Current Events Related to 2012 Elections

Rhea May Marcelino

America’s Ethnic History

28 September 2012

Current Events

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/27/politics/campaign-wrap/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews

• ·      Obama and Romney spent time appealing to veterans in Virginia.
• ·      Neither served in the military.
• ·      Connected to those in the defense industry
• ·      13 that usually vote Republican went for Obama last time.
• ·      "I want a military so strong, nobody wants to test it," Romney said
• ·      Romney pledges to use the money saved in the defense budget to care for the veterans.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/27/politics/romney-strategists/index.html

• ·      Less time trying to define his opponent
• ·      Spend more time explaining how he would handle job as president
• ·      "They are going to have to run a more disciplined campaign. He needs to make the connection of what the state of the economy is and what his policies are."
• ·      Tries to, with a new series of ad.
• ·      “Some Republican strategists see the upcoming economic-themed debate as an opportunity for Romney to recover.”

http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Obama-leads-Romney-throughout-Calif-3876089.php

• ·      Obama leads Romney by a 58-34 percent margin
• ·      Voters view Romney’s Vice President negatively

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/immigration-obama-romney-agree-virtually/story?id=17273505#1

• ·      “Romney has significant ground to make up with Latinos, who support Obama by a 35 point margin according to an August NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Telemundo poll.”
• ·      Romney currently has the support of only 23% of Latinos.
• ·      Romney taking the side of, “The answer is self-deportation”
• ·      Obama taking the side of, "It makes no sense to expel talented young people, who, for all intents and purposes, are Americans"

Chapter 4: Other Europeans in Colonial America

Overall, I found this chapter very interesting. I'm not sure about other people, but when I think about immigration during the times of Colonial America, I mainly think about those that immigrated from Europe. That may sound a bit arrogant, but it's the truth. There were two sentence that, I guess you can say, strike me the most, within the first page of the reading. One of them was, ".., just over three-fifths of the white population was calculated to have been of English stock, and more than two-fifths of the rest came from the British Isles." The second one was, "one white in fourteen could not be assigned an ethnicity by the scholars who produced the table below more than half a century ago." The first sentence goes to show that a lot of what makes up our population not only come from Europe, but from the British Isles as well (Of course, this does not include Native Americans and those that immigrated from Africa). The second sentence goes to show that the notion of assimilation took place during the colonial times. Immigration to colonial America was a big thing, whether the reason be push or pull. Those who immigrated are also those of different ethnic backgrounds. Chapter three talks about groups such as: Germans, Scotch Irish, Scots, Irish, Welsh, French, Spanish, Swedes, and Jews.

When I think about the immigration and and all the different groups that immigrated, I think about the history of Hawaii. One of the great reasons why people immigrated to Hawaii was to work in the plantation fields. In fact, my grandparents were one of the many that did just that. Labor force was imported from countries such as, but not limiting to, Korea, China, Japan and the Philippines. Majority of those that immigrated found this as an opportunity for a better life, much like those that immigrated to Colonial America. Also, just like Colonial America times, these ethnic groups either assimilated or acculturated.

Chapter 3: "Slavery and Immigrants from Africa"

While reading this chapter, I became a lot more interested and fascinated by the history of African Americans. Growing up, students learn that the first Africans to come to America were those that were brought in because of slavery. I don't know why, but until the reading, it never occurred to me, that the importing of slaves to America could be seen as "forced immigration". America is a nation filled with different ethnicities and cultures. It's not everyday that you stop to think about when and where each ethnic group gets their start here.

I think the thing that intrigued me the most was what was written in the last paragraph of page 55, "The contemporary documents generated about African slaves are all written by slave traders, masters, and other white observers." On page 56, it also says, "We do not even know the names of the Africans who came here, only what their masters decided to call them." I didn't necessarily feel bad, it's just a sad thought to think about how true those statements are. Yes, the status of Africans bettered throughout time, but it's interesting to know that white observers were basically the reason why Africans had their start in America.

About two semesters ago, I took a cultural anthropology class. In that class, we talked about the origin of the human race. According to that class, the origin of the human race is Africa, which I found ironic.

Pacific Seafarers and Maritime Cultures

The packet entitled, "Prehistory: Pacific Seafarers and Maritime Cultures" focuses on the origins of seafaring, the Kelp highway and Polynesians in the Pacific. While reading this article, a few thoughts crossed my mind. One thing that I couldn't help but think about is the fact that the subject of history itself is a mystery. Yes we have evidence of certain things that have occurred in the past. But what about the events in the past that we do not have evidence of? How can we be certain that something took place in the first place? The reason why this thought came to mind was because of what I read within the first page or two of the article. In the introduction, the text presents the question of: "If our ancestors didn't fish or forage along coastlines, cross water barriers, or colonize islands for 2.49 million years, how did they spread around the world? How and when did humans colonize the coastlines and islands of the Pacific?"(Pg. 8). From there, the author goes into depth about seafaring and about coastal economies.

Honestly, I found this packet a bit difficult to read. Although, one way that I was able to make the reading a bit more relatable was the fact that the reading concerned the Pacific and Polynesians. I think that the reason why I find it so interesting is because of the fact that, growing up, the schools that I attended would teach students the history of the Pacific. Being that I'm from Hawai'i, the social studies classes that I had, would focus on the history of Hawai'i and so I guess it's safe to say that that is something I am used to hearing about. It's also interesting to learn that the early seafarers had the ability to use the ocean to their advantage and construct boats to travel and settle on new land. They also had great skill when it came to survival at sea and having to depend on marine life.