History and Influences of Mexican Americans and the United States Essay Example for Free

History and Influences of Mexican Americans and the United States Essay Looking around the United States, it is not hard to see the influence that Spanish-speaking nations, namely Mexico, have had on us. Every day we see signs in Spanish. We hear it as we walk through the streets of Madison and Milwaukee. We feel the impact it has on us in our public school system. We also see the controversy it causes on the news. What I will be attempting to explore in this paper is the origins of Mexican Americans and their continuing influence on the United States. I believe it is important to first understand the history of the relationship between Americans and Mexicans to understand the preconceived notions many Americans have towards Mexico. Although both nations are technically â€Å"Americas†, for the duration of the paper I will refer to the United States as America. After winning its independence from Spain, Mexico first had large-scale contact with Americans during the early 1800s when Americans were migrating farther west to what is present day Texas. Mexico allowed these citizens to reside despite the tension and friction that was building between Whites, Indians and Mexicans in these territories. Texas citizens declared themselves an independent nation, and due to the United States recognition of such, a war was prompted between the United States and Mexico. Mexico lost the war as well as its territories in North America. Mexican citizens who stayed behind in the lost territories became American citizens (Marger, 2012). One of the things that always confounded me about racism in the south, and states like Arizona, is the complete indifference or ignorance of this fact. I have always wondered how the White Supremacist mindset works when Mexican Americans have a natural ancestry in these states and were the first citizens of these states. How can we still see bumper stickers that say â€Å"Learn English or Go Home†, or â€Å"Go back to your own country† when the first citizens of these states were Mexicans? I believe that a cause for this is the lack of emphasis of early Mexican American history taught in schools. I I believe that if this were emphasized, these specific ethnocentric arguments would be dispelled sooner. Immigration of Mexicans and other Hispanics to America is not going to stop, so to ignore their political influence would be foolish. Demographics are showing that the Hispanic population is on the rise. There are an estimated 6. 6 million illegal immigrants from Mexico alone residing in the United States (Marger, 2012). The European American population, although still the largest in size, declining. (Marger, 2012). Since there are an increasing amount of people in the United States who are a mixed race, such as myself who is part Mexican American, true numbers of those who identify as part Hispanic are not yet known. (Marger, 2012). I believe that due to this, it is more crucial than ever to understand what kind of influence Mexican Americans will have on the socioeconomic and political structure of the future America. As much as certain groups of people would want to deny the influence of Mexican culture, as well as that of other Spanish-speaking ethnicities on the United States, the population statistics, (as well as the 2012 Election results, in my opinion) prove otherwise. Hispanics are the largest minority group (Naumann, Benet-Martinez, Espinoza 2013), and it is estimated that by 2050, 46% of the United States population will be Hispanic. (Marger, 2012). Insofar as political influence is concerned, 2008 held 19. 5 million registered Hispanic voters, and it is estimated that 23. 7 million registered voters were Hispanic in the 2012 election. To more specifically cite the influence of Mexican Americans in today’s voting world, there are 33 million Mexican Americans in the United States and 73% of them were born in America (Naumann, et al 2013). Despite attempts of the Republican Party to capture the vote of Hispanic Americans, 70% of them are still voting Democratic. (Naumann, et al 2013). Although Cubans tend to vote primarily more for Republicans, the larger population of Mexican Americans is still voting for Democrats. (Naumann, et al 2013). By analyzing these data, I can only conclude that the dire need for the Hispanic vote from the GOP is the sole purpose of the existence of Marco Rubio in modern politics. A question arises, as much as Mexican Americans influence us, how much do we influence them? The answer would have to depend on how in favor they are of assimilation. Studies have shown that most Mexican American youth would prefer a â€Å"biculturism† form of acculturation, preferring to hold on to their ethnic customs but also to embrace new American ones (Naumann, et al 2013). It was also shown in these studies that the more deep-routed Mexican Americans tend to be in their ethnicity, that the likelier they are to vote liberally (Naumann, et al 2013). Understanding Mexican Americans role in the workplace currently will also help explain motivations as to how they vote and continue to influence the rest of America. A study published in 2005 showed that Mexicans, while living in Mexico, have fewer expectations for advancement in the workplace, including to upper-management positions. This leads them to believe there are less forms of discrimination based on age, sex and ethnicity (Bennington, Wagman, Stallone, 2005). Although these studies were done for Mexicans, not Mexican Americans, I believe that during the newest wave of immigration this attitude could carry over, which could explain at least one reason that despite the large population, there are not heaping amounts of Mexican Americans in upper-level positions. For work life itself, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Mexican Americans have at large suffered the same impact of the recession other ethnicities have suffered, having Unemployment peaking strongly in the 2009-2011 years and just now in 2013 starting to make a recovery (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013). I believe this relates to the influence Mexican Americans have on us because since newer immigrants do not seek power as quickly as other ethnic groups, it can lead to certain prejudices of them being unmotivated, which in turn would influence behavior of White Americans to treat them as subordinates. In summation, I believe that educating the true history of Mexican Americans (such as their origin as joining the US as citizens after the Mexican War), can help stop certain forms of prejudice, as well as helping Americans to realize that they are an ever-increasing demographic that is not going away anytime soon. Their influence is growing in US Politics, and this will have to be recognized if certain political groups wish to survive in the new century. I believe that if there is more respect given to them while they are a minority group, the more respect they will give to White America once Whites lose their status as the dominant ethnic group.

