American Diplomat

American Diplomat Imagin" rel="nofollow">ine you are an American diplomat in" rel="nofollow">in 1970. You are part of a team sent to a strategic Third World country in" rel="nofollow">in hopes of makin" rel="nofollow">ing an alliance. Soviet diplomats have been there before you and have suggested to the leaders of this Third World country that the United States should not be trusted as a partner because of how Americans treat their own min" rel="nofollow">inority populations. You have been asked to provide a formal, written rebuttal to the Soviet claims. After givin" rel="nofollow">ing the matter some thought, you have decided to base your rebuttal on key changes in" rel="nofollow">in both foreign and domestic policy over the past 50 years to convin" rel="nofollow">ince this Third World country to join" rel="nofollow">in with the Americans as allies in" rel="nofollow">in the Cold War. You realize that you cannot simply "sugarcoat" thin" rel="nofollow">ings and be believable, therefore you plan to provide a thoughtful response that does admit in" rel="nofollow">inequities in" rel="nofollow">in American society in" rel="nofollow">in addition to discussin" rel="nofollow">ing ongoin" rel="nofollow">ing changes and positive policies. Note: This is a real-life situation, there was a fight for the hearts and min" rel="nofollow">inds of the world. The Cold War is an ideological (and sometimes hot) battle over two socio-economic/political systems and 1970 is in" rel="nofollow">in the heart of the Cold War. Who will be the victor was not yet clear. Most of the Third World nations courted by the United States were not European, therefore how the US treated min" rel="nofollow">inorities would be a cause for concern. But these nations would also have very real geopolitical considerations beyond American domestic policy to consider. The Soviet propaganda was meant as a wedge. Also remember that no nation or society is perfect, that is not what you are arguin" rel="nofollow">ing here. In your persona as a diplomat from 1970, you are givin" rel="nofollow">ing an honest assessment of the US, warts and all, in" rel="nofollow">in hopes of gain" rel="nofollow">inin" rel="nofollow">ing an ally. Note on Successful Papers 1: Successful responses will consider a broad range of evidence in" rel="nofollow">in support of arguments. Take a few moments to consider how you would respond by makin" rel="nofollow">ing a list of both "good" and "bad" aspects of American society and policy. When lookin" rel="nofollow">ing at the "good," ask yourself why they are good for the purposes of this rebuttal, how would non-Americans perceive thin" rel="nofollow">ings? When lookin" rel="nofollow">ing at the "bad" (which is what the Soviets used again" rel="nofollow">inst us in" rel="nofollow">in the Cold War, as well as the Nazis in" rel="nofollow">in WWII, as propaganda), consider change over time. Are there groups workin" rel="nofollow">ing toward amelioratin" rel="nofollow">ing the bad? Are public policy changes takin" rel="nofollow">ing place, even if at a slow pace? Or is nothin" rel="nofollow">ing bein" rel="nofollow">ing done? Admittin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">injustices while discussin" rel="nofollow">ing efforts at reform may be enough to sway someone to your side. Note on Successful Papers 2: Remember what the propaganda is sayin" rel="nofollow">ing about how the US treats its non-white population. Therefore the topic of your paper should address treatment of min" rel="nofollow">inority populations (not women's rights). Don't focus on only one min" rel="nofollow">inority population either, this is a broad question about multiple ethnic groups. You should be lookin" rel="nofollow">ing at issues of civil rights and social justice here to counter the Soviet propaganda. This also in" rel="nofollow">includes how the US treats non-whites in" rel="nofollow">in its foreign policy (here you have a whole host of programs to look at, as well as territories under US control (hegemonic or formal), etc. Also remember that you must look at changes over time. Important HINT for organizin" rel="nofollow">ing a successful paper: One way to organize would be along the lin" rel="nofollow">ines of first discussin" rel="nofollow">ing domestic socio-economic issues, followed by domestic political issues, and fin" rel="nofollow">inally foreign policies in" rel="nofollow">in the era under discussion. Remember that each of these elements of the overall argument would have its own paragraph and thesis (the rule of three) Please look at the article at this lin" rel="nofollow">ink. http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2013/07/09/civil_rights_coverage_how_the_soviets_used_evidence_of_racial_strife_again" rel="nofollow">inst.htm