THE WORLD OUTSIDE Adam Hochschild (New York, 1942) is an American writer. He is one of the founders of the journal Mother Jones. After he worked as a student in South Africa, he becomes sensitive to the injustices of racism and began to engage in politics. He joined the civil rights movement, he showed against the war in Vietnam and he found a job as a journalist at Ramparts. In his text “The World Outside”, Adam Hochschild tells what he saw and what he experienced in the United States. He denounced fundamental problems in America as the denial of participation in the Kyoto Protocol or the behavior of the U. S in front of the Vietnam War.
I will first talk about the disillusion about the United states, to then talk about a nation of enlightenment. First of all, the author denounces the political problems in the U. S. as the fight against apartheid. Adam Hochschild didn’t imagine the situation as well: “USA was on the wrong side” l5. The narrator seems shocked by the situation. U. S. gives an image which isn’t always true: “told a different story” l7. For example, the author talks about the cooperation between the USA and
Then he talks about the fact that everybody has discovered the true image of the United States during their involvement in the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was a cold war military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the U. S. and other anti-communist nations. The first American defeat has shocked the world and tarnished the image and the prestige of this country.
America is now a country of disillusionment. Questions arise the country is still as strong, with moral values, a country of freedom and justice? The Vietnam War was very expensive about $ 140 billion, which ran in American inflation and dollar crisis in the 1960s. But the country is also a human disaster, mostly young Americans, the « boys », with nearly 57,000 dead and 153,303 wounded. The atrocity of the conflict begins to be published and everybody was shocked by it. Adam Hochschild talks about the Iraq war too; he thinks the attitude of the United States wasn’t military but economic.
The United States acting by seeking only their own interest don’t think about the consequences made by their acts. For example, “Indians were outraged by American corporate attempts to patent basmati rice and a medicinal extract of the neem tree, products that Indians had been using for centuries. ” L17, 18, 19. This behavior can have serious consequences on the future of populations such as Indians. The negative attitude of the United States may also result in their refusal to participate in the Kyoto accords, or on global warming while America is the biggest polluters on the planet.
Nevertheless, the United States remain a superpower that attracts many people every year. “Another type of image appears in the mirror the world holds up to Americans. ” Men are free, they can express themselves without fear; we can see it at the principle 14 of the constitution of the founding fathers : “Life and liberty are secure only so long as the rights of property are secure. ” Or at the principle 9 :”To protect human rights, God has revealed a code of divine law” America is a symbol of freedom, of security. America is a social and economic success symbol. People have confidence in the USA : America represents happiness for everybody.
The United States, with the references to God in the constitution, inspires wisdom, purity. We can see it at the principle 28 of the constitution of the principles of the founding fathers : “The United States has a manifest destiny to eventually become a glorious example of God’s law under a restored Constitution that will inspire the entire human race. ” Adam Hochschild also talks about the price of academic success in the U. S.. Indeed, America is a symbol of social success and economic grounds, families are forced to economize with difficulty because of the incredible price of universities in the United States. From the classes I’ve taught and experienced abroad, I’ve come to understand why hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world scrape together the money to study in the USA. ” The author also believes the hope is found in studies, more than in their military and economic power. A lot of teenagers dream about American studies. I think the American dream exits and in this text, Adam Hochschild makes a proof of it. A definition doesn’t exist about the American dream, because its probably has a different meaning to every US citizen.
For some it is the dream of freedom and equality, for others it is the dream of a fulfilled life or even the dream of fame and wealth. In general, the American dream can be defined as being the opportunity and freedom for all citizens to achieve their goals and become rich and famous if only they work hard enough. America is disappointing in some points like the Kyoto accords, or for the apartheid. However, the U. S. remains the greatest world power, a dream for all, hope for some … etc. In this text, the author expresses his feelings about this super power.
