Parenting

My life at the moment isn't exactly planned out and what I do have isn't in stone so I'm not making any promises here but if children are ever in the mix I have a few ideas and idealogies I would like to use in raising a child. Something my mother ingrained in my head since I can remember is the phrase "treat others the way you want to be treated." I personally live my life by this motto and I will deffenitly pass this mentality on. I would also focus on teaching my child simple but meaningful mottos that hopefully shape actions and reactions in life. I will also raise my child on karma because thats how I live my life. Lastly and most importantly I will try my hardest everyday to be the best example for my child, no matter what anyone teaches the greatest lesson is being shown. Hopefully I won't have to deal to much with discipline but I will probably make my child do more cleaning around the house and not be able to go out one or two nights. I think extended grounding doesn't work and just created tension and stress. Overall if I do have children I think i'll be a good parent showing my child the beauty and lessons in life that I can.

Land of the Free's Racism

Today I would sum up racism in America much better than the past and constantly moving forward. Only a few decades ago segregation laws were still in affect which only ended in the late sixties. These hateful acts were not only tolerated but at times honored in the south. Another example of american racism is the Japenese Concentration Camps held in California during World War II. Over 7,000 Japenese-American Citizens were held in containment. Leading up to 2012 every generation is moving in the right direction, I mean look at our president! Unfortunately we still have a long way to go though. The racism today starts with the stereotyping that most have been taught throughout the years. No child is born with racism. Something that shocked me was  an article published by Forbes magazine which discusses a book called The New Jim Crowe. It is stated that that "Approximately half a million people are in prison or in jail for a drug offense today, compared to around 41,000 in 1980.  Despite the fact that surveys show that whites are just as likely to use illegal drugs as blacks, one out of every 14 black men was behind bars in 2006, compared to one in 106 white men."  I believe this is extremely unfair especially toward the african american community.  Other than that, day to day, I think most people our age at least are stepping away from racism and thinking more in the name of equality.