6 Matching Annotations
  1. Feb 2024
    1. if she had fallen

      I love the personification of America as a 'she', really shows what the people see America as; a living breathing entity that shifts and changes everlastingly. It is really interesting to see this in this document and the name "Triumph of America" shows that the US is at the top of its game and by speculating how and if it had fallen would be able to give not only citizens but powerful people with money a way out.

    2. possess more than two hundred and fifty thousand millions of dollars, or fifty thousand millions sterling of national wealth

      What does this mean? And why is this so important that whoever is writing this had to write an exact amount? But do they know the amount of debt that comes from having this type of money? The US is gonna dig itself into a hole of debt that they will never get out of.

    3. The old nations of the earth creep on at a snail’s pace;

      This is used to show how far along the US is compared to every other country in the world, by saying how the old nations of the earth are moving at a snail's pace, which means that these other countries aren't as technologically advanced as the US. This could be a way for the US to spread the notion of Social Darwinism and exclaim that they are rightful to be the most advanced country in the world.

    1. We shall favor the survival of the unfittest, and we shall accomplish this by destroying liberty

      What will this do to our society? and to our economy as a whole? This makes me question Social Darwinism as a concept and if it even works when comparing to humans?

    2. She grants her rewards to the fittest, therefore, without regard to other considerations of any kind.

      By portraying nature as a person and stating how she grants her rewards to the fittest people, therefore it is survival of the fittest; this is all a ploy to make a group of people feel superior to everybody else. Being 'chosen' by nature is not a real thing, and saying they are better for being 'chosen' shows how there is an underlying bias already towards the people that they are "better" than. All Social Darwinism does is reinforce cultural and racial bias.

    3. Nature is entirely neutral

      I think this quote is really interesting, personifying nature as a neutral entity. This is showing that nature has not evolved to be good or bad for humans. And it is crazy to think that nature is the result of the earth's physical features interacting over time.