The weekly assignment consists of five parts:
1) Read excerpts from Dalton's The Good Citizen, including all of the graphs at the end of the reading. Also, read Chapter 9 of Sandel's Justice.
2) Take Cornell Notes on the readings. I will collect these notes on Friday in class.
3) Find another credible source on the internet that connects to one of the readings above. You should try to find a source on your policy issue so that it can work for this blog post and contribute to your research.
4) After you read the source that you find, answer the following questions as a blog entry below:
- Write a summary sentence for the text you found.
- How does the text connect to that week’s topic or to the other text you have read?
- What evidence do you have that the text you found is credible?
- Does the author present strong evidence to support his/her argument? Provide an example.
- Create a short synthesis paragraph on the one of the texts and your text.
Keep in mind that everyone else will see what you write below, so please keep it professional. This post is due Thursday, 12/6, by 5:00pm.
5) Come to class on Friday ready to discuss the reading and the text you found!
If you need support or have questions, my office hours are Wednesday and Thursday from 3:15-4:15 in Room 229.
“Occupy Wall Street, Re-energized: A Leaderless Movement Plots a Comeback”, excerpted from What is Occupy? The article is about the phenomenon Occupy Wall Street and what it has accomplished. This article is related to “The Good Citizen” because the activists in Occupy Wall Street represent engaged citizenship. Activists of Occupy Wall Street do not conform to traditional practices of traditional citizenship as described in “The Good Citizen”. Protesting is a form of assertive participation that is a characteristic of engaged citizenship, thus showing a transformation of citizenship America.
ReplyDelete“Occupy Wall Street, Re-energized: A Leaderless Movement Plots a Comeback” is a credible source because it comes from the prestigious magazine enterprise TIME. Inaccurate presentation of information will deter future credibility and ruin its reputation and profit. In addition the author of this article is Stephen Gandel, a senior writer for TIME. Any flaws in his article would cause him to lose credibility and could result in his future work to be repudiated, maybe even costing him his job. According to the publication Fortune, Stephen Gandel has won the Henry R. Luce Award four times. Winning this award in more than one occasion shows that the author is consistent and trustworthy. By being inaccurate those awards loss value and hurt the author’s reputation.
In “Occupy Wall Street, Re-energized: A Leaderless Movement Plots a Comeback” the author provides adequate evidence to support his argument. Occupy Wall Street is portrayed as an effective movement that plans a comeback without a leader. The quote “We Are the 99%” appeals to the audience. This statistic suggests that everyone is part of the 99% and should be involved to make a change. By gaining support the Occupy Wall Street movement could regain momentum, making a comeback a possibility. Consequently, not everything of the movement was positive. A downside to the movement is reflected by the statement, “At least 700, possibly more, were arrested that day, many more than planned. “We learned from it," says Longenecker”. By learning from their mistakes organizers can improve the movement. An improved movement can ensure that a comeback is more successful than the first. The iconic phrase “We Are the 99%” and lessons learned from mistakes indicate a successful comeback.
Both “Occupy Wall Street, Re-energized: A Leaderless Movement Plots a Comeback” and “The Good Citizen” indicate that there is an evolution in the type citizen. The result of this evolution is an engaged citizen. Marina Sitrin is a sociologist that is quoted in “Occupy Wall Street, Re-energized: A Leaderless Movement Plots a Comeback” saying, "The lack of leadership has been able to get more people engaged in the process, which I think shows how effective it has been." A leaderless structure invites participation and an engaged citizen could participate because this type of citizen is more independently oriented and active. Effectiveness is the result of engaged participation. Moreover, in a leaderless structure democracy can be established. This is reflected by the claim, “While the general assembly gets decisions made…At a time when many people believe government isn't working, the general assembly gives a sense of true democracy.” An engaged citizen can adapt to this structure and help enhance democracy. This idea of a strengthened democracy is reinforced in “The Good Citizen”. “The Good Citizen” suggests, “Indeed, the vitality of democracy is that it must, and usually does, respond to such challenges, and this in turn strengthens the democratic process”. Government attention and response to the Occupy Wall Street movement showed that the movement was effective and called for democratic solutions. This movement attempted to have American society push for a way to close the gap between the wealthy and the poor through democratic process. A common issue unites people through engaged participation and strengthens the fundamental aspects of democracy.