The Cult You’re In Essay -- Literary Analysis, Kelle Lasn

Everyone is in a consumer’s hypnosis, even if you think you are not. When you go to a store and pick one brand over the other, you are now under their spell. The spell/ hypnosis is how companies get you to buy there things over other companies and keep you hooked. Either through commercials or offering something that you think will make your life better by what they tell you. For example, you go to the store and you need to buy water, once you get to the lane and look, there is 10 different types of water you can buy. You go pick one either because the picture is better or you seen the commercial the other day and you want it. During the length of this paper we will talk about two important writers, Kalle Lasn the writer of â€Å"The Cult You’re in† and Benoit Denizet-Lewis writer of â€Å" The Man Behind Abercrombie & Fitch†. They both talk about similar topics that go hand and hand with each other, they talk about the consumers â€Å"Dream†, how companies recruit the consumers, who cult members really are, how people are forced to wear something they don’t want, and about slackers. What is The Dream we all have? Think about the main things that you strive for in life. Well everyone else in the world has the same dream because companies or â€Å"cults† in bead this dream to pull you in to their â€Å"cult†/ group. They make it seem that you will be happy with having this dream and they can help you get close to it by you buying their stuff. Lasn specifies on this dream everyone as he said â€Å"Dream by definition, are supposed to be unique and imaginative. Yet the bulk of the population is dreaming the same dream. It’s a dream of wealth, power, fame, plenty of sex, and exciting recreational opportunities† ( lasn, 380). This dream is feed to us by the peopl... ...teens can shop elsewhere ‘In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not so cool kids,’ he says† (Denizet-Luis, 369). So if your different then there target audience you don’t belong in the group which would consider you a type of slacker. All and all, we are all in a consumer cult if we want to or not. If you go to the store all you see is brands and you need to buy one no matter what. But what you can do is stop over buying things you don’t need that you think will make you happy. The companies are manipulative in many ways because they show you this â€Å"dream† of a life by buy their stuff, once you are hooked on it they recruit you, bring you in to the cult, make you do stuff you don’t want to, and then if you become a slacker they alienate you away from the other â€Å"cut† members so you can’t influence them to become a slacker too.

