Dear Fellow Americans: In recent years we have witnessed a transformation One that has completely altered our nation’s foundation Terrorism has become the new norm Yet very rarely does it cause a storm Candidates aim to solve issues on the debate floor But sadly it is no more than a divided eyesore Education has been left to die Although no one will care until we finally say goodbye Drugs come to our children faster than ever before Yet we sit and watch them come through the front door Our military and teachers are disrespected Yet the rich sit back completely protected We find our veterans left on the streets Although success is still found in the suites Yes, we have fallen significantly behind But we must change before we are misdefined For we are too loving, too genuine, too wise To have others and our own view us with despise. Anonymous
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I am coming I am coming to run and represent the United States In the Olympics The biggest event in the world. It’s not the same As viewed on television An enormous stadium People from all over the globe With the whole world watching. I get dressed the same way they do I eat the same way they do I breathe the same way they do I run the same way they do But I am scared... I am scared to do the thing I love For the first time in my life I am afraid to do the thing that gives me comfort I am terrified to do the thing that has all my problems go away. I step on the plane The thoughts are present in my stomach My hands are unsteady I try to get it off my mind But it’s not feasible Like when someone robs a store And then they are frightened Because they see their robbery on TV I am terrified because the color of my skin is black And the color of their skin is white Anonymous
Gender roles and the binary entrench the status quo with dehumanizing expectations for marginalized communities. Only through feminism can onlookers see the insanest desperation the oppressed suffer from these never-written guidelines society has in place for individuals that don’t identify as cis-white men. This form of violent masculinity belittles those that don’t conform to the gender expectations, which Jane, suffering from postpartum depression and diagnosed anxiety, is repressed from self-actualization through these roles. The Yellow Wallpaper, a short story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is an epistolary text reflecting the descent into insanity a woman, Jane experiences while receiving treatment from her husband, doubling as her doctor. Gilman critiques the societal position married women endure through this “psychological horror tale.” Only through feminism can readers unpack the toxicity of gender roles within society. Aligning with feminism is the only way to help deconstruct the patriarchy. Married women are often trapped in idealized domestic life, but the problematic over-simplification of female individuality forces some into an intolerable lifestyle. Gilman magnifies this construct with a symbolic motif; the yellow wallpaper. Her husband, John, has confined her to isolationism, sincerely believing that ‘men know what’s best for their wives’ disregarding Jane’s standpoint in regards to her ‘treatment.’ The blurred vision of a desperate woman, trying to escape the bars of the pattern of the yellow wall, is representative of a cage. Barred from expression and fundamentally repressed from any recourse, Jane’s descent into madness is evident as the imagery of the women in the wall becomes increasingly violent. The barred wallpaper is symbolic of Jane’s trapped structure of family and ineffective treatment. Her derailment to insanity ending the epistolary text is lastly recorded as she tries to tear the wallpaper away from the wall, trying to free the woman behind it; herself. Realism helps us re-orient ourselves into the structure of our status quo; in reality, the lines between protagonist and antagonist are blurred. Violent masculinity can disguise itself through the binary, forcing many to self identify as either ‘this’ or ‘that.’ Feminism is key to shifting the focus to the marginalized, allowing conversation within an educational space to enlighten readers. The juxtaposition of the binary is evident in Jennie, John’s sister, and Jane’s caretaker. Her alliance with society’s viewpoint of domestication fills Jane with the guilt of being unable to satisfy the traditional role as a caretaker. As Jane records this, her intensifying guilt would factor into her fall into insanity. The journal our narrator uses as a means to communicate with us becomes the longing outlet for emotional and intellectual expression, a deterrent to madness. Entries abruptly ended if husband and sister-in-law are present within her ‘cell,’ trying to hide the guilt from differing from traditional house-wives, like Jennie. Forced into a cyclical state of repression, a mind that cannot access outlets of self-expression will fall to destruction. Structure violence, defined as societal violence from structures harming our necessary due, is only mitigated when we decide to challenge gender hierarchies entrenching a deadly reality where expectations become deadly. Without feminism, we become agents of injustice, bystanders of violent masculinity, and gender norms. The Yellow Wallpaper describes the life of a mentally disabled woman forced into cyclical expectations she could not reach; left without any outlet for self-expression of emotional and intellectual discussion, she falls into eventual insanity. Feminism advocates for the representation of those who don’t identify with the gender-norm; it’s what prevents us from derailing into madness by allowing us to see our differences. It’s what humanizes us. Annie Chen
When did we become people that just walk by? Keep our heads down, ignore others' cries? Aren’t we each a thread in the flag Red, White, and Blue? United we stand. Honest, loyal and true? Why don’t we look past differences of opinion? Since when is it impossible to immigrate in? Do equity and the American Dream still exist? Or do we just accept conduct that’s racist and sexist? Is it worth hoping that conditions will change? That ideas of equality won’t feel so estranged? That leaders will fight for us over power, status, and money? We will see what happens in 2020. Remy Rabin
The people you never see. In the background. They were left. They Were in distress. They Stick together. They Care for each other. They Don’t need to take flight. They Can live in the twilight. They Are proud of being themselves. They Can be whatever rings their bell. Cassandra Rendlesham
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