Political Participation essay

Many American politicians almost deify motion to the cultural, racial and ethnic diversity, considering it nearly main sign of progress of the country. Political participation is the central problem of our discussion. I want to tell about the continuing struggle to enlarge participation in American political and social life; to widen access to freedom and fairness and to assure the “Promise of American Life.”

If it seemed in the recent past, that ideology of consumerism and advertising aggressiveness threaten America almost by hundred-per-cent homogeneity of the personal preferences and methods of their satisfaction, now it is already impossible to doubt that its habitats became nation with the myriads of the most different tastes, opinions and values. This fundamental change helped if not to cure, or weaken many dangerous public illnesses of past decades, however it really generated the own problems automatically. It means that than below the level of homogeneity of the society, than its social connections are higher and they washed out by centrifugal forces. It has a concrete reason because in such a way the number of influential groups increases with different, and even with sharply contradicting interests which in a fight for their satisfaction quite often does not boggle about provocation of sharp political conflicts.

Let’s continue our discussion with examples from the 20^th century. If it was possible to fear in the middle of the 20^th century that an unicity and originality of the internal world of Americans will be worn away under the leveling influence of mass culture and will get lost in faceless crowds; so important value is now given to this unicity, that done society all more difficult to formulate and carry out single for all aims. If earlier these times analytic were afraid that American democracy would not survive increasing homogenization of society that were caused by the growth of universal conformism, now there are suspicions, that it will collapse under the onslaught of exultant individualism and egoism, both personal and group.

A long time ago one of the major stereotypes of collective psychology of Americans was considered a confidence that the country deserved the present welfare, land power and influence in the world due to the fact that it gave and gives shelter to more than ten millions of new-comers who answer on this hospitality by persistent and honest labor, by readiness to adaptation to another culture, by ability to be taught and accept risky decisions, master and create innovations. All people who came to America received “promise of American life” and they try to do their best in this country. This question goes around social, economic and political issues but people strongly believe in their dreams and race, ethnicity and class problems can’t stop them on their way to another life.

Based on this information it is possible to conclude that the 20^th century was famous for different problems and we can’t choose one of them as the main, because all of them exist in complex and it is impossible to say that the race or gender problems are most important than other one. This paper not exhausts the maintenance of the problems of the 20^th century. However, in a large degree it helps to understand the general conclusion: the most dynamic societies of our time, including American, give own mythology which really influences on its development.