Implications For Today?
Based upon the image gallery of American movements/inventions/events/ideology/ways of life/ and cultural phenomenon that you viewed within the classroom, please respond formally through your blog response to the following questions.
- What did you observe?
- How did the images make you feel?
- How do they shape the fabric of American life?
- What have we gained from these American movements/inventions/events/ideology/ways of life/ and cultural phenomenon?
- What have we lost from these American movements/inventions/events/ideology/ways of life/ and cultural phenomenon?
- Do these embody the American spirit?
- Do these help us understand what it means to be an American?
- What implications do these create?
posted by Greg T at Friday, August 22, 2014
28 Comments:
I observed pictures of many important moments that illuminate the victories and challenges of America throughout its history.
The images made me feel different, depending on what was being shown. Some pictures showed success and the classic "American Dream", while others displayed various atrocities and discrepancies that occurred in America. The ones of success were inspiring and made me feel a bit proud, while the negative pictures made me feel a bit shocked that the Arsenal of Democracy™ could have been the location of such events.
The things pictured have shaped American life simply because they are part of our history. Stuff happens, and we got around it. We were either successful, or we were picking of the shambles. Just like any other nation, we have our own unique history which has formed American life. For example, the protests in the 1960s made it possible for blacks and women to gain civil rights. Today they have those rights. Therefore, the civil rights activists helped shape American life.
We have to make mistakes to make progress. Many of the atrocities that happened during American history had to happen, in a sense, to make something change. Whether that was the murder of three men opposing the Jim Crow laws or the paralyzation of children from Polio, we have used them as a step to make things better. And most of the time the response to such bad things are good. We have gained the confidence from the success of others, and the wisdom from the atrocities committed.
If we have lost anything, it would be our pride. Our sense of American infallibility. The twisted idea that America is omnibenevolent in all of its actions. It has humbled us and made us confess, even if it is far too late.
The American spirit changes depending on the circumstances. Back in 1776, the American spirit was about rebellion and independence. In 1945 it was a combination of a want for global hegemony as well as a fear of the Communists. Sure, it could be argued that the American spirit is to strive for progressive change and success, but wouldn't that be a little narrow-minded to think that that is unique to America only?
The pictures help us understand the struggles and triumphs we have had in our short history as a nation. I think the current American spirit is influenced by previous events, so to understand what was happening back then is to also understand why America is the way it is today.
An implication of these pictures would be that we should not be so naive as to think that a century or so in the future, people will be looking back in horror at they stuff that is happening right now. We need to be aware that our actions influence the future, just like the actions presented in the photographs influenced the current American society today.
Alex Bailey
I observed that there were many times in American history that were very proud, but there were also many times that we weren’t doing so good and we needed to change.
These images make me feel very different depending on what is shown. Some of the images of great American moments such as landing on the moon, creating Mikey mouse, and driving Fords in an open country field, made me very happy to look at. However on the opposite site there were many pictures that made me very sorrow to look at. When I saw the storming of Normandy, the Vietnam memorial, and the firefighters helping out during 9/11, I learned that you can’t just love you country in the high points but also the low points.
This helps shape our American fabric because these pictures our part of our history. These pictures show how throughout American history we have had a rocky roller coaster of highs and lows. From these highs and lows we have learned how to survive. Through all these learning experiences the American people have shaped the American fabric.
We have gained immense amounts of knowledge from all these experiences. From the victories we have learned how to do things right and properly, but from the failures we have learned how to correct our mistakes, improve everything, and what it truly means to be American.
The only thing I would say that we could have lost is a classic American culture because as we progress in society we change things and adapt American culture.
I believe that all these picture embody the American spirit because as we go through our history there are different spirits for different times. During the cold war the American spirit was largely made up of anti-communism movements, but after 9/11 the American spirit shifted to an anti-terrorism movement.
I think that these pictures do help me understand what it means to be an American. They help me understand because to be an American you are compiled of everything that America has been through, which most of these pictures illustrate.
This can create implications because if people misunderstand these pictures then they could be confused as to what it means to truly be an American.
Cooper Cordero
I observed pictures that in some shape or form were related to the idea of the “American spirit.” The pictures show both positive events or ideas and negative events and ideas. I also observed the underlying messages of the pictures and what they were trying to portray.