The text I found this week is a policy brief from the Community Service Society of New York entitled, "Many Immigrant Communities are Vulnerable to Unaffordable Rents and Other Housing Stresses" by Tom Waters and Victor Bach. This text explains that immigrants are very susceptible to overpriced rents and it also offers solutions to this problem in the form of increased immigrant inclusion in city agencies that control rent pricing. This text connects to Dalton's "The Good Citizen" because it addresses the power engaged citizenship has to provoke reforms. Engaged citizens are educated individuals that use their creativity and individual merit to solve social issues. They don't rely on the government to accomplish tasks. Waters and Bach call on engaged citizens to convince rent controlling agencies to protect immigrants from the wrath of unjust landlords. Duty citizens cannot rely on elected officials to bring forth the change they desperately want in rent pricing, that is why an engaged citizen must
ReplyDeleteThis policy brief is credible because its authors, Tom Water and Victor Bach, have strong backgrounds in political science and have experience working with other community-based organizations. One of the authors, Victor Bach, is the Senior Housing Policy Analyst in the Community Service Society of New York. He has a Ph. D in urban planning from M.I.T., which affirms that he is qualified to provide affordable housing solutions. However, this text is heavily biased because these authors are engaged citizens themselves. They are highly educated individuals that work to solve problems in New York City, like the lack of affordable housing. These individuals are far beyond the stages of the simple law abiding duty citizen because of their involvement in social issues away from government. Although this text is biased, it provides much insight into the types of actions engaged citizens can take to better communities and this emphasizes the abilities engaged citizens possess.
According to the Community Service Society of New York, "Most immigrant
groups are underrepresented in subsidized housing". This is alarming because immigrants are often the low-income individuals that need subsidized housing and public housing the most. Public and subsidized housing are two of the few ways that the government assists low-income immigrants, but that isn't even available to everyone that needs it. Water and Bach suggest that organizations like the New York City Housing Authority should reduce regulations that make it difficult for immigrants to obtain these apartments. By reducing regulations these agencies will accept more applicants and this will allow these applicants to leave their overpriced apartments. However, they need engaged citizens to rally support for these measures and to immerse themselves in the deregulating efforts. This explains why the authors suggest that immigrant organizations work together, in an engaged citizen manner, to address this issue without government help. If these groups unite their resources they are much more effective as a joint group.
These engaged citizens, the authors, are motivating other engaged citizens to fight for the rights of immigrants. This very brief is an example of their commitment to this social issue. Water and Bach use their research and writing skills to communicate ideas to other individuals that will in turn act on their ideas. Their writing is engaged citizen fuel because it deals with, "Social concerns and the welfare of others"(Dalton). An engaged citizen seeks to better the lives of others through ingenuity and initiative. Unlike a duty citizen that relies on government support to solve issues, engaged citizens like Waters and Bach use their minds to assist immigrants and their ideas in this policy brief are engaged citizenship in action.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/opinion/making-good-citizenship-fun.html
ReplyDeletethe Article i read is called Making good citizenship fun by La Jolla. It revolves around how to promote good citizenship by making being a good citizenship fun. This article relates to the week’s topic of good citizenship by showing ways of promoting it.This project was successful as it increased staircase use by 66 percent. This article is credible because it is from the new york times and the nytimes has been publishing correct information since 1851 and has won 108 pulitzer prizes, more than any other news organization. The author of this article ,La Jolla uses strong evidence from a case study for example the article mentioned a fun theory in which the swedish division of volkswagen sponsored and their idea was to get people to use the staircase rather than the elevator by “transforming the stairs into a piano-style keyboard such that walking on the steps produced notes”(Jolla). This project was successful as it increased staircase use by 66 percent. Both these authors would support the argument that being a responsible citizen should be encouraged more. The ny times would support this by stating that the current ways of promoting good citizenship are ineffective for example stating”GOVERNMENTS typically use two tools to encourage citizens to engage in civic behavior like paying their taxes, driving safely or recycling their garbage: exhortation and fines”. This would support the argument by using sarcasm to say that fines and exhortation push potential good citizens away.
The text I found this week was called “Domestic violence murders increasing; how to protect yourself” by Myra Chack Fleisher. This article was about a woman who was murdered by her abusive partner and how people should take this case into account by becoming engaged citizens of their community. In doing so, they will promote Sandel’s idea of communitarianism by participating and raising awareness to end this social issue.
ReplyDeleteThis week, I read Chapter 9 of Justice and The Good Citizen. Both of these readings were clear in stating that individuals in American society have changed over time especially the duty-based citizens that comply towards what they are supposed to do and the engaged citizens who are consistently active in working to create change for the general welfare. However, according to the text I found, only a few amount of duty-based and engaged citizens are involved in the issue of domestic violence. In this case, Fleischer uses strong evidence in which she writes several ways about how citizens can become involved in their community to make an end toward this severe issue. First, Fleisher states that involvement is needed when she claims “Violence is the reason stated for one in five divorces”. Clearly, even though it seems like one marriage is not enough, part of being a good citizen is to be united and individuals should be civil in the household just as they are expected to be in public. Fleisher continues to state that engaged citizens are needed when she writes about women that are abused and their reliance on restraining orders. Fleisher argues that support from people is better since a restriction form itself does not protect you but people who share your views, raise awareness campaigns, and help victims get therapy through advocacy groups do. Sandel would agree with Fleisher but as he stated in chapter 9, humans must also have self-will to know what is best for them such as domestic violence victims should let others know what they are facing as well as taking initiative and leaving the home they are abused in. Therefore, Fleisher relates her article to my knowledge from this week and the issue I am studying through her appliance of solutions to make people aware and involved.
