“Post-Racial America: What does it even mean?”
http://sites.psu.edu/ramyapla/2013/10/11/post-racial-america-what-does-it-even-mean/
Ramya, sometimes I am incredibly blown away by how people so readily put uniformed, unfounded, statements on the Internet. It seems today that people don’t have a problem when it comes to making offensive comments on the Internet because they can hide behind their phone or their computer.
Getting to some of your larger questions, I definitely agree that we should not be color blind. Diversity is something that should be celebrated in any of its forms, whether it be celebrating ethnic diversity or the fact that people like different flavors of ice cream. Ethnic diversity is one of the things that make the United States such a rich country. For this reason though, it is hard to say whether or not there is an “American Culture”. You brought up an excellent question that has the wheels turning in my brain.
When I travel abroad I always seem to get the same question: “Are cheerleaders as popular as they are in the movies?” Many people that I have talked to seem to have this idea that American culture is made up of cheerleaders, American football and hamburgers. But let’s face it, not every American guy plays or even likes American football and not every American girl wants to be a cheerleader, just like not every American loves guns or is a country boy or girl. The United States doesn’t really have one culture because culture in this country is made up of little pieces of all kinds of cultures that reflect all the different kinds of Americans there are. Then, culture varies from state to state. For example, I have lived in Pennsylvania my whole life and I call ground up beef with sauce on a bun a sloppy joe. My dad, who is from Chatom, New Jersey, calls it a manwhich (not sure about the spelling on that) and has a totally different idea of what a sloppy joe is. This is a simple example but it demonstrates how even American states that share boarders have different cultures.
I don’t think we could say that there is “an” American culture but several American cultures.
“Starting Small”
http://sites.psu.edu/pelini137h002/2013/10/04/start-small/
Jake, I absolutely love reading your posts (I think I just read three in a row) because I can hear your voice in my head as I read and I can just picture these words coming out of your mouth. I also love that you are not afraid to take risks in your writing and say what you are thinking (especially in class). Oh and I like your use of French.
I couldn’t agree with you more that we should study and do what we love instead of going after something that will make us the most money. I sometimes forget this though. I frequently wonder if I should try to study something other than French ( my passion) that I think will open more doors for me in the future(aka lead me to “better” jobs with better salaries) but I know in my heart that this is not what I want. I know that I should not bend myself to fit into the mold that society has made as this would be detrimental to my future. But some days this is hard to remember and I do start to bend.
As you said, society tells us to focus in the future and concentrate less on the now. I agree that thinking about the future is necessary, but it’s not necessary to think about it to the point that we forget about the now. I don’t think we need to have our whole lives planned out by the time we are 18 and yet I frequently find myself worrying about the future and what I will find there. For me, feeling comfortable with my choice of study can be a daily battle. But you have given me a new perspective. I don’t need to become a millionaire or find my dream job right out of college. I need to start small because I can always build on that.
Your post also reminded me that I should probably think more critically instead of complacently listening stories.