Humanities 11 - Energy and Place
Essential Questions
1.How does energy place production impact place.
2. How does your sense of place, environmental ethic and understanding of our energy needs influence your perception and decisions relating to energy production and consumption.
2. How does your sense of place, environmental ethic and understanding of our energy needs influence your perception and decisions relating to energy production and consumption.
Project Reflection
Essentially, the objective for the Energy and Place project was to answer two essential questions, “how does energy place production impact place” and “how does your sense of place, environmental ethic and understanding of our energy needs influence your perception and decisions relating to energy production and consumption”. In the course of answering these questions, we defined our own environmental ethics and sense of place and community. We reached these answers by reading and applying what we learned from many documents and pieces assigned to us including works by Edward Abbey, Rachel Carson, and Aldo Leopold. We also read documents, for example Bakken Business, The Environment is Where We Live, and The Sand county Almanac, which reported on environmental events taking place. Throughout the project we kept journal entries of our thoughts in determining our sense of place, which we later used to write our sense of place essay. The essay prompt was very open ended and required us to answer the two essential questions while creatively using literary devices to define our own sense of place and environmental ethics, all while keeping the essay very personal. Following this was an open ended take action mini-project which required us to take action in either an innovative, artistic, or outreach approach to express our perspectives on the essential questions to the community
I was heavily inspired and enlightened by Edward Abbey and Rachel Carson along with some other authors to rethink my position about the environment. Their abstract, naturalistic views resonated with me along with their intangible ideas and concepts in a way that took me out of my environmental lethargy and caused me to think differently and from a more activist perspective. I found that the more I read of these authors, the more my own personal relationship with nature and how I perceive this relationship shifted in a positive direction. Edward Abbey, in particular, opened my eyes to a whole new world and writing style and I aim to emulate in my essay his messy, thought provoking and concept introducing descriptive writing style. In an attempt to collect my thoughts, I wrote my newfound ideas and my opinions on the authors’ ideas in a variety of journal entries. As I reviewed these thoughts, I realized that this project made my relationship with the Earth much more concrete and appreciative. I now have the utmost respect for the planet and the universe and a new passion to ensure that we protect it.
I feel very proud of my sense of place essay, which I titled, “A Place Within Oneself” because it pushed the boundaries of creatively tackling the assignment. In my opinion I successfully conveyed my environmental ethics, spirituality, and abstract ideas in a descriptive essay. I did struggle with accurately answering the two essential questions within my more intangible essay, but I attempted to incorporate my answers in a literary manner. For example, in this passage I accurately and descriptively convey one of my main abstract ideas that there is no sense of place without self-love, “A desert with occasional wintertime snow resides in a valley of forested moist mountains sitting upon one of these peaks I did not feel at home. I didn’t feel at home simply due to my lack of self-love”. I also believe that I conveyed my more spiritual ideas in a way the reader can understand such as “We live behind our own eyes and will for this lifetime. Our bodies are vessels in which our souls make a journey for acceptance and a home”. While my essay was more abstract than most, I think that it asks the reader to go inside oneself to really consider sense of place.
My original answers to the two essential questions have morphed into a more expansive and mindful answer. At first I thought that energy production in a place wouldn’t effect anything, but the more I learned the more I understood how many layers of difficulty there are with energy production effecting place. Originally, not knowing how to even answer the second question I have evolved my answer into a spiritual and organized response. Each one of the documents and book excerpts we read and annotated heavily pushed my answer to both questions in many directions. I know that I still have not concretely answered either question but I expect the answer will continue to change over time and experience.
I was heavily inspired and enlightened by Edward Abbey and Rachel Carson along with some other authors to rethink my position about the environment. Their abstract, naturalistic views resonated with me along with their intangible ideas and concepts in a way that took me out of my environmental lethargy and caused me to think differently and from a more activist perspective. I found that the more I read of these authors, the more my own personal relationship with nature and how I perceive this relationship shifted in a positive direction. Edward Abbey, in particular, opened my eyes to a whole new world and writing style and I aim to emulate in my essay his messy, thought provoking and concept introducing descriptive writing style. In an attempt to collect my thoughts, I wrote my newfound ideas and my opinions on the authors’ ideas in a variety of journal entries. As I reviewed these thoughts, I realized that this project made my relationship with the Earth much more concrete and appreciative. I now have the utmost respect for the planet and the universe and a new passion to ensure that we protect it.
I feel very proud of my sense of place essay, which I titled, “A Place Within Oneself” because it pushed the boundaries of creatively tackling the assignment. In my opinion I successfully conveyed my environmental ethics, spirituality, and abstract ideas in a descriptive essay. I did struggle with accurately answering the two essential questions within my more intangible essay, but I attempted to incorporate my answers in a literary manner. For example, in this passage I accurately and descriptively convey one of my main abstract ideas that there is no sense of place without self-love, “A desert with occasional wintertime snow resides in a valley of forested moist mountains sitting upon one of these peaks I did not feel at home. I didn’t feel at home simply due to my lack of self-love”. I also believe that I conveyed my more spiritual ideas in a way the reader can understand such as “We live behind our own eyes and will for this lifetime. Our bodies are vessels in which our souls make a journey for acceptance and a home”. While my essay was more abstract than most, I think that it asks the reader to go inside oneself to really consider sense of place.
My original answers to the two essential questions have morphed into a more expansive and mindful answer. At first I thought that energy production in a place wouldn’t effect anything, but the more I learned the more I understood how many layers of difficulty there are with energy production effecting place. Originally, not knowing how to even answer the second question I have evolved my answer into a spiritual and organized response. Each one of the documents and book excerpts we read and annotated heavily pushed my answer to both questions in many directions. I know that I still have not concretely answered either question but I expect the answer will continue to change over time and experience.
Take Action Project
Project Proposal
Project Description: An afterschool workshop every Tuesday and Thursday for underclass girls that focuses on establishing a strong sense of individuality and self. The emphasis would be to work on skills to help students become more comfortable with being themselves and expressing their own individuality. A core element of the workshop would include steps to help each girl identify who she is and what her aspirations are and to look critically at what is and is not supporting that self concept in her environment. The workshop would also include independence-building activities designed to push the students out of their comfort zones and to build confidence by leaning how to rely on themselves. These activities would include challenging hiking excursions, problem solving tasks individually and in groups as well as creating interactive art pieces. Therapeutic self-reflection and conversation would also be incorporated, particularly discussions that stimulate reflecting on when we rely on others in a negative way, how it affects us, and how to change and avoid negative dependence on others in the future.
