I’ve heard a lot about you these past couple of weeks; I bet you’re glad to hear that the allure of the anthem hasn’t died out yet… even though you’ve been dead for about 200 years. Time flies right? As a patriot and daughter of two veterans, your eloquent portrayal of the US as a resilient military victor, united under one star spangled banner, has always resonated with me. However, I recently learned about the unsung verses of your piece and thought it was my responsibility to enlighten you on some of the changes that have transpired in the past 173 years.
You’d probably be pretty happy to hear that your first verse is sung nearly every day in the United States, from school assemblies to sporting events, you’re pretty much a celeb. Your song
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Although I contend that we’ve got a long ways to go, we’ve also come so far. I was upset by your line “Their blood has wiped out their foul footsteps pollution./ No refuge could save the hireling and slave/ From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:” And I know you’re probably thinking, ‘What are you talking about? Look at the rhyme scheme, the eloquence-’ but slavery is not a thing anymore, and that line is incredibly racist. In your day, ownership of slaves was commonplace, but in today’s society, it's entirely unacceptable. But, as you may have gleaned from my mention of athletes kneeling, oppression of black people continues to this day. One of the main reasons I drafted this letter is because I’m of the mindset that it's never too late to change someone’s mind. The more people to whom I can espouse equality, the better and more accepting I can help make this country. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but seeing as you’re only 173 (years expired), I thought I’d give it a shot. I hope after reading this letter, you’ll understand that your line was racist and unacceptable. If not, you might want to chill in your grave indefinitely, a world where we are equals is a tough one for a
The movie, The Patriot, is the story of a South Carolina plantation owner, Benjamin Martin, who leads a local militia against British troops in the South during the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. Martin, who is a widower with six children and a veteran of the French and Indian War, wants nothing to do with the war until a brutal British Colonel, William Tavington, kills one of his sons and takes his eldest son, a member of the Continental Army, prisoner. Martin, who’s character is loosely based on Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox, uses guerrilla warfare to cut British supply lines and attack outposts in an attempt to slow General
Imagine the President of the United States suffering from insanity. The thought of anyone in authority being mentally unstable may rattle some, but this scenario plays out in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth. The play describes how the title character uses violence to maintain power but gradually plummets into the abyss of mental illness. In Macbeth, Shakespeare asserts how power drives people to a descent into madness, as demonstrated by the title character and his wife experiencing guilt after committing murder to attain authority. Macbeth imagined the consequences of his actions in a terrifying vision, but performs the devious act afterwards and suffers immediate remorse. Another murder displays Macbeth’s progressive nosedive into
After the victory towards French in the Seven Years War, the political and social relationship of the colonists and Great Britain had shifted to a different direction. The colonists began to think of themselves as Americans. At that time, The British government felt that the colonies had become quite independence, and they wanted their colonies to start paying tax in order to help England pay the national debt. Not only were Americans forced to pay direct taxes, but they were also obliged to involve in strict regulatory acts such as Sugar Act and Currency Act. Sugar Act (1764) strongly affected American’s trading in which their oceanic vessels and cargos could be inspected by the British Navy and might be confiscated if the paper and the goods that being transported were in disagreement. Currency Act (1764) restricted colonial governments to print their own paper money. These two acts put some colonists in anger but they were not enough to result in civil disorder until the Stamp Act was passed. The reason that the colonists resisted government authority with the passage of the Stamp Act (1765) was because the Stamp Act collected taxes in all type of papers including newspapers, playing cards, licenses, and stamps. This outraged many colonists especially the educated and
This is Isaiah Carter. After coming back from the heart breaking Normandy Invasion. There’s something more devastating than losing my fellows during the war. I saw the news of Rosa Parks. Because she's black just like me, so she was forced to yield the seat on the bus and she even got arrested by the cops because she refused. Man, what kind of mistakes have we done to deserve all these. Therefore, after serving in the army as a patriot I decide to serve for my African American people. I joined the sit-ins in the 1960. I want the white people to know we are humans too. We African Americans should be treated the same as you white people. Rosa Parks was brave enough to fight against you police officers. Now, I, Isaiah Carter is going to challenge
The United States of America has seen great change throughout its history. While a considerable amount of time has matured the nation, the core spirit of the American people remains unaffected. In spite of all the wars fought and problems that arose, the
Therefore, changes are needed immediately to achieve justice because too many people of color have lost their lives to injustice. I believe the more the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” gets around to readers, the faster Americans will value
Many people hail “The Star Spangled Banner” as the greatest piece of American music. The audiences of America’s national anthem seem, instinctively, eager to express their respect by embracing the notion to remove their hats and stand up. However, not many people ponder over the question of what “The Star Spangled Banner” truly means. What does it mean? Why does it deserve so much reverence and honor? What exceptional difference allows it to prevail over the masterpieces of prominent composers like Mozart and Beethoven? The answer is fairly simple. “The Star Spangled Banner” symbolizes America’s perseverance, its set of moral laws and ethics, and its history that constitutes what America truly means.
