Obedience is a kind of social influence. This influence makes an individual to yield to orders given by another person. The person giving an order is usually in authority and the authority makes the person given an order to obey.
Zimbardo and Milgram conducted experiments that revealed interesting aspects of human individuals. People obey regardless of possible injuries to others or deviating from their own value systems and cultural and individual characteristics affect relationships to authority.
Milgram’s did an experiment involving forty participants. The teachers had to punish learners who made mistakes. The learners were tied to an electric chair in which they would receive electric shocks and the volt level would be increased with every mistake made.
The highest level of volts was 450 and 65 percent of the participants gave punishment to this level (Borge 1). The possible explanation for the participants obeying to carry out the punishment regardless of the danger it posed to the learners could have been that they felt they had an obligation to complete the task.
This is because they had volunteered and thus felt that all the participants were ready to handle all the consequences of the experiment. Similarly, people will obey because they feel it is their obligation. People also obey those in authority just as the teachers obeyed the experimenters.
The teachers hurt the learners despite the screams and thus put their individual values aside to obey authority. This means that people will disregard their individual moral values and become destructive or involve in harmful behaviour just because they are unable to defy authority (Milgram 1).
This is because obedience in the society is a requirement for authority and it is ingrained in people such that they disregard characteristics such as sympathy or their moral and ethical systems. This obedience to authority may be the explanation for torturing of prisoners or suspects to confess.
Zimbardo did an experiment of a mock prison some people had the role of prison guards and others acted as prisoners. The prison guards took their role seriously and mistreated the prisoners for example sexual humiliation, stripped them naked, forced them to wash toilets without protective gear on their hands and denied then mattresses and so forth (O’Toole 1).
This experiment shows that some people will obey authority blindly because of the situation. Thus, the culture can influence how an individual responds to the authority. In some cultures, obedience is the norm of the society. This means that those in authority are obeyed and any form of disobedience is unacceptable.
People in such circumstances will obey any orders given by those in authority even if the orders are evil. People who are generally good will do evil in the name of obedience. For example, the perpetrator of cruelty in the Nazis camp Adolf Eichmann said during trial that he did what he did because he was following orders (Human Obedience to Authority 1).
Finally, people have done evils in the name of obedience. They suspend their moral values, follow orders from those in authority, and at times do unthinkable acts.
Obedience is good but when people use it to do evil things there is something wrong in the society because people turn against their fellow human beings just because someone gave an order. Some acts are so evil that one would be tempted to think those who commit them are crazy but in the light of the two experiments that is not always the case.
Works Cited
Borge, Caroline. Basic Instincts; the Science of Evil. abcnews.go.com. 3 Jan. 2007.
Human Obedience to Authority. simplypsychology.pwp. n.d. Web.
Milgram, Stanley. The perils of obedience. home.swbell.ne. 1974. Web.
O’Toole, Kathleen. The Stanford Prison Expereiment; Still powerful after all these years. news.stanford.edu. 1 Aug. 1997. Web.
Characters’ positions on the problem of the springs. How are they fulfilling their moral obligations as representatives of their institutions
In Arthur Miller’s play “An Enemy of the people,” Dr. Tom Stockmann represents the science institution found in our society. Although he made a discovery that he thought may be of assistance to the people, they turned against him as he pressed for changes to be made to the polluted Kirsten Springs.
He is idealistic and excitable and his duty to his profession takes precedence over his duty to his family and employer. In this matter, Stockman is the only one who is right since he does not compromise his moral obligations to the society, although he is branded “an enemy of the people”.
His brother, Peter Stockman, who is the mayor of the town, represents the government. He does not appreciate the seriousness of the problem. In fear of the people, he turns town the proposed solution saying that it could come at a considerable cost to the town.
He fails to fulfill his moral obligations to the community since he hides the truth from them. He is a traitor to the town. As a representative of the government, he fails to acknowledge the crucial role that scientific experts play in a democratic community. Since he lacked a special knowledge in science, he allowed his ruthless political views to take precedence over his moral obligations to the community.
Therefore, even though he succumbed to the wishes of the people, he cannot be given any credit because as a leader one has to stand for what is right regardless of the political consequences.
Hovstad, who is the editor of the town’s leftist newspaper, represents the media in the society. Although he wanted to publish the truth behind the problem at the Kirsten Springs, the mayor convinced him otherwise. Therefore, he concealed the truth so as not to upset his subscribers. In doing so, Hovstad attacked Dr. Stockman’s freedom of speech and self-respect, especially since the town needed the right advice from a qualified professional.
The author depicts that those who are in positions of power and influence, like the editor and the mayor, can presume what interests the majority and then tailor their services to please them. However, Hovstad was not fulfilling his moral obligation to the society. Instead of telling the people the truth, although it was a threat to the interests of the majority, he sided with the authorities in hiding the unpopular opinion.
A rich old man, Morten Kiil, who is the adoptive father of Dr. Stockmann’s wife, represents the business people in the society. He is the owner of most of the tanneries that the town doctor implicated as a source that contaminated the waters. He has agreed to assign a good deal of his wealth to the family of Dr. Stockmann upon his death. In this saga, he sees the position that Dr. Stockmann has taken as a threat that can ruin his businesses.
He fails to fulfill his moral obligation to the society by allowing his love for money to take precedence over the lives of the tourists who will be visiting the waters. The citizens of the town did not accept Dr. Stockmann’s claims. They turned against him en masse, denouncing him as a lunatic.
They allowed themselves to be deceived by their leaders, instead of acknowledging the role of scientific experts in advising them in case of a crisis. This implies that the majority of people in society are ignorant since most of them believe the politicians more than they believe the scientific experts. Therefore, since the majority usually rules in a democracy, they have the right to choose their leaders.
Mrs. Catherine Stockmann, Dr. Stockmann’s wife, is depicted as being loyal and practical. He often motivates her husband to put his family forward. However, Tom Stockmann allows his duty to his profession to take precedence over the wishes of his wife.
How government, business, the media, the scientific community and the people are fulfilling their moral and ethical obligations in today’s world
In our current society, the government, business people, the media, the scientific community, and the people are fulfilling their moral and ethical obligations in different ways. The government is charged with the duty of providing safety to its citizens from environmental hazards that can harm their lives; that is, it has the ethical obligation of enacting necessary measures to ensure their protection from dangers.
The business people are fulfilling their ethical obligation by selling to the consumers’ products that cannot harm their lives. In case their services are likely to endanger the lives of their customers, they have the moral obligation not to let their love for money to take precedence over the lives of the people.
The media has the ethical obligation of giving the public the correct information, which is not distorted to satisfy the interests of some people in positions of authority. In today’s world, the media is obliged to provide an avenue for unpopular opinions, even if it will threaten the interests of the majority. For example, the sexual scandal that involved President Bill Clinton received unbiased media coverage.
The scientific community is obliged to provide people with appropriate direction that can avert a crisis from taking place. Since the scientific experts have enough knowledge, they are better placed to make decisions concerning various global challenges, such as pollution, environmental degradation, and nuclear energy.
The people are obliged to trust the direction given by the scientific experts. And when there is a conflict between the politicians and the experts, they are to embrace the ideas of the latter since they seek to protect their lives.
However, it is important to note that as much as everyone is trying to fulfill his or her moral obligations, the world is in a mess because people do not want to acknowledge one another’s moral obligations. Everyone feels that he or she is right, and inevitably, rampant confusion sets in.
Our moral obligation to other people and other living things should not have any boundaries since we should strive to meet their needs without any bias. Every one of us should do his or her best in making the world a better place to live in. This cannot be achieved if we maintain an individualistic or egocentric worldview.
Individuality has always been thought to be an essential part of the creative process and art in general. However, what is often forgotten is that individuality does not occur on its own; it is often shaped and influenced by external influences either directly or indirectly
Effect of groups and communities on individuality
With regard to art and ceramics, sometimes communities can be perceived as a negative influence on individuality. This is because communities tend to create mass cultures and popular opinions. Therefore, any behaviour that contravenes tradition may be shunned. Art, by its very nature propagates the notion of experimentation and enrichment.
It opposes the notion of tradition because this sometimes reduces man to nothing more than a machine or a slave of custom. The concept of freedom is very necessary in order to make individuality a reality. Therefore, any external factor that restricts that freedom – such as government or the community – can be seen as an interference in the creative process[1].
For example, a sculptor would need to look within himself in order to work on a piece of marble. He would need to ask himself what the real form of that marble is and then bring it out through a piece of sculpture. In other words, he is able to first seek true beauty within himself and then think and feel through the type of art that he creates. Communities or groups would interfere with this process and can therefore be regarded as a negative force.
On the other hand, individuality is sometimes dependent on groups and the community. This is because all individualistic persons strive to reproduce and perpetuate themselves. They still seek to share their opinions and views with other artists who are like minded. At the end of a process of artistic creation, the producer must seek consumers.
Art and ceramics only derive their complete meaning when they have been consumed. Sometimes this can be done practically by the use of ceramics and other practical objects. Conversely, this can be done through appreciation of the aesthetics inherent in a certain piece.
Although individuality may be expressed in each piece, it is the ability of the artistic piece to attract the attention of art lovers or other groups who understand the concept that will lead to its ultimate usability.
In the end, artists cannot simply operate in isolation. If they did so, then their work would not be reproduced or carried on from generation to generation. They would not be able to leave a legacy and their art would only be limited to their lifetimes.
As much as individuality seeks to defy collectivism, it still requires communal approval in order to ensure that it is perpetuated. It should be noted here that sometimes that consumption may come from only a small portion of the population but this still does not undermine the fact that it comes from a combination of persons[2].
The community or groups may sometimes enrich the individual and thus contribute towards better artwork and the like. For instance, some artists may sometimes come together and share ideas. Usually, they may discuss the creation process and this may bring in deeper insights hence better work. Usually, individuality requires artists to work in isolation but the problem is that sometimes one’s methodology may possess certain flaws.
Consequently, it would be better if one was able to learn about new or different ways of the artistic creation process. One would be challenged to become a better artist simply through sharing one’s ideas with a group or receiving them from others who share the same experience.