Briefly outline the main features of the ‘Wuthering Heights’ and ‘The Woman in Black’

The Gothic genre became popular in the mid-eighteeth centuary when ‘The Castle of Otranto' by Horace Warpole was written. Emily Bronte was influence by ‘The Bridegroom of Barna', published in the nineteenth centuary when writing ‘Wuthering Heights'. Today, the equivalent of the Gothic novel a horror novel by writers such as Steven King. â€Å"The Woman in Black' is a modern novel with Gothic influences. The main features of the Gothic novels were the main character, usually an anti hero: dark, demonic and motivated by inhuman cruelty. This man usually had mysterious origins and did not value many of society's morals. Later, in the nineteenth centuary when the Romantic movement developed, the Gothic anti-hero became the Byronic hero in many novels. Like the Gothic protagonist, the Byronic hero usually had a mysterious past, as well as dark, good looks and a hatred for society's moral laws. Heathcliff, in Emily Bronte's novel ‘Wuthering Heights', is a good example of a Byronic hero. Another important feature of many Gothic novels is the setting. Gothic novels are usually set in a grim, hostile landscape often on a deserted moor or marsh, as in the case of ‘Wuthering Heights' and Susan Hill's ‘The Woman in Black'. Such grim landscape often mirrors the character of the hero. There are also references to the supernatural in many of these novels, such as the ghost of Jennet Humfrye in ‘The Woman in Black' or the ghost of Cathy in ‘Wuthering Heights'. There is also a strong supernatural element in these stories often linked to the main character. Revenge is usually a strong theme in Gothic novels. The anti hero often seeks revenge against the people around him, perhaps because of some earlier wrong he was the victim of or simply against society in general, because of the alienation he feels he has suffered. For example, in ‘Wuthering Heights' Heathcliff revenges himself against Hindley's son Hareton because of the pain Hindley caused him when he was alive. Other features of Gothic novels include the presence of an ancient retainer, usually an old man. There is also usually a victim, often a fair haired young woman. She is supposed to represent good and the moral values which the anti hero is trying so hard to destroy. The idea of a Gothic anti hero is particular prominent in ‘Wuthering Heights'. In this book the main character is Heathcliff, an orphan who is brought to Wuthering Heights by the old Mr Earnshaw in his childhood. Like most Gothic heroes, Heathcliff has dark, good looks, a mysterious past and an unquenchable desire to revenge himself on the people he feels have wronged him. The story of ‘Wuthering Heights' revolves around Heathcliff's life and his relationship with his ‘soul-mate' Cathy. Heathcliff's looks, and in particular his eyes are described by the housekeeper and narrator Nelly as â€Å"that couple of black fiends, so deeply buried, who never open their windows boldly†. Later in the book Heathcliff is contrasted with Cathy's future husband Edgar Linton: â€Å"The contrast resembled what you see in exchanging a bleak, hilly, coal country for a beautiful, fertile valley†. This description not only describes Heathcliff's looks but also his charater, bleak suggesting his personality and â€Å"hilly† describing the mood swings he has. Heathcliff's desire for revenge against Edgar Linton, Hindley Earnshaw and, to a certain extent, Cathy, is shown by his actions during the novel. He abuses Hindley's son Hareton, as well as Edgar's sister Isabella and his daughter Catherine. In contrast to ‘Wuthering Heights', ‘The Woman in Black' does not have a clear anti hero. Instead there are two characters who share this role. They are Arthur Kipps and the woman in black, Jennet Humfrye. Kipps is not the traditional Gothic hero because he does not have dark, good looks or a mysterious past. Instead, he is more like Lockwood or Edgar Linton in ‘Wuthering Heights'. The other main character shares some of the traits of the revenger and the victim in many Gothic novels. Jennet Humfrye is a ghost who had lost a child she had out of wedlock and died of a wasting disease. She is now revenging herself on innocent victims. Whilst the idea of revenge is similar to the Gothic hero, Humfrye is a very different character because she is dead and also a woman. She is also not a traditional Gothic victim, because despite being female she has a wasting disease and therefore isn't beautiful. She also does not embody the positives of society, such as chastity until marriage that most Gothic victims do. The setting and atmosphere in ‘Wuthering Heights' and ‘The Woman in Black' is also an important feature of both novels. The setting is one of biggest similarities between the two books as both are set in grim, inhospitable landscapes- ‘Wuthering Heights' on the Yorkshire Moors and ‘The Woman in Black' on a bleak marshland. Another similarity is the houses where the two novels are set: Wuthering Heights and Eel Marsh House. Both houses are bleak and very isolated. Arthur Kipps first describes Eel Marsh House as â€Å"a tall, gaunt house of grey stone†. There is a lot of adverse weather such as storms in both books. This echoes the personalities of the main characters and also helps to add even more tension and atmosphere to the plot. For example in ‘The Woman in Black', when Kipps discovers the nursery has been wrecked, there is a storm going on outside. He is unsure whether the nursery has been damaged by the storm or whether Jennet Humfrye has been there. The intrusion of the supernatural features in both novels. In ‘Wuthering Heights', it occurs at the beginning and at the end of the book, where Lockwood and then Heathcliff encounter the ghost of Cathy. ‘The Woman in Black' is basically a ghost story and therefore the intrusion of the supernatural is a major part of the plot. In both books there is confusion between reality and the supernatural. In ‘Wuthering Heights' this occurs when Lockwood encounters Cathy's ghost. It is quite clear to the reader that Cathy's ghost did actually appear but Lockwood manages to convince himself that he was dreaming, overlooking the broken window and the fact that he never went to sleep. In ‘The Woman in Black', Arthur Kipps is very sceptical about the existence of the woman in black to begin with and does not recognise the ghost when he first encounters her, describing her as â€Å"another mourner, a woman†. There are, however, clues that the woman is a ghost, just like in Wuthering Heights. She is dressed in a very old fashioned dress and disappears very suddenly. I think elements of the Gothic genre are used very effectively in both ‘The Woman in Black' and ‘Wuthering Heights', especially since neither novel is specifically a Gothic novel. I think that the theme of revenge is most prominent in ‘Wuthering Heights' because it is the driving force behind the passion of Heathcliff's character. I think the setting of the story is used to great effect in ‘The Woman in Black' because the adverse weather and desolate marsh add a lot of atmosphere and tension to the plot. I personally prefer ‘Wuthering Heights' because I feel that Emily Bronte has managed to create characters with great depth and has managed to effectively portray the passion between Heathcliff and Cathy. Also, whilst ‘Wuthering Heights' does have Gothic features to it, Bronte does not let them compromise the storyline in any way.

