An Essay for Your Time?

...Or not. I don't really care.

Well. That may have been ruder than necessary--oh, well.

Going back to the dead horse topic of the American Experience, here's the research paper I was required to write on the topic.

Oh, joy of joys.

It's not the greatest, because it was decided, towards the end of the year, that, no, it wasn't going to be our final project. It hasn't really been edited since I turned it in, so... Here goes nothing, heh. Note the fact that I'm about ninety percent certain I didn't use the proper MLA format for the works cited or the in-text citations. This is, after all, only a draft.

The American Experience – Research

The American Experience sounds like the most boring subject on the planet. I am not going to lie; it is. However, aspects of said experience can be a very touchy subject for people. Take for instance, our government; we take pride in our bipartisan, democratic, “for-the-people” government, but during election-time, the normal gap between political parties like the Democrats and Republicans grows exponentially larger. Our government, especially the way it's run during times of political turmoil, is a major part of the so very unique American Experience.

Since our government is bi-partisan, we have two distinct political parties: The Republicans and the Democrats, as well as various “third” parties that fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum between liberal and conservative viewpoints. Each political party comes about because a large group of people have similar beliefs in what the federal government should be and what role, if any, it should play in the daily lives of American citizens—or, on a larger scale, the role our government should play in international affairs.

Many of us think the government should do everything it can to protect our citizens and ensure we all have the means to live. More of us think the government should also do more to ensure the complete equality between citizens—especially economically—so that there is no longer a huge gap in the distribution of wealth (“Wealth Distribution in America”)(“Conscience of a Liberal”). Some of us even think so far along in that thought process that it almost comes full-circle; the communists among us believe that the only thing the government should do is create total equality, then be completely abolished. Yet another large group of our population thinks the government should only act as a regulator of dangerous practices and as the basis of the judiciary system.

All of those views have merit, and no matter who you are or what your opinion is, there is a legitimate reason for you believe the way you do. Our experiences, as proven by psychology, determine what we believe. Whether you agree or disagree, I must say that I have a very “gray” view—in that I see merits within both extremes, and choose to align myself right down the middle. The government should regulate many practices whilst still being relatively limited, because otherwise, bad things will happen.

In the early 1900's, immigration was a very common thing. Many people, from all over the world, impoverished and envisioning a better life for themselves and their families, would be processed through Ellis Island. Rich immigrants were generally exempt from this (Auch). The boats were unhygienic in their own right, but this facility, that poor immigrants were forced through, was many times worse. Just the slightest sign of sickness was enough to be sent back to one's home country, but with so many people crammed into such a small, dirty space, bacteria spread like wildfire, and it's honestly quite surprising that anyone became a naturalized citizen (Auch).

The working conditions for the immigrants who managed to be accepted were terrible; they were possibly worse than their living conditions in tenements. Girls were generally employed in sweatshops that made simple, cheap trinkets, like paper flowers. Luckier girls got to work in factories, like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York (Auch).

The fire that struck the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in 1911 was a national tragedy (article). Many girls' deaths were mourned, but it is undeniable that the political reform that occurred as a result was almost a good enough end to justify the means. Regulations in work hours, business building conditions, and the necessity of fire escapes made employment that much safer, which is, obviously, a good thing (“Triangle Shirtwaist...”).

I cannot deny the fact that we need a certain amount of regulation within our government, because I also believe that people are quite corrupt, and if certain things weren't regulated, people would inevitably do bad things, like treating their employees like scum. However, I think our society is built in such a way that sheer equality is impossible. Our country has a history of various discriminatory practices, both within our government and within our citizens. We may try to downplay these events or shove them under the rug, but the facts are undeniable; this discrimination in in direct opposition of our well-known, cardinal creed of freedom.

The opposite of freedom is oppression, and that's exactly what our forefathers did to the original residents of the western hemisphere, by taking their land and murdering them. We all know the story of Thanksgiving and how the British colonists pushed the “Indians” back from their land, so colonies could be created. Yet, come winter-time, they were quick to beg the natives for food. Rinse and repeat. We celebrate the imperialistic genius of our ancestors annually, so it comes as no surprise that discrimination is a more than somewhat common theme in our history. History is destined to repeat itself, after all, and we've got a pretty good pedigree going on.

We had slaves from shortly after the initial colonization until Lincoln gave his Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War. The slaves weren't even technically freed until shortly thereafter, but the intent was obvious and honorable enough. Yet even with this new-found freedom, African Americans were disliked and greatly distrusted, and in the South, we even had the Jim Crow Laws, which were famous for their “separate but equal” approach to civil liberties. This was a bunch of baloney, as we now all know, Public facilities for people of color were ghastly. Goodness forbid they get tired of those conditions! Oh, and dear goodness, having peaceful marches was just the darn worst thing that could possibly happen. The worst part about it was that when the news was represented, it was done in such a fashion that one sympathized with the white folk, rather than the people actually being ostracized (Reed).

Women were—and still sometimes are—also treated pretty horribly, which brought about the Suffrage movement of the late 1800's and early 1900's. Even after the slaves were freed, women remained subservient to men. How ironic that one of the so-distrusted black men had more rights than a so-classy white woman. Ladies couldn't vote and were, in many places, not allowed to have a job or their own property. Everything they owned, by our laws, were property of whomever they married. Even if a woman's husband was terrible, it wasn't worth it to leave him, because she would lose her livelihood—and any children she gave birth to (“Not for Ourselves Alone”). Women today complain about not getting paid as much as men, which is bad enough, but when suffrage first began, it was even considered improper for a woman to speak in public!

The American Experience can be many things, depending on what we've each experienced in our lives. It is an undeniable fact, though, that we believe in freedom, no matter what the cost. We even tried to ignore the darker side of things, beatifying this amazing freedom. We even attempted to spread it! During the Age of Imperialism, we “liberated” many small countries, many of which were under the control of the oh-so-evil Spanish. We should still be concerned about our tendency towards “splendiferous” freedom, because not all people completely agree with our views, like Iraq. Now, we, as a country, need to really think about how much we're willing to sacrifice for this freedom—and how much freedom is too much freedom...Or how much regulation does it take before oppression, once again, occurs?

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