Time for civics class!
Please read these excerpts from a recent article in the Chicago Examiner. I’ve added some essay-type questions, at the end. Please feel free to write on both sides of the paper, if necessary.
At a round table discussion on "This Week with George Stephanapoulos," Ann Coulter, conservative commentator, made the provocative claim, "Democrats are dropping the blacks and moving on to the Hispanics," and added that immigration rights are not civil rights.
Univision anchor, Jorge Ramos criticized President Obama for not aggressively pursuing immigration reform and said that "if Republicans don't do something with immigration . . . they're going to lose not only this election, they might lose the White House for a generation."
This is when Coulter interjected, "That's why the Democrats are dropping the blacks and moving on to the Hispanics." She was saying that Democrats are aggressively pursuing the Latino vote more aggressively than the African America vote, which polls show is definitely behind President Obama.
Coulter added, "I think what - the way liberals have treated blacks like children and many of their policies have been harmful to blacks, at least they got the beneficiary group right . . . there is the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow laws. We don't owe the homeless. We don't owe feminists. We don't owe women who are desirous of having abortions, but that's - or - or gays who want to get married to one another. That's what civil rights has become for much of the left."
When questioned as to whether immigration rights were not civil rights, Coulter responded, "No. I think civil rights are for blacks . . . What have we done to the immigrants? We owe black people something. We have a legacy of slavery. Immigrants haven't even been in this country."
Questions:
1) Ann Coulter seems to regard “civil rights” as something earned. Do you feel that you have civil rights? If so, at what point did you earn them?
2) As a member of the United Nations (which Ann Coulter abominates), the United States acknowledges that everyone partakes of something called “human rights.” Do you agree with this? Shouldn’t people earn their rights?
3) According to Ann Coulter, an aggrieved group (like post-slavery black Americans) can be given “civil rights.” These “civil rights” are presumably given to them by some central authority. Some groups (like feminists and gay activists), however, don’t deserve “civil rights.” Question: What the hell is Ann Coulter talking about here? Please tell me, because frankly I have no idea.
4) According to Ann Coulter, immigrants either aren’t here legally, or haven’t been here for very long. Therefore, they haven’t earned their rights. Ergo: civil rights accrue over time. Question: my father’s family came to America in the 1600s, but my mother’s family didn’t arrive until the turn of the 20th century. Did my mother have less civil rights than my father? And what about me? Discuss.
5) Ann Coulter implies that helping disadvantaged people makes them dependent and helpless. In Ann Coulter’s world, it’s every man for himself, and government shouldn’t be helping people, because it just creates a lot of whiny needy people. (Actually, this is kind of what Mitt Romney said in that pesky video). How do you feel about that? Did you ever need help? If so, where did you turn? Be honest.
6) Who paid for your education?
7) Did you know that Ann Coulter thinks that Joseph McCarthy is a misunderstood man, and a forgotten American hero? Isn’t that nice? Doesn’t it make you feel better about Ann Coulter?
And finally:
8) Don’t you wish the election were today?
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