Comparing Poverty in America

Poverty from the 1930's Great Depression - 

The picture depicts a quite large family in their small, what looks to be, living room, eating. The major things that stick out from this image is that the wallpaper isn't really wallpaper at all, but newspaper. This shows a sense of desperation as well as ingenuity, as I guess it is done for insulation or to maybe reflect light. Another thing to take note of is that the parents are watching the children eat. This could be because they simply don't have enough food to sustain all of them so the parents have sacrificed their meal for the kids, and there are quite a few children there putting even more pressure on resources. The woman's stance and posture connote a sense of anxiety and stress, which is in contrast to the man in the corner as he looks fairly relaxed. They are both stood up to which could mean they have no other seating.

Poverty from 2014 America - 

This picture shows the 'tent cities' that have appeared across America today as more and more people become homeless, formed as an alternative to shelters and street-living. This is quite shocking considering what many people outside of the country view America as. Their image is definitely not hundreds of people living in tents within the large cities. Comparing the two images, I find that the modern one is more shocking as in the modern world you wouldn't necessarily expect this to still be happening, let alone in a place like the U.S. It shows that no matter how far the world can advance, there are always going to be those that are less fortunate and find themselves shoved to the side and not in the thoughts of those that have the power to help.

Contemporary Positive Examples of the American Dream

This is a trailer for Captain America: The First Avenger, a film released in 2011. The film tells the story of Steve Rogers, a boy from Brooklyn in World War II America who, thanks to a scientific experiment, becomes a super-soldier.

Steve is a small, weak boy with humble beginnings, shown in the trailer by his line "I'm just a kid from Brooklyn." His evolution to super-solider is a perfect example of the American Dream and American individualism, as his courage and good heart, as opposed to any physical attributes or a wealthy background, are what puts him on the path to his new self, and indeed are the very reasons why he is chosen for the experiment.

The film, obviously, is set during the Second World War. However, it doesn't seem to portray the War as bad for society. Rather, America's war efforts are seen as a good thing, as the Nazis are demonised. The secret Nazi organisation, Hydra, is portrayed throughout the Marvel franchise as evil, and anyone associated with Hydra are seen as equally evil people, not to be sympathised with. This is an example of the American ideology of demonising the 'Other', and portraying them as pure evil, with no possible good intent.

Although Steve's patriotism isn't as loud or as obvious as one might expect it to be, it is clearly illustrated by the fact that he is the one who designs his costume.

The costume, seen here, is obviously patriotic, emphasising the red, white and blue of the American flag. Both the shield and Steve's chest bear a star, resembling the stars representing the 50 states on the flag. Additionally, an "A" is clearly emblazoned on Steve's forehead, which stands for "America".

Additionally, the tagline for the film presented in the trailer is "heroes are made in America", again emphasising the American Dream, and the idea that it is being American, and being in America, that is a key ingredient in becoming the perfect hero, and that it is Americans who epitomise the ideals of "truth, justice and liberty."

Pro- and Anti-Gun Control Websites

Pro-Gun Control: Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence was originally named the Board of Trustees for Handgun Control. It was renamed to its current title in December 2000, in honour of Jim Brady, Ronald Raegan's assistant and press secretary, who was shot and paralysed during an assassination attempt on Raegan's life.

The website has plenty of easy-to-access information, including victim stories and a "state scorecard", which rates each of the 50 states according to their gun control laws. An information page, entitled "About Gun Violence" gives bullet-pointed sections (with sources) explaining the negative effects of gun violence. There are details accounts of the organisation's campaigns, including success stories. The website also offers an array of ways to get people actively involved in the promotion of gun control, such as social media messages, action pledges, and petitions.

While the website clearly has a strong pro-control and anti-violence agenda, there is no indication of any desire to ban guns. It seems that the creators of the website have nothing against owning guns, however it is the violence of guns, and how easy it is for people to get them, that the organisation seems to be concerned with.