New Economic Imperialism Essay example - 4919 Words

New Economic Imperialism Those in power define national interests as the preservation of the existing set of economic, social, and political relationships. Therefore, the national interest of the supranational capitalist society is the interests of the upper class, allied throughout the globe. The United States capitalist class has proposed to preserve and extend U.S. capitalism by a policy of empire building to satisfy the need for large export markets that could supply cheap inputs and guarantee consumption. The road to the current economic imperial structure prevalent in international affairs is a long and complicated one. During the twentieth century the capitalist elite began forming organizations in†¦show more content†¦Top executives from the worlds leading multinational corporations meet with top national political figures at Bilderberg meetings to consider jointly the immediate and long-term problems facing the West. â€Å"When Bilderberg participants reach a form of consensus about what is to be done, they have at their disposal powerful transnational and national instruments for bringing about what it is they want to come to pass.† (Sklar 158) Officials from the OECD, NATO, the IMF, World Bank, and GATT (now WTO) regularly attend. Since the members are in a position of such executive power, when the group reaches a consensus the capitalist West is likely to act on it, more or less, as a unit. By far the most dominant and intriguing wing of the imperialist structure has been its economic influences on the Third World. Early on multinational corporation learned that â€Å"to assure themselves access to foreign markets on favorable terms, to arrange intricate export subsidies and insurance against nationalization, to manipulate other governments through foreign aid andShow MoreRelated The Compelling Motives of European Imperialism Essay794 Words   |  4 PagesThe Compelling Motives of Imperialism The presence of Europe in Africa in the late nineteenth century was one of extreme power. The countries of France, Britain, and Germany had especially large claims to the African continent during this time. The motives of imperialism for these countries greatly define Europe at this time. 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