The images made me feel proud that I live in America, but at the same time some of the images didn’t directly make me feel bad but they illustrated the faults of our nation or conflicts that were going on at the time. Some of the images made me feel sympathetic for the people in the picture because they were undergoing some form of pain be it physical or mental. The more positive pictures often portrayed hard work and some of them were inspiring.
These images, and the events that the images show shape the fabric of American life because they were a part of our history and they remind us of the past. These specific events have helped America become the country that we are today and it reminds us about our faults, and as a nation we hope those faults will never occur again.
From these events, we have gained a sense of pride for our country and a feeling of resilience, a lot of the pictures show how resilient we are as a people and that we are willing to undergo suffering to accomplish something, an example could include the civil rights movement or the women’s suffrage movement.
The only thing we have lost from these events is the idea that we are the best and will never make mistakes, especially in today’s America, we are not the worldwide leader of everything and we can’t think like we are otherwise we are going to find ourselves in conflicts.
The pictures do embody the American Spirit because they show us in our most glorious and our most shameful moments, they define our country. They help us understand what it means to be American because when we look at these pictures we get a sense of what it is to be American, the values and qualities that the pictures portray. These images imply that as a country we are resilient, hardworking and we are full of pride. We feel as if we have a duty to fulfill to our country, to be the best that we can possibly be and to achieve extraordinary things.
I observed that most of the pictures that we looked at on Friday related or referred off of negative events in America's past such as the Great Depression, Civil Rights movement, and both of the World Wars.
These images made me realize that even though America is a fairly young country, we still have a event filled past. Some times were harder than others, and I am thankful to be living in the generation I am now.
It is human nature to learn from our mistakes and I think these significant events shown in the pictures, formed who we are today and helped us Americans figure out how we think and how we should interact with different people.
We have gained more knowledge of how to work through big problems together and how to stay united as one country.
We have obviously lost many people because of these major events, as well as some money, and people's perspective.
The tragedies themselves do not define who American's are, it is much more about the extreme amount of knowledge we have gained from them which determines how we act on worldly and national causes.
After looking through the pictures that represented American History, I thought about how all these events affected the way we live today. Some of the pictures were positive like the making of cars, and the first planes. But others weren't so positive, like 9/11, and segregation. No matter what the picture portrayed, I feel it had a significance in American History and how we live today. I can't picture life today without cars. Cars and planes are used for a huge part of our transportation. The pictures that showed that definitely portrayed the industrializing of America. Even the negative pictures change the way we live today. 9/11 was a horrific event in American history. But it made us so much more aware of our safety. Also it proved that Americans can move forward and heal. Other pictures showed the civil rights movement. It was terrible what was happening to non Caucasians at this time. Without the civil rights movement, nothing would be different today. It had to happen for Caucasians to move on and accept everyone no matter what they look like. That is what makes America so great. The fact that people can change to make life better. The ability to move forward and make life better is what inspires my American voice.
I observed pictures of many major events, movements, cultural happenings in Americas past. The images make me feel apart of something. They make me feel apart of an experience that is unique to where I am from. Because these things happened here, in America, and not somewhere else, I live in their results every day. Every event that I saw had had an impact on the way people act in American society today. Some had more impact than others. Some of the events, though terrible, had a positive outcome. Others were movements that ended something bad altogether. Like the civil rights movement. It pretty much made racism social unacceptable. It may not have ended racism itself but it shaped our society for the better. Being American means living in a world that has been shaped by these events. Knowing about them helps us better understand what it means to be American. They show that although America is a young country we have already been through a lot and that what happens today will shape what tomorrow will look like.
I observe a lots of images about what happen in the past and see what they had suffering that we need to improve our lives.
Most images that makes me feel sad, bring me pain to see them suffered like that we never had felt before.
IT shape the American voice is that we have a better life than in the past like women's rights, black against white, WWII, disease spread, protects, against the government, etc.
During WWII is a good example for all of us in the whole world that Hitler were against Jews people. What Hitler did bring us angry, feel frustrated, pain, and struggled. Its like we were ignored the Jews and didn't help them to be safe but its too late. Now we the American want to support other country like Iraq.
