Summarize the discussion in the text about the fact that American ...

[mpobi80]

Summarize the discussion in the text about the fact that American political values are often expressedand thus reinforcedthrough popular culture.
 
  Choose one of your favorite songs, and explain what elements of the American creed it speaks to and how it does so.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

The population of the United States is extremely diverse, due in large part to the waves of immigration that have shaped and reshaped the demographic landscape.
 
  Many Americans worry, however, that immigration threatens our sense of national identity as conveyed by the values we share. In your opinion, does immigration threaten national cohesion? Support your opinion with evidence from the text.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[gcook]

Answer to Question 1

An ideal response will:
1, Explain why music has been a vehicle for the expression of political values and how it has served to reinforce them, for example, noting how popular culture tends to embrace individualistic ideals and celebrate the self-reliant individual who overcomes the odds.
2, Discuss a song of the student's choosing and explain how it speaks to specific elements of the American creed, for example, Billy Joel's My Life or Frank Sinatra's My Way as icons of individualism.
3, Provide a clear and effective conclusion.

Answer to Question 2

An ideal response will:
1, Explain how immigration waves have made the United States one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world, with Americans naming over one hundred separate ethnicities in surveys.
2, Discuss how some Americans fear that immigrants are too different to fit into American life, and that the lack of a common language corrodes the social cohesion that comes from being able to discuss shared political values. Further discuss the critics' response to that position as being empirically thin, as many single-language states experience high levels of conflict while others have minimal conflict.
3, Discuss why the student believes that immigration does or does not threaten national cohesion, drawing upon those arguments and other evidence from the text such as the fact that early immigrants were still able to adopt the American creed, even without a common language.
4, Provide a clear and effective conclusion.