Myan+A's+Final+AmEx+2015+Speech

Barriers to Bridges

I want, for myself and my kids, to grow up in a mature, respectful, educated America. I do not want to be surrounded by ignorant, close-minded people who do not have the slightest clue what they are talking about. I do not want to grow up around people that are too lazy to expand their understanding of the world and its people. I would rather have my kids be educated about all religions, cultures, and ethnicities to further their understanding of the very people sitting in the same room as us. I want my children to be able to connect with other people and respectfully and intellectually discuss anything other than bias, ignorant tweets, like those that are about the Israeli-Palestine conflict. I do not want to only see Youth Groups and Christian clubs surrounding me, but rather more minorities being represented as well. I want to grow up in an America with bridges not barriers. I want people to connect not to push away. It seems that growing up and living in California all my life has surrounded me with predominantly caucasian, all-American values and viewpoints. I have been surrounded with Christianity more than with my own religion of Judaism all my life, whether it be promoting clubs, youth groups, or even mentioned in school. Yes, I understand we live in America and the dominant religion and American history has been a white protestant association, however times are changing. Whether a salad bowl or melting pot, we have more than 3 religions in America, not just the textbook description of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam smushed into one paragraph. Maybe it's just me but it seems that even though schools claim to be neutral in the range of promoting religion, Christianity is frequently associated with lessons or talked about as if everyone is expected to be familiar with that belief. I remember clearly in 5th grade reading a paragraph of a story to the class and coming across the word “Christ”. Being a jewish girl totally unaware of that word until that day, I paused and hastily pronounced it as “Christ”. I heard chuckles and remarks as if “everyone” knew that word, totally oblivious to the fact that there is more than one religion in life. It seems as if Christianity is usually the dominant religion characters have in the books we read. I would like for Americans to read more books like Life of Pi and learn about different cultures. I want to see more minorities being respected in America. As a land of freedom and opportunity, we need to allow this dream to be possible. Promoting this country as a place of acceptance, we need to actually accept all that live and come here. I never understood why my Jewish beliefs were always okay to be made fun of and picked on, but Christianity and white jokes were not funny or acceptable. I have had friends, strangers, and even my coach make jokes about my heritage. It does not bother me as much anymore because I have become used to it, but no kid should become numb to this due to so many comments. Why is it okay to make fun of minorities but once a snide remark about being white or Christian is said it is all the sudden rude and taken "too far". I do not want to grow up in a place where minorities are made fun of and superiority is present and felt. As far as race goes, it seems even though Americans claim to be accepting and diverse, we still continue as a stereotypical, naïve country. If the youth are never educated on these subjects, no generations will ever overcome disrespect toward others that are not like them. If America is so welcoming, then why do kids still get bullied because of their race, ethnicity, or religion? This is because of our blind misunderstanding of other cultures and people. My dad came, from the first of his family, to the United States to marry my mom who had just been a colorado girl, making me a first generation Israeli-American. I never really thought about myself being anything other than American until about middle school. I first began to encounter those rude remarks and false accusations starting in 6th grade. I remember people who I thought were my friends, saying racist, hurtful comments to me about my heritage. They claimed to have been joking and as a middle schooler I was expected to laugh it off and not be affected by it at all, but the truth was that the ever growing pile of racist remarks were turning into insecurity and hurt inside. I actually remember being insecure about the topic of my own religion and ethnicity for a long time and not wanting to bring it up or have people find out I was Jewish and Israeli out of the fear of disrespectful words or arguments. Most of the oblivious, insulting behavior forms from how one is raised. If Americans would raise their children to be respectful to all and inform them about relevant issues, there would not be as many false accusations passed on from parents to kids. If parents do not want to educate their children more on specific different diversities, the least they can do is teach them to be considerate and equal to all despite skin color, beliefs, or background. There are a countless number of children and even adults who do not fully and correctly understand the problems and controversies taking place in the world. We should not have people judging and hating all muslims because of the 9/11 tragedy. But why do we? Parents fail to inform children that not all muslims are the same, just as not all Americans or Europeans etc have the same mindset and beliefs. America should develop a class required in high school about religions, cultures, and ethnicities. The class should educate students about what is going on in the very world we live in. It can actually inform students of the events and controversies taking place internationally, since a very small number of teens actually watch the news. History is important in order to learn from the past but if we never properly learn what is happening with other countries now, there will be no way to apply our knowledge of history to current events. I want to grow up in an America where people of all ages will never have to be judged or talked down upon due to their differences. I want to grow up in a connected diverse America, but not distant and divided. I want to grow up in a place where more religions are represented and more ethnicities and races are taught thoroughly to the youth so we can prosper as better generations. I want the lies, misunderstandings, racism, and jokes taken too far to stop. I want to grow up in an America where the barriers are replaced with bridges.