Additionally, groups and communities may affect individuality positively by expanding the resources and the opportunities that an artist may be exposed to. The problem with working alone is that it is quite difficult to accumulate resources needed in the production process.
One may also have a hard time knowing about the opportunities to exhibit or sell one’s products. Groups can offer this information to individuals and thus make them better at getting their work out to the public. Therefore, activity can be backed up by appreciation and hence usability.
Culture is an essential part of the artistic process because artists do not live in islands by themselves; they live, interact and work with other members of society. Therefore, even though individualists may be self reliant and independent, they still operate within an institutional framework.
They have families and societies that have certain norms and expectations. These norms are not too rigid because they allow for manipulation and the expression of self through art. This is the reason why certain forms of art are unique to a certain part of the world. In the Asian countries, art was often unique to the culture of the people even as far back as the eighteenth century.
Similarly, certain kinds of art are peculiar to western societies and may not necessarily reach out to people in another part of the world such as Africa[3]. In essence, culture defines one’s artistic inclinations but it still leaves room for self expression. It can be thought of as the template against which artists exercise their own interests and creations. Therefore, individuality is intertwined with culture which is derived from communities.
Conclusion
Artistic work can sometimes be hampered by communities because it restricts the freedom of self expression. Communities have norms and traditions that are in direct contravention to self reliance and individuality. On the other hand, groups and communities may enrich artistic work through sharing ideas and also through culture identities.
The role and involvement of women in the US armed forces has increased over time since World War 2. The role has changed from being mere supporters in nursing those injured during the war to taking senior positions in the military like General and Flag Officers. Initially women were not allowed to undertake combat missions but several acts have been enacted that have allowed them to get involved.
The changing involvement of women in the military affairs has also brought about some issues. Women have died in combat missions and others have been sexually molested and this might demoralize others and expose the victims to risks like diseases or unwanted pregnancies. The issues of pregnancy also may decline their performance because they may not be able to work normally. They will also spend most of time off-duty.
It is of great concern about the extent to which these issues are detrimental to the US armed forces with time. These issues are the center of concern in this research that is aimed at answering the question about “What type of impact would women have on the US Armed Forces in the next ten year?”
Introduction
Women have become an integral part of the military in the world today. Statistics has it that women make up about twenty percent of the military squad in the world especially the US armed forces. Although they are not involved in many combat jobs, it can not be denied that women have a significant contribution in the armed forces.
There has been a great debate on whether the number of women in the military should be reduced or whether they will continue being excluded in some combat missions. The role of women in the military has been increasing and seems to continue to increase in future. The increasing role of women has been necessitated by some factors. Firstly, there is growing need for retention of enough number of qualified recruits in the armed forces.
This caused the US military service department to start recruiting women and increasing their numbers in order to fill the men target shortfall (Burrelli, 1996, 1). There has also been high growth of movements that are demanding equal opportunities for men and women. The military departments were not exceptional and therefore they had to recruit more women to fill some opportunities. The movements were fighting against women discrimination in the armed forces.
They demanded that equal opportunities be granted to men and women in both recruitment and levels of service. The age barrier and parental consent in recruitment of women in the armed forces were also removed. This made the US military service to recruit women in the Air Force, military and the naval wing which are the main US military academies.
More women were also recruited in the US coast Guard academy and other academies like marine academies. This greatly increased the number of women in the armed forces to about 20 percent.
In the US armed forces, the number of women has been increasing at a remarkable rate despite the fact that it is restricted by the lack of women involvement in the combat jobs. The current rate of growth of women in the US armed forces shows that, in the next ten years, the impact of women in the armed forces will be greater than it is today.
If the movements demanding for equal opportunities for both gender in the military continue getting stronger, women will even undertake combat missions. On the other hand, the impact is also likely to be affected by the harassment of women in the armed forces which may make women fear being involved in some risky missions that endanger their lives.
The objective of this research paper is to explore what will be the impact of women in the armed forces in the US in the next twenty years. The impact is deduced from the look of the current situation in the US armed forces.
Research methodologies
Much has been written concerning women in the military or involvement in the armed forces. There is a lot of literature concerning the US armed forces stressing on the issue of women. The information presented in this research is gathered from different literatures that have been written about women in the US armed forces.
Different articles written by different authors are also used in this research. There is no formal research that was carried out. The secondary data sources concerning women in the US armed forces were used. The information was gathered from different sources and was consolidated for reporting purposes.
The scope of the research and the substantive assumptions
The research was carried out in the context of the United States. This is because the main objective of the research was to investigate the type of impact that women would have on the US Armed Forces in the next ten year. The literature materials used are therefore those related to the US women involvement in the armed forces. The research was also limited to secondary sources and secondary data was used for the analysis.
The major assumption made in this research is that, the secondary sources contains valid and up to date information and was considered relevant for this study. The current trend of the changing role and involvement of women in the US armed forces is also assumed to continue for a foreseeable future, that is, the next ten years.
The other assumption is that the Army-Navy Nurses Act that was effected in 1947, April and the Equal Rights Amendment Act that was passed by the US Congress in 1972 will continue being effective and fully enforced.
These acts are expected, for purposes of this study, to remain intact or change in favor of their initial intention. Any other Act to be instituted in future is expected to compliment the vision of the Army-Navy Nurses Act and Equal Rights Amendment Act.
History of Women in the Navy
According to Grassel (2010, 1), the history of women in the US Navy is quite extensive as they have been involved in different capacities of service. Their service rages from nursing the sick and the injured as they did during the early civil wars to clerical and administrative duties among others.
The need for more Navy servant during the Second World War created more opportunities for women to serve in the Navy. Initially, the navy recruited women to offer emergency service and they were regarded as auxiliary corps for women or WAVES and their services were limited in some areas. The WAVES could not serve in combatant aircraft as they were not allowed to get involved in combat missions.
The scope of their service was also limited to only a few states (lower 48) but as the war continued, they served in the overseas US territories but still restricted to a few of them like the Hawaii island. As time went by, the WAVES team grew big to about twenty seven thousands and they became very strong.
They were assigned clerical work but others by their choice opted to serve in other departments like medical and communication as others took part in the naval intelligence unit in the US (Burrelli, 1996, 1).
During the Korean War, the number of US women that participated grew to over 120, 000, most of whom served as nurses. The US Navy Nurse Corps had contributed the largest number women to serve in the Korean War and this really strengthened the men servants. This group was headed by only one superintendent since its establishment in 1908 but by 1947, after the end of World War 2, the group had become an important sector in the medical navy.
According to Grassel (2010, 1), the commissioned rank of the WAVES was not well established at that time but was later established as an autonomous official corps team. The commissioned rank was also instituted comprising of an ensign on the lower hand and a commander being the highest in the rank. Through the review of the Equal Rights Amendment, it was decided by the US congress that there shall be a unified management of both sex in the armed forces.
Through this great step, women were considered in all ratings and a recruiting and training command for women was also set up. This was to ensure that qualified women are given the honor that they deserve and are accorded duties by merit but not by gender rating. The trend has currently been completely changed and women now are serving in all the wings of the armed forces without any gender segregation.
The passing of Army-Navy Nurses Act that officially launched the officials of nurse corps and also the passing of the Equal Rights Review Act have played a big role in redefining the involvement of women in the armed forces. As stated by Grassel, “Women have started to play a more integral role in all areas of the military” and that “Women in the Navy are no exception.” (Grassel, 2010, 1). It is vivid that women currently play a big role in the armed forces and they make a big percentage of the Navy.
Over 15% of women take part in the Navy’s sailors and they even lead the expeditionary strike among other areas initially meant for men. They even take part in the combatant ships and aviation squadrons, the missions that they were initially restricted to venture.
Starting from humble nurse positions, women have now grown to a “battle ready” part of the US navy and their role and involvement in the US armed forces is increasing by the day. They have become an indispensable part of the US armed forces taking the very role and duties initially meant for men.
Analysis
Clinging to the assumed reliability of the secondary materials used regarding women in the armed forces, it is apparent that the role of women in the military has been increasing. According to Burrelli (1996, 1), Equal Right Movements and the need for recruiting and retaining competent and qualified armed force servants have greatly contributed to the increase in the number of women serving in the US armed forces. Various acts have been instituted which have really changed the view of women in the armed forces.
These acts repealed many restrictions which denied women equal opportunities in the armed forces. Initially, only two percent of women could be recruited in the military but this was repealed in 1967.
The restriction of women involvement in combat missions was repealed in 1991 by the Defense Authorization Act and women could since then be assigned duties in the combat ships and aircraft in both Navy and the Air Force with effect from 1994. Due to these changes, women representation in the armed forces increased to over 12% by the end of 2005.
As stated by Burrelli, “the number of career fields and military jobs open to women has steadily increased” (Burrelli, 1996, 1). This trend shows that, the number of women in the armed forces has been going up and might continue going up as more movements continue demanding for equal opportunities for both men and women.
The leadership position of women in the armed forces.
The United States military is a rather masculine institution with many challenges. Despite these challenges, women have ventured in to this institution and have even occupied the executive positions like General and Flag Officers among others. According to Iskra (2008, 2), women have overcome these challenges because of not considering themselves unequal to men but being ready to take any position or opportunity without limiting themselves to gender.
Their positive attitude towards military institutions has enabled them to work without questioning their ability and this has enabled them to take new opportunities as they arise. The success of women in the military could not have been achieved without the support of their spouses and the general support from the government. Though military jobs have been perceived as being unfavorable to women who wishes to have stable families and social life, many women with a passion to serve in the military have managed both responsibilities.
Some women have joined the armed forces but after serving for some time, they left the military in pursuit of other interests in life (Burrelli, 1996, 1). This is generally dependent on the career aspirations of the individuals because there are other women who have served in the military until they reach the retirement age. Women have risen to high ranks in the military careers to take the positions of GFOs, the General and Flag Officers.
In 1960s, women could not easily excel in the military because of the restriction especially in getting involved in the combat missions. As these barriers get removed, women are now going up ranks in the military as they become eligible in taking up emerging senior positions. According to Iskra (2008, 12), Very few women are promoted to higher ranks because their leadership skills are considered weaker than those of men.
