From Wikipedia-
In the news-
Ukraine and Russia
Brian Williams
World War II-
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
United States home front
For Fun-
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge
Zeiss Projector
Friday, February 13, 2015
Culture and Politics in the US
"I work for no man, for all men are equal."
To me the political structure in the United States can be examined through the lens of culture. Meaning it is America's culture that shapes its politics more than anything. If compared to the cultures of other geographical regions of the world, it can be seen that the United States is unique in a lot of ways. No where else has a culture been born out of rebirth as much as it has here, and few places on earth compare to the unmatched natural beauty of this country.
For a time I was perplexed at what felt so different about my country. It was not until I traveled that I began to understand this feeling. A feeling of vastness, of unending opportunity, and of being able to try my whole life but never see all of the country. Our geography has separated the people into distinct culturally diverse regions, and the funny thing is they all create stereotypes about the each other. The people in the each section consider themselves to be better off, better qualified, and everyone else a boob. Why else would their ancestors have chosen to settle in this particular place?
These thoughts isolate the regions, and an invisible cultural partition is built. This partition in the United States has disconnected us in such a way that we do not care about our neighbors as much as we used to. It makes school violence seem distant, and breeds the phrase "Right around the corner from me" to describe only the events that affect only you. This, in my opinion, attributes to a distant culture. A culture that in the States that makes us feel disconnected from one another, and teaches us individualism from a very young age.
In my Anthropology class in college the professor had lived with the Cheyenne Native Americans, and explained it like this. He stated that the Native Americans were a highly collectivist society. From birth a child is reared not only by the mother but by the whole family, and not only that the village helps in the raising of the child as well. Babies sleep with their parents until they grow to a certain age, and then are lodged in the same room. The bond between the parents and their children seemed to be stronger, and family ties were strong.
In asian culture, ancestry is given mythical powers. You can pray to one's ancestors for guidance and wisdom. It is important to also note the privilege given to the elders in this culture, the younger generation sees the importance of the older. Both, young and old, work together culturally to achieve their goals.
However, in American culture, given that we are a mash-up of so many geo-cultures spread amongst a vast beautiful landscape, we are individuals forging our own paths. So involved are we in our individualistic lifestyle that anything that does not bother us directly, is paid little attention. Who cares if government debt is almost equal to gross domestic product of the country? Americans themselves can relate because a majority are living under the same personal debt to income ratio. Who cares if more and more people find themselves needing assistance? Americans make their own way and create their own destiny.
Unfortunately, the nature in which culture influences politics is based on these half-truths. It works out brilliantly for the power elite in charge. As long as Harry Politician (a non-creative name for the average person of hubris that inherits office) can keep the majority of the people under their influence happy, they can find themselves in a position of cushy power. Cushy in the fact that their jobs come with privilege, and power as in they can destroy everything you hold valuable, if enough Harrys get together with bright ideas.
So in a way, American culture proceeds the political realm, in that its influence is responsible for the core legislation of the country. To understand American politics, in my personal opinion, is to fully understand the people and culture out of which, the bureaucratic landscape emerges. To understand a revolt, you have to look at the people at the heart of such. Meaning that revolutions and changes of power do not happen without cause and without the masses being behind such a cause. This is the core the American political system. The idea that a disconnected people elect politicians that are obsessed with micro managing districts to secure more votes, while at the same time trying to create policy on a vastly larger scale that affects the majority.
Minority favoritism, for majority goals, and that is how culture and politics go hand and hand.
To me the political structure in the United States can be examined through the lens of culture. Meaning it is America's culture that shapes its politics more than anything. If compared to the cultures of other geographical regions of the world, it can be seen that the United States is unique in a lot of ways. No where else has a culture been born out of rebirth as much as it has here, and few places on earth compare to the unmatched natural beauty of this country.
For a time I was perplexed at what felt so different about my country. It was not until I traveled that I began to understand this feeling. A feeling of vastness, of unending opportunity, and of being able to try my whole life but never see all of the country. Our geography has separated the people into distinct culturally diverse regions, and the funny thing is they all create stereotypes about the each other. The people in the each section consider themselves to be better off, better qualified, and everyone else a boob. Why else would their ancestors have chosen to settle in this particular place?
