Status and Class and How Class Uses
Bourdieux's article is insightful and has more than a grain of truth when he argues that the dominating class subdues and controls others by imposing upon them certain pejorative words that, in turn, cause them to perceive themselves and act that way. His article explains a lot of conditions in the sociological arena.
On the other hand, it may equally be argued that rhetoric is a tool that is used across the board by institutions, groups, individuals, countries, regardless of socio-economic prowess – in their attempt to threaten and reduce the threat of others. One religious group (particularly a fundamentalist sect) uses it against another all the time; countries fight their wars with this rhetoric; corporations (and individuals) humiliate their competitors with this rhetoric. Rhetoric is a tool, in other words, that transcends groups and classes.
Baseball and the American Character
Baseball and the American Character
"America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again, but baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that was once good and could be good again" (James Earl Jones in Field of Dreams).
Introduction
Why is baseball linked to the American cultural experience and why do some say baseball is a reflection of American exceptionalism? Is baseball still America's national game because the American culture needs a pastoral outlet as an escape from big city pollution, political corruption and crime? If that is not true, then why is baseball so important to the culture of America? These questions and others will be brought up in this essay.