My Favorite Band...

My favorite band is Twenty One Pilots. It consists of two people, Tyler Joseph (The lead singer) and Josh Dun (The drummer).  They are best friends who play music about facing the mental problems that we all have as well as dealing with serious life issues, such as purpose, suicide and much more.  I look up to them because they are able to put to words so many things that I've dealt with that I just didn't understand.  They are goofy and fun, but they are also so compassionate about their music and so good at what they do.  

My Bucket List (No Particular Order)

1: Go to a concert
2: Get married
3: Adopt a child or two
4: Go to college
5: Get the lead in a play
6: Be in a movie or TV show
7: Do a performance in Drag
8: Become drama therapist
9: Make a song
10: Learn guitar
11: Learn piano
12: Learn Portuguese
13: Learn Gaelic
14: Get a tattoo
15: Become physically fit
16: Dance with someone I don't know
17: Become friends with someone that I have no connections with
18: Perform at an open mic night
19: Discover what genre I like to sing the most
20: Learn the rap to Heavy Dirty Soul and Kitchen Sink by Twenty One Pilots
21: Come to peace with my fear of death
22: Die happily
23: Learn Ukulele more
24: Go to Belgium
25: Go to Brazil

Reflection

It's been a great ride so far! I feel as though I have learned so much in so little time.  At the beginning of the year, I sort of returned to my old writing habits and had trouble analyzing and providing commentary on my writings.  But now, I feel as though I've really started to understand what it means to write a good essay.  Sure, it can still be hard to put into practice, but I can at least say I know what I'm aiming for.  Before, I used to just write aimlessly, without knowing what I was doing in the slightest, however, now when first starting an essay and reading a prompt, I know what to look for and how to organize into an essay that makes sense.
The only trouble that I really still have is taking it from middle-of-the-road writing to a score of 8 or 9.  Sometimes, I'll look at my essay and think, "Hm, I can see the message and what I'm trying to prove here, but it's just not written that well."  It just doesn't flow very well.  It tends to be way too choppy.  Of course, that beats barely writing anything that makes sense whatsoever.  Overall, I'd say I've grown a lot as writer.  And although writing isn't necessarily something that I'll take with me into my career and my future, it is still a very valuable lesson that I am forever grateful for what I have been able to learn.

The Future of Bigotry

Bigotry has been around for as long the history books can depict.  Whether it be wars over religions, political views, or cultural ideas, the inability to be tolerant of other people and their beliefs had been the downfall of many civilizations.  But what will the future look like?  I’ve found many solutions surrounding the problem that is bigotry, including uniting small-towns, decriminalizing African-American men, and much more. All of which have optimistic views on the future.  Overall, however, I believe that bigotry will remain in existence, whether it will be greater or smaller or even about the same things, I am unsure.  But one thing I am sure about is that there will always be something to fight over as well as people who are willing to take their beliefs to the next level and hunt down those who don’t agree with them.

            Small-Town America: Finding Community, Shaping the Future, and was written by the author, Robert Wuthnow.  Wuthnow is an optimistic man who believes that America still has a fighting chance at unity.  He hypothesizes that the small-towns of America will unite and be able to achieve great things on a much smaller scale in order to resolve national crisis.  This book was intended for every citizen of the U.S.A in an attempt to persuade them in uniting and making great bounds towards a better future.  This writing manages to be a very cliché yet also realistic goal for the citizens out there who actually want to see America change for the better instead of remaining the same structural mess that it is today(White and Cones).

            Small-town gatherings are the only way that any progress can be made in America..  When faced with the predicament of uniting America, Wuthnow has this to say, “I am completely aware that it is near impossible to unite an entire country” (Wuthnow).  Though it is futile to try and unite the entirety of country as big as America, it is much more likely that small towns will be able to work together towards common goals.  This will help defend against bigotry for the most part, though not everywhere, by allowing majorities of like-minded people to join together and work towards common goals. 

