America Matters Most?

Throughout my education in the public school system, I have always been taught that the most important part of America is that it shares freedom for all. When I was in elementary school, we learned all the patriotic songs for Memorial Day. We learned songs like “America the Beautiful”, the National Anthem, “Yankee Doodle”, and The Air Force Anthem; then we took the whole day to sing them in front of our parents. It was of the upmost importance that we showed respect and honored our country. I got the feeling that if someone did not like something about our country, they were a “bad person.” And from what we learned, there was nothing bad about America. I remember being told by my teachers that EVERYONE in America has rights and is treated equally. So when I eventually began to notice poverty and the reality of discrimination inside our country, I was very confused as to how this could be. I thought, “America is a free country, don’t these poor people know that? They don’t seem to be aware of what they can accomplish; they’re not trying hard enough and that’s why they’re poor.” Now I realize that many unfortunate people suffer everyday from the lack of jobs from the lack of education which is often a result of racial prejudice.

I have always learned about the “good” that our country does for other countries and the heroics in all the wars. In some ways, I got the impression that America was the most advanced in technology and diplomacy. I never got a perspective on other nations; and since we never learned too much about the others’ histories, it seemed like America was the only country that mattered. 

A Portrayal (poem)

A Portrayal

Could you see me?

Not from the clothes that I wear

Not from the color in my hair

But only me?

A little girl

She looked at the world

But when she looked back at herself

She wasn’t there at all

What of this girl?

A captured child trained to be pretty

Destined for a corset tied up so tight

She can hardly breathe

They changed her from what

They thought was ugly and dull

A poor, beautiful depiction

To the Perfect condition.

They sold her figure and her face

To the hungry crowd long ago.

While bound by the laces upon her dress

She could not comprehend of what it means to be

To be beautiful and free

But she’s restrained by an image

On a magazine

She’ll never be perfect for them

Like she is for me

And when her golden hair moves in the breeze

And when her long legs move her gracefully

Do you really think of who she is?

What lives inside, under her skin?

The questions she wants to ask

They don’t see as ambition;

What is my purpose?

What is perfection?

An expectation that makes me scream

A nightmare that does not seem

To end, and I still dream.

Do you know what defines me?

When my image disappears from your eyes

And when you become blind to what they see

Revealing what the world can not find

Revealing only me

Back Home

My friends back home are the best and I love them all very much, but occasionally, I would feel disconnected from their sense of humor. There was something about the jokes they would make about people from different cultural backgrounds and from overseas that irritated me. I have been brought up to treat everyone with respect and I knew my parents would not laugh at such things, so when my friends would lightly make racial fun at other people, it was naturally not amusing to me. There seemed to be a stereotype for every country, race and cultural group and there was constant attention to phenotype. I eventually got frustrated at this ignorance and lack of sensitivity and demanded why they thought it was so funny. They were completely adamant that they were not racist because they did not “hate” other “races.” One of my friends said that she was simply interested in different cultures. I found all of their jokes to be very superficial and concluded that even though they may be interested in ethnicity, they approach it and think about it in an immature way. 

A different view on "race"

The truth that “race” is only a creation of society can be paralleled with the truth that sickness and death are also creations of the material world’s influence. Since people believe full heartedly that “race” defines someone, they similarly accept the belief that a disease, disability, and other ailments can conflict with a person’s true identity as a child of God. If we have realized that racism is a result of ignorance, then we can surely see that physical sickness is also a product of the same ignorance of the true identity of mankind. I thought of this when I was struggling with a physical challenge a couple days ago. Although I was not healed instantly, I was sure this thought shed some light on the matter. I understood in class that “race” was not real. It made complete sense that there is more to someone than the color of there skin and the shackles of racism have no support behind them. The so-called “differences” between the people’s of the world are in own minds. We say that all beings were created equal by God, but we do not actually believe it when we commonly label someone as “white”, “Latino”, or “black.” We as Christian Scientists say that God made man a perfect likeness of himself, but we fall into the trap of believing the occasional aggressive mental suggestions. We must stand firm in the Truths about our spiritual identities as it pertains to our human ancestry as well as our relationship with God. 

Being "white" isn't what you think it is.

A question that grew in my mind was “What does it mean to be “white”? This is one question I have never exactly contemplated; I’ve always thought about it as being of European decent and background. But studies have deduced that no “white” person is of pure “white” blood. It has been concluded that since ancestry runs so deep into the past, it is impossible for one in the United States to be pure “English” or pure “German”, “Irish” etc... So I realized “white” people are not even “white”.

            So what does “white” mean? “White” only identifies what one is NOT.  “White” can be another name for a “dominant group” or group with privilege, power and high social status. It supports the statement that there is no such thing as “race”. Since no one is filled of pure blood, then there ceases to be a “white” race or any other race for that matter. The social construct of “race” will break down eventually once people understand the illusion. The ones with privilege will relent to the truth that all human beings are created equal. I hope so.