#12 - 6/5/'15

As an IB student taking American Studies and American Literature, I was able to learn how to make insightful connection between these two courses. It is certainly interesting to see how these two different subjects fit together like puzzle pieces. Before coming to high school, I was resolute that these two had no correlation, but through the metacognitive blog, I was able to establish the bridge between the two, and was then able to analyze the significance of it. It is true that what I say on my blog posts is not all that great. Unlike my peers, I make rather dull connection, and it takes a while for me to really digest the information and produce it in my own words and thoughts. However, I believe that my ability to relate these two subjects along with my real life has definitely escalated since the beginning of the year. Although history is not my forte, I have learned to become a "thinker" and slightly more "knowledgeable", as I tried to intertwine the pieces from Studies and Literature together. I believe that this metacognitive blog has been an enriching experience for me, and has shaped me to become a better "historian".

#11 - 5/21/'15

In class, we have been talking about how "the sixties" was a time of great changes in America. Right now, I would like to focus on the advocates of homosexuality. In one of the American Studies readings, Foner states that "gay men and lesbians had long been stigmatized as sinful or mentally disorder". Back then, this was how the society perceived these people. Let's take a look at the African Americans, who were severely abused by the white people. Even this group was not considered mentally ill. Nevertheless, the homosexuals were classified as sinners or sick people. Later on, Foner touches base on one of the most crucial events for this group of people, which was the 1969 police raid on the Stonewall Bar, where these underrepresented people finally stepped out of their "closet", as Foner calls it, and insisted that "sexual orientation is a matter of rights, power, and identity". Nevertheless, the contemptuous act by the government continued on, and each time, the homosexuals counteracted. The police must not have expected the minorities (back then) to act this way, for they used to be very conservative about their sexual orientation. Foner calls the emergence of the movement for gay liberation "the greatest", which signifies a great change in how the society deemed them back then and how it view them now. Right now, 37 states and the District of Columbia have legalized same sex marriage, which is a great improvement for them.

#10 - 4/25/'15

zAccording to Professor Foner, the two greatest powers that emerged from World War II were the United States and the Soviet Union. He also stated that it was all, but inevitable that these two would come into conflict. Quite frankly, I do not completely agree with this statement. Furthermore, I do not understand the situation fully. To a great extent, it would be true that they would engage in a dispute, now that all the other leading powers were eliminated, and thus, granting them a higher chance to gain total control of the world. I am also aware that they were enemies to begin with, but it seemed very unusual for the allies of the Great War would soon become mortals enemies. To a lesser extent, the fact that they were trying to engage in another battle simply did not make sense, because the whole world barely made its way out of a Great War. A clash between them would cause even more massive destruction, and could have potentially lead to utter destruction of all nations. Anyhow, it turned out that the main conflict arose from Russia attempting to apply its communistic ideals onto other nations, such as Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria. Here, I guess it is justified that the United States was doing a moral thing, for only it had the ability to stop Russia's evil intention and potential domination of the world.

#9 - 3/7/'15

With good intention, Prohibition was established. However, enforcing the policy was almost impossible, but only brought more trouble. Smuggling, bootlegging, corrupt officials and police officers rose from this occasion. The ratification of the 18th Amendment, which banned manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquor was the worst part. I believe that if the Dry Forces were not so strict (not ratifying the Volstead Act and allow little bit of casual drinking), Prohibition would have worked fine. To the citizens who viewed beer and wine as an integral part of the life, the complete ban of alcohol must have been ridiculous. If the government were better aware of the secondary effects, then it could have avoided the unexpected decadence of the society. This brings us to one of the main questions from the presentations; "Once a change has been made in society, policy, or law, can you change back to the way it was before?". Although the 21 Amendment, which repealed the 18th Amendment, was created, it could not contribute any good to the society. It simply did not change anything, because by that point, there was more than 30000 speakeasies, home-made alcohol, and major impact on the society, for it only made drinking more popular, and encouraged solitary drinking. Instead of alleviating the troubles, it only aggravated the situation. Thus, once a change has been made, it cannot be reversed, for these reasons.