Anti-Gun Control: Guns 'n' Freedom

When the homepage for "Guns 'n' Freedom" loads, the top item you see is an advertisement for the sale of bullets, which calls itself "Freedom Munition". The next thing to catch your eye is the headline beneath, "74-Year-Old Shoots Woman's Stalker." Scrolling down, more headlines appear, indicating stories about positive effects of gun usage, and national and international advances in gun freedom, as well as stories of gun control advances (written about negatively, of course). Menu selections at the top of the blog give the website visitor the ability to filter stories by tags: "gun control", "self-defense stories" and "video". Along this menu, there is also an option labelled "buy ammo", which leads one who clicks it to the online ammunition store of an affiliate.

there is an "about" page, which gives a short 6-line paragraph introducing the website and explaining its purpose - to "scour" the internet for news and stories which support their argument. In this paragraph, they claim that the stories they post are "ignored by the main stream media", and that "the facts are on the side of gun supporters and not gun control activists." However, unlike the Brady Campaign website, there are no facts then given, nor sources referenced.

Gun Control Websites

Pro-gun control: Brady Campaign

This is the website for the Brady campaign. Run by Jim and Sarah Brady, the Brady Campaign was set up after Jim Brady, an assistant to Ronald Reagan, was shot during an assignation attempt against the president. After being shot Jim Brady led a campaign to prevent gun violence; with success in the passing of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act in 1993, until his death in 2014 due to complications from the shooting.

The Brady campaign is an activist website trying to encourage people to organise marches and get in touch with their local governments about increasing gun safety laws and preventing the sale of guns unlawfully.

Interestingly Jim Brady was a republican and this may be one of the reasons the website while pro-gun control has more of a focus on gun safety and stopping the sale of illegal guns, using phrases like “stop bad apple gun dealers” implying that most gun dealers are lawful and responsible.

 

 

Anti-gun control:  Students for Concealed Carry

Students for concealed carry, calls itself “a national, non-partisan, grassroots organization composed of more than 43,000 college students, professors, college employees, parents of college students, and concerned citizens” it supports the right for students to carry concealed weapon to protect themselves while on campus at their college.

The website function is to encourage people to volunteer and contact their local governments much the same as the Brady campaign, but seems to be more scare mongering. There is a slide show on the home page with slogans like “prepared not paranoid” and “next active shooter emergency????” bordered in red with a large Donate link next to it; the Brady campaign also has a link for making donations but it seems to be more subtle    

 

The websites both seem reasonably level headed and, mainly interested in providing information but, what is interesting are their differing approaches and aesthetics. Both have red and blue as their primary colours but concealed carry uses harsher fonts and more red lettering. They are professional looking but the Brady campaigns home page is less cluttered with Facebook and twitter links; this is presumably due to the target demographic for concealed carry being young college students. Even though the websites look different they both have similar functions and offer links, articles and statistics that support their stance, and are both .org so presumably non-profit organisations mainly concerned with raising awareness on their particular issue.

Gun Control Websites

Pro-gun control - Coalition to Stop Gun Violence http://csgv.org/

This group aims to "to secure freedom from gun violence through research, strategic engagement and effective policy advocacy". Meaning that they aren't against people owning guns, just that those that do need to be more responsible and trained, and laws that actually protect citizens as well as laws that limit the power and effects of the gun industry.

Unlike groups such as 'Stop the NRA', this group and website come across in a much calmer manner, not so "in your face" as such. The website itself is set out in a way that makes it easy to read and understand, and their language used is sophisticated and simple. Their major points are as followed:

1. Universal Background Checks - Making them more thorough and a requirement every time
2. Opposing the NRA "insurrectionist" ideology - Protecting the Constitution
3. Automatic/Semi-automatic weapons off the streets
4. Stop Guns in Public
5. Ensure Micro-stamping is used throughout the industry
6. Counter-marketing
7. "Stand your ground" Laws - Opposing NRA-drafted laws
8. Stopping protection for the Industry

It's interesting that they aren't actually fighting to stop guns completely. They make some legitimate options for the industry to utilise, such as micro-stamping, which allows police to track criminals based on bullet casing. I agree with all of their points, however a strong argument can be made that the safest thing to do is to get rid of guns in public entirely.

