Am I Going to be Eternally Damned? I Don't Think So John Edwards.

**This is not meant to offend anyone, just my personal opinions.

Wait you're not Hindu?! I just thought I should take a moment to address the stereotype topic from last week that all/most Indians are Hindus, which is very annoying. Anyways, no I'm not, I'm Catholic and I have been ever since I can remember. With that being said, I've never really stopped to think of how I came to be a Catholic. I don't think I was forced to be, but I don't remember having a choice (I'm pretty sure my parents started taking me to church the week after I was born hahaha). Nevertheless, I think being Catholic was a part of my life from the beginning. My entire family is Catholic, so I think it was important for my parents to raise me as a Catholic. My family and I go to church every Sunday and I don't mind, but it probably wouldn't be my first choice. My parents along with previous generations are very religious. I'm not saying I don't believe in God, I just don't take religion as seriously as my family does. My parents know this and encourage me to be more religious, but they don't force it upon me like Jonathan Edwards does in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God to his audience. Unlike Edwards, my parents don't say I'm going to hell for the rest of eternity if I don't become a better Catholic. Edwards makes it clear to his audience that you not only have to be a converted man (to God), but also extremely devoted to Him. If you're not, well good luck with your life. His entire speech is a threat that if these people don't convert they are going to be eternally damned. His view on God is totally different than my family's. My parents are extremely religious but I'm pretty sure they're not going around yelling at everyone to convert. His extremist views on God are crazy and I just think they're not true.

Shameless Stereotypes

“Don’t judge a book by its cover”. Ever hear that before? You probably have and think you haven’t prejudged anyone, but have you ever stereotyped someone? Maybe you have, maybe you haven’t. I’m not going to lie I probably have stereotyped someone. After this week I feel as though stereotypes are so dumb. I think that there are so many stereotypes in our world, that they’re inevitable. People from Country A are really smart or people from Country B are obese. I’m not saying all stereotypes are wrong. People from one country may have an overall higher IQ than another country. However, this does not mean EVERYONE in this country is smarter than the people in the other country. I just think it’s wrong to group an entire culture together based on what may only be true for a few. Saying that all Asians/Indians are smart and only study is definitely an overstatement. Just because I’m Indian, it doesn’t mean that I am super smart, have A’s in every class, and spend every minute studying. These stereotypes are not only wrong, they are cruel. Judging someone before getting to know them is rude and doesn’t give that person the chance to truly express who they really are. I don’t think I fit in the “Indian stereotype”, and I would think it’s unfair if someone judged me based on my culture. My point is stereotypes are unjust and downright mean. I’m not sure where stereotyping started, but I hope it can come to an end soon. By slowly separating cultures, stereotypes are hindering humanity’s progress towards total equality. 

I found a map of the US that shows many of the stereotypes that are circulating through our world everyday. 

I thought it was interesting to see how easily we were grouped and separated.

Personal Power

How did Martin Luther King Jr. have enough power to voice an action that spread throughout most of the USA? I think that he was able to speak his mind because he believed in the power he had to effectively reach a nation. How much power does an individual really have? I believe an individual has as much power as he/she believes to have. What I mean is that if someone believes in himself, he can accomplish almost anything. The power that an individual holds comes from inside.

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck defies all odds and actually helps an African American man escape! For his time period, this is a HUGE deal. Huck’s choice to help Jim proves that he has a lot of internal strength and power. Huck believes in himself enough to help Jim escape from slavery. If Huck did not believe he had the power to get Jim and himself out of there, he may have been caught early in his getaway. He really did have a great deal of power, he just had to realize it and put it to his best use.

People may not realize how much power they actually have, it just takes a while for one to realize his/her potential and strength. No one should be afraid of their power. Fear is what keeping people from believing in the power they actually hold. We all have the power to change stereotypes, like Huck did about Jim, it just needs to be recognized.