What Can We Do?

In order to change the world, I think first I have to change myself. I have to get rid of all the stigmas that I have learned throughout my life and start to think about what’s wrong on the media and society. Once I have looked into my own prejudices and privileges, I can start inspiring people by doing what any other person would do. Work hard so that my community could prosper and try to think of the consequences of my actions and words before I act on them. And not wait for somebody else do the work for me. It is true what June Jordan said: “we are the ones we have been waiting for”. We can make a difference.

If all of us would do that, then there would be no discrimination and no oppression. But we think that is just wishful thinking. That not everyone is going to do that because humans are greedy by nature. Even if that might be true, we can still do something to change things for the better if everyone gives their support, as little as it may be, as long as it helps our society. Just as Angela Davis said, “please get involved, please try to make a difference, please try to turn this country around”.

Divided We Fall

This documentary brought a different side to the aftermath of 9/11. Days after the tragedy, someone who practiced the Sikh religion was murdered because he looked like the enemy. He was wearing a turban. All the United States were afraid of another attack, so the police started to look for people that look like the enemy and restraint them so they could prove that they were terrorists.

In the United States, there are a majority of people who are Christian, or other kinds of Christianity. In their beliefs, people who are not of their religion would perish in hell. So when they see people from another religion, they think they are evil, or the enemy. In the United States, the law says that you can believe any religion you want. But people at the time were too concerned with the war that they would do anything to oppress people that resemble a terrorist.

This was totally unacceptable, but the US has a history of segregating people when at war.

It really saddens me to know that so many innocent people were profiled as the enemy at the time. That was when we saw what was wrong with our society when dealing with religious oppression. This country is for everyone that wants to prosper and help each other, not for hating.