Our histories are a large part of who we
are today. Without them, we would
have a difficult time understanding where we are from and what we are meant to
do. According to Martin and
Nakayama (2013), “to understand the dialectics in everyday interaction, we need
to think about the many histories that help form our different identities” (p.
128). Our histories join us
together with contrasting audiences and help us explore our own identities and
the identities of those we associate with. Histories can provide a common ground between groups of
people, even if their identities and cultures are not completely aligned.
Cultural-group histories are crucial to
explore when attempting to make sense of a group’s history. This blog post will explore the history
of the elderly and the Social Security Act that began by President Roosevelt in
1935. This act became widespread
after the Great Depression when people became aware of the lack of support that
the elderly received and it ultimately sought to impede senior citizens from
becoming impoverished (History, 2014).
As a result, Medicare was produced in order to provide health insurance
for Americans that are 65 and older (Medicare, 2014). Medicare contributed to a growth in nursing homes, something
that was not previously well established.
Before the assembly of nursing homes, the elderly resided in almshouses,
which were not considered suitable living conditions. “Between 1960 and 1976 the number of nursing homes grew by
140 percent and by 1979, 79 percent of all institutionalized elderly persons
resided in commercially run homes” (FATE, 2014, para. 12). Today, nursing homes are widely
available because of Medicare plans that are a result of the Social Security
Act. This powerful text changed
the way that Americans looked at the way the elderly were being treated.
The Social Security Act affected so many
people and continues to do so, as it touches on cultural-group histories as
well as national histories. I
chose this event to portray the significance that the Social Security Act still
plays today. The Social Security
Act remains relatively unchanged, which implies that this piece of history has
not been forgotten or lost, such as history that is absent. This shift from history to histories
helps us develop a richer understanding of intercultural communication. It inspires us to delve into the past
to understand why things are the way they are today, as our relationship with
the past takes us to the present. It
is important to remember that multiple histories are important for empowering
different cultural identities, and these identities can reveal ones past, or
history.
The following video highlights The Social Security Act proposed by Roosevelt in 1935.
FATE. (2014, February 10). The History of Nursing Homes. Retrieved
from http://www.4fate.org/history.html
History. (2014, February 10). FDR Signs Social Security Act. Retrieved
from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-signs-social-security-act
Martin, J.N., &
Nakayama, T.K. (2013). Intercultural
communication in contexts (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
Medicare. (2014, February 10). What is Medicare? Retrieved from http://www.medicare.gov/sign-up-change-plans/decide-how-to-get-medicare/whats-medicare/what-is-medicare.html
I liked your post because thinking of elderly's as their own cultural-group is not something we see often.
ReplyDeleteIt is obvious the Social Security had huge significance because of all the effects it had that you listed. It is hard to believe that before this time elderly's did not get the good treatment and care that they receive today.
This would be a really good and interesting group to study if you are doing something like this for your project.
Good post and insight on history to histories!
Excellent detail with your blog post. While this legislation was passed in the 1930s, it is still a very relevant and timely issue in contemporary society. Great work!
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