Well it's no question why they put the American Flag on the cover of the book, the title is "Rereading America". But I did find it interesting that there are two different images of the flag, one that is colored and one that is in black and white. Almost as if the author was giving us the feel that we are going to read deeper into the meaning of America, and its literature. Color makes things stand out, gives the reader a chance to catch something they might have missed the first time through. I think that is what the author is intending to show us with this cover.
Honestly I was shocked on how interesting all the titles looked for the readings that were in the contents. Starting off with the Gay rights section and marriage laws drew me in right away. I'm a huge supporter for Gay Rights, and I think a man should be able to love another man, along with a woman loving another woman. My uncle is gay and my family has always been open to supporting everything. I think this gave me a good resource and life experience to live with, to be as open as I am today on this subject. I also thought the visual portfolios looked interesting. The second one I saw was the "images of individuals opportunities" This tied in with the Race section that I saw in table of contents. A reading that caught my eye was, "The boy in the mirror". It was interesting that he wrote he loved his family but somehow he didn't fit in, and that was because they were all black. This made me think that maybe they took a white child in from when he was very young. I thought it would be a good read to find out his story. The next section was "True women and Real men". This caught my attention at first glance. I took a Women's Literature class both my sophomore and senior year in high school and I enjoyed both immensely. And not because I'm some preaching young woman that bashes on men and their life strategies, but because i think its interesting how women were put down just like African American people where in the past. The reading "Girl" looks good. It brought the word "SLUT" into the equation. The last section was the Myths of our "Nature and environment". Now I love nature as much as the next person, but this section honestly did not catch my attention as much as the other ones. But we will see maybe some of the topics will totally change my mindset.
I think a good piece for the class to read would be, "My big fat straight wedding". I just read this piece and its uplifting. The author, Andrew Sullivan, does a good job of having the reader feels for gays as a culture and how they felt as if they were separated from straight "individuals" in their lives. He mentioned the definition of an "individual citizen" from the courts eyes and stated, "defined as prior to his or her sexual orientation he or she exists as a person before he or she exists as straight or gay." I think a lot of people forget that when they hear someone is gay. They automatically put them in a different category, some people even feel awkward or angry. He also touched upon the fact that in the past gays were seen to have a disease, or make bad choices. Like they chose to be in love with the same sex. But in reality they had no choice. The history of the sexual revolution in 1970 was also mentioned, along with the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s. To NOW the present, with Will and Grace, a popular television show that up front acknowledges gay lifestyle, and Ellen, almost as popular as Opera. Gay people should have the right to be just as happy as straight people. Andrew mentioned his own wedding and talked to the reader about his feelings when he told his family members about his engagement. "At that first post engagement Christmas with the in-laws, I felt something shift. They had always been welcoming and supportive. But now I was family. I felt an end to an emotional displacement I had experienced since childhood." This touched me. Because straight people take for granted how easy we have it sometimes in our culture to feel "allowed".
We go to school at Columbia College Chicago, we live in the third largest city and we are just a few stops on the red line away from "BOYS TOWN". This would be a very good read for all of us to discuss together.