To a great extent, military ability is considered on gender norms and it favors men because they are believed to have a high ability to perform in the military. This is still a barrier to promotion of women in the US armed forces. The positive response of a few women to these barriers is what defines their reason for success and distinguished performance in the US armed forces.
Military readiness for women
The ability of women to accomplish the assigned tasks in the military is questionable considering the number that drops out before they finish training. The US armed forces in general was known for having very strong military readiness but recent researches have shown that it is taking a different shape.
According to Spencer (2000, 1), though the US military is the strongest in the world and charged with a lot of responsibilities, its readiness is wanting. Women could be considered as the source of the weak point because they are increasing in number in the US military yet they are not eligible to participate in some combat missions.
Combat
According to Powers (2010, 1), women have been involved in some combat missions and statistics has it that, many have lost their lives while fighting on the ground. The US military have lost military women in almost all wars they have fought and this is raising an alarm to alert the US congress to take action. Some died in revolutionary war and also in the most recent cases in Iraq. There are arguments raised as early as 1996 that women should not be involved in the combat. It is generally agreed that women are not physically strong to undertake combat missions. Women have been even sexually molested and others taken captive especially in the Iraq combat. If these incidents continue, it might hurt the US military readiness.
Pregnancy in the US military
Though sometimes argued otherwise, pregnancy in the military could hurt the military readiness. If we could take readiness to mean the ability of a nation to supply competent forces to fight the right war in time of need, then it is vivid that when women in the army take maternity leave, readiness will have a lack of.
In the current situation, pregnant women are allowed to continue in the US Armed Forces and they are given the due care and medication. When all is said and done, it remains an undeniable fact that pregnancy will affect the military readiness at one given time.
Women at war face sexual violence
Women at war are exposed to the risk of sexual molestation. This is evidenced by the female US soldier who was sexually harassed by Iraqis during the Gulf War and many other cases. This could expose women to cases of unwanted pregnancies which would also affect military readiness. According to BBC, “………30% of military women are raped while serving, 71% are sexually assaulted, and 90% are sexually harassed.” (BBC, 2009, 1).
This case was experienced in 2006-2008 Iraq War where there were 40 women serving and about 28 of them went though rape, assault and sexual harassment and many other cases that were not reported. This would demoralize women serving in the military and make them more ineffective thus affecting the military readiness.
Statistics report: women compare male counterparts
The number of women in the US military has been increasing since World War II. There are currently about 3,300,300 soldiers serving in the US military comprising of both men and women. Women make up to 20% of the US military and the proportion of women compared to men is still increasing. The executive positions taken by women also increased from 13 to 15 percent between 1995 and 2004 and this number was expected to rise in the following years. The table below shows the comparison of the number of men to that of women in the military as of 2002.
Department of Defense Personnel by Sex and Minority Status, Fiscal Year 2002
Enlisted
Women
Men
(N = 172,201)
(N = 1,347,581)
Black
33.7%
20.9%
Hispanic
5.1%
5.6%
White
57.1%
68.7%
Other Minority
1.4%
4.8%
Officers
Women
Men
(N = 33,370)
(N = 240,207)
Black
13.3%
6.5%
Hispanic
2.4%
2.3%
White
79.7%
87.8%
The data shows a strong comparison of men and women in the US military.
Conclusion
Though the enlisting of persons in the US Armed Forces is by merit and capacity to serve, there are issues that need urgent attention. Although women may serve and perform exemplary in some departments in the military, it is vivid that in the next ten years, they might have negative impact on the US armed forces. If the trend of recruiting more women in the armed forces continues, then in the next ten years the number of men and women will be at par in the US military.
The risk involved in this situation it tied to the ability to serve in different war situations and capacities. Statistics has it that men perform better than women in many departments of the armed forces. This could be ascribed to the fact that the military jobs are more masculine and are best done by men. Women perform better than men in the clerical jobs but they are defeated in others.
As it was found in the research, though women are allowed to engage in combat missions, most of them are killed and others sexually molested by the opponents or their fellow soldiers. This would decline their performance and demoralize them. Women also have their performance affected by pregnancy cases as they may not be available when needed for service. The effect in the next ten years might be that the US military readiness will decline due to issues related to women that affect their performance.
Adversaries may also be created between the male and female cases due to cases of sexual molestation of female by their fellow male soldiers. This would weaken coordination and readiness. This would also demoralize female soldiers if their grievances against harassment are not addressed. For the US Armed Forces to retain its strong position in the world, these issues must be addressed urgently.
In today’s world, television is almost invariably a part of our lives and trying to keep away from this prominent force is for many people an uphill task. The article “Why We Tuned Out” by Karen Springen as appearing in the NewsWeek on November 11, 2002 attempts to illustrate that shielding one’s children from television is not only possible but comes along with numerous benefits. The main point advanced by Springen is that shielding children from television results in the children being more physically and mentally active.
The author also contends that the children do not risk turning into misfits as a result of abstinence from television programs. I agree with these assertions by the author that television watching is detrimental to the development of children and limiting the same will result in creative and physically active children.
Discussion
In her article, Springen credits the lack of television watching for her daughters’ inquisitive and energetic nature. She goes on to illustrate that according to research, “kids who watch more than 10 hours of TV each week are more likely to be overweight, aggressive and slow to learn in school.”
From these research findings, Springen justifies her imposition of a no television rule to her daughters so as to prevent them from assimilating these negative behaviors which are attributed to exposure to television. Despite these convictions, the author goes on to note that a complete restriction on television watching may result in her children missing out on good educational programming.
However, the author proceeds to note that most children who watch television do not engage in the “educational programming” but rather favor cartoons, adventure stories and other programming which has little educational value if any.
As such, Springen affirms that missing out on television all together is better than gambling on the very limited likelihood that children will watch something educational on TV.
The second issue that Springen tackles is the alleged likelihood of her children turning into social outcasts as a result of her “puritanical approach” with regards to television. This is a fear that is accentuated by one psychiatrist who quips that “it’s awful to be different from the other kids in fourth grade.”
Springen dispels of this fears by pointing out that her children continue to enjoy products based on TV characters despite their not watching television since there exist other avenues such as books and magazines through which the children can be informed of popular culture.
The author also highlights the fact that her children do not mention missing out on any of the popular programming even though they do interact with other children at school who undoubtedly mention the shows. As such, it is plausible that Springen’s children are not at a risk of turning into outcasts due to her restriction on their television watching habits. The author goes on to suggest that she may be forced to let them watch some shows which have a special meaning to the children.
Conclusion
Television is a very powerful thing and an overexposure to it by children may be disastrous. This paper set out to discuss the major points advanced by Karen Springen’s, a proponent of no television for children, in her article “Why We Tuned Out”.
The discussions presented reveal that the physical and mental well being of children may be directly related to their television viewing with excessive viewing being detrimental. From the facts illustrated in this essay, it is evident that tuning out of television may be beneficial to the development of children.
I settled for Industrial Areas Foundation, an organization based in Chicago that seeks to target empowerment of the people with a view to improving life, pursuit of happiness and liberty for Americans. It is a powerful social movement that brings together people of all races and backgrounds in order to forge a strong society. It does so by working closely with parents, religious leaders, immigrant societies and other social groups.
I chose the organization mostly due to its proven ability to transform the lives of people and ability of its activists to interact with what Meyer, Whittier and Robnetts (2002) call cultural and political contexts in their duty.
I was particularly interested in the fact that the movement has been able to conduct and sustain interventions geared towards social transformation such as provision of affordable housing and good schools.
After preliminary search over the internet, I made a point of visiting offices of the organization at South Dearborn Chicago where I interviewed Tom Marshal, a lead organizer. His duties entail organizing specialized training for various groups, a task he has been performing for the last ten years.
During the interview, I learnt that the organization looks forward to improving the welfare of American citizens by enabling them attain affordable housing, decent schools and crime-free streets. They also aim at improving the well being of communities concerned by increasing earnings of individuals. He informed me that they set their goals then steadfastly focus on their achievement. Constant obstacles that people face on a daily basis serve as reminders of the fate of communities as they seek to intervene on the status quo.
Tom revealed that the organization has been in existence since 1940 and was borne out of the need for the then meat packers of Chicago to get together.
They formed a kind of a workers’ union and later transformed it in to a community organization for social change. According to Tom, its pioneers included Alinsky and Chavez though it later spread to other cities and states. There was an overwhelming desire among its founders for an organization for the people at grassroots level, which would mobilize available resources for the welfare of the people.
I would say that the organization has been to a great extent successful particularly on housing and wage law. It is credited for successful construction of affordable housing for low income Americans dubbed Nehemiah Homes (Industrial Areas Foundation, 2010) and the conception of living wage law which specified the minimum wage of an individual that is necessary for meeting basic needs such as shelter and food.
Though this is different from the legal minimum wage which is established by law, it serves as a guide to social actors in determining the threshold upon which quality of life is determined.
Currently, Tom informed me that IAF is seeking to have smaller, new and effective schools; affordable healthcare for all; a pollution free environment; immigration reform as well as a cap on interest rates. The organization is looking to the future with optimism. It hopes to make schools more successful by strengthening the capability of parents to negotiate with schools concerning their children’s welfare.
They also wish to pressure the government to provide modern urban environment where Americans live comfortably and are empowered to make important decisions that are likely to impact their lives. Through extensive training, the organization aims at enhancing Americans’ awareness of policies for change hence seize opportunities during democratic processes.
I have appreciated the need for people to come together and seek power t confront common problems and would wish to become an active activist in the organization.
References
Meyer,S.D., Whittier, N.& Robnett, B. Social Movement: Identity, Culture and the State. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Industrial Areas Foundation. (2010). Initiatives. Web.
There has been an outcry over the banning of gays from openly serving in the United States’ military. The Obama administration in particular has contributed greatly to the repeal of the policy. This has however met a lot of resistance particularly from the reservists.
Most American service members support the lifting of the ban. The ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy requires that those members of the military who are either openly gay or lesbian be discharged from their duties. Since its introduction, the policy has caused most servants to lose their jobs.