Another reason uniting an entire country is completely unrealistic, is that no one’s voice is ever adequately heard (Wuthnow).  When there is such a big population full of differing opinions, the average person starts to become invisible and unimportant.  However, when living in a small town, there is a much greater chance of having your ideas fairly spread amongst the community.  Also, there are simply too many different wants and needs in America for any remote chance of everyone being happy.  Differences in opinions and political beliefs has always separated America’s peoples (Smith).  Which is exactly why uniting in smaller groups is a good idea so that rage doesn’t ensue when the majority of the population doesn’t get what it wants/needs.  Small-towns are ideal in this situation because even when living in a horrible town with people who completely disagree with you on everything, there is always the option of moving.  If there were a major law passed by the president that mistreats someone, it can be really hard to get out and go somewhere because moving from country to country can be very difficult.  Oppositely, if one desired to move to a new town, it would be dramatically easier to move.

Saving Jamal to Save America: Presidential Authority to Decriminalize the Future Male Majority, by Ahmad Smith.  Ever since African-Americans gained the right to vote, white people have taken every chance they had to deem them as bad people (Smith).  This idea has stuck around for a very long time, yet only recently is it finally addressed.  Now, when police act out and murder innocent black people, they are finally starting to be brought to justice, when before they were given warnings or, at worst, suspension.  This created a society in which it was taught that being black meant that your life doesn’t mean as much a white persons life, and that if a black person gets killed, it’s not that big of a deal.  Sure, now things are better, and remarkable progress has been made, however, there is still much more that needs to be done.

 In order to have a chance for equality in America, people need to start changing the way they think and stop making such rash judgements due something as trivial as race.  This idea that black men are more violent than white people is an incredibly ignorant statement with a lot of negative side effects.  Stereotyping a group of people as dangerous is an incredibly harmful stigma for said group, because now whenever someone gets into that mindset that black people are dangerous, they will be overly cautious to compensate with their fears.  This can lead to harassment, exclusion, calling the police, and even murder.

A solution to this, as well as a pathway to a better future without bigotry, is to set a precedent to cease criminalizing people due to race.  Now, of course, this problem can’t be stopped by just saying “stop”.  However, if this problem were dealt with on a presidential scale, there might be a much bigger impact (Smith).  If there were to be bigger prices to pay for hate crimes and better ways to keep track of how police were handling said situations, than there would be a brighter possibility of equality and fair treatment in America.  Fortunately some improvements are already taking place.  Police are now required to wear cameras so that everything they do is recorded in order to prevent inappropriate conductions of police power.  Even with the advances made, there are still numerous cases of police brutality and that simply needs to be stopped as soon as possible if we want there to be a better future, and if things do change, there very well might be.

Black Man Emerging: Facing the Past and Seizing a Future in America.     I believe that the only way that we as a civilization can move past this major conflict without breaking down is if we learn from the horrible events that happened in the past as well as from what’s going on right now, and use this knowledge to promote peace and equality.  This topic is very black and white in that America has only two options, either change until there is more equality or stay the same and threaten the chance of getting worse (White).

In today’s world, racism is everywhere in America and greatly affects everyone’s lives (White).  It is up to the American people to acknowledge what a horrible path racism can lead to and why they should do everything in their power to change the way we think in order for a better future.  As long as we don’t forget what our African-American neighbors have gone through and still go through today, then there is a possibility that America can finally live up to its title and be the “Land of the Free.” 

Racism, as we know, isn’t only directed towards African-Americans.  There are plenty of Americans who either came directly from or whose relatives are still from; south Asian, Arab, Muslim and Sikh cultures, as well as much more (Iyer).  And what all of these people have in common is that they all face immense amounts of bigotry in their lives.  The fact is that it doesn’t matter where you’re from, anyone can be American.  It isn’t exclusively a birthright.  Also, it’s clearly evident that some of the immigrants that live in this country are much more “American” than most.  What with all of the crimes and corruption that happens in this country by the hands of “true” Americans.  Maybe it’s time for someone else to get a chance rather than the same people who are too afraid of change to see what’s best for their country.

