Sheep

In American Studies we looked at a Yale commencement speech by William Deresiewicz. In this speech he made a comment on the nature of the students he saw around him. "what I saw around me were great kids who had been trained to be world-class hoop jumpers. Any goal you set them, they could achieve. Any test you gave them, they could pass with flying colors. They were, as one of them put it herself, 'excellent sheep'".
So then my American studies teachers asked our class, "what types of people within our society are the sheeps?".

Sheep has two applicaple definitions of many when defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary. A sheep is either "a timid defenseless creature or a timid docile person; especially one easily influenced or led". Niether definition is a particularly positive one.
Using Deresiewicz's description of these "sheep" and pairing it with the Merriam-Webster definition I came to the conclusion that the sheep are the people that are typically in the higher level classes in our school.
I say this because if a sheep is someone that is "easily influenced or led", then those who are in higher level classes or strive to succeed within the system are the sheep. These types of people do whatever they can in order to succeed. They do not rebel, or question authority because they hope to succeed. These are the people that end up dictating the course of America, those in higher level classes end up getting further in our society.
       If those people are the sheep and are "easily influenced or led", then what does that mean for America? Why is our system set up to reward those who follow instruction and do not act for themselves?

Everything but love

In class we’ve been talking about slavery in the United States and I am learning how much I don’t know about slavery. I have learned about slavery many times in the past years and still I have been surprised by different facts and figures. But nevertheless I still thought that racism and segregation is behind us. Until I read an article I found on my homepage, Kentucky church bans interracial marriage. This article was talking about how a church in Kentucky banned mixed-race marriages and how people in America still have racist feelings and do not believe in equality.

            A more broadcasted issue is the debate about same sex marriages. The similarity between these two subjects is the prejudices people hold towards these couplings and people’s need to intervene with the love between two people. Americans like to control everything including other people’s lives. They feel that others should be just like them. But most importantly, same sex couplings and mixed-race marriages interfered with what was the typical idea of the perfect American family. The idea of radical change towards an unknown frightens people and they feel the need to fix it. Mixed-race couples and homosexual marriages was not the accepted norm and went against the idea of a perfect family. Americans feel the need to uphold this image and let this image destroy the happiness of others.

            In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s mixed-race marriages slowly became legal, one state at a time. Until the Loving v. Virginia case which ruled that miscegenation laws were unconstitutional. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, states are slowly legalizing same sex marriages and even allowing citizens of other states to be legally married in those states and granting state-level spousal rights to these homosexual couples. Just like the mixed-race couples America is gradually becoming more accepting of homosexual couples and little by little the “ideal American family” is being altered to fit the large range of diversity within America.

            Although Americans are controlling and they feel the need to control the lives of others in order for them to fit the norm, they eventually accept differences. The acceptance of these differences is really what makes America, America. Yes there have been mistakes made but slowly they are being corrected so that all may be welcome and can enjoy the freedom that each human being is entitled to. Wrongs are corrected and differences are accepted and the diversity and eventual acceptance of it is what makes Americans unique.