The law has however been perceived as outdated and unconstitutional in the recent past. A Californian judge for instance ruled the law as unconstitutional and demanded that it be scrapped. Some countries have started to allow those members who are not straight to serve as military personnel. This includes all the NATO signatories with the exception of the United States and Turkey. Homosexuals are however still barred from openly serving in the military in, most of which are Islamic nations like Iran, Syria and Yemen.
One of the reasons against the repeal of the policy was that if those members that are not straight were allowed to serve as officers in the military, then it would be a potential destruction.
Activists played a significant role in the repeal. They included Lady Gaga, Gay rights groups and the democrats. The MTV age particularly contributed towards the repeal of the policy. Lady Gaga in particular has been a major lobbyist towards the repealing of the policy. In fact the gay rights advocates while making efforts to convince the senate for the repeal enlisted her.
MTV video awards have for instance gone towards those works that were aimed at advocating against the policy, a good example being “Bad Romance.” Another example is “Alejandro” which won various prizes at the MTV Awards. Some of these videos have been acted by former service members who were affected by the ban.
Most of them have joined defense networks that lobby for the repeal. Most of the MTV shows that perpetuate the repeal are usually claim to bring to light the unbearable burden that the policy impose on brave individuals who struggle to defend their nation and advocate for the scraping of the policy which they term as despicable.
The same sex lobbying groups have had an enormous role in the repealing of the law. They have done this through various means with the social networks not being left behind. They have held rallies while trying to convince civilians to see sense in their quest for the same sex rights. To some extent they have managed to get most of the public to support them.
The main fear though has been that the standards of the service in the military will greatly be compromised. Most of the same sex rights groups have been of the view that the military action abroad has to be stopped and that their needed to be significant budget cuts in the defense department.
They have held the opinion that every American citizen has the right to serve as a military personnel and risk his or her life for his/her beloved country as long as that individual fulfills the physical requirements he be in a position to follow the military justice code (Shalanda 14).
There are those who on the contrary feel that the law is effective due to individual, political ideological or religious reasons. Most of the Christian churches for instance have been supporting the ban due to the belief that God hates same sex intimate relationships.
The same sex activists have not been on a joyride. They have met much resistance from anti-gay movements as well. For instance there are those who hold the opinion that the military and homosexuality are two different incompatible issues.
They believe that there is nothing like a right to work in the military taskforce. They believe that the military is a significant fighting force and needs not to be interrupted by foreign aggressors who have no idea about the peace, prosperity and tranquility that the military brings to the country.
The activists have however not backed down. Their argument being that; if the military managed to include women in the taskforce and if racial discrimination was brought to a halt in the military then someone’s sexual orientation need not be a big deal as the same criteria could be used to include them in the military.
They reason that it would be unwise to train someone for a long time, invest resources in his/her training, only to end up discharging that person on the basis his or sexual orientation yet most of them could be having high qualifications. They also claim that most of the straight members have no problem with working with the gay and lesbian members side by side.
The fact that same sex marriages have been approved by some nations and for even greater emphasis: in some churches has had an overwhelming impact on the repeal of the policy. It is argued that if a nation can approve of such relationships or for the case of the church; if ‘God’ can approve of such relationships, then the military has no reason to put restrictions on the group.
In fact, the ordination of openly gay church servants fuelled the debate and even encouraged the rights groups to push for the same. This put a lot of pressure on the government as well as those in charge of the military to accept the repeal of the law (Lightman 12).
One of foremost characteristics of today’s post-industrial living is the dramatically increased degree of populations’ mobility, reflected by exponentially mounting rates of inbound immigration in just about every Western country.
As it was pointed out by Neumayer (2005): “Total [immigration] applications in Europe increased tremendously from the early 1980s to the early 1990s, from a total of 592,000 to 2.65 million, falling somewhat during the latter half of the 1990s but staying at a fairly high level of 1.93 million” (45).
And, given the fact that, as of today, Western societies’ demographic fabric undergoes a rapid transformation, this poses an additional challenge to maintaining these societies’ inner integrity.
The reason for this is simple – as practice shows, newly arrived immigrants (especially those from Third World countries) often experience severe hardships, while trying to acclimatize, which in its turn, lessens their chances to become productive citizens.
After all, as Katz and Lowenstein (1999) had rightly noted: “Immigration involves a permanent change not only in place of residence but, even more significantly, in lifestyle, values, norms, and language” (43). Nevertheless, it is namely immigrants’ children who appear especially vulnerable to being exposed to drastic changes in culturally linguistic environment, because unlike adults, they often lack the full spectrum of cognitive and analytical capacities, which would have smoothed up the process of their acclimatization.
Given the fact that in children’s lives, the factor of emotional attachment plays rather important role, it comes as not a particular surprise that, after having immigrated to a new country, along with their parents, children often end up indulging in socially withdrawn mode of existence. According to Aronowitz (1984): “Children who moved [due to immigration of their parents] were generally found to be more withdrawn and less well accepted by their peers.
They were also rated by their teachers as being more emotionally maladjusted” (240). At the same time, it would be wrong to assume that, due to earlier mentioned adjustment-related considerations, immigrant youth should be thought of as being necessarily disadvantaged, in social sense of this word.
After all, according to recent statistical surveys, the foreign-born children of Asian immigrants to America, often account for as much 40% of country’s student population, majoring in math, physics, chemistry and software designing.[1]
According to Brandon (2002): “Research suggests that many of the concerns about the well-being of children in immigrant families are unwarranted. The evidence suggests that children in immigrant families do as well as or better than U.S.-born children” (417).
Therefore, it will only be logical, on our part, to assume that along with factors that hamper immigrant children’s chances to attain social prominence in newly acquired home countries, there are also factors that provide these children with certain advantage, during the course of them trying to get a good education and to establish themselves socially.
In this paper, we will aim to explore what accounts for these factors at length and to come up with the set of recommendations as to what we believe should represent research-priorities, regarding the discussed subject matter, in the future.
Analytical review of literature
Cultural factors
Ever since late sixties, when immigration policies in most Western countries have been conceptually revised, in order for them to be correlative with governmentally endorsed policy of multiculturalism, the immigration pattern to these countries have undergone a substantial transformation.
In his article, Zhou (1997) provides us with the insight onto the qualitative essence of such a pattern, as applied to U.S: “According to the Immigration and Nationalization Service, of the 7.3 million immigrants admitted to the United States during the 1980s (not counting undocumented immigrants), 87% came from Asia and the Americas, compared to the 8.8 million admitted during the 1910s who were predominantly from Europe” (65).
The implications of such an apparent demographic shift in recent immigration patterns are quite obvious – unlike what it is usually being the case with European immigrants to America and other Western countries, the growing number of immigrants from Third World now face an acute challenge of adjusting to the cultural matrix of Western living.
The reason for this simple – given the fact that the bulk of newly arrived immigrants come from essentially traditional societies, they experience a particularly hard time, while trying to adjust to clearly defined secular (post-industrial) realities of today’s Western living. And, it is needless to mention, of course, that these people’s children experience similar problems, as well.
According to Hernandez (1999): “Research suggests that immigrant children experience acculturative stress as they adjust to a foreign culture, learn a new language, and try to fit into mainstream youth society” (303). The validity of this statement is best illustrated in regards to children from families of Pakistani immigrants.
Whereas; in Pakistan, these children have been taught to respect parental authority as their foremost priority in life, after having found themselves in a new country, Pakistani adolescents ended up being taught something entirely different – namely, the fact that, according to Western secular law, parents are being simply in no position to forcibly expose their children to different forms of religious or culturally religious dogmatism.
In their article, where they discuss adjustment-related challenges, faced by children from families of Pakistani immigrants in Canada, Wakil and Wakil (1981) state: “[In Canadian schools] Pakistani children were allowed considerable freedom, while choosing in favor of a professional career…
Compared with the practices in the ‘old country’, where the older male wields the final authority in deciding the amount of education and the type of occupation for the youngsters, this change indicates a rather remarkable departure from the traditional pattern” (933).
In other words, regarding the children of Pakistani immigrants, there can be very little doubt as to the fact that the manner in which they are being brought up in Western countries’ public schools differs rather dramatically from the manner of their domestic upbringing. It goes without saying, of course, that this exposes these children to a certain cognitive dichotomy, which in its turn, slows down the process of their assimilation.
The same suggestion applies to children from families of Latin-American immigrants. Apparently, while being exposed to the realities of Western living, these children also get to experience the sensation of emotional uncomfortableness with the fact that the lifestyles of their newly acquired peers do not correlate with the ‘traditional values’, which are being usually professed by their parents.
In his book, Artico (2003) was able to define the actual root of an earlier mentioned inconsistency with perfect clarity: “The traditional Western culture gives much value to personality traits associated with individualism, such as self-confidence and independence, whereas Latino culture is sociocentric, placing great importance in interpersonal obligation, respect for others, and personal dignity, usually expressed through proper demeanor” (34).
Thus, without denying the fact that there is a number of cultural obstacles, on the way of immigrant children integrating into a host society, it appears that very often, the foremost obstacle represent these children’s parents, due to the sheer extent of their intellectual inflexibility.
Nevertheless, as today’s Western socio-political realities indicate, the cultural aspect of immigrant children’s assimilation continue to become less acutely defined, which can be explained by the essence of demographic dynamics with Western societies.
In the article, from which we have already quoted, Zhou states: “Many immigrant children attend public schools in their neighborhood with a clear numerical majority of minority students.
In Los Angeles County, for example, 57 unified school districts out of a total of 83 contain over half of foreign-born nonwhite students” (59). Thus, there are good reasons to believe that in very near future, immigrant children will experience less and less difficulties, while trying to adjust to the cultural workings of a host society.
Socio-economic factors
What also appears to affect the qualitative specifics of immigrant children’s ability to adjust to socio-political realities of a newly acquired homeland, is their parents’ social status. As practice shows, after having immigrated to a particular Western country, these people often realize themselves being unable to find adequately paid jobs.