These thoughts isolate the regions, and an invisible cultural partition is built. This partition in the United States has disconnected us in such a way that we do not care about our neighbors as much as we used to. It makes school violence seem distant, and breeds the phrase "Right around the corner from me" to describe only the events that affect only you. This, in my opinion, attributes to a distant culture. A culture that in the States that makes us feel disconnected from one another, and teaches us individualism from a very young age.
In my Anthropology class in college the professor had lived with the Cheyenne Native Americans, and explained it like this. He stated that the Native Americans were a highly collectivist society. From birth a child is reared not only by the mother but by the whole family, and not only that the village helps in the raising of the child as well. Babies sleep with their parents until they grow to a certain age, and then are lodged in the same room. The bond between the parents and their children seemed to be stronger, and family ties were strong.
In asian culture, ancestry is given mythical powers. You can pray to one's ancestors for guidance and wisdom. It is important to also note the privilege given to the elders in this culture, the younger generation sees the importance of the older. Both, young and old, work together culturally to achieve their goals.
However, in American culture, given that we are a mash-up of so many geo-cultures spread amongst a vast beautiful landscape, we are individuals forging our own paths. So involved are we in our individualistic lifestyle that anything that does not bother us directly, is paid little attention. Who cares if government debt is almost equal to gross domestic product of the country? Americans themselves can relate because a majority are living under the same personal debt to income ratio. Who cares if more and more people find themselves needing assistance? Americans make their own way and create their own destiny.
Unfortunately, the nature in which culture influences politics is based on these half-truths. It works out brilliantly for the power elite in charge. As long as Harry Politician (a non-creative name for the average person of hubris that inherits office) can keep the majority of the people under their influence happy, they can find themselves in a position of cushy power. Cushy in the fact that their jobs come with privilege, and power as in they can destroy everything you hold valuable, if enough Harrys get together with bright ideas.
So in a way, American culture proceeds the political realm, in that its influence is responsible for the core legislation of the country. To understand American politics, in my personal opinion, is to fully understand the people and culture out of which, the bureaucratic landscape emerges. To understand a revolt, you have to look at the people at the heart of such. Meaning that revolutions and changes of power do not happen without cause and without the masses being behind such a cause. This is the core the American political system. The idea that a disconnected people elect politicians that are obsessed with micro managing districts to secure more votes, while at the same time trying to create policy on a vastly larger scale that affects the majority.
Minority favoritism, for majority goals, and that is how culture and politics go hand and hand.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Daily Reading 3/20/14
From Wikipedia-
Politics-
The article describing the position and its current incumbent.
Prime Minister of Crimea
Sergey Aksyonov
World War II-
The last of the Axis powers and the pact that formed one of the alliances.
Benito Mussolini's Fascism
Pact of Steel
For Fun-
Nerdily delving into space with an asteroid that gave us some brief panic, and a warp drive that uses hypothetical particles to move faster than light.
99942 Apophis
Alcubierre drive
Thank you for reading, wherever you may be.
Politics-
The article describing the position and its current incumbent.
Prime Minister of Crimea
Sergey Aksyonov
World War II-
The last of the Axis powers and the pact that formed one of the alliances.
Benito Mussolini's Fascism
Pact of Steel
For Fun-
Nerdily delving into space with an asteroid that gave us some brief panic, and a warp drive that uses hypothetical particles to move faster than light.
99942 Apophis
Alcubierre drive
Thank you for reading, wherever you may be.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Daily Reading 3/19/14
From Wikipedia-
In the News-
The search for a missing plane, and another that has never been found.
Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501
USS Kidd
World War II-
Continuing to examine the causes, weaknesses with the treaty that ended the previous war, and Emperor Hirohito of Japan.
The Treaty of Versailles
Hirohito
For Fun-
Examining the power of engineering and imagination.
Mega Structure
The Illinois
Thank You, for reading. Now onto more important things.
In the News-
The search for a missing plane, and another that has never been found.
Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501
USS Kidd
World War II-
Continuing to examine the causes, weaknesses with the treaty that ended the previous war, and Emperor Hirohito of Japan.
