Perspectives and Stereotyping

Perspectives are why people think so differently. They can help unite those with the same perspective and accomplish amazing things. However, they can also alienate anyone with an opposing view. For example, in Frederick Douglass's speech, he talks about the Fourth of July from the African-American point of view, and says "I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary" (Douglas). He claims that African Americas do not see the fourth of July the way that white people do. This is not the only example. It can be seen with the rich and the poor, jocks and nerds, thrill-seekers and worrywarts, etc. The list goes on and on. People often times have different perspectives on a wide variety of topics and can't understand why the other group does what they do.

 My life composes of a mix between a rigorous workload from school and hours upon hours of swimming. There have been times when kids on my swim team ask why I take so many AP's and put in extra time to improve my standardized test scores, and there are also times when friends from school wonder why I spend so much time swimming up and down a pool staring at a black line. While this does show how people of tend to always look at things through their point of view while giving no thought as to the thoughts of the other group, it more importantly shows the negative boundaries of stereotyping. Take me for example, why does me being an athlete automatically make me somebody who doesn't care as much about grades or me being a studious kid automatically make me somebody who couldn't possibly enjoy participating in sports? People need to realize that boundaries between interests aren't black and white, and that these blurred lines between interests are what make us so unique.  

Remembrance

People need to be remembered. It doesn't matter whether they did something important for the nation or whether they just made you laugh that one time when you were down. Every single person deserves to be remembered in some way. The easiest way to remember someone is through memories. Memories immortalize a person long after his or her body has perished. They enable a person to cling onto all that the person has done for them. Another way to remember people is through memorials. Memorials are a common way to acknowledge people that did something important. However, most people don't realize how sentimental memorials actually are. They go much deeper than just the surface; the location, symbols, design, etc all represent something that is significant to the death of those that are memorialized. Other things such as everyday objects, pictures, people, aromas, etc are all ways to remember people. This can be connected to a theme in The Things They Carried. In the novel, O'Brien believes that the emotions that war causes need to be remembered. A theme in this novel is that it doesn't matter whether the story is true or not, as long as the emotions are the same, the people will be remembered. The theme further exemplifies a way to remember: through emotions. O'Brien makes the reader feel all the emotions that soldiers feel when they go to war, and in turn, it makes it so that there is a connection between the soldier, real or not, and the reader. The USS Arizona memorial in an example of remembrance. Even though the Pearl Harbor attack occurred decades ago, the memorial still stands to honor those that died. The USS Arizona, like many other memorials, has many subtle attributes that exhibit little tidbits of why they should be remembered. For example, the design of the USS Arizona shows the weakening of the United States after the attack, but it also shows how they rebounded and regained prominence again. Also, the people that are remembered are associated with why the United States entered World War II. Remembering is so important because it allows the legacy that people left to be carried on by others.