Sociology

            Chapter Two Introduction & New York Times Article from January 12, 2003.
             Both the introduction and the New York Times article dated January 12, 2003 both deal with the wealth and power that some groups of people in society have over others in society. The text states that the country that we live in is "an upside-down society, with the few benefiting at the expense of many." The newspaper article further emphasizes this bias in favor of the wealthy and takes the idea a step further by asking readers the question, "Why don't more Americans want to distribute more wealth down to people like themselves?" I believe the newspaper article to be much more "current" and more shocking at face value than the introduction to the chapter in the textbook. The newspaper article seems to call upon readers to think about making change, will the textbook merely points out the inequalities that exist and the reader is left to critically think and analyze what they have read.
             According to the article, "nineteen percent of Americans say they are in the richest one percent and a further twenty percent expect to be someday." Using this data, thirty nine percent of Americans believe to be in the upper tier of society, when in reality they are not. This way of thinking further enables Republicans to create laws and enact tax cuts that only benefit the big businesses and the wealthy upper class. The article also states that, "Americans live in a culture of abundance. They have always had a sense that great opportunities lie just over the horizon, in the next valley, with the next job or the next big thing. None of us is really poor; we"re just pre-rich." In my opinion, this mindset is what is keeping our society from actually moving forward. There are plenty of opportunities in our country for upward movement, but few people actually have the means to achieve these positions. People very often feel "comfortable" in their situations and sometimes do not pursue, either because of laziness or because of a lack of resources, other areas of improvement and opportunity.