Ignorant America

Hate, Freedom, Ignorance

Situations like Matthew Shepards are unfortunate, and in almost all cases preventable. The rhetorical analysis of the Shepard case opens up the opportunity to look at an issue the authors did not cover. Society has a problem that is leading and has led to the plummeting quality of life, and the country. Americans seem to have forgotten what 1.) it means to be an American and 2.) the values our country was founded on and we as Americans are so proud of. I feel that Americans have forgotten what it means to be an American, and this is because of ignorance produced by the media. To be an American means you live in a land of freedom, opportunity, and equality for ALL, regardless of our differences. It can even be said that to be an American is to be different, to be your own individual that makes you a special member of society as a whole. I feel these ideas are forgotten on a daily basis by society, and we allow the very thing we pride ourselves on, being different, to maliciously desecrate society. Hate crimes can be prevented if Americans can remember and accept the privilege it is to be American. I feel that Americans have forgotten our founding fathers, and the many lives lost for people in today's society to live a free and equal life. Our founding fathers created this country so that they as a people could be free, they could provide equality for all cultures, and built a land of opportunity. They have forgotten this because the media is constantly placing ignorance in the minds of all. This ignorance is portrayed through scandalous on-goings, that appear scandalous to us because the media tells us they are. The problem however is these scandals are based on differences one person has to a majority of the public. Since the media is our information and entertainment source it then can be inferred that the media has cause ignorance for differences causing hate, and negating the true heart of America. No equality for all and no opportunity for all is the new heart of America. The media is slowly killing human moral, let alone stripping the soldiers and our elders of the justice they were serving while losing lives, and injuring themselves for a life time. What about those Americans? Do you think they might have been different from you? Does that justify the ignorant actions of Americans today? Those men and women fought against the powerful governments and went to wars to ensure the protection that each American can live in appreciation and acceptance. It is the duty of society to remember, to give thanks, and live the lives so many lost theirs so we could have. I feel that the founding fathers and our war veterans would be ashamed, and society needs to redirect the media we consume.