Anti-gun control - Gun Owners of America http://gunowners.org/

This group looks to preserve and defend the Second Amendment. GOA sees the right to bear arms as a fundamental freedom issue. GOA's stance is to "never compromise" and not to accept the status quo. However, it is interesting to note that this group makes efforts to differentiate itself from the NRA, publicly criticising them for "selling out" and compromising on gun rights issues.

Their primary concern is protecting the Second Amendment and their rights as Americans, seeing firearm ownership as a "freedom issue". Does this help to actually protect the victims of gun crime? The examples they list on the website of victories, are victories concerning closure of gun clubs and ranges and protecting them. Also, on the website they have a "Just for skeptics" page which tries to disprove anti-groups. However, all of the articles used are 6 years out of date and don't really do anything to convince myself they are right. They don't seem to acknowledge that, just because their member are "law abiding citizens" with guns, there are those who aren't. They don't see the bigger issue. The argument that it is their right is correct, however that has to have some limitations when it comes to endanger others, like every right has.

Liberty YouTube Video

This is a video of the members of the American Legion Auxiliary gathering on the steps of the Lincoln memorial to sing various patriotic American songs. The variety of songs sung in this video demonstrates the extent of patriotism in the USA; they have so many well-known patriotic songs, in contrast to the UK where we have only a couple of songs, of which most people only know a few lines - including the national anthem.

The fact that these people are able to gather at this very public location and express their patriotism is an example of the power of free speech and demonstrates the strong values held by Americans.

American Liberty

AMERICA F**K YEAH!

This video is an extreme parody of American liberty and patriotism. If one were to look at it seriously, which isn't advised, the video shows the landmarks of modern American society and its culture. However, the video is clearly satirical and is used to mock, as well as cement in place, the generic American stereotype and the concieved jingoistic approach of the USA.

“America: Fuck Yeah!” is a multi-purpose expression that can be used as an authentic display of strong approval or an ironic response to extreme or unwarranted patriotism toward the United States of America (usually the latter). The phrase rose to fame after being quoted in the 2004 action comedy film Team America: World Police.

Barack Obama

Barack Hussain Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1961, to a white American mother and a black Kenyan father. He also has a half-Indonesian half-sister, and several Irish cousins. His wife, Michelle, is African-American with distant European roots.

Obama is currently the 44th President of the United States. He was elected in 2008 against Republican candidate John McCain. His election was a historic moment for the United States, as he is the first United States President to be a person of colour. Obama is a liberal Democrat, and stands for policies such as equal rights and peace over war. He has attempted multiple times to pass laws, such as the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and the closure of Guantanamo Bay, however these laws have been prevented by the presence of Republicans in congress.

Obama is often hailed as a symbol of progress and hope for a better America, however many Americans don't believe he is the change his campaigns present him to be. This is due to Americans not understanding the way laws are passed in their country. Many believe that the President has absolute power, and can pass any law he wishes - however, if this were so, Obama would be leading a dictatorship, not a democracy. Obama can propose and sign for laws - no law can be passed without his permission - however, any laws he attempts to enact must be agreed with by congress. Congress is made up of Republicans and Democrats, parties which both disagree on many subjects, as Republicans are right-wing and Democrats are left-wing. Therefore, Obama finds he cannot pass the left-wing acts he promises as they are constantly shot down by right-wing Republicans. Obama meets great popularity amongst citizens of other countries, however his popularity among American citizens wanes as he is constantly blocked from fulfilling his campaign promises.

Although Obama is met with many difficult and often impossible obstacles in his efforts, his very presence as President and his determination to pursue his liberal ideals are a sign of change in the USA. His election as President shows the changing values of the American people, and paves the way for changes to come, so long as the American people continue to believe that change is possible.