Assignment #2: Choose a quote from Chesterton and write it out on your blog. Under that write your interpretation of what you think the author is trying to say. Then, after that write out your own explanation of the meaning of this passage and why you chose this specific quote. Next class, we will talk about the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution.

Quote: "...having risen by low tricks to high places, drink bad

[Pg 18]champagne in tawdry hotel lounges, and tell each other twenty times over, with unwearied iteration, that equality is an illusion.

In truth it is inequality that is the illusion."

-After having read the entire passage, this quote stood out to me the most. My interpretation of this quote is simple, yet I can say so much about it. This quote exemplifies one of his other quotes, in which he says "There seems to be a certain simplicity of mind about these answers; and it is reassuring to know that anarchists and polygamists are so pure and good that the police have only to ask them questions and they are certain to tell no lies." He is saying that the entire ideology on equality is backwards, and while we are living a life thinking, we aren't the same for whatever reason that may be, the truth is, that we are the same. America is one strip of land that attracts people who are striving for an opportunity, and live their lives everyday trying their best to survive, and progress and be happy. The way we go about it may be different, but our means are whats equal. 

The passage is just explaining how important it is to experience or at least try to understand life beyond your comfort zone. It's giving a perspective, and it's saying that it's never easy at first but that you shouldn't go to the outside world thinking that your inner lifestyle which you acquired while in your comfort zone is the "right" one, or more importantly, that other's are "wrong". It's survival 101, so that you know what to expect out of entering the realm of the unknown through the eyes of Chesterton in this chapter. It's showing that it's okay and it's simple to be yourself, and it's natural to misunderstand, and find things you're not used to funny, but that the mistake comes with leaving it there, and not trying to understand why it is the way it is. Overall I feel this passage covers a great aspect of human behavior through traveling, and has a great message on how people should see others, as well as themselves. I also like how that can relate to everyone, who is in this country. 

I chose that quote because I feel that what Chesterton said is true. The reason equality seems impossible is because we believe it to be, and it should be backwards. We should believe inequality to be false, so that we can co-exist more peacefully as people.

Assignment #1: Choose a quote from Bourne and write it out in your blog. Under that write your interpretation of what you think the author is trying to say and explain that. Then, after that write out your own explanation of the meaning of this passage and why you chose this specific quote and how it relates to this class.

"But if freedom means a democratic cooperation in determining the ideals and purposes and industrial and social institutions of a country, then the immigrant has not been free, and the Anglo-Saxon element is guilty of just what every dominant race is guilty of in every European country: the imposition of its culture upon the minority peoples."

My interpretation: Diverse cultures make America what it is today. Different perspectives, and different struggles, create our unique country. Ideally, the freedom America suggests is that we can all co-exist together, however it seem like this paragraph is saying that we are not truly free. Because it's saying to be more "American" is to be more "Anglo-Saxon" like, which even if it seems that way as of now, is not true.

 My Explanation: This passage is explaining that America is witnessing change happen, slowly but surely, and that we should really start thinking about what makes America what it is today. Now that even the "aliens" are "strong enough to take a share in the direction of their own destiny" where are we headed and what is that suggesting? We know that throughout history, with the existence of racism and slaves, that "white" people dominate the United States culture. There are comedians who joke about it all the time, like Louis C.K, but at the end of the day that isn't really what America is about. It's just the biggest struggle we're having as a country. We've always been about trying to be the land of the free and bring about the peace, so that we can live our everyday lives and co-exist together as easy as possible. Now that we are approaching that, does that make us better or worse? I think that's what this passage is saying and Bourne is arguing that it makes us better.

I feel this passage relates to the class because we are involved in politics, and we are studying politics  and if ever we wanted to be a politician, would we be willing to sacrifice all that we are, for the sake of being a "true american"?