Independent Woman

"Independent Woman"  Destiny's Child 

In Destiny’s Child’s past hit, “Independent Woman” they discuss the issue of being an independent woman and not needing to depend on any man for the lifestyle they want. This song deals strongly with the issue of feminism. The song discusses how everything the woman wants in her life she buys with her own money.

The shoes on my feet I've bought it
The clothes I'm wearing I've bought it
The rock I'm rockin' 'Cause I depend on me
If I wanted the watch you're wearin' I'll buy it
The house I live in I've bought it
The car I'm driving I've bought it
I depend on me I depend on me

The lyrics explain the fact that their relationship is completely fifty- fifty. The woman buys all her personal belongs and does not rely on the man in the relationship to buy her materialistic belongings. In the past men have always been the ones who are thought to bring in the money. They work and spend the money accordingly while the wife must also survive on the money he doles out to her. This song shows that woman can be successful and do not need a man to live the lifestyle they want.

I worked hard and sacrificed to get what I get
Ladies, it ain't easy bein' independent

Question: How'd you like this knowledge that I brought
Braggin' on that cash that he gave you is to front
If you're gonna brag make sure it's your money you flaunt
Depend on no one else to give you what you want

The women sing about how it is not easy to be independent. And that it is important to go through life depending on no one but yourself. You need to be able to support yourself and not rely on someone else throughout your life.

The Evolving Role of Media Throughout Wartime

Media has played a vital role in all of the wars the United States of America has been a part of since the first war where the colonies fought for their independence and formed the United States. In the Revolutionary War that the British colonies fought, the only source of media was the newspaper. Newspapers were the only form of wide spread communication that the cities, towns and colonies relied on to keep them all connected and aware. Newspapers were often outdated by the time they got to half the readers, but it was the only form of news that the colonists had. The papers often used cartoons and drawings to get the message out to colonists and to gain support for the fight of independence against British rule. A famous political cartoon by Benjamin Franklin was published in the Pennsylvania Gazette. Known as “Join, or Die,” the cartoon has a snake cut into eight pieces and the pieces are labeled regions of the colonies. Franklin used this cartoon in the newspapers to show the colonists the importance of becoming united against the British. News during the time of the Revolutionary War was slow and often inaccurate and outdated. The newspaper was the beginning of media that began to grow and improve throughout the United States history.  

[http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/firsts/cartoon/snake.html]

By 1861 the now United States of America was beginning a civil war between the North and South. The media by this time had improved and the introduction of photography played a major role in the historical records of the war. The Civil War was not the first war to be caught on camera, but in this major war the advancement of photography changed the view of fighting forever. With the fighting immediately and accurately recorded the terror of war could not be hidden or disguised from the Americans. Citizens of the north and south saw horrific, shocking, images of their boys and war suddenly gained a real image in American’s eyes.

[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/cwpcam/cw00172.jpg]

The most recent war of the United States History has been the war with Iraq. The technology over the years has improved greatly and the opportunities media has had to cover this war have been unlimited. There has been use of live video and coverage in the Iraqi war, with reporter’s right in the middle of crossfire.  This has brought war and terror straight into the living rooms of Americans on their televisions. The war has become uncontrollably real with constant, instant coverage. Many of the images and videos are not appropriate for viewers of all ages and there is the question of what if anything should be censored. The advancements of technology have been amazing, and have allowed media to go from newspapers, to photographs to live video of wars in the past two hundred years. Media plays an important role in how the people view the fighting and support the war. In the Revolutionary was, media was used to unite the colonies with cartoons. Over the years, media has brought the horrific images of war into the home with the use of photography and video. The media is making the war more real, this could be losing support of the people as they see the shocking images so authentically.

