In God They Trust

The twentieth century was the most war-torn period in the history of the world, and the U.S. was at the center of most of the conflagrations. Regardless of whether you feel the U.S. was justified in getting involved in these wars or not, this article takes an interesting look at how Presidents have turned to religion and their faith in God in making some of their most difficult decisions. It's from Newsweek which may or may not indicate some sort of bias in your mind, but it takes a fairly objective look at our "war presidents" of the twentieth century.

Click here to see the article.

School Desegregation 2007

For those of you who were interested by the discussion about Brown v. Board of Education and race relations in the 1950's, there is a really interesting article in this week's Economist magazine titled "Still separate after all these years" looking at the state of school desegregation in 2007.

Click here to see the article.

Model Gatsby Outline

Here is a sample outline for a pretty basic paper on The Great Gatsby.

Intro: Discuss historical background of 1920's focus on wealth but don't cover the issues you will discuss in the body of the paper.

Thesis: Although Fitzgerald highlights the opportunities for new wealth in the 1920’s, the negative behaviors shown by those aspiring wealthy people and the reaction by old wealth society depict a deeply sick America.


I. Fitzgerald makes the opportunities for wealth clear throughout the novel
A. Fitzgerald uses imagery to show the wealth gained by people like Gatsby
a. Description of Gatsby's house
b. Metaphor of staircase
B. As a result, many types of people become wealthy
a. Lists names to show advancement of immigrants and professions
b. Meyer Wolfsheim ????


II. In Fitzgerald's view, those newly rich are often engaged in negative behaviors.




IV. In response the old rich try their best to keep the newly rich down
A. Look down on newly rich
B. Actively try to keep the new rich out of their circles


VI. Conclusion:
The resulting overall picture that Fitzgerald paints is very harsh
What is the big picture idea of what he is saying?
Do we still wrestle with these issues?
Do you agree with the vision he proposes?






Here is a sample outline for a more developed paper on The Great Gatsby.

Intro: Discuss historical background of 1920's focus on wealth but don't cover the issues you will discuss in the body of the paper.

Thesis: Although Fitzgerald highlights the opportunities for new wealth in the 1920’s, the negative behaviors shown by those aspiring wealthy people and the reaction by old wealth society depict a deeply sick America.

I. Fitzgerald makes the opportunities for wealth clear throughout the novel (TWO PARAGRAPHS?)
C. Fitzgerald uses imagery to show the wealth gained by people like Gatsby
a. Description of Gatsby's house
b. Metaphor of staircase
D. As a result, many types of people become wealthy
a. Lists names to show advancement of immigrants and professions
b. Meyer Wolfsheim ????


II. Those newly rich are often engaged in negative behaviors


III. Because of their desperate to join the upper levels of society, the people trying to become wealthy are even worse????.


IV. In response the old rich try their best to keep the newly rich down (TWO PARAGRAPHS?).
A. Look down on newly rich
B. Actively try to keep the new rich out of their circles


V. Conclusion:
The resulting overall picture that Fitzgerald paints is very harsh
What is the big picture idea of what he is saying?
Do we still wrestle with these issues?
Do you agree with the vision he proposes?

Are there racial tensions in Hawai'i? (USA Today article)

Racial tensions are simmering in Hawaii's melting pot


By Martin Kasindorf


By Martin Kasindorf, USA TODAY
HONOLULU — A violent road-rage altercation between Native Hawaiians and a white couple near Pearl Harbor two weeks ago is provoking questions about whether Hawaii's harmonious "aloha" spirit is real or just a greeting for tourists.
The Feb. 19 attack, in which a Hawaiian father and son were arrested and charged with beating a soldier and his wife unconscious, was unusual here for its brutality. It sparked a public debate over race relations that is filling blogs and newspaper websites with impassioned comments along stark ethnic lines.

To read the whole article, go to: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-06-hawaii-cover_N.html

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