Mission Statement: I aim to inspire younger girls to feel comfortable being themselves and expressing their individuality. By doing this, I believe this could positively impact their confidence and leadership abilities. It is important to have a strong sense of independence to continue the process of self-acceptance and to thrive in the world. A strong relationship with oneself is the most important relationship to improve upon, hence the workshop’s aim is to build and strengthen this relationship.
Vision Statement: I envision a community of underclass girls who have the skills and confidence to be themselves and rely on themselves while at Animas High School, both at and outside of school, and eventually in the real world. The workshop will hopefully help students clarify the vision of who they are and gain a better understanding of what does and does not support this vision. The workshop will also establish a strong skill set allowing girls to be independent and not rely on others for stability. It will strive to give them the ability to determine whether specific relationships or actions are toxic or not for them, along with the tools to make changes in their lives for the better.
Mission Statement: I aim to inspire younger girls to feel comfortable being themselves and expressing their individuality. By doing this, I believe this could positively impact their confidence and leadership abilities. It is important to have a strong sense of independence to continue the process of self-acceptance and to thrive in the world. A strong relationship with oneself is the most important relationship to improve upon, hence the workshop’s aim is to build and strengthen this relationship.
Vision Statement: I envision a community of underclass girls who have the skills and confidence to be themselves and rely on themselves while at Animas High School, both at and outside of school, and eventually in the real world. The workshop will hopefully help students clarify the vision of who they are and gain a better understanding of what does and does not support this vision. The workshop will also establish a strong skill set allowing girls to be independent and not rely on others for stability. It will strive to give them the ability to determine whether specific relationships or actions are toxic or not for them, along with the tools to make changes in their lives for the better.
Reflecting on my Take Action Project
My take action project would be an afterschool workshop on Tuesdays and Thursdays for underclass girls that focus on establishing a strong sense of individuality and self. The emphasis would be to work on skills to help students become more comfortable with being themselves and expressing their own individuality and not feeling inhibited. A core element of the workshop would include steps to help each girl identify who she is and what her aspirations are and to look critically at what is and is not supporting that self concept in her environment. The workshop would also include independence-building activities designed to push the students out of their comfort zones and to build confidence by leaning how to rely on themselves. These activities would include challenging hiking excursions, yoga, problem solving tasks individually and in groups as well as interactive art pieces. Therapeutic self-reflection and conversation would also be incorporated, particularly discussions that stimulate reflection on when we rely on others in a negative way, how it affects us, and how to change and avoid negative dependence on others in the future.
I started this project solely because I aim to inspire younger girls to feel comfortable being themselves and expressing their individuality in all circumstances. By doing this project, I believe I could positively impact their confidence and leadership abilities. I envision a community of underclass girls who have the skills and confidence to be themselves and rely on themselves while at Animas High School, both at and outside of school, and eventually in the real world. The workshop would hopefully help students clarify the vision of who they are and help them to understand that a strong relationship with oneself is the most important relationship to improve upon. The workshop would strive to give them the ability to determine whether specific relationships or actions are toxic or not for them, along with the tools to make changes for the better in their lives.
This project relates to our essential question of “how does your sense of place, your environmental ethic, and your understanding of our energy needs influence your perception of human’s use of Earth’s resources and your own lifestyle decisions” in a non-direct way. While Edward Abbey’s premise was that we cannot understand ourselves without understanding the world around us, I also believe that we cannot understand and impact the world until we understand ourselves. I believe that if the younger generations learn how to be accept themselves and their individuality at an early age, they will be freer to focus on the our global issues including our energy production issues. When people are not caught up with insecurities for most of their lives, there is more time and opportunity for people to take action or be more mindful of our energy production issues. People tend to either get caught up in self-destruction or self-hatred and by defeating this at an early age and giving the younger generation tools to self acceptance and leadership, we as a society will have a better chance at conquering our problems specifically our energy production issues.
Through my own personal journey of self-acceptance and self-love I’ve come to realize that it is much easier to be a productive member of society and focus on issues outside of ourselves after we have accepted ourselves. Therefore I feel the obligation and concern, especially with an overwhelming amount of unhappy people in our western culture, to guide others to self-acceptance in order to improve our society as a whole. In some way or another, it is my life’s goal to help others celebrate themselves and their individuality because I strongly believe it will improve specifically our society’s tribulations as a whole. This project has driven me as an individual to continue my journey and practices of self-love in my personal life.
I started this project solely because I aim to inspire younger girls to feel comfortable being themselves and expressing their individuality in all circumstances. By doing this project, I believe I could positively impact their confidence and leadership abilities. I envision a community of underclass girls who have the skills and confidence to be themselves and rely on themselves while at Animas High School, both at and outside of school, and eventually in the real world. The workshop would hopefully help students clarify the vision of who they are and help them to understand that a strong relationship with oneself is the most important relationship to improve upon. The workshop would strive to give them the ability to determine whether specific relationships or actions are toxic or not for them, along with the tools to make changes for the better in their lives.
This project relates to our essential question of “how does your sense of place, your environmental ethic, and your understanding of our energy needs influence your perception of human’s use of Earth’s resources and your own lifestyle decisions” in a non-direct way. While Edward Abbey’s premise was that we cannot understand ourselves without understanding the world around us, I also believe that we cannot understand and impact the world until we understand ourselves. I believe that if the younger generations learn how to be accept themselves and their individuality at an early age, they will be freer to focus on the our global issues including our energy production issues. When people are not caught up with insecurities for most of their lives, there is more time and opportunity for people to take action or be more mindful of our energy production issues. People tend to either get caught up in self-destruction or self-hatred and by defeating this at an early age and giving the younger generation tools to self acceptance and leadership, we as a society will have a better chance at conquering our problems specifically our energy production issues.
Through my own personal journey of self-acceptance and self-love I’ve come to realize that it is much easier to be a productive member of society and focus on issues outside of ourselves after we have accepted ourselves. Therefore I feel the obligation and concern, especially with an overwhelming amount of unhappy people in our western culture, to guide others to self-acceptance in order to improve our society as a whole. In some way or another, it is my life’s goal to help others celebrate themselves and their individuality because I strongly believe it will improve specifically our society’s tribulations as a whole. This project has driven me as an individual to continue my journey and practices of self-love in my personal life.