And, as it was pointed out by Hernadez in the book from which we have already quoted: “Because paid work by parents is the primary source of family income for most children, the number of parents who work for pay and whether they work part time or full time are key determinants of whether children live in poverty, in middle-class comfort, or in luxury” (24).
In other words, what contributes rather significantly to the fact that, comparing to their peers, immigrant children often find themselves in disadvantaged position, is their parents’ continuous struggle, aimed at attainment of social prominence.
And, it is important to understand that, despite what it is being commonly assumed, immigrant parents’ lack of education or their lessened ability to socialize with native-born citizens, does not necessarily explain hardships that they face, while looking for good jobs.
For example, it became a well-established practice in such countries as U.S. and Canada, for newly arrived immigrants from countries of former Soviet Union, who used to be top-surgeons, to be offered employment as nurses, at best.
The fact that these people possess an extensive experience in performing complex surgeries, is not being taken into consideration, which is why, upon having arrived to U.S. or Canada, health care professionals from former Soviet Union often come to realize that their university diplomas are being essentially useless.[2]
It is needless to mention, of course, that such situation results in the children of these immigrants being deprived of a number of educational and consequently educational opportunities.
Nevertheless, it is namely in immigrant families from Third World countries, where children appear being especially disadvantaged, in social context of this word. The reason for this is quite apparent – given the fact that in these families, the average number of children often goes to as high as 5-10; it represents an acute challenge for the parents to be able to take care of their children’s even basic needs.
The statistical data, regarding the discussed subject matter, contained in Hernandez’s book, is being perfectly illustrative, in this respect: “Overall, the relative poverty rate for children in immigrant families [in U.S.] was 33 percent, compared to 24 percent for children in native-born families in the 1990 census… Poverty rates for children in immigrant families exceeded those for children in native-born families by 5 and 9 percentage points” (32).
What worsens the situation even further is that, as time goes on, the percentage of immigrant children who are being denied eligibility for just about any form of social assistance, due to the illegal status of their parents, increases rather exponentially.
The validity of this suggestion appears especially self-evident in regards to continuously increasing rate of illegal immigrants within the overall population of Hispanics in America.
According to Hanson (2006): “The distinguishing feature of Mexican immigration is that most new arrivals enter the United States illegally. In 2004, there were an estimated 5.9 million unauthorized Mexican immigrants in U.S… Thus, 56 percent of Mexican immigrants appear to lack permission to be in the country” (870).
And, as it was pointed out by Hernandez: “Children who are illegal immigrants are ineligible for most public benefits and services and, under welfare reform, those who are legal immigrants but not citizens may also be ineligible for important medical and social services” (56).
It goes without saying that, apart from having been spared of a number of social and educational opportunities, which native-born adolescents take for granted, children from families of illegal immigrants are being subjected to a continuous stress, originating in their fear of being deported.
And, as practice shows, the severity of these children’s psychological stress even doubles, as the consequence of their continuous exposal to emanations of subtle racism, even if such racism assumes legally legitimate forms.
As was noted by De Genova (2006): “The elusiveness of immigration law, and its relative invisibility in producing ‘illegality,’ requires the spectacle of ‘enforcement’, which renders a racialized migrant’s ‘illegality’ visible” (436). While being aware of their actual ‘otherness’, immigrant children have a particularly hard time trying to be comfortable with the fact that at schools, they get to be taught of their ‘sameness’.
Linguistic factors
Given the fact that the native language of most immigrant children is being different from the official language of a country where they came to live with their parents, it comes as not a particular surprise that, while striving to integrate into a new environment, they often face the issue of linguistic adaptation.
In its turn, this often causes them to experience what Igoa (1995) refers to as the sensation of ‘uprooting’: “If there is one characteristic of the uprooting experience that appears to be shared by all immigrant children irrespective of nationality, economic status, family stability, or any other factor, it is the silent stage when the children experience the school culture as different from their own and when their inability to communicate with peers is caused by a language or cultural difference” (38).
The problems with communication are more likely to be experienced by children, whose native language is being sintaxically different from any of Indo-European languages.
In its turn, this partially explains why in English speaking countries, the representatives of second and even third generation of Chinese immigrants, speak with a noticeable accent. According to Sung (1985): “The language barrier was the problem most commonly mentioned by the immigrant children of Chinese origin. Frequently, language looms largest because it is the conduit through which we interact with other people” (256).
Nevertheless, even though immigrant children of Asian (specifically Chinese) background do initially experience many problems, related to the process of their linguistic adjustment, they usually prove themselves quite capable of overcoming their ‘linguistic shyness’ with ease. Their possession of a high IQ helps them rather drastically, in this respect.
As Booth (1997) had put it: “These immigrants (from India, Taiwan, Iran, Japan, Korea, and China), are perhaps the most skilled ever to come to the United States. Their class origins help explain the popularization of Asians as a ‘model minority’” (23). This explains earlier mentioned phenomenon that, as of today, students of Asian origin are being overrepresented in Western universities’ technical departments, which subjects them to subtle forms of discrimination.
For example, regarding the adolescents from Chinese immigrant families who want to study in universities, there are much stricter entrance requirements. The official explanation for this is that these youngsters often lack linguistic skills, to be admitted to the places of higher learning.
However, the real reason for this is much simpler – in American universities, there is almost a complete absence of native-born Blacks and Hispanics, majoring in highly technical disciplines, such as chemistry, architecture, physics, math, engineering and software designing.
In its turn, this undermines the fundamental premise of multiculturalism, based upon the assumption that all people are equal, regardless of their ethnic background. This is exactly the reason why Asian immigrant youth is now facing poorly masked racism in a number of Western countries that take pride in the strength of their adherence to the ideals of multicultural living – whatever the ironic it might sound.
From what has been said earlier, it appears that, even though that the problem of immigrant children and adolescents’ linguistic acclimatization can indeed be defined as rather pressing, it should not be thought of as ‘thing in itself’.
After all, comparing to what it is usually the case with adult immigrants, children are being much more capable of picking up foreign language, especially when forced to practice this language in their everyday lives. Therefore, it is namely immigrant parents’ insistence in endowing their young ones with respect towards ‘traditional values’, which slows down the process of children’s linguistic adjustment.
Moreover, it also contributes to the rise of domestic tensions between parents and children in immigrant families. In their article, Tseng and Fuligni (2000) came up with perfectly legitimate suggestion that immigrant children’s often strongly defined linguistic uncomfortableness derives out of their parents’ lack of intellectual flexibility: “Because English lacks honorifics or terms of respect present in some languages, adolescents’ use of the English language with native-speaking parents may be associated with distancing between them” (467).
In other words, even though that many immigrant children do not think of speaking a foreign language as particularly challenging, they nevertheless try not to over abuse their newly acquired linguistic skills, especially in the presence of their traditionally minded parents. As a result, their linguistic proficiency suffers a great deal of damage.
What also represents a major obstacle, on the way of immigrant children attaining finesse in the language of a host country, is the fact that, upon having immigrated to Western countries, immigrants from Third World tend to choose in favor of a ‘communal living’ – that is, they settle in the areas known for the abundance of their previously arrived compatriots. In his article, Zubrinsky (2003) states:
“Chain migration patterns common among both Hispanic and Asian immigrants concentrate rapidly growing groups in a small number of metropolitan areas – and within a small number of neighborhoods within an area – increasing their isolation and decreasing exposure to out-groups” (172).
Therefore, the factor of immigrant children’s linguistic adaptability should be discussed within the context of objectively existing socio-political preconditions, which affect the extent of these children’s ability to adjust to a new language and to the set of socio-cultural values, associated with it.
Identity-related factors
Nowadays, many anthropologists and political scientists discuss the issue of what defines immigrant children’s psychological well-being, in regards to their varying ability to adopt a so-called ‘hybrid identity’. Given the fact that, ever since 20th century’s sixties, world’s immigration flows had adopted an undeniable West-bounded direction, it comes as not a surprise that the bulk of today’s immigrants come from countries that used to be subjected to Europe’s colonial domination.
What it means is that, after having lived in Western society for a while, their inborn identity of former colonial subjects comes into conflict with their newly adopted identity of Westerners, at least in formal sense of this word. In its turn, this causes the workings of immigrant children’s psyche to construct an entirely new ‘ambivalent’ identity, the specifics of which are being emphasized by the extent of these children’s ‘visible ethnicity’.
One of the most prominent theoreticians of ‘hybrid identity’, Homi Bhabha (1985) defines the essence of such an identity in the following manner: “Hybridity is not a problem of genealogy or identity between two different cultures which can then be resolved as an issue of cultural relativism.
Hybridity is a problematic of colonial representation and individuation that reverses the effects of the colonialist disavowal, so that other ‘denied’ knowledges enter upon the dominant discourse and estrange the basis of its authority – its rules of recognition” (156).
According to the author, ‘hybrid identity’, which he believes immigrant children and adolescents to be endowed with, often extrapolates itself in these youngsters’ tendency to choose in favor of socially inappropriate behavior.
As of today, there are a number of illustrative examples, which confirm the validity of Bhabha’s suggestion. The most recent one is the forced deportation of 500 Chechen refugees from Norway that had taken place in February of 2011.[3] Even though that many of these people have lived in Norway for as long seven years, Norwegian authorities simply declared that Chechens are not being welcomed in Norway any longer.
One of the factors that contributed to Norwegian authorities’ decision to deport all Chechens back to Russia was the manner in which Chechen children and adolescents behaved themselves socially, while going as far as committing the acts of gang-rape, looting stores and beating native-born Norwegians to death.
Nevertheless, it would be wrong to think of this as the confirmation of young Chechens’ inborn ‘viciousness’ but rather as yet additional proof to the fact that these youngsters indeed posses of a post-colonial ‘ambivalent identity’, which they happened to explore with little too much enthusiasm.
After all, in Britain, immigrant children and adolescents of Jamaican and Trinidadian ethnic backgrounds are also being known for their rather violent attitudes. Yet, nobody would dare to suggest that they would have to be deported, as they happened to hold British passports.
Therefore, it is important to understand that, the seeming inconsistency in how immigrant children are expected to behave and how they behave in reality, derives out of the very process of these individuals’ continuous integration into a host society, which in its turn, causes immigrant children to profess the values of a ‘hybrid identity’.
