I believe that Americans fear immigrants because they are worried about what they may do to our country. Many people believe that if we have a large influx of immigrants, people may become nervous that these individuals will take over the country. In doing so they would take our jobs, opportunities, benefits, and land or become a burden on society. They may become the majority. This fear of being overthrown and taking advantage of is so strong that it has sparked a disgusting hatred for immigrants and all things foreign.

Some white people have had nervous thoughts about becoming a minority in the United States. With immigrants coming into the country, this idea could become reality much quicker. White individuals may fear the types of treatment and discrimination that their ancestors had imposed on minorities in the past. I feel that because of this, a fear of immigrants could be triggered. This is sadly a form of inherent racism.

There are unfortunately many stereotypes that come with immigrants. For instance, many Americans perceive Mexican immigrants as lazy. Those individuals that do hold this mindset may be greatly opposed to immigrants and even nervous about them. By being “lazy,” they may think that these immigrants will come to the United States to feed off of our resources, hindering “deserving” Americans from receiving them. There is the stereotype of the foreign cleaning woman. So many individuals become nervous around this person for fear that she may steal their valuables and money. I have absolutely no idea how these stereotypes were formed, but they have obviously done damage to the American view of immigrants.

Even if more American citizens knew the truth about immigrants (that they are hard-working), I feel that there would still be those negative feelings. As of now, finding a job is difficult enough. When more people—immigrants—are thrown into the mix the odds of finding a job are worse. This could cause feelings of threat among United States citizens and possibly make matters worse for immigrants. Either the immigrants could become exploited for cheap labor because of this or they could be hated for their strong work ethic by competitive co-workers.

I wish that the members of our country could look upon immigrants with hope and kindness. In America, if you are not an immigrant your ancestors are. Our ancestors needed love, compassion, and opportunities. I feel that these individuals do too. Obviously our country cannot let everyone in who wishes to be here. We simply cannot hold or support all of those individuals and I recognize that. That being said, hopefully someday we will be able to get through these stereotypes and become more accepting of immigrants. Immigration is our history and most likely our future.

Learning about the United States’ brutal past with the Native Americans is something I have always wanted to know about. I feel as if it is something that has been swept under the carpet for far too long. In school I remember learning about this group, but never once did we speak of the massive genocide that took place nor did we examine the difficulties that modern American Indians face today. I do not understand why something that significantly shaped our history has been kept so quiet. In elementary school I learned about the Japanese internment camps during WWII. So if students can learn about America’s wrong doings at an early age, why can’t we educate everyone on such a large genocide that we had a hand in?

My great grandfather was a Cherokee Indian and a member of the Turtle Clan. Although I never had the privilege of meeting him, my grandmother and mother have kept him alive through stories. The stories I heard were always happy ones about what a great and noble man he was. They told me of my heritage. Since I was a baby, they made sure I attended Pow Wows. They bought me books about Cherokees and taught me about what my life would have been like (before the genocide of course). It was not until I was much older that I realized that the Native Americans were brutally killed in such large quantities. I learned it from my own research. It was not until I brought it up with my family that we finally discussed it. Now I wonder, why did we not talk about it? Perhaps it was too painful for my great grandfather to discuss with my grandmother and mother. I do not know the answer. I find it quite peculiar that even my relatives did not discuss something so imperative to our ancestry with me until I brought it up.

I think it is very important for our nation to discuss the past, present, and future of Native Americans. Just hearing the lecture on Tuesday really opened my eyes to so much that I did not even realize. We should not only be teaching students of the culture of American Indians, but of the harm we did to that culture. They need to be informed of what the standard of living is on reservations and the problems that exist there. Young people are the future. If they are informed about these issues, they will have the knowledge they need to be able to reach out to the Indian community and hopefully help their situation. As a future teacher, this lecture has inspired me to educate my students about Native American issues.

I definitely have to side with Ernso when it comes to non-profit organizations taking pictures of poor children in Haiti. By taking these pictures, these organizations are simply exploiting the children. Yes, these pictures may help generate more funds, but at what cost?