The article I found this week is credible because Myra Chack Fleisher is a lawyer who constantly advocates for issues that can help the people in her community to show that she is engaged and motivated towards making a change in America. This article is also credible because Ms. Fleisher is the Lead Council in Fleisher & Associates where she primarily focuses on divorce, property, custody and support, settlement agreements, meditation, asset division, and family law appeals. However, this article is biased towards the idea that only women get abused in domestic violence because men and children also get abused in the household. This is important because it demonstrates that gender does not matter towards who gets abused. There will always be an aggressor and a victim. The greater problem is that there are not enough individuals saying anything about the abuse they witness either daily or from time to time. Thus, although this article is biased on gender roles it provides enough awareness to get citizens involved and create a stronger democracy once a response to the domestic violence challenge is made.
Continuation:
ReplyDeleteBoth “Domestic violence murders increasing; how to protect yourself” and The Good Citizen stress the importance of community because the United States cannot go back to its state of instability as when there was socioeconomic depression in this country. In the article, Fleisher uses the words “better safe than sorry” to clarify that victims need to speak up for themselves but also become involved in nonprofit organizations for their own sake. On the other hand, in The Good Citizen the clear message that the writer provides to the audience is “better involved than never”. Americans today should take some time from their busy lives to care for an issue rather than just those that benefit them because someday they might face an issue and want support from those around them. Overall, by having engaged citizenship, America will value democracy through the alterations in social issues that benefit whole communities.
The text I found this week is titled “Japanese Canadian Internments: B.C. Makes Formal Apology After 70 Years,” where British Columbia apologizes for their injustices of interning Japanese Canadians during the second world war.
ReplyDeleteThis text connects to chapter 9 of “Justice.” Sandel discusses instances where nations had or have not, or are pressured into apologizing to a group of people or nation of an historic injustice, with examples such as the Germans with the Holocaust and America with slavery. My text focuses on the Canadian history of the Japanese Canadian internment camps during World War II, where “...22,000 Japanese-Canadians... had their property seized and were placed in internment camps.” After 70 years, British Columbia finally apologizes for their injustice because of the influence of their first elected Japanese Canadian politician, Naomi Yamamoto.
“Japanese Canadian Internments: B.C. Makes Formal Apology After 70 Years” is from the Canadian version of the Huffington Post. The Huffington Post is a nationally recognized news website, offering news in politics, business, entertainment, environment, technology, popular media, lifestyle, culture, comedy, healthy living, and more. The Post have won the Pulitzer Award, as well as a People’s Voice award, and many more. Any inconsistency with their posts will nullify their name. The reporter, Christian Cotroneo, is a former city reporter and columnist. He’s produced features for the likes of the Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, and CBC, and is now a front-page editor at Huffington Post Canada.
Christian Cotroneo uses historical facts to appeal to pathos. He uses this technique to emotionally
connect with the audience, and like Sandel states, to honor the memory of those affected by the injustice. He uses testimony from British Columbia politician Naomi Yamamoto, who is also Japanese American, as she witnesses the apology with her 85-year old father who experienced the internment camps. Cotroneo also refers to a young boy on his perspective on the issue, Toshio Suzuki, who was elated with the apology.
Sandel wonders if official apologies should be made for the wrongdoings of our predecessors. If we weren’t there when the injustice was committed, then why should the current generation be pressured to apologize or give some form of compensation. Because of this thought, apologies may take longer to happen, or may never even happen. Hence the fact that it took British Columbia more than 70 years to apologize to Japanese Canadians of placing them in internment camps. It’s difficult to take action or “repent your sin” for something that was first, committed many years ago, and second, not committed by you. This controversy prevents nations, such as Japan, from giving official apologies because they may feel that they have nothing to apologize for; they had not committed the crime. Canada on the other hand, despite the event being done almost a century ago, apologized to the whole Japanese Canadian community.
The article “Strategies for Reconnecting Citizens and Government” written by the MRSC ( Municipal Research and Services Center) is one that focuses on strategies of how citizens all over the country can reconnect with national or local governments.
ReplyDeleteThis article connects to Dalton’s “The Good Citizen” because it addresses the idea of being an engaged citizen and how it can help reform a social issue. Both Dalton and MRSC believe that an engaged citizen are fully engaged in society and are involved in essential tasks that will help develop the community’s future. Dalton believes that engaged citizens are populating while the duty-based citizens are decreasing. Furthermore, both texts imply that engaged citizens promote other forms of political action, ranging from volunteerism to public protest.
