Hypocrisy: Donut Deny

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.