Dear Ms. Arnone,
It's been a 'minute' since I have had the pleasure of being in your social studies class in 8th grade at Bleeker JHS 185 in Whitestone/Flushing Queens, NY. I am writing this open letter to you in regards to this election and my overall perspective of it along with humanities and history combined. My thoughts have been nothing but a tornado this past year.
I remember the day one of my classmates stating: "History is boring, why do we have to study it?". You responded that we needed to learn history so that it doesn't repeat itself.
Well, it seems like it has been repeating itself when it comes to a wave of immigration, a misinterpretation and false inferences on this group of immigrants. Denying or acknowledging the people's human rights. Dehumanizing people who are unlike you in looks, in social class, racial class, and economic class...
I learned much about Psychology of the human mind and behavior along with sociological aspects of the US and my hometown New York's Social Economic Status (SES) and how it coincides with the concept of race/immigration/hierarchies/groups/ and segregation of social, political, educational, employing, and residential. I learned to why it has been created and the past definitions of what it actually mean to be a 'man' and a "free man" in America's ignorant years.
Long story short, we are just humans. Humans acting out and playing out how we are supposed to as the "intelligent" animals we believe we are. We are affected and influenced by everything in our enviornment from climate to food to social to economic to residential. We all feel the same emotions and go through the same processes (some different but concept is the same) of going through pain, hurt, struggle, love, happiness, hopelessness, depression, our bad or evil habits, etc. I think we quite often forget (or perhaps lack of knowledge of the topic(s) I addressed, or how conscious we actually are of our own selves and behavior let alone others around us) how we are not that far apart from our animal instincts. I believe one can tame them. Humans are intelligent enough to create and become whatever our minds perceive's to obtain. This leads me to remember the day you assigned us a project: To create our own land of government.
I remember distinctly how I drew my made up nation's flag and the ideal laws and values I had written in the essay...I named it Peace-Topia. My utopian Society had no money, the concept did not exist. Everyone loved and respected one another, the rules were to not hurt, deprive, oppress, steal, kill, or do any unjust acts of humanity. To be mindful and not let our 7 deadly sins or should I say "negative human behaviors: Pride. Envy. Wrath, Gluttony, Lust, Sloth and Greed " get in the way of your character. In this society, everyone worked still but not for money but because they wanted to, they all had a purpose, a responsibility, and passion for it.
The farmer had his purpose: to feed the town/city nearby. The teacher taught because she wanted to teach and educate the next generation. The pilot drove the plane because he loved it, or he knew there were people who wanted to see their family across the land. The human rights advocate (the idea of a police officer) except this man's job was not to just sit around and find someone doing something wrong (not that I am inferring police do this) but rather promote the positive messages and examples of what a good samaritan and higher thinking of being human is like; Giving, thoughtful, friendly, helpful, open minded, motivated, innovated, creative, collaborative, intuitive, caring, loving, responsible, doing the RIGHT thing, altruism (though some may argue with me that wouldn't be an effective code of ethics due to our 7 deadly sins being able to take over at times)
The vision and statement here I am making is we have the power to create and be whomever we want. It is an excuse or self-justification for humans to say this idea of a society will not work...when we have not tried it due to allowing ourselves to give into those "7 deadly sins" If we become conscious, mindful, and admit to ourselves of our "sins", re-analyze and structure how we view ourselves. TO regain FULL consciousness of what those sins are like and when to recognize them to deflect them and continue to practice a code of ethics we all follow: a Humanitarian one. However, from my class debates in Ethics and Morals... there is the one thing that stops us besides greed being one of the biggest...trust in one another as a HUMAN race...
If it were up to me, I'd make the entire world practice trust falls with one another...Even myself because I admit growing up even till now...I can not even do a trust fall with my own mother...It's hard to trust when you've been bullied and torn down all your life. It's hard to trust when you see the sin's other people possess, which make one wonder why would one trust in the first place.
Again, we must evolve as Humans intellectually. I believe we are, just as a slower pace than desired and in less in number than desired. Patients is a virtue, and faith is kept high. We all have more in common with one another than we think, we all have the ability to think and act more noble and higher than we believe.
I thank you, Ms. Arnone, for giving us that project. Perhaps the world may never be the idea of utopia I have in mind. It takes more than a few thousand or million to change the world...We need every single human being on this planet to be on the same page...the same vision...enlightenment for us to be successful in anything we plan to do, create, or how we are to be. I thank you for your service as an educator. I hope to one day impact a student of mine one day as you have for me. (As well as other teachers I have had growing up in the public education system).
Sincerely,
A Walflower.