We were lost our chance to help and support Jews during WWII and stop WWII.
We American are always show the world that we have their support like we help and support in South Korea, Iraq, African, Mexico, etc. Its because American want peace and no more of war and conflict.
Yes, it show us that we have the power to help and support each other in the world.
The world will recognize our power to help and support will increase by each country.
Monica Smith
The idea of "American Spirit" is often interpreted as a strong sense of nationalism: Chevys and apple pie and freedom. Americans prefer to focus on the nation's greatest accomplishments and triumphs and tend to dismiss the wrongdoings spread throughout America's history.
The pictures presented in class displayed a reoccurring theme of an American idealism overshadowing the nations darker moments. Among some of these pictures were two images with very different views of America throughout history. The first was of a boat entirely filled with immigrants waiting their turn to gain U.S. citizenship. They left their home behind in order to reach the land of "equal opportunity" and they had bright hopes for what this nation might offer.
The picture directly following this first image was of one taken sometime during the civil rights movement. It depicts an African American man being pulled toward a police canine by a caucasian policeman. It is visible that the dog was trained to be violent, and the policeman had every intention of letting the dog attack this African American man.
One could argue events such as the civil rights movement are well acknowledged in history curriculum, that no one is choosing to ignore the not so great parts of America's history, and this is certainly not false. However, the truth of the matter is that the core of the "American Spirit" is this nation can do no wrong; the American way of life is the best way of life. It is this gilded attitude that truly defines the ideologies of Americans toward their culture and history.
The pictures that were brought forth in class offered insight into the triumphs and struggles of the "modern" America. The views of the world we see are often manufactured and cultured through media.
Some of the topics I saw were far apart chronologically, but they all connected us as a nation united. Some of the photos I looked at included things such as preparation for D-day, the unfair treatment of immigrants at Ellis Island, and the mass funerals of the members of servicemen lost in 9-11.
These photos made me question just what it means to call myself an American. The depiction of such atrocities show a rich and involved history, and one of great triumph. The product of our own fabrication is purely based on the things that we interact with on a day to day basis.
The implications that opening history like this creates is the opportunity to see ourselves as a whole. The people that engage in the most mediocre of opportunities in the basis of being united as a people. We don't take time to actually notice what we have and who we have.
During the class period on Friday, I observed the image gallery that highlights American movements.
While looking upon these images, I couldn't help but feel sadness. They also made me feel a bit excited about how far our country has come. The picture of the twin towers has impacted American life in a great way. We now view New York City as the city that was attacked. We have gained a sense of security and we are much more sensitive to the subjects. We have lost many lives, and also America has lost its honor. This embodies the American spirit because we are now a much closer country after those events occurred. Andrew Cole
The images that we observed in class all possess a similar tone, a certain feeling of somberness. I feel that this shows that America as a nation has faced its fair share of tough times. Many of the images that we observed in class show these rough patches in our American history. For example, one of the pictures depicted our American troops on the beaches of Normandy. Another was of firefighters carrying the body of a man, draped over with the American flag. While it is true that these are all parts of our American history, it is not our history. It is only part of our history, a part that show the great diversity of our past. There were other pictures in the the class that contrasted these saddening pictures. One picture showed young immigrant children riding on an American made wagon. The expression on their face show another part of our history. This shows the brighter side of our past, the side were people looked forward to coming to America. America to them meant freedom and liberty, it was a life of happiness for them, even if they weren't fortunate enough to live a comfortable life. America's history consisted of both good and bad times, and neither one defines us. What defines us was a combination of all of these times that makes us the nation we are today.
I observed different events in history from the past that happened in the U.S. The images made me thankful for what I have and where I live. Some of the pictures showed how good our country is and others showed some of the bad things that have happened in America. Our country is about being successful and making the U.S. a strong country. Every nation has its ups and downs. Many of the problems that occured allowed us to change laws that make our country safer. These changes can help us to be a smarter american that knows how we need to live. Our country needs to make smart choices that will allow us to have a bright future.
During this class activity I observed that many of the pictures display very different ways of life. They show different challenges, victories, and losses.
The images made me feel very different, the images that showed war and famine made me feel very sad. Other photos that were showing how life was for the rich made me feel like America was very divided,into the rich and wealthy, and into the poor and unhealthy.
