Barack Obama versus Hillary Clinton

The Democratic primaries have been the most heated in a long time in large measure because you have two worthy opponents sparring against each other. Either one would make history as the first African American and first woman President respectively. Recently, the issue of race in America’s political culture has become a very important issue. Do you think race is as important or perhaps more important than gender in determining for whom people will vote?

Jena-6

On December 4, 2006, six black students from Jena High School in Jena, Louisiana were charged for the beating of a white student. The event followed months of racially charged activities, the most notable of which was when three white students hung nooses from a tree at the high school. So when the “Jena-6″ were charged with attempted murder, protests began and spread throughout the country.  It was argued that the charges were excessive and racially discriminatory. For some, the events in Jena have come to symbolize the continued racism that pervades the nation.

My questions for you, my students, are these: Do you think racism is as prevalent as it was a half century ago or even a generation ago? What are some possible solutions to the problem of race in America? Has there been improvement in race relations? If you can cite statistical evidence for your opinions, it would be very helpful.

The Gap between Rich and Poor

Recently, in Western Civilization II, I lectured on some of the deleterious effects of the early Industrial Revolution, one of which was to create miserable conditions for the working poor. The lecture quickly turned into a fruitful discussion on the seemingly ever-expanging gap between rich and poor in today’s America; the middle class finds it increasingly difficult to make ends meet, one student contended. The questions I have for my students are these: Do you believe that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getitng poorer? If so, what anecdotal and statistical evidence might you cite to support your claims?

Virginia Tech Mass Killing

I would like students to consider the many facets of yesterday’s mass murder at Virginia Tech in which a college student, Cho Seung-Hui, murdered 32 people, the largest mass killing in American history. I think this event relates to the college population more than any other, though it affects all of us in some way.

Firstly, the most common question students have asked me in the last couple of days is how something like this could happen? What would motivate someone to do such a thing? What do you think?

Secondly, does the tragedy bring into sharper focus the gun control debate? Could this event have been prevented with stricter gun control laws? Indeed, this is what a few students argued in my American Government course today and it has become a matter of debate in Congress already.

Thirdly, can we place this horrible occurrence in a broader cultural context? What is it about American culture that might produce events such as these or at Columbine?

I would also like us to deal with an existential question: Was the man who committed these murders evil? More generally does evil in the world explain why terrible things happen?

Finally, a question to consider is how safe you feel at Tunxis Community College. Could something like what happened at Virginia Tech happen here in Farmington, Connecticut?

Please be sensitive to this issue as you post your responses. 

What Matters More-Race or Culture?

Booker T. Washington argued at the turn of the twentieth century that 400 years of slavery had left African American culture in need of “cleansing.” Recently, African American scholar John McWhorter has commented similarly that the black illegitimacy rate, which has soared to near 70 percent since the 1960s, reflects a similar need for a cultural cleansing. McWhorter has helped shape a new paradigm which looks at culture as an explanation for social ills facing not only African Americans, but all Americans.  This paradigm runs counter to the ideas of Cornell West, for example, whose book Race Matters, makes a structural argument that America’s institutuions are inherently racist toward blacks. What do you make of this debate? Where do you stand on the ideas of Washington, McWhorter, and West?