Caucus+I-Vision

Home Who Is a Person in America? Debate--Caucus Table John Schuman

I believe that hardwork is main way to measure how successful you will be in society. I dont think that just because you are minority means you get more of chance at jobs and education just because of your background (1-Minute Debates). I'm not saying minorities shouldn't be hired and accepted i just think we need to choose the person that works harder and not give benefits to certain people. Everyone has the same rights as someone else no matter what religion, race or gender; that is what the constitution says so why should we go against it? (The Constitution). In the book __Warriors Don't Cry,__ segregation became illegal but the white people still didn't want Melba to attend Central High even if she was willing to work hard to attend there. Affirmative action is unfair and it's not what America is said to be.

Reyna Lusson
 * Ideal Society: Immigrants **

Immigrants help a society in many ways, and because of their great benefit to our nation, we propose that all immigrants from any country can enter America with a briefer citizenship process and an initial boost from the government to get them on their feet. Immigrants fill gaps that Americans leave behind, and they become productive citizens that our country needs; we should be encouraging people to immigrate, not deny them rights. Contrary to popular belief, “low-skilled immigrants usually fill gaps in American labor markets and generally enhance domestic business prospects rather than destroy jobs” (Yglesias). This is because Immigrants are complementary workers—they all value to the work of others—while natural-born citizens usually fill higher end jobs. Secondly, people in the Know-Nothing-Party “could not foresee that the sons and daughters of poor immigrants would become some of the most productive citizens any country has ever known” (PBS). The government should give immigrants a break, give them benefits, and help them out, because they have the knowledge that once they have started a new life here, the majority of young immigrants will become productive and successful citizens. In Barbara Kingsolver’s //The Bean Tree//, you can see that many Americans discriminate against minorities such as immigrants; this is simply illogical, because in many cases immigrants end up becoming better, more active citizens than Americans. Most of the time, immigrants quickly adopt the American lifestyle, and they become valuable parts of our society. In conclusion, immigrants are a vital part of American culture, and we should be giving a warm welcome to immigrants kind enough to join our nation.

Kingsolver, Barbara. The Bean Trees. New York: Harper Paperbacks, 1988.
 * Citation: **

"Know-Nothing People." //PBS //. PBS, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2011. .

Yglesias, Matthew. "Immigration Is Good for America." //ThinkProgress//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. .

Maxwell Ribar

In our ideal society, race is not a distinctive characteristic and does not affect the quality of a person’s life. Everyone has equal opportunity and protection regardless of background or culture. Our society does not give advantages to only specific people, such as the effects of affirmative action. “Affirmative action is counter-productive because it characterizes minorities as being in need of special treatment” (1-Minute Debates). Also, in the novel //The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,// the main character Junior, is Native American and attends an all-white school. There are several instances where the teachers treat Junior poorly or not as well as the other students based on his race and general discrimination against him. This would contradict our society’s values, since all persons are treated equally and have the right to a feel safe in a learning environment. In the 1948 Shelley v Kraemer case, an African-American family is taken to court because they were unwanted in an all white neighborhood. In our society, the law protects everyone along with their rights in liberties. This instance violates the 14th Amendment. Therefore, “ there should be no restrictions on races for property ownership and that states cannot make laws that are unequal for certain people” (Limotta). Persons in America have a human right to property and the pursuit of happiness, and should be able to take full advantage of the liberty. Our main value is that race should not be recognized as something that makes you different or gives your advantages or disadvantages in life and society.

Limotta, Elizabeth. "1948 Shelley v Kraemer." //Buccholtz Sidor American Studies //.

 N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2011.

  1948+Shelley+v+Kramer>.

Societies are held together and strengthened through hardwork and race plays no part in this, there for race should not be considered in education or work. Most racism began, as Sarah H stated in her timeline project about racism against African Americans, with an "... early beliefs that African Americans are lesser than a human". Considering our society is based off of equal personhood, the only deciding factor in how successful one will be is how hard they work. For college applicants this means situations, like in John's book //Warriors Don't Cry//, where a black girl can't recieve an education because it was a school for white girls, will never arise. Not only does this help eliminate discrimination against minorities, but majorities as well, which is an improvement from current America. Affirmative action, as I said in my 1 minute debate, "..creates reverse discrimination which doesn't create an equal opportunity to get into college." There are people in majorities and minorities working equally as hard to get into college, and that hard work should be acknowledged, not their skin color. Since education is based on a system of merit, and the eventual goal is getting a job, then jobs should also be given to those who work the hardest and accomplish the most. A society that rewards hardwork will have motivated and succesful citizens who in turn improve the whole country.

Print. || Hartman, Saidiya. "Staging Slavery." //THe Nation// 29 Sept. 1996: 33. //EBSCOhost//. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. CATT PERRY
 * < Beals, Melba. //Warriors Don't Cry//. New York: Washington Square Press, 1994.

(immigration in our ideal society)
Allowing everyone, no matter race, gender, or religion would benefit our country’s economy. Immigrants come to our country in search of a better life than they had before, and are willing to work as hard as they must in order to create that more fulfilling and better life. In the case of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, the persistence of a father of his daughter’s constitutional rights reformed the way our nation’s education system functions and our society as a whole for the better. Our country’s economic future lay in the education of our youngest and future generations; as diversity is necessary for an ideal society, the children of natural-born citizens and of immigrants, as well as the immigrants themselves, must be educated in an equal and ambitious fashion. Currently, a very heated debate is focusing on the children of immigrants, and in this ideal society, it would not matter whether the said immigrants came here legally or illegally. “As [minors], these [children] were brought to the United States by their parents; they had no choice … [and] no say in the matter.” Therefore they should have the same rights as the children of natural-born citizens, including the right to an education, giving them and their families a chance to have a successful and rewarding future as American citizens and an opportunity to create for themselves a better life.