JFK

The brutal assassination of John F. Kennedy was a huge changer for the American people. It shocked the nation and it shook the faith of many Americans in their institutions and way of life. My answer for part one is that I do believe that innocence was lost after John F. Kennedy was killed because after it happened people were questioning many different things including why someone would do such a thing as killing the president of the United States. In the article we had to read it mentioned though Lee Harvey Oswald, a lone communist, shot John F. Kennedy, many Americans nevertheless blamed themselves for the death of the president. There was a sense that Americans had been tolerant of violence and bigotry in their midst. This had a big psychological and sociological effect on the people, causing them to over think things and to start questioning America and the people in the United State. I also it made people all around the world judge America and the American people in it. What is happening to our country was a very common question for many Americans. Many people also believe that the assassination of John F. Kennedy was the start of a big conspiracy and that our government was corrupt with agents in the police force, the F.B.I. and that even major leaders in our country were a part of. It also even tell today makes people wonder what else has our government done that was wrong and got away with it? What else have they done corrupt or wrong? Who else have they eliminated, or killed, to keep things quiet or to keep things the way they want it. I believe that John F. Kennedy’s assassination was not the only wrong thing that was done in order for the people behind this conspiracy to get what, or where they wanted.

On September 11, 2001 an event happened that will be remembered forever by people all around the world. It is the day that Al-Qaeda terrorists took over some planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center, also known as the Twin Towers, killing so many people that were in the two buildings and some that were around there when it happened. I do believe that people were devastated when it happened I don’t believe that people felt the same way about this tragedy in history as they did about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. For both events the people of America wanted someone to pay for the even that had occurred. But the reason for me saying that the American people weren’t affected the same way was because it was an American that killed President John F. Kennedy and it was terrorists that crashed into the World Trade Center. I believe that the American people were affected more by the assassination because it was done by an American. Not saying that it was more devastating than the crashing of the Twin Towers because that affected people and families all around the country because of how many people, family members, were lost in that attack.

              I don’t know who the person was that pulled the trigger on the fatal head shot that killed President John F. Kennedy but after watching the movie on his assassination and reading articles I don’t believe he acted alone. I believe that the whole thing was a conspiracy and that there was more than one shooter at the time of the president’s death.  From watching the movie and listening to some of the evidence, there is absolutely no way that one shooter could have pulled it off. Plus there were more than a dozen witnesses saying that there were shots coming from a different direction than what the police and government were telling them. Then if you look at the tape you can see that he wasn’t shot in the head from behind, he was shot from the front which means that the bullet couldn’t have been fired from where the government and police told the people it came from. It had to have been from a different place which also proves that it was a conspiracy.  I believe that John F. Kennedy was shot because of his beliefs and what he was trying to do in office for America. He wanted peace for everyone but I’m guessing that other people didn’t agree and they wanted a war so they eliminated him and put someone in his place that wanted the war. I also believe that is why they shot John’s brother RFK, because they wanted similar things and didn’t want the war. The people behind the killings just kept on killing the people in their way and all the threats until they got what they wanted at that time. People today are still searching for clues and answers to this assassination and the conspiracy.

Flat Tax or Flat Tire

           As of now the United States uses a progressive income tax meaning that the higher incomes get taxed at higher percentages than lower incomes. It has always been this way but throughout time it seems to be becoming less and less popular to the American citizens. According to a debate on the subject, the American citizens are siding more with a flat tax with a 66 percent lead leaving the progressive tax with 34 percent. A flat tax is a tax where everyone is equal. It would make all people pay the same percentage taxes no matter if you make 100,000 dollars or 1,000 dollars. The people that want this think that it’s only fair to have the same percentages across the board, otherwise the wealthy pay less and less percent the more they make.

I think that we should stick with the progressive tax because the people who make that much money work hard to get it. Not saying that the people who make less money don’t work hard it’s just the way things are. There has to be someone to work all jobs even if there is a downside to them. I also believe that we should stick with the progressive tax because it’s the way it has been and for the most part I think it is doing ok. It makes the tax percentage different for people depending on their income. This allows the people who don’t make a lot of money not have to pay the same as those who make a lot of money. I personally would go with progressive tax considering the fact that it allows the people that don’t make as much money not to have to pay a lot of tax, but I also see why a wealthy person with a lot of money would want a flat tax so that they are treated the same as others when it comes to what percentage of their money they have to just give away.

