social problems in the U.S. 英美文化课件.ppt

Chapter 8 SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN THE UNITED STATES Racial Problems Unlike most other peoples, Americans are primarily a nation of immigrants. The citizens or their ancestors immigrated from many parts of the globe. Though people all share a common American culture, the nation contains many racial and ethnic subcultures with their own distinctive characteristics. These differences might seem trivial or irrelevant to outside observers, but they have contributed to racial conflicts that have been a persistent social problem to American society. The United States was founded on the principle of human equality, but in practice the nation has fallen far short of that ideal. Particularly since the civil rights demonstrations, ghetto riots, and other unrest in the 1960s, race and ethnic relations have been a major preoccupation of social scientists, politicians and the general public. Racial Problems The 1960s saw the great civil rights movement whose goals were to end segregation laws completely and fight for the equal rights for the colored people. The current status of black Americans presents a mixed picture. The elimination of legal barriers to their advancement has been a major gain, but institutionalized discrimination is still rife. Race relations between black and white still leave much to be desired, although there is unmistakable evidence of some improvements in attitudes. Poverty By many standards the United States is the most favorably wealthy society in history. Yet over 24 million people, more than 1 American in 10, are living at or below the official poverty line, on incomes that the federal government considers insufficient to meet basic requirement of food, clothing, and shelter. Further more, the affluent majority sometimes seems indifferent to the problems of the poorest section of the population. Poverty in the United States does not simply mean that the poor do not live quite as well as other citizens. Poverty can also mean low self-esteem, despair,