Long live to art!

Who did not watch an American movie? Who did not listen to American music? Almost everybody in the World has been influenced somehow by American culture. 

What I did not know is about the painting in the US. Last class, Lucía explained how this art has change in America throughout the history. It was first influenced by Europeans and subjects were related to the Revolution and Independence. Later came other movements like modernism, expressionism, pop art, and minimalism, I find this last one a little bit strange, but after all it is art. 

Regarding the music, I admit I love the music from this country (maybe more than my own country’s music); however, I do not like all the genres, for example I would not listen to metal or punk music, I do not understand them. I think jazz is interesting since it was created by African Americans, I do not know how to explain this but I feel that nobody but black people can play this music, it just sounds better… 

Finally, cinema arrived the United States and since then the most profitable industry has growth. Many people state that films made in the Golden Age are the best ever. I would not say no because I was born in the ’80, but I watched some of these films and I can say that they are better than the new ones. I do not know if Americans ran out of ideas, but their films are still influencing the World, even though most of them have more visual effects than a real story.

The wars of the United States

After the attacks on September 11th 2001, the United States started a war against the terrorist groups based on Afghanistan. The purpose was to overthrow the Taliban regime and find Osama bin Laden, leader of al-Qaeda… Of course, that was the official version.

If we research and read information about this war (especially on Internet), we may believe that the 9/11 attacks justified the American invasion in Afghanistan (in fact, that was one of my conclusion of my research.). However, it seems that the real reasons were different from those that the media and the Government presented; and it also seems that many people do not know these reasons even after more than 10 years of war. All this is explained in the movie Fahrenheit 9/11 of Michael Moore. Although it is really controversial, this movie shows a part of the history never told before.

A fact I found really terrible is that George W. Bush administration took advantage of the situation after the 9/11 attacks and passed the Patriot Act. This law allows the Government to do whatever is necessary to fight terrorism, even violating human rights. A couple of video given by the teacher proves that this law is not really helping in the war against terrorism. Actually, due to this law, many innocent people have been arrested just because they were “suspects”, and they were judged without the right to have a lawyer.

The other war started in 2003 in Iraq. This time the United States claimed that Saddam Hussein regime hid weapons of mass destruction and that he was a threat for the American security. Of course, the real reason was not that. Americans wanted to take control over the oil reserves! Fortunately, this war only lasted few years (!).

Taking into account all this information, I would say that the US has no really the intention to help the countries they invade, instead they have excuses… That is so sad!

American dream

We had an interesting debate about the American dream. Two of us (Mayra and me) argued that the American dream is not just a dream, it is an ideal for getting a better situation and it is possible only if you work really hard.

American dream involves freedom, something that almost does not exist in some countries (especially developing countries). Nobody can tell you what to think or believe, you can have your own ideas, your own opinion and your own religion.

It also includes job opportunities. I do not know what the real situation of the American employment is because of the current crisis, but I do know that in Peru if you do not study and get a degree, you cannot get a good job; what is worse you may work long hours just for a poor salary which does not even include an insurance.

Despite the crisis, I would say that American system education is one of the best in the World. There are a lot of options for students. Even if you do not have enough money, you can get a loan (of course you need to get good marks) and study in a prestigious university or college.

Nevertheless, for many people there is no American dream. For example, illegal immigrants who go to America for getting a better situation have to deal with discrimination and legal issues (even if you are a legal immigrant, you could be discriminated.). What is more, black people are still rejected (there are neighborhood for white people who cannot put up with black people!).

Of course we can continue the debate, but it is quite difficult because each one has its own idea of what American dream is.

The perfect storm is here!

I did not have any idea what a “perfect storm” was (actually I thought it was just a movie). Thanks to today class, I learnt something about it.

To understand what America’s perfect storm is about, we watched an interesting video. As the information was presented, I tried to create an image on my mind to get the main idea. What I imagined is an entire country being absorbed by a black hole… What a terrible situation!