This text is credible because the article comes from The Municipal Research and Services Center a private, non-profit organization in Seattle, Washington. Furthermore, the organization is credible because it’s dependable from a multidisciplinary team of professional consultants, provides access to thousands of sample documents and provides access to the largest local government library collection in the Northwest. Therefore, this text is reliable because it will not provide false information that will mislead to negative impact towards the organization, such as not being provided from a multidisciplinary team of professional consultants.
MRSC the authors of the article uses strong evidence to support their argument of citizens being more involved with the government. MRSC uses statistical exemplification to show why citizens should be more involved in the government by including that “A national survey conducted by Hart/Teeter for the Council for Excellence in Government found that 9 out of 10 respondents could readily cite examples of the "biggest problems" with government, while 42 percent could not name any successes.” This evidence creates a background in MRSC’s argument and strengthens it.
In MRSC’s article, a researcher, Robert Putnam observed that more people are “bowling” than ever before. Also according to his study “participation in many community organizations, service clubs, and church-related activities has dropped significantly since the 1960's”. This idea expands to Dalton’s observation of the differences in the generations and how the idea of individualism is more dominant in today’s generation. This implies that the new generation’s level of participation in the government has dropped but this article promotes idea’s in which citizens can participate in ways to make to the community better.
Pippa Norris’ “The evolution of election campaigns: Eroding political engagement?” analyzes the transformation of election campaigning through recent decades and addresses the concerns many individuals have about the lack of electoral participation, specifically among the youth. This text is related to Dalton’s “The Good Citizen” because both texts discuss the current switch from civic duty by young people towards civic engagement and how it is in fact emphasizing American values rather than diminishing them.
ReplyDeleteThe text I found is credible because it was published by the John F. Kennedy School of Government, a school within Harvard University, one of the most prestigious universities in the country. Harvard would avoid publishing false information to prevent the tarnishing of its reputation. Additionally, the author, Pippa Norris, is a political scientist focusing on democracy and development, public opinion and elections. She received the 2011 Johan Skytte prize, which is known informally as the 'Nobel' prize in political science. This proves that not only is Norris an expert on the subject, but her work is recognized and admired by many nationally.
Norris presents strong evidence to suggest that civic engagement is not only present in America but also in nations worldwide. Norris utilizes a large range of nations to support her work when she writes, “…older cohorts are least engaged through these means, there is a linear rise in cause activism until this peaks among the younger cohorts, and this rise is most marked in Scandinavia and, to a lesser extent, Northern Europe…” (13). By including information from different regions and governments, Norris emphasizes that perhaps it is not American youth’s lack of trust in government that is leading to a decrease in voting turnout, but perhaps changes in generation and modernization that is resulting in activism among younger people instead of election participation. All nations mentioned demonstrated that youth is less likely to vote than earlier generations but only because youth is more civically engaged.
Both Dalton and Norris express that civic engagement is a new method the younger generation has developed to establish a connection with government and ensure officials hear their political views. Contrary to popular belief, these actions strengthen America’s values of freedom and democracy. Dalton introduces the idea of the benefits of civic engagement when he states, “…some of these differences can benefit American democracy, such as increased political tolerance and acceptance of diversity in society and politics” (6). As Dalton elaborates on how activist movements lead to a stronger unification among the American people, Norris reiterates how civic engagement is positive in respects to government. Norris writes, “An important characteristic of cause-oriented repertoires is that these have broadened towards engaging in ‘consumer’ and ‘life-style’ politics, where the precise dividing line between the ‘social’ and ‘political’ breaks down even further… The process of globalization… has shifted [power]…down towards regional and local assemblies” (9). In other words, civic engagement has led to the increase of influence local people have on their government officials. Because the younger generation is becoming more active in politics in ways other than voting, such as protesting or organizing assemblies, the government is considering their views. Also America is closer to being able to truly carry out its values of liberty, as Americans are freely able to exercise their freedom of speech and assembly through civic engagement. Additionally, civic engagement has also led to a true expression of democracy as now the American people have more influence and representation in government since local governments are increasing in power. Now, the government is honestly “ruled by the people” as a result of activism and social unity.
Matt Peckham’s article entitled, “Did It Work? ‘Day After’ Results of the SOPA, PIPA Blackout” elaborates on the aftermath from online protesters who had went against two proposed laws by the U.S. government, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act or PIPA), via popular websites like Twitter and Facebook. This article relates to Russell Dalton’s “The Good Citizen” because it shows proof of how the ideas of engaged citizenship has become a prominent action taken by Americans today. According to Dalton, engaged citizenship consists of “independent, assertive citizens [who are] concerned with others”. Unlike duty-based citizenship, which consists of “citizens [who] vote, pay taxes, and obey the law” (Dalton), engaged citizens are more likely to speak out if they have a specific opinion towards the way government handles current situations.
ReplyDeleteThis article is credible because it comes from Time, a major U.S. news magazine that has earned its reputation by providing over 20 millions Americans with global news and information. The author, Matt Peckham, is also credible because he is columnist who works specifically in the fields of technology and interactive entertainment with a Master of Arts degree in English. Peckham also has worked alongside several other well known news sites such as The New York Times, ABC News and MSNBC.