[http://fatu.us/images/Army/Iraq/Iraq%20war%20426.jpg]

Ragtime

In the novel Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow, the main characters have no names. They go by as Mother, Father, little boy, Mother’s Youngest Brother, Mameh, Tateh and the little girl. All the other characters in the novel are historical figures and have actual names. I believe that Doctorow did not use names to describe his characters to allow the readers to relate to their lives. With the loss of names and formality, the reader can become one with the novel, and connect their lives to the events. The novel takes place in the 1900’s a time when the United States was a melting pot of immigrants looking to find a better life. Many readers who have immigrated or have families that have come over to America understand the struggles of living in a different world. Tateh and the little girl give us an insight to the life of immigrants living in poverty. While Mother and Father’s family show the opposite, the life of a prosperous family. With the elimination of names in the novel Ragtime the readers are able to relate to the experiences of the characters. They can put themselves in the character’s shoes as the story seems less personal without names.   

A Different Mirror

In Ronald Takaki’s novel A Different Mirror he discusses the different races of immigrants that have come to make up America. The United States is melting pot with people from different countries all around the world. People come to America to find a better life, in a place that is built on equality and freedom. Through Takaki’s revelations he points out the injustices of the immigrants, and the racism that has taken a place in the history of America.

In the early days of colonization, European immigrants were the vast majority and made up the colonies. As of today one-third of the American people do not trace their origins back to Europe (Takaki). Over the years racism has become an increasing problem, and I believe it all stems off the first settlers, the Europeans. All Europeans have white skin, and therefore there is no observable difference based on appearance. With the introduction of slavery to the country, Black Americans have been the basis of much racism due to their different color skin. The problems did not stop there, Asian Americans have also become victims due to their observable differences. They have exotic features and therefore are unable to assimilate (Takaki). In 1882 the Chinese Exclusion Act actually prohibited the entry of the Chinese into the United States. Due to the apparent skin differences the law was able to exist. At the time Irish were still immigrating in great numbers, but with their white skin they were able to blend in with the current population.

These are just a few examples of the racism that continues to exist today. The Black Americans and Asian Americans are constantly discriminated against due to their differences in skin color, and appearance. America is supposed to be based on equality, and if this is so, why does this happen? In Ronald Takaki’s novel he goes into the histories of all the non-Anglo people that make up this country. It is an eye opener of the racism that has played such a central role in America’s history.

"Strange Disappearance of Civic America"

Throughout the 1960’s to the 1980’s the amount of time that American people have spent socializing has decreased greatly. There has been a decline in visiting, social groups, clubs, organizations and associations. In Robert Putnam’s essay “Strange Disappearance of Civic America,” he researched the cause for this action. He looked at all the possible factors that may have contributed to this decline and through careful detective work and use of surveys and studies he attempted to find an explanation.

By the end of his paper, Putnam came to the conclusion that television was the main culprit for bringing on the disappearance of civic America. Through research he found studies that American’s watched about four hours of television a day. With television taking up most of an average American’s free time, there is little room left in the day for socializing. Television became ones leisure activity for the day which replaced the need to go out to social gatherings. I completely agree with Putnam’s finding. With the popularity of televisions in the average American home, outside social interaction has been on decline as people are too busy spending their free time sitting at home on their couch with a remote in hand.

Robert Putnam’s essay was written more than a decade ago in 1996 and is quite outdated. I would be interested to see current study done about the social interaction done outside the home and have it compared to numbers in the 1990’s. I believe that the numbers would have decreased much more. In the past decade not only the television has had an important role in the average American’s home but the computer and internet have also been introduced. With the wide spread availability of the internet over the last decade, I would be interested to see the amount of time spent on the computer compared to the amount of time watching television. I would not be surprised if the computer was much greater. The internet has brought communication, entertainment and work all together in one place. Not only adults, but especially teens and even young children take advantage of the computer for games, email, word processing, or just surfing the web.

With the great advancements of technology people are less likely to leave home to spend their free time in clubs or social organizations. Through the internet you can join forums of any kind to socialize and are able to attend at your own convenience. With the busy life of an American, the leisure time in ones day is constantly diminishing, and the convenience and endless opportunities of the internet are replacing the need to leave the home to socialize.

Robert Putnam found through his research done in 1996 that since the 1960’s television was the major reason for the disappearance of Civic America. Television was only the start of the technology wave being brought into an average American’s home. With the introduction of computers and the internet, American’s have become even more disengaged from community activities.