Nowadays, American companies not only face new challenges to satisfy people’s needs but also have to compete with companies from all over the World; and this is very difficult for them because the workforce is cheaper in those other countries. The situation gets worse if we consider the fact that there are less and less highly qualified professionals in the US. The reason of this seems to be that many people do not finish high schools nor do not do a degree course because they think they do not need it, they could be content with a badly-paid job. Finally, but not less important, it is the fact that American population will continue to grow and became older and diverse. In this context, the immigration would have an effect not only in the population’s growth but also in the workforce (according to a report of ETS, between 2000 and 2005, two-thirds of the nation’s civilian labor-force growth and 86 percent of its employment growth was generated by new immigrant arrivals.)

Based on all this information, I would say that the US future may be a real nightmare. Americans should take measures before it is too late.

Big corporation, big power

Big corporations are really important in the US Economy. They provide work to thousands of people, they satisfy people’s needs, and they are admired and envied by small companies. 

Nevertheless, some of them do not want to have any competition, so they create monopolies (unfair competition); as a result they can fix the prices they want. In addition some of these companies have influence upon political and/or economic issues of the country; and that is unacceptable. Let’s imagine that a huge laboratory develops a pill which cures a specific disease. Everything is ok. However, the pharmacists know this pill has terrible side effects so it is impossible to sell it. But it does not matter. They have “friends” in the highest levels of the State and they can persuade them (with money, of course) to admit their product. Finally, the magic pill is welcome to the market where thousands of people will buy it without knowing its bad consequences… This is just an example about how some big corporations take unfair advantage of their power. 

I would not say all big corporations are bad or good, but I am totally sure that they must be controlled for the good of all.

American crisis

Fourth class was about the Great Depression and the Subprime mortgage crisis. 

These crises seem to have similarities. For example, in the Great Depression there was an “Economic bubble” while in Subprime mortgage crisis there was a “Real estate bubble”. 

Another similarity is that Wall Street was involved in both crises. In the Great Depression, companies and people bought and sold shares. In the Subprime mortgage crisis, investors and banks bought and sold ‘toxic bonds’. 

The consequences are also similar: lots of companies and/or banks went bankrupt, thousands of people lost their jobs, unemployment rate increased, middle class people were affected, crises spread all over the World, etc. 

 

 At the Great Depression time, the President of the US was Hebert Hoover. He did not take the necessary measures to face the crisis so people got angry. When the Subprime mortgage crisis started, the President of the US was George W. Bush. He did take measures but these measures consisted of save banks and companies which were responsible for the crisis. Once again, people got angry. Both Presidents were from the Republican Party. Both Presidents were succeeded by Democratic Party’s candidates. 

Finally, despite the facts, I think the main reason of both crises was greed. People were not happy with what they had, they wanted more and more.

American Government

US independence was a huge event! This definitely laid the foundations of this great nation. 

I find particularly interesting the fact that the thirteen former colonies kept their autonomy. In my opinion, Americans wanted to be the master of their own destiny: nobody rules them but themselves. 

It is also amazing to know how Americans created and organized their form of government. As in many countries, there are three branches in the US: legislative branch (Congress), executive branch (The President), and the judicial branch (Supreme Court). Perhaps what differs from those other countries is that each branch has powers over the other; this is known as “checks and balance”, and prevents any one branch from gaining undue power. This is the reason why The President is not as powerful as people use to think. 

Regarding the elections, I would say that the system of national Presidential elections is a little bit difficult to understand. Citizens who want to vote must register as voter (it is not obligatory to vote in US). In addition, the “Electoral College” reports the “electoral votes” which are equal to the number of Senator and Representatives each state has in Congress. Despite its complexity, it seems to be the best system for Americans. 

Finally, while in many countries there are plenty of political parties, in America there are just two (in fact, there are more, but they do not influence too much): the Republicans and the Democrats. The traditional European terms of “right” and “left” may fit these two parties, but it actually does not. For example, a Democrat could be “liberal” as well as “conservative”. It is necessary to study these political parties without any “denomination”.