Link to Chemistry Energy and Place Project : Click Here
Wounded Knee Mini Project
For this project, we were given ten primary sources about the Wounded Knee massacre to read and analyze using our historical thinking skills. Essentially, we were to analyze and determine the bias and ideology of each document and develop a framework for how each of the parties to the incident viewed it. We also attempted to understand what happened at Wounded Knee, what happened prior, and what the popular ideology was at the time. After completing this process we were challenged to write a non-biased textbook passage that also highlighted the important events during and prior to the Massacre at Wounded Knee. We also watched the film, Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee, and were assigned to write an analysis comparing the film to the primary source documents that we had read previously.
Text Book Passage
Massacre at Wounded Knee (1890)
On December 15, 1890, Sitting Bull, a chief of the Sioux tribe, was arrested and murdered by a native policeman stemming from his unwillingness to sign a treaty. This treaty would have required the tribe to move to a reservation and off the white man’s land. Sitting Bull’s tribe fled to the “Badlands” with U.S soldiers on the search for them. Soon after the tribe fled, they began to run low on critical supplies such as game for food and clothing. The tribe ended up joining the Oglala Lakota tribe to support one another.
The event that took place at Wounded Knee resulted from the tension of the white settlers desiring tribal lands, and the government’s desire to assimilate the natives to American society and culture in order to avoid future conflicts. From the native perspective, the massacre was caused by the government’s failure to uphold treaty agreements. The government was breaking treaties in part by controlling rations, land, and weapons. Essentially the breaking point was when crops failed in a barren area assigned to the Sioux by the U.S government. The natives felt it was unfair to be assigned land that was lacking food resources and the ability to revive those resources.
Two weeks later on December 29, 1890, the U.S 7th Calvary came to collect the hostiles. At the time, the U.S government viewed natives who fled to the “Badlands” as hostile Indians. As tensions escalated, the Calvary pursued the hostiles and in the process shot a majority of the women, children, men, and occasionally each other. When natives tried to run to safety they were shot down. Soon after the massacre, other native groups and soldiers began searching for frozen bodies with hopes that some would be alive. They found orphaned children who fought against the 7th Calvary and the elderly who hid during the rapid shooting. By the time the event was over more than 200 native men, women, and children had been killed with over 51 wounded. In addition, 25 soldiers died and 39 were wounded.
On December 15, 1890, Sitting Bull, a chief of the Sioux tribe, was arrested and murdered by a native policeman stemming from his unwillingness to sign a treaty. This treaty would have required the tribe to move to a reservation and off the white man’s land. Sitting Bull’s tribe fled to the “Badlands” with U.S soldiers on the search for them. Soon after the tribe fled, they began to run low on critical supplies such as game for food and clothing. The tribe ended up joining the Oglala Lakota tribe to support one another.
The event that took place at Wounded Knee resulted from the tension of the white settlers desiring tribal lands, and the government’s desire to assimilate the natives to American society and culture in order to avoid future conflicts. From the native perspective, the massacre was caused by the government’s failure to uphold treaty agreements. The government was breaking treaties in part by controlling rations, land, and weapons. Essentially the breaking point was when crops failed in a barren area assigned to the Sioux by the U.S government. The natives felt it was unfair to be assigned land that was lacking food resources and the ability to revive those resources.
Two weeks later on December 29, 1890, the U.S 7th Calvary came to collect the hostiles. At the time, the U.S government viewed natives who fled to the “Badlands” as hostile Indians. As tensions escalated, the Calvary pursued the hostiles and in the process shot a majority of the women, children, men, and occasionally each other. When natives tried to run to safety they were shot down. Soon after the massacre, other native groups and soldiers began searching for frozen bodies with hopes that some would be alive. They found orphaned children who fought against the 7th Calvary and the elderly who hid during the rapid shooting. By the time the event was over more than 200 native men, women, and children had been killed with over 51 wounded. In addition, 25 soldiers died and 39 were wounded.
Project Reflection
Unquestionably, this project had distinct highs and lows for me. I was very engaged in the primary source portion of this project due to my interest in deconstructing biases and perspective within documents. Putting my historian skills to use was very rewarding when taking notes and analyzing the primary sources because I felt that I dove deep into the text of each document. From this I gained a better understanding of varying viewpoints than I would have otherwise. Alternately, I was not as engaged in actually writing the textbook passage because I felt that the format required to write a textbook passage was uninteresting and bland.
My textbook bias was pointedly in favor of the natives and I naturally used harsh and critical language to describe the actions of the U.S government and the acts that the soldiers carried out. I used words such as “massacre” and “murdered” with their very intense connotations. It seemed almost unjust to use any words less harsh to describe the actions carried out against the natives. Overall, my biased comes out in an evil undertone towards the soldiers. Also, I added more negative information about the soldiers and government than necessary to be unbiased. After reading the primary documents, I was too disgusted and emotionally moved to not present a bias when recounting all that I had read.
Studying history by reading primary sources was challenging, but rewarding. It took a lot of patience and attention to fully understand the primary documents and to synthesize all of the information. I found that I have probably never fully understood a historical conflict, particularly the conflicting ideologies and lifestyles of natives and whites, as well as I have this one. After this project I recognize that history is a two-sided story and never just black and white. True history is always gray. When studying horrid events from the past, I know that one must leave their biases behind and understand the true intentions and ideology of the opposing sides to fully understand the historical content.
My textbook bias was pointedly in favor of the natives and I naturally used harsh and critical language to describe the actions of the U.S government and the acts that the soldiers carried out. I used words such as “massacre” and “murdered” with their very intense connotations. It seemed almost unjust to use any words less harsh to describe the actions carried out against the natives. Overall, my biased comes out in an evil undertone towards the soldiers. Also, I added more negative information about the soldiers and government than necessary to be unbiased. After reading the primary documents, I was too disgusted and emotionally moved to not present a bias when recounting all that I had read.
Studying history by reading primary sources was challenging, but rewarding. It took a lot of patience and attention to fully understand the primary documents and to synthesize all of the information. I found that I have probably never fully understood a historical conflict, particularly the conflicting ideologies and lifestyles of natives and whites, as well as I have this one. After this project I recognize that history is a two-sided story and never just black and white. True history is always gray. When studying horrid events from the past, I know that one must leave their biases behind and understand the true intentions and ideology of the opposing sides to fully understand the historical content.
Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee Film Analysis
Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee was a moving and accurate portrayal of a very dark time in American history. As frequently expressed throughout the film, the overriding attitude towards natives was that they needed to be assimilated into “white” American society; otherwise they were viewed as uncivilized animals. If the demands to assimilate were not met, the government felt extinction was appropriate and justified. Within the primary sources we studied in class, I found many examples in the documents that corresponded with the ideology expressed in the film.
Although the film expressed the common ideology in America at the time, it did not capture the emotions, hatred, and tension articulated in the primary documents written by the white soldiers, generals, and government officials. For example, in 1891 L. Frank Baum regularly wrote editorials for The Saturday Pioneer some of which expressed a passionate hatred for natives in extremely dehumanizing terms. Baum wrote, “ The pioneer has declared that our only safety depends upon the total exterminations of the Indians. Having wronged them for centuries we had better in order to protect our civilization, follow it up by one more wrong and wipe these untamed and untamable creatures from the face of the earth … Otherwise, we may expect future years to be as full of trouble with the redskins as those have been in the past”. This short passage from one of his many editorials strongly encourages, and expressed the ideology that natives are uncivilized savages who should be no more respected than animals. Baum’s writings reflected the beliefs of the time, which in one form or another were echoed in other primary sources.
Throughout the film, Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee accurately portrayed the attempts to assimilate the natives into “white” civilization. The film followed the character of Ohiyesa from the time he was taken from his tribe to be assimilated in “white man’s” institutions. Ohiyesa was forced to attend boarding school where there was no tolerance for practicing native culture and where all efforts were focused on denying native heritage. The school went as far as to require that only English be spoken. At one point in the film, Ohiyesa was forced by his teacher to choose a Christian name or else he would not be acknowledged. On the spot, he chose the Christian name, Charles Eastman, a further denial of his heritage. The U.S government at the time believed that only by assimilating the youngest generation of natives would native culture one day become extinct. The act to assimilate natives was a cruel and shameful process.
Not as commonly expressed in the movie was the government’s belief in and support of the right to manifest destiny. Bury my Heart at wounded Knee portrayed the government’s intentions of teaching the natives to be civilized, self sustaining farmers as it’s reasoning to moving them to reservations. In reality, moving the natives to reservations cleared the way for whites to expand across the continent and claim the land for themselves. This was all done for financial gain resulting in the unfair trade of fertile for barren, confined lands. As written by Dawes, “The president of the United States be, and hear by is, authorized whenever in his opinion any reservation or any part thereof of such Indians is advantageous for agriculture and grazing purposes to cause said to be surveyed”. Compacting the natives onto reservations was very convenient for the government both financially and politically in its quest for manifest destiny. The government appeared to use assimilation as a more acceptable cover up for manifest destiny.
Both primary documents and the film, Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee, actively portray the accepted ideology of the period that natives had to be assimilated, to emulate the “white” man and function in American society. Or if assimilation was not possible, then extinction was the easy solution for the government, one that surprisingly many found conscionable. The removal of the Indians from fertile lands was financially beneficial for the government and pushed along its agenda of manifest destiny. The film sadly captured the essence of the ideology of the time with minor misinformation.
Although the film expressed the common ideology in America at the time, it did not capture the emotions, hatred, and tension articulated in the primary documents written by the white soldiers, generals, and government officials. For example, in 1891 L. Frank Baum regularly wrote editorials for The Saturday Pioneer some of which expressed a passionate hatred for natives in extremely dehumanizing terms. Baum wrote, “ The pioneer has declared that our only safety depends upon the total exterminations of the Indians. Having wronged them for centuries we had better in order to protect our civilization, follow it up by one more wrong and wipe these untamed and untamable creatures from the face of the earth … Otherwise, we may expect future years to be as full of trouble with the redskins as those have been in the past”. This short passage from one of his many editorials strongly encourages, and expressed the ideology that natives are uncivilized savages who should be no more respected than animals. Baum’s writings reflected the beliefs of the time, which in one form or another were echoed in other primary sources.
Throughout the film, Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee accurately portrayed the attempts to assimilate the natives into “white” civilization. The film followed the character of Ohiyesa from the time he was taken from his tribe to be assimilated in “white man’s” institutions. Ohiyesa was forced to attend boarding school where there was no tolerance for practicing native culture and where all efforts were focused on denying native heritage. The school went as far as to require that only English be spoken. At one point in the film, Ohiyesa was forced by his teacher to choose a Christian name or else he would not be acknowledged. On the spot, he chose the Christian name, Charles Eastman, a further denial of his heritage. The U.S government at the time believed that only by assimilating the youngest generation of natives would native culture one day become extinct. The act to assimilate natives was a cruel and shameful process.
Not as commonly expressed in the movie was the government’s belief in and support of the right to manifest destiny. Bury my Heart at wounded Knee portrayed the government’s intentions of teaching the natives to be civilized, self sustaining farmers as it’s reasoning to moving them to reservations. In reality, moving the natives to reservations cleared the way for whites to expand across the continent and claim the land for themselves. This was all done for financial gain resulting in the unfair trade of fertile for barren, confined lands. As written by Dawes, “The president of the United States be, and hear by is, authorized whenever in his opinion any reservation or any part thereof of such Indians is advantageous for agriculture and grazing purposes to cause said to be surveyed”. Compacting the natives onto reservations was very convenient for the government both financially and politically in its quest for manifest destiny. The government appeared to use assimilation as a more acceptable cover up for manifest destiny.
Both primary documents and the film, Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee, actively portray the accepted ideology of the period that natives had to be assimilated, to emulate the “white” man and function in American society. Or if assimilation was not possible, then extinction was the easy solution for the government, one that surprisingly many found conscionable. The removal of the Indians from fertile lands was financially beneficial for the government and pushed along its agenda of manifest destiny. The film sadly captured the essence of the ideology of the time with minor misinformation.
Ideology and Rhetoric Project
Rhetoric Project Reflection
The assignment was to share our perspective on an ideological issue as young adults in America. We were to deliver our rhetoric and present our project in front of an audience of parents and community members. For my project I chose to write a poem comparing transcendentalism to western culture. I attempted to rhetorically convince my audience that it is necessary to transcend our culture and the strictures of society to truly be happy and fulfilled. Not only was I trying to convince the audience of my ideology, but I also felt it was important to introduce or remind the audience of the concept of transcendentalism.