Within the article, Peckham discusses how the frenzy from Americans who were not in support of the proposed laws did create a major impact on whether or not Congress should pass the bills. Peckham goes on to add that after Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, had “[blacked] out the world’s fifth most trafficked website for 24 hours to raise awareness of the bills...over 162 million people saw Wikipedia’s anti-SOPA, anti-PIPA message.” This blackout had allowed the overwhelming amount of people to become notified of how these bills would end up affecting their lives in the future if they were passed. Because the internet is something that individuals use as a resource on a daily basis, anything that affects the way they use it, especially negatively, is an automatic call for protest. Protesters turned to the elected representatives in their area, eventually temporarily shutting down several congressional websites’ servers. Additionally, “SOPA-related Twitter posts that were popping off at a rate of a quarter-million every hour.” This is a clear example of Dalton’s idea of engaged citizenship, showing how Americans have taken the appropriate steps to show their opposition against actions taken by the government that could profoundly affect their lives. Engaged citizens during the protests did create a strong influence on Congress, causing “at least 10 senators and nearly twice that many House members announced their opposition.” Peckham provides a link to ProPublica's tracking page entitled, “Where Do Your Members of Congress Stand on SOPA and PIPA?”, showing that the bills now currently have 205 members who either oppose the bill or are leaning towards no, while a mere 55 members are supporters and co-sponsors.
Peckham is clearly an engaged citizen who is trying to notify his readers about their impacts on the SOPA and PIPA bills. Knowing that these bills have not disappeared completely, Peckham and several anti-SOPA and anti-PIPA groups “[urge] people to keep the pressure on congressional members by ‘calling your Senator everyday’ [and] visiting your Senators’ district offices.” This is a clear example of how engaged citizenship is being used to escalate the “Social concerns [people have] and [make sure that] the welfare of others [is secured]” (Dalton). By providing this information, Peckham succeeds at following the norms of an engaged citizen. Other engaged citizens are influenced to do the same, working together to creating a system where people are more willing to have their opinions heard.
The text I found this week is an article from the New York times called, “Join Verizon To Prevent Domestic Violence In Our Communities”. This article discusses about how Verizon is working to fight for the cause of domestic violence and help the victims of it.This relates to the Dalton’s “The Good Citizen” because Verizon’s actions involve the cooperation of engaged citizens versus duty-based citizens. As “The Good Citizen” mentions, society is veering away from the duty-based citizenship norms and moving towards the engaged citizenship norms. An engaged citizen would work to help Verizon fight the domestic violence cause because an engaged citizen has a more assertive role and has social concerns as well as being concerned about the welfare of others.Verizon does not call upon duty-based citizens because their role and responsibilities revolve more on the idea of voting and paying taxes.
ReplyDeleteThis article is credible because it was published by the New York Times which is a well-known news reporting organization in New York. The information published in the New York Times is reliable and credible because the newspaper is a statewide known newspaper, therefore, it would lose all of its fame and credibility as a newspaper if it published false information. The New York Times takes pride in its fame and it should to since everything they publish is completely trustworthy and true which is why it is such a widely read and favored newspaper.
The New York Times articles quotes specific statistical evidence which shows how the joint teamwork of Verizon and the National Domestic Violence Hotline (The Hotline) in Hopeline from Verizon has helped those who are victims of domestic violence. The article states, “Since the launch of HopeLine in 2001, more than $14.2 million in cash grants have been awarded to domestic violence agencies and organizations throughout the country, and nearly 123,000 phones have been distributed with more than 406 million minutes of free wireless service to be used by victims of domestic violence” (The New York Times). Verizon and the The Hotline didn’t wait to vote or on the government in order to help the victims of domestic violence. They took it into their own hands to help the victims, as engaged citizens would. Their actions show that the change from duty-based citizens to engaged citizens is for the best.
As a matter of fact, in “The Good Citizen”, Dalton points out how many believe the “American democracy is ‘at risk’ in large part because of the changing values and participation patterns of the young” (Dalton). However, the changes of the norms of citizenship is actually helping America to develop into a much better country. For instance, many engaged citizens helped to raise those $14.2 million in cash grants because people now have a desire to help those in need. Both Dalton and The New York Times, along with Verizon, would agree that “the modernization of American society has transformed the norms of citizenship, and this is affecting the political values and actions of the American public...in positive ways” (Dalton). The American public is much more involved and willing to help those, such as the victims of domestic violence, because the norms of citizenship have changed to that of engaged citizenship. The idea that there is a “lack of good citizenship” (Dalton), is outdated. If anything, there is more than enough good citizenship today because more is done to help victims of domestic violence, which is a serious problem today. Engaged citizens are key in solving the domestic violence issue because such a large amount of money can’t be raised if people don’t get involved. All in all, both Dalton and The New York Times would agree that the changed norms of citizenship is a great benefit to society seeing as how that is the reason organization like The Hotline even teamed up with a company like Verizon and worked towards an important cause.
