Education & Religion

I was really interested in our class discussion how we talked about how the Puritans’ beliefs in education and religion still relate to and control our lives today. They used to center their values and lifestyles around education and religion, as do we, but I think we could definitely improve our ways by learning about how the Puritans lived back in the day.

We live in a nation that values education over anything else. Education and religion used to be linked together and were taught hand in hand back in the European times. Children would learn of the bible in school and learn life lessons through being a Christian. Children grew up learning what it meant to be a Christian, so while learning knowledge in subjects like math, science, and English, they also learned how the earth started and where we all came from, stemming children to learn from the bible and live by how God wanted us to live.

As America evolved over the years, we became the most open and accepting country out there. We accept all types of people, no matter their color, beliefs, or motives. It's what makes us amazing America. Because of this, we live in a religiously diverse nation that houses many different people. This has caused our school systems to eliminate God and Christianity since we have to be fair to all religions and citizens. I think it is very sad that things got so out of control that they even tried to take “One nation, under God” out of our pledge of allegience. I wish we could find a way to get back to the times where we could incorporate religion into our education systems. There should be a system developed where all types of religious classes could be offered in elementary school through high school, and every child, no matter their belief, no matter who they worship, could have a place to fit in and learn about their faith.

What is an American?

I have always been a true, prideful American. I have always sent the good aspects of being an American citizen and have always been well aware of the great advantages of the privilege of being born and growing up as an American. On the other hand, I have also been well aware to the obvious downside to America being such an open country. Because of this, after reading the assigned texts from class, my perspective and definition of what an American is has not changed.

The two main passages that my opinions most related to were Lazarus’ “The New Colossus” and Aldrich’s “Unguarded Gates.” I relate to both of these with my thoughts and opinions, which is why my definition of an American has not changed. When I read “The New Colossus,” I had such a feeling of comfort and pride for the fact that I’m an American. I am so fortunate to be apart of a country that is so accepting and hopeful for people to live an amazing life with nobody ruling over them and controlling their every move. Many lower fortunate countries have to deal with being told what to wear, where to work, how many kids to have, whom they can marry, and how much money they should make. Sometimes we naturally take advantage of what we are so fortunate to have, because it’s what we are used to. Sometimes I don’t realize the greatness of freedom. It’s such an irreplaceable privilege. I think one of the greatest aspects to America is that people from all over the world hope and dream, to come to America because of how accepting we are and what we have to offer. People come to our country to “live the American dream!”

On the opposing side, I can also somewhat relate and agree with Aldrich’s opinions. Because America is so accepting and welcoming, sometimes bad people enter our country that have bad intentions and only want to corrupt our country. Some have definite alterior motives than to just find a better life for themselves and their families. It makes me question the way our country operates sometimes when certain events happen, like the September 11 tragedy for example. That kind of event makes me question if we should be stricter with our acceptance policy of immigrants. Accepting the wrong person or people into our country could potentially be a recipe for disaster if we’re not careful.

-Morgan Willis