Throughout my project I attempted to test the audience’s ideas and perspective on life in general and the choices people make about how they live their lives. I used pathos to push the audience to question their every day emotions such as stress, worry, sadness, etc. Then with the majority of my poem, I focused on transcendentalism as the cure for those everyday negative emotions. I oversimplified what it means to transcend by stating rhetoric such as “Love oneself” and “move to the woods” as if it were that simple to transcend and find this inner peace. By introducing this simplification, I felt people would be more compelled to take on the mindset of transcendentalism.
Personally, I connect to the idea of transcendentalism because I struggle with anxiety and I strongly believe that a simpler way of life and certain mind set can lead to inner peace and happiness. Before the unit of deconstructing America, I had never heard of the concept of transcendentalism and after reading my first Thoreau essay I was very intrigued. By learning and understanding this new state of being and mindset, I felt very relieved as though I could flip my anxiety around. Once I decided to make transcendentalism my focus point, I began reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau, Howl by Allen Ginsberg, and Naked Lunch by William Burroughs to better understand the basics of transcendentalism and to delve deeper into the minds of the generation who brought light to transcendentalism. All of the authors had an amazing way with words, which made my literary research quite exciting and enticing.
Throughout the project I ran into many challenges such as timing, confidence in my work, and presenting my final project. During research time I was very far behind having changed my topic and focus points twice. Reading and understanding these different literary pieces also took more time than expected for me, which landed me very far behind in the actual writing of my poem. But also because I understood my topic well, I found the writing easier than expected. When I was finally presenting, I felt that my introduction could have been stronger and my body language could have been greatly improved. Due to my stage fright, I also felt that I did not present my poem, as well as I could have. Looking back at everything, I feel that I made a fool out of myself because my poem was not as well written as others, but that also plays into the lack of confidence I have in my work. If I had the chance to redo any of my project, I would have sucked up my fear on stage and presented my work with confidence and actually remembered the powerful introduction that I originally wrote.
The deconstructing America project and unit changed my whole perception of the American experience. Now knowing the art of rhetoric, I can better deconstruct the rhetoric of others and understand their true intentions. Rhetoric is what people use to convince others of their own ideology and we all do it on a subconscious level. I now feel the American experience is the fight between ideologies and freedom. For the time being my emerging ideology is that the American people should let go of our Western way of life and adapt a self-loving and simpler lifestyle such as transcendentalism.
The assignment was to share our perspective on an ideological issue as young adults in America. We were to deliver our rhetoric and present our project in front of an audience of parents and community members. For my project I chose to write a poem comparing transcendentalism to western culture. I attempted to rhetorically convince my audience that it is necessary to transcend our culture and the strictures of society to truly be happy and fulfilled. Not only was I trying to convince the audience of my ideology, but I also felt it was important to introduce or remind the audience of the concept of transcendentalism.
Throughout my project I attempted to test the audience’s ideas and perspective on life in general and the choices people make about how they live their lives. I used pathos to push the audience to question their every day emotions such as stress, worry, sadness, etc. Then with the majority of my poem, I focused on transcendentalism as the cure for those everyday negative emotions. I oversimplified what it means to transcend by stating rhetoric such as “Love oneself” and “move to the woods” as if it were that simple to transcend and find this inner peace. By introducing this simplification, I felt people would be more compelled to take on the mindset of transcendentalism.
Personally, I connect to the idea of transcendentalism because I struggle with anxiety and I strongly believe that a simpler way of life and certain mind set can lead to inner peace and happiness. Before the unit of deconstructing America, I had never heard of the concept of transcendentalism and after reading my first Thoreau essay I was very intrigued. By learning and understanding this new state of being and mindset, I felt very relieved as though I could flip my anxiety around. Once I decided to make transcendentalism my focus point, I began reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau, Howl by Allen Ginsberg, and Naked Lunch by William Burroughs to better understand the basics of transcendentalism and to delve deeper into the minds of the generation who brought light to transcendentalism. All of the authors had an amazing way with words, which made my literary research quite exciting and enticing.
Throughout the project I ran into many challenges such as timing, confidence in my work, and presenting my final project. During research time I was very far behind having changed my topic and focus points twice. Reading and understanding these different literary pieces also took more time than expected for me, which landed me very far behind in the actual writing of my poem. But also because I understood my topic well, I found the writing easier than expected. When I was finally presenting, I felt that my introduction could have been stronger and my body language could have been greatly improved. Due to my stage fright, I also felt that I did not present my poem, as well as I could have. Looking back at everything, I feel that I made a fool out of myself because my poem was not as well written as others, but that also plays into the lack of confidence I have in my work. If I had the chance to redo any of my project, I would have sucked up my fear on stage and presented my work with confidence and actually remembered the powerful introduction that I originally wrote.
The deconstructing America project and unit changed my whole perception of the American experience. Now knowing the art of rhetoric, I can better deconstruct the rhetoric of others and understand their true intentions. Rhetoric is what people use to convince others of their own ideology and we all do it on a subconscious level. I now feel the American experience is the fight between ideologies and freedom. For the time being my emerging ideology is that the American people should let go of our Western way of life and adapt a self-loving and simpler lifestyle such as transcendentalism.
Transcendentalism/Rhetorical Poem
The way we live our lives is a crippling cycle of stress and worry
To do list of the hour, the moment, and the second
We reside in a culture of false priorities and unrealistic dreams
Striving for wealth and objects buried under our societal plan
Our lives are filled with complications and negativity
Un-satisfaction and more things to do
LET GO
Malice intentions and vibes linger in our bizarre world of human beings
Un needed and toxic seduction of culture
Our bodies are only the vessels and apartment for temporary rent for our souls
Our minds love and wonder like no other species
Do not suppress such a gift
Simplicity is key
Simplicity unlocks the door and relieves the soul of the piles of SHIT that mean nothing that add up over time
I have an undertone to my soul that has an infinite amount of love to give away in separate gifts to others and myself this love can not be accessed often or knowingly due to the restrictions that have been under handily put upon me by an unknown evil
Be all knowing
We teach, we learn, we love
One should do as they please
Move to the woods
Have unconditional love and acceptance for ones self
Be able to express love to others
Our precious souls are destroyed by unrealistic expectations and ideals
Protect your soul from the toxicity of our way of life
Pair down lifestyle and worries
LET GO
Transcend into a higher state of being
Live deliberately and the best of intentions
Wake up
I love you, myself, and the trees.
