...with Liberty and Justice for SOME.

The "Waiting for Superman" video brought out so many emotions in me. It just frustrates me to my core that things are not equal. One thing that really sent me off was when the kids were reciting the pledge of allegiance; the line, "One nation under God, indivisible with Liberty and Justice for all." Justice does not exist in its entirely because schools are not equal. The video brought up the fact that there are so many students who go to schools and learn at such a slow rate compared to other students. And they do not get the same opportunities. This damages our children it makes it more difficult for individuals to climb the social ladder and live what we consider a better life. Another thing that left me appalled was the fact that on a national level we spend so much money per person in jail that is roughly the cost of putting a child through private school from grades K-12 and there would be money left over for college. This just baffles me, it makes more sense to provide a child with a good education first rather than spend money on jails and prisons. Because I believe a lot of crime can be attributed to idleness. If kids don't feel comfortable or smart in school they are more likely to drop out hence being idle. So using the money to make good schools available for everyone is the best option.

A lot of kids aren't doing well in school because many of them have been labeled as dumb/stupid and they exude just that. Another reason is because their peers don't do well. They have few role models to teach them the right way. As a people we fail to understand that we learn not only by what people say but by what we see as well. It's the process of socialization where we interact and learn what's socially acceptable based on how people respond to our actions. And their response can reinforce or discourage behavior. And if Superman were to rescue students like those in the film, he would change society's view of education. Society would then think of being educated as a necessity, as 'cool', as the norm. The entire socialization process would be turned around. Then students would be more willing to actually apply themselves in school. Another way to fix the problem is to get parents involved. We can do so by changing the way parents view education. Make them believe and know that it IS important. What our parents value is typically what we like to embody and this would ecourage more students perform better in school.


Another way to ensure that social justice prevails and all things are equal is to vote. I believe that many of our issues would be solved if we we're to vote. We need to know who we elect and hold our leaders accountable. We have problems and voting is medium to express our concerns. People don't understand the power they have and a part of that is unawareness of what's actually going on. We are more preoccupied with Bad Girls Club or Basketball Wives or Jersey Shore. We glorify those shows and people in them, and I'm sure if you asked someone who the speaker of the houses people they probably wouldn't even know. But they could name every star on a popular show. It is sad that as a society, we praise the irrelevant things and neglect the important issues. In Illinois, election day is tomorrow, TUESDAY MARCH 20, 2012. USE YOUR VOICE AND VOTE IF YOU'RE A REGISTERED VOTER IN ILLINOIS. IF YOU AREN'T REGISTERED BE SURE TO IMMEDIATELY DO SO! IF YOU ARE NOT AN ILLINOIS VOTER BE SURE TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON IN YOUR AREA.