Camden Central High School
Camden, Tennessee
Teacher: Wanda Allen
Immigration, Imperialism, and the Spread of Democracy 868 words
By Evan Gaskin
11th Grade
With all the technology that we have today, especially the Internet, it is definitely true that the entire world has been brought together into one global society. With the easy accessibility of information, whether it is true or untrue, people all over the globe are hearing about a country where you can be anything that you want, a land with endless possibilities. When this reaches the ears of a person who is looking for a new and better life, they immediately focus on reaching a goal. That goal is to immigrate to the United States of America .
When our Founding Fathers drafted the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, this was their intention, to make life better for not only native-born American citizens, but naturalized American citizens also. We, the American citizens of today, have adopted this feeling; we want to make life better for people in our global society. We do this through imperialism, allowing immigration, and the overall spread of democracy.
With
imperialism,
we
develop
a
sphere
of
influence
in
and
around
other
countries,
and
in
most
cases
the
surrounding
countries
benefit
from
American
products
from
American
countries.
When
the
natives
of
these
countries
see
and
take
advantage
of
these
products,
they
develop
an
interest
in
life
in
America
.
They
eventually
figure
out
that
life
in
America
is
probably
better
than
life
where
they
are,
and
they
immigrate
to
the
U.S.
The
people
that
do
not
immigrate
find
themselves
ruled
by
a
government
that
does
not
prosper,
so
they
become
friendly
to
the
idea
of
democracy.
When
we
allow
immigrants
to
enter
our
country
legally,
we
are
helping
fellow
members
of
our
global
society
to
better
their
lives,
in
most
cases.
If
they
follow
common
procedure
and
become
a
naturalized
American
citizen,
then
they
become
a
legal
part
of
the
democratic
way
of
life,
and
in
turn
spread
the
ideas
of
democracy
to
the
ties
they
keep
with
people
in
their
native
country.
With
the
spread
of
democracy
as
I
have
described
above,
it
is
easy
to
see
that
our
Founding
Fathers
meant
for
this
to
happen
because
most
of
them
were
immigrants
or
the
direct
descendants
of
immigrants.
However,
I
do
not
believe
that
our
Founding
Fathers
thought
that
the
numbers
would
escalate
into
the
numbers
that
we
witness
today.
In
1998
the
total
number
of
documented
immigrants
into
the
U.S.
was
660,
477
people,
which
was
the
lowest
since
1988.
When
a
nation
is
subjected
to
this
high
rate
of
immigration,
its
culture
becomes
extremely
diversified.
Then,
in
turn,
the
government
has
to
become
more
diversified.
This
is
accomplished
through
the
election
of
officials
from
generation
to
generation,
who
are
elected
by
the
spirit
of
the
people.
It is evident that to be an American one must realize how great our country and government are, and to try to make life better for our fellow members of the global society, which usually means spreading democracy in one way or another. However, we as Americans must come to realize that we have to look out for ourselves somewhat. I am talking about the increasing number of illegal-immigrants in the U.S.
This is something else that I do not think the Founding Fathers thought would escalate the way that it has. Currently, two-thirds of all births in Los Angeles County Hospitals are to illegal-immigrant mothers. These mothers, that most likely do not have health insurance or any means to pay their doctor bills, have an excuse to stay in the U.S. , because they now have a son or daughter that is a natural born citizen of the U.S. Now the doctors, who will most likely not get paid for their services, will have to raise their prices to make up the difference, and that is when it affects our pockets.
Another problem with the statistic given above is that now those natural born citizens will attend schools in our public schools systems, where they will have to enroll in bilingual classes. When a student is enrolled in a bilingual class, this severely hurts them for chances at higher paying jobs in the future. This is because a student is not made to learn their new language fluently in order to succeed in school, but they will have to be fluent in English in order to get out of the sweatshop-type jobs that their parents hold.
Not
only
do
bilingual
classes
harm
bilingual
students,
but
they
also
harm
the
monolingual
students.