The Treaty of Versailles
Hirohito
For Fun-
Examining the power of engineering and imagination.
Mega Structure
The Illinois
Thank You, for reading. Now onto more important things.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Daily Reading 3/18/14
From Wikipedia-
Politics-
One of the few countries to still have an elected monarch.
Malaysia
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
World War II-
Starting at the beginning and reviewing the causes.
Weimar Republic
Hitler's Rise to Power
For Fun-
Two large radio observatories with a great history.
Arecibo Observatory
Very Large Array
Thank you for reading, you can now impress your friends with your newfound knowledge.
Politics-
One of the few countries to still have an elected monarch.
Malaysia
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
World War II-
Starting at the beginning and reviewing the causes.
Weimar Republic
Hitler's Rise to Power
For Fun-
Two large radio observatories with a great history.
Arecibo Observatory
Very Large Array
Thank you for reading, you can now impress your friends with your newfound knowledge.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
The GOP
Once Grand, Never Again
When I grew up in the South I idolized the GOP because my parents did. My dad was a hard working contractor who built his business from scratch, so of course his support is going trend red. I used to see the president and politicians in an almost aura-like state. Though I was young when Clinton was impeached I still was giddy with joy because he was a Democrat, and in the south you hate those Democrats.
I used to aspire to be a Republican, and fulfil my duty to vote for a just cause. I remember the first time I voted, the feeling of finally doing something meaningful. However, voting has never been that way since. I think it might have been because the church I vote at always managed to run out of voter stickers before I finished voting. What is the point of voting unless you can prove to your neighbors that you are as patriotic as they?
With my feelings of joy being replaced with apathy, I again gazed over the ballot, and again was disappointed that I had somehow let it come to this. We are told in school that every vote counts, but when faced with a choice between two people whom you did not and cannot support, your vote seems meaningless. It is a connection problem. The connection between the cause and the result. When I anonymously check a candidate, I do not see the end result immediately, and in this highly connected world, expediency is king.
Yes, if my guy wins I am rapturous, and rush to gloat. The caveat being that the opposite happens when my guy loses. Uncertainty of tomorrow, feelings of doubt, investment in rare earths, and the stockpiling mattress cash to name a few. That feeling passes eventually though, its half life equal to that of the first 90-100 days of the new presidency or congressional session. Afterwards life becomes normal again and I wait another two years for the rush and dissapointment.
This is where the problems begin in the space in between.
In between the primaries, the political push, and the overall election cycle, lies the swaying point. The point where if things are going great, the undecided public stays with their team, if things are going bad, all lifeboats set sail. This is where little stories become big ones out of pure boredom, and both parties are struggling for the American public to retain interest in the political system. This is why the Republican party is struggling.
They cannot manage this political gap effectively, and must rely on a passionate blitzkrieg to get the party rallied again in an election year. This constant stopping and stalling, complaining and whining, tires the public to a point of exhaustion. In the end, after each cycle, it takes more and more momentum, more rallying speeches, even a party convention to spark interest in the cause.
The aging party is slowly wearing itself out.
Looking tired to the young and hip democrats. The democrats who do not mind you skateboarding on the sidewalk outside their house. The democrats who will not bug you as much, you just sit back in relax, they'll take care of everything. Just get up on a Tuesday in November and vote blue, so you won't have to be!
Because the 1980s republicans are slowly becoming a distant memory, the next generation is coming along and the GOP is panicked because they are not voting Republican. The ideologues in the party are afraid to rethink their positions on core issues, and fail to see a generation that is fighting desperately to not become like their parents. The 33 year old single mother, the 33 year old occupy protester, the 33 year old unemployed. All of which see Republicans as a danger to their livelihood, and as a representation of their parents telling them what to do.
What is the worst thing I can do to upset my parents? Vote Democrat.
What upsets my mom more than anything that I will ever do? Not voting.
Voting is a point of pride in my family, public service even more. Why can't the GOP simply open up to more healthy debates that will fulfill both points of pride in my family? Why can't they invoke that same feeling when I was 18 and I was fulfilling my duty to the Nation?
