Now, the big question, how can we fix this issue as Americans. As I have made clear, we need to come together as a nation and follow in the steps of our president. In my opinion, the previous president split the nation apart dramatically. He caused division between the blacks and the whites as well as law enforcement. He created conflict between parties when it came to anything that could be construed as racism. We as Americans must not only listen to our president but we must be confident in ourselves. We must do things for ourselves. We need to be able to dream big as well as fulfilling those dreams. The government must establish a sense of trust however, and this goes for both parties. There is much corruption within our government and this has been a rising issue within the population of America. This comes back around to us as Americans, though. We must be accepting of our government and even if you don’t agree with what our government is doing we must trust that they will do the right thing. This gives us the responsibility of electing the right candidates into office. We can’t turn on other candidates especially within the same party. You do not have to agree with what every candidate preaches, but we must be optimistic and believe that they will do what is in the best interest for this great country. My five steps as to how we can fix this issue within the United States of America is as follows:
0 Comments
A prime example of the lack of nationalism in our country comes in the form of police brutality. In recent years, the American people have divided themselves into two sides: those who claim to be patriotic and those who find patriotism revolting. The latter of the two sides point out the ills of American policy and American procedure. These people have a lack of nationalism for our country. When Kephen enlisted in the Marine Corps 10 years ago, he did not do it for a free college education. He did it because he believed that it was “the best way for him to serve a purpose in life far greater than himself” (merancis.com). In his article “Nationalism and Police Brutality: The Deafening Sound of Ignorance,” he writes about how our own level of nationalism can affect how we all approach today’s controversial topics (including police brutality). Our country used to have pride in our police force. The police were seen as a sign of goodness, and when the police showed up at a crime scene, people had the sense of being safe. The abided by our justice system and trusted the court of law to do what the American people would want. Unfortunately, this is not the case in America anymore. It doesn’t matter if civilians are being shot by police or if police are being shot by civilians. Either way, it’s going straight to the headlines. Recently, the leaders of our country and our media have been swaying people away from trusting in our police force. Our nation’s patriotism has been tarnished by propaganda. The people who cover our news and provide it to us have split the people of America into two teams when it comes to the police force. These teams include: 1) those who argue that 9/11 and racism have lead to the use of extreme force 2) those who argue that a rise in civilian hostility and resistance have lead police to take a firmer action. In my opinion, both sides are correct and both sides are wrong. This topic is far too complicated for me to figure out by myself. All I know is that it has to be corrected. As a people, we need to realize that emotions do not play a role in politics. Emotions are made for personal relationships, and this is where they should remain. Issues such as this are difficult to look at from only one side. As stated in my previous post I believe that black lives matter has become completely out of hand. Another group in America that needs to simmer down a little are the extreme feminist. Nothing is saying that women don’t have any rights. In fact it is quite clear that women might even have more rights than men. There is a little thing called affirmative action within the united states. This is a policy that favors people of a minority group in terms of education or employment (www.merriam-webster.com).
This policy is basically saying that any place of employment funded by the government must hire a certain number of people who are part of a minority group. It’s almost like a quota that needs to be met in order for the establishment to keep running and keep government funding. This is a little ridiculous if you ask me. The most qualified person for a job should get that job. A person shouldn’t just get a job because they are black or are a woman. This is another instance where the government is just tearing America apart and dividing us as a nation. We should be able to go to a job interview with that same chance as anyone else to get that job. If one person is more qualified for the job, male female black or white, it shouldn’t matter. You hear this said in favor of the feminist groups when they don’t understand that they have the upper hand in this position. When someone goes into an interview and is already out of the running because they are a white male, you know something is wrong. And this is not to say that white males should be privileged, it is to say that everyone should be equal. Women have fought hard for their independence and I applaud them for doing so. But it has gotten to a point where things are being taken a little too far. Feminists need to realize what is going on in this country. I, as a white male, feel like I can’t even be a gentleman anymore and simply hold the door open for a woman without being accused of being sexist. I strongly believe in the old fashion house hold setting where the man goes out and provides for his family, but I also understand America isn’t like that anymore, but when a female has the upper hand in a job setting solely for the fact of her sex, something is wrong. Black lives matter is an issue in this country that needs to be stopped. It is a group made up of mainly black people throughout the united states who riot and cause havoc whenever there is a “social injustice” towards black people. Now, yes there has been immoral acts by whites towards blacks in the past, and there will probably be some in the future, but this group has spiraled out of control. They are ranting and raving about how there is no social justice for any blacks. This is not true and has proven to be true in the past.