As Dummett (2001) had suggested: “The children of immigrants — given an acceptance of them by the surrounding society… will retain some of the customs of their parents, but will regard themselves as full members of the national community into which they were brought: in their eyes, that national community now embraces their customs and their culture as well as those traditional to that country” (18).
Thus, the fact that, after having moved to Western countries, immigrant children and adolescents do often experience an identity crisis, sublimated in their tendency to violently oppose these countries’ customs, represents another important challenge on the way of their assimilation.
Nevertheless, there are good reasons to think that, as time goes on, this challenge will be losing its present acuteness, simply because Western societies continue to grow increasingly multicultural.
In the previous part of this paper, we have elaborated on factors that are assumed counter-productive, within the context of immigrant children trying to adjust to the new environment. Nevertheless, there are also certain psychological traits, the endowment with which, seem to provide immigrant children with a certain advantage, while proceeding with studies and while making the best of their lives in a new country. These traits can be generally outlined as follows:
Intellectual open-mindedness
Given the fact that, prior to immigrating to a new country with their parents, children and adolescents have experienced the realities of their actual homeland, it makes them naturally predisposed towards adopting an analytical stance, when it comes to assessing socio-political realities of a country where they came to live. And, one’s ability to adopt such a stance early in life is the key to his or her educational and consequently professional successfulness.
The reason for this is simple – due to the qualitative essence of their former life’s experiences, immigrant children’s ability to compare and contrast appears undeniably higher, when evaluated against that of their native-born peers, which in its turn, creates objective preconditions for these children to be endowed with rationalistic mindset, by the time they grow up.
Such our suggestion fully correlates with the results of Levels, Dronkers and Kraaykamp’s (2008) study: “We found that, ceteris paribus, immigrant children and the children of immigrants from countries with a lower level of economic development perform particularly well in school” (848). Apparently, unlike what it is being usually the case with their native-born peers, most immigrant children know perfectly well how to make a distinction between relevant and irrelevant types of knowledge.
For example, children that came from war-torn countries, will never believe in the objectiveness of a variety of moralistically sounding but essentially meaningless notions, such as ‘sanctity of life’, which native-born Westerners naively consider to represent an undeniable truth-value.
And, given the fact that the empirical sciences have nothing to do with people’s wishful thinking but solely with scientifically proven facts, it does not come as a big surprise that the percentage of former ‘immigrant children’, among today’s Western scientists, increases rather dramatically.
For example, it has been estimated that, as of 2008, 60% of Microsoft’s most prominent software engineers consisted of naturalized citizens from Russia, China and India, many of which came to U.S. as children, without knowing even few words in English.[4]
As practice shows, comparing to their peers, immigrant children appear much more goal-oriented and cynical. They are fully aware that in this life, nothing is ‘given’ but rather ‘taken’. And, unlike many of their native-born counterparts, they are more capable of addressing life’s challenges as stoics, as opposed to be preoccupied with whining about ‘world’s injustices’.
Hardworkiness
It is often being the case that, after having arrived to a new country, the parents of immigrant children realize that they would have to indulge in heavy physical labor, in order to be able to meet ends. This naturally exposes their children to the prospect of not only having to rely upon themselves, while striving to attain social prominence, but also to the prospect of being required to assist parents in their daily routine.
The manner, in which many families of Chinese immigrants to America go about ensuring their well-being, is being particularly illustrative, in this respect.
In her article, Gorman (1998) provides us with the clue as to what accounts for the specifics of parenting in the families of Chinese immigrants to America: “Chinese mothers emphasize their children’s relationships with others rather than their children’s psychological attributes… Authoritarian parenting has not been found to be associated with poor academic achievement among Chinese families” (73).
Even today, it is not an utterly uncommon sight to see Chinese youth working at the restaurant by night and studying at university by day. And, we do not only refer to what it is being the case in U.S., but also to what it is being the case in other Western countries.
Fighting spirit
As we had mentioned earlier, immigrant children’s possession of a ‘hybrid mentality’, often causes them to think of utilization of violence as the ultimate tool for solving conflicts with their peers and with adults, who in their view, represent an ‘oppressive authority’.
This, however, should not be thought of as necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary – it is namely those who, during the early stages of their lives, have learned how to stand their ground that will have a better chance of growing up into productive and responsible citizens.
Nowadays, even a brief glance at bullying-related statistical data, reveals an undeniable fact that in Western countries, 90% of those who have been victimized by bullies are native-born Whites.
According to Sugden (2008): “White children are much more likely to be bullied than any other ethnic group – reversing racial stereotypes surrounding playground abuse, Government research indicates. Two thirds of children from white families say they had been bullied in the last three years but less than half of children of Indian origin make the same assertion” (Times Online).
As time goes by, more and more White children and adolescents in Western countries choose in favor of social absenteeism, as the form of their existential mode. They lock themselves up in their rooms and play computer games all day long, while being utterly terrified of a prospect of venturing out on the street – hence, deserving to referred to as ‘nerds’ to the full extent of this word.
The children of newly arrived ethnic immigrants, on the other hand, do not seem to have any psychological anxieties, on the account of their ‘smartness’, simply because unlike what it is the case with many of their native-born White counterparts, while in the ‘old country’, they had never been subjected to any form of ideological brainwashing.
Therefore, we would like to reinstate once again that the possession of a fighting spirit, is immigrant children’s another psychological trait, which makes them more than capable to adjust to the social and cultural realities of just about any Western country.
Interviews with four foreign-born residents of Ukraine
The following are the interviews, conducted with two representatives of Armenian Diaspora in Ukraine and also with two other individuals that fall into the category of ‘immigrant children’, who since their arrival to this country, had found themselves being surrounded by an unfamiliar cultural and linguistic environment, and who had undergone the process of culturally linguistic adjustment.
Emma Petrosyan (17 years old). Student at British International School in Kiev.
Emma, as far as I understand, you have not been born in Ukraine. Would you be please so kind to tell me how did you end up living in Ukraine?
I came to Ukraine four years ago with my father and mother. Around that time, my dad set up a construction company in Kiev and offered me to relocate to this city, as well.
In other words, before coming here, you did not know much about Ukraine, its language and its customs?
Oh no. Even before I have relocated here for good, I had a very good idea as to what Ukraine is all about. You see, our family have many relatives in Ukraine, who have resided here for a long time. For example, my father’s aunty has been living in Dnepropetrovsk since 1979.
You speak English very well, indeed. Is it solely the consequence of you attending British International School or maybe there is more to it?
I would have to say that, without having attended this school, I would not be able to learn much English at all. In Ukrainian regular schools, students are not being given a good opportunity to study English. One of my friends, who studies in one of such schools, has been telling me that they only have two English classes per week, during the course of which they get to learn grammar mostly, without being given much of a chance to practice their skills in that language.
While at the school, are you being required to speak English all the time?
Yes. All of the subjects in our school are being taught exclusively in English. Most school’s the teachers are actually British citizens and they do not tolerate students conversing to each other in any other language but English, even during the breaks.
But, don’t you think that, while being required to speak English all the time, when at school, you might lose a grip of your native language and also of Ukrainian language, in which I assume you are being proficient?
Actually, ever since my early years in Armenia, I have learned Russian to the extent that I consider it being nothing short of my native language. In Kiev, everybody speak Russian, which is why I never needed to learn much of Ukrainian – only uneducated peasants from country’s Western parts, who come to Kiev looking for low paid jobs, speak that kind of a language.
But, isn’t Ukrainian the only country’s official language?
Officially, it is. But in reality, most of well educated people in this country do not even consider it language per se – it is more of a peasant dialect, which is why it lacks words of technological significance. For example, the term ‘wheel bearing’ can be translated to Russian as ‘podshypnik’, whereas there is simply no equivalent to this word in Ukrainian.
While Yuschenko (former Ukrainian President) was in the office, he hired a bunch of ‘language experts’ from Galicia, so that they would simply invent Ukrainian words, which never existed in reality.
I’ve heard from a friend of mine, who studies in one of Kiev’s Ukrainian schools, that once she had gotten a bad grade, simply because she referred to a car as ‘avtomobil’, instead of referring to it as ‘avtivka’ – as Yushenko’s ‘experts’ used to be insisting.
One time, I was invited to take part in filming of a local TV show – people who were talking on camera, tried to speak Ukrainian, but as soon as cameras were turned off, all of them would switch back to speaking Russian (laughs).
So, in other words, you did not experience much of a problem, while adjusting to Ukraine’s linguistic environment?
I guess you could say so. I speak English and Russian fluently – all that it is being required from just about anybody, in order to feel comfortable in this country, unless you want to have a career in taking care of livestock in some of Ukraine’s remote villages. Then, you would have to learn Ukrainian.
Apart from having to undergo a linguistic adjustment, did you experience any other assimilation-related challenges?
Well… every once in a while, I get to encounter racists. Most of them utterly unintelligent people from country’s Western regions, who for some strange reason believe that Ukraine belongs solely to them. Good thing most of these individuals are really not in position to impose their racist views upon others. Still, my dad has to periodically deal with this type of people, while conducting his business. It does not bother him much though – one cannot be getting offended at those who were born genetically and intellectually deficient.
Thank you very much Emma. Your replies to my questions were indeed rather enlightening.
Armen Hachaturyan (17 years old). Student at Meridian International School in Kiev.
Armen, could you please me a little about yourself?
I was born in Armenia and I lived most of my life there. My family immigrated to Ukraine two years ago, so I live here now.
I am interested to hear whether you consider yourself being fully comfortable living in this country. And, if so, how did you manage to get adjusted to the local realities?
Actually, I like living here very much. Of course, you cannot refer to Ukraine as a Western country, in full sense of this word, but I still like it better then Armenia – comparing to what it used to be the case in Erevan (Armenian capital), there is a multitude of culturally and ethnically different people in Kiev, which is why I find residing in this city intellectually stimulating. In fact, I consider myself having similar mentality with Ukrainians – after all, just as it is being the case with Ukraine, Armenia used to be the part of Soviet Union. So, my naturalization occurred very much on its own.