The article “Protesters say the M.T.A.has money for pay and service increases, and the M.T.A begs to differ” by Dana Rubinstein is one that speaks on how there has been protests about how the M.T.A is not tapping into a $500 million retiree fund that can be used to restore service cuts, rehire laid-off workers and increase wages of workers.
ReplyDeleteThis week we read excerpts from Dalton's The Good Citizen which discussed the evolution of citizens in the United States and how they have become more engaged when before they were focused more on citizen duties such as voting, paying taxes, and being part of a political party. Protesting for a change that will promote the welfare of a whole and is a social concern is part of being an engaged citizen. Furthermore protesting for more funding of the M.T.A does indeed benefit many because as stated by the M.T.A in 2011, 5,284,295 on an average weekday used this service, which is a large portion of the New York City’s population. Protesting is also a form of citizens demonstrating their independence, assertiveness and concern for others which is how Dalton defines being an engaged citizen.
This article is credible because it comes from Capital New York News which is an online news publication that recently founded in 2010 and would not want to lose website viewers by including false statements. Moreover this article was written by Dana Rubinstein, a reporter who has written for Bloomberg Businessweek, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the New York Observer and the Brooklyn Paper which are well known news sources.
Rubinstein presents strong evidence through the use of testimonials she writes,” ‘You guys have the money and you know you do,’ said Christine Williams...” Williams is station agent who is being directly affected by the lack of funding the M.T.A. Rubinstein also includes testimonials from Allen Cappelli which is an M.T.A board member and Joe Loheta which is a chairman of the board and chief executive. Additionally Rubinstein presents strong evidence when she uses exact numbers to state,” "We are doing everything we can to work with the fragile budget conditions that we have," said Lhota. "Their reference to money that's squired away to pay for retiree health care—we have a $13.2 billion unfunded liability, of which we have put against it $470 million.”
In “Protesters say the M.T.A.has money for pay and service increases, and the M.T.A begs to differ” Rubinstein includes,"The transit workers serve the 99 percent," said Tony Murphy, from "Occupy for Jobs," in a call-and-response "mic check" in the M.T.A.'s fifth-floor Madison Avenue boardroom." This shows how the M.T.A. is a service that serves many and should be conformed in order to continue to do so. This connects to when Dalton writes,”... the elements of citizenship to include social concerns and the welfare of others.” The 99 percent is actually taking into consideration the needs of others since public transportation funding is something that is being protested for.
The text that I found this week is called “Surdna Grantee Holds Conference on Increasing Regional Transit Manufacturing Opportunities”. It summarizes the important points of a conference held in Brooklyn, about the importance of investing in transportation infrastructure and how it would benefit the city and State economy. This relates to this week's text “The Good Citizen” because it brings together what the book calls “engaged citizens” and business owner in one place to work together. To face the change that is occurring especially with technology for example New York city has one of the oldest and largest transit systems in the United States, but is not as modern as many other cities in the country. That is where engaged citizens come in and protest for changes to the MTA, instead of waiting for the government to make a change, which is exactly what this conference is meant for. This text is from the Surdna Foundation a well known very old portuguese foundation that would jeopardize it reputation if it published false information to the public. The author of the text use strong statistical evidence about the the transit system and its possible benefits. For example the article states “twenty-five percent of New York City’s construction industry is working on MTA expansion projects” (Surdna Grantee Holds Conference on Increasing Regional Transit Manufacturing Opportunities). Demonstrates that New York City with of the largest economies depends highly on the reconstitution of transit instructor because it take up one-fourth of it constitution industry. That is a motivating reason to invest transit because “Over the past 30 years, $80 billion has been invested.....transit”(Surdna Grantee Holds Conference on Increasing Regional Transit Manufacturing Opportunities). Therefore transit is a strong industry that is well invested and has potential/need for growth that is why there should be more investment in transportation industry. These ideals are supported by the author of “The Good Citizen” because in its chart “Citizenship and Spending Priorities”(110). It can be viewed how both duty based citizens and engaged citizens invest in mass transit which does not occur frequently, becasue duty based citizens and engaged citizens are very different. For example duty based citizens are those that vote and pay taxes while engaged citizens are those that volunteer and protest, furthermore that is why there is so much money invested in transportation that it creating strong opportunities in transit. Thus “The Good Citizen” supports the text “Surdna Grantee Holds Conference on Increasing Regional Transit Manufacturing Opportunities” because it acknowledges that there great opportunities in transit.
ReplyDeleteThe text I found this week is called “What can Alpha Chi Omega do for you?” published on the Columbia University newspaper, the Columbia Daily Spectator. This article is about a sorority persuading the Columbia student body to vote for their chapter specifically, to obtain a brownstone.