  What’s funny is that I may not have to dream of change any longer due to the fact that the inevitability of immigration into America means that there is a great chance that the population will be mostly mixed in the future (Iyer). Think about that, a country with no races, just one big salad bowl that gets so mixed that the salad turns to an even and consistent color.  The amazing thing about this is that this creates hope for a truly united country where everyone is the same, thus equal-- hypothetically.

However, this also raises the point of whether or not being the same is the best solution.  This future has many benefits as well as many negatives.  Surely there won’t be any race wars if there aren’t any races, but that doesn’t mean society won’t find something else to kill over.  And while this perfect mixture of races may be inspiring and unifying, it also means the possible loss of dozens upon dozens of cultures that survive in America.  However scary this may be, I will stick by my previous statement, “Maybe it’s time for someone else to get a chance.”  If a complete change is what it takes to make America a better, more equal land free of bigotry, then I am more than willing to support that.

My fifth and final source is a personal interview with my mother, whose name is Catherine Joyner.  When asked whether or not she thought bigotry would prevail, she said “Optimistically?  No.  But realistically, yes of course it will be around in the future.”  My mother tries very hard to be hopeful for a better future and she also tries to be a part of that future by convincing the people around her why they shouldn’t spread hate but rather, love.  If we all were able to just stop and talk to each other like humans, than maybe we would have a chance to be better.  But since Americans are unable to do this, they will not learn will not improve.

In conclusion, it is great to try and come up with as well as implement new ideas to stop bigotry in America.  In fact, trying to stop the evils of this world is possibly the most humane thing we can do as a society.  However, as Catherine said, “There will always be bigotry in some form or another… Whether or not racism and homophobia stays around, there will always be something… People need an outlet, and that outlet always ends up being one another.”

Works Cited

Iyer, Deepa. We Too Sin America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim, and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future. New York: The New Press, 2015. Print

Smith, Ahmad R. Saving Jamal to Save America: Presidential Authority to Decriminalize the Future Male Majority. 2013. Print.

White, Joseph L., and James H. Cones, III. Black Man Emerging: Facing the Past and Seizing a Future in America. New York: Routledge, 1999. Print

Wuthnow, Robert. Small-Town America: Finding Community, Shaping the Future. New Jersey: Princeton UP, 2013. Print.      

Louv Analysis Essay

In the year 1791, Benjamin Bannecker, the son of former slaves writes to Thomas Jefferson in order to persuade him to see the negatives of slavery.  To meet his goal efficiently, Bannecker speaks to the president in a respectful tone and, at the same time, emphasizes his points through irony and allusion.

            In order to show respect to the person he is trying to impress, Bannecker continuously refers to Jefferson as ‘sir.’  This repetition creates a more appealing persuasive technique, in which the possibility of Jefferson accepting Bannecker’s ideas, hopefully, increases.  It is through this that Bannecker can address his point while also addressing Jefferson’s higher status.  Not only is the repetition of the word “sir” what strengthens his writing, but also the way he structures it embellishes his message.  He starts off each paragraph with the word “sir” in order to reinstate and remind the president of his respectful nature and ability to be kind.  Through this, Bannecker hopes to obtain the respect of President Johnson in order to get him to reconsider his stand on slavery.

            Furthermore, Bannecker tries to persuade Jefferson into believing that slavery is bad through irony and allusion.  In an attempt to get Jefferson to see the mistakes he has made regarding slavery, Bannecker reveals his ironic form of leadership.  To do this, he illuminates the fact that while Jefferson was “So fully convinced of the benevolence of the father of mankind” while at the same time he “Counteract[s] his mercies” through “Captivity and oppression.”  By forcing Jefferson to reflect on his hypocritical nature, he hopes to illuminate the level of absurdity that slavery brings to the world.  The contrast between “benevolence” and “captivity and oppression” represents the goal vs. the memory.  Jefferson believes that God made all men equal, yet he isn’t doing a thing to help out the African-Americans that are being enslaved in his country. 

Similarly, Bannecker alludes to a passage in the bible in order to connect on a more personal level.  Bannecker wants Jefferson to “Put [his] soul in their souls stead” in order for him to truly understand that there is no good in his siding with slavery, but only evil.