Straight Outta Compton

“Our art it a reflection of our reality.” This was said by Ice Cube’s character O’Shea Jackson, his son, in the movie Straight Outta Compton referring to the music they were producing at the time. Back then and even today some musicians “artists” are afraid to say what they really think. They are too worried about selling their music and pleasing the people in order to keep them popular and liked. But this was not the case for the N.W.A. (Niggaz Wit Attitudes). They weren’t worried about what people thought of them or what they thought about their music. They were just making raps and rhymes about their day to day lives to make people aware of what was going on and to be a voice to those who couldn’t or wouldn’t stand up and speak what they really felt. In other words, they are writing their music based on their reality. The dictionary definition of reality is the state or quality of being real. Writing about what they see every day in Compton, California. What they saw what they did including; the women, the alcohol, the drugs, and even how they were treated. Treated both by other people in the area and by the police. The police would do things to them for no reason just because they could. Police were abusing their power and authority to do what they wanted to who they wanted even if it was not right. Their songs hit like wild fire becoming famous in no time. Soon a group of rappers, artists, that just wanted to make a name for themselves and put Compton, California on the map were way bigger than they ever have imagined.

N.W.A., Niggaz Wit Attitude, started in 1986 and went to 1991 then it started back up from 1998 to 2002. The original group consisted of Arabian Prince, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, and Ice Cube. DJ Yella and MC Ren joined later on. The group’s album Straight Outta Compton marked the beginning of the new gangsta rap era. Then not long after their second album, Niggaz4Life, was the first hardcore rap album to debut at number one on the billboard 200 sales charts. Some other songs they also recorded were “One Less B*_ _ _”, “100 Miles and Runnin”, “8 Ball”, “A B*_ _ _ lz a B*_ _ _”, “F _ _ _ tha Police”, “Findum, F _ _ _um and Flee”, etc. The Rolling Stones also ranked the N.W.A. number 83 on their list of the 100 greatest artists of all time charts. Later in time the N.W.A. was also nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the first time in 2012 and a second time in 2013 but finally got it on their third try in 2016.

 During this time the N.W.A. rap group endured controversy owing to their music’s explicit lyrics that many people viewed as disrespectful, glorification of drugs and crime. The group’s music also brought more unneeded problems with the police all around the nation. The police thought that the music displayed bad behavior, violence, drugs, crime, and most of all they didn’t like how the N.W.A. group was bashing the police by their music. This led to cops reacting to the music and to the people going against the police. I don’t agree with all the force that the police used on people including the Rodney King beating. It was beatings like this that started many of the riots including the Los Angeles riot of 1992. Things got so out of control and some of the riots got so bad that the police were ordered to leave the area for their own safety. There was so much vandalism by the people setting fire to buildings, vehicles, and other things. People were also beating each other up and many people were either injured or killed.

Though some people think that the music was bad and promoted violence, drugs, alcohol, sex, and other bad things, people cannot deny the impact that the N.W.A. group had on hip hop music. They left a lasting legacy on music, especially hip hop music, which has lasted even to today. As musicians they did what many other musicians where scared to do. They spoke the truth and spoke out how they felt. They were the voice for many and didn’t care what other people said or thought about them or what they were writing. There are a lot of musical artists out there both past and present that don’t say what they really think or feel because of what they think others will think of them. They want to please the people with their music so they can have as many fans as possible because the more fans they have the more popular they will be. And the more popular they are, the more money they will make. And for some artists it’s all about the money and making as much as they can.

Is culture or reality or is reality or culture? I believe that our culture is our reality. Our culture is what is real about us. It is where we come from, who we are, and what we believe. Relating this question to the movie Straight Outta Compton they were African American rappers that lived in Compton, California where bad things happen. Being from there and being African American is part of their culture and that made there reality bad for them. They didn’t have anything anywhere else so therefore they stayed and had to adapt in order to survive. But then turning this back on someone else, a white person grows up in a safe and friendly neighborhood and went to a good school. Because of that their future looks bright and promising. This is their reality. But even though I believe that culture is our reality, I also think that people can change their reality through hard work, dedication, and they have to be driven to do so. It definitely wouldn’t be easy to do so but it has been done.