endless exploration

"There are thousands who... sit down with their hands in their pockets, and say that they know not what to do, and do nothing" (Thoreau 1021-1022). How can we expect change without reform? It's like having a fever and expecting it to pass by without taking any form of medication to treat it. Many people will acknowledge a flaw in a system, yet shrug their shoulders and wait for someone else to fix the problem. The issue is, if everyone has this type of mindset, no improvement would occur. In his piece titled On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, Thoreau criticizes the people who disagree with the government but choose to remain silent until the majority of people do something about an issue. "Stand up for what you believe in, even if you're standing alone" is a quote that everyone has heard of at one point or another. If all of your friends were being mean to an individual, would you stand back and stay silent, pretending to have no idea what's going on? ...

Living in the United States in 2017 can be tough, especially since you can't utter an opinion without being attacked by someone who has an entirely different viewpoint. What ever happened to freedom of speech? Has our country been torn apart to the point in which we cannot express our opinions in fear of being criticized or offending someone else? In many occurances, these differences in opinion lead to violence and protests, and I believe that our once-united nation has been split into a number of nations. Within the past couple of years, Americans have been overwhelmed with riots concerning political differences, and it has made headlines all around the world. While other countries are fighting against each other, America is fighting against itself over opinions. What an embarrassment we must appear to be. One of the many headliners of this year was the KKK rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. I remember the mixture of emotions I felt as I read the news. First, I felt...