To do list of the hour, the moment, and the second
We reside in a culture of false priorities and unrealistic dreams
Striving for wealth and objects buried under our societal plan
Our lives are filled with complications and negativity
Un-satisfaction and more things to do
LET GO
Malice intentions and vibes linger in our bizarre world of human beings
Un needed and toxic seduction of culture
Our bodies are only the vessels and apartment for temporary rent for our souls
Our minds love and wonder like no other species
Do not suppress such a gift
Simplicity is key
Simplicity unlocks the door and relieves the soul of the piles of SHIT that mean nothing that add up over time
I have an undertone to my soul that has an infinite amount of love to give away in separate gifts to others and myself this love can not be accessed often or knowingly due to the restrictions that have been under handily put upon me by an unknown evil
Be all knowing
We teach, we learn, we love
One should do as they please
Move to the woods
Have unconditional love and acceptance for ones self
Be able to express love to others
Our precious souls are destroyed by unrealistic expectations and ideals
Protect your soul from the toxicity of our way of life
Pair down lifestyle and worries
LET GO
Transcend into a higher state of being
Live deliberately and the best of intentions
Wake up
I love you, myself, and the trees.
Response to Economic Ideology Seminar
Response to Economic Ideology Seminar
Although America has had a thriving economy in the past, the income gap is just too large to have a fully Democratic society and an effective economy. Wealth must be distributed to the people to create a functioning economy in America. It seems from my and others research throughout the seminar suggests that education almost directly effects the amount of wealth one will be able to accumulate. Also that children coming from wealthier families have a much higher chance of getting into a prestigious school, thus earning more money through out their lifetime. The author of an article I read during my research stated “While it may be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, it has long been thought easier for the rich man’s son or daughter to get into Harvard or Oxford”. Again stated what I said during the seminar holds “ Education directly effecting wealth is what perpetuates the cycle of wealth only being distributed to a small amount of the population”. When a family has enough money to give their child an amazing education to ensure they can continue to make money, the wealth does not spread it stays within the family for the most part. The tie between education and wealth has been on going for quite a while. For example Ellen posted a blogger comment, “the proportion of students from upper-income families who earn a bachelor’s degree has increased by 18 percentage points over a 20-year period, while the completion rate of poor students has grown by only 4 points”. Occupy Wall Street was protesting against a similar concept in 2011, which brought to light many of economic issues and fueled anger.
Although there was a lack of understanding in such a large protest, many of the activists for Occupy Wall Street are still fighting for economic equality. The Occupy movement drew attention to the income gap and the 1% gathering most of the wealth. The protesters believe Washington should direct their financial focus away from the wealthy and large corporation’s and focus on the middle and lower class of America. The income gap has become so large that while some families are forced to live in homeless shelters without resources while others live in mansion with plenty of food to go to waste. The American economic system should be based upon making enough wealth to go around and the ethics of equality. As I learned from an article posted during the seminar Occupy in 2011 may have not made immediate change, but as stated in an article “ Occupy created a new generation of activists”.
The wealth gap is even damaging America’s economy. As I learned from an article Ellie posted “the actual income gap in the U.S. has been worsening and now is approaching an "extreme" threshold that threatens to hamper long-term economic growth”. Therefore the income gap is not only depriving the 99% of a comfortable life style, but is making the overall American economy fail. The income gap has been growing larger and larger since the 1950s as we learned in the documentary we watched in class. While 1% of Americans are earning millions as pointed out in a blog Hayden posted “ about 3 million Americans currently work for minimum wage earnings”.
The income gap and over all wealth issues in America must be dealt with as they are dragging our economy down as a whole, and creating less opportunity to earn a reasonable living for most Americans. To properly function as a democratic society there must be economic equality. I believe this issue can be solved by valuing wealth less and ensuring that higher education is truly available to all students regardless of their economic means. These issues are fixable if citizens understand what must be done and demand it from their government.
Bibliography
"Education and Wealth | Jared Bernstein | On the Economy." Jared Bernstein On the Economy Education and Wealth Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
" How the Wealth Gap Is Damaging the U.S. Economy." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
"Measuring the Wealth Effect in Education." The New York Times. The New York Times, 01 Dec. 2013. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
"Time for A Raise? What You Need to Know About the Minimum Wage." The Lowdown RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014. <http://blogs.kqed.org/lowdown/2014/03/10/minimum-wage>.
Wedes, Justin. "Occupy Wall Street, Two Years On: We're Still the 99%." Www.theguardian.com. N.p., n.d. Web. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2013%2Fsep%2F17%2Foccupy-wall-street-99-percent>.
Although America has had a thriving economy in the past, the income gap is just too large to have a fully Democratic society and an effective economy. Wealth must be distributed to the people to create a functioning economy in America. It seems from my and others research throughout the seminar suggests that education almost directly effects the amount of wealth one will be able to accumulate. Also that children coming from wealthier families have a much higher chance of getting into a prestigious school, thus earning more money through out their lifetime. The author of an article I read during my research stated “While it may be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, it has long been thought easier for the rich man’s son or daughter to get into Harvard or Oxford”. Again stated what I said during the seminar holds “ Education directly effecting wealth is what perpetuates the cycle of wealth only being distributed to a small amount of the population”. When a family has enough money to give their child an amazing education to ensure they can continue to make money, the wealth does not spread it stays within the family for the most part. The tie between education and wealth has been on going for quite a while. For example Ellen posted a blogger comment, “the proportion of students from upper-income families who earn a bachelor’s degree has increased by 18 percentage points over a 20-year period, while the completion rate of poor students has grown by only 4 points”. Occupy Wall Street was protesting against a similar concept in 2011, which brought to light many of economic issues and fueled anger.
Although there was a lack of understanding in such a large protest, many of the activists for Occupy Wall Street are still fighting for economic equality. The Occupy movement drew attention to the income gap and the 1% gathering most of the wealth. The protesters believe Washington should direct their financial focus away from the wealthy and large corporation’s and focus on the middle and lower class of America. The income gap has become so large that while some families are forced to live in homeless shelters without resources while others live in mansion with plenty of food to go to waste. The American economic system should be based upon making enough wealth to go around and the ethics of equality. As I learned from an article posted during the seminar Occupy in 2011 may have not made immediate change, but as stated in an article “ Occupy created a new generation of activists”.
