Great Depression and Fascism & War Propaganda

Responses
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Department of ABC, University – Whitewater
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Responses
Response to the Great Depression (Response 1)
In the world, suffering comes to all, but the most vulnerable suffer the most. The article on the Great Depression reaffirms this statement by positioning the suffering of poor women in America during the Great Depression. The Great Depression might have affected everyone, but poor American women suffered the most.
The article begins with a sorry description of a woman seated in front of the employment bureau anticipating a rare employment opportunity. The depression caused their men to lose jobs; for some, when there were no jobs, they drifted away, leaving their women with children behind. It was now up to such women to fill both the shoes of a father (sole provider) and mother (nurturer of homes), as in orthodox traditions. However, the Great Depression destroyed these gender roles as men abandoned their families and women took up dual roles.
Even more vivid is that the work these desperate women are desiring is also a problem; a threat to them just the same way poverty and hunger were. This is depicted through Mrs. Grey’s description. Despite working, she seems to be suffering like a woman without job. This is because she played the dual role of having an office job and caring for a home. These denied her sleep and good health, and the suffering of loss made her just as desperate as the rest of the women.
While the text paints the destitute place of women during the Great Depression, I think it also paints today's society, especially regarding gender roles. Since the Great Depression, women have expanded their workplace roles, suggesting progress. At the same time, however, they are still solely responsible for caring for the home. In essence, it is like women are working double (home & workplace) and under the same stressors like work pressure as their male counterparts. In part, I also think the text points to women’s resilience.
Response to fascism & war propaganda (Response 2)
When reading about local and global politics, terms like fascism, Pacifism, Marxists, liberals, and conservatives, among other commonly used phrases, can be confusing. This is because most writers or political commentators try to appear neutral almost all the time. Therefore, they do not present these terms or phrases explicitly. However, reading the text exposed me to the explicit meaning of fascism. Now I understand why everybody hates the ideology or idea. Key to this explicit meaning is that fascism holds that war, violence, and the establishment of an authoritative empire are a necessity within human society. In essence, fascism is the opposite of democracy, where the rule of the majority is not considered important or necessary, and rejects socialism because socialism harbors P...