Workshop solution by:

Angie Giraldo, Cristhian Rivera and Monica Valencia

 PREVIEW CONTENT

ANSWER QUESTION A: Read the quotation by Alvin Toffler at the beginning

of the chapter. Do yo agree with it? Why or Why not? What surprising world

events have taken place in recent years?

Yes, we are agree with the quotation by Alvin Toffler because neither humans

or machines can´t know or guess what will happen in the future because in our opinion

there is no written destination for everyone, but all actions have their effects whether

positive or negative. These actions not only concern the intentional ones but also there

are events that simply happen because they must be, in this order of ideas you can not

predict what will happen in the future, for example, natural phenomena, which often

occur unexpectedly surprising to all and many times without compassion and with

catastrophic outcomes.

ANSWER QUESTION B: Discuss these questions with your classmates.

1. WHAT IMPACT DO YOU THINK THE TRADITIONAL AMERICAN

VALUES HAVE ON AMERICANS TODAY?

Today America can keep some of its values, perhaps the most important for them,

without taking into account that all values are important, for example: morality and
humanism: some of the Americans at this time do not preserve the spirit of patriotism,

but they work individually to satisfy each of their own achievements, and not caring

about who they can pass. The same happens with the values of: individualism, work,

equality and democracy, these values have been worn down over the years by the

Americans, because just as the value of individualism speaks of being different, but

in the way of treat others well and not like everyone else does. But they still retain

values such as personal achievements, and in development. These values have

characterized them for years.

2. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS AMERICANS FACE NOW?

Americans at this time of year face the bad government, bad decision-making and

especially selfishness to try to do everything by themselves without accepting help

from anyone, because this part is too important because if it's about doing everything

on its own, maybe, later on you have a problem and people no longer want to help

solve it.

3. WHAT STATUS DOES THE UNITED STATES HAVE IN THE

WORLD TODAY?

The United States has a very important status in today's world, since it is a great

economic, mercantile and educational power. Thanks to its wealth, this North

American country has one of the most stable economies in the world, this means that

its inhabitants have a good quality of life and that the other countries look for a refuge
in them; either for political issues, wars or educational because they have some of the

best universities and also have the best weapons and military of the globe.

4. WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN TO AMERICAN VALUES IN

THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY?

American values in the twenty-first century have been transformed with the

advancement of society, because as time passes, American citizens have had different

needs and have also contributed to contemporary society. Individualism today is not

merely an egoism but it has become a need to grow personally and professionally to

not only have money but to be recognized by society for a latent success, there is also

included personal achievement and work, because today's American strives to educate

himself to have a good job and thereby achieve his personal goals. As for morality

and humanitarianism, has been left aside, it is clear that Americans are not interested

in others because they are causing many deaths around the world and does not seem

to care.

 AFTER YOU READ: UNDERSTAND MAIN IDEAS.

1. What is the relationship between the opening quotation by Toffler, the

introduction and the conclusion of the capter reading?

All of them are related since the message they want to give is that we do not

know what will happen to traditional American values without knowing what new

challenges will come or what tomorrow awaits them

 2. What is the purpose of the last paragraph in the first section, the role of

values in the national identity, paragraph 3, on page 266?

The purpose of the last paragraph of the first section is to mention the thesis for

the chapter, the organizational plan to talk about the six values of national identity and

the challenges that must be faced.

3. What is the main idea of the section Individual freedom and Self-

Reliance?

The main idea is that the rights to individual freedom and economic freedom

should be broadened since it is desired that the possible economic rights bring

benefits for medical treatment, the right to a university education or a job that

promotes a good quality of life.

4. What word in the first sentence of the section The call for new rights ties

this section to the previous one?

The first word of the sentence in the section called the call for new rights that

allows linking it to the previous one is non-economic.

5. What is the main idea in the section equality of opportunity and

competition?

The main idea is the struggle for balance between giving everyone an equal chance

to succeed without destroying fair competition.

 6. In the section Material Wealth and Hard work, what is the relationship

between these two values?

The text argues that, for the majority of American citizens, material wealth is

the reward for hard work, but in recent years this perception has been

changing since certain cases are mentioned where people work hard and

money it is less, either because the prices of life increase or because they

have excess responsibilities that can not be paid.

7. In the section The Values Divide And Those In The Center, how would

you describe the two groups in the opposite sides of the values divide ?

The conservative and liberal groups that were opposed to the values, can be

described with the political parties that existed in Colombia for the 1930s, as these

two groups, with very different policies and also, there are different points of view

about each candidate, in this case in America, what he did with the conservatives and

the liberals was that time because of the number of votes each candidate had.

8. What are the three reasons why the Republicats and Democrats try to

target independent votes with specific issues ?

First of all, the use of computers and demographic studies have made it

possible to do so. Second, many Americans are only interested in one or two

political issues. They respond well to target political messages about specific

issues that concern them. Third, many potential voters are not registered
 members of either party’s candidate. Neither party can win without securing

some of the independent votes.

9. In the section The United States in the World, what are the three forces

that the united states has little control over ?

The three forces in which the United States has little control are: international

terrorism, global economy and immigration.