“What I told you is what your grandparents tried to tell me: that this is your country, that this is your world, that this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.” (Coates). This powerful quote exemplifies the mistreatment of blacks in America as something that has been prevalent throughout our nation’s history and is still present in our contemporary world. Our national founding document promised that “All men are created equal”. As a nation we have never achieved the goal of equality largely because of the institution of slavery and its continuing repercussions on American society.
Martin's army however overcomes much adversity, and plays a large part in the Continental effort. They later join up with the main Continental Army, and along with the long awaited arrival of the French, force Cornwallis and the British to surrender at Yorktown. Benjamin also gets his revenge by killing Tavington in the battle. This spells victory for the Americans and personal victory for Benjamin Martin. After the white flag is raised Martin returns to his family to rebuild his house and his life.
There is much controversy surrounding the idea of patriotism and the iconography of the American flag in today’s society. Some believe patriotism is simply the act of supporting the decisions of the leaders of the country. Others say, to be patriotic, people should be outspoken and voice their oppositions to what is going on in the government. Opinions also differ on the idea of what the American flag represents. One opinion of the flags representation is that the flag represents our history, and the formerly mentioned idea of patriotism. Others believe the flag also represents our history as a nation, but these beliefs focus much more heavily on the negative aspects of our history; such as slavery and other injustices carried out by our
As I sit here and write to you and I look across the street of this tiny little home I live in I see the neighbors and in their front yard is a cross that someone has lit on fire. Why, because today he walked a white girl to school. Rumors started and now everyone knows that this little girl likes him. Yet he is being punished for it. It shouldn’t matter. If there is one thing that you need to know and one thing that I can teach you through this letter it is to be you. Know yourself. Never let anyone tell you that you can not do something. Most importantly, remember that loves has no boundaries. It sees no color. It does not understand hate. It does not segregate nor does it discriminate. I hope that you never have to endure the hardships that we have to endure during these trying times. Always remember to live with no regrets and never look back!
Martin Luther King letter from a Birmingham Jail has been one of the most powerful text that I had ever come cross during my time in school. When I started reading it, I just couldn’t stop and contained my excitement of how much truth and power lies behind every word. It is very sad that this racial issue that happened so long ago is still happening among us. Is not a secret that racial discrimination still exists up to today. What is crazy is that not only people are still being judged by their skin color but by their ethnicity, religion, and socioeconomic class. As an aspiring social worker to be I do hope that one day we can live in a society where there’s no prejudice and everyone is treated equally, but that day seems very far away.
The California gold rush began with the discovery of nuggets in the Sacramento Valley in 1848. The California gold rush could possibly be one of the greatest events that shaped American history during the 19th century. As the word spread that there had been gold found, thousands of gold miners made the journey to San Francisco. At the end of 1849, the population of the California territory was about 100,000 and before the gold rush in 1848 the population was less than 1,000. The gold rush peaked in 1852 and by the end of it there was a total of $2 billion in precious metal that was extracted which is approximately 750,000 pounds of gold.
Likewise, the current generations in the workforce have different values. Research surveys done by Gibson et al. (2009) and Crumpacker and Crumpacker (2007) have found that the generations have diverse values. It was found that Baby Boomers value health, family, honesty, responsibility and company loyalty more than anything else. Researchers also found the Baby boomer workers value authority, hard work and achievement. Additionally, Baby Boomers value when someone communicates with them one-on-one rather than using technology (Crumpacker & Crumpacker, 2007; Gison et al., 2009). In contrast, Generation X workers tend to value family security, health, honesty and responsibility the most. In addition it was found that they value a comfotable life
The “Patriot” takes place in South Carolina in 1776 during the Revolutionary War. It is a story about a widowed father of seven, named Benjamin Martin. Benjamin was involved in the French and Indian War before marrying and starting a family. He is reluctant to join the conflict as he remembers too well his own experience in the earlier French and Indian War. After his wife passed away he does everything to keep his family together and away from war. He is a patriot who wants no part in a war with Britain.