Talking Point #1: Jonathan Kozol, "Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation" Alexandra Sullivan

          I found this article to be a great example concerning our class discussions about S.C.W.A.A.M.P and  Lisa Delpit's article about American's ability to remain unaware of issues. The first quote that really struck me, Kozol placed in the first paragraph. "When you enter the train, you are in the seventh richest congressional district in the nation. When you leave, you are in the poorest." This quote really hit me as the reader and it made me think about segregation. To be honest, I was oblivious to the fact that segregation still exists in our society today. In my eyes I understood that we are still unequal and in many ways suppressed, but modern segregation did not cross my mind.
          The second quote that really caught my attention was by the seven year old, Cliffie. He says, "I saw a boy shot in the head right over there." The he says a moment later according to the author in an unaffected tone, "Would you like a chocolate chip cookie?' This little boys statement and his reaction concerning the incident, show how he has been socially conditioned. Violence and murder are common in the ghetto and people become used to seeing these horrible acts often. Cliffie was born into a place that he probably can never leave and he is conditioned to the horror there, which remains unchanged. If others do not see it, they do not have to be responsible for it.
          The last quote I found interesting was Cozol's report on the feelings of Lawrence Mead, a political science professor at New York University. The professor said, "If poor people behaved rationally, they would seldom be poor for long in the first place." This quote in my opinion, comes from an ignorant , unexperienced man. He looks at the situation that many poor people are in and figures they can help themselves out of it. What he does not consider is the fact that poor education and lack of money keeps many from entering college. Many people go to work at poor paying jobs to help their families, who are in desperate need. Others become involved in drugs because it is a quick source of cash or they become addicted because drugs are so rampant in ghettos. The list goes on and on including healthcare issues, living arrangements, etc.
          How can these people make changes for the better when there is so much holding them down? The article was eye-opening because it gave direct accounts of people living in these conditions. It also explains some factors that affect their lives directly and place them in a never-ending cycle. I appreciated this article more than others that we have read because it gave me great new insight on an issue that I know of, but little about. I really liked how the author approached the issue and how well he affected me as a reader!