American Culture Final Thoughts

My Neophyte Impression about American Culture

The American culture promotes personal responsibility,

 the dignity of work, the value of education,

the merit of service, devotion to a purpose greater than self,

and at the foundation, the pre-eminence of family.

Mitt Romney

          This semester in my Portfolio class, I had opportunity as a student to know about different topics of the American Culture. In first place, we talked about American Labor Movement. I knew the story of immigrant women at Triangle Factory Fire, and their struggle to be recognized as legal workers. As a result, today women in American have a better place in this society. Secondly, it was very impressive for me to participate in a political debate between candidater for the Presidency of the United States. I don't like political issues but I actually enjoyed to listen to different positions. However, the best topic, in my opinion, was about American Art. Undoubtedly, Art us the highest expression of Culture and Humanity for a people. Art even is the fruit of exchanges between cultures and thoughts. None of artistic manifestation must be despised.

          Finally, I must say that if I want to learn a lenguage, particularly English, I will need to know the American Culture too. All lenguage grow up through it, and with it, according to the respective culture. For instance, it is not enough to learn words and expressions.We need to aprehend the culture, too. As one well-known American cultural anthropologist, Margaret Mead, said, "If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place."

American Culture Class: My 3 Heroes

Who Are Heroes Actually?

 

'A hero is an ordinary individual

who finds the strength to persevere

and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.'

Christopher Reeve

 

Who are heroes in the world? That is my question today. Maybe, they are those who teach us how to live wisely. For example, in Colombia we have three different heroes: a)women head of household, b)parents in the lowest socio-economic strata, and c)poor old people. It’s important, for instance, to consider what they have in common and what not.

 

 

 

First, if we consider women head of household, we can say they are leader people, demanding and sufferer because they claim benefits for their children.  For its part, parents are responsible and they always work very hard because they worry wheter they can feed their children tomorrow. Lastly, we need to consider older people, who are often forgotten and they survive the loss of their money.

 

However, in general, those persons have principally the following positive quality: teaching us how to live with the silence.  While old people teach us how to live from silence, women teach us how must not remain silent and demand our human rights in our own courts.

 

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the actors are important for they teach and help us to build our lives to undertand, as the old saying goes, 'living is more than not being dead'. This is true because it must be understood to live as a human being requires minimun and comfortable conditions.

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Supertribute to one ordinary man

 

“How Superheroes Make Money:

- Spider-Man knits sweaters.

- Superman screw the lids on pickle jars.

- Iron Man, as you would suspect, just irons.”

Jim Benton

 

When I think about superheroes I perceive two signs, one good and one bad. The good sign is about your ability for recognizing as a human being that one ordinary man can make an extraordinary difference. On the other hand, the bad one is the need we have to be safe only if we use masks. So, we use many masks throughout our lives.

However, in our current culture we are accepting, especially after September 11, there are people who sacrifice their lives to help others every day.

 

So our mission, as superheroes, ought to be to provoke an awakening of the public which would move to go beyond our own interests. In this way, if each of us gives his or her best I believe that we can make the difference. However, we need to take off in public our masks firstly. This is something that we do just when we are alone.

Finally, this is the only way to exercise our superpowers into the everyday existence; which we inculcate in children, but we forget it always.

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Two Women In Jazz

Jazz washes away the dust of every day life.

Art Blakey

Today I want to talk about life by analogy. I want to take a random topic, and I can say that life is comparable, for example, to the jazz -one of the greatest aesthetic pleasures. The beauty of life, jazz in this case, is the ability to convey emotions, feelings and involvement in our mood. That feeling comes to us through music. It's the gift of other human being' experience: the author. This is better illustrated if we consider the career of two acclaimed women contaautoras: Billie Holiday and Norah Jones.

First of all, we must consider to Billie Holiday, whose life and music is always being reminisced. Although Lady Day was considered to be an eccentric and rebellious woman, I think she didn't want  to be remembered only fot what she did bad, but especially for how she did her art. If you doubt this click on to her website (http://www.billieholiday.com/about/biography.htm) and make your own judgement. So don't forget that 'Billie Holiday, a musical legend still popular today, died an untimely death at the age of 44. Her emotive voice, innovative techniques and touching songs will forever be remembered and enjoyed.'

On the other hand, it's young Nora Jones (http://www.norahjones.com/). She, who acknowlegdes the clear influence of Billie in her music, is also one of the most important singer-songwriter today. This pianist established herself on the American music scene playing her own blend of jazz, soul and pop. Jones has won nine Grammy Awards and Billboard named her as one of the best-selling artists of all time.

Finally, the highest recognition to the works of an artist exists where there are not only a recognition of her value as woman but especially a great recognition of her personal talent as a real music. To quote a Billie Holiday, 'I can't stand to sing the same song the same way two nights in succession, let alone two years or ten years. If you can, then it ain't music, it's close-order drill or exercise or yodeling or something, not music.'

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Art Is About Life

You don't take a photograph, you make it.

Ansel Adams

I feel I was born with the music coming to me, and that's not something to be wasted.

Janis Ian

Having a sensitive soul is not a privilege; it’s a present we received and enjoyed with the life. All of us are sensible people. The proof is we can enjoy the art. The art as life is a shared experience, in my opinion. And, specifically, in the art takes part three actors, at least: the creator, the work and its viewer. We need to establish an open dialogue between them if we want understanding and reliving the art.

In American culture class today, as an inexperienced observer, I would like to give my opinion about how to understand the art. So, I must say the art is a multiple manifestations. In particular, I prefer arts like photography and music. About the first, I want to cite to Ansel Adams. He talks about his art and he says the photography is not to take, it’s about to make. Then I think is similar in life because my life must be to make things. For the other side, we have to Janis Ian, who speaks about the instinct talent. She suggests we have gifts and we must not waste it. On the contrary, we must grow and develop our skills. And this is something that we often forget: we have our own skills and must share them with all the others.

In conclusion, I think the art is the better analogy about the life. Or, in the words of William Faulkner, "The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life."

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Political Debate in American Culture Class

“Honest differences of views and honest debate are not disunity. They are the vital process of policy making among free men.”

H. C. Hoover

In the classroom, the political debate is maybe the best pedagogical tool for learning American culture. There are at least three reasons for this. First, debate awakens passion and feelings between people; when the people feel passion they set aside their shyness. Secondly, in a debate, especially political, people are obligated to give their own point of view.  Lastly, debate requires a prior investigation; students need to understand and master the subject. In general, debate in classroom is the best opportunity to learn the American culture while learning about current U.S. presidential campaign.

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No Man Is an Island

“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.” John Donne

  

 

Maybe I can begin talking about the poem with another poem. A few people, I think, have no idea about what means to be human being. When I think or feel like an individual person, I can’t see mankind. If I think in this way I’m susceptible to have prejudges like racism. For instance, every war in the world ends. But, at the end, it is the opportunity to change our feelings. It is the time to recognize our mistakes and repair the damages. It is the time to learn and forget, even though it seems like a contradiction.

On the other hand, when I say ‘any man's death diminishes me’, I want to say people need to be people. The Markovitz’s case is a clear example. Here we can look how some people receive the help of the others like a gift. A real gift, a real present because is now when they need and receive the mankind’s help. This is not about religion, gender and race. It is about people helping each other and themselves.

            What is my learning today about this? I can ask the opinion of others. Or I can have my own opinion and share it. I prefer the second for one reason. If I did not utter a word, I am exposing to accept the general opinion. So, not always the general opinion is the correct one. This is true when we are talking particularly about on issues of prejudice.