I absolutely agree with your ideas regarding the American ideology of freewill and hard work and how it oftentimes ignores the obstacles that are stacked against members of a specific racial group. I think that it is also a way in which those who comprise the upper class justify their status, saying that anyone can achieve what they have. It's true but some have to work much harder! I think this is commonly ignored in our society today. I think most people adopt the socio-psycho cognitive approach when they think of inequality. They do not factor in things like race, gender, discrimination, historical factors and other impediments that can hurt one's chances in leading a "successful" life.
. I have always found the deterioration of intercity schools to be disheartening as well as fatal for those living in poverty. Watching the clip from Oprah’s show proved the vast difference between the education given in city school versus a suburban school. This clip was very useful and telling of the plight of the poor rising the social ladder. It gives us an idea of how unequal the playing field actually is. Sam said that odds are that if you grow up rich chances are you will be rich in adulthood and that if you were poor growing up you most likely will be poor in adulthood. How could this not be the case when you look at the Oprah clip displaying a single factor that determines ones future as much as education? It truly is heartbreaking.
However, my father had a massive heart attack and passed away when I was 12 changing the structure and status of our family income permanently. Since then, my mother has struggled to put 4 children through college working 2 jobs that can barely maintain the daily expenses. I was always instilled with the idea that if you want something you have to work for it. No excuses. You get what you give. However, like Dr. Richards pointed out, some obstacles are beyond your control. I am lucky that I came from a family that always encouraged hard work. If not, I would have not been awarded academic scholarships that helped me attend college. Without them, I would be in the same position as my mother. I think that the balance between freewill and determinism is crucial in understanding the success of certain people. I most definitely agree that I had enablements growing up that allowed me to prosper in academics and definitely paved the way for the University. However, that is not to say I didn’t face my fair share of obstacles getting here.
I found this lecture to be extremely interesting. I am very interested in inequality in America. I found the explanations of inequality to be very eye opening: biological, freewill, and determinism are definitely the ways in which people explain and justify the disparities among Americans. I think that the information about various racial groups was very telling about the situation of minorities in America. Coming from the land of opportunity, we would like to think that freewill accounts for success. But what of the situation of immigrant families who are working 20 hours a day and are still struggling to stay above the poverty line? I think that explaining that freewill and determinism both are equally important in determining one’s success was a very important way to examine the issue of inequality. When we were first asked how are we more inclined to think regarding these issues and I was most definitely an advocate of socio-psycho cognitive philosophy. Growing up I was a member of the middle-class. My father had a good job and made a substantial amount of money. My mom worked at a bank only 3 times a week. During my childhood I was very fortunate.
I completely agree with your ideas regarding cultural relativism and how we as members of a global community would benefit if we were to adopt this idea rather than ethnocentrism as the norm. I have two friends named after "God" one Jesus and the other Muhammed. I never really considered the fact that they were actually named after God and how some ethnicities are more prone to this type of name allocation for their children. I definitely that was an interesting part of the lecture! The part that struck me the most, was the before war Iraq in comparison to what we normally see on CNN. I feel that the kind of coverage that we see oftentimes in media justifies our reason being there. We do not see families because we would then have to think of how we are destroying not ameliorating the lives of several Iraqis and Afghanis.
As I was watching the lecture I began to understand why this conflict is so engrossing and it also frightened me very much. For as little as we understand about one another (Americans/Christians and Arabs/Muslims) and as exploitation increases, it seems as though the wars in the Middle East are only going to be perpetuated and the East/West divide will further expand. I feel that it is a very important lesson that Sam taught us in this lecture, and it is to not simply take things for face-value. It is important to not necessarily agree with a realm of thinking but to understand why certain people think the way they do.
The facts that were used to state the case of Arab-Muslims were great. I have personally believed that the “War on Terror” is and was simply a way for the United States to ensure the extraction of oil and the maximum accumulation of wealth for oil companies. The example of the Pennsylvania- China coal extraction highlighted the ways that American companies are taking advantage of a vast majority of people. Also the ways that the elite and the leaders who oftentimes oppress their people are in complete control of the valuable natural resource. The idea that Americans wish to steal their oil, convert them to Christianity or kill them was an interesting take on the Arab-Muslim view of the wars in Afghanistan and also Iraq
I felt that this lecture was very interesting. I think that making the distinction between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. I think that Sam’s point about cultural relativism was very important: the fact of the matter is the only way to truly understand the actions of a cultural norm is to immerse yourself within that society; however certain customs are morally and ethically wrong no matter the circumstance such as the custom of stoning.. I thought that analyzing ethnocentrism by way of “putting yourself in someone else’s shoes” most definitely brought many things to light and no matter how hard we try to be culturally open-minded and accepting is limited. In this experiment, the class becoming Arab-Muslims, we truly see how we are naturally inclined to be ethnocentric. Whether it is because we simply do not sift through the information that is given to us or whether it is because we refuse to see another’s point of view, we are all in someway ethnocentrists.
I remember when I first learned the term “ethnocentrism”. I was in 9th grade and it was a description of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. I vaguely remember being a little shocked because I didn’t pick up on something, when pointed out to me, was so blatantly obvious. I then realized that in being a white young woman reading the Heart of Darkness I too was ethnocentric without even knowing. I have, since then become much more detail oriented when I read a novel, an article in the newspaper, and watch the news at night. I try to see where this point of view is coming from and also where it is directed. I understand that it is my duty to pick truth from what is presented to me each and every day.
I feel your pain in feeling a bit ignorant. I think it is interesting when discussing the issue of modern day slavery you tied in globalization. I had never considered how becoming more interconnected globally could potentially open doors and boarders to those who are holding slaves. I agree with you that it seems incomprehensible to think that there are slaves (27 million!!) in the world today. We feel as though we have come so far, but we still have far to go. We should always strive to make the lives better all over the world. I completely agree with your statement regarding the plague that is American consumerism! What’s ours is ours, and that’s that! Thanks for your interesting comments.
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