The black lives matter movement is something that was formed 4 years ago and has grown dramatically (blacklivesmatter.com). They believe in bringing the rights back to the black population. This is all fine and dandy but the way they are going about doing this is wrong. I too believe that blacks, whites, gays, lesbians, males and females should all be treated equal. It is hard to say this, however, when time and time again all these other ethnicities have proven why there has been a stereotyped image formed about them. If they don’t like it then maybe they should change it, and not by burning down cities. The way this organization is handling their feelings and views is not the right way to handle things. Going and burning down cities and beating up the first white person they come across is not the right thing to do. The only thing this is accomplishing is splitting apart this great nation. This organization is dividing this country more than anything else that has happened to America. This needs to stop. Everything that is being done by this organization needs to come to a stop. It is endangering anyone who doesn’t agree with the viewpoints of this group. We as republicans need to stand up to this group and shut them down. Not to be “racist” towards blacks but to shave the great nation we live in. As previously stated in my earlier blogs, I believe that we, as Americans, have the responsibility to stand for our National Anthem, our Flag, and most importantly our Country. In my opinion, there are better ways to protest our President. Instead, they are showing disrespect to our great National Anthem that was written over the soldiers who fought for the freedom that we have today. They are showing disrespect for our flag that was sewed stitch by stitch by a seamstress who was devoted to freedom. But most unfortunately, they are showing disrespect to the place many of us call home.
Our words to The Star Spangled Banner were written by poet, Francis Scott Key, over the sounds of “the bombs bursting in air!” It was written over a long hard fought battle for freedom, that killed someone’s father, brother, or friend. When we as Americans do not stand for our great song of freedom, we are greatly disrespecting those people who fought in that battle. Not only are we disrespecting them, but we are disrespecting all veterans who have risked their lives, or even given up their lives for our country. We need to proud of our country, and all of the veterans who have served for it. The Flag that we Americans fly above all other flags is meant to be respected. In my opinion, we are not doing our jobs of respecting what is the main symbol for our country. By not respecting this great symbol of freedom, we do not look like a united country. We need to show more pride in our country. We need to be grateful for our rights that have been fought over. Our country is a truly great one. We have been graced with freedoms that not everyone in this world get to have. To show our gratitude, it is necessary to stand for our country. It reflects badly on us when we show how ungrateful we are for our freedom, and for those who have died for it. As a country we need to show our nationalism. The United States has previously been described as “The Melting Pot.” We used to take pride in the fact that we were all from different places--that we all had different backgrounds and different stories. Personally, I take pride in being a purebred mutt. Be that as it may, instead of being honored by being from different places, Americans are now in a boxing ring with all the different countries trying to prove that they are the superior race. Needless to say, no one is winning. What made America great was the fact that we were once able to come together as a people, and agree on a common set of ideals. Unfortunately, this is not the case anymore. In recent years, races have been pitted against each other. This was obvious after the winner of the 2008 election was announced. Take for example our own home state’s city of Milwaukee, which is one of the most segregated cities in our nation (shepherdexpress.com). In some cases it seems as though even people of the same race cannot seem to get along. This was obvious after the winner of the last election was announced. America has a nationalism problem, and the nationalists get younger every year. Even though most Americans say that being “American” is an important part of their identity, patriotism has been on the decline. The idea of being American is changing from the idea of the flag being symbolic (as my parents think) to ideals such as equality. Since most people over 45 hold high meaning in symbols and most young people hold high meaning in ideals, this suggests that these shifts are generational. This then suggests that Americans’ ideas will change again with different generations (New York Times). America has an infestation of uneducated people who all think they know what is best for everyone. In reality, no one cares about the greater good of the country. All most people care about is what’s best for themselves. America’s problem is not race. Socialism, capitalism, communism, fascism are America’s enemies. The younger generation of this country has views that are much different than the older generation. These views include telling people they cannot own guns and that they can use whatever bathroom they feel like using. In my opinion, these are generational. So calm down, America. This, too, shall pass. As an American I feel that nationalism is first and foremost. When these people disrespect our flag and our veterans it hurts me deeply. It makes me sad to see that these people actually think it is okay to show that level of disrespect to the people who are dying