This lecture did open my eyes a little more to the positive sides of immigration, but then again even if it may be a good thing to some extent, our country shouldn’t let it get out of hand. I don’t think it’s particularly fair that undocumented people can come here and while the government simply looks the other way unless the amount of labor needed in this country is already met. I’m trying to look at this from both ends, but I still don’t have a solid answer as to whether I believe illegal immigration is completely acceptable or not. The way I see it, if I was to try to move to Mexico or Canada or anywhere to simply find work, I wouldn’t expect to be let in just like that. Though these illegal immigrants migrate to the U.S. to better the lives of their families, they can’t just expect to get in here for nothing. I can understand that money has a lot to do with it, but if you thought about it in the back of your head that you could possibly get caught in this country without a green card, the consequences could be terrible and therefore the illegal trip here wouldn’t end up being worth it anyway.
I know that many people find illegal immigration appalling. The problem is, many American’s want to fight against it, but no one is ready to take on the work that immigrants are willing to do. Many people believe that eliminating immigration would help our country but in the long run, it would hurt us more than anything else. On a different note, if Americans were offered more money to do these harsh jobs, I’m sure many people would jump on the opportunity. The problem is, if they can hire people willing to do these jobs for less, why would they want to pay Americans more for their labor?
I would want to strive for the best life I could make for my family, even if it meant working hours upon hours under the hot sun for a seemingly low wage. If working long hours meant more money, I would definitely leave my home country to seek out a better living. Without immigration, there wouldn’t be enough laborers for crops.
I have always had mixed feelings on illegal immigration. Mainly since the beginning of the semester, I have started thinking more about illegal immigration and how it can affect yet help our country all at the same time. Before hand, I used to think that illegal immigration was taking jobs away from Americans. I came to find out that Americans who are used to living off of certain wages and in certain jobs aren’t actually willing to do the grueling jobs that many illegal immigrants do.
I feel bad that I didn’t know about these occurrences before hand and I truly wish that more of us could be knowledgeable on the topic. How can our government truly let these people lives their lives this way? 124 out of a 1000 Native Americans are the victims of a violent crime, 80% unemployment rate, and an outrageous suicide rate. It’s devastating and I can’t believe I was so ignorant to all of this beforehand. I hope eventually a great amount of people will become knowledgeable about what is going on in our country and try to make a change for the sake of these people who never did anything wrong to us in the first place.
. I thought that only people in third world countries were living the way that Natives are living here today in this country. I think the problem is, is that no one really talks about it and instead many of us are just ignorant to how things really are when it comes to the lives of native Americans. It’s sad that we are supposed to be one nation under God and instead it seems to me like there are two completely different nations split in half. The funny thing about it all is that we were the ones that pushed these people out of their own land in the first place!
Until college, I never truly thought much about Native Americans or their way of life today. I have been on reservations before a couple of times but I never realized the poverty level that they were in. Actually, it wasn’t until this class that I found out how they are truly being treated by the American government and how it seems strange that they are living in this very country and live at a lower standard than most of us could imagine.
First of all, I thought it was very strange that I had never heard this song before. I have been listening to Dave Matthews for years now and I have never come across this until class. I thought that this song was a little bone chilling yet very true all at once. It helped to see the lyrics right in front of me so that I could connect the images, the lyrics, and the music all together. Honestly, I’ve never heard a song like this one before. The main part of the song that caught my attention the most was the lyric that stated that there isn’t enough room for the two of us so you must leave or you will die. It is sad to think that Native Americans literally were fought off of their own land yet we as Americans today sit here and refuse to acknowledge the fact that what our people did to the native Americans was disgraceful.
The fact that there are people, our American people, in another part of the world invading societies and forcing them to give up a precious resource that they are sitting on just makes me sick in a way. We rely on another country for something that we need, yet these people are portrayed by our society as all bad and terrorists. When Sam told us to pretend that we were Iraqi civilians, it truly made me see how I would feel if I was to be in their situation. I never realized it prior to this lecture, and for this I would definitely put this lecture at the top of my list of favorites for the semester.
I wouldn’t necessarily say that this was the best lecture of the semester. I understood the importance of this one and I could see why Sam wanted to address it but I ended up leaving the class feeling embarrassed of our country. I could understand why other countries would have an issue with us. I was hoping that this class would enlighten and entertain me. For example, I loved the sex lecture with Sam’s wife, and the lecture on cocoa slaves on the ivory- coast. The sex lecture was just amusing while the cocoa slavery lecture really opened my eyes as to what is truly going on in parts of the world that you don’t normally think about. I think that certain lectures in this class truly make me see things in a different light and though this particular lecture did help open my eyes, I still feel helpless in the matter.
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