These shape the fabric of American life because they show how different each lifestyle was. Some people had it all, nice cars, good clothes, and a good education. It also showed how others had nothing, torn up blankets for warmth and scrounging for help.
We have gained a lot from all these moments, we have ended the war which has made life significantly better for many people. Changed the way a woman is in the work place and the home. We have lost some things from this too, if I had to pick one thing that we have lost it would be our pride. It would be our pride because we no longer have to work hard for what we need in life, it is usually just given to us in this day and age.
These pictures embody the american picture in some ways and not in others because some Americans are not patriotic because they cannot afford to live well, but other people are very patriotic because they have the time and money to learn about what is happening.
I am continuing my last blog post. I believe that events in America's history, leads us to an understanding about our own country. In this case I was looking at the twin towers photo. I think that i can say that everyone in The United States knows about what happened that day. It brings out the patriotism and respect for our nation. Some implications from looking at these photos could be that history could repeat itself.
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I observed many pictures that show the history of America. I saw pictures of The Great Depression, the gold rush, protests, and even segregation. It's cool to see how far America has come and the achievements America has made.
These pictures shaped the way of life in America because women now have the same rights as men, we aren't segregated, and we have greater technology and better transportation.
We have made some sacrifices along the way to gain all of the things listed. Including many wars, and conquering new land in order to gain resources and expand our country by taking away land from Native Americans.
Nick Foster
The images I observed in class on Friday all showed various iconic images of American history. Many of the pictures had a very somber feel to them. They showed some of the saddest periods in American history, and also some of the most inspiring. These various events have formed the freedoms and strengths that America has come to possess. We have gained our freedoms, our equality, and our pride as a nation in what we have become from these events. However, we have also lost some of our dignity, due to the tragedies and terrible events that have led us to today. These images help us to understand what it means to be American as it clarifies the hard times and struggles that come with our American lifestyle.
Jacob B.
In the photographs we looked at on Friday, I noticed a lot of things. All of the pictures were in black and white, and they seemed to have been taken in the 1900's. I recognized a lot of the pictures that I looked at to have been taken during times of the segregation of African Americans in the United states. Other photos I saw were ones with women fighting for their right to vote. Some of the images could make a person feel liberated, and some could make someone, especially the white man, feel guilty about segregation and how woman for a very long time didn't have equal rights. These are photos that were taken at very important moments in American history, that had a huge effect on how America now was fabricated. A simple thing that has been gained by the moments capture is equal rights across the board for men and women no matter what color skin they have. The photos captured times when people didn't have equal rights, and when people were fighting for their rights. Something important that came about after most of the photos I saw were taken is basic human rights for everyone. We have lost certain beliefs, mostly, I wold say, were good to lose in the first place. These photos help people understand the importance of america and it's history.
I observed so many images of protest and civil rights acts. This made me realize how much of our history was spent fixing social injustices that never should have existed. When you look back at these things, you realize how ridiculous they seem and it makes me think of the saying, "hindsight is 20/20." Also, these pictures reminded me that we are in the middle pf a civil rights act right now, being the gay rights act, which will eventually pass and when we look back in twenty years, we will see that the answer was so obvious, we need to stop discriminating against certain people. As well as advancements in rights, we have made advancements in technology too. So, to me the American spirit means to move on, to make improvements, to right wrongs. the American spirit is to strive to be better, that is what it means to be an American to me.
While observing the images I saw many different trends, but something that stuck out to me most in the images that I saw was segregation and immigration.
Some of the images made me feel proud to live in America but others devastated me. For example, I saw a picture of a colored person drinking out of a water fountain that had a sign saying "colored" and it was sad because in the 1950's segregation laws affected everything then.
These images shape the fabric of American life because although we saw pictures that were unfair to some races, America has grown from the past experiences of racism and segregation. We also saw pictures of soldiers fighting for freedom.
What has happened to America since such events seen in the pictures is that we have grown, we have become stronger and more diverse or what others would call accepting. In New Mexico, a bad drought in the 30's forced families to pack up and move.
I believe that these do embody the American spirit especially one picture that I observed of American soldiers praying at a comrades funeral.
I think that some of these images do embody the American spirit.
