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Monday, May 2, 2016

"Untitled" by Lauren M

      In today’s time, war and death have become so prominent that the mentality of “us versus them” is beginning to consume society as a whole. There are two types of people in this world; and they will always find a way to hate each other.
One of the most problematic issues in life is that we, as a human race, still look to establish differences within ourselves so that we may exist separately from others. Perhaps this is only done to satisfy our desperate attempts to sustain a type of identity that is so profound that we feel purposeful and “unique”. All around us, there exist social constructs that teach us to generalize the human race into two categories. Too many believe there to be a war between Muslims and Christians, failing to see how religion is too often abused as a war tactic than a type of untainted faith. People view abortion on two spectrums: pro-life v. pro-choice when in reality, there is an entire intermediate area that is so muddled it has lost relevance. Just by observing the words “pro-life” and “pro-choice” it is obvious how one group attempts to gain leverage by falling back on the fallacy that if you believe in “choice” you don’t believe in “life”, or vice versa. Democrats versus republicans until the world burns because how dare another political party rally a support that rivals the number one highest paid starters. Even racism is still prevalent and presents itself as one of the most infamous categories of all: black v. white that refuses to believe in the possibility of grey.
The fact that “everyone knows there are two types of people in the world” delineates how much we would rather assume a different identity from another group of people than realize that these misconstrued differences aren’t as conclusive as we make them out to be. People are afraid of admitting that they aren’t special or different; but what’s more so, is that society hasn’t realized that it’s excusable to not be so overwhelmingly different. We all have nuances and culture that personalize us and that should be enough to fulfill our “noble” goal of being an “individual”. So while we may strive to resolve the modern blights in society it is imperative that we recognize above all, that it is us, ourselves, that hinder society’s ability to achieve progress and a type of nondiscriminatory peace.

16 comments:

  1. This was very well written with strong vocabulary to prove your point of each of the two examples of social obscurities in today's society. It was interesting to see which problems you chose to talk about. Good job!

    -Arianna Serna
    Pd. 3

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  2. I feel like my take on the whole "individual" ordeal is this: it's the one thing that stops us from becoming a so-called utopia that was posed by Huxley's "Brave New World." I agree to some degree when you say that identity "satisfies our desperate attempts to sustain a type of identity that is so profound that we feel purposeful," because essentially, it does. We seek a persona that makes us feel good, that makes us feel important, something akin to someone who has the same aesthetic, but, above all, we seek individuality because, I feel, it's the one thing that stops us from sacrificing that choice for uniformity, it's the one thing that helps us self-preserve ourselves in order to avoid reverting back to when our personalities, our proclivities, our habits were dictated by someone else. It's a great thought you have and it's nice that you've put it on paper, err...Online. But, I think it'd be cool to elaborate more on your take, to see what you've experienced firsthand in order for the reader to gain the same sense of understanding. Other than that, well done.

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  3. I agree with this piece on a lot of the issues. In this day in age, the loud majority see the world in black and white, as opposed to seeing it in different colors. And, I believe that the intermediate areas you pointed out can be those different colors I speak of.
    Your criticism of society causes people to ponder their beliefs on the issues. I hope that you will share your voice in society as well.
    Natalia Garcia
    Period 2

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  4. samantha QuintanillaMay 10, 2016 at 5:15 PM

    I remember when you first showed me this piece and i thought how "like you" it sounded, this really encompasses a large aspects of your beliefs and your social criticism is always great to read because there is always a slight nuisance from everyone else's perspective which is a reason why i really respect your opinion. Overall i think it was written very well with a great use of vocabulary and the way in which you expressed yourself was impressive. I loved this piece :)

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  5. I like how you decided to take on some modern day issues when we all know how sensitive these topics tend to be and how easily someone can be offended. Your stance was very clear and you had some great points to back up all of your stances. Great job yo!
    -Antonio Barron P: 3

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  6. Lauren,
    I really loved this piece! This problem in society is so prominent today, as it can be seen in almost every conflict humanity faces, as you so skillfully pointed out. You have collectively untangled this conflict in order to more appropriately understand it and just how it affects us in several ways. This piece was lovely and definitely gives its readers something to think about, great job!

    Danelle Angeline Baronia
    Period 2

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  7. I really like reading this because it points out many of the major issues in today's society. We as an incoming generation need to help rid the world of these problems. Good job. :D - Deven Kiphen Pd 2

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  8. There's a quote from John Steinbeck's novel "The Pearl" where he mentions that everything is black and white, and no in between. Which I found blasphemous because there are always a "between" in situations. I really like how you highlighted issues today as well as issues that have happened in the past as well because it shows how it has always been. We strive to be individuals that we refuse to see the similarities, but similarities shouldn't be thought of as bad. They bring people together, I mean that's how friendships are made. I really liked reading this, you did a great job.

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  9. Everything that you have said in this piece is very true. Throughout time, there has always been war and hatred. I hope that we can stop these problems in the future.

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  10. Lauren,
    You deliver a powerful message to the audience through the juxtaposition of contemporary issues, essentially illuminating the partisanship of American society. Throughout this piece, you paint the portrait of a human race divided among itself, which places the burden of this problem on the shoulders of your audience (not that it's a bad thing, quite frankly, some of us have the tendency to show indifference to the arising conflicts around us). Overall, job well done!

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  11. Nowadays, I always hear from others that there's no in-between on one's stance as you said in topics such as abortion as you mentioned in your piece. I truly believe that this is such a relevant problem in our present day society, and your justification for this problem that everyone wants to feel important and different than others. Great job Lauren!

    -Amber Tacderan, Period 2

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  12. Wow Lauren, honestly this was such a heart warming piece to read, mainly because I totally agree with you on everything here, and believe that if others had this type of understanding of the world, that so many conflicts would be avoided. Almost nothing is black and white, there is always a back story or a grey area as you said. Very well written, good job!
    Taylor Sandoval
    p.5

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  13. This was beautifully written in the most consice way yet it hit every topic on life in general. It was very eye opening and I was nodding my head the entire time reading this in agreement to everything you wrote. Very well done, I appreciated it very much

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  14. I really enjoyed this piece and you're intake on individuality. I think it's a great point of view and your simplistic writing was able to convey the message quite easily. Though this topic is always controversial I think you brought up great points in which we cause the problems to ourselves. Good job!

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  15. This piece really shows the mentality of today's society and expands it to most of how us students feel also. I enjoyed reading this because you were very truthful while also being respectful. If in a perfect world we were all viewed equally maybe we can have a society they progresses in a way that improves our views of the people we interact with on a daily basis.
    P2

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  16. Ugh wow! I'm frustrated with this piece, but in a good way! You write so eloquently and I can just imagine you reading this out loud as a powerful speech in some anti-discrimination movement. This piece is well written because you made sense of a topic that many people in today's society can't make sense of themselves. It really shows that the world today isn't as perfect as some of us like to pretend it is, and that there's always room for improvement and acceptance of different cultures. Great job! :) I enjoyed the honesty of your work a lot!

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