These pictures (and the stories that go with them) that are shown to the American public make it seem like all of the children are living in such terrible conditions. There are in fact children that are much better off. These photographs only show the negative things in the country instead of focusing on the positive. Instead of enlightening Americans on the progress that is being made, they are exploiting these children. So where people should feel compassion, they feel pity.

In the end, I suppose it does not really matter where the funds are coming from. Donations from a heart that feels pitying can do just the same as donations from a compassionate heart. In an ideal world though, it would be nice if everyone would feel compassionate and donate money for the right reasons.

The people of Haiti seem to be very proud. From what I have gotten from Ernso and Sam, Haitians do not really ask for things that they need. By taking the pictures of their children, these non-profit organizations are going against what most Haitians believe in. It is not fair for these organizations to portray the people of Haiti in such a light.

Ernso also made it very clear that he did not want a handout for the people of Haiti. He believes in giving everyone the skills they need to help themselves. Whether it is American citizens providing ideas to do this or helping these individuals learn how to improve their businesses and economy. This could play into his feelings on taking pictures of impoverished children. If this is the case I agree as well. Ernso wants to get Haiti back on its feet so it is able to care for itself. If Americans are providing a handout (giving them a fish) instead of providing them with skills (teaching them to fish for a lifetime), then the Haitians will never be able to reach that self-sustainability.

Before these non-profit organizations go about taking photographs of these impoverished children, they should really check into what the country needs. The United States can throw all the money we have at Haiti, but it will not do them any good. If these organizations wanted to help at all, they would be sending people into the country to help teach them. In order to have Haiti flourishing for generations upon generations to come, money is most certainly not the answer. Pictures of children are not the answer. Education is key.

There was a time in my life where I was a little uncomfortable being around people who were speaking a different language. I had thought up these ridiculous and elaborate scenarios in my head where these individuals were talking about me behind my back. I tried to think of all of the things they possibly be saying about me and why. That was quite a few years ago and since then, I have grown a person and become more understanding.

This growth really sprung from my grandmother. When I was around sixteen years old, my grandma had befriended a Vietnamese family. The members of this family were recent immigrants here in the United States to live out the American dream. They had nobody but each other until my grandmother decided to take them under her wing. She befriended, mentored, and taught them. They thought of her as family. Naturally, since this family was a huge part of my grandma’s life, they became part of my life too. I came to know and love all of them. Since they were still in the process of learning English, they often spoke Vietnamese to one another. I knew that since these people who had become like family cared for me, they would not be speaking ill of me in their native language. The closeness with this family had really made me realize how naïve I had been. I thank them all for teaching me this valuable lesson.

Through conversations I have had with the people around me, I have discovered that many people have these misconceptions of others speaking a different language around them. They think they are being talked about. When I step back and really look at the situation I cannot help but think, “How self-centered of us.” These people may be far from home and their English may not be all that great. They could speak their language because it makes them feel connected. They may just prefer to speak their language. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter… there are countless reasons. My point is that if someone is speaking a different language from you, they are not talking about you. I am sure that they have much more important things to discuss. Once I realized this and got it through my head, I became so much more open.

Just working on campus I have had so many amazing opportunities to learn new languages. Several of my co-workers are from Malaysia. When I asked them to teach me various phrases, they were more than happy to. Just the other day we had a customer from India. His name was much longer than typical last names in America. Out of curiosity I asked him how to pronounce it. He was pleased that I asked and happily helped me pronounce it. Embracing and having access to those who speak different languages is a great learning experience. If you haven’t taken advantage of it you should. There is absolutely nothing to be uncomfortable about.

I would definitely date a black guy. I would date a man of any race for that matter. What really matters is who that person is on the inside and not so much what they look like on the outside. I mean, yes, I would like to be attracted to an individual to date him (because really who wants to date someone that you are not sexually attracted to?), but I have found myself attracted to guys of all races at one time or another. So really, at the end of the day race does not matter to me when it comes to dating.