Until they can recapture the spirit of the next generation, the republican party will go the way of the Whigs and become a mere footnote in American history.
When I grew up in the South I idolized the GOP because my parents did. My dad was a hard working contractor who built his business from scratch, so of course his support is going trend red. I used to see the president and politicians in an almost aura-like state. Though I was young when Clinton was impeached I still was giddy with joy because he was a Democrat, and in the south you hate those Democrats.
I used to aspire to be a Republican, and fulfil my duty to vote for a just cause. I remember the first time I voted, the feeling of finally doing something meaningful. However, voting has never been that way since. I think it might have been because the church I vote at always managed to run out of voter stickers before I finished voting. What is the point of voting unless you can prove to your neighbors that you are as patriotic as they?
With my feelings of joy being replaced with apathy, I again gazed over the ballot, and again was disappointed that I had somehow let it come to this. We are told in school that every vote counts, but when faced with a choice between two people whom you did not and cannot support, your vote seems meaningless. It is a connection problem. The connection between the cause and the result. When I anonymously check a candidate, I do not see the end result immediately, and in this highly connected world, expediency is king.
Yes, if my guy wins I am rapturous, and rush to gloat. The caveat being that the opposite happens when my guy loses. Uncertainty of tomorrow, feelings of doubt, investment in rare earths, and the stockpiling mattress cash to name a few. That feeling passes eventually though, its half life equal to that of the first 90-100 days of the new presidency or congressional session. Afterwards life becomes normal again and I wait another two years for the rush and dissapointment.
This is where the problems begin in the space in between.
In between the primaries, the political push, and the overall election cycle, lies the swaying point. The point where if things are going great, the undecided public stays with their team, if things are going bad, all lifeboats set sail. This is where little stories become big ones out of pure boredom, and both parties are struggling for the American public to retain interest in the political system. This is why the Republican party is struggling.
They cannot manage this political gap effectively, and must rely on a passionate blitzkrieg to get the party rallied again in an election year. This constant stopping and stalling, complaining and whining, tires the public to a point of exhaustion. In the end, after each cycle, it takes more and more momentum, more rallying speeches, even a party convention to spark interest in the cause.
The aging party is slowly wearing itself out.
Looking tired to the young and hip democrats. The democrats who do not mind you skateboarding on the sidewalk outside their house. The democrats who will not bug you as much, you just sit back in relax, they'll take care of everything. Just get up on a Tuesday in November and vote blue, so you won't have to be!
Because the 1980s republicans are slowly becoming a distant memory, the next generation is coming along and the GOP is panicked because they are not voting Republican. The ideologues in the party are afraid to rethink their positions on core issues, and fail to see a generation that is fighting desperately to not become like their parents. The 33 year old single mother, the 33 year old occupy protester, the 33 year old unemployed. All of which see Republicans as a danger to their livelihood, and as a representation of their parents telling them what to do.
What is the worst thing I can do to upset my parents? Vote Democrat.
What upsets my mom more than anything that I will ever do? Not voting.
Voting is a point of pride in my family, public service even more. Why can't the GOP simply open up to more healthy debates that will fulfill both points of pride in my family? Why can't they invoke that same feeling when I was 18 and I was fulfilling my duty to the Nation?
Until they can recapture the spirit of the next generation, the republican party will go the way of the Whigs and become a mere footnote in American history.
Daily Reading 3/8/14
From Wikipedia:
Politics:
The creator of the rockets that launched us into space- Wernher von Braun
The international determinant of the brink of global disaster- Doomsday Clock
WWII:
This day in WWII- Japanese Capture of Rangoon
Overall picture- South-East Asia theater
For Fun:
Stanley Kubrick's classic- Dr. Strangelove
An early supercomputer- IBM 7090
Politics:
The creator of the rockets that launched us into space- Wernher von Braun
The international determinant of the brink of global disaster- Doomsday Clock
WWII:
This day in WWII- Japanese Capture of Rangoon
Overall picture- South-East Asia theater
For Fun:
Stanley Kubrick's classic- Dr. Strangelove
An early supercomputer- IBM 7090
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