The wealth gap is even damaging America’s economy. As I learned from an article Ellie posted “the actual income gap in the U.S. has been worsening and now is approaching an "extreme" threshold that threatens to hamper long-term economic growth”. Therefore the income gap is not only depriving the 99% of a comfortable life style, but is making the overall American economy fail. The income gap has been growing larger and larger since the 1950s as we learned in the documentary we watched in class. While 1% of Americans are earning millions as pointed out in a blog Hayden posted “ about 3 million Americans currently work for minimum wage earnings”.
The income gap and over all wealth issues in America must be dealt with as they are dragging our economy down as a whole, and creating less opportunity to earn a reasonable living for most Americans. To properly function as a democratic society there must be economic equality. I believe this issue can be solved by valuing wealth less and ensuring that higher education is truly available to all students regardless of their economic means. These issues are fixable if citizens understand what must be done and demand it from their government.
Bibliography
"Education and Wealth | Jared Bernstein | On the Economy." Jared Bernstein On the Economy Education and Wealth Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
" How the Wealth Gap Is Damaging the U.S. Economy." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
"Measuring the Wealth Effect in Education." The New York Times. The New York Times, 01 Dec. 2013. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
"Time for A Raise? What You Need to Know About the Minimum Wage." The Lowdown RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014. <http://blogs.kqed.org/lowdown/2014/03/10/minimum-wage>.
Wedes, Justin. "Occupy Wall Street, Two Years On: We're Still the 99%." Www.theguardian.com. N.p., n.d. Web. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2013%2Fsep%2F17%2Foccupy-wall-street-99-percent>.
Civil Disobedience Seminar Synthesis
Seminar Synthesis
1. Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau offer extreme views of government and how a Democratic government should function, which I agree with as well as and their expectations about how citizens should contribute to a Democratic government. The individual citizen in a Democratic society should feel the obligation to express ones opinions and needs to the government. Thoreau stated, “ The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at anytime what I think right”. To do this is the most patriotic action an American citizen can take, since America was founded upon individuals expressing their perspectives and opinions. It is the individual’s job to create a just society. One cannot simply sit back and let a select group of people decide our fate as Thoreau puts it, “ resign his conscious to the legislator”. Too many people in modern day America tend to blindly trust the government with their and the countries fate. For example the trust put into president Bush when he was spreading false information and rhetoric. As Chris said people want someone else to be in control and responsible for their problems. America can only be a true Democracy when all of the people understand the importance of expressing their opinions to the government.
The government needs to be pushed before there is change, therefore the peoples should push them in whichever direction they believe is right. This happened to institutionalized racism within the government during the race equality movement. MLK wrote, “ the new Birmingham administration must be prodded about as much as the outgoing one, before it will act.”. Martin Luther King and Henry Thoreau encouraged the individual to decide how the government functions, which is how the system works in a true Democratic society.
2. Civil disobedience is the only effective peaceful way for social change since it simply does not fuel the perpetuated cycle of violence. Violence can only lead to more violence, distrust, and hate. Non-violent actions to promote social change are a way to express a groups/individuals opinions towards an issue which the government or law enforcement should address. America was created for the people therefore the government should be for the people. In a Democracy the government is in place to please the majority of the people as Thoreau stated, “ I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government”. Taking non-violent action is more effective than violence. It draws attention to the cause or conflict at hand in an unthreatening manner, but still expresses urgency. Peaceful approaches always have a better impact than a violent approach, although there are still flaws with civil disobedience. A peaceful protest can easily turn into a violent war between law enforcement and the citizens. Nick. T made the point during the seminar that peaceful civil disobedience makes a better impact, but violence makes changes and has a greater influence. So, how does one fix these flaws? Or is there a better way to rebel? The answer is that civil disobedience is the only effective peaceful way to rebel against the government and oppressor.
Change is rarely given to those who desire it. As MLK stated “freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor”. An individual or a group of people must rebel to get what they desire or believe they deserve, which is hopefully done in a peaceful manner. For example during the race equality movement Martin Luther with his gentle Gandhi inspired rhetoric and ideas were much more powerful than Malcolm X’s violent vengeful rhetoric. I don’t believe racial equality would have been made possible if it wasn’t for the non-violent direct action MLK inspired. As Sonya said during the seminar violence only creates more violence. Civil disobedience is not flawless, but it is morally correct. Although for what conflicts it may be used to solve will not always be morally correct.
1. Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau offer extreme views of government and how a Democratic government should function, which I agree with as well as and their expectations about how citizens should contribute to a Democratic government. The individual citizen in a Democratic society should feel the obligation to express ones opinions and needs to the government. Thoreau stated, “ The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at anytime what I think right”. To do this is the most patriotic action an American citizen can take, since America was founded upon individuals expressing their perspectives and opinions. It is the individual’s job to create a just society. One cannot simply sit back and let a select group of people decide our fate as Thoreau puts it, “ resign his conscious to the legislator”. Too many people in modern day America tend to blindly trust the government with their and the countries fate. For example the trust put into president Bush when he was spreading false information and rhetoric. As Chris said people want someone else to be in control and responsible for their problems. America can only be a true Democracy when all of the people understand the importance of expressing their opinions to the government.
The government needs to be pushed before there is change, therefore the peoples should push them in whichever direction they believe is right. This happened to institutionalized racism within the government during the race equality movement. MLK wrote, “ the new Birmingham administration must be prodded about as much as the outgoing one, before it will act.”. Martin Luther King and Henry Thoreau encouraged the individual to decide how the government functions, which is how the system works in a true Democratic society.
2. Civil disobedience is the only effective peaceful way for social change since it simply does not fuel the perpetuated cycle of violence. Violence can only lead to more violence, distrust, and hate. Non-violent actions to promote social change are a way to express a groups/individuals opinions towards an issue which the government or law enforcement should address. America was created for the people therefore the government should be for the people. In a Democracy the government is in place to please the majority of the people as Thoreau stated, “ I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government”. Taking non-violent action is more effective than violence. It draws attention to the cause or conflict at hand in an unthreatening manner, but still expresses urgency. Peaceful approaches always have a better impact than a violent approach, although there are still flaws with civil disobedience. A peaceful protest can easily turn into a violent war between law enforcement and the citizens. Nick. T made the point during the seminar that peaceful civil disobedience makes a better impact, but violence makes changes and has a greater influence. So, how does one fix these flaws? Or is there a better way to rebel? The answer is that civil disobedience is the only effective peaceful way to rebel against the government and oppressor.