ReplyDeleteThis text connects to my research project on Domestic Violence and on the excerpts we read this week from Dalton’s The Good Citizen. The sisters of the Alpha Chi Omega’s Theta Psi chapter are a great example of individuals exemplifying engaged citizenship. Although they may not vote, they are more modern, and still care about their social surrounding and the well being of others. It is also evident how caring they are and how they are actually willing to do something about what they care about, when they took it upon themselves to “...promote [their] national philanthropy, domestic violence awareness” by dedicating an entire week during the month of October to hosting events related to Domestic Violence and teaching students about it as well.
The evidence that I found this text is credible is that it was published on the Columbia Daily Spectator which is the main newspaper for the prestigious ivy league Columbia University. Although the article, is an opinion editorial, and it was written by a college student, it is still credible. She is “a Columbia College junior majoring in statistics and concentrating in business management. She is vice president of recruitment for Alpha Chi Omega.” Since the newspaper has many readers, even by giving students the opportunity to explain why their chapter deserves a brownstone Columbia has a lot of pride and will not jeopardize their name by letting anyone write things that will not be credible.
The author presents strong evidence to support her argument because it is clear that she wants her sorority to win the ultimate prize: Brownstone. For example, “... we want your help in assembling gift packages for children living in the Sanctuary for Families, a Harlem-based shelter for battered women...Essentially, whoever you are and whatever your interests, we would love to invite you over to our brownstone.” The author basically appeals to logos, by using various examples students can relate to and logically be persuaded into voting for her sorority.
It is evident, that young adults are at the moment where they are more of engaged citizens. Although they are not as involved with politics, they are very involved with their surroundings socially rather than politically. The fact that Domestic Violence is a mistreated issue in upper Manhattan and college students are trying to help is pretty great. Although Columbia is not in upper Manhattan, I know the sisters from the Alpha Chi Omega’s Theta Psi chapter would be more than willing to help out here because they are already helping children in Harlem. It makes sense that as engaged citizens like Dalton teaches us, they would desire to continue their legacy and want to expand their pool of helping.
The article I found this week is called “Michelle Obama Leads Campaign Against Obesity.” This article contains information on the first lady’s latest initiative to address the growing obesity epidemic in America’s children by targeting school lunches, exercise, and medical chekups.
ReplyDeleteThis week’s reading, Dalton’s “Good Citizen,” mentions the two types of citizens that are out there and the similarities and differences between them. The first kind of citizen out there is a duty-based citizen who follows the most basic norms of citizenship, such as paying taxes and voting. The other kind of citizen is an engaged citizen, who is more about volunteer work and service. The article that I found shows how Michelle Obama is an example of both kinds. She is involved with the government, does her basic duties as a citizen, but also does things to show that she just cares about her community like an engaged citizen would do.
The source of this article is the New York Times, which is a highly credible source. It is a well-known, prestigious news organization that publishes its articles in various forms of media, such as newspapers, magazines, and online sources. Its articles are read my many every single day so they will be sure to only publish accurate information to prevent from damaging their reputation as a reliable source. The author, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, has written a total of 2,127 articles for the Times, so it’s okay to assume she knows how to write an accurate and descriptive article if she has been working the NY Times for so long.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg provides us with a lot of strong evidence such as quotes from Mrs. Obama herself and evidence from experts on obesity like the Optimal Weight for Life Program. For example, Michelle Obama believes that obesity can be caused by a “toxic environment.” Stolberg quotes Dr. Ludwig from the Optimal Weight for Life Program by saying that a toxic environment “promotes overeating of low-quality foods, while inhibiting children from leading active lives” to validate Mrs. Obama’s belief since an expert agrees with her. Here, Stolberg’s uses one piece of evidence to make another piece of evidence even stronger.
Michelle Obama is obviously a great example of the kind of duty-based citizen that Dalton’s “Good Citizen” mentions. Not only does she do her basic duties but goes beyond that by becoming a part of the government. However, by placing such a big emphasis on child obesity, she is demonstrating that someone can also be an engaged citizen at the same time. In Dalton’s “Good Citizen,” the definition of an engaged citizen is someone who focuses on “social concerns and the welfare of others” and don’t rely on the government to fix all of their problems, which is what Mrs. Obama is doing when she says, “I haven’t spoken to one expert about this issue who has said the solution is having the government tell us what we can do.” Here, she proves that we can be both kinds of citizens because even though she is clearly a duty-based citizen, she knows the government can’t fix this problem, it has to be something that engaged citizens do out of their concern for others. Michelle Obama is the living proof that sometimes you’re not just one kind of citizen, you are both.
The text I found this week, “Stop and Frisk Policy - New York City Police Department” from The New York Times is about the problems that have arisen from the policy. This text also
ReplyDeleteshows statistical information to show the intensity of the issue.
This text connects to this week’s reading, Chapter 9 of Sandel’s Justice. Chapter 9 of Sandel’s Justice elaborates on obligations beyond consent, which relates to the Stop and Frisk Policy because it is a policy that is questioned largely. Sandel’s “Obligations Beyond Consent” section of the chapter describes the difference between natural duties and voluntary obligations. Natural duties consist of duties of kindness and duties to protect others from injury or harm, especially innocents. Voluntary obligations are particular, not universal- which relate to the policy because it is particular to New York City. In addition, the Stop and Frisk policy can be considered a voluntary obligation because not every police officer decides to stop every suspicious looking person. This policy also relates to Sandel’s adapted theory from Rawls of “Obligations of Solidarity”- which don’t require consent. The officers who stop “suspects” do not need to ask anyone if they should stop the person, they take action based on the stereotype of “suspect”.
This text is credible because it is from the New York Times. The New York Times is a well renowned news organization which has many daily readers and if its articles were biased and filled with falsified, the organization would lose readers and money. The author of the article, Robert Stolarik, is a freelance photographer for the New York Times and he covers conflicts and general news in the United States, Europe, South America, and the Balkans. Stolarik has also covered stories such as the Civil War in Columbia and Hurricane Katrina. Stolarik has won several awards including NPPA’s “Best of Photojournalism” award.
Robert Stolarik uses statistical information to support his argument. He states, “In 2012, the number of street stops in New York from January through March 2012 rose to 203,500 from 183,326 during the same quarter of 2011. The tactic has come under fire from civil rights groups...city council members and minority community leaders, who point out that the overwhelming majority of the stops do not result in the discovery of any wrongdoing on the part of the person stopped” (1). This excerpt serves to show the increase in stops from the NYPD, and how it is affecting groups of people. The increase in stops is extremely high especially since most of those who have been stopped are not involved in any illegal activity.
Chapter 9 of Sandel’s Justice and the New York Times article, “Stop and Frisk Policy - New York City Police Department” share the idea of voluntary obligation. Stakeholders of the policy surely question if stopping a person is an obligation or just an act of racism whilst police officers can argue that they are trying to protect the community. But how can police officers help protect the community when all they are doing is accusing innocents of a crime or activity they are not committing? The disadvantages of the Stop and Frisk Policy also relate to Sandel’s theory of “Liberal justice requires that we respect people’s rights, not advance their good” (Sandel). With that being, the Fourth Amendment, which protects Americans against unreasonable search and seizures- should be refuted. The fourth amendment serves a basis for why all Americans should stand up against the practice.
The news articles "Illinois Senate Rejects Anti-Bullying Legislation" by NBCC Chicago explains state senate in Illinois rejecting legislation because they believe it promotes homosexuality, which goes against the freedom of religion. Additionally, this NBC article, NBC being a leading source of global news and information for more than 75 years, presents the traditional state of mind of most senators because they reside in a country that has been, for the most part, a catholic or christian-based nation, which is also represented in our own currency; "In God We Trust." That is why this article illustrates a direct example of how the values of newer generations have shifted in a different direction than the values of those more traditional generations as stated in Dalton's "The Good Citizen" reading.
ReplyDeleteIn the article, we can deem the senate a symbol for previous generations who are considered Citizens Duty and see a clear alteration among the values of a Citizen Duty, and an Engaged Citizen, who newer generations represent. The drift from being Citizen Duty, a more classical citizen, to an Engaged Citizen, a modernized citizen, is primarily shown when thinking of their acceptance towards diversity, or change in general, displayed on figure 6.5 where engaged citizens suggest "gays should be free to live as they wish." Their preference demonstrates the adaptation of individuality amidst the nation overall. This justifies Dalton's statement, when he said "the expansion of these self-expressive values has a host of political implications" because higher powers would find some of Engaged Citizen's ideas wrong due to a secure mind-set on the constitution and all of America's traditional values. They might even argue that the actions that the engaged citizens take, could possibly go around the constitution itself because of their developed power and knowledge. The engaged citizen's lack of dependence on a country that has a history of abiding by catholic beliefs would imply that the increase of individuality has created a larger gap between citizen Duty And engaged because their beliefs are further apart from each other. Also because these values have changed throughout more modernized times because Generation X and Y's state of mind of thinking has shifted from being citizen's who take orders, to actually taking action. That would demonstrate hypocrisy on some Illinois Senators behalf because they say the “language the bill [uses interferes with certain] freedom of speech or freedom of religion” but they fail to the see the adaptations certain values has made in the United States thus far. They must recognize that Freedom of speech, itself, has changed throughout history. In particular when we think about African Americans or Women, whom have not always been given the right to free speech. This shows how these important values have changed throughout history and more importantly throughout the past few decades. Mainly because engaged citizens are more outspoken than previous generations and have a stronger will to get what they want.
Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Illinois-Senate-Rejects-Anti-Bullying-Legislation-153049405.html#ixzz2Eln2G8Aj