TRANS-NATIONAL AMERICA!

We are all foreign-born or the descendants of foreign-born, and if distinctions are to be made between us they should rightly be on some other ground than indigenousness. The early colonists came over with motives no less colonial than the later. They did not come to be assimilated in an American melting-pot. They did not come to adopt the culture of the American Indian. They had not the smallest intention of "giving themselves without reservation" to the new country. They came to get freedom to live as they wanted. They came to escape from the stifling air and chaos of the old world; they came to make their fortune in a new land. They invented no new social framework. Rather they brought over bodily the old ways to which they had been accustomed. Tightly concentrated on a hostile frontier, they were conservative beyond belief. Their pioneer daring was reserved for the objective conquest of material resources. In their folkways, in their social and political institutions, they were, like every colonial people, slavishly imitative of the mother-country. So that, in spite of the "Revolution," our whole legal and political system remained more English than the English, petrified and unchanging, while in England law developed to meet the needs of the changing times.(pg 2)

What defies an American? Is it being born in america, our social status, if we know the history...WHAT?? America was built by immigrants. The first people who settled had to come from somewhere because america wasn't discovered until 1492.  As stated in the paragraph "They came to get freedom to live as they wanted. They came to escape from the stifling air and chaos of the old world; they came to make their fortune in a new land."(pg 2) Immigrants aren't a threat to us, Most of us are daughters, sons, wife,husband of an immigrant.  I agree with the passage in its totality because I being a daughter of immigrant parents understand where they come from. They see us as if we are an "infection." The situation in third world countries are horrible. People are starving, there aren't any jobs and they do what thy can so they could have a roof over their head. Us immigrants don't want to "take over" america or be looked at as an assimilation. All we want is to be "free" and live decently.

I chose this passage because it inspired me. Every word in the passage speaks the truth. Immigrants are looked as all the same. If one does something they want to put us in the same category. Some of us really do come because we have a family to support or because they have a "desire" to succeed in something.

The concept of power was further expanded on by sociologist Steven Lukes who argued there are actually "three dimensions of power": the first being political decisions (Dahl), the second is framing (Bachrach and Baratz), and the third is power to influence values or social norms. Lukes argues it is ultimately what people consider to be right or wrong, or normal, that will influence what choices are available and what decisions are made.
In political science one way of trying to interpret and measure political values is to conduct public opinion polls. A small sampling of a few thousand people are given a questionnaire to fill out, the results of which are combined and calculated in a way that is believed to reflect the general attitude of the entire population. Modern public opinion polls were created by George Gallup in the 1930s who also founded the organization that bears his name, still generally considered the most influential company that conducts these polls. Polls also help shape discussions by identifying what important issues are, and thus also exercise power.


I chose this passage because it is true people on like "normal" or what they think is normal for them.They don't consider change and if they do it is very minimal. What they get accustomed to is what they live with. Many but not all do consider change but those who say that politicians don't help communities are the ones who don't do any changes to their lifestyle. Yes, some politicians run for office,offer change and do anything, what about that do try change. take for instance Barack Obama, for what i recall he is trying to make changes to commutes compared to other presidents. the economy isn't great but is better, housing is getting a little better but everything takes time. We can't put all of our eggs in one basket. 
in "Two faces of Power" by Bacharach and Baratz,they state " Pluralist hold that power may be tied tissues, and issues can be fleeting or persistent,provoking coalitions among interested groups and citizens,ranging in their duration from momentary to semi permanent." For me this quote is basically saying that citizens and interested groups take issues personally and when they do they make the decision to either fight it or not. When theirs an issue and we want it resolved we should fight it until we get results. which takes me to the next passage about polls. "Polls also help shape discussions by identifying what important issues are, and thus also exercise power."Why is it that these polls are used to make a decision? Aren't they all an issue no matter where they stand in the poll? Also, i know its impossible to get everyone to vote, but shouldn't we have that decision instead of being random. how do they know that these random people are having the same problem as the rest or where do they stand ? According to the most recent poll only "1025 adults aged 18 and older, living in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia." That isn't even 50% of how many people live in the US. 
We the people should unite to make changes not just leave in the hands of the politicians. There is only so much that they could do in the little time that they have in office. It starts with one and ends with many.