Change is rarely given to those who desire it. As MLK stated “freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor”. An individual or a group of people must rebel to get what they desire or believe they deserve, which is hopefully done in a peaceful manner. For example during the race equality movement Martin Luther with his gentle Gandhi inspired rhetoric and ideas were much more powerful than Malcolm X’s violent vengeful rhetoric. I don’t believe racial equality would have been made possible if it wasn’t for the non-violent direct action MLK inspired. As Sonya said during the seminar violence only creates more violence. Civil disobedience is not flawless, but it is morally correct. Although for what conflicts it may be used to solve will not always be morally correct.
Crash Seminar Reflection
Racism and the Ignorance in America Seminar Reflection
In modern day America, racism is still horrifyingly present and needs to be widely acknowledged and addressed. The year is already 2014 and racism should be long gone from every day society. Neither minorities nor Caucasians should have to fear the law and rule of authority on a daily basis. In the month of August alone, five unarmed black men have been shot and killed by police, one of whom was Michael Brown. Michael Brown (age18) was shot six times by a police officer under no threat. One has to ask if this is justified or if it represents the underlying racism of our culture. Racism is very imbedded into our society and most people don’t understand what racism truly means. Racism is the belief that each race has certain abilities or characteristics that “distinguishes” it and as a result makes it either inferior or superior to other races. In today’s society racism is generally considered any minority being given anything less than Caucasians; less opportunity, fewer privileges, and unjust assumptions. To end racism everyone must be educated about our past history and acknowledge white privilege. Above all, there must be a desire to change it.
Racism litters the mind of almost everyone in America and is a part of modern day American culture whether it is subconscious or intentional. Even very liberal people are often subconsciously racist. As Devin mentioned in the seminar “racism is subconscious when socialized in high poverty stricken areas.” Devin and I told similar stories about how our dads, who both grew up in poverty-stricken areas, pull us closer and keep a tighter eye on us when a minority is walking down the street. On a daily basis, minorities have wrong assumptions made about them or are not given opportunities because of the beliefs that people hold about them. Sometimes these have minor consequences, but when a person of authority assumes that minorities are more dangerous, sometimes this can become deadly. In a room of five black New Yorkers, four were stopped and frisked by police officers. “We do know that at least five unarmed black men have been killed by police in the last month alone.” (Natasha Bach). America does not have complete civil or social justice for minorities, especially black citizens, which are some of the worst consequences of racism.
As Cameron said during seminar “no one is born racist they are socialized to be racist.” Maybe the first step to ending racism is to recognize that parents expose their children to their prejudices and “pollute” their thinking. By educating children about our past culture of racism and its consequences, we can make them aware of it at a very early age and help them find the steps to end it. It is also particularly important for white people to understand and realize their own white privilege and how this impacts others. “White privilege means that if you don’t school your sons about it, if you don’t insist on its reality and call out oppression, your sons may become something terrifying. Your sons may become the shooters.” (A mother’s white privilege.) Stereotypes fuel racism so changing people’s views on stereotyping is key to keeping racism in check. For example, in “Crash” when the police pick up Ludacris' friend and they are driving, he reaches inside his jacket. The police officer thinks Ludacris’ friend has a gun, but he is only reaching into his pocket to take out a statue. Although he doesn't openly say it, it is implied that the policeman stereotyped him as carrying a gun because he was a black man. To stop racism stereotypes rather than being embraced should be abandoned.
To truly live in the land of the free everyone must be given equal opportunity. To have that opportunity, everyone must be seen as equal.
In modern day America, racism is still horrifyingly present and needs to be widely acknowledged and addressed. The year is already 2014 and racism should be long gone from every day society. Neither minorities nor Caucasians should have to fear the law and rule of authority on a daily basis. In the month of August alone, five unarmed black men have been shot and killed by police, one of whom was Michael Brown. Michael Brown (age18) was shot six times by a police officer under no threat. One has to ask if this is justified or if it represents the underlying racism of our culture. Racism is very imbedded into our society and most people don’t understand what racism truly means. Racism is the belief that each race has certain abilities or characteristics that “distinguishes” it and as a result makes it either inferior or superior to other races. In today’s society racism is generally considered any minority being given anything less than Caucasians; less opportunity, fewer privileges, and unjust assumptions. To end racism everyone must be educated about our past history and acknowledge white privilege. Above all, there must be a desire to change it.
Racism litters the mind of almost everyone in America and is a part of modern day American culture whether it is subconscious or intentional. Even very liberal people are often subconsciously racist. As Devin mentioned in the seminar “racism is subconscious when socialized in high poverty stricken areas.” Devin and I told similar stories about how our dads, who both grew up in poverty-stricken areas, pull us closer and keep a tighter eye on us when a minority is walking down the street. On a daily basis, minorities have wrong assumptions made about them or are not given opportunities because of the beliefs that people hold about them. Sometimes these have minor consequences, but when a person of authority assumes that minorities are more dangerous, sometimes this can become deadly. In a room of five black New Yorkers, four were stopped and frisked by police officers. “We do know that at least five unarmed black men have been killed by police in the last month alone.” (Natasha Bach). America does not have complete civil or social justice for minorities, especially black citizens, which are some of the worst consequences of racism.
As Cameron said during seminar “no one is born racist they are socialized to be racist.” Maybe the first step to ending racism is to recognize that parents expose their children to their prejudices and “pollute” their thinking. By educating children about our past culture of racism and its consequences, we can make them aware of it at a very early age and help them find the steps to end it. It is also particularly important for white people to understand and realize their own white privilege and how this impacts others. “White privilege means that if you don’t school your sons about it, if you don’t insist on its reality and call out oppression, your sons may become something terrifying. Your sons may become the shooters.” (A mother’s white privilege.) Stereotypes fuel racism so changing people’s views on stereotyping is key to keeping racism in check. For example, in “Crash” when the police pick up Ludacris' friend and they are driving, he reaches inside his jacket. The police officer thinks Ludacris’ friend has a gun, but he is only reaching into his pocket to take out a statue. Although he doesn't openly say it, it is implied that the policeman stereotyped him as carrying a gun because he was a black man. To stop racism stereotypes rather than being embraced should be abandoned.
To truly live in the land of the free everyone must be given equal opportunity. To have that opportunity, everyone must be seen as equal.