Essay On Resilience In America
The United States has shown a long history resilience, in certain aspects that is. Being able to recover after some wars and even the Great Depression. But that hasn’t always been the case when it comes to racism. Even today the American society still struggles with racism. It’s caused and shown many people the inflexibility in resilience. I believe that it is up to us to change this, to be able to stop the racism and maybe then the American society will succeed rather than fail. Racism has been a problem since the early 17th century. People who are not really educated about the subject enough would say it all started with African Americans, but that is not the case. Native Americans were invaded by Europeans. The Europeans believe that they
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were “heathens and savages who needed to be civilized through Christianity and European culture.” That led to mass murders, the Europeans trying to wipe out the Native Americans and take their land. Then there was racism against African Americas. When they were brought to America solely for the purpose as being used as slaves, nothing but property. It wasn’t until the 20th century that slavery was abolished, making it illegal to “own” African Americans. But that did not mean that was going to be the end of racism. And racism wasn’t just towards the African Americans but anyone of color. Not only did they have to deal with segregation but more than often people would be harassed because of the color of their skin. One cult in particular being the K.K.K who was known for harassing and even murdering African Americas. The (K)u. (K)lux. (K)lan. was a clan, But more as a hate group. Hating on anyone that was not white. Though back the clan was something that was also an effect of racism it wasn’t something one would witness everyday walking down the street. Segregation on the other hand was. Back then segregation was horrible. No colored people where allowed in certain restaurants, they were not allowed to drink from the same drinking fountains as whites. Colored people were to sit in the back of the bus and were expected to stand if a white person was in search of a seat. But through all of that there were certain individuals wanting change for everyone, for everyone to be equal and have the same rights. One of them being Rosa Parks who was an African American civil rights activist, she was one of the very few people who stood up for herself and did not give up her seat in the bus. She ended up getting arrested for something that we, now, think nothing of. All over a seat in a bus. But she wasn’t the only one fighting for her rights. Martin Luther King Jr. was also part of the African American civil right activist. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa parks are still very well recognized in today society. But Martin Luther King Jr. is very recognized for it his “I Have a Dream” speech, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Isn’t it sad to know that after everything Martin Luther King Jr endured, and him being assassinated it still wasn’t enough for the American society? Racism is still going on, people are constantly being judged by the color of their skin, their race, and ethnicity. This leads me to my final point, the presidential elections, and who seems to be in the lead of the Republican Party.
We, as a society, have shown resilience in the past years when it comes to racism. And although we can’t deny that there is not racism in America, it seemed to be under control. Recently with Mr. Donald Trump it seems to have gotten worse. Not only does he speak negative about Mexicans, African Americans, and Islamic people. But the people who seem to be uneducated support him and its only leading to violence against one another. Former presidents have tried to join us as one. To bring peace. If Americans don’t educate themselves on who may be a candidate as a president it’s only going to get worse. He condones violence and racism, and that is never the answer. Mr. Trump not only condones violence but he encourages it, stating he would pay legal fees for any of his supporters if they were to attack and abuse a protestor. Now is that really the type of man you want running the nation? A man that would lead us to war if that meant “solving” a small problem? Because I personally believe that would only lead us to bigger problems. And it would all be because we aren’t being responsible citizens and voting for a better
candidate. The American society has the power to grow as one, to show resilience. Just like Alice Lesch Kelly noted in “Toughen Up!”, “Instead of being overwhelmed by tough breaks, resilient people make the best of them. Instead of being crushed they prosper” (232). It is really up to us to be able to stop racism from still being a problem to this day. We can’t expect for things to get better if we are still not doing anything to change the problem. If one feels that a certain race is better than anyone else, that is where the problem begins. Everyone has to love everyone, give everyone a chance rather than shut them down because the color of the skin. It’s up to us to stop the discrimination of other people. Maybe then, we can show some flexibility in resilience, so then we can succeed as a nation. Instead of causing more problems.
were “heathens and savages who needed to be civilized through Christianity and European culture.” That led to mass murders, the Europeans trying to wipe out the Native Americans and take their land. Then there was racism against African Americas. When they were brought to America solely for the purpose as being used as slaves, nothing but property. It wasn’t until the 20th century that slavery was abolished, making it illegal to “own” African Americans. But that did not mean that was going to be the end of racism. And racism wasn’t just towards the African Americans but anyone of color. Not only did they have to deal with segregation but more than often people would be harassed because of the color of their skin. One cult in particular being the K.K.K who was known for harassing and even murdering African Americas. The (K)u. (K)lux. (K)lan. was a clan, But more as a hate group. Hating on anyone that was not white. Though back the clan was something that was also an effect of racism it wasn’t something one would witness everyday walking down the street. Segregation on the other hand was. Back then segregation was horrible. No colored people where allowed in certain restaurants, they were not allowed to drink from the same drinking fountains as whites. Colored people were to sit in the back of the bus and were expected to stand if a white person was in search of a seat. But through all of that there were certain individuals wanting change for everyone, for everyone to be equal and have the same rights. One of them being Rosa Parks who was an African American civil rights activist, she was one of the very few people who stood up for herself and did not give up her seat in the bus. She ended up getting arrested for something that we, now, think nothing of. All over a seat in a bus. But she wasn’t the only one fighting for her rights. Martin Luther King Jr. was also part of the African American civil right activist. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa parks are still very well recognized in today society. But Martin Luther King Jr. is very recognized for it his “I Have a Dream” speech, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Isn’t it sad to know that after everything Martin Luther King Jr endured, and him being assassinated it still wasn’t enough for the American society? Racism is still going on, people are constantly being judged by the color of their skin, their race, and ethnicity. This leads me to my final point, the presidential elections, and who seems to be in the lead of the Republican Party.
We, as a society, have shown resilience in the past years when it comes to racism. And although we can’t deny that there is not racism in America, it seemed to be under control. Recently with Mr. Donald Trump it seems to have gotten worse. Not only does he speak negative about Mexicans, African Americans, and Islamic people. But the people who seem to be uneducated support him and its only leading to violence against one another. Former presidents have tried to join us as one. To bring peace. If Americans don’t educate themselves on who may be a candidate as a president it’s only going to get worse. He condones violence and racism, and that is never the answer. Mr. Trump not only condones violence but he encourages it, stating he would pay legal fees for any of his supporters if they were to attack and abuse a protestor. Now is that really the type of man you want running the nation? A man that would lead us to war if that meant “solving” a small problem? Because I personally believe that would only lead us to bigger problems. And it would all be because we aren’t being responsible citizens and voting for a better
candidate. The American society has the power to grow as one, to show resilience. Just like Alice Lesch Kelly noted in “Toughen Up!”, “Instead of being overwhelmed by tough breaks, resilient people make the best of them. Instead of being crushed they prosper” (232). It is really up to us to be able to stop racism from still being a problem to this day. We can’t expect for things to get better if we are still not doing anything to change the problem. If one feels that a certain race is better than anyone else, that is where the problem begins. Everyone has to love everyone, give everyone a chance rather than shut them down because the color of the skin. It’s up to us to stop the discrimination of other people. Maybe then, we can show some flexibility in resilience, so then we can succeed as a nation. Instead of causing more problems.