I also think that these do help us understand what it's like to be an American due to the fact that they show what it is like to be an American.
Most of the pictures I looked at made me sad. Americans were suffering at the hands of enemy soldiers and sometimes other Americans. I never thought of images like that when thinking about what America stands for, but it is a real part of our past and shows how much growth our country has made. I also realized how blessed I am to be born in a time and place where suffering and sadness was a part of daily life. America has learned from her mistakes and has improved and will continue to improve the way we live life.
During Friday the 22nd, I looked at photos that were taken in moments of history that are emotional. Whether the photo made me happy, sad, or angry, they really made me emotional.
One of the photos that I observed was taken place in a market or dinner. A man was playing the trombone while girls (Flappers) were dancing around him. They looked so free and happy. During that period of time, women needed to cover their entire body with clothing. The flappers wore short skirts and revealed their legs. This is interesting because all the people in the photo looked so happy! I think it is awesome that they are rebels but not harming anyone.
I saw two photos of 9-11 as well. There was a photo of firemen carrying a stretcher with a dead body on it. Their faces were filled with not only fear but sorrow. So many innocent people are dead. They do not even know if their own families are safe. The other 9-11 photo shows a view of the twin tower smoking profusely, It looks like a large smoke grenade. The building is falling apart with people jumping out. Its horrible to think about all of the men and women burning alive so they have to jump out the windows of one of the tallest buildings in the world. That made me extremely sad.
The last photo I would like to share my thoughts on is a photo a soldiers in Vietnam. Soldiers are wading in the water waist high. Their guns are held above their hips, while they keep their head on a swivel. Looking in each bush to make sure that there are not soldiers wanting to kill there squad.
I observed many moments from American history that were good and bad putting us through adversity.
Some of the images made me feel very sad especially ones regarding 9/11 and world war 2. Other images like mickey mouse and Neil armstrong walking on the moon made me feel proud to be an american.
The events pictured shape how everything works how airlines now check everything to ensure safety of all passengers to food banks and stamps shaped by the great depression.
We have gained strength to power through adversity and hardship. The technology from war has now helped us create new ways to help save lives and create a peaceful society for others to live in.
We have lost our true human nature of helping people and as a result many americans have lost their lives to help make the world a better place.
Most of the pictures do embody the american spirit on you can do anything you want to do become the most you can be.
Yes the images show what it means to be an american how it is not all good there are bad days and good days but the bad dyas lead to good days.
These imply that not everything is perfect but it can be if you work hard enoguh.
Last friday we observed many different pictures that displayed american life throughout history. Some of the pictures I personally took note were of both great accomplishments including landing on the moon as well as the darkest days such as 9-11. Some of these images were hard to look at but it is important to know these events actually happened. I believe these images tell a story about the historical events that have gradually shaped american life for the better. Because no matter how dark the darkest days can be, nothing with shatter pur countries Patriotism.. Our country was founded on freedom and no one will take that away from us. Since these images were taken, our country has continually grown stronger and has learned from its mistakes. However I believe some of the morals we once held close are starting to diminish. In my opinion social media has been one of the major reasons more and more people continue to challenge our government. In addition, things that were not accepted in our past are beginning to become the usual. Now I don't exactly feel it necessary to dive into this topic on this assignment, but It has become an issue worth mentioning. In conclusion, I believe viewing these images of american history and taking the time to reflect on them truly shows how to be an american. Although our country hasn't been around as long as some countries have, our history has been full of struggles and challenges that we have eventually overcome. The implication for today is a losing of morals that could affect our county in the long run. I love america and I hope the people who continue to challenge the ideologies our country was founded on will one day realize the struggles and hardships our country went through to become it is today. This is why I’m proud to an american citizen.
Joe Burns
I observed many different significant events that really shaped the United States into the coutry it is today. Most of the images made me feel sad and deprerssed because a lot of the pictures were tragedies. The attack of 9/11, Vietnam War, and the Polio sickness were the most depressing because its sad to think of all the innocent people who died. The pictures really shaped American life into what it is today because it provided the United States with a struggle. Anyopne or thing that has ever been great has had an obstacle or a barrior that they have had to climb inorder to acheive greatness. We have developed new medicines to help treat the disease of polio. We have improved our National security to prevent another attck from happening sucjh as the /11 attack. The Unites States has also developed much biggger and better weapons as well as stratagies for defeating an enemy after the Vietnam war. The thousands of people who died during these events was what the Unites States lost. However Improvement comes after failure, which is why we are the most powerful country in the world today. What these pictures really represent the quote "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger" because like I said as a result of the many deaths, many great advancements in technology and medicine have been discovered.
