Two Nation: The War Continues... Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"So the question for white Americans is essentially moral: is it right to impose on members of an entire race a lesser start in life and then to expect from them a certain degree of resolution that has never been demanded from your own race?† With this question the author concludes his book. The book is called â€Å"Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal.† The author is Andrew Hacker, a professor of political science at Queens College. He has written many books along with this one mostly dealing with race and other social problems faced in America. He believes that race plays a larger role in America than it does anywhere else in the world. The title has many sources and foreshadows some of the conclusions he makes in the book. The â€Å"two nations† being discussed are the White nation and the African-American (Black) nation. It has been said many times in history that the two major races in this country have been separ ate, hostile and unequal. It is interesting to find out what Mr. Hacker thinks about all of this as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book is separated into three parts. In the first part Hacker wishes to give the reader insight on how â€Å"we† define and divide people into races. He will also discuss what it feels like to be black in this country and why white Americans act the way they do to those of African-American descent. In the second part he will focus more on the role race plays in such areas as education, family life, economy, politics and crime. In the third section there are statistics based on race and an index. In the opening chapter of the book Hacker discusses the â€Å"origin† of races. Separation and the giving of names to peoples belonging to a group have been done since the first time differences in physical appearance began to appear. He argues that the Native Americans have been at a low population but the population suddenly increased when many individuals began to claim their race as being Native American. He also says that the race once known as â€Å"mongoloid† and other races from the Asian continent have all been combined and renamed by the majority white race to â€Å"Asian-American†. The author then discusses how ridiculous it is that the people in this country have designated everyone in the world to a separate group. Defining them before they can define themselves.   Ã‚   ... ...urban areas anymore. After going to public schools for almost 16 years I can say that there is a lot of segregation everywhere because people feel more comfortable among those of their own race. Does this mean that if there are a group of white kids hanging out together that they are racist? No, this just means that all they are is a group of kids. For someone to point out their race and the fact that they are all the same and then to judge them and their beliefs without knowing anything for sure is a racist statement in itself. Overall, Andrew Hacker is a good writer. I don’t agree with all of his beliefs but he makes a very good argument. There are many people that feel strongly about an issue and do not speak up. The admirable thing about Hacker is that he said what he feels and he is not scared to speak his mind. That is a respectable trait. Don’t you agree? â€Å"A huge racial chasm remains, and there are few signs that he coming century will see it closed. A century and a quarter after slavery, white America continues to ask of its black citizens an extra patience and perseverance that whites have never required of themselves† -Andrew Hacker (On the final paragraph of his book)