Writers Block
Well, I am in the middle of my paper on how times of crisis such as the "war on terrorism" increase nationalism in society, politics and education and am really beating my head against a wall. I don't know that I have ever had so much trouble writing a paper. It still seems a rather odd topic for a class on educational philosophy. I get the whole ideology regarding nationalism; I am just having trouble making all this fit together. Give me literary analysis any day!
posted by C. Beck @ 2:01 PM
3 Comments:
Does a perverted sense of nationalism dictate our educational philosophy? It seems to me that history books, and by extension what we teach, are written by the victors. By attaching a sense of nationalistic pride for who we are and what we have done, we are able to justify any position we might take. We can even say that God is on our side.
I've spent the past few months studying the civil rights movement. It's amazing, in hindsight, how little (or none) of that I was taught in school growing up.
The "war on terrorism" helps us codify our struggles into an "us" against "them" mentalityl. I'm rambling.
Not an easy subject.
Scott,
Manifest Destiny was all about God being on our side. That was justification for the attempt to wipe out Native Americans. As far as history being written by the victors goes, you should see some of the history books published in the south after the civil war; the "losing side" published its own view on things resulting in the "Lost Cause Myth." So even losers skew things to their advantage.
"Well, I am in the middle of my paper on how times of crisis such as the "war on terrorism" increase nationalism in society, politics and education and am really beating my head against a wall."
Well, I can see how you might.
First, look at the wave of nationalism that followed the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Certainly WWII was a terror factor that created national rationing, increased volunteerism (sp?) and the emerging role of women in industry, i.e Rosie the Riveter.
Given today's circimstance consider the possibilities:
The war agains Israel started in 1949 following their recognition as an official state. Will America stand by this ally in the wake of spiraling oil costs?
Will the war on terrorism create shortages other than oil? consider all of the goods that we enjoy daily that are no longer produced in this country.
How can urbanized communities exist should transportation systems become uncertain?
Do Americans have the capacity to become united when the information flow is so fast and diversified?
Has America evolved into a state of uncertainty as to its values, mission and ethics?
In some minds terrorism does not exist. The twin towers were not bombed, the Madrid rail bombings did not occur, the instances of mass genocide have not occurred so we use those nonexistent events to codify our struggles. Is that rhetoric or what?
New Yorkers pulled together valiantly in the aftermath of 9/11. Is our attention span to short to hold a pride of country movement together?
Is the present administration painting a clear picture of what our nation is facing?
Just some ramblings to spur your thought process. I would love to read your paper.
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