If you are separate but equal, you're not equal at all

Weekly Article:

     The treatment of African-Americans during Reconstruction and the treatment of the same peoples during the United States Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s was pretty much the same. After reconstruction former slaves became sharecroppers because that was the only option they had. However, they barely earned a living because they had to pay off loans and give most of their crops to the landowners. So it was pretty much the same condition they were in before slavery was supposedly "abolished" but instead of being physically punished they were financially punished and had to pay certain fees if they weren't in compliance with the rules. In addition the "Black Codes" a.k.a. Jim Crow Laws, were put in place, which further impeded their equal rights, and stated that the blacks and whites were separate, but equal. The blacks and whites had all the same facilities as each other, but they were just separated. However, as we would soon learn, if two races were separated, they could never, in fact, be equal. And this was exactly how they Civil Rights Era was also. 
     Even through certain amendments and the constitution stated that blacks had freedoms and the right to vote. We still found loopholes and ways to put them down and make it harder for them. We taxed the blacks that came to vote, making it more inaccessible, but did not tax the whites. We made them sit at the back of buses, go to different schools, restaurants, and even water fountains, We made them endure years of prejudice, violence, and oppression, but they still kept on going, resisting every step of the way. So not only was the treatment similar between Reconstruction and and Civil Rights African Americans, but I feel like they even had the same attitudes. They were courageous and strong people, willing to do anything for their families, their freedoms, and their rights and worked for it every step of the way. It forces you to admire all the hardships they endured and eventually overcame, after hundreds of years, emerging triumphant.    

I WANT YOU FOR U.S ARMY

     It is my opinion that this image is probably the most recognizable and historical in America. It is fact that this is propaganda. It might be surprising that a lot of pictures we're associated with are actually propaganda and used to create a sense of nationalism and pride to recruit people and manipulate their emotions. Propaganda can be used to help or harm anyone. So this Uncle Sam poster is being used to help the United States by getting soldiers to recruit in the army and have a sense of pride in serving and protecting this country. However many propaganda posters can instill a negative feeling towards something in people who see it.
     For example in World War I and World War II many countries had propaganda to sway people's opinions about the other countries they considered the enemy. Many of these would have negative connotations to get people angry and wanting to possibly help do something to make a difference. Even though we don't really think about it, propaganda is used in modern society today. Commercials and advertisements are the same concept; they are used to manipulate and change people's opinions towards something. So next time you see a poster, or a magazine advertisement, or a commercial, think twice about how it really makes you feel because most likely it will be persuading you to do or feel something that you wouldn't necessarily feel otherwise.

Forgive the South? Nah, we'll pass.

After the Civil War Lincoln wanted to rebuild this country and unite us together again. So he did what he thought was right which was grant the South amnesty for the war. And then people really get angry. Specifically the North. They had just fought this long war and lost many soldiers and loved ones, and now the South would just be forgiven? The northerners probably took it as, "Wow, we fought this war for nothing, and all our people died in vain." I think that President Lincoln was just trying to do the right thing and move on, but I feel like he should have waited until tensions died down between both the North and South. Not only the northerners were angry, the southerners were probably thinking, "What did we do in the first place to be forgiven? The north is at fault just as much as we are." So now instead of trying to fix everything between the two sides, this just made everyone more angry and frustrated with the other side. So Lincoln? You could've waited a little longer. I know you were trying to do the best for your country, but you should've let people simmer down first, because not everyone can be mature and adult about it like you.

Stereotypes, Stereotypes

Believe it or not, stereotypes have been around since the dawn of civilization; that's why they seem to have been instilled in our modern day society and are something we will never fully be rid of. Stereotypes are so widely known because no matter what there will always be people that are prejudice and ignorant of others  whether it's because of a lack of education or it's how they were raised. There are always going to be people that think all Asians are smart, that all Indians run gas stations, that Jewish people are always successful, that African Americans are troublemakers, or even that blondes are dumb. And all of these stereotypes started somewhere in our past continuing and transforming withstanding the essence of time.

"That government is best which governs least."-Thoreau

This quote by Henry David Thoreau means that the government is basically taking over every aspect of our lives, with healthcare, education, social security, etc. He is saying that the government works best when leaving the people alone for once and should only interfere when necessary. For me it means that the government should not make all of the decisions and would just be in place to keep some sort of order, and that people should be able to at least govern themselves individually. I do agree with this quote. Our government is trying to take on too much and fix everything it can, for example, the economy, healthcare, and war. By trying to fix things they are just making everything worse and turning this country and it's people into ruin. On the other hand, some sort of government is vital for a country to survive and at least be stable, because let's face it: if the government was barely involved in this country you can't expect for people to govern themselves perfectly. Down to the core humans are fickle and selfish and things would turn to madness and chaos. We might even be worse off than we would be with a government. So there are two sides to this quote, the blame needs to be shared between the government and the very nature of humans.

Does History Matter?! You're kidding, right?

     Of course history matters! You would have to be stupid or entirely ignorant not to think so. I mean history is everything; obviously when you hear the word history you think of events of the past, but history is being made everyday even in the present, and history will continue to be made in the future. Without history our whole society, culture, world, and heck, even the whole universe would be affected. You're probably thinking, "The whole universe? Yeah right," but it's true. Whether you believe in the Big Bang Theory or God's Creation Theory it's history, and if that history wasn't made, where would we be? We wouldn't even exist, I can guarantee you that.
     And about the history of the present? New technology is coming out almost every month it seems, between Apple's new iPhone 4 or the fact that we can use stem cell treatment to make blind people actually see again, both are definitely breaking news. The United States also recently made history by having under 50,000 troops in Iraq since 2003. The remaining troops are teaching the Iraqi troops military basics so eventually they can fight for and defend their own country, so by staying we are hopefully ensuring that the Iraqi's themselves can fight terrorism. If we just left, there could have been a terrorism attack on the United States because the Iraqi troops wouldn't have known how to prevent it. Bottom line is history DEFINITELY matters. A split decision could change everything. So without history where would we be? Obviously nowhere, it was a rhetorical question, duh.

Teachers: lying to me est. 1994

     Teachers should be expected to tell the truth. When we're little we put faith in these people and willingly believe anything they say, but sadly we were taken advantage of and were fed lies. At first they might seem innocent, like the fact that in first grade I was told that Indians and Pilgrims all sat down together and had the first Thanksgiving. How nice that they could be friends and eat together making conversation. Then we would split the class up into Indians and Pilgrims and make headdresses and hats and shoes with buckles, what a good way to teach first graders, right? WRONG. You couldn't get more historically inaccurate than that. How could Pilgrims and Indians dine happily together, if they couldn't even speak the same language? Further more, there were tensions between Pilgrims and Indians because of philosophical differences over the land, and the tribe living near the Pilgrims declined because of disease. Now you realize there's no way they ate together like one big happy family. 

     And so, because of these lies I was told when I was little, I carried them with me throughout middle school believing that I held the truth. If teachers think that we are too young to process the truth, then they should wait to tell us the real facts, they at least owe us that. They shouldn't just lie and make things up because they think we'll understand the lying version better, because when we grow up teachers either forget or don't bother to correct these lies. Then when you finally find out the real version, you feel like everything else you've been told was made up too. You finally realize that teachers, instead of teaching the truth, they LIE. Everyone deserves to find out the truth, but sadly, we can't even depend on our teachers to help us.