for them. Without those men out on the battlefield fighting for us we wouldn’t be where we are at as a country today. People would not be thriving the way they are. What happened to the America where a multi-million dollar business could be started in a garage. There was once a time where something could be brought up from nothing. I know this first hand from my father. He began his very successful business from his father’s and mother’s old garage. It’s a shame to see how far we have driven from this. It all begins with hard work and dedication. Now, owning a business isn’t for everyone and I’m not saying it should be, but anyone should be able to make a name for themselves any way they want. If you want to be a brain surgeon then go be the best brain surgeon you can be, and that goes for anything. My father had a dream and he went and grabbed it. He wanted to own his own business and be successful with it. And that’s what he did. This ties into nationalism in the sense that coming to America or growing up in America should mean you can do anything with your life. America has that sense of freedom. My father took advantage of this aspect of America. He created one of the biggest accomplishments of his life from a garage, a machine, and some plastic chips. It is a shame that we have strayed away from this path as a country. As I have made clear with this blog, I find it ridiculous what these people are doing with their protests towards the National Anthem. President Trump has done what he can to fight these protests. Now, it is our turn as Americans to take action. We must listen to our president and live through what he is saying. I understand that these people are fighting for what they believe in and I am sure the President understands that as well. However, these people need to realize that they are sending across the wrong message. It is as if they are saying it is okay to disrespect our country and the men who fight for our freedom. That is how it comes off when they do what they are doing. We need to listen to the President when he tells us to respect our flag and our veterans. Those men are out there risking their lives for all of us. They deserve, if nothing else, respect from every single human being in America. Especially those who are thriving because without those men they wouldn’t be as well of as they are. When it comes to President Trump there are things that could be said in more proper ways, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want what is best for this great nation. He ran for President of America to represent the people and do everything in his power to make us better off than when he came to power. People have the wrong impression of our great president in my opinion. All political views aside, he keeps his country near and dear to his heart and is a prime role model when it comes to patriotism. Throughout the United States there has been a rise in the lake of nationalism. Especially within the sports world. There has also been an increase in hate crimes throughout the United States as well. These are situations that need to be controlled by the higher authorities. This will be the basis of this blog post. Between everything that is talked about among the media and celebrities, President Trump has done a good job on keeping the United States under control. Considering everything that Trump has to deal with through the media he is playing a large role in keeping this country intact. We should follow in the path the President is paving for us. President Trump has shown strength as a leader of this country. Even though the media bashes him every chance they get, he still shows how much he loves his country and the people in it. All of these sports players talk about how they are mistreated by white America. Now, there is definitely still racism some places through the United States, but it comes from both ways. The idea of a "superior white America" is few and far between. Yes, blacks have been mistreated, but whites are getting the short end of the stick in some cases too. Life is about balance. Nothing is perfect in this world and man has made that very prevalent. I have heard it said that a black can not be racist towards a white since whites have never been a minority. So if that's the game we are playing I say, bring it on. This football season has had an increasing outburst of protest against what the players say to be racial injustice in the United States. President Trump has spoken out about this issue and protested the NFL himself. He has asked others to follow him by protesting the NFL as well. It is a little unbelievable to think that a country that has done so much for its people could be disrespected so much. This will be the topic of discussion for today's blog post.
The NFL has had a major decrease in ticket sales this season. Some believe it is due to broadcasting issues along with other miscellaneous concerns but it comes down to the fact alone that the fans do not support the fact that these players are disrespecting the flag and our country. America is the land of the free and the home of the brave. You are given certain rights at birth just for being an American citizen. There are just some things that should just not be done, however. What this country has done for its citizens is unbelievable. This is the greatest country on Earth, and yet this athletes still decide to disrespect it. What our veterans have done for this country and these people is beyond anything they have offered to society. |
Tyler StuartI am a senior in high school. I am a republican but first and foremost an American. I strongly believe that nationalism and patriotism are some of the most important things as an American. Archives
January 2018
Categories |