Jesse Bloom
The pictures that I observed showed the most pivotal and significant points in American history.
These images made me proud to be an american. I know that not all of them are positive but it is still part of our history. For example I saw a picture of a black man drinking out of a colored only water fountain. This picture is clearly negative but it also shows how far our country has come and shows what we have been able to achieve as a society in making people for the most part equal. Not separate but equal, just equal.
These different images I think aren't trying to make us feel ashamed of our past but instead help us remember the victims.
Our American voice is shaped by many different things and these pictures show the past that has formed us partially.
-Mitch Pennetta
In these pictures, I observed many great and terrible moments in American history. It seemed like most of the pictures were taken around the 1930's-1950's although there definitely were some that weren't taken during that period.
These images made me feel many different emotions, depending on which one I was looking at. Some made me feel happy because it was taken for a joyous occasion, others made me feel depressed because of the horrible things happening in those pictures. Some pictures made me relieved because of the progress we've made since then, and others made me angry because we haven't advanced enough.
I feel that we have gained and lost many things from these events pictured, sometimes both from one event. One of the pictures that stood out most to me was the first 3D movie. It originally caught my eye because I was amazed that there were 3D movies before 1990, but it fits perfectly for this question. With 3D technology, we have gained the ability to make movies seem to come to life more than they, ever could have before, but since 3D is so common now, it almost seems routine as opposed to something truly special. I also feel like some movies are worse than they should have been because such a huge emphasis has been put on the fact that it was made in 3D, having many scenes that could have been more special ruined by the fact that it was shot in away so the only thing shown is how amazing the graphics are supposed to be, even when it's not being watched in 3D. Some other pictures, though, were more one sided. I don't believe anything has been lost from the moon landing, another image shown, and very much has been gained, such as a stronger sense of pride in the fact that humans have set foot on the moon, as well as stronger technology, which we started wanting in hopes of getting farther out. On the other hand, there were many pictures of racism, sexism, and antisemitism. While in some cases, such as getting rid of segregated drinking fountains, we can say we have move forward, but it is often depressing just how little we have advanced. There was a picture of a policeman with an attack dog seemingly attacking an innocent black man, and while I'd like to say we've moved past that, that image doesn't even seem as bad as the recent shooting in Ferguson, Missouri. While, that may seem like an extreme example, many things in other pictures also seem to still happen today, like immigrants only getting horrible jobs, women still being treated unfairly at their jobs, and antisemitism still very much existing.
If these images embody the American spirit or help us understand what being American means, then I'm not sure I want to be an American. While there were some uplifting images, the vast majority of these were completely negative. I don't think that the pictures truly do represent the American spirit, they do unfortunately explain partially what it means to be an American. The American spirit is supposed to be completely positive and about how everyone is equal, that - as much as we want to believe it - isn't what it means to be an American. We would like to think of all the negatives in these images as nothing more than part of the past, but everything in these images still exists today, and although it is mostly to a lesser extent, they are much more present than they should be.
These images mostly imply that America is not a good place to live unless you were born here as a Caucasian, Christian male. While that is not true anymore, as you can now have a great life here no matter who you are, meeting those "requirements" still can make life much easier.
I observed that some of these pictures have positive and negative ideas. The positive pictures made me feel good about the country and the negative not so much.
These images showed to me all the things that America has went through as a country and how it brought everybody together it made me feel good because they give me hope for the future.
It shaped the American fabric by reminding us of the past and allowing us to learn from the mistakes we made in the past.
From the things to happen to this country Americans gained a lot of pride and I'm not sure if that a good or bad thing because sometimes they use the pride in a bad way they became blinded by the few little good things that happen to them.
I think Americans have lost respect to them self and towards other countries and other people if America is really such a great nation then why would it have so much discrimination.
Yea this shows the American spirit and how much they love their country.
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