Voting?

It is true that we will be able to vote in a couple of years. Voting can be very empowering to some people, and for others it is considered a waste of time that can be applied to some other activity. In my opinion, voting is a great thing. I will finally be able to voice my personal opinion alongside the other citizens of the United States that decide to take advantage of the opportunity to be able to vote. In my opinion, voting is not what it should be in America. There are several people that base their decisions of who should be president off of trivial things. For example, someone may vote for one candidate over another candidate just because they look better. There are several people that do not look deep enough into the candidate that they choose and merely scratch the surface of all of the people running in the election. There is a good chance that the person you voted for wins the presidency for example. Later on the president you voted in makes decisions that you disagree with and you are unhappy with what they do. What if they said they were going to do that all along? But the person in this example just didn't look deep enough into the candidate to know their beliefs. Voting is a great thing to be able to do, but with great power comes great responsibility.

Has anything changed?

In class we have been talking about the mistreatment of minorities by outside elements in the United States. This especially concerns African Americans and the constant mistreatment in society. African Americans were discriminated against by the police in the 1960s, and in my opinion, I don't think that much has changed since then. We still see several headlines of African Americans being killed by the police over trivial disputes. This is commonplace in the modern world, the sheer number of these  is so high that it makes you wonder, how is our world different from the 1960s? In my opinion, it isn't different and it never will deviate from the past unless we can learn to truly accept each other and give each other equal right and liberties, no matter the race of the individual. The constant threat that minorities still face in the United States is great, and it is not only with African Americans, other races are also discriminated against based solely off of their appearance. For example, Muslims in the United States also are having issues in the post 9-11 world based off of distant terrorist organizations that don't represent Islam the way that it is supposed to be represented. As a result, Muslims are discriminated against. Can we truly progress unless we learn to accept each other?

The Cold War.

The Cold War was a rather interesting part of American History. However, I think that the Cold War was a part of history that was not especially great in American History as well. There was a lot of paranoia in the United States, and in my opinion the freedoms of residents of the United States were violated by the government and the people that were scared of the communists. Senator McCarthy violated the rights of the citizens during the red scare and during the time of the Cold War. Personally, I think that this is inexcusable. There is no reason for these actions to be excused, in my opinion Sen. McCarthy's actions should be taken only in extreme actions. I believe that the Cold War and Red Scare evolved into a violation of rights and liberties that should not be tolerated. Senator McCarthy tried to find Communists in the United States of America that were a threat during the war and during the red scare in which everyone was afraid of communists. However, McCarthy did not have good methods when he was trying to find communists in the country, and he invaded the privacy of many people when trying to find the communists.

What drives someone to repeat the past?

There are many things that can drive someone to repeat the past. I think that this is split into two subcategories, however. When something bad happens in the past it is repeated again when people do not learn from their mistakes. For example, there is the span of years in which slavery was allowed and encouraged in the United States. We can say that the United States government and the people have learned from their mistakes due to the fact that in so many years there is still not a widespread movement for slavery similar to how there was two hundred and fifty years ago. However, if the United States suddenly decided to re enact slavery then they will not have learned that slavery not a great time for America and an atrocity that should never be repeated. The other subcategory is for good parts of the past. For example, in the past Jay Gatsby had good relations with Daisy and he was nostalgic of those memories and wanted to go back. This is why he wanted to continue the relationship with daisy. The positive memories that he had before he wanted to have again which is why he wanted to rekindle the relationship that he lost over time. To conclude this entry, there are two different ways a person can be driven to the past. The notion of positive memories or the fact that they are too ignorant to learn from their mistakes.

Immigration

At one point in American History, there were several immigrants of all kinds flooding into the United States. This is a good thing for us, and for the immigrants, in my opinion. The nation receives more workforce, and the immigrants get new opportunities. Immigrants look to America because America seems to be synonymous with equality and freedom, as per the United States constitution. Most likely, the immigrants faced persecution or limited opportunities in their countries. America symbolizes the ability to be given a fair chance at making good money with hard work as well, often referred to as the American Dream. While some people disliked immigration at the time, I favor it. Despite the atrocious conditions for many immigrant without adequate pay, it is always possible to move up and gain higher ranking. This is especially important for me, because I have immigrant parents, I am a first generation American. My dad could gave gotten a good job in Pakistan, but he chose to come to America to pursue a university degree and get a job here. Today, we are doing well, and we are likely better off here than living in Pakistan. In conclusion, Immigrants come to America to pursue career opportunities and certain freedoms that may not be available in their home countries.  

The End of Racism

Racism will never end. It seems that no matter what legislation is passed, it is virtually impossible to stop racism. This is because racism originates from the mind, and no amount of legislation can reform a human brain to the point that racism will cease to exist. The only thing the governments around the world can hope to do is to limit the actions taken by the racism that is rooted inside the brain. This is beneficial because it limits the violent or unequal acts that may occur as an effect of racism. I personally believe that racism will always be present in the world. This is because we may be taught to be racist as a child, or the acts of some may influence our opinion of an entire race. This is especially true in my life as I am muslim, and the muslim people are largely misunderstood due to the actions of a few individuals claiming to be following the "path of Islam." Legislation against racism is largely ignored as well, since most people do understand that racism can not exactly be controlled and influenced. Thus, I believe that racism can not be controlled or changed with legislation. 

How I would like to develop.

American studies has been quite an interesting experience. Entering the second quarter of Sophomore year, I feel like I am satisfied with the first quarter of American Studies thus far. The experience has been different from what I am used to when I think about history. In Mr. Hoffman's class, we also get to experience the unique perspective of someone who has been in the armed forces. It helps me personally gain perspective in history more clearly. I personally think that I have been doing well this year in terms of understanding what we are learning about, and how it all fits together. Going into the remainder of the school year, I would like to be able to look at things the way that other people in history saw it, how they approached the situation more clearly. This is more difficult since I almost always have an opinion on what we learn in class. Learning all of the ways that people in history looked at things helps when putting everything together to clearly understand how history works. In other words, In simpler words, I want to develop throughout the year by putting aside my opinions and thoughts for a little bit just so I can more clearly understand how other people think and what other people felt in regards to an issue or point.