There are 195 countries and about thousands of problems in the world. Many things distinguish one from another. In the United States for example, we are a melting pot of many different origins of countries, languages and ideas. Nationally we face many different types of problems, one of them being the loss of individuality. The loss of individuality is when people lose an important feeling of individuality, their potential as a human being. They lose sight of their passions and fall short of realizing their true calling in life. This dismemberment of the individual and slicing of dreams is what is plaguing our society today, and conformity is a huge part of it. Conformity expects people to forget about who they truly are and just mold to one standard. Being an individual is important and thinking your own thoughts is true happiness but sometimes due to our fear of the unknown and with the help of our arrogance and ignorance we completely disregard what matters most, each other. I’d like to believe that people are good at heart but taking a look at our history, there’s evidence that proves otherwise.
In 1838 and 1839, as part of Andrew Jackson’s Indian removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the Mississippi River and to migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma. The journey became a cultural memory as the trail where they cried for the Cherokees and other removed tribes. Today it is widely remembered by the general public as the — Trail of Tears because of its devastating effects. The migrants faced hunger, disease, and exhaustion on the forced 1,000 mile march —Minneapolis to Baton Rouge. Louisiana Over 4,000 out of 15,000 of the Cherokees died. The Oklahoma chapter of the Trail of Tears Association has begun the task of marking the graves of Trail survivors with bronze memorials. The goal of these reformers was to use education as a tool to assimilate Native American tribes into the mainstream of the American way of life, a Protestant ideology of the mid-19th century. Indian people would be taught the importance of private property, material wealth and monogamous nuclear families. The reformers assumed that it was necessary to civilize Native American people, make them accept white men’s beliefs and value systems.
In the fall of 1862, after the United States failed to meet its treaty obligations with the Dakota people, several Dakota warriors raided an American settlement, killed 5 settlers and stole some food. This began a period of armed conflict between some of the Dakota people, the settlers, and the US Military. After more than a month, several hundred of the Dakota warriors surrendered and the rest fled north to what is now Canada. Those who surrendered were quickly tried in military tribunals, and 303 of them were condemned to death. Three hundred and three deaths seemed too genocidal for President Lincoln. But he didn’t order retrials, even though it has been argued that the trials which took place were a legal sham. Instead he simply modified the criteria of what charges warranted a death sentence. Under his new criteria, only 2 of the Dakota warriors were sentenced to die. That small number seemed too lenient, and President Lincoln was concerned about an uprising by his white American settlers in that area. So for a second time, instead of ordering a retrial he merely changed the criteria of what warranted a death sentence. Ultimately, 39 Dakota men were sentenced to die. And on December 26, 1862, by order of President Lincoln, and with nearly 4,000 white American settlers looking on, the largest mass execution in the history of the United States took place. The hanging of the Dakota 38. Abraham Lincoln was President of the United States during an incredibly tumultuous time. Disappearing are the days when explicit forms of racism, such as the enslavement of African people and the ethnic cleansing of Native people, were socially acceptable. The country was not necessarily growing a conscience, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to continually justify the actions of modern American society that were so blatantly evil and racist. Although slavery existed in Africa, the Europeans introduced a more extreme version of it. Africans were brought to this country and forced into a system that was set up to fail them, which also strips them of their individuality and after slavery was abolished which split the country apart, many laws were set in place to help them but instead did nothing but harm.
Slavery was abolished years ago, but it’s effects are still rooted in the veins of the establishment of this country today. The CRU which followed the abolishment of slavery set declines of wellness for African Americans which effected everything from homes, schools and individuality.
A phenomenon known as a spiraling mechanism which forces people to remain poor. It is so binding in itself that it doesn’t allow the poor people to escape it. These are known as poverty traps which are present in the streets of cities that are either segregated in terms of racial and economic backgrounds and/or extremely dense in population. Many things that begin to emerge are street violence amongst youth that takes a toll on entire communities. The connection between poverty and crime is strongest in our youth, a dangerous trend that will make it even harder to lift future generations out of poverty. It has become clear that when it becomes harder for teenagers to obtain and maintain jobs they are more likely to turn to crime, either as a means to monetary gain or as a way to become part of a stable social circle. This just continues a cycle of trauma. Individuality has been replaced with conformity and society’s idea of what matters and what doesn’t.
The American dream is the belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone, which isn’t entirely true for everyone. If America is a movie, immigrants are the secondary role but never the leading man. Everyone wants to know about their experiences but never enough to help them. Their thick accents lay as a barrier between them and their freedom. Innocent children slaughtered at the leisure of their oppressors, but what is the price of freedom? Apparently it’s a death sentence. Risking death for a home they thought was better than their own only to be greeted with disappointment and harsh realities. Immigrants from all the world have different experiences but share similar stories. The white on the American flag is turning black due to the sins of the fourth & fifth generation Americans who scream dirty immigrants on the streets of New York, the blue represents the tears that fall from asylum seekers and the red is the blood both sides have shed to get them here.
When the loss of individuality is present, people often tend to forget their potential as human beings, which no one should ever feel. Although the loss of individuality can come in many different forms, it’s seen time and again in modern day media. We want to update our family & friends and use good to be good but because social media often forces us, unintentionally, to compare ourselves to others — our accomplishments, our lifestyles, our looks we’re left with regret, sadness, insecurity, and competition. Social media is one of the most unique, expressive aspects of our society. However, it is also the most detrimental to our self-esteem, at times. A tool of self destruction for the soul and a filter of creativity for the mind.
Brown, Dee Alexander. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American
West. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1971. Accessed 28 October 2019.
Rettberg, Jill Walker. link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2F9781137476661.pdf. Accessed 28 October 2019.
Chen, James. “Poverty Trap Definition.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 16 Oct. 2019, www.investopedia.com/terms/p/poverty-trap.asp. Accessed 28 October 2019.
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