American imperialism -- good, bad, ugly?

Thank you Paulina, Andrew, Andrea, Charlie, Adam, Margaux, Brittany, Sarah, Neha, Rebecca, Yoonkee, Amanda, Jack for sharing your heart felt thoughts on the work of Tom Stone. Thank you Sarah for posting Gabriel’s poem – it was incredibly intense for me. His need to express that he existed seems especially painful knowing that he took his own life. I can only imagine the isolation he must have felt.

I’m so taken by the depth of your analysis and more importantly the ways in which you express yourselves. I find your words very moving – all of them. Thank you. I especially appreciate that you are able to bring an exhibit like this back to what we are studying and then simultaneously bring it to your every day lives. I think this shows incredible maturity and depth and I am humbled by it.

For this next blog, I’d like us to consider American imperialism. What do you think of the Spanish-American War and the Annexation of Hawaii? Are these events an extension of US policy against Native Americans and Mexicans? Or are they different?

I’m attaching a few different files to look at (all are small and worth completing). One is a letter from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, two are You Tube videos about the annexation of Hawaii and the last one is a small op-ed piece that thinks US imperialism is a good thing.

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

http://lists.ccil.org/pipermail/firstnations/2000-November/000011.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS35CnwYEOk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE4DM3e8l_w

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2003-05-05-boot_x.htm