Negative- History of Racism, Positive- Sporting Traditon

Negative: History of Racism: Just by looking at this photo, the automatic response is "Ku Klux Klan (or KKK)", the Ku Klux Klan are the figure heads of America's deep and bloody history of Racism that stretches from the "Slave Trade" of the 19th Century through to the "Lynch Mobs" of the 20th century in which the Ku Klux Klan were heavily involved. Even now, racism is still evident towards the African-American community, whether from perceived police discrimination (as evidenced by the statistic that in 2008, 846,000 African-Americans were incarcerated, and 40.2% of the prison population were African American males. (taken  from article by the Huffington Post, statistic taken from US Bureau of Justice estimates)). However, America is moving further towards equality for all races, with the vitally important work of Dr Martin Luther King Jr during the equality movement of the mid-19th century, culminating in the appointing of the first African-American President Barrack Obama in 2008.

Positive- Sporting Tradition: Sport and America go hand in hand, even though America has the highest levels of obesity in the world, sport is at the heart of American culture, and American tradition. From the almost religious following of American Professional sporting teams (http://brent911.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/doodlebop1.jpg), to the integration of "Football" into the tradition of Thanksgiving, where in 2011, the average number of viewers topped out at around 30 million (around 10% of the population) and the following of sport continues past Thanksgiving and other Holiday events. The fascination with sport does not end on the professional stage, it is deeply ingrained in both the College (University) and High School Level. The sporting traditions that America holds is positive towards the nation because it has cultivated the highly competitive nature of America and this competitive nature has helped America strive and thrive to be the "Best", politically, economically and especially in the World of Sports (i.e. Ryder Cup and the Olympics).