Power in America: Big Brother Will Never Leave Feb. 6 Reading Response

(WW) 7 “Domestic Violence”; 8 “Murder”, 9 “Motherhood”, “Maternal Mortality”
(IVUS) Chapters 3-5: “Inequality in the United States,”, “Social Class and Organizational Power”, “Political Inequality: Corporations and Government”

After reading the statistics of domestic abuse, murder, and social status according to the “white man society” it occurred to me that the power system in America versus what America is supposedly “built on” is extremely ironic. One of the quotes from Chasin’s Inequality and Violence in the United States, that lead me to this conclusion was “Today, the villain most in need of curbing is the respectable, exemplary, trusted personage who strategically placed… is able from his office-chair to pick a thousand pockets, poison a thousand sick [sic], pollute a thousand minds, or imperil a thousand lives” (Edward Ross). This quote is an obvious reality in current society, one that all citizens experience everyday. I know that, you know that, we all know how “the system” works. Yet, what came to my mind that never occurred before was the irony behind it. America prides itself on being the “land of the free, home of the brave”, a democratic society. More then just a democratic society; a leader of the free world, a pro-active society for all countries that do not follow “our” same rules. Yet, it is obvious that so much of what our system is based on, according to our free country, is carried out through powerful CEO’s, where the rich become richer and the poor become poorer. This power system is failing much of what needs improvement in America. Yes it is the land of the free, yet it is obvious that much of our freedom is structured around those that control the money, which ultimately has the power. This is also true when is comes to domestic violence. I have heard of the “rape culture” in America numerous times. Not just the fact that rape literally occurs in America, but that we live in a “rape culture” where it is more acceptable for men to take control of the women, which at times is very accepted and not questioned. By not questioning in this Big Brother mentality culture, I believe heavily contributes to the silence that happens when it comes to domestic abuse. Yet what other way is there to run such an enormous nation with so many different cultural perspectives? Is this Big Brother mentality the only answer?