Friday, June 24, 2016

A Country Divided

More and more it seems that the American people are divided. By race, religion, political views, and education. We seem to forget that we are all Americans. I have a habit of looking at controversial articles that friends post on social media, and it seems that the people are trying to keep the social divisions in place.

Let's talk about religion. We live in a country where religious freedom is our right. We can practice whatever religion we want and it is legal. So why is it that so many groups of people are against someone just because of their religion? Muslim people, for example, have just as much of a right to practice their religion as a Protestant. Just because some radicals have done some horrible things to the people in this world, doesn't mean that they are all like that. I'm a Mormon, and in certain parts of the country, it isn't a good thing. It has been around 150 years that the mobs drove the Mormons out west and assassinated the church leader at the time. And yet there are still huge prejudices and stereotypes against those who are Mormon. And why? Why can't we all accept one another's differences?

Political views are even worse. This election that is coming up has brought out the worst in everyone. People are not speaking to old friends because one is a Bernie supporter and the other is a Trump supporter. Well hate to break it to everyone but they both suck. So does Hillary. Any one of those three candidates will plunge our country into a black hole. But no matter which candidate someone is for, they are even more so against the other side. Trump has brought out the inner racist in the country, and on all sides (and yes non-white people can be racist, but we will get to that in a minute). Bernie on the other hand, has brought out all of the gullible leeches in the country. The ones that just want everything to be free and don't care how he does it, and believe him when he says that he can. And this has caused a HUGE divide in the nation. I can barely get online and see an article about any candidate without reading horrible things from people on both sides. Come on people, agree to disagree!

Now race....race is so stupid. Why do we even care what color someone is in this day and age? I have to tell you, it kind of drives me crazy how people still continue to say that they are African American. I don't go around saying that I am Irish, English, Scottish, Swish, German, and Native American American. Or to make it sorter, I also don't say that I am European American or Caucasian American. It is stupid. My Irish and English blood is the thickest. My great-great grandfather on my dad's side emigrated here from Ireland in the mid to late-1800's after his family converted to the "mormon" faith and moved here to be closer to the church. I'm only 150ish years removed from Ireland, or 5 generations removed. There are people who are 10 generations removed from Africa, couldn't even tell you where from Africa their ancestors are from (which isn't their fault, slavery and all), but the continue to call themselves African American. Why can't we all be Americans? If you were born here, you are an American. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. You are an American. If you have emigrated here, then you chose to become an American. You many still feel a connection to your mother country, but you are an American. Your kids will grow up Americans. And so on and so forth.

I read an article lately that talked about how reverse racism isn't a thing. That here in the U.S., or in any first world country where the 'ruling race' is white, anyone of color can't be racist. Well bull. That is a bunch of malarkey. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the simple definition of racism is: poor treatment of or violence against people because of their race. Can anyone say that a black person wasn't violent against someone because of their skin color? Attacking people because of "white privilege"? Can anyone say that someone who is Mexican can't be racist against an Arab? We put far too much stock in what a person can or cannot be based on what they look like.

Right now, the majority of people in power in the U.S. are white. But when you consider that an extremely large portion of the black population is under educated, is it any wonder? And why are they so uneducated? Every child in the States has to go to school from kindergarten to twelfth grade. The curriculum for the most part is the same. The government provides a certain amount to every school no matter where it is. I think that the biggest problem is the value of education. In my family and in my neighborhood, education was incredibly important. I COULD NOT skip class and live to tell the tale. My mom would have tanned my hide if I cut class. My parents would pay us for good grades, and we would have to pay them if we got bad grades. And it was the same with most of my friends as well. All of our parents were strict when it came to school. In poor income neighborhoods, parents and guardians aren't putting that same pressure on kids. So in turn, the kids don't take school seriously. And way too many of them end up dropping out. So if you take a child, who was raised in a poor income household, and grows up to be illiterate, with poor grammar, and a high school drop out, is it any wonder why he isn't some big CEO of a company?

As far as the differences in skin color, I think the education is the biggest issue. If all of the kids of poor income families worked hard in school, studied hard, read books instead of joining the local gang, actually went to class and graduated and went on to college, then the racial divide wouldn't be so big. But the divide is only going to get bigger. Race riots and shootings are becoming more and more common and are driving the people further apart. It makes me so mad to see all of the riots and protests and news articles when a white cop shoots a black kid when the kid is dumb enough to run, or pull something out of his pocket when cornered by police. Yet if a black gang member shoots a white kid, there is no national outrage. A few years ago three black kids were bored one summer day, saw a white kid walking on the street, shot him to death for fun. The kid was an Australian here going to school on a baseball scholarship. I mentioned him to my friends about a year after it happened, and no one knew what I was talking about.

So for the end of my not so eloquent rant, we should really just love one another and try to get along and make this country a better place. We are free to practice our religion. We have the right to the pursuit of happiness. We live in a country, where if we all worked together and were proud to be who we are with all of our differences, we would be unstoppable. So hug it out America. Join forces to make this country a better place. Let it be the place our fore-fathers envisioned. A place of peace and prosperity where all men are created equal. We can only do it together. A country united cannot fall.


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