That being said I have never had a relationship with anyone other than white men. There were no men of color in the town I grew up in, so that really was not an option there. As for college, I have been in a serious relationship for a year and a half with a white man. Black men have asked me on dates, but every time I have been asked I was in a relationship so I obviously declined. If I had been single, I could have easily ended up in a relationship with someone of color today.

Although I would feel comfortable dating a black man, my mother would not be. She and I have had this conversation time and time again. She is so against multi-racial couples—especially black and white couples. She is very religious and has tried to tell me that the Bible discourages interracial couples and marriages. I don’t understand. The last time I checked, God is not racist. There are even passages in the Bible to suggest that Moses married a woman who was black. My mother does not care or listen. She is set in her ways. I have asked her why me marrying a white man is so important and why loving someone isn’t enough. I have tried to tell her that you cannot help who you are attracted to and who you fall in love with. She tells me that she thinks black people “look like monkeys.” She does not want grandchildren that look “that way.” I have told her how racist these thoughts are and how upsetting they are. My mom believes that since she has had African American friends that she is not racist, but her ideas of interracial marriage obviously are. It is very disconcerting.

I would be 100 percent open to dating a black man, but unfortunately my mother is not. Despite her ill wishes, if I cared about someone I would date them no matter what they looked like. I wish my mother could open her eyes and realize that we are all just PEOPLE. We may look a little different from one another, but that is what makes us all beautiful—our uniqueness.

Growing up in a predominantly white area, I never really gave too much thought to the fact that I am white. I did not start to really contemplate this until I was about 15. When I was in high school, a black family moved into my town. They had a daughter who was in my grade. She was the only person of color in my entire school, so she seemed to stick out to some of the students. She was picked on repeatedly for being black. I specifically remember one lunch where things got out of control. A couple girls dumped their slushies over her head, saying that the red from the drink was an improvement since it covered up her black skin. The racism in my school continued until one day this girl received death threats. She ended up going to private school. I felt guilty to be apart of a school that was not able to stop this terrible treatment. Most of all, I felt guilty to be white. I often find myself feeling this way.

What white people have been able to get away with is ridiculous. We have killed countless American Indians and taken their land, made Blacks our slaves, prevented Asians from immigrating into our country, and the racism and prejudice still has not stopped. I hate the fact that my ancestors partook in these things and I hate how racism is still so real.

I feel guilt when I hear about racist acts of violence on the news or when I hear a white person make a racist comment—especially when that person is a family member. It makes me not want to be white. I cannot stand being associated with so much hatred.

I wonder how different my life would have been if I was born another race. I would not be very welcome by many of the racists in my hometown. My father’s practice would go under because I am almost positive that these racists in my town would not trust a doctor of color. It would have been so much more difficult for my family to live in our home. We might even be living in an apartment. All of these things would change because of race. My life would be so incredibly different than it is now. Just thinking about what a huge impact my white skin has made on my life makes me sick.

I realize that what I am going through is white guilt. I hope that someday I will no longer feel so guilty, but even that thought brings me guilt. Maybe it sounds cheesy, but I hope that someday the world can live in peace and respect towards all people. I am ashamed at how slow racial progress is.

This is an incredibly important issue. Looking ahead is vital so that we do not face overpopulation and a lack of resources in the future. Limiting the number of children and at what age people can have children probably will not solve that problem at hand. If anything, people will most likely become upset with this and retaliate. With the world’s population steadily rising, how can we conserve our resources? There is a path that can be taken by the United States. It is a fairly simple concept, but nevertheless there is a great deal of work to be put into it. Sex education and working towards a greener planet could greatly aid of our civilization.

