Nous avons demandé à Jasira quelles étaient les causes selon elle de tous ces mouvements sociaux qui bousculent son pays. Originaire de Los Angeles, elle fait partie de nos intervenants dans les cafés langues. Voici son point de vue:
(Pour une compréhension optimale, vous avez du vocabulaire si nécessaire)
The United States has a strong and influential history of social movements. A social movement is when a collective strives towards a common social goal relating to societal change; In the U.S. social movements arise usually in no small part due to the nation’s longstanding promises of liberty, justice, and equality. Here are a few of the reasons that have sparked Americans to partake in social movements throughout history:
1. Unmet needs
Humans obviously have basic needs such as food and shelter, but there are also non-material needs that need to be met, such as personal recognition and identity, expression, or movement. When society fails to provide a framework for these needs, people are often motivated to unite for change on the societal level. Generally, social movements can be traced back to an intrinsic, unmet need.
2. Civil Rights violations
When a civil rights violation occurs, it is because discrimination has been imposed upon someone due to their classification in a certain group – for example, race or sex. This discrimination undermines full legal, social, and economic equality. Civil rights are assured to Americans in the Constitution of the United States, and so their violation easily inspires social movements.
3. Sexism
Sexism infiltrates different aspects of society including domestic life, work life, and politics. The attitudes and behaviors birthed from the devaluation of women has led to national and global movements including several waves of feminism, and the prominent Me Too movement.
4. Underrepresentation
America has always been a multicultural society, which is a point of pride for the country today. With a history of immigration and especially slavery, different races, religions, and cultures played an integral part in the founding of America and have influenced the development of modern American culture. Honest representation is a fundamental American value that has been fought for since the country’s inception.
5. Rejection of Norms
The rejection of sociocultural norms can leave individuals in search of a community that promotes their own, untraditional values. These untraditional values and the practices that follow them are known as “counterculture.” The counterculture subversion of societal norms in the U.S. is particularly notable during the 1960s, a decade which saw significant advances and cultural shifts in the country.
Vocabulaire:
Strive: s’efforcer
Towards: vers
Common: commun
Arise: surgir
Longstanding: de longue date
To spark: déclencher
To partake in: participer à
Throughout: tout au long de
Unmet: insatisfait
Shelter: abri
To provide: fournir
Framework: plan
To undermine: discréditer
Behavior: comportement
To birth: donner naissance à
To lead: conduire
Several: plusieurs
Wave: vague
Underrepresentation: sous représentation
pride: fierté
Inception: commencement
counterculture: contre-culture
