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Saul Williams Poems

Well, Saul Williams has an interesting way of describing things. I was reading his piece on Tupac and BIG and thought, "wow, that's really interesting." The way Williams describes hip hop isn't just a style of music, but as a philosophy. Williams argues that hip hop is a way to express oneself, but is being corrupted by capitalistic ideals. Right now, hip hop is listened to more than ever, but is also corrupted more than ever. The way he describes everything using this revelation type language shows that Williams knows that this is the truth and that eventually, when the time comes, hip hop will be used the right way.

The Great Issue

If there’s one thing that really does mean a great deal to me, it’s the treatment of Muslim Americans in this country. I mean, I personally believe that this is something that goes highly unnoticed in this country. I mean, sure people know about it, but I don’t see that much outrage in people if something happens to a Muslim. Me being a Muslim American, I can see this happening everyday. The media is another thing to consider. The media never really gives coverage to a Muslim giving charity or a Muslim speaking out against extremism, but will give coverage to a tiny minority like ISIS, who isn’t even operating in the country. The media by doing this shows Muslims to all be terrorists. In fact, while according to the FBI, since 2005, Muslim extremist attacks only made up 6% against our country, the media blamed attacks on Muslims 81% of the time. And because of this, hate crimes are rising against Muslims too. Ahmed Mohammed, the kid that got called a terrorist for building a clock, was just one example of the discrimination we face. The year prior, three students got killed in Chappell Hill, North Carolina for their beliefs. A man tried making a laser gun to kill Muslims as well. In various universities, there have been death threats against Muslims. Mosques nationwide have been vandalized. In fact, the government itself has made a few discriminatory laws lately. Like the NYPD could do surveillance on Muslims in the city. In fact, there was an incident a few days ago where an NYPD cop pretended to convert to Islam so that he can spy on us. In the South, their making anti-Shariah laws because they fear we will enforce this. When in reality, Shari’ah only applies to Muslims and by making such a law, they also restrict our rights to handle marriage, divorce, inheritance, child custody, and so forth according to our religion. In fact, this history of discrimination can go back to the times of slavery when the slaves, a lot of whom were Muslim, were forced to convert to Christianity. So this is an issue of unimaginable importance to me. I myself have faced discriminatory remarks. I don’t want my kids, my family in the future, to experience such things.

Do The Right Thing

“Do the Right Thing” is a film made in 1989 that starred Spike Lee. In the story, Mookie (portrayed by Lee), a young Black man, works in an Italian restaurant for a guy named Sal. Sal’s son, Pino absolutely hates Black people and wants to move his father’s restaurant out of the majority Black neighborhood. I think this point speaks heavily on a piece we have been studying in class, the “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In the speech, Drk. King talks of how after years of torture and discrimination, the Blacks still are not free in America. This is a shocking realization in this movie. This movie takes place in a time well after the Civil Rights era and yet, shows the racism that was harbored inside by many Americans. The movie also shows that racism is institutionalized in this country, especially with Sal only putting up pictures of Italian celebrities and refusing to put up pictures of Black celebrities. This movie also speaks to today’s context. When we see all these riots being covered by the media, we think of this as a new step, or something new. Yet, this has been happening for a while. Just goes to show, America has always had a big problem with racism.

Beyond Vietnam/ Ballot or Bullet

Throughout American history, there are perhaps no two speeches more important in today's context than Dr . Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Beyond Vietnam" and Malcolm X's "Ballot or Bullet." This is mainly because the problems addressed in the two respective speeches are still the problems we face in the country today. For example, Dr. King's speech talks about how the funding for the Vietnam War is killing lives on both sides when it could have been used to fund social welfare programs. This is the exact thing happening right now. The US is trying to get involved in countries like Syria and Iraq even though it has diminished significantly in education, has one of the highest inequalities in income, and gender inequality. We should fix our own problems before others'. And Malcolm X talks of how African Americans' right to vote is being restricted. To this day, there are laws for voter ID's and such. Furthermore, X says that the ballot can be used as weapon, as the vote can be the reason that a politician does something. We literally have politicians changing viewpoints for votes. So indeed, this is a big thing.

Beyond Vietnam Reaction

Beyond Vietnam is a speech written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1968, in an effort to contain the spread of Communism, the United States invaded Vietnam. This invasion marked years of chaos through the loss of lives, property damage, etc. In response to this, Dr. King, as well as various other civil leaders, particularly religious leaders, felt that keeping quiet on this issue would be in itself a treachery. In the speech, Dr. King argues that in this conflict both parties involved in the war are harmed. Of course the Vietnamese people are directly harmed from the bombings and the agent orange and so forth. But Americans were too, in that the funding for this war could have been used for welfare programs in the US for the poor. Furthermore, the soldiers themselves were mainly poor people who had to join the army as they couldn't find opportunities in institutions here. Quite frankly, I agree. The US has a deep history of getting involved with other countries without caring for their own citizens. I mean seriously, handle your own problems before others'. Furthermore, if a people want to follow a system they themselves choose let them.

A Change is Gonna Come

A Change is Gonna Come is a song that was created in the 1960's, a time when America went through a radical shift in racial relations. The song was sung by both Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. Despite the lyrics preaching the same message, the tone and rhythm of the respective singers implies two different meanings. With Sam Cooke, the sense of change was like a dying hope. I mean, with the use of blues music and a slow pace, he was saying it, but wasn't feeling it, it was like he knew deep down inside that change wouldn't happen. This is quite understandable as Cooke wanted to sing at the Copa Cabana, but couldn't when he tried due to race. Redding, however, had a different vibe. It was like Redding was definitely optimistic that change was going to come for the better. Not just that, but his upbeat tone and use of instruments shows that he was eagerly awaiting it. Despite both their intentions, however, change did come. A change that benefited America's racial relations.

Somebody Else’s Atrocities

When reading Noam Chomsky’s “Somebody Else’s Atrocities,” I was very interested. What he was saying is a trend that is visible in various nations across the world. I especially see the US and their allies do this, mainly because I live here, so I’m going to see the US do this more. I have no doubt other nations do this as well. The US and allies usually are the first to speak out when one of their enemies commits an atrocity yet when we do it, we’re the last to speak out, we even defend our actions. For example, in the Democratic debate the other day, Hillary Clinton mentioned in the question about Syria, how Vladimir Putin doesn’t have any jurisdiction in Syria, he shouldn’t be there. Yet, she was one of the people who voted yes to the wars and to the bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan where WE had no jurisdiction. What about Vietnam, did we have jurisdiction then to use Agent Orange? Where was this when WE did it? Another example would be the Iran Nuclear Deal. Despite getting the deal done, we still have people criticizing the deal because they distrust Iran, which is understandable. Yet, Iran is one of the only countries in the world who have legal documentation saying nuclear war is unethical and can’t be done. Have they tried to make a bomb? Perhaps, but even then, that documentation says we will not strike first. The US is the only country to date that has used this weapon and WE have the authority to tell people that they can’t do this? I have had teachers in elementary school who have condemned the Holocaust, with the prison camps, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and terrorists torturing Americans to death. Yet, they quickly applauded sending Japanese Americans to camps, or torture in Guantanamo Bay, or the use of the nuclear bomb itself! This is really a big reason why we butt heads with other countries. We’re not really a country which hasn’t done anything they haven’t. We did what they did and even more sometimes, so many other countries view us as the world’s biggest hypocrisy. This hypocrisy leads to propaganda, which was a big part of the American Dream during the Cold War. The thing is, the American Dream isn’t dead, it’s just that some people would rather support the definition with propaganda.

#professorclaman

Pleasantville,

Pleasantville was a rather interesting movie. I mean, the person who was supressing reform this whole time, himself gets reformed at the end. I mean, I guess it makes sense. This was released under President Bill Clinton's term. The '90s, when Clinton served, was a time after the Cold War, when ties between nations started reforming and when the culture of the USA itself started changing, especially in terms of race relations, music, and so forth. It is often said that the American Dream is dead. However, I don't think that the American Dream is dead. Rather, I just think that the definition of the American Dream has changed. It was used as propaganda during the Cold War, where the American Dream had a rigid definition of a family consisting of a husband, wife, 2.5 kids, and dog living in a house in the suburbs, surrounded by a picket fence. After the Cold War ended, however, there wasn't much need for propaganda. Add to the fact that there was increased immigration and that racial tensions eased from the 50s and 60s, and you have a diverse society. Of course, the period between the 50s and 90s were the transition periods for all this. So really, I feel like the movie is about changing the American Dream from something rigid to something lenient.

My Reaction to the Essay

After reading the essay, I must admit that I am intrigued. All my life, I thought IQ was something that really does quantitatively measures one's intelligence. But now, I'm looking at it a whole other way. The author mentioned that his performance IQ was average, but intelligence itself is extremely high. This just really shows me that IQ isn't enough. Maybe one person is intelligent, doesn't mean that performance will be good, and the world we live in today really focuses on performance. At the same time, one who has good performance, but bad intelligence does something that is bad really good. Now, I think differently.

Perspective

Ofiicial Definition: “a mental view or prospect.” - Dictionary.com

My Definition: a subjective view of a certain topic.

I guess if there’s one thing the American Dream is all about, it’s perspective. I mean, when we were discussing the American Dream in class, most if not all the students had a different definition of what the American Dream was. Some said propaganda, some said equality, and so forth. Everyone had a different perspective. Really, I think the American Dream is a subjective subject, the definition will always vary based on who one asks. The very history of the American Dream has been used as propaganda during the Cold War against the Soviet Union, that much is true. But the ideas of democracy and equality are concepts that are missing in various parts of the world. Even so called “democracies” in the world have autocratic policies. America is different however. Why is it that most people come here? It’s because of all the countries in the world, America is notorious for these ideals, which is why the American Dream, which many say is nothing but propaganda, hasn’t died out, because many people do think of us this way. For me, the American Dream is more than getting rights, it’s also giving rights. I don’t know how far I can get into the system, as despite the fact that I’m a citizen, I was still born in another country. However, if I could theoretically go far enough, I would do everything I can to fulfill my interpretation of the American Dream, to give others in the world every good thing that I experienced. Point is, the American Dream is subjective, it depends on the person. In my interviews, I have to keep this in mind, because each person I interview may have a different perspective. I guess that’s the reason that many have a positive view of this idea, the reason that the country is so accepting is because the ideology it is founded on is just as accepting.

Something That Guides Me

If there is one conviction that I always try to live by, it is to help people, even if they don't show appreciation. I believe that the reason this world is so messed up right now is because many people lack this quality of doing something that's right because it's right. Every time I turn the TV on and see the news, I see politicians either following wrong beliefs or changing their beliefs just for the vote, but as soon as they come in... no change! It's like everyone in the world looks out only for themselves, and no one else! I know that I can't just wait for people to change, I have just as much a responsibility. Therefore, I try to help others as best as I can. I can physically help others by giving money in charities or doing a good favor for a friend. I believe that that's not the only way to help either. I mean, talking to someone else in a nice tone or smiling when talking even helps as many people derive happiness from that. To me, even a smile can be charity.

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