Week 4: Student Response to Discussion One and Two and Assignment

ThursdayOct 26 at 7:15pm

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Hi All,

Was there anything in the report that helped you to understand the culture of the country and the impact of it on the political process or issue?

The headline would seem to give this away just a bit: “Europe should preserve its cultural heritage, EU's Tusk says,� (Europe should preserve its cultural heritage, EU's Tusk says, 2017).  Right away we can see that there is a culture or perceived culture and it has a tone of superiority in it, at least to me. If that wasn’t enough to make one think that there is a culture to be preserved and its attitudes, then, the second paragraph and only sentence would clinch the deal. “While the president of the European Council insisted that Europeans are not superior to other peoples, his rhetoric of cultural preservation echoed in some ways the language of populist politicians winning support across Europe with calls to keep migrants from settling on the continent.�

Did the news report attempt to compare and contrast the political culture of the United States with the foreign country?

While the article stops short at mentioning the United States by name, it does include the country of Poland and Germany and Austria (Europe should preserve its cultural heritage, EU's Tusk says, 2017). In my opinion – and mine alone, is that many of the European countries and even Canada were very unsupportive when the U.S. said that they would not allow open borders to pour forth illegals into our country. Especially when we have an immigration problem already. It seems as these other countries are now reaping the unpleasant reaping of what they have sown; countries that seem to be over ridden with immigrants and all that comes with it.

If the report did provide cultural insight, did the tone communicate respect or criticism of the culture and political process or issue?

I believe that the words were there to create the illusion of the EU simply trying to protect the countries and keep their culture intact. However, I think it missed the mark when the above quote about not being superior simply sounds well, superior.

Kim L

Europe should preserve its cultural heritage, EU's Tusk says. (2017, October 24). Retrieved from Associated Press: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_EUROPE_MIGRANTS?SITE=AP