Johnny+McConnell+Reflections

Reflections:

__Fear In Revolution__ As Americans we have an innate fear of revolution. Being born in a society that puts most value in material possessions and property, its hard for us to ever consider giving up those things. We are afraid of change because we think it will disrupt the very way we live. We are perfectly content with our circumstances because we live in incredible luxury. But in reality it is hurting not only ourselves but the whole world. We are in desperate need of a revolution but we are afraid it will change the very fabric of our society. We instead change things of secondary importance thinking we love to change things but in reality fundamentals go unaltered. Although we are a nation founded on revolution we don't feel like changing anything. Compared to many nations we have many rights that give us many freedoms. These rights hide the injustices going on within our nation so that it gives the illusion that everything is fine. We think the way we live is fine even though we need change. __Matters of Race In America__ Race in America is a complex issue that started at the beginning of our nations founding. Racism in America is institutionalized. Our deep rooted history of segregation and racism has become a norm in our society and a more that is hard to eliminate. It started with basing slavery on race. No longer was color of skin just a physical feature but instead a way of determining inferiority. The prejudice is instilled in our culture and has carried on from times of slavery. We have made progress in equal rights. But just because laws have changed doesn't mean people opinions have. the Civil rights movement did great things but it doesn't mean racism is over. A unfortunate example of segregation in America would be neighborhood structure in Chicago. We see rigid lines between White, Black, Latinos in the city. Because of this division it effects the school system as well. We see schools in minority areas have less resources, bad teachers because of the neighborhood they are in. __The American Other__ Every new generation finds a new American other to oppress and marginalize. Our generation has to deal with the prejudices against, the LGBT community, homelessness, immigrants, etc. We have inherited these marginalized people because past generations believed they were not normal. We've created a norm and who every does not fit this norm is marginalized. The American other must deal with a lot of hardships because of being different. Different isn't always bad but many people need satisfaction in marginalizing people to gain power, similar to the puritan. Eventually things do change but for now we still see this isolation and marginalization of people who are "different." __Materialism In America__ In America we put too much priority in material possessions. Materialism and consumerism is the main reason we can't progress as a society. Our fear in revolution comes from the fact we don't want to lose our property. Materialism is that thing we change frequently but its something that doesn't need change. We change the way we shop, the way we dress, the things we buy but in the end those things don't change the way we are. We are a nation of consumers and this has hurt us in the long run. we put materials in front on things like healthcare, education, etc. Capitalism defines who we are, not substantial things that can make a society great. The environment is being destroyed because of the way we consume, other countries must conform to our demand for resources so we can sustain our capitalistic agenda.