I've always understood that being
a hypocrite is a natural thing: it's easy for anybody to watch Honey Boo Boo
and say "Wow, they should get off their couch and start doing some stuff
that could positively impact the world" when the viewer himself/herself is
sitting on the couch watching reality TV. However, the three articles we
studied in class this week showed me that our nation and its values are planted
in hypocrisy.
Every Fourth of July, everyone celebrates the work of our
founding fathers, including our buddy Thomas Jefferson, for granting us
independence. However, the freedom they asked for is not the same as the
freedom I have today as an Asian-American. I don’t like the term
Asian-American, because my nationality is just American, but for the purpose of
my argument, and also in the eyes of our founding fathers, I am Asian-American.
Decades after the US became an independent country, our “leaders” still
continued to oppress the people of their country. If I had been alive during the
time of the Revolution, the nation’s independence would not have granted me
freedom, but instead a change in my oppressors. The Declaration is a list of
grievances against the King, which, if reworded, could be used against the
creators of the document. So, that’s exactly what the feminist movement did. Their
document cried of oppression of every kind; their accusations against men seemed
endless. Stanton was not mistaken—it is true that the women of the nation at
that time were significantly inferior to the men. However, in 1848, when the
Declaration of Sentiments was signed, many women were still unafraid to treat
their slaves the same way that the men treat them.
All in all, even though centuries have passed and the
movement for women’s rights is still ongoing and racism is still prominent in
people’s everyday lives, I sure am glad to be alive now instead of back then.