When
a
teacher
has
to
stop
teaching
in
order
to
explain
something
to
a
bilingual
student,
they
are
taking
valuable
time
away
from
monolingual
students
to
learn
as
much
as
possible.
Now
ask
yourself,
would
you
rather
a
teacher
stop
to
explain
something
to
a
bilingual
student,
whose
parent
is
here
illegally,
so
they
can
learn
more,
or
to
a
monolingual
student
whose
parents
are
native-born
citizens.
In conclusion, to be an American one must love and/or respect our country and our government, and want to make life better for all the members of our global society. They must want to do this in a manner that will help mankind, but there is nothing wrong with looking after yourself a little.
Answer To Required Reading Questions
Q1- Explain, in your own words, the three developments in or culture that have contributed to the disorder Professor Huntington senses in the USA today.
The three developments that Professor Huntington senses are as follows: multiculturalism, which causes most efforts at civic education to fail; transnationalism, which involves certain higher-class people believing that they do not need this nation; and the “Hispanization of America”, which involves Hispanic immigrants turning America into “a bilingual, bicultural society”.
Q2- Define and discuss the American creed, the ideology that Professor Huntington cites as one of the historic sources of our national identity.
The American creed is the principles of the Declaration of Independence, which are individual rights and government by consent.
Q3- Explain the differences between culture and creed, according to the Professor.
Culture is defined by language and religion, along with some inherited English notions of liberty.
Q4- Professor Huntington thinks culture is more important than creed. Do you? Explain.
Yes, I do agree with Professor Huntington because culture defines who we are as a people.
Q5- Discuss “founding” as expressed by Aristotle’s Politics.
Founding is when a country is given law, institutions, offices, and precepts that make the country what it is, that distinguish it as the form of government it is.
Q6- Complete the sentence attributed to Aristotle’s thinking: “We are just free enough to ______________.” (Fill in the blank.)
We are just free enough to be able to take responsibility for the things in life we cannot choose- the geographical, economic, cultural, and other factors that condition our freedom but don’t abolish it.
Q7- Which took precedence in the founding of America ; natural law and rights or the British Constitution?
Natural law and rights took precedence in the founding of America .
Q8- What was the reason for the traditional conservatives’ opposition to the rationalism that fueled the French Revolution?
The reason for the stiff opposition to the French Revolution by traditional conservatives was rationalism. They condemned rationalism on the grounds that its universal principles destroyed the conditions of political health in particular societies.
Q9- American Intelligence efforts uncovered a group of Taliban leaders attending a funeral. By current military terms of engagement no action could be taken against these “sitting duck” enemies. Why? Is this, in your opinion, a good or bad outcome? Defend your position.
This was a good outcome, because if our troops had taken action, innocent civilians could have been hurt.
Q10-
The
Geneva
Convention
requires
signatories,
(the
USA
is
one
of
a
multitude
of
signatories)
to
enact
their
laws
keeping
with
the
ban
against
torture.
Currently
U.S.
law
prohibits
conduct
conduct
denigrating
the
dignity
and
rights
of
foreign
prisoners
that
is
so
narrowly
defined
as
to
be
codling
in
the
opinion
of
many
Americans.
The
military
acknowledges
that
this
conduct
would
not
be
reciprocated
by
Al
Queda
and
Taliban
terrorists.Does
this
military
code
of
conduct
make
you
proid
to
be
an
American?
Why
or
why
not.
If
not,
what
should
be
done
to
correct
the
situation?
This
makes
me
proud
to
be
an
American
because
we
are
good
enough
people
to
set
an
example
for
other
countries
to
follow,
in
order
to
treat
prisoners
of
war
as
actual
human
beings.
Q11
Can
or
should
America
impose
its
form
of
government
on
other
nations?
Yes,
America
should
impose
our
form
of
government
on
other
nations
because
democracy
has
proven
that
it
causes
a
country
to
become
prosperous.
We,
as
Americans,
should
want
others
to
live
prosperous
lives,
so
we
should
impose
democracy
on
other
nations.