Opinion: America must strive to honor those that they have wronged.

 
The Crazy Horse Memorial, in South Dakota

    The history of the United States is tainted with the blood of those that we have wronged. From this country's infancy, we have committed atrocities against groups of people, whether those be slaves, indigenous peoples, and even women. In the 21st century, we have taken steps to honor those that we have wronged, whether that be through the removal of statues or in the form of commemorative statues, and memorials, or even in the form of commemorative periods of time. However, we could do a lot better. In the case of Native Americans, "there were probably better ways to help Indians than a big statue", a sentiment voiced by Kelly Looking Horse, a Sioux artist, in a 2010 New York Times article. This sentiment is very valid. We must strive to level the playing field, by ensuring equal pay for all genders. We must strive to end systemic racism in our school, by appropriately allocating funds to all forms of public service. We must strive to better the conditions on Native American reservations, where poverty and drug abuse runs rampant. It is of the highest importance that we honor those that we have wronged, and honor the accomplishments of those that strived to undo those wrongs. It is not enough for us to honor MLK on MLK Day, we must fight to secure civil rights for all. It is not enough for us to set aside June as ‘Pride Month’. It is imperative that we codify the rights that the LGBTQ+ community deserves. That holds far more value than any memorial.

Comments

  1. ManishSeptember 11, 2022 at 2:06 PM

    I agree with you. I believe that the United States needs to do better than making memorials and actually help the groups that United States has hurt in the past.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Emily BaekSeptember 11, 2022 at 8:01 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Emily BaekSeptember 11, 2022 at 8:02 PM

    This is a popular take, Kaeshav- and over the recent years, I've seen lots of social movements arise with activists trying to make their voice heard and their point come across. But even though this kind of opposition isn't exactly unusual, you make it seem like it isn't enough. So- when when you write "us" and "we", are you truly referring to the citizens of the US with their own ideals and values that they fight for, or are you referencing the US government and how they could be less idle than they currently are with their federal and legal ability to accelerate progress?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Dot Com Bubble and the Great Recession

Image
The 1990s was a period of economic growth. Aided by Bill Clinton's post-inflation economic policy, interest rates were considerably low. This lead to a mass proliferation of startup companies, which did business almost exclusively on the internet, or dot com companies. Many of these companies had goals that were far too ambitious, but investors, drawn in by the novelty of the dot com company, put their faith in these goals. This created a stock market bubble, or a massive rise in share prices for these dot com companies, with no real backing. Naturally, when these companies failed to meet their goals, the bubble burst, and stock prices plunged.   Sweat   shows the effect of the burst bubble on the stock market, in their little scene builders, showing how the DOW falls " a record 617-point drop.. after the tech bubble bursts". It is no surprise, that this is precedes the chapter with the greatest economic turmoil, wherein Tracey realizes that Oscar and other immigrants are
Read more

What is the real meaning behind Mercy?

Image
      The word mercy is a relatively large part of our lives. Whether it's getting 'Mercy-Ruled', or 'showing mercy', or 'University of Detroit Mercy', we can't seem to escape mercy. But what does it actually mean? The dictionary defines Mercy as: compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm . So yes, mercy means to forgive, or to show compassion, instead of harming someone. Makes sense. But why is it, that people do not always show mercy? The concepts of kindness, compassion and forgiveness have been a staple of how society raises us. In kindergarten, we all enjoyed those warm, fuzzy books about the little rabbit who made friends with a dog, or the mouse who made friends with the lion. Children that show forgiveness, and kindness are rewarded. But why do these ideals not hold through? Much like the communist ideal of 'sharing is caring', the idea of mercy does not carry forth into a person&#
Read more

Opinion: Picture books-The same as Comic Books?

Image
 My earliest childhood memories are of story time, with my mother. I thoroughly enjoyed reading books such as It's the Bear! by Jez Alborough, or Library Lion, by Michelle Knudsen, or my personal favorite: Noddy goes to Toyland, by Enid Blyton. All of these books incorporated some level of wording. Let's analyze  2 crucial scenes from these books, and how words affect them. "Blueberry Pie... YUM YUM" Arguably my favorite scene from It's The Bear! , this scene is the climax where the main character, who has been spending the whole story seeing the bear, finally convinces his mom, that the bear is behind her. The 2 run away from their picnic, and the bear is left to eat the blueberry pie. Now, Scott McCloud contends that this is in the "Duo-Specific" style, wherein "both words and pictures convey essentially the same message". In this story, either element could stand alone, and the reader would understand that the blueberry pie is "YUM, YU
Read more