Word: pasts
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Within these treatments of the past, however, lay basic, nagging questions about historical purpose. Why do Levine's book and other works--which are uniformly critical of the state of American society today--even attempt to find a rosy past? Wouldn't their critiques of repugnant, self-perpetuating class divisions in America be enhanced by demonstrating that the American experiment was flawed from the start? Why acknowledge that there was a time--however brief--when America was able to right itself and lay down the roots of a just society...
...despite the historical interest of knowing that culture hasn't always been appreciated in America in the same uneven way, the detailed discussion of America's egalitarian cultural past serves a more crafty purpose. It provides the dramatic tension that keeps the work going. The more impressive 19th century culture is shown to be, the greater the wrong committed when cultural divisions were introduced into American society. Levine is understandably vague about this change in the audiences for cultural events. "There is no precise date, but everywhere in the United States during the final decades of the 19th century...
...know what's necessary for the GED, but we also build a strong relationship with the students," says Finn. "That's something these women probably haven't ever had before, including in their past GED classes...
Some residents fled their homes, and witnesses reported seeing 40 to 50 tanks rumble downtown, where exchanges of gunfire continued past midnight...
...WHILE past freshmen got to bundle up in layer after layer of sweaters and long johns, long, woolly scarves around their noses and eight pairs of socks, we wear shorts and T-shirts. We may never know the sensual pleasure of entering a warm room and having all the snow on our clothes melt and soak the carpet...