Journal #9

After reading the introduction to the second Anthology, there are a few connections that can be made between that time and today. To me the thing that stands out in both times is that Americans are constantly inventing new technology in that time and also in this time. Between 1865 and 1914, the lightbulb, telephone, typewriter, radio, motion picture, automobile and airplane were invented. Nowadays we are improving on all of these items: the lightbulb is more efficient, we now have cell phones that we can take anywhere, instead of typewriters we now have computer with keyboards that allow us to process work and do work faster, radio is now available on the internet, TV's are now being built in 3D, our cars are becoming faster, safer, and more fuel efficient, as well as our airplanes. It's clear that we are constantly improving on our technology and even inventing new items, such as the 3D TV. The second thing I noticed in comparing these times is the rise of third parties in American politics. Eugene Debs essentially started the Socialist Party because he was imprisoned during a strike. This is important because Debs wasn't just some guy in the railway company, he was the president of the American Railway Union. Similarly today we have seen the rise of a few new political parties, most notably the Libertarian party, led by Ron Paul. Paul came to be known because of his stance on taxes and the Federal Reserve, and though he was never imprisoned, he is still important. Other parties we see that are emerging is the Tea Party, a grassroots conservative movement, and the Green Party, which favors environmental concerns. Finally, we can see the struggle that occurs between those already living here, and new immigrants. In that time it was the struggle with Chinese immigrants, today it is a struggle with Hispanics coming from Mexico and other parts of Central America.