Proper sex education is paramount to the youth of today. Not only does it help prevent disease, but it teaches students about family planning. Some schools unfortunately take a conservative approach and only teach their children about monogamy. All schools need to enforce a stronger curriculum in health classes that covers all forms of birth control and how to obtain it. Realistically, these kids are going to have sex and if they are not safe, they are going to end up pregnant. If they do not learn this information when they are young, they may not know what they need to when they are older as well. So many babies are born because of “accidents.” It would also be very helpful for these students to learn what the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 costs. (In case you are wondering for a family living in a city or suburb in the north east, with an income of $56,300-$98,000, it is predicted to cost $328,910 to raise a child born in 2011.) This simple information could easily dissuade them from having very large families. Of course, the idea of strong sex education classes is just my own. I have no research to back myself up, but I feel like it could only help the cause.

There are already so many people working towards a greener planet. What the United States needs to work toward is sustainability. According to my dictionary this means, “conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources.” So many Americans have gotten used to a life of luxury, leisure, and convenience. What we really need to do is learn to take from the earth only what we need. It is a difficult thing to do. I don’t mean go live in a cave and eat bark, but be conscious of your purchases. Think, “Do I really need this?” Even if everyone makes a couple changes to their lifestyles, it adds up and makes a difference.

There are also a lot of new and innovative ideas to becoming green that many have not heard about. For instance some colleges are using vegetables and herbs to help landscape their campuses. These landscape gardens are tended to of by students, then harvested and served in their dining commons. These foods do not have to be shipped from California, nor do they require fuel and packaging to be acquired. They provide job and research opportunities for students, as well as nourishment. It is small changes like this that benefit the planet and cut back on the use of our precious resources (especially fuel). The idea is to be creative and resourceful, all while cutting back on what is not necessary.

I realize that these are only two small ideas to solve a very large issue, but I feel that they could help out the looming problem of running out of resources. Every effort prepares us for the future and hopefully it will be a bright one.

Years ago, people used to have a large number of children in order to help with the family farms and housework. The times have changed and having a very big family is not as acceptable as it used to be—especially if you are living in poverty. There are various reasons as to why these individuals have a lot of children such as the desire to have a big family, unplanned pregnancy, or not believing in birth control.

I feel that someone in poverty having a large number of children is both selfish and irresponsible. If an individual is at a place in their life where they can barely support the family they have, the solution is not to have more children. By expanding their family, these people are putting themselves and their offspring at a huge disadvantage. It costs thousands of dollars to raise a child. Odds are that these people do not readily have this money available. More children means more mouths to feed and backs to clothe. There comes a point where one can have too many children. That point is when you can no longer support your family because it is too large. Children should not have to go hungry or have an unsuitable place to live because their parents wanted a bigger family. It is simply not fair.

With all that being said, I realize that unplanned pregnancies happen and when they do, they must be dealt with either by keeping the child, adoption, or abortion. Abortion could be costly and against one’s morals, so in many cases it leaves keeping the child or putting it up for adoption. Often this leads to keeping the child. This is perfectly fine until unplanned pregnancies become the norm in a family.

I understand that some individuals do not believe in birth control and that is their decision. If poverty stricken people (who do not believe in birth control) are having many pregnancies, it is their responsibility to their family to abstain from sex (as much as that would suck).

Most importantly, I want to address the statement that people living in poverty tend to have more children. I feel that this is a huge stereotype. I come from an area with an incredibly high poverty rate and families are your typical sizes. Actually, the larger families (3-5 children) are wealthier. I feel that poor families who have a lot of children are a rarity. Maybe we notice them more because who wouldn’t pay attention to a family that big. I feel that we need to give poor families more credit than they are getting. Just because they do not have much money, does not mean that they are unintelligent. Paying for birth control is way cheaper than all of the costs associated with raising a child. In the (rare) event that an impoverished family does tend to be large, I feel that it is negligent. For the most part though, I do not see this happening all that much.

Many college classes discuss the issue of modern day slavery, however the word slavery is not always used. Saying slavery makes the situation one that is tough to swallow. It is easy to state that foreigners working in less than ideal conditions produce many of our goods. When you realize what is happening here is slavery, it makes your stomach turn. Too often humans turn a blind eye to things that make them feel uncomfortable—especially when this discomfort comes from decisions they are making. It is easier to ignore the issue at hand then deal with it head on.