Did you find it any hard adjusting to the new linguistic environment, while here?
I do not think it was particularly hard for me to get adjusted. I studied Russian language since I went to elementary school in Erevan, so I consider this language being almost as native as Armenian. And, in Kiev, most people speak Russian. Yet, my parents insisted that I attend English-speaking school, so that I would have a better career prospects.
Are you being required to speak English all the time, while at school?
Most of the subjects are being taught to us in English, but we do have Russian and Ukrainian classes. To be honest, I cannot say that I’ve been excelling in Ukrainian a whole lot, which kind of troubles me, as I am planning to enter Shevchenko’s University, I after I graduate from school. You see, in that university, all of the entrance examinations are exclusively in Ukrainian.
Why wouldn’t you apply an extra effort, while gaining proficiency in that language?
I would not mind doing it, but I find it little hard. In order for just about anyone to get a good grip of a particular language, he or she would have to be provided with an opportunity to practice it. But, who am I going to practice it with, apart from practicing it with the teacher, during Ukrainian classes? All the people that I know here speak Russian. I mean, I do speak Ukrainian, but not to the extent of being able to pass exams in it. To make things worse, our teacher of Ukrainian language always talk to me in a way as if she never ceases to be angry with my mere presence in this country. I think she hates me, simply because I happened to have a darker skin.
Is it really so? What are her attitudes towards other school’s students?
She definitely treats Ukrainian students better. I guess she belongs to this Ukrainian nationalist party ‘Svoboda’, which is why, while talking to me, she always stresses out that I am being nothing but a guest. But, in Kiev, she is being just as much of a guest as me – people always spoke Russian here, and it is only after Stalin occupied Eastern part of Poland in 1939, that Ukrainian nationalists started to move to Kiev by trainloads. If she continues giving me troubles, I will file a complaint against her. My parents pay good money so that I would be able to get a good education. And, I don’t think that hearing about how great were Ukrainian Nazi collaborators, during the course of WW2, should be the part of getting such an education.
It is quite strange to hear this from you. I thought teachers’ task has always been helping students to attain self-confidence, especially when foreign-born students that study in international schools are being concerned.
That is what I thought too. Unfortunately, there are still many nationalistically minded educators in this country, who seem to derive a sick pleasure out of degrading immigrant youth. Still, I think that the things will get better – Ukrainian new President Yanukovich appears being open-minded individual, which is why he recalled former President’s decree that proclaimed Ukrainian main Nazi collaborator Bandera a ‘hero’.
What do you think of your experiences in socializing with ordinary Ukrainians? Do you find them open-minded as well?
Most of them are absolutely normal people, who are being simply concerned with trying to make living. And, once people start enjoying better standards of living, due to their hard work, they effectively cease regarding nationalistic nonsense seriously. I believe that citizens’ value should be assessed in regards to their ability to function as productive members of society, and not in regards to whether they can be defined as representatives of a ‘native folk’ or not.
Do you think that your Ukrainian classmates are sharing such your opinion?
Yes I do. Most of them come from well-off families, which mean they had a chance to travel the world. And, those who had visited foreign countries, are being naturally predisposed towards becoming tolerant individuals. Nevertheless, there are still a few students, who while being perfectly aware of the fact that I do not speak Ukrainian very well, would never cease referring to me in this language, even though they could have done it in Russian with ease. I think, it makes them feel special.
Armen, do you and your parents spend much time socializing with other Armenians in Kiev?
In fact, we do. My father owes Armenian restaurant in Kiev, so we always get too meet compatriots. Most of these people have managed to become well-established citizens in Ukraine. And, I guess what had helped them in this respect, is the fact that the members of Armenian Diaspora in Ukraine always try to help each other in time of need.
Thank you for your willingness to talk to me Armen. I make sure I will be checking your dad’s restaurant as soon as possible.
You are very welcome.
Alisha Evert (16 years old). Student at Kiev International School.
Alisha, thank you for agreeing to be interviewed. Could you please introduce yourself, before we proceed?
I’m the daughter of a diplomat from South Africa. I have been living in Ukraine for one year now. My father is going to be promoted at the embassy, so I guess I’ll be living here for at least another few years.
I understand you study in an English speaking school. Does it leave you with much of a chance to learn about local language, culture and customs?
To be honest, I am not a very fast learner of foreign cultures. But, the more I stay in Ukraine, the more I grow comfortable with the way of life here. It’s just I can help missing South African food.
I don’t know if you have heard, but many people in Ukraine like eating ‘salo’ (raw pork back), would you ever consider trying that?
My dad told me about this. I actually still find it hard to believe that he was not joking. I mean, how can you eat that?
Well, that is something many Ukrainians are being proud of. By the way, have you made any friends with local children yet?
I have, there are many Ukrainian students in the school where I study, but they don’t act like most of ordinary Ukrainian children do.
Why is that?
This is because they consider themselves being so much better than the rest. It costs their parents about $2000 per month to have them studying here; whereas, I heard that many ordinary Ukrainians make as little as $300 per month.
Are they being any racist towards you?
Some of them. But most of them are Ok.
I’ve heard there are classes in Ukrainian and Russian at your school, are you being required to attend them.
Not really but I still do. I’d like to learn Russian language. There is that girl Natasha, with whom I’ve made really good friends. She helps me with learning Russian. I now can understand a lot of what is being said on TV.
I’m sure you have met many Ukrainian people. In which way, do you think they are being different from South Africans?
Well, they like to drink a lot. They don’t like to say hello to each other. There is much anger in the air. However, this is not because these people are bad, but because most of them are poor by even African standards.
What do you like about Kiev?
I like the fact that this is a very safe city. Even though many Ukrainians are rather angry, they are not violent. In Johannesburg, where I grew up, there are whole areas, where normal people try not to go to, because they can be easily killed or raped right out on the street. In Kiev, you can go just about anywhere and you’ll still be Ok.
Do you think you might ever consider settling in Ukraine for good?
If local winters weren’t quite as cold, I would.
Thank you Alisha.
Nguen Lmao (16 years old). An illegal immigrant from Vietnam. [The original interview was conducted in Russian].
Nguen, please tell me about yourself and about what had prompted you to come to Ukraine.
I grew up in Vietnam in a very poor family of ten, where I was the youngest kid. About three years ago, two of my older brothers decided to try to come to France and they offered me to join them. Of course, we could not immigrate to this country legally, so we decided to make our way there onboard of a commercial ship.
So, I guess Ukraine is not the final point of your destination?
Originally, it wasn’t and it still isn’t. We’ve managed to come to Odessa, while hiding in one of those containers onboard of a sea-freighter. Then, we tried crossing Ukrainian border with Poland, but we failed and my two brothers ended up being caught by Ukrainian border patrol. As far as I’m being aware of, they have been deported back to Vietnam, but I’ve never heard from them since. I was more lucky, because I managed to escape from Ukrainian authorities. Now, I live in Kiev.
What do you do for living?
There is a large Vietnamese community in Kiev. These people provided me with the place to stay and also gave the gob of a salesperson at one of city’s open markets.
You speak Russian very well. How long did it take you to learn this language?
Maybe like two of three months. I had no option but to learn Russian quickly, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to get a job. This is like when they throw you into the river so that you learn how to swim – it’s whether you start swimming or die.
Do you find living as an illegal immigrant pleasurable?
Well, I don’t starve here at least; whereas, back in Vietnam, I used to starve constantly. I don’t really care for the fact that I don’t have a passport. Every time police comes to the market with an inspection, I simply bribe them with a few cartons of cigarettes and they leave me alone.
So, I guess you’ve proven yourself more than capable adjusting to the realities of living in Ukraine.
Yes, in fact, while selling stuff at the market, I make more money than many native-born Ukrainians do, especially those who work for the state, such as teachers, for example. I owe this country nothing, just as it owes me nothing. All I want is to be left in peace.
What are your plans for the future? Are you going to stay in Ukraine forever?
Do I look like a crazy person? Of course, I’m not going to stay here forever. Right now, I’m just trying to save enough money, so that I’d be able to afford a trip to France.
We talk of an illegal trip here, right?
Please, spare me of your moralistic overtones. Is it illegal to be trying to get a better life? I have a dream – I want to live in France, and I’m willing to do just about all that it takes for my dream to come true. We only live once, you know.
Do you think you’ll be able to adjust to living in France, if you manage to get there?
Well, I’ve managed to adjust to living in Ukraine, and this is not the best country in the world, believe me. I guess you’re forgetting that Vietnam used to be French colony – my grandfather taught me French language. All I need is to get there.
Do you think maybe, at some point in your life, you would have to look into getting an education?
Yes, eventually I will look into that. In fact, I’ve always dreamt of becoming a doctor. But, as of today, I’m simply in no position to be giving it much of a thought.
Have you ever indulged in violent behavior, while in Ukraine?
Forgive me, but I don’t have all day long to talk to you. I have some business to take care of.
Thank you anyways.
Discussion
We believe that the data, related to immigrant children’s varying ability to adjust to the socio-cultural environment of a new country, which we had obtained while conducting earlier provided interviews, largely supports paper’s initial suggestions. For example, all four interviewees pointed out to the fact that learning new language did not represent much of a challenge to them.
Partially, this can be explained by the fact that, as it appears from interviews’ contexts, Emma, Armen, Alisha and Nguen, are not being particularly preoccupied with celebrating their ‘ethnic uniqueness’.
In its turn, this correlates with paper’s earlier expressed suggestion that children’s ability to adjust to a new linguistic environment corresponds to the extent of their keenness to spent time with parents in counter-geometrical progression. In other words – the more time immigrant children spend socializing with their peers, the quicker they master new country’s language.
Nevertheless, these interviews brought to light something that has not been theorized upon in paper’s earlier parts – namely the fact that, in Ukraine, immigrant children’s chances to get a grip of the language that serves as universally recognized communicational medium (Russian), are being undermined by the governmental authorities’ insistence that, along with Russian, they must also learn Ukrainian.
And yet, neither of interviewees indicated that they really did need to learn this language, in order for them to be able to feel socially and culturally comfortable in Ukraine. Apparently, Ukrainian language had long ago ceased serving as communicational medium of any practical value, due to its lack of semiotic adequateness, and instead, became nothing less of a cultural fetish.
In its turn, this allows us to draw certain parallels between linguistic challenges, faced by immigrant children in Ukraine and the challenges, faced by immigrant children in Ireland. After all, just as Ukrainian language being considered native to Ukraine, Gaelic language is being considered native to Ireland.
Moreover, just as most Ukrainians prefer to communicate in Russian, most Irish prefer to communicate in English. As it was rightly pointed out by Suarez (2005): “The value of Gaelic is low. Globally, it is a marginal language.
Although there is some economic value for those who speak it, the economic costs of not speaking English are much higher than the costs of not speaking Gaelic” (464). Nevertheless, unlike what it is the case in Ukraine, newly arrived immigrants to Ireland are not being forced to learn essentially ‘dead’ language, simply because governmental bureaucrats want them to.
Therefore, whatever the paradoxically it might sound; it is namely Nguen’s illegal status, which had caused the process of his linguistic acclimatization to proceed in particularly smooth manner.
The reason for this is simple – unlike what it is being the case with the rest of interviewees, Nguen never aimed at establishing himself socially in Ukraine, which is why he only needed to learn Russian, as the language of trade (and also the language of science and high culture, we might add).
Recommendations
The earlier conducted analytical review of literature, interviews with Ukraine’s four foreign-born residents, and the concluding discussion, allows us to come up with the set of recommendations as to what researchers, who explore subjects similar to that of this paper, should consider focusing their attention upon in the future:
Studying the qualitative aspects of a correlation between immigrant children’s progress in adjusting to socio-political, cultural and linguistic environment of a new country and the particulars of their ethnic affiliation.
Exploring what accounts for artificially created obstacles on the way of immigrant children’s linguistic integration into a host society, on the part of governmental authorities.
Assessing how the specifics of children’s immigration status reflect on their ability to assimilate.
Defining societal subtleties of how immigrant children go about constructing their self-identity and how they expect others to perceive such their newly acquired identity.
Investigating the effects of immigrant children’s behavioral attitudes on their assimilation-related capacities.
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Footnotes
Skop Emily & Wei Li “Asians in America’s Suburbs: Patterns and Consequences of Settlement.” Geographical Review 95.2 (2005), 170.
Mark Beissinger “Identity in Formation: The Russian‐Speaking Populations in the near abroad,” The American Journal of Sociology, 105.1 (1999), 295.
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Bonnie Urciuoli “Skills and Selves in the New Workplace.” American Ethnologist 35.2 (2008), 215.
Barbara Ehrenreich, the author of the book Nickel and Dimed, focuses on the lifestyle of low-income earners in America coupled with the many problems they contend with daily. Ironically, America is among the world’s highly developed countries of all the times. Additionally, during independence, it declared equal working and living conditions on top of happiness for all its citizens as outlined in the famous ‘American Dream.’
However, the treatment of the American poor workers negate its robust economical growth over the years; actually, for low-income earners, the ‘American Dream’ is just that; a dream and as things appear, it will remain an ever-elusive dream that only existed in the dreaming of the likes of Martin Luther et al.
Ehrenreich personally encounters the evil treatment as an American worker. She realizes that whether one is a low-income earner African-American or purely an American citizen he/she faces homelessness, squalid working conditions, and poor payment.
The Main Problems Encountered by Ehrenreich
Ehrenreich encountered difficulties in securing a job, poor working conditions, mistreatment from managements, poor and expensive housing rates among other pertinent issues affect every other low-income earner in the might America. In Florida Ehrenreich is unable to get a good job forcing her to secure a low-wage paying job.
The first place she secures a job is in a restaurant called ‘Hearthside’ where she is to work as a waiter for two weeks. Her working hours are from 2.00 to 10.00 pm at only $2.43 per hour.
Hearthside managers do not allow her to rest or even sit while at work. On the contrary, they sit down from morning to evening. Due to their selfish nature, they do not care about the plight of their employees nor customers rather all they want is money.
Additionally the supervisors disrespect and do not pay attention to the employees on top of delaying their payments without apparent reason. This shows the poor treatment of the American worker and exposes the pipe dream that is the ‘American dream’ has degenerated into; equal opportunities to all, liberty and pursuit of happiness exists but only on paper if not in dreamland.
From her earnings, Ehrenreich is unable to afford basic needs like housing, food, and health services. This is an irony because America’s economy is one of the best in the world with a growth domestic product of about $14.7 trillion.
Luckily, Jerry’s restaurant employs her as a waiter again. Unfortunately, there is oppression and poor working conditions. The kitchen is in poor condition while the bathroom is unequipped not to mention long working hours. Although she has a job, she lives in a trailer, which is tiny and not comfortable.
All employees are mistreated yet they work selflessly and this underscores the treatment and life of a low-income American worker. Interestingly, two of the Americans dreams are the dream of abundance and that of democracy of goods, yet its citizens are unable to live in good houses. Ehrenreich lives in a trailer park because of low wages that she earns. After a short time, she decides to quit the job.
This aspect ridicules the American economy as among the most successful economy in the world. The third job Ehrenreich picks up is house keeping in a hotel. She is to earn $6.10 a day; unfortunately, the job lasts only for a day for it turns out to be too demanding for her to cope.
There are many customers to serve hence she is deprived of sleep. When Joy, one of the supervisor’s screams at her, she feels intimidated and quits the job. Again, the plight of a poor American worker surfaces; they work as slaves hence the American dream of liberty and pursuit of happiness violated.
Ehrenreich relocates to Maine because most of the residents there are whites hence she expects a better life. On the contrary, she is unable to get a good and cheap house and therefore lives in a cottage. There are many jobs in Maine but the payments are much far lower compared to that of Key West, Florida.
Talk of going for the greener grass across the fence only to realize it grows on sewage. Here she luckily manages to secure a cleaning serve job where she works on weekdays, and supplements it by working in a hospital over the weekends to supplements her meager wages.
Ironically, she is unable to meet her basic needs due to high living conditions yet she has two jobs at a go. This is an irony because economically, America ranks first in the world’s economies meaning it is highly developed but its citizens’ living conditions do not measure up to the economic vibrancy experienced here.
The virtue of good neighborliness is absent in Maine as Ehrenreich encounters rude and unfriendly people. America dreams of pursuit for happiness, liberty, abundance, and novelty are outstandingly absent. Unfortunately, this is the day-to-day life experiences of the poor American worker.
Finally, Ehrenreich moves to Minnesota but she is unable to get a house hence she lives in a hotel, which is extremely expensive. All the jobs she applies for have a bureaucratic application process; however, she finally secures a job at Wal-Mart. She forms a welfare union, which does not hold because she again leaves the job.
In Minnesota there is mistreatment and lack of trust from employers; another plight of the poor American worker. Despite America being developed, most of its citizens are languishing in abject poverty.
Conclusion
Ehrenreich describes the difficulties experienced by Americans citizens especially those employed on temporary basis. This is out of expectation because America is the most developed nation in the world hence has a powerful economy.
Poor treatment and poor working conditions are the orders of the day. In addition, there are no available jobs, houses, and health insurance for Americans citizens. In a recap, American workers who depend on wages face, homelessness, poor pay, and working conditions. What more can define poverty?
Diversity is the state of being composed in different elements and variety, and also different people from different cultural setting, different counties, race, and gender.
It can be uncomplicated or difficult depending on how it is viewed. Multiculturalism on the other hand, means acceptance, appreciation and consideration of multiple cultures and differences. This paper seeks to assess the tradeoffs of diversity and multiculturalism in team settings with regards to health care management.
In health care management, it is very important to have diverse and multicultural employees. We cannot set aside multiculturalism because we all need health care. Unfairness while selecting the workforce is not good because it leads to discrimination. Multiculturalism is important because work teams from difference cultures might have a unique outlook to the problem which will be of much help to the health care system.
According to Griffin (2010), patients will feel much appreciated when their treatment is viewed from their cultural and traditional settings. This attracts the target market because they will view the company as non-discriminative. When diversity is involved, it is much cheaper compared to others because costs go down as the target market becomes bigger and it becomes affordable to the poor. The more the health care becomes multicultural, the more they are able to reach a large number of people in different states.
In order to provide better health services to patients outside the dominant culture, health practitioners must focus on these three approaches: awareness, knowledge, and skills (Parvis, 2003). Awareness can be achieved by putting into place staff training that gives a chance for self- reflection, which necessarily includes looking at one’s own culture, biases and reactions to diverse health values and cultures.
Understanding of the outlook, value, beliefs, and behaviors of different cultural groups, with the huge group of cultural, ethnic, national and religious groups such as the Unites States is relevant in health care management.
With pressures such as socioeconomic status and groups differences, it is difficult to learn a set of uniting facts or cultural norms. Thus, educational information is extremely useful in directing the health care provider to ask relevant questions within each personal cultural background.
The third approach is skills which are put into place in order to cater for customers’ needs. These approaches help the patient’s knowledge of their illness or state and allow health care providers to change their style and meet patient’s particular needs.
Each health care provider should take into consideration these three approaches in order to meet each patient’s demand. Failure to meet these demands might lead to misunderstanding and reduced quality of health care because of miscommunication.
However, there are several reasons as to why it might be irrelevant to have diverse work team in the health care management. The health care givers may develop cultural bias and hence discriminate others thus leading to poor services. Communication barrier is another factor which is mainly due to the difference in native language of the health care givers.
This hinders communication especially in decision making process and thus less productivity. Furthermore, it might be difficult for team members to understand each other and thus leading to slow implementation of health care plans.
In conclusion, having a multinational team is about increasing awareness, tolerance, skills, knowledge, and hence reducing conflict. Santana (2003) expounds that team building roles like supporting, summarizing, participation, communication and problem solving should be put into place in order to have a strong diverse team who will meet customer’s needs irrespective of cultural differences.
This will benefit the team, the customer and the entire organization because having a work team that reflects company values and customer needs is a good in business, hence hiring and supporting diverse and multicultural workforce is good for the health care organization.