This image questions the ideals of America due to the fact 4 innocent people were shot at a protest to the Vietnam War. The protest was completely understandable given events like the My Lai Massacre where American soldiers killed hundreds of innocent civilians. This event acknowledges that even a protest in America can cost you your life which is morally wrong and certainly does not represent American ideals. You should be able to express your feelings towards an event, especially a controversial one, without being killed for what you believe. This does not represent American ideology which is shown by over 4 million students protesting over the death of the 4 unarmed college students.

This image shows the events of the 1980 Winter Olympics where America defeated the Soviet Union in the semi final of the men's ice hockey in what was know as the 'miracle on ice'. This event is iconic in American culture as they were not expected to even claim a medal. The team was made up of college and amateur athletes who were up against the mighty powerful Soviet Union who had claimed gold at the last 4 Olympics. This event captures the American dream perfectly as it shows that anything is possible even when the odds are stacked against you. It is one of the most pivotal moments in American sporting history.

Modern Day Slavery

This image depicts a black slave kissing the hand of his white 'master' as his family are set free from slavery due to the Abolition of slavery in 1833. Although racism continued until the mid 20th century, life for African Americans has gradually improved. However, as this second image shows, human traffickers have picked up where Jim Crow left off, with immigrants now taking the place of African Americans as modern day slaves.

It is believed that about 18,000 people are trafficked into the US every year (2013 figure) and are often placed into factories and strip clubs or even just left on the street. The smugglers can charge as much as $75000 per person (and often more) to travel from places in Asia to the USA. 

When researching for this blog, I read an article about a young woman travelling from Hong Kong to the US under the impression that she would arrive in "the place where dreams comes true".  However, this couldn't have been further from the truth as she was later told she had to work until the smuggler had been paid off, and due to room and board fees, her debt quadrupled. 

Although it is often thought that slavery ended in 1833, it is not the case. Those thinking they are travelling to the US for a better quality of life are often left worse off than before being made to work big and day to pay off the debt to the smuggler. This indicates that the 'American Dream' May in fact be an 'American Nightmare'.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is an iconic holiday in America. It symbolizes the pilgrims from Europe coming together with the native Americans and giving thanks for their lives in the New World. The first image depicts the first ever thanksgiving with the pilgrims and natives coming together peacefully. This image affirms the connection between America and its ideals of Thanksgiving being a time of peace and appreciation, no matter what you believe or what language you speak.



However, the second image challenges the ideals of thanksgiving. The pilgrims today, or 'Americans', are not forced to live in poverty stricken reservations and are free to practice their own religions and beliefs. They have not faced centuries of prejudice and violence simply because of their way of life. The maltreatment and pure ignorance displayed towards the natives by the pilgrims over the centuries questions the ideals of Thanksgiving as the meaning of the holiday seems to have been forgotten. It seems that the natives part in the creation of Thanksgiving has been forgotten.

Two images that refute and affirm the connection between America and its ideals.

This is a picture taken from the Cincinnati race riots of 2001. Four nights of violent rioting occurred between April 9th and April 13th as a reaction to the murder of an unarmed, African American man, Timothy Thomas.

Cincinnati Police Department patrolman, Stephen Roach shot Timothy Thomas during an attempted arrest for non violent crimes, most of which where driving offences. 

This image opposes the ideal of American liberty because it shows the direct consequence of the rise in racial oppression within this community at the time of the incident.

Furthermore, not only inhabitants of African American ethnicity rallied and rioted in retaliation to the actions of Stephen Roach. This indicates that a large portion of the community felt far from liberated by the situation and that the ideals from which they draw a lot of national pride had been lost in this set of events.

Similar cases, such as the murder of Rodney King ten years previous and the more recent murder of Eric Garner in 2014, verify that racial oppression and racism (not only from Policeman) is a reoccurring obstacle to the affirmation of American liberty.

This photo immortalises Michael Jordan's game winning shot in the 1998 NBA finals game 6 - against the Utah Jazz. You could strongly argue that this is one of, if not, the most iconic sporting image in American history. The National Basketball Association is a juggernaut of a market, according to Forbes, the top three most valuable teams are worth 2,600, 2,500 and 2000 million dollars respectively. The least valuable team being worth $600 million. And so, the journey that young people take in their unlikely attempt to make the big league is a true advocate for the American ideal that, with hard work, in America you can be whatever you want to be, no matter where you come from.

Before you play in the NBA you, in all but outlier circumstances, must be drafted from a division I college basketball team. 

To contextualise this; 1.5million kids graduate from high school each year and with four years worth of graduates able to play on each college team, this gives a possible pool of six million players. With 4511 spots available in college basketball for six million hopefuls, the chances of 'making it' to just college level basketball for the average high school graduate is 1 in 1330. In the same year, 2013, sixty players where drafted into the NBA in total. Forty of which had American nationality. (statistics for 2013 taken from www.powerrank.com)

Despite the incoherently slim chances of making it to play in the NBA, each year, more and more American players enter the league and make vastly successful careers for themselves and their families despite the diversity of their backgrounds and affluence of their upbringing. The only way to make such luck is to work tirelessly practising and perfecting your skill to come from wherever you are, to wherever you want to be. A philosophy which is inherent in the American mindset. 

Michael Jordan, pictured above, was born into a modest family from Brooklyn and now, via his famous NBA career and post retirement ventures qualified for Forbes' annual billionaires list in 2015. 'Making it' despite your background, race, religion, gender and sexuality is one of the key ideals that Americans base their sense of national pride upon. Furthermore, the ascendancy of Americans from 'normality' to iconic status champions belief in the validity of the American Dream. 

Equality

This image is from the CNN politics page. This shows the ideal of equality, whereby all American citizens can marry who they want no matter what their sexual orientation is. I have chosen this image because it is a contemporary example of how America has embraced equality and has made a huge progressive step as the Supreme Court has ruled in same sex marriage nationwide. Therefore the choice of being able to marry whoever you want has bridged the gap of inequality that many people have had to struggle with for such a long period of time. For the rainbow colours to be projected onto such a politically powerful building enhances the significance of the bill being passed on the US. People now have the freedom to love and marry as equally  as a heterosexual couple. Therefore can express their human right of love and marriage without restrictions with the freedom to do so.

On the other hand inequality also exists across America as this image from USA today shows an African - American man who is unarmed being held at gunpoint. Many racial prejudices still exist which has been highlighted in the news of violence and shootings of innocent African-Americans. This questions the ideal of equality as police target African Americans, particularly males and often resort to violence or measures that would not be used on a white suspect. This issue has recently received more media attention particularly since Barack Obama became president. People are being targeted just for the colour of their skin whether they are armed or not these racial prejudices are becoming a serious issue amongst the American police force. Famous cases such as Trayvon Martin only enhance the inequalities regarding racial stereotypes. Hispanics, another minority in America are also targeted and victims of police brutality which contradicts the idea of equality.

Capitalism and Communism

I have chosen these two images as they both depict the extremities of the American society. The USA has been built as a Capitalist society, and today holds up the same principles of being a capitalist democratic society, to me these symbolise all America is built upon, with many travelling to America seeking better lives financially. I have then chosen Communism as the threat, so much so that the US have been involved in wars to stop the rapid spread of aggressive left wing politics. The wars in Vietnam and Korea were fought primarily to ensure Capitalist societies remained democratic. The red scare's in the early 20th century are key examples of how dangerous Communism can be to the United States. Since the Russian Revolution of 1917, the US has always been under threat of radical left wing political attacks. To me, the ultimate example of the US countering this, other than direct conflicts, was the McCarthy-ism revolution of the mid 1950's which saw the expulsion of hundreds of US politicians that were expected to be Communist sympathisers, these knee jerk reactions show just how fragile the US society is when it is under threat of change. The US Capitalist society we know today is the same as it has been for centuries. However, only recent has it been evident that drastic change can happen if managed correctly. The main point of selecting the two is how fragile the US government was and how afraid of change it may still be today.

Find and post any TWO images which you judge are iconic of “America.” Choose one which affirms the connection between America and its ideals and one that questions it. Comment on your posts.

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