On the other hand, I also feel that these issues are not made as public as they should be. Although today’s slavery is taught in college courses, what about those who do not attend a university? Modern day slavery is an issue that is hidden from the majority of the public. Big businesses and the government are doing a great job of this too. If people actually knew and accepted the fact that so many good are produced through slavery, I would hope that they would make an effort to stand against it. This could completely change our economy as we know it—for better or worse. The question is, is this change worth the cause? I think so. People are living their lives as prisoners to our material desires. They are beaten and tortured for our pleasure. Saving the lives of many is worth the risk of standing against this system.

So, what can be done to spread the word? I realize that it is incredibly difficult for one small group of people to change the world, but we can make a difference. The easiest thing that can be done is to share this information with our families, friends, and co-workers. Tell everyone you know. Those people can go on to tell more people and the awareness of this subject will increase. If you can, share the documentary we watched in class. Post it on facebook, twitter, or tumblr. Show it to your loved ones. We are an incredibly lucky generation to have so much technology at our fingertips. We need to utilize it.

When you tell people about slavery, make sure you explain to them how to fight it. Tell them about free trade products. Do some research and find out where these items can be purchased (you might be surprised).

These are simple steps that all of us are capable of doing. It only takes a few minutes out of your day, but it can result in a big impact. Although these slaves are unreachable to the majority of us, these are all simple ways to spread the word of their situation and show them some love. The more people we can tell about slavery and little changes they can make, the closer we are to ending modern day slavery. The Dalai Lama has said, “We cannot be loving and compassionate unless at the same time we curb our own harmful impulses and desires.”

As was stated in class, issues of racial inequality are a give and take between free will and determinism. I feel that this holds true concerning the disparity of Native Americans, although I tend to lean towards determinism.

What we did to American Indians was a massive genocide. I did some research and discovered that before European settlers came to the Americas, the population of Native Americans was (conservatively) around twelve million people. After the killings took place, 237 thousand remained—approximately five percent of the original twelve million. Those who survived were taken from their homes and herded onto reservations. The reservations were selected because of their undesirable, barren land. American Indians did not choose this system. The United States government chose it for them.

As far as I know, the US decided that these reservations would be self-governed. In some ways this is incredibly beneficial, but there are two sides to this coin. Private businesses are dissuaded from developing on reservations because state laws do not protect them. This leads to less jobs and cash flow for Native Americans living on reservations, severely hindering the economy as well as contributing to the poverty rate.

Through time and outside of their reservations, they have been expected to conform. They must act like “real Americans.” They must wear “proper clothing” and attend public schools. Native Americans are expected to leave their culture behind and switch it out for a new one, even though their culture was around long before ours. While living in reservations, American Indians receive free healthcare from The Indian Health Service. Those that move away no longer receive this free service. Medical care is very expensive and potentially unaffordable to someone coming from poverty.

Native Americans are then faced with an interesting choice: Stay on the reservation (and support their peoples’ economy), move away (potentially for better opportunities), or migrate between US soil and the reservation. These choices are fueled by determinism and depending on the choice that is made, either determinism or free will could affect their individual outcome. For example, an American Indian coming from poverty moved off their reservation because they wished to receive a college education. Since SAT scores correlate to family income, this individual could have a difficult time being admitted. From a determinism perspective, because they grew up in poverty, they did not have as many resources as wealthier students. This person received a terrible score on their SATs and was not able to attend college. Because of free will, this same person is able to rise above the odds. They are driven and study incessantly for the SATs. This individual receives an astounding score, is admitted into a prestigious university, and receives financial aid.

I feel that where Native Americans are coming from is a product of determinism. They did not choose to be placed on reservations. Just because the past was determined for them, the future does not have to be. Everything is situational. I believe that American Indians can either use their free will to try their hardest to create a more prosperous life for themselves (if they so desire) or they can be changed by the world around them.