Racism

I can't let go of this topic. It seems so deeply relevant to our lives today - maybe less so in our cute little town, but out there all over. Here are some interesting links - mostly referring to the US.

Bryan Stevenson: Why is the prison population predominately black? And what is so wrong about that? (and how is Germany a role model in some ways?)

ted is a great place for all kinds of interesting stories and topics. I just found a whole playlist on the topic of racism. I highly recommend the talk by Alice Goffman, a young sociologist. She lived in a tough black neighborhood in Philadelphia for a year. If you still think maybe racism is a bit hyped as a topic, listen to her. This is the ugly truth of the other America.

This American Life is radio show that has continually produced excellent shows on all kinds of topics for the last twenty years. You can listen online or as a podcast. "Cops see it differently"- looks at exactly that - what is the background to police brutality? How can the culture of stop and frisk be changed? There is the bad (Miami Gardens) and the good (Las Vegas), and lots in between. Some of the experiences people share are almost unbearably awful.(part 2) It starts in part one with the part we started listening to in school. You can read along on a transcript.

Jeffrey Toobin writes in the New Yorker about a brave prosecutor in Milwaukee who tries to improve the situation there. This is a very detailed article - great research and great writing (as always in the New Yorker), but, of course,  you need to put in the effort. 

Donald Barthelme, The School

On my quest to find something funny for you to read , I didn't quite succeed with David Sedaris. So now Donald Barthelme is my second try. It is a dark kind of humor, I know .-))

Here is the link to the New Yorker Fiction Podcast - so you can listen to this story as well as the even darker story "Game" (which will give you a very good feel of the Cold War era that we talked about so much) and many, many more excellent stories - all for free!

And here is an essay by George Saunders on this story - it is also a great (and again, I find it funny) revision of the structure of a classical short story.

Homework:

“A short story can be thought of as a series of these little gas stations. The main point is to get the reader around the track; that is, to the end of the story. Any other pleasures a story may offer (theme, character, moral uplift) are dependent upon this.”

This is George Saunder's definition of a short story - write down the "gas stations" in Donald Barthelme's story and be prepared to explain your choices.

American Dream - Made in Heidelberg

Listen to Catalin Voss (there is some background noise - try not to be distracted...)

Is this an American Dream come true? Do you think he is just super-super special, or could this be you or one of your classmates? What do you think drew him to California that he couldn't have achieved here? Please comment!

American Dream - Quotes

Here are some more quotes about the American Dream. Which one do you like best? Which one do you feel best sums up the essence of the American Dream? Why and How? Thanks for letting me know in a comment!

“If wealth was the inevitable result of hard work and enterprise, every woman in Africa would be a millionaire.”  - George Monbiot

“Dat's what they say of this cauntry back home, Kath: 'America, the land of milk and honey.' Bot they never tell you the milk's gone sour and the honey's stolen.” - Andre Dubus III, House of Sand and Fog (also a great movie I highly recommend!)

“My fellow Americans, this is an amazing moment for me. To think that a once scrawny boy from Austria could grow up to become Governor of California and stand in Madison Square Garden to speak on behalf of the President of the United States that is an immigrant's dream. It is the American dream.” -  Arnold Schwarzenegger

“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” - Arnold Schwarzenegger

Americans have so far put up with inequality because they felt they could change their status. They didn't mind others being rich, as long as they had a path to move up as well. The American Dream is all about social mobility in a sense - the idea that anyone can make it. - Fareed Zakaria

This is the city of dreamers and time and again it's the place where the greatest dream of all, the American dream, has been tested and has triumphed. - Michael Bloomberg

I am the American Dream. I am the epitome of what the American Dream basically said. It said you could come from anywhere and be anything you want in this country. That's exactly what I've done. - Whoopi Goldberg

And you have to remember that I came to America as an immigrant. You know, on a ship, through the Statue of Liberty. And I saw that skyline, not just as a representation of steel and concrete and glass, but as really the substance of the American Dream. - Daniel Libeskind

When you start a company, it's more an art than a science because it's totally unknown. Instead of solving high-profile problems, try to solve something that's deeply personal to you. Ideally, if you're an ordinary person and you've just solved your problem, you might have solved the problem for millions of people. - Brian Chesky

“In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it.”

― Barack Obama

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our Democracy; Tonight is your answer.”― Barack Obama

“The American story has never been about things coming easy. It has been about rising to the moment when the moment is hard. About rejecting panicked division for purposeful unity. About seeing a mountaintop from the deepest valley. That is why we remember that some of the most famous words ever spoken by an American came from a president who took office in a time of turmoil: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”― Barack Obama

"America is the sum of our dreams. And what binds us together, what makes us one American family, is that we stand up and fight for each other's dreams, that we reaffirm that fundamental belief - I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper - through our politics, our policies, and in our daily lives. It's time to do that once more. It's time to reclaim the American dream." - Barack Obama

How Strong is the American Dream?

I chose the quote by Michael Bloomberg in which he's speaking about the American Dream in New York. He calls this city the 'city of dreamers'; in a positive way. He's talking about the kind of dreamers to whom nothing seems impossible and every goal is achievable. If you misunderstand this term, you could possibly think about the kind of dreamers who have great ideas and plans but actually do nothing to make them become reality. This would be just the opposite of atypical American citizen. That's what Bloomberg would say. I think to him New York represents the whole United States, where, according to his quote, the American Dream has been tested – and triumphed.

It's pretty clear that he's referring to 911, which was actually a tough event for all Americans and so it also influenced the American Dream in some way. What does that even mean? Does the 'American Dream' mean that every citizen in the US has the same dream? Or is it the dream of the government?
It's none of that. This expression describes the feeling many people in the USA have. It's not an actual dream; it's the freedom of dreaming. Americans have all different and individual dreams. But one thing they all have in common: they believe in the realization. No matter if your dream is to get money, the 'Pursuit of Happiness', founding a family, building a house or even to change the world; if you truly believe in it you're part of the phenomenon that's called the 'American Dream'.
America was founded by people who think like this and the system was created in a way that has room for endless possibilities. Capitalism in American is very fundamen-tal because it's the system in which you can climb up higher than you've ever imag-ined and fall lower than you've ever feared.

Bloomberg mentions that the American Dream has been tested on September 11th; in a way that nobody expected. Knowing that there exist people out there who hate America enough to sacrifice thousands of lives, including their own one, is hard for every American. But the American Dream has survived, the catastrophe has never been forgotten, but America has learned a lot. They’ve learned that not everybody loves their ideology and it’s necessary to fight them and to think about the future, not about the past. 911 failed in some way: it could not kill the dreams and the hopes. That’s why the American Dream triumphed: it doesn’t falling is bad but you got to get up and keep dreaming.

This phenomenon also appears in the picture I chose. It shows a former white wall that has been written on. Different colors and handwritings show thoughts and feelings about 911.
In the center somebody has painted the twin towers, somebody else wrote the phrase ‘Osama must die’ all over it. Below you can see one word that’s written very big and in capital letters: ‘REBUILD’. I’m going to talk about these later. For me it is very remarkable that many quotes say something like ‘God bless Amer-ica’. You can see much patriotism in that.
No matter how much the terrorists hated America, the Americans will never stop loving their country. They have this kind of patriotism that you won’t find in Germany or even in Europe. The connection to the home country is much bigger in America. The reason for that might be the fact that they seem to have their own philosophy. You may remark that that’s not necessarily something special because you can think like them even if you live in Europe or China or elsewhere. The difference is that they’re able to live their philosophy and dream because they created their system in a way that leaves a lot of space for living their dreams.
Another interesting quote on the wall is ‘No fear, we will survive’. That underlines my thoughts about the immortality of the American Dream. Even if everything seems lost and hopeless, you will be able to win back your spirit through the love to others, to your country, or even through the hate on your enemies; you don’t want them to take away your hope so you keep on living, hoping and dreaming.
That’s a thing that we really need to have more in Europe. Around here, if something goes wrong, you either blame yourself or, even worse, you blame others. Anyway, you give up your dream and that’s the real moment of your personal loss.

The quote you read fist when you have a look at the picture is ‘Osama must die’.
For the writer, Osama Bin Laden represents all enemies and haters of the American way and he wants them down. He is not able to accept any other solutions; if there is any opposition, it needs to be eradicated.
That’s a disadvantage of the American thinking: it’s intolerant.
Americans love their country but sometimes they disrespect others for being different. That’s a very radical way of freedom isn’t it?
The weakness of America is its uncontrolled strength and power. For example, the NSA is on all of us to find possible enemies of America. In Germany and Western Europe nobody blinks an eye.
Everybody seems to have accepted the USA as a superpower. Every GPS signal is running on American satellites. Europe does in fact have its own GPS system but it’s so bad that it’s hardly ever used. It’s a normal thing that the USA has the power over almost every modern technology, space shuttles and also got the biggest military force.
It’s okay because everybody trusts and partly supports America in their decisions. But my opinion is that it’s dangerous to leave so much power in the hands of people who are so radical against any possible enemy. (UL)

American Dreams and American Nightmares

American Patriotism
American Patriotism is about sharing love and pride of the United States of America. We in Germany and in other countrys are often talking about this patriotic and optimistic thinking which is apparently popular in the United States. But can we generalize all Americans? Or is this just one more prejudice! And if it's just a prejudice, is it true ore just speculation ?
First I would say that mainly every country is a little bit patriotic. There is always something humans are prowd of. For example the Americans have a diverse scenery. Also the diverse culture which is known as " melting pot" and "salad bowl" is a reason to be proud. There is probable no other country that has such a diverse population.  All these are aspects of the American Dream. Liberty, individualism and freedom are positive qualities that are associated with America.
American Heroes
Alexander Hamilton, Ronald Reagan, Samuel Adams... There are many importand people that are known by nearly every American. For example, Franklin was a member of the committee of five who drafted the declaration of independence. In one of his speches he said the well known words: "Where liberty is, there is my country". America's first president George Washington (1732 -1799) was a a strong military leader. He also founded the "Stars and stripes". Also Thomas Jefferson took part in the American History. He wrote "an expression of the American mind" known as the "Declaration of Independence". Today they have the day of American Independence, where they celebrate American Independence from England.
All for America, America for all (charities)
In quote three Obama says "America is the sum of our dreams. [...] I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper [...]". This thought is the main reason for the charity organisations. The idea of helping others to be a strong nation can be found in many countries. (In Germany we have HARTZ 4 and also social organisations like "Brot für die Welt").
Crushing blow - 9/11
On the last picture you can see the patriotism, the optimism and pride for America. It seems to be a wall which was painted by childrens. In the middle you can see the Twin towers and around them are people's associations of the attack. Patriotism is shown by the words:"I love America forever" and "God bless Amerika". At the left side near the bottom somebody painted a heard and wrote in it " all people". This fits perfect to what Obamas says in quote 3. In many sentences you can read optimism  about the future, too. Some of them are: "No fear we will survice", "We will never forget. Hope you are saver now" and "God bring them to heaven". On the bottom there is a word: "REBUILD". All this shows the positive side of the picture, but we also can get an insight into the anger and the grief. In the middle of the wall are the following words in big letters: " OSAMA MUST DIE!". Although it is not proved beyond doubt many Americans believe that Osama had planned the atack on 9/11. The words "Osama must die" express the anger and the  rancour against the terrorists. Also the grief and helplessness.
From rags to riches
Another fact of the American culture and the main point of the American Dream is the idea of social mobility better known as "from rags to riches". This is why so many people want to immigrate to America. They are fascinated by the freedom and the opportunity. Maybe today the idea behind  "from rags to riches"  it is just a dream. Because for poor people without any many it is nearly impossible to get rich. For those they have the charity organisations which are good, but probably not enough to give them the opportunity to get rich. And in this big country there are many unemployed people living on the streets.
Spes ultima dea est
In the end I asked myself: Is the American dream still alive or has it become the American Nightmare? I dont know, but what I really know is that this dream and all those thoughts: Thoughts of liberty, freedom.. will live on in the minds of the Americans. In every crisis there is hope and optimistism. And for me I think there are many reasons for the Americans to be proud. Obama is and was Optimistic. Most of the American people are optimistic. That's important. The dream is still alive.  (JK)

Is the American Dream Over?

“American Dream, the: The idea that the U.S. is a place where everyone has the chance of becoming rich and successful. Many immigrants to the U.S. in the early 20th century believed in the American Dream.”
This is the official definition of the American Dream that you find in every single dictionary. But not only in dictionaries, but also in the Minds of many people, the U.S. is the country of unlimited possibilities, the famous “from rags to riches”-story is known and believed by a lot of people. And without doubt it was exactly that country, to which millions of refugees and other foreigners immigrated and where they got the possibility to start life new, to try to live their dream.

For example Daniel Libeskind, who is a famous American architect who designed the Freedom Tower and the Jewish Museum in Berlin. He says: “And you have to remember that I came to America as an immigrant. You know, on a ship, through the Statue of Liberty. And I saw that skyline, not just as a representation of steel and concrete and glass, but as really the substance of the American Dream.”                                 And that quote shows exactly what the dictionary said, America as a sort of monument of the American Dream, the Skyline as substance of the American Dream.  It´s also an example for the American Dream, Libeskind came as an immigrant and is now a famous architect. Libeskind also mentions the Statue of Liberty, the first thing with Ellis Island the first thing immigrants saw of America, together with Ellis Island. It’s a very famous monument, very well visited by tourists and owner of a great story.

But now, the situation has changed a bit. If you look at picture Nr. 1, you can see a picture taken at the coast of New York. You can see a poster and the Statue of Liberty on the background. In front of the poster there are some people, maybe even tourists, who ate reading what is written: “Important Government Shut Down-Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Shut down”, which means, that both have been closed by the government. It is a picture taken recently, at the moment the U.S. has big problems with their finance crisis. They shut down a lot of things in the last weeks, on order to try to save at least a big of money; they have arrived at the ‘tip of the iceberg’, they are almost bankrupt. But not just the government has problems paying back the money they owe to the banks. Also a lot of families are desperate, because they are not able anymore to pay back their debits.
So we now have those two situations around the Statue of Liberty-now and then. It is the monument for freedom and hope for many immigrants who came to the U.S.  and are still coming to the U.S. even maybe for those,  who are thinking about immigrating to the U.S. in the future- and now it’s been shut down by the government together with Ellis Island, which also plays a big part in American history. And seeing how hard it is for many American families to survive, I think we have to ask ourselves if the American Dream is still alive or if it’s “over”,  has the American Dream ended?
In my opinion, yes. The U.S. are not that country unlimited possibilities anymore, at least not the “rags and riches” type. Maybe fo well educated people, who have studied and learned a job which is needed in the U.S., but not for refugees who are in search of a better way of life.  (HS)