being granted equal rights were seen as communism, in which everyone is essentially equal. The fact that there was so much tension between the U.S. and the communist superpower, USSR, led to even more racism, particularly in the South, as black people were being compared to the Soviets, giving them the appearance of being the enemy. Another connection is the effect the Civil Rights Movement must have had on the USSR's opinion of the U.S. With so much class division and racism, America must have looked weak and vulnerable to the Soviet Union, giving it more confidence to try and overtake the United States. Since the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement were both so prevalent in the U.S. at the same time, it makes sense that they would affect each other.

Experience with EdCafe

Our EdCafe on World War II was a marvelous tool to learn more about certain subjects we did not cover in class that interest me. One particular area we have not discussed much is the part of the war between the United States and Japan. Although D-Day receives a massive amount of attention, I believe the United States's involvement with this war really had more to do with what's out east. I already knew about things such as Pearl Harbor, the atomic bombs, and the Bataan Death March, but I was really interested to learn more about the context behind these three or four years of animosity between these two powers of the world. I decided to first research what the relations between the United States and Japan were like going into the war, and learned that they did not really get along, which is really what I probably should have expected, since we went to war with each other. The US was against the idea of Japan expanding, while Japan wanted to free itself from its dependence on the US for energy. As Japan tried to form an empire, the US gradually stopped supplying Japan, and relations continue to decline. Another aspect I didn't know much about was the racism involved with the war. Over 110,000 Japanese-American citizens were put in detention camps due to suspicion. "Jap-hunting licenses" were distributed to those who could tell the difference between Japanese and other Asian citizens and bring them into the detention camps. The Japanese were commonly portrayed as animalistic beings in propaganda, showing that this was actually how the government wanted American citizens to feel, and not just racism that spawned within society. By doing the EdCafe, I was able to share this knowledge with my classmates, and learn what they knew about the subject, and what they thought about the topic, overall.

Propaganda in World War II

World War II was the deadliest war of all time. This is because so much tension had built up between the powers of the world over the last half-century or so, and was not by any means settled by World War I. With such an extreme war coming up, it became clear that massive amounts of troops were going to be needed to avoid an unaffordable loss. The idea of entering the military is not a pleasant one to many people, especially when a war as gruesome as World War I had occurred just a generation ago. Therefore, propaganda had to be used to convince masses of citizens to enlist in the military. Propaganda involves the government spreading media to alter the opinion of the country's population. This technique was most notable in Germany. As Hitler had complete control over Germany, his improvements to the country during his reign garnered great respect from the German citizens. Appearing to be a hero, Hitler could get the entire country's attention at once, and convince all able persons to go to war. He instilled a sense of patriotism in the German people, letting them feel that they could contribute to their leader's success by fighting for their country. Meanwhile, American propaganda worked a bit differently. As the United States is a democracy, there is never one man in government who receives all the power and fame that a dictator can. Instead, the character Uncle Sam was used as a spokesperson for the United States military. Also, American propaganda was not necessarily as patriotic as Germany's. It was more about making the American people fear what the world could become if the Axis came to power by winning World War II. People were encouraged to enlist in the army not to lift up their own country, but to put down others.

The (First?) Great Depression

The Great Depression was a time of great hardship for America following a long period of prosperity. Wealth in America had reached an unprecedented level, especially after the Gilded Age. However, after the U.S.'s involvement with World War I, the American economy was left in a poor state. The value of the stock market started to decrease, and American citizens became anxious. They withdrew their money from banks, leaving banks with less and less money, until banks across the country failed. This was an extraordinary inconvenience for many Americans, as taking out loans from banks had become a habit for many citizens. Due to the new culture of buying more expensive things, people had to take loans to buy things such as the automobile that were becoming more commonly owned. American citizens could not change their habit of taking loans, and millions of people went into poverty. Fortunately, today we have the FDIC in place. This way, any insured bank will receive a quarter million dollars if it goes under, meaning account holders don't have to worry about the safety of their money, and people will always have the opportunity to get bank loans, provided they have good credit. Because of this great factor, there should not be another economic disaster like the Great Depression.

American Dream Part 2

In an earlier post, I talked more about what the American Dream used to be than what it is now. After studying illegal immigration's effect on the economy in modern day, I have gotten a better feel for why people come to America today, and how desperately they want to be Americans. These days, the people who come to America due to poor conditions in their own country, are not immigrating legally. The legal immigrants tend to come from other first-world countries, and can usually start in at least the lower-middle class. However, impoverished people in poor living conditions in one country are now trying to get into America without going through the legal process. Most illegal immigrants today either sneak across the border, or come with a visa, and stay after it expires. This shows that people with the American Dream are willing to take huge risks to improve their lives, even if it means committing a serious crime that would eventually lead to deportation. Often, these people aren't coming to America with their whole families to try to set up a new life there, but are just going to live there and make some money to send back home, until they have enough to get by with whatever jobs are available in their home countries. They aren't looking to become doctors or lawyers or anything like that either, but are looking for "low-skill jobs" that most Americans don't want to take, such as construction, farming, and working in restaurants. People used to come to America in order to make something big of themselves, and some still do, but lots of people are now coming to America just to make enough money to get by.

The American Dream

Ever since the beginning of colonization in the United States in the early 17th century, America has represented an opportunity to start anew to obtain a better life than what you had in the past. When the English decided to colonize the northeastern part of the country, most of Europe was in a state of overpopulation and pollution. This was a great opportunity for people to get away from the problems in Europe, and start a new life in the United States where everyone was starting from scratch. Immigrants continued to pour into the U.S., especially after we gained our independence, and it wasn't up to Britain to say who could live in America and who couldn't. In the 19th century, when the potato blight occurred, a massive amount of Irish immigrants came to America, because they had the American dream to overcome the hardship in their country and go to America where anyone could make it big. The thing that separated America from other countries was that everyone was accepted, because the Great American Melting Pot was made by mixing cultures from all around the world, to form the greatest country there is. Admittedly, the American dream isn't as accessible as it used to be, now that we are starting to face problems like overpopulation and pollution. Not everyone can make enough of a living to support a family, and pay for a house off of hard work alone anymore. Hopefully, we can get back to the point where everyone in the country gets equal treatment, in